From Robinson Crusoe

Just as Chen Zhou had predicted, the blizzard, which had not been brewing for a long time, was like a castle in the air and could not last long at all.

The first thing to subside was the fierce wind. After the snow continued to fall for a while, the snowflakes visibly became smaller and were not arranged as tightly as before.

As the wind subsided, daylight soon appeared outside the cave.

The slow, rhythmic breathing deep inside the cave remained unchanged. Chen Zhou wiped his nose with the back of his hand, looked at the long sword gleaming coldly beside him, and finally decided to spare the cave owner's life.

Although the snowstorm didn't last long, in hindsight, it probably wouldn't have killed him, but if he had stayed outside, he would have suffered a lot.

The creature that hibernated in its burrow probably never imagined that it would one day welcome a group of special guests who would help it escape the wind and snow.

It was all unintentional, a coincidence.

Ultimately, however, Chen Zhou was still unintentionally protected by the cave's owner.

Normally, Chen Zhou would never let a wild beast that came to his doorstep go before he even had a full stomach. But this time, having received a favor, he couldn't immediately turn against it, so he let it go.

Moreover, this creature, most likely a cave bear, provided Chen Zhou with new inspiration—

Perhaps after returning to the shelter, he could search along the foot of the mountain, looking for burrows dug by bears during hibernation at the ends of the pine forest, or for sturdy trees.

It's only been a short time since winter began, and hibernating animals have accumulated a lot of fat that they haven't burned off yet.

Chen Zhou originally planned to build up his fat reserves through fishing—

Fish have thick subcutaneous fat, and although fish oil has a fishy smell, it is still a good source of fat.

But looking around the river these past few days, it seems that fishing at this time of year is quite difficult. The weather is too cold, and the fish are all hiding in the deep water. Unless you use a net, fishing is definitely not a reliable method.

Especially now that insects are hard to find, we can only use animal offal as bait. However, animal offal has a very strong fishy smell. If we hang it on the fishing line on the shore, we might attract hungry wild animals before we even catch any fish.

In comparison, bears, glyptodonts, giant otters, and other burrowing animals, whether hibernating or not, are much more suitable than fish.

This is not only because they live on land, but also because they are large in size, and slaughtering one can yield at least fifty or sixty pounds of fat, saving time and effort.

In addition to oil, hairy animals also have fur that can be used.

Fur is also a resource they urgently need.

……

Having already decided to spare the wild beasts in the cave, Chen Zhou didn't hesitate any longer.

After waiting patiently for a while and confirming that the snowstorm was unlikely to return, he woke up the saw-toothed tigers lying together and led them out of the cave.

Besides wanting to obtain the salt stones as soon as possible to complete the mission and return to the shelter, Chen Zhou was also in such a hurry because the smell inside the cave was truly unbearable.

For someone with such a keen sense of smell, the stench and fishy smell that permeated the entire cave was nothing short of torture.

Perhaps the saw-toothed tiger had long been accustomed to this smell, but he simply couldn't stand it.

……

After the blizzard, the grassland, which had just been dominated by withered yellow and blackish-gray, was now ruled by white.

The ground was covered with a layer of soft snow.

The wind subsided considerably, and gusts of cool breeze occasionally stirred up some thin snowflakes floating on the surface. Compared to when it was snowing earlier, it was not so cold now.

However, Chen Zhou knew that this seemingly calm and safe scene was actually a form of delusion.

People who live in the north know that it's not cold when it snows, but it's cold when the snow melts.

As the snow begins to melt, the wilderness will be enveloped in a bone-chilling cold.

Winter days are short, and the blizzard delayed things a bit; the sun was already almost setting.

Fortunately, there was no snow or wind obstructing the view, and the woods and mounds could be seen from a distance. Learning from his mistake, Chen Zhou dared not linger in the open area again, and led the Sawtooth Tiger directly into the woods, where they started a fire.

The forest can shelter us from the wind and snow, and there is plenty of fuel. If we take shelter here, even if the wind and snow come again, at least we will have a barrier against the wind.

……

Sleeping outdoors after a snowfall is certainly not a pleasant experience.

As night fell, the already cold temperature dropped further, and the wind, which had briefly paused, started blowing again.

Chen Zhou carefully selected a spot surrounded by several trees growing side by side, with a clump of leafless shrubs nearby for cover.

But with nothing overhead to shield you from the wind, even if you're completely sealed off, you can't stop it from lashing down on you.

The campfire was blazing, and Chen Zhou chopped firewood furiously and threw it into the fire.

He even pulled up several bushes, trimmed them with a knife, and stuffed them whole into the campfire.

The flames were extremely bright, and when you got close enough, you could definitely feel enough warmth.

