Wilderness Survival with Druid System-Chapter 538 - 37: Exploring the Wilderness

Survival, Day 7.

After waking up, Chen Wen took the Arctic squirrels and Arctic hare caught earlier, along with the wolf mink killed the night before, and grabbed his pot and water bottle.

He headed to the lakeside.

Fetched water and processed these small animals.

Chen Wen returned to the camp with a fresh water supply and a bunch of small animals.

Since these small animals weren’t in a rush to be eaten, Chen Wen placed them along with the previously caught hare into the smokehouse for curing.

I must say, the smokehouse has brought Chen Wen great convenience.

While the small animals were smoking, Chen Wen continued working on completing the shelter.

Since his main goal now was to build a place to live, after a whole day of building on the sixth day.

There was just the roofing and door installation left to do.

Additionally, a spot for the fireplace was already reserved, but after some estimation by Chen Wen.

Building the fireplace around day thirty wasn’t considered too late.

Therefore, Chen Wen’s main task for today was roofing.

For the roofing, he planned to use waterproof cloth, branches, and moss.

After transferring the blueberries from the waterproof cloth to the tent cloth.

Chen Wen took out the prepared secondary beams and placed them on the main beam, forming a semi-circular arch structure.

Next, he filled in the gaps between the secondary beams with branches leftover from previous tree felling.

This essentially completed the roof sealing.

Finally, he laid the waterproof cloth on the highest point, weighing it down with branches and moss.

By around noon, the shelter was completed.

But only the sleeping side of it.

After inspecting the shelter and ensuring it was sturdy, a smile appeared on Chen Wen’s face.

"Having lived in a makeshift shelter for six days, today I finally move into a new home!"

Hearing Chen Wen’s words, Monitor Number One nodded appreciatively.

It appeared that Chen Wen’s shelter was indeed very sturdy and luxurious.

Even when looking at previous seasons of the show, a shelter constructed with such a combination of stones and wood was rare.

"I just wonder how sturdy it is."

A guide who saw Chen Wen’s shelter couldn’t help but comment: "These walls made of mixed soil and stones will become damp once it rains, leading to cracking and peeling."

"I checked the weather this morning, and the contestant survival area will start seeing rain the day after tomorrow. It’s uncertain if his shelter can withstand such weather."

Hearing the guide’s words, the monitor nodded slightly.

These loess walls work well when the weather is dry.

But once it becomes humid, and the entire wall gets damp, it will start cracking and peeling, making all previous efforts in vain.

After all, Chen Wen had put a significant amount of effort into this shelter.

Here’s to hoping it holds up!

Thought Lin Jiawei, who had listened to the entire conversation on the side.

...

On Chen Wen’s side.

He had also factored in the weather conditions.

After all, semi-subterranean structures traditionally appeared in the Banpo Ruins region of Hua Country’s Shan Province.

The weather there is relatively dry.

Whereas around Great Slave Lake, located near the Arctic Circle, evaporation is minimal.

Once it rains, it may turn persistently humid.

To address this, Chen Wen had several solutions.

Earlier during construction, he incorporated small stones, sand, and dry vegetation, aiming to increase wall cohesion and resistance to erosion.

Additionally, seizing the afternoon opportunity.

He took a shovel and dug some earth outside the shelter, piling it against the shelter’s exterior walls.

Finally, given the large area of the waterproof cloth.

Chen Wen spread out the waterproof cloth’s perimeter and used leftover wooden sticks around the shelter to create a rain barrier, and laid the waterproof cloth on top.

With this, the waterproofing and moisture prevention measures were complete.

After resting for a while, Chen Wen left the shelter.

While checking the traps, he planned to explore further from the trap area.

...

This time, the haul from the traps was quite modest, yielding only one Arctic hare.

After securing the Arctic hare.

Chen Wen continued the exploration further outwards.

Using the long spear to clear the path, his exploration speed was swift.

After roughly ten minutes, a cliff appeared in front of Chen Wen.

His attention was drawn to the white geological layer below the cliff.

"Is this... clay?"

Chen Wen remarked uncertainly.

He picked up his long spear and axe, creating a path through the shrubs and woods leading directly to the cliff.

Shortly, after reaching the base of the cliff.

Chen Wen took a deep breath, suppressing his inner excitement: "It’s clay! And fairly decent quality clay at that!"

Clay is soil with little sand content and a sticky consistency.

Because water is not easily passed through it, it possesses good plasticity.

For a survivor, clay can be used to fire ceramics or to construct shelters.

It is considered a relatively useful soil type.

"It’s a pity. If I’d found this clay before building the shelter, I wouldn’t have to worry now about potential cracking."

Chen Wen remarked with some regret.

Yet finding it now wasn’t too late either.

Chen Wen mused that by taking some clay back, he could fire some simple pottery to store things.

It could also be used as dining containers.

Additionally, when constructing the other half of the shelter, the storage area.

Clay could be used for wall building.

Chen Wen memorized the clay’s location.

Since it was still early, he planned to continue exploring.

Going further, the terrain rose.

Chen Wen bypassed the slope blocking his view, circling to the back of the mountain to explore.

This was the mountain’s shady side, quite humid.

In such environments, it was often easier to find some edible items.

Just as Chen Wen was thinking this, he suddenly noticed a large patch of moss diagonally in front of him.

Within the moss, there appeared to be a small patch of grayish material.

Chen Wen paused momentarily, moving forward to inspect those items.

"Mushrooms, they appear to be some kind of edible fungus."

Chen Wen scratched his head, recalling the information he had read.

These seemed quite familiar, likely something seen in the materials.

After pondering for over a minute, Chen Wen slapped his thigh: "I remember now! These are Zeller’s Bolete, an edible fungus!"

"Before coming here, I heard from local hunters that this is one of the rare fungi still growing around Great Slave Lake in this season!"

Recalling the information on Zeller’s Bolete, Chen Wen’s expression became quite joyful.

Zeller’s Bolete, as an edible mushroom.

Not only did it offer Chen Wen new dictions but it was also quite a delectable food.

According to what the bearded man said, when stewing meat, adding some Zeller’s Bolete.

The flavor is just unparalleled!

Even better than going on a date with a lover!

A classic bearded man analogy.

Remembering the knowledge learned in the woods, Chen Wen couldn’t help but chuckle.

However, despite remembering the material on Zeller’s Bolete, to be cautious, Chen Wen still used his axe to dig up the ground beneath the mushrooms.

As the soil was turned over, a large section of tree root appeared in front of Chen Wen.

It was indeed Zeller’s Bolete!

Chen Wen confirmed thoroughly.

Since Zeller’s Bolete is an ectomycorrhizal fungus, simply put, it forms a symbiotic relationship with the tree roots.

"I can pick some."

Chen Wen remarked, reaching out, beginning to harvest the Zeller’s Bolete.

After packing up the mushrooms, Chen Wen felt this exploration could be concluded.

Apart from the time aspect, the haul was quite substantial.

This small batch of Zeller’s Bolete, naturally not to mention, plus the clay and an Arctic hare.

Made for quite the abundant harvest.