Live Strong in the Wilderness-Chapter 205: Lu Ke Prepares to Strike

"Alright, let’s find a more suitable location nearby. Bringing back these twenty or so pieces of bamboo without nodes will indeed take much more time," Xu Yi agreed with Lu Ke’s suggestion, realizing that the primary time spent would be on the journey, which was essentially meaningless.

If everything goes smoothly, Xu Yi could cut down seven or eight trees before midnight.

The effort spent there was indeed a bit of a waste, but by comparison, finding a suitable place here and starting over would save more time and effort.

Sometimes, people have to make certain sacrifices.

If you hold onto something and refuse to let go, you might have to spend exponentially more time and effort.

Soon, Xu Yi found a place more suitable, just over a hundred meters away from the bamboo without nodes.

After selecting the location, Xu Yi didn’t go to cut trees.

Instead, he took out a dagger and began to dig holes in the bamboo without nodes.

"Xu Yi, what are you doing?" Lu Ke asked puzzledly, unable to understand Xu Yi’s actions. Why dig holes in perfectly good bamboo?

"The inner wall of this type of bamboo is very thick, twice that of ordinary bamboo. So, using it to make a ladder will definitely be very sturdy," Xu Yi explained, telling Lu Ke why he was digging holes in the bamboo.

"A ladder, that’s great. With a ladder, cutting trees won’t be as strenuous," Lu Ke looked at Xu Yi with admiration. She had thought of using this bamboo to channel water or as beams for the stilt house, but hadn’t considered making a ladder out of it.

The ladder will be very useful. Not only will it make cutting trees easier, but it will also greatly facilitate building the stilt house. Even after the stilt house is built, a ladder will be needed to go up and down.

The ladder doesn’t need to be too long, so Xu Yi cut off the end.

The end is only a third as thick as the base, making it just right as crossbeams for the ladder. This way, only two pieces are needed to make a ladder.

Perhaps because this bamboo without nodes has no joints, it grows particularly straight, without any bends. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Xu Yi, since you’re making the ladder here, I’ll go gather some firewood," Lu Ke suggested, realizing they would need enough firewood to last the night.

"Yeah, be careful, don’t wander too far," Xu Yi said, handing his machete to Lu Ke.

Lu Ke nodded, took the machete, and went to find firewood nearby.

The storm had left quite a few broken trees; walking a few hundred meters, Lu Ke found a broken tree.

She cut off the branches, chopped them into short pieces to carry back, and finally shouldered the trunk back, enough to burn for a night.

Lu Ke carried the firewood back, while Xu Yi was still digging holes. Limited by tools, Xu Yi could only rely on the dagger. Fortunately, his dagger was sharp enough; otherwise, it would be even more tiring.

Getting the fire-making tools from Xu Yi, Lu Ke lit the fire and then took the rabbits and duck for preparation.

By nightfall, Lu Ke had skinned and cleaned two rabbits and the wild duck.

She chopped the duck into small pieces and put them in the pot for a soup.

The rabbit meat was roasted.

Lu Ke performed these tasks with ease.

Fifty days in, she was well practiced.

"Xu Yi, the roasted meat is ready to eat," Lu Ke called out to Xu Yi once the meat was done.

"Alright, let’s eat first," Xu Yi stopped what he was doing and sat down to dinner with Lu Ke.

"This duck soup is pretty good, not fishy at all," Xu Yi remarked contentedly after taking a sip of the duck soup.

"Yeah, if only we could get this often," Lu Ke agreed, finding the soup comparable to the chicken soup she used to have.

"There was quite a flock when we encountered them, likely a substantial number," Xu Yi smiled slightly, thinking this wish could be realized. If they could stew one every two days, by the end, they might have over two hundred, which was quite possible in this vast forest.

"But they’re not easy to catch; you can only shoot one at a time, then the rest all scatter," Lu Ke noted. She and Xu Yi had hoped to shoot more, but these wild ducks were good flyers, taking off and not giving them a second shot.

"We should make a net to catch them all in one go," Xu Yi suggested, thinking he could develop weapons using the bamboo without nodes; if it worked, it’d be quite effective.

Lu Ke’s eyes brightened at Xu Yi’s suggestion.

It’s possible. With the right materials, she could weave a fishing net.

After dinner, Xu Yi continued his work. He had completed more than half of the holes, and with a couple more hours, he could finish the rest.

Lu Ke took the Engineer Shovel, preparing to dig a small water canal.

This way, fetching water would be much more convenient in the future.

They planned to build a stilt house, and with the water being so calm here, it was necessary to channel it to a height above 2.5 meters.

Therefore, digging a canal to channel the water was quite necessary.

Additionally, if she wanted to make pottery, she’d also need water to process clay.

By around 10 PM, Xu Yi finally finished making the ladder.

To prevent the ladder from collapsing, Xu Yi used a lot of tree bark to secure it tightly.

"Xu Yi, you should get some rest," Lu Ke reminded Xu Yi as he set the ladder upright.

She had smoothly dug more than half of the canal; it only needed to be as wide and deep as the shovel, making it less labor-intensive.

"Okay, I’ll rest for a bit, then switch with you," Xu Yi looked at the time, then stretched a bit. Working for long hours had made his body sore.

Starting to sleep after ten, he could rest for about five hours before switching with Lu Ke.

Although they didn’t have any animal hides for bedding, Lu Ke had collected plenty of leaves, which was better than lying directly on the ground.

The nights weren’t too cold anymore, and they seemed to have gradually adapted.

When Xu Yi went to sleep, Lu Ke kept watch with a short crossbow, staying alert to the surroundings.

About an hour later, Lu Ke heard a noise and immediately stood up, turning toward it.

It was a fox, a white one.

Without hesitation, Lu Ke pulled the trigger, and the crossbow arrow shot towards the white fox.

Then she drew another crossbow arrow, loaded it onto the short crossbow, ready to aim at the fox.

Seeing the fox trying to pull out the crossbow arrow, Lu Ke put down the crossbow and drew her dagger.

She thought the fox could be good for practice.

While foxes are carnivores, they’re not as aggressive as wolves. They might not even be as tough as dogs, making them perfect for practice.