However, if you step back even slightly, creating a gap between people and the fire, the wind will ruthlessly slip in, and the warmth you've finally managed to feel will become negligible, or even disappear entirely.

What's even more annoying is that the wind fanned the flames.

The constant wind did make the campfire burn brighter, but it also accelerated the consumption of fuel.

Chen Zhou pulled Tiger Big Brother and Tiger Second Brother behind him to be his cushions, while Tiger Third Brother stayed by his side, acting as another windbreak to protect him from the wind coming from the other side.

He dared not lie down.

Firstly, the ground is cold, so lying down not only fails to retain heat but also increases heat loss.

Secondly, he couldn't sleep too soundly. He had to wake up at least six times that night to keep adding fuel to the campfire so that it could last until dawn.

Since coming down the mountain, Chen Zhou has spent almost every night like this.

However, the cold tonight makes the night seem even longer and more difficult.

……

Tiger Da Wa and Tiger Er Wa, who were leaning against Chen Zhou's back, were special "alarm clocks". When Chen Zhou fell asleep, his heavy body would instinctively lean back, and when they got impatient with the pressure, they would try to sneak away.

As soon as they leave Chen Zhou's back, the cold wind will sneak in.

The coolness and emptiness would quickly wake Chen Zhou, reminding him that it was time to add firewood.

After spending the night like this, the next morning, they simply roasted the remaining beef leg, and after both the man and the tiger had eaten about three-tenths of their fill, they immediately set off for their destination.

The only thing Chen Zhou could be thankful for was that there was no need to swim or wade across the river on the way to the rock wall. He only needed to take a slightly longer route to find a very wide riverbank with very shallow water, and in some places, the river was even dry.

……

In the early morning, before dawn, a thin layer of ice had formed on the surface of the river on the rocky beach. In some particularly shallow areas, the water had even frozen into solid blocks of ice.

Chen Zhou carefully stepped across the river, using the rocks protruding from the ice.

These stones, already smooth from years of erosion, were covered in ice after yesterday's snowfall, making it easy to slip and fall if you're not careful.

If you slip and fall on flat ground, it's not so bad. But here, if you fall headfirst into the water and break through the thin layer of ice, you'll be soaked to the bone, and a chilled one at that.

The riverbank was wide, and during the crossing, Chen Zhou had to constantly watch out for the three saw-toothed tigers behind him to make sure they hadn't fallen behind, which took quite a while. By the time Chen Zhou crossed the river and reached the other side, it was already dawn.

The steep cliff face was not far away, and now he could see the rubble at the bottom of the cliff and the colorful rock salt on the surface of the cliff.

When I first saw this rock wall, the vegetation was still in bloom, and the animals gathered there, creating a truly magnificent scene.

Today, neither the herds of giant deer nor predators such as American lions and dire wolves can be seen.

The sudden drop in temperature will eliminate most of the creatures that cannot adapt to the environment. Even among the local natives, the old and frail or the cubs that are not well cared for by their mothers will find it difficult to survive the successive cold waves.

Winter is inherently bleak, and in this prehistoric world, at the end of the Ice Age, the power of winter was even more pronounced.

The boots crunched on the snow.

The three-headed sawtooth tigers were finally freed from their role as cushions. Seeing that Chen Zhou seemed to be in a good mood, the second tiger couldn't stand the loneliness and took the initiative to challenge its eldest brother.

Soon, the three-headed sawtooth tiger left Chen Zhou and happily frolicked on the snow, jumping, rolling, and tearing at each other.

While they were playing, Chen Zhou observed the environment below the rock wall.

Salt is an extremely valuable nutrient for wild animals.

This exposed natural salt flat attracts various herbivores all year round, so the wild grass here is noticeably shorter than in other places. Some of the grasses that have been severely eaten are even covered by a thin layer of snow, and the grass stems are no longer visible.

Where there is food, there is also excretion.

Feces are the most common sight in areas where large groups of herbivores have stayed for extended periods.

Huge clumps of cow dung, piles of oval-shaped deer dung, and mammoth dung that looked like a small round table and was more than half a meter high...

Some of them have been decomposed by dung-eating insects, leaving only their bottoms on the snow. Others have not yet been decomposed and have frozen solid, fixing them to the ground. From a distance, they look like uniquely shaped stones.

Most of them still had moisture remaining, making them hard and difficult to ignite.

But some are dried—

For example, the pile that was pooped on the sunny slope.

After being exposed to wind and sun for a long time, the manure on the slope has become very loose. Apart from cow dung, which is inherently very solid, deer dung and elephant dung have even been blown apart.

However, elephant dung is "deeply rooted" after all. Even though its head was blown off, its "body" still stood steadily on the hillside.

