I am a local in North America

Chapter 12 Fear of Resource Shortage

After inspecting Roland, the helicopter returned to the vicinity of Sujere's camp. There was an open area of ​​land by the river, which was convenient for landing.

As director Sean Cable and his crew approached the shelter, Jerry Su returned, carrying two lake trout, a yellow perch, and a cod.

These fish were all over 30 centimeters long, especially the cod, which was nearly 65 centimeters long and very plump. If he hadn't specially chiseled the ice to widen the opening, he almost wouldn't have been able to drag it ashore.

"..."

really.

I wasn't wrong about the female contestant, Collie, who withdrew from the competition; there were indeed a lot of fish, enough to make countless anglers green with envy.

While other contestants were starving, Su Jierui was already fishing one fish after another, and he was even quite reluctant to eat smoked dried fish, being rather picky about food.

Director Sean Cable looked at the fish in his hand and was speechless, wondering:
"How could you catch so many fish in this kind of awful weather?"

"When have truly skilled anglers ever cared about the weather? Today was just a lucky day; usually, it's not this bad."

After asking a question, Su Jierui casually placed the fish on the wooden stake and added:
"I found a squirrel that had frozen to death, but I was afraid it would get sick and I didn't dare to eat it. So I used gray squirrel meat to create a fishing spot, and the fish attraction effect was better than expected. Maybe there is a lack of food at the bottom of the lake."

"Judging by the time, I feel like you guys are almost here. Otherwise, I would have liked to continue fishing a little longer. The baiting is working much better than usual. I should have tried catching some mice."

"Shall we proceed with the usual medical examination?"

"..."

Without needing a medical examination, director Sean Cable knew that Su Jerry was exceptionally healthy just by looking at him.

Based on the timing of the medical team's arrival today, Su Jerry keenly noticed some clues.

If there were no other competitors, these people should have been able to reach his camp much earlier, and the last time, the time before that, and the time before that, they all came around the same time as today.

Su Jierui initially had some wishful thinking, believing that there was probably no one competing with him anymore, and he just needed to patiently wait until he had stayed for 100 days.

Now, seeing the director's expression and hearing the whispers of his team members, he realized once again that something was wrong, and his fear of insufficient supplies kicked in again.

"It looks like we'll have to continue stockpiling firewood and food."

Su Jierui thought to himself.

He was already satisfied with catching four fish, but then changed his mind and decided to take advantage of the good weather and fish for another two or three hours.

Although the director was aware of the situation, the program's procedures required the physical examination to be completed, including weighing, measuring blood pressure, performing an electrocardiogram, drawing blood, collecting urine samples, then lifting clothes and taking off shoes to check for frostbite on the limbs.

The entire process took a total of more than ten minutes.

Every time Su Jierui goes out, he is very careful. If he finds his hands or feet are cold, he will return to the shelter to warm them up as soon as possible.

His earlobes showed signs of frostbite, but his limbs were fine; they just didn't look as clean as before because he hadn't bathed for a long time.

In order to gain more than a pound more in weight, Su Jierui held back his urge to urinate, his bladder already overloaded, until the urine test was conducted.

The moment urine comes into contact with cold air, you can feel a slight chill, as some of the heat is expelled from the body, and it quickly freezes on the snow.

now.

As Su Jierui handed a small cup of urine sample to a member of the medical examination team, he said excitedly:

"Tomorrow will be three months since I gave birth. Has anything happened at home?"

The reason for asking this is that September to December each year is the best fishing season for king crabs in major producing areas such as Russia and Alaska.

Fishing for king crabs at sea is extremely risky, one of the most dangerous professions in the world, often involving extreme weather conditions and extremely high-intensity work.

According to statistics from relevant departments, during the crab fishing season, an average of one crab fisherman dies every week in the Bering Strait, a mortality rate 50 times higher than that of ordinary workers.

The reason for taking out a loan of $130 million to purchase a professional crab fishing vessel is that ordinary fishing boats cannot withstand storms from the Arctic, and only professional crab fishing vessels can apply for fishing quotas and licenses.

High returns come with high risks. It's currently crab season, and Su Jerry's parents are probably busy fishing near Alaskan waters.

Considering the recent cold snap, he knew the sea must be rough, so he asked out of concern.

“You know the rules, Jerry.”

The show's director, Sean Cable, shrugged and added, "All I can say is that your family hasn't called you much lately, just asked about you."

"They seem to miss you a lot and wish they could spend Christmas with you. You've been living alone in the wilderness for so long, you must miss them too, right?"

