From Robinson Crusoe

The generally flat terrain of the grassland made it more difficult to observe the condition of the other group of challengers.

Chen Zhou and Paul could only confirm that they were on the right path and in the right direction, but they didn't know if the group of challengers was still at the location they had observed earlier.

The environment is constantly changing, and anything can happen.

A migration of a mammoth herd, a hunt by a pack of cave hyenas, or a drive by a woolly rhinoceros would destroy the camp built by the challengers and force them to leave.

Even without the wild animal factor, if they discover any flaws in the surrounding area, they might move away from the camp to avoid incurring further sunk costs.

Unable to observe the status of the other group of challengers in time, Chen Zhou and his partner were uncertain about their situation.

They stopped in a sparse woodland along the way, and Chen Zhou climbed a tall tree to look into the distance in an attempt to see the Challenger Camp.

However, he was too heavy and could only climb to a relatively solid spot near the top of the tree, about 9 meters above the ground, which was not enough to help him see the distant scenery.

Paul was also quite heavy, and his agility was much worse than Chen Zhou's; both of them were a weight that the trees could not bear.

Since descending the mountain and losing his vantage point, Chen Zhou felt as if he had become blind, unable to obtain any useful information.

……

The situation has changed from the enemy being in the open while we are in the dark to the enemy being in the dark while we are in the dark; we must act with even greater caution.

They made it another day and caught a few fish in the river at noon. Taking advantage of the dim daylight, Chen Zhou and Paul gathered enough dry firewood and dug a simple smokeless stove to roast the fish.

Dry firewood produces very little smoke, and with the smokeless stove as an extra layer of protection, even if a little smoke still comes out, Chen Zhou will fan it away in time, making this lunch exceptionally discreet.

They used spears to catch twelve large fish in total. After roasting them, five of them were eaten by the two of them and the tiger cub, while the other seven were carried on Chen Zhou's back—this was their dinner.

Based on their current pace, they should be within 2 kilometers of the Challenger Camp by tonight.

On a vast grassland at night, it's impossible to start a fire at such close range.

Once the fire is lit, the bright flame will alert another group of challengers that humans are approaching. If so, their hard work of circling and lying in ambush will be in vain.

Therefore, it is necessary to stock up on some cooked food in advance for dinner.

If Paul hadn't lacked night vision, Chen Zhou would have even considered leading Paul in a night raid on the camp.

Unless the challengers in that group have a habit of taking turns keeping watch at night, if they launch a surprise attack first, at least one of them will be seriously injured, thus creating a two-on-one situation.

Even if the challengers have the advantage of terrain and can launch a counterattack using the well-built shelters, it will still be difficult for them to deal with the two of them.

……

The other group of challengers probably didn't expect that, just a few days into the challenge, someone would discover their presence in such a vast area. Therefore, they did not take any precautions in the distance, nor did they build a watchtower near their camp.

By the time Chen Zhou and Paul reached the side of the "C"-shaped mound, it was already quite dark.

This location is less than 2 kilometers from where the challengers set up their camp, and Chen Zhou even discovered some traces of human activity on the back of the mound—

Trampled wild grass, bloodstains left from killing prey, and scars left from cutting the roots of low shrubs.

Through these clues, Chen Zhou obtained some useful information.

First, the fact that these challengers possessed melee weapons such as longswords or axes increased their threat level.

Other information comes from shoe prints on the soft soil.

There are two types of shoe prints left by trampled grass, one of which is larger, size 45.

Logically speaking, a person's height is usually about seven times the length of their foot. A person who wears size 45 shoes is generally between 185 and 190 cm tall, and weighs about 75 to 84 kilograms. If it is a trained strongman, he will be even heavier.

Unfortunately, the surface of the mound was covered with a layer of low, fine grass, which helped to absorb some of the pressure from being trampled, preventing Chen Zhou from deduce the challenger's weight and thus from understanding his physical condition.

But one thing is certain—

These challengers are definitely not ordinary people.

Even with outdoor survival tools, people who haven't undergone military or wilderness survival training couldn't possibly survive four days in this perilous world. Judging from how well they live, they must be able to handle the wild beasts on the grasslands.

This also aligns with Chen Zhou's understanding of the Time Travel Administration Bureau—

The Authority wants exciting shows and confrontations; they won't put defenseless people here to be torn apart by wild beasts—that's too mundane.

There is also a very faint shoe print near the size 45 shoe print.

This shoe print is very distinctive. The imprint is almost flat, indicating that the sole has no anti-slip texture. It is also much shorter than the other challenger's shoe print, about size 38, which means that this person is only about 165-168 cm tall, a complete short person.

