King of the Wilderness

”For me, this area holds the most value! Because it leads to a tempting possibility—ice netting beneath the surface!”

”Setting a stinging net in open water is simple. But setting a net under thick ice is one of the most advanced techniques in polar survival, and it’s extremely difficult.”

”It not only requires drilling two ice holes far apart on a large ice surface.”

”Then, using some method, threading a lead rope through the first hole, letting it travel dozens of meters under the ice, and emerging from the second hole.”

”If I can achieve this, I can secure the fishing net to the lead rope, pulling it beneath the ice, forming a deadly underwater wall trap!”

”This is a passive yet highly efficient method of fishing. Once successful, I could catch dozens of fish overnight, completely solving the food problem.”

”Of course, this is just an initial idea; executing it will be very challenging, requiring more tools and meticulous planning.”

He stood up, brushed the ice chips from his gloves, without attempting to take anything from the massive, ice-frozen net.

”Carrying it along now is too much of a waste of time and energy.”

He glanced at the pile of dark green netting, like a small mountain: ”I will first note its location and come back to transport it later.”

He dragged the net closer to the shore and pressed it down with several large ice floes to prevent it from being washed away by the next possible tide, then continued his exploration.

This time, he did not delve deeper into the ice wall labyrinth; instead, he chose to climb the highest point of the ice ridge, utilizing the height advantage to observe a broader area.

He stood atop a massive, towering piece of drift ice, gazing far and wide.

At that moment, at the edge of his vision, in a natural ”harbor” formed by several giant stranded icebergs, a bright blue, enormous cylindrical object caught his full attention!

Even from such a distance, he could tell that thing was of enormous size.

”What is that?” He instantly perked up, slid down from the ice ridge, and began moving toward it.

Traversing this chaotic ice pressure ridge was extremely exhausting. It took him over ten minutes to finally reach the ”harbor’s” edge.

When he saw the object’s full appearance, even with his composure, he couldn’t help but let out a gasp of amazement.

It was an industrial-grade HDPE plastic barrel!

It lay on its side, with half of its body wedged between two huge ice floes, and the other half floating in the seawater below, hitting the ice wall repeatedly as the tide surged, making a ”thunk... thunk...” sound.

”A 55-gallon giant barrel! Approximately 208 liters in capacity.” His eyes suddenly lit up.

He immediately began to analyze the scene. This barrel was clearly driven into the ”harbor” created by the ice floes during the storm.

Because it was empty and the lid sealed, it had massive buoyancy. At the storm’s peak tide, it was pushed to its current position, and as the tide receded, it was wedged tight between these two ice floes.

”I can’t just pull this thing up by hand.” He sized up the massive object.

An empty 55-gallon plastic barrel weighs around 10 kilograms, not very heavy.

But its size was too large, and its surface slippery, jammed between two huge ice floes, leaving him without an effective leverage point.

He carefully observed, planning to come up with a good idea, and then he focused on the two giant ice floes wedging the barrel.

He noticed a tiny gap between one of the floes and the base ice below.

He immediately used the logging axe as a lever, inserting it deeply into the gap, then found a sturdy small ice block to use as a fulcrum, placed it under the lever.

”Hey!”

With a low growl, he pressed all his weight onto the other end of the lever!

”Creak——!”

With a piercing crash, the massive ice floe was pried open with enough force to relieve the pressure under his strength and the lever’s magnifying effect!

The movement instantly changed the ”harbor’s” structure. The pressure that held the plastic barrel tight disappeared!

The giant blue plastic barrel, instantaneously like a cork released, with its massive buoyancy, with a ”pop,” popped out from the gap between the two ice floes, freely floating on the ”harbor’s” water surface.

At this time, Lin Yu’an could easily grab the other side of the plastic barrel, and the giant blue cylinder was steadily dragged bit by bit to the shore by him.

He carefully checked, fortunately, the barrel itself was intact, and the lid was still tightly sealed.

Then, grasping the rim of the lid, twisting counterclockwise with effort, the lid was stiff from salt and cold, he used all his strength, and with a squeaky screech, finally unscrewed it.

He looked inside the barrel to check the internal condition. However, the scene inside left him momentarily stunned, then a greater joy welled up!

The barrel wasn’t empty!

In the bottom of the huge, dark blue barrel lay another smaller, equally bright blue plastic barrel quietly!

”My God! It’s a barrel within a barrel!” He couldn’t help but exclaim in delight.

He immediately understood what happened, it was clearly the result of a fisherman or community resident nesting a smaller barrel within a larger one for space-saving during storage or transport.

Then, in the storm, this whole nesting set got swept away together. He reached in and lifted the smaller barrel out from the larger one.

It was a 5-gallon (about 20 liters) capacity, with signs of slight use, featuring a handle and a similar twist-sealed lid.

He placed the two mismatched-sized blue plastic barrels side by side in the snow, beaming a bright smile at the camera.

”This is simply the perfect surprise treasure!”

He unscrewed the smaller barrel’s lid, releasing a sealed, dry plastic scent, the inside was very clean.

He faced the camera, showing an extremely satisfied expression: ”This, in the wilderness, makes me happier than finding a box of gold! Because it solves several of my core problems at the moment.”

”First, the crucial water treatment and storage.”

”I’ve been using my metal pot to melt snow and transport water, which was highly inefficient, handling less than two liters at a time.”

”Now with this 20-liter portable barrel, I can melt and store enough drinking water at once to last me for several days.”

”I can place it by the shelter’s fireplace, using the residual heat to gradually melt the ice inside, meaning I’ll be completely free from the daily task of fetching water.”

”Secondly, it’s a perfect food storage barrel. I can put all my food into this 55-gallon barrel, perfectly sealing the scent, no longer fearing threats from other animals!”

”I could even overturn this small barrel to use it as an appropriately sized seat, whether working in the shelter or ice fishing, letting me sit more comfortably!”

He satisfactorily tightened both barrels’ lids. With this crucial discovery, his confidence soared, focusing again on today’s explorations.

After completing the scouting of the northern coastline, his confidence surged, temporarily hiding the 5-gallon plastic barrel and marking its spot.

He turned to take a look at the path he came from, then cast his gaze toward the southern side of the shelter, a more intricate area.

He told the camera: ”Well, the resource reconnaissance on the north side is mostly done, with very gratifying gains. Now, I need to change direction, head south and take a look.”

”I believe that the storm’s bounty is far from over, and there are surely more surprises awaiting me on this storm-altered coast!”

——————

(Quick! Monthly votes needed! 15 votes directly earn a Survival Bracelet! Bigger chance to win a phone!)