"Perhaps your family, brothers, and girlfriend are waiting for you..."

Su Jierui could vaguely guess the director's plan; after the medical examination was completed, the recording work had been suspended.

What director Sean Cable said was nothing more than an attempt to evoke his longing for his family and friends, to break his will to persevere, just like the temptation from the devil.

He wasn't going to fall for it; instead, he said:

"Thank you! Then I should persevere even more. If I win the grand prize and successfully overcome the challenge to prove myself, my parents and friends will be very proud of me."

"I feel a little ashamed. I've been so busy finishing my master's degree that I don't even have a girlfriend yet. But now it seems like it's a good thing. It can prevent me from getting upset and affecting my state of mind."

"Even if it takes 140 days, 150 days, or even until the Great Slave Lake thaws next spring, I will never give up easily unless absolutely necessary..."

"..."

Director Sean Cable touched his head, feeling utterly hopeless.

He said to Su Jerry:
“I almost forgot, you come from a Chinese family that highly values ​​education and success. They have high expectations for you, right? Compared to freedom and happiness, they probably hope you can achieve success recognized by the world. Is that what motivates you to persevere?”

Su Jierui retorted without hesitation:

"I'm not fighting to meet anyone's expectations, I'm fighting for myself."

“I have always had a very happy family atmosphere since I was a child. More important than making them proud is that this bonus will allow me to make my own decisions about my future, instead of doing a job that I don’t like after graduation.”

"Furthermore, I also want to figure out where my limits are..."

Director Sean Cable doesn't know where Su Jerry's limits are, but he himself is already close to his limit.

I've been so bored lately that I dug out classic American sitcoms like "Frasier," "The Big Bang Theory," and "Breaking Bad" and watched them all over again.

I know Su Jierui is so bored he's gone crazy. He seizes every opportunity to chat with people, his mouth is so idle he's restless.

Director Sean Cable nodded after listening, not giving him a chance to continue his entertainment. After finding no problems, he quickly packed up, returned to the helicopter, and drove away.

Looking up at the departing helicopter, Su Jierui felt a void in his heart again.

It wasn't that he liked to complain, but the nights were seventeen or eighteen hours long, and he would wake up several times a night from the cold. He also had to brave the wind and snow to chop wood and hunt. He was all alone, with no one to talk to, and he was also threatened by fierce wild animals. Life was just too hard.

It is located far from Camp Sujere, also on the shore of Great Slave Lake.

After the members sent by the program team left, the contestant named Roland was also depressed. He sat alone on an outdoor wooden stake for a while before forcibly cheering himself up, picking up an axe and going out to chop down trees.

Being alone can be incredibly difficult if you don't find something to do. Your mind is constantly filled with all sorts of random thoughts, which can make you feel frustrated and numb.

Roland had more meat in stock than he could eat, but unfortunately, a large amount of berries he had stockpiled earlier had become moldy and rotten due to being stored for too long. Fortunately, he could still get some nutrition from the spruce leaves and the inner bark of the spruce trees.

With only 11 days left until the 100-day mark, Roland wasn't taking the matter to heart. He was currently speaking to the camera:
“I lack fresh meat and vegetables, and I believe my competitors are in the same boat. It’s hard to catch many fish in this weather. Even if there are competitors, I believe I will win this game.”

"However, after a molar broke a few days ago, the pain has been tormenting me. I can't sleep well at night, and it's especially painful to bite into food. I have to cook and mash it. The situation is probably more serious than I thought."

"I plan to observe it for a few days. If the pain worsens, I will try to get rid of this bad tooth. It may be very painful then, but it's much better than continuing to torment me for more than ten days. Besides, it will affect my eating and make me lose weight."

"In addition, my firewood reserves are being used up at an alarming rate. I've chopped down all the available deadwood nearby, so now I need to go to places further away to chop firewood."

"We need to pay attention to the weather. If there's heavy snow and a blizzard, it might cover my footprints and make me lose my way back to camp. Nobody wants to be stuck in the wild freezing in temperatures around -20 degrees Celsius..."

This desolate and silent snow forest is subtly turning people into chatterboxes, not just Su Jerry, but Roland as well.

Even a professional hunter guide, who has hunted countless animals since childhood, has a heart as cold as a butcher's knife. Roland has been deeply affected by this period of time and cannot resist the erosion of his willpower by this wilderness.

It can be said that to have persisted until now, besides competing on material reserves, the most important factor is who has more perseverance.

Roland was eagerly anticipating the 100th day, hoping that good fortune would come his way and he would win the game.

……

(End of this chapter)