As he walked and looked around at the excrement covering the hillsides, Chen Zhou couldn't help but think that this was actually a good place.

There are forests not far from the mountains, which can provide timber, and there is a lot of rock salt at the foot of the mountains that can be collected. The river is just a short walk away, making it very convenient to fetch water or fish.

The excrement spread all over the mountain can be collected directly and used as fuel.

Chen Zhou had never burned deer dung or elephant dung, but he had burned cow dung.

Cow dung burns for a long time, no less than low-quality lignite. It has only one drawback: burning undried cow dung produces a lot of smoke, much more so than burning wet firewood.

Besides fuel resources, water resources, and irreplaceable salt content, this place also possesses a potential advantage—

Even in winter, herbivores still need to ingest salt. They can't just disappear and never return, especially herbivores that live around the foot of the mountain. They will most likely return to the rock face to eat salt, which is a natural food resource.

……

"Alas, it's a pity that the shelter on the mountain was already built when we found this place, and supplies were airdropped shortly after we arrived, so there was no time to build a home here."

Even if I wanted to, the weather is just too cold.

Unless supplies can be transported from the mountain to here in a short time, there simply won't be enough time.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhou missed the mounts that the wandering knights owed him. If he had a pair of great antler deer, he could simply wait for the next snowfall, make a simple cart, and transport pine nuts, stored berries, and herbs such as sorrel and dandelion here.

However, after that, the shelter will need to be rebuilt.

Judging from the current temperature trend, if we cannot find a ready-made cave, we may not have enough time.

If you can find a large enough cave, you can hide inside and simply build a stone or wooden wall to block the entrance. Once you have a space to preserve your body temperature, you can gradually improve your living conditions and survive for a long time.

Ultimately, the crux of the problem lies in the lack of transportation.

With a sigh, Chen Zhou remembered the damaged longbow he had left at the shelter.

It has been almost three months since I parted ways with that group of rangers.

During these three months, Chen Zhou saw, and even personally killed, several challengers.

He knew his competitors were rapidly decreasing, and he was also worried that the group of wandering knights had encountered a similar fate, as they were both Chinese and had once had a relatively friendly relationship.

As the other party's savior and "creditor," Chen Zhou really didn't want that team of wandering knights to die at the hands of other challengers.

But now that there has been no news for more than eighty days, the possibility that he has been murdered is probably not low.

Although the group of wandering knights were quite agile, their physical condition was really lacking. Chen Zhou estimated that in a head-on confrontation, even two against one would have a hard time gaining the upper hand against the man in black robes, not to mention the possibility of being ambushed.

The more Chen Zhou thought about it, the more he felt that he would probably never meet that group of wandering knights again, and he couldn't help but feel a little sad.

However, this land is so vast, and the climate is so harsh now, he is too preoccupied with his own affairs to have the time or means to search for it, even if he is worried.

It's pointless to make sentimental remarks along the way; we still need to proceed step by step and finish what's planned before we can talk about anything else.

……

While you can see the cliff face clearly from the riverbank, actually walking on it is a different story.

With his three little followers, Chen Zhou crossed the river and then took no detours, heading straight towards the rock face.

As the sun rose higher, its rays bathed the snow-covered mountaintops in a golden glow.

The sky after the snow was exceptionally blue and clear. If it weren't for the biting cold wind that felt like a knife cutting into your face, the weather could barely be considered good.

As the weather warms up, the animals that hid in the ravines or forests at night to avoid the wind and snow can no longer resist coming out to move around.

Chen Zhou had assumed that the giant deer had migrated to the northern tundra or the southern mountains, but he was surprised to find that a small group of deer still lived here.

The deer herd came up from the shady slope of the mountain, lined up neatly in a row, basking in the sunlight as they walked along the ridge.

The giant stag's iconic antlers were a magnificent sight from afar, and its powerful body made Chen Zhou extremely envious.

Heaven have mercy, this is the top-quality pack animal he has been longing for day and night.

Since he started the challenge, he has only set his sights on three kinds of animals—

Mammoths are intelligent and strong, capable of carrying loads and people, and can also help with chores. They are not afraid of other wild animals and are also good fighters. However, their growth cycle is too long, and there is simply no time to raise them from a young age.

Adult mammoths don't require much care, but they can't be trained either. Not to mention mammoths, even Asian elephants, which are relatively docile, cannot be tamed by any mammoth trainer once they grow up in the wild.

Aside from the mammoth, the remaining two animals are the giant deer and the giant bird that I once saw by the river.

Those birds have probably been hunted to death by predators or frozen to death, not even a single feather can be found. Only the great elk offers him a tiny chance of being domesticated. (End of Chapter)