American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness.

Chapter 322 Ailao Mountains, Yunnan

Chapter 321 Ailao Mountains, Yunnan

Clothing and Footwear: Only one set worn and carried, but this is undoubtedly the most advanced individual combat system on Earth, custom-made by his sponsor, Arc'teryx.

Top: An Arc'teryx Motus AR Crew LS quick-drying long-sleeved T-shirt. It not only wicks away sweat quickly to keep you dry, but its unique dual-component construction also provides basic warmth, making it the best base layer for dealing with large temperature differences between day and night.

The Arc'teryx Beta SV hard-shell jacket not only completely blocks torrential rain, but its storm hood design also provides excellent protection in strong winds. This jacket is his only raincoat and windproof layer, the last line of defense against the risk of hypothermia.

For his lower body, he wore the Arc'teryx Gamma LT softshell trousers that had long been his trademark. The Fortius DW 2.0 fabric combined amazing abrasion resistance, four-way stretch, and basic water repellency, making it suitable for the complex and ever-changing jungle environment of the Ailao Mountains.

Footwear: Wearing a pair of Arc'teryx Acr-ux TR GTX high-top heavy-duty hiking boots, which provide unparalleled grip on slippery rocks and mud.

Basic tools: a first aid kit.

Distress tool: Military-grade Beidou satellite distress phone

There was nothing else besides that.

There was no sleeping bag, no water bottle, no axe, no saw, no flint, and not even a dagger to defend oneself.

When Liang Wenbin came to see him off before his departure, he couldn't help but gasp when he saw the meager equipment on the table, which was practically bare-handed.

"Yu'an...you...you only brought this?" Liang Wenbin's face was filled with worry and confusion as he asked incredulously, "Not even a lighter? This is too dangerous!"

"The Ailao Mountains are no joke. It's so cold at night, and if it rains... you won't even be able to start a fire!"

"Uncle Liang, thank you for your concern." His voice was calm but full of confidence. "It is precisely because there is nothing there that this story has value in being told."

He patted his head and stretched out his hands.

"The fire is hidden in my mind, and I have countless ways to get the fire out of this forest."

"I want to show this extreme survival to the world in the most primitive way, which is also the highest respect for this mysterious Ailao Mountain."

Lin Yu'an pointed to a point on the map, which was his current location. Then his finger followed a blue line, moving a long distance northwest, and finally stopped at a place marked with a red pentagram.

"My mission is to rely solely on the most basic survival skills to travel northwest from here over the next ten days, eventually reaching the final rendezvous point about thirty kilometers away—Shimenxia."

"That's a key geographical landmark in this mountain range, and the only place where the support team can safely land their helicopter. They'll be waiting for me there in ten days. If I exceed the time limit or press the SOS button midway, the challenge fails."

He looked up and glanced around again, the camera panning across the dense, primeval forest.

"Thirty kilometers as the crow flies may not sound far. But in a place like the Ailao Mountains, it means I need to cross at least three mountain ridges with an altitude of over two thousand meters, pass through two deep river valleys, and traverse countless areas shrouded in thick fog and the unknown."

"My challenge is not just survival, but also movement. I can't just set up a fixed luxury camp like in 'Solo in the Wilderness' and wait for prey to come to me. I have to be on the move every day, facing new environments and challenges every day."

He lowered his head again, looked at the camera, and his eyes became incredibly sharp.

"As you can see, I have no modern tools. No knife, no axe, not even a flint. All I can rely on is this suit of clothing, my brain, my hands, and this generous yet dangerous forest."

He stood up, folded the map again, and carefully put it back in his pocket.

"So, I have three top priorities today." He held up three fingers to the camera, his tone clear and decisive, like a commander about to enter the battlefield giving a battle briefing.

"First, reconnaissance and site selection. I need to find an ideal camp that is close to a water source and can provide shelter and resources. This will be my forward base for the next one or two days to complete my initial accumulation."

"Second, to create tools. I need a suitable piece of flint to make the most primitive stone tools. Without tools, everything is just talk."

"Third, and most importantly, embrace the fire. Find a shelter from the wind and rain before dark and start a fire. Without a fire, I might not survive the first night in the cold and damp conditions at night."

Lin Yu'an gave the camera a confident and challenging smile. "Alright, the plan is clear. So, let's get to work."

Then, his entire demeanor instantly changed. The composure of the civilized world vanished completely, replaced by an almost instinctive vigilance and focus.

His eyes became as sharp as a hawk's, no longer admiring the scenery like a tourist, but beginning to scan, analyze, and integrate into the surrounding environment in a purposeful way, taking his first step in this primeval and mysterious place.

"My ultimate goal is to move forward. But before I can begin the long trek, I must first spend a day, or even a day and a half, establishing my technological advantage here."

He faced the camera, carefully clearing away the huge ferns blocking his path as he explained his strategy.

"I need to make tools, stockpile food and fire. Only after accumulating these basic resources will I have the confidence to challenge that unknown thirty kilometers."

Instead of blindly descending, he first climbed up a rock covered in moss.

Standing on high ground, the entire outline of the valley can be seen, but the sound of the forest and the howling mountain wind drown out everything, and no sound of water can be heard.

"It's okay if you can't hear me." He crouched down and pointed the camera at the slippery rocks under his feet and the surrounding vegetation. "The Ailao Mountains will tell us the answer in another way."

Lin Yu-an pointed to a thick patch of dark green moss on the rock, which felt like velvet to the touch. "Look at the direction the moss is growing. In the Northern Hemisphere, they usually prefer to grow on shady, damp north slopes."

"But the moss is also lush on the south slope, which means that the overall air humidity here is extremely high, and the water source must be at the bottom of the valley below."

We began to descend slowly along the steepest side of the terrain, our hiking boots making a dull thud as they trod on the thick layer of humus made of fallen leaves.

The ground felt soft and yielding, but it was also full of uncertainty. No one knew whether the thick layer of fallen leaves concealed solid ground or a deadly pit.

The slope here is close to sixty degrees. He was almost half climbing and half sliding down, constantly grabbing the thick tree roots and the vines that coiled around him like pythons to keep his balance.

The sunlight overhead was completely blocked by the increasingly dense canopy of trees, and the light quickly dimmed, as if it had gone from daytime to dusk in an instant.

The rich aroma in the air, a mixture of rotting leaves, damp soil, and various plant sap, grew even stronger, as if you could wring water out of it.

The enormous tree ferns resemble the skeleton of an ancient behemoth, with aerial roots hanging down from their giant, umbrella-like canopies, filling the forest with a mysterious and even somewhat eerie atmosphere.

Suddenly, as he reached out to grab a seemingly sturdy vine, his movement froze! A sixth sense alerted him, causing his pupils to contract instantly in the dim light!

(End of this chapter)