This challenge is located in a prehistoric wasteland. Although the challengers will be fighting against others, due to the vast challenge area, they will deal more with wild animals.

Under these circumstances, shorter and lighter people are naturally at a disadvantage.

Although their small size reduces their energy consumption, a person weighing less than 50 kilograms is even less than an adult male cave hyena. Even if given weapons, he would have a hard time dealing with the ferocious beasts that are everywhere.

Not to mention the even larger beasts on the grasslands, some even colossal, weighing tons. Expecting this small man to confront these giants head-on was practically impossible, which made Chen Zhou quite puzzled.

The short guy and the tall guy worked together without holding each other back, and neither of them showed any signs of injury. Does this mean the short guy has some special ability that helps them gain an advantage in other areas...?

Secretly keeping a close watch on the short man, Chen Zhou didn't forget to lower his voice and pass on the intelligence he had gathered to Paul.

Paul, who didn't want to "scout" the place with him, also found something unusual—

A thin, pale yellow strip of wood with cracks, as if it had fallen off some kind of object.

"Look."

As Paul spoke, he handed the wood shards to Chen Zhou. Chen Zhou looked at them and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"This is paulownia wood."

Since the start of the challenge, he had never seen this kind of tree on the mountain or in the jungles scattered across the grassland. Just one glance was enough for him to be certain that the wood must have come from other challengers.

Moreover, he could uncover even more clues from this piece of wood—

Paulownia is a type of wood with low density, with an air-dry density between 0.19 and 0.4, and low mechanical strength.

Throughout history, paulownia wood has rarely been used for furniture in China; high-density wood is preferred.

But there is one country that really likes to use paulownia wood to make furniture, and that is Japan.

Japan is prone to earthquakes, and to mitigate casualties, the Japanese not only use paulownia wood to make furniture but also to build houses. Paulownia wood is not only lightweight but also possesses excellent moisture resistance and abrasion resistance. Furthermore, it is a fast-growing and inexpensive tree, making it one of the main materials for Japanese-style wooden clogs.

“If they are wooden clogs, then that makes sense.”

Chen Zhou knew that there were many shapes of wooden clogs, and many of them were short at the bottom and long at the top. If the bottom size of the clogs was 38, then the top size might be 41 or even longer.

If the other challenger were Japanese and wearing wooden clogs, it wouldn't be surprising to leave a shoe print that was only 38 sizes long.

This also answered his question about why the other shoe print didn't have an anti-slip texture—

Traditional wooden clogs don't have anti-slip treads; when you step on them, they only leave a rectangular dent.

"The Japanese, huh? Interesting."

Chen Zhou had no good feelings towards the Japanese.

He was a man who had received a modern education. Although he spent 28 years on a medieval island, his deep-rooted patriotism and profound memory of modern history never disappeared.

Back in modern times, when he was focused on extreme sports, he had dealings with many Japanese people. This nation, which was known for its small manners but lack of righteousness and its concern for trivial matters but lack of great virtue, left a deep impression on him.

Whether due to historical context or personal experience, he cannot feel any goodwill towards the Japanese, let alone now that he is facing a brutal challenge.

Having already prepared for a life-or-death struggle, Chen Zhou's last bit of struggle and pity vanished upon learning the identities of the other challengers ahead of time.

……

After unexpectedly discovering the wooden strips, fearing that they might have missed some clues, Chen Zhou led Paul around the back of the mound twice more.

During this time, he also found several broken wooden strips and wood chips between the shoe prints. It seemed that the Japanese wooden clogs were not adapted to the firm ground of Mammoth Plains and were probably already quite damaged.

However, apart from these wooden strips, he couldn't find any other useful clues.

……

After groping around twice, the world was completely dominated by black.

Unfortunately, some clouds are gathering tonight, obscuring the moonlight and starlight.

A strong wind howled across the grassland, and the air was thick with the damp scent of wild grass, creating an atmosphere of impending storm.

Normally, Paul could make out some things by the moonlight, but now that he was so dark, he was practically blind. If he hadn't been following Chen Zhou, he wouldn't have been able to tell which way was which, and he would have only known that there were layers of tall grass in front of him.

Worried that the cries of the serrated tiger cubs might attract wild animals or hinder their movement, Chen Zhou and Paul deliberately locked the cubs in the bushes at the foot of the slope before climbing the mound.

Seeing that Paul could no longer keep up with his pace, Chen Zhou sent him back to the serrated tiger cubs. This served two purposes: firstly, to let him look after the cubs, and secondly, to rid himself of a burden, allowing him to focus on exploring the surrounding terrain and the challenger's camp and gathering more information.

……

Returning to the mound, this time Chen Zhou didn't linger on the side, but chose to climb directly to the top.

