From Robinson Crusoe

The prolonged high-intensity travel had exhausted Chen Zhou's energy. When he closed his eyes, he didn't wake up until the next morning.

As early winter approaches, the sun in the sky appears listless and weak.

A few pieces of red-hot coals still remained in the campfire, emitting a slight warmth, while the cold wind had already swept through the Black Forest, howling and rushing towards the distant cliffs.

The saw-toothed tigers prefer cooler weather and are frolicking nearby.

Seeing Chen Zhou sit up, Paul, who was processing the prey, smiled and waved to greet him.

He had been up since Chen Zhou returned yesterday, and even managed to catch a fawn in the meantime. He looked tired, but his mood was undoubtedly good.

Why didn't you wake me up sooner?

Stretching, Chen Zhou walked over to Paul and began helping him process the prey.

"I forgot," Paul chuckled.

……

The established goal has been achieved, but now the days are getting colder and colder.

Furthermore, the flora and fauna near the tundra are limited, and there is a lack of plant fruits rich in vitamins and oils, so the sources of carbohydrates and fats cannot be guaranteed. After lunch, seeing that Paul was in good condition, Chen Zhou decided to set off before it got dark and first climb up the cliff.

Once it gets dark, it will be much more difficult to reach the summit with Paul, who only has one leg to support him.

And we also need to get the three-headed saw-toothed tiger up there, which will take time.

As for finding coal, Chen Zhou silently estimated in his mind that it seemed too late.

They could carry at most twenty or thirty kilograms of coal for pottery making. If they were to mine hundreds or thousands of kilograms, even if they could finish it in a day or two, how to transport it to the cliff and bring it back to the shelter would be a problem.

Besides helping Paul climb the cliff and getting the saw-toothed tiger up there, Chen Zhou had another thing on his mind—

Eliminate the spoils left behind by those Indian bastards.

Time was of the essence, and he only had time to deal with the scene. He didn't have time to examine the spoils closely, let alone search the Indians' clothes for small items hidden inside. He simply hung the package containing the spoils on a tree.

Now that he had received the supplies, slept soundly, and filled his stomach, he had to retrieve the spoils before leaving the Black Forest. In case he could find some seasoning on the Indians, they could also enjoy a taste.

Although Indian food is often known for its poor presentation and hygiene, Indian spices are generally considered to be of good quality.

……

After finalizing the plan, Chen Zhou decided to first send Paul and the three-headed sawtooth tiger up the cliff.

He possesses night vision, so even in darkness, his movement through the Black Forest is unaffected. If the sun sets too early, he can complete his plan on his own.

With his faster speed, he left the Black Forest first and reached the edge of the cliff to take a look.

Fortunately, the cliff extends to this point, where the slope is no longer so steep, and it has even formed three layers due to natural weathering and collapse.

The bottom level is about 30 meters above the ground. After climbing up, there is a "rest area" that is about 2 meters wide. Further up, there are two more narrow "stairs".

When you reach the top of the stairs, although there is still a slope, it is enough for people to walk normally without the support of their arms.

The three-tiered staircase reduced Chen Zhou's workload and made route planning a simple task.

Chen Zhou first climbed the cliff himself to make sure the rocks on the route were firm and stable enough. Not long after, he brought Paul and the three-headed saw-toothed tiger to the top of the cliff.

Then, he tirelessly transported some fresh meat and firewood up to help Paul start a campfire and cook, before venturing into the Black Forest to follow the route he remembered in order to find his spoils.

……

Less than a day later, the Black Forest returned to its eternal silence.

The moment the beacon's light went out, the hearts of all the challengers who coveted the supplies sank to the bottom.

Despairing, they searched in vain through the forest all night, ultimately leaving this heartbreaking place empty-handed and filled with disappointment.

Chen Zhou moved forward at top speed in a straight line, never wasting time except for occasionally stopping to collect some coal.

Not long after, he arrived at the location where the Indians were fighting amongst themselves, where he was to reap the benefits, and successfully retrieved the package containing the spoils of war.

On his return journey, he took a detour and collected a total of about 50 kilograms of coal before climbing the cliff.

……

The area above and below the cliff is almost like two different seasons.

The mosses in the tundra are either gray or black, and most of them have already shown signs of depletion and lifelessness.

Looking into the distance, the sky was filled with thick clouds, the stars were hidden, and the whole land exuded an indescribable desolation.

Animals have almost disappeared here.

The view was filled with rocks, dried-up shallow puddles, and dying moss; even finding a small shrub was considered a rare find.

As night fell, the tundra, with no obstructions to block the wind, was swept by a cold wind all night, causing the campfire to flicker and always seem unable to lift its head.

