King of the Wilderness

Anna curiously asked, ”Then who do you think will be the final champion? Now on the field, besides Lin, there are three others: Kelly, Vonia, and Colton.”

Mark was silent for a moment, seemingly quickly assessing each person’s strengths and weaknesses in his mind.

”Vonia is very strong.” He first mentioned the woman from Siberia with a hunter’s lineage.

”She has an innate intuition about this land. Her mindset is extremely stable, and she knows how to coexist with nature, rather than fight against it.”

”If Lin is an engineer, then she is a druid. She is definitely Lin’s strongest opponent.”

”What about Kelly?”

”Kelly is an excellent archer.”

Mark continued to evaluate, ”Her archery skills are extraordinary, giving her an unparalleled advantage in hunting small animals. Also, her camp is located in a relatively gentle forest area, which is least affected by storms.”

”Her strategy is to advance steadily and accumulate little by little, but her problem is that her resources are relatively singular. Once the small prey migrate or decrease, or like now, when her arrows are exhausted, she will immediately find herself in trouble.”

”And... what about Colton? The safety officer said his voice seems weak.” Anna’s tone carried a hint of worry.

Mark’s brow furrowed slightly, almost imperceptibly: ”Colton is a warrior. Based on the information from the satellite phone communication a few days ago, he has been taking the highest risk, highest reward strategy from the start, hunting large animals.”

”But every attack by a warrior must hit the target! If he misses or if the target doesn’t appear, he will deplete his energy faster than anyone else. He is already in great danger, and he is the competitor I am most worried about.”

”If I had to say who is most likely to make it to the end,” Mark finally voiced his judgment.

His gaze became very certain: ”I’d bet on Lin Yu’an.”

Anna was a bit surprised: ”Why? Vonia seems equally flawless.”

Mark shook his head: ”No, they’re different. Vonia’s strength comes from her ultimate adaptation to the existing environment; she can utilize 100% of what nature offers.”

”But Lin Yu’an’s strength comes from his ability to create things that don’t exist in the environment. He’s not using nature’s rules; he’s redefining nature’s rules!”

Mark gestured with his fingers in the air: ”Look, Vonia’s traps got destroyed, she needs time to find new materials to fix them. And Kelly’s arrows are gone; she lost her primary weapon.”

”But Lin Yu’an, if his axe breaks, I have no doubt he would find a way to forge a new one himself.”

”That’s the difference; one type is a user, the other is a creator. In this long consumption battle, creators have unlimited possibilities.”

”Especially his ’ice fishing plan’ which I am very optimistic about; he not only made an ice fishing rod but also an ice drill! While other competitors can only use an axe to chisel the ice, Lin Yu’an’s chance of catching fish is the highest among all the competitors.”

Anna nodded without saying anything more, knowing that in this game, the first to be eliminated are often not the weakest, but those who had a strategy mistake or ran out of luck.

The helicopter flew over a rugged hill, and finally, they found Colton’s camp on a tundra ravished by the fierce wind.

His shelter, constructed with several large driftwoods, was a barely standing triangular shack covered with some worn tarpaulin and spruce branches.

The entire structure looked like it could be blown down by the next gust of wind.

When Colton crawled out of the shelter, everyone gasped in shock.

In just over twenty days, the once confident, muscular ”warrior” seen through the camera had become quite emaciated.

His cheeks were sunken, his eye sockets darkened, lips cracked, and his expression filled with exhaustion and a barely concealable despair.

”Hey... guys.” He tried to force a smile, but it looked more painful than a cry.

Anna approached immediately, starting the examination without even a greeting.

”Colton, when did you last eat something?” Anna’s voice was more serious than ever.

”About... three days ago.”

Colton’s voice was a bit hoarse: ”It was the last bit I stored, frozen wild blueberries.”

”What about protein? Fish or meat?”

Colton shook his head, avoiding her gaze: ”Before the storm, the trap I set for catching seals was completely destroyed.”

”After the storm, I spent two days trying to repair it, but there was nothing. The coastline here seems to have been looted; I couldn’t find anything.”

Anna’s examination confirmed the worst suspicion.

Colton’s heart rate was slow, his blood pressure was low, and his body temperature was below normal, signals of the body shutting down non-essential functions to conserve energy during prolonged hunger.

His body was already showing early symptoms of severe protein-energy malnutrition.

”Mark...” Anna turned, looking at the executive producer, and the meaning in her eyes was clear.

Mark walked over to Colton, placing a hand on his shoulder.

”Colton, you are a true warrior.” Mark’s tone was filled with respect but also left no room for doubt.

”You chose the highest difficulty challenge and persisted until now, proving your courage and determination.”

Colton’s body trembled slightly; he knew what was coming next.

Mark continued, ”However, the premise of this challenge is safety. Your body has reached a dangerous threshold. Anna’s medical advice is that you must immediately withdraw from the competition and receive treatment.”

Colton didn’t speak; he just slowly lowered his head, looking at his hands shaking uncontrollably from the cold and weakness.

He once thought he could conquer this land with his strength and will. But now, he understood that against absolute hunger, willpower is so fragile.

”Can I... can I try one more day?”

He looked up, eyes carrying a last shred of plea: ”Maybe tomorrow... tomorrow a seal will appear.”

”Colton.” Anna’s voice turned stern for the first time.

”Your body has almost no more ’tomorrow’ left! If you stay here, your kidneys and heart will soon suffer irreversible damage. This is not a joke.”

In the end, Colton gave up.

He didn’t cry out loud; he allowed the tears to flow down his stubbled, gaunt cheeks, quickly freezing in the piercing cold wind.

Supported by Anna and ”Grizzly Bear,” he boarded the helicopter.

There was nothing worth taking with him, and as the helicopter door slowly closed, completely isolating the white world outside, the cabin fell into dead silence.

This is the wilderness; it is generous, but also merciless.

It rewards those who make the right choices with its richest treasures and punishes those who make even a small mistake in brutal ways.

Now, there are only three people left on the field.

The engineer, the druid, and the archer.

This game of ice and fire has entered its most exciting chapter.