Looking down from here, you'll see another group of challengers' semi-permanent campsite, which will be less than 1km away.

The mound is not high and faces northeast. The outer slope of the "C" shape is relatively gentle, while the inner slope is steeper. Looking down from above, it is covered with wild grass, with no obstacles to obstruct the view, and the campsite cleared by the challengers is fully visible.

Even in the darkness, a distance of eight or nine hundred meters could not interfere with Chen Zhou's observation.

He saw a sunken shelter made of stones and wood near the bottom of the slope.

Adjacent to the riverbank, obtaining stone here is quite convenient, but transporting timber is rather troublesome. Chen Zhou was wondering how they managed to get so much wood in just a few days when he glanced into the distance and noticed a raft tied to the riverbank about 100 meters from the shelter. It seemed that they were transporting timber by water, which was obviously much less strenuous than carrying long logs on land.

Next to the shelter, the two challengers had already started a fire.

Because of the strong winds and the threatening rain, the two men didn't focus on adding fuel. Instead, they carried stones to reinforce the stove pit and hammered stakes into the side of the pit, seemingly trying to build a rain shelter.

Despite the earthen mound blocking the wind, the wind leaking in from the river was still quite strong, causing the flames to sway and tilt to one side as if their heads were being held down, lying flat and slow to burn, which also dimmed the light around the campfire.

The flickering light was a distraction for the two challengers who were working, but it made it easier for Chen Zhou to observe their specific appearance and physical condition.

The man wearing size 45 shoes was dressed in an American camouflage military uniform. He was about 192cm tall, with a well-proportioned build, and carried a hand axe at his waist. He walked with a distinct military style.

The sound of the wind and the two men moving stones interfered with Chen Zhou's hearing. He could only vaguely determine whether the man was American or British, but he could not get any other information, let alone hear the content of their conversation.

The other person carrying the stones was much shorter than "45 yards"; he was about 175cm tall and thin.

The weeds around the camp were cut down or uprooted, and Chen Zhou could clearly see that the man was not wearing shoes and was walking barefoot.

The person's clothing was neither traditional, loose-fitting Japanese clothing nor modern style, but rather Japanese ninja attire.

Its distinctive features include the constricted design of the hands and feet, a wide belt tightly tied around the waist, and a cloth mask covering the head.

The ninja outfit was entirely black, giving the Japanese man camouflage in the night. If Chen Zhou didn't keep a close eye on him and relied on the stones or pieces of wood he was carrying to pinpoint his location, he sometimes wouldn't even be able to find him.

When moving the stones, it was clear that "45 yards" relied entirely on brute force. He could easily lift a large stone weighing about 60 kilograms. Chen Zhou had been observing him working for more than ten minutes, and he was still chatting and laughing, with his efficiency not affected at all. Based on this, Chen Zhou judged that this person's endurance was also extraordinary.

Japanese people are much smaller than size 45, but they show no less strength when working.

When they are not carrying heavy objects, Japanese people are accustomed to walking with their bodies low to the ground, trying to minimize their size. This seems to be a habit developed through long-term training.

Chen Zhou knew that the name "ninja" was established in Japan during the Edo period. Their main tasks were sabotage, assassination, and intelligence gathering, combining the functions of assassins and spies. They were divided into Jonin, Chunin, and Genin. Jonin were skilled at using their wisdom to plan combat operations, while Chunin were responsible for actual combat command and possessed superb ninjutsu.

He felt that if the Time Travel Administration didn't select unqualified people to fill positions, this Japanese man was most likely a veteran Chunin.

Thinking about the troublesome tools used in ninjutsu, such as cross nails, ninja swords, blowguns, and gauntlet hooks, Chen Zhou couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

It's easy to kill this Japanese man head-on, but it's impossible to kill him instantly. Once you give this old devil time to react, it will be difficult to kill him later.

Several ninja tools are designed to help ninjas cross rivers by diving. This group of challengers' camp is so close to the water that if he slips into the water, it will be difficult to catch him in the dark.

Moreover, judging from the Japanese man's behavior, his caution seemed to be ingrained in his very being, which further increased the difficulty of a successful sneak attack.

"This is actually quite tricky."

Considering whether to take advantage of the darkness tonight or observe for a while longer to understand the challengers' patterns of action before formulating a prudent plan, Chen Zhou slowly descended the mound and headed towards Paul's location.

Since he had no tools for survival, and Paul's tools were rather useless, the two of them could only scrape together a metal weapon—a military knife.

Although he had the initial advantage, he was at a significant disadvantage in terms of weaponry. He needed to make some preparations with Paul beforehand, at least to arm Paul and enable him to handle the "45-yard" situation, so that he could focus all his efforts on killing the Japanese. (End of Chapter)