If it weren't for the pressure cooker being perfect for cooking in this climate, Chen Zhou and Paul would probably have gone a long time without a hot meal if they relied solely on roasting over a fire.

Both grew up in high-latitude regions, one grew up in Siberia and the other grew up on the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia.

The two were no strangers to winter.

That night, gathered around the campfire, cuddling the fluffy saw-toothed tiger, listening to the howling wind, they all knew.

Winter is just around the corner.

……

The next morning, Chen Zhou, who was on night watch, woke Paul up, and they embarked on their journey home with a large amount of supplies they had collected.

With Paul's knee injury, it's difficult for him to help Chen Zhou share the burden.

Although Chen Zhou could carry a lot of supplies, the large bags and bundles were ultimately inconvenient, so the three serrated tiger cubs had a new task—

They all had small deerskin pouches sewn onto their front shoulders, filled with a few pieces of coal.

While following Chen Zhou and his companion, the three little ones were also able to help transport some things.

Of course, fearing that it would crush their tender little bodies, Chen Zhou didn't dare to put too much stuff into the small bag. Each sawtooth tiger only carried four or five pounds of things, which was nothing to the sawtooth tigers.

……

He still remembered the great antler deer that the two wandering knights owed him.

On the way back, Chen Zhou deliberately changed direction and headed towards the mound where he had first met the two wandering knights.

He pinned his hopes on encountering the pair of wandering knights on the road, hoping to acquire a mount and perhaps even have the bow's owner repair it.

He now has no shortage of melee weapons. He has acquired common weapons such as daggers, longswords, and hand axes, and his belt is almost overflowing with them.

He even acquired two of the strange and unusual weapons, such as the Indian whip and the Indian fist blade.

Long-range weapons are the only thing that will always be a source of pain for Chen Zhou.

Thanks to the life-saving grace and his shamelessness, he finally managed to get his hands on a decent strong bow, but it was ruined after only a few uses, which really upset him.

On his journey south, he also studied how to repair the bow, since he had had many interactions with the natives on the island.

The natives were skilled at making and using bows and arrows, and naturally, they shared all their bow-making techniques with their leader without reservation.

Unfortunately, their technology was too outdated, completely different from the longbow made of animal horns, bamboo, fish glue, and ox sinew. Chen Zhou's bow-making skills came from both the 18th century and modern times, neither of which were applicable.

More importantly, he couldn't identify the wood used to repair and make the bow, nor did he know where to find those materials. Therefore, his attempts were quickly abandoned, as it seemed that finding the pair of rangers was the only solution.

……

Time flew by, and nothing unexpected happened on the return journey. All that could be seen was the endless tundra and the increasingly dim sky.

Because of his leg injury, Paul's return journey was slower than his journey there.

The temperature dropped day by day, and only in the morning could the two people walking together feel a little warmth from the sunlight.

The night had become exceptionally difficult to endure.

The wind on the tundra is almost never still, especially after sunset.

The flat land offers no obstacles, let alone a safe haven.

Chen Zhou was physically stronger and slept well at night, but Paul couldn't hold on much longer.

Fortunately, there were three "self-heating blankets" with us. When we lit the campfire at night, Tiger Big Brother and Tiger Second Brother leaned against our backs, while Tiger Third Brother hugged us to our chests. They served as windbreaks and provided some warmth.

However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

As the serrated tiger cubs grow bigger, their need for food also increases.

Unfortunately, animals are scarce on the tundra, and the few large animals that are available are not easy to deal with. Apart from the prehistoric overlord mammoth, there are only a few prey such as giant deer and camels that can feed two or three tigers.

In the tundra, there are almost no tall grasses, trees, or ravines to hide in; everything is exposed.

Herbivores are naturally agile, and they are even more difficult to catch in this area. If it weren't for Chen Zhou's outstanding night vision, he would often launch attacks at night and complete the hunt while the animals were resting.

If we rely on Paul, the three-headed tiger will probably starve to death.

……

Although the temperature rises further south, it was still late autumn in a high-latitude region, and the two of them could not keep up with the speed of the cold wave as they walked.

The day after the two left the tundra and saw the rolling hills and towering mountains again, a heavy snowfall officially ushered in winter.

The snowfall was light and came quite abruptly.

The sky was not very cloudy, just a little dimmer than usual, and the edge of the sun was somewhat blurry, like it had gone moldy.

The temperature wasn't particularly low, but the wind was very strong.

Chen Zhou and Paul reached the edge of the grassland and were overjoyed to see the withered grass and rivers again. As they were moving forward quickly, the snow began to drift by on the wind.

The snowflakes are fine and melt instantly upon hitting the ground, bringing only moisture and not much chill.

The snowfall didn't last long, only about ten minutes. Once the wind dispersed the clouds and the sun shone down, the world was bright again.

The three-headed saw-toothed tiger had never seen snow before, and it went mad, chasing the snowflakes across the grass.

The "little backpacks" slung over their shoulders shook violently as they ran and jumped, causing pieces of coal inside to spill out. Chen Zhou repeatedly tried to stop them, finally calming the group of crazy kids down.

After the farce ended, Chen Zhou and Paul exchanged a glance, both sensing a silent gravity in each other's expressions.

The winters here are far more severe than those in Siberia or Genhe, the coldest region in China, and are likely to be much longer.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly cruel joke this snowfall plays; its implications are not to be underestimated.

Snowfall signifies the complete end of autumn and the arrival of winter.

They had to hurry back to their mountain shelter as soon as possible to begin preparing for the winter.

Fuel, food, injections, fortifying shelters, adding more survival necessities, and collecting salt are all urgently needed.

……

Paul's knees recovered relatively slowly as he had to walk dozens of kilometers every day.

But the situation was urgent, and he knew the seriousness of the problem, so he refused to continue at the previous speed and insisted on increasing the travel time.

Fortunately, there are many hills and gullies on the grassland that provide shelter from the wind, dry grass can be used to start a fire quickly, and you can encounter forests every now and then. There are also many active animals, making the overall environment much better.

Even though it takes an extra hour or two to walk, because I rested better at night, I felt less tired than when walking on the tundra.

They continued on their journey, and after a few days, they arrived at a familiar place—

Chen Zhou ascends to the forest of the prehistoric world, which is also the place where Paul first begins his challenge, facing the cave hyena.

……

Neither Chen Zhou nor Paul intended to revisit the area, nor were they in the mood to rest there. They simply circled around the edge, hoping to find some good timber for making gun barrels, before continuing on their way.

After all, time waits for no one.

As they traveled, they both noticed that most of the prehistoric creatures from islands or mid-latitude and equatorial regions had died.

The banks of the river were littered with the bones of various animals.

The environment and the fierce native predators tolled their death knell. Even if some animals escaped, they were barely surviving. When the real harsh winter arrived, not to mention these "outsiders," even the native creatures probably couldn't survive the entire winter.

Even with the exclusive "cheat code" provided by the Time and Space Administration, Chen Zhou and Paul still didn't have the confidence to survive when they thought about the terrifying number of minus 65 degrees Celsius.

They all wished they could grow wings and fly back to their painstakingly built semi-permanent shelter overnight, or travel between the Black Forest and the southern shelter, doing their best to transport coal in order to survive the winter.

……

The kunai twirled between Chen Zhou's nimble fingers as he searched for a suitable gun barrel for it. Suddenly, he saw Hu Sanwa leap into the forest beside him.

"This kid..."

With a helpless sigh, Chen Zhou looked at the coal that Hu Sanwa had thrown out and, like a worried old father, hurriedly went forward to pick it up.

Just the right amount of cold is a lullaby for humans, but an exhilarating agent for the sawtooth tiger.

The colder it got, the more excited these three guys became.

As they grew larger, their courage also increased day by day. Sometimes when Chen Zhou and Paul lit a campfire, they would sneak off together to go far away, either to chase prey or to run and play, practicing their hunting skills.

At first, Chen Zhou tried to control them with commands, but later he found that exploring the world was their nature, so he stopped forcing them to stay by his side.

But before letting them go out to play, you always have to take off their "little backpacks," otherwise no amount of coal will be enough for them to throw away.

Seeing Tiger Cub run into the woods, Chen Zhou assumed it had seen some small animal or was just being playful, which was why it was so active, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

Unexpectedly, this guy ran out of the forest not long after, carrying a camouflage hat in his mouth.

The hat was large, with a tall pointed top, a red five-pointed star sewn on the front, and draped ear flaps. It was made of wool and had a typical early 20th-century style.

Perhaps because it had been in the forest for too long and exposed to the wind and sun, the wool, which was originally dark brown, had turned white, with varying shades in different places. There were even some torn marks on the ear flaps on both sides, and dark red bloodstains were faintly visible.

Clutching the hat tightly, Tiger Cub shook its head and wagged its tail, presenting its spoils to Chen Zhou as if seeking praise.

Chen Zhou didn't find the hat anything special, thinking it might have been left behind in the forest by another challenger. Paul, however, became agitated and, leaning on his crutch, rushed over to Hu Sanwa and snatched the hat away.

He hurriedly patted the withered leaves and grass stalks stuck to his hat, looked at it over and over, and muttered to himself incredulously.

"General Gromov?" (End of Chapter)