BXBX NOVEL Chapter 11 - 11 Building a Shelter
In search of a suitable camping spot, Bi Fang continued to make his way deep into the forest.
[Is this some sort of magic trick?]
[Surely he’s not going to chop wood to build a cabin, right? How could that be done in time?]
[Give it up, live streamer, while it’s still light out, just go home.]
Inside the live stream, there wasn’t a single voice of encouragement, all held a skeptical attitude.
However, Bi Fang wasn’t bothered by this and seriously started looking for a suitable location.
“There’s a lot to consider when setting up a camping site, and first and foremost is the safety of the environment. Depending on the environment there are different requirements, which I’ll explain in detail when we come across them.”
“As I mentioned earlier, the temperature difference between day and night in Qinling is significant, with night temperatures generally not exceeding ten degrees. I’ve only brought one jacket, so we need to pay attention to warmth and dryness to prevent rapid heat loss and a decrease in our physical condition.”
After searching in the forest for a while, Bi Fang finally stopped in a relatively open wooded area. He rummaged around on the ground for a bit, then nodded, “This place is pretty good, the ground is dry, and there are no anthills, so we won’t have to worry about bugs biting us while we sleep.”
“Just now, many people were asking me what I am going to use to set up the shelter. It may seem as though I have no rice to cook a meal, but actually, we’ve been overlooking a lot of things.”
Bi Fang sent the drone up higher and a large expanse of forest appeared in the camera view: “Don’t forget, we’re in Qinling! One of the top three forest regions in our country, you could say the ground here is littered with gold!”
“Today, I’ll show you a simple method for constructing a shelter—the pointed-top shelter! This is a very common type of pointed structure, and the Ewenki Ethnic Group in our country builds them in the forest.”
After finishing his speech, Bi Fang began looking for materials to build the shelter. As he had yet to find a water source, he only needed a temporary residence to shelter from the cold, so the material selection was quite straightforward.
[Shenfeng Qingyin sends 1 veil card to the host—Impressive even if I don’t understand it.]
[I’ve realized not only do I not know what a pointed-top shelter is, I also didn’t know there was an Ewenki Ethnic Group in our country…]
[Shocked that I’m learning on Shark TV, is this the corruption of morality or the distortion of humanity?]
[666, just get it done.]
Bi Fang looked around and spotted a fallen dead tree not too far away. He quickly walked over and started kicking it ferociously.
While kicking, he explained, “You see, this dead tree here is perfect for the main body of our shelter, but you have to be careful when moving it. Many venomous insects and venomous snakes like to hide under such dead trees, so give it a few kicks beforehand to scare them away.”
Sure enough, as soon as Bi Fang’s words ended, a dark shadow flickered across the camera, curling into a ball.
“Hey, look, there’s a centipede right here! Just as I said!”
The centipede under the dead tree coiled into a ball, its body pitch black, like a warrior clad in black armor. Bi Fang grabbed it directly in front of the camera, poking and prodding it in his palm for the viewers to get a closer look.
[Not this again, right?]
[Oh my, I almost threw up again, wait, why do I say ‘again’?]
[Streamer, you owe me for the goosebumps!]
[Why do I feel like I can ‘sympathize’ out of nowhere?]
Bi Fang chuckled, his frequent field research meant he wasn’t afraid of touching various insects, but most people would find it difficult, though it was all necessary for the effect of the show, and not because of any ill taste he might have.
“However, it’s a pity that these creatures are not edible.”
He stretched out the centipede, held it under his nose and took a deep breath, with the long insect at his fingertips looking somewhat like sniffing a cigar!
“If it gives off an almond scent, it means that the centipede feels threatened and is secreting substances that contain cyanide. Therefore, don’t eat it.”
Bi Fang was a bit disappointed, but chose to release the centipede and watched it stretch out and quickly crawl away.
[The host doesn’t really need to persuade us so earnestly… really…]
[Centipede: I actually survived from Master Fang’s hands, I could brag about this for a lifetime.]
[Humans should not, at least cannot…]
Bi Fang stood up and kicked the tree trunk a couple more times, but no other creatures came out this time.
“It looks like there are no other creatures here besides that centipede, and as the light is fading, we need to speed up now.”
It was getting dark, and without any more time to chat with his audience, Bi Fang dragged the dead tree toward the selected campsite.
The audience in the live stream watched as the light inside the forest dimmed, growing anxious for Bi Fang, fearing that he would not be able to finish the shelter before it was too dark to even have a place to sleep.
“As I said before when I was climbing the tree, a triangle is a very stable structure. So, a simple pointed-top shelter can also make use of this principle.”
Bi Fang lifted up the dead wood and placed it across the fork of a pine tree, forming a right-angled triangle with the ground.
“Look, this is the main structure of a solid shelter. As long as we prop up another side, we’ll have a three-dimensional triangle!”
A large branch was fixed to one side of the triangle, firmly supporting it.
“Next is the roof.”
Leaves, dirt, and moss were collected and spread over the dead wood full of forked branches.
“Finally, let’s perfect it.”
Almost visibly, a simple shelter had been constructed by Bi Fang.
Job well done!
“Alright, what do you all think?”
Gazing at the complete shelter, Bi Fang dusted off his hands. Although very simple, this was his first time building a shelter with his bare hands, and his heart was filled with a sense of achievement; such an experience was not present in his previous life.
[Damn, that’s strong. How long was that?]
[Half an hour?]
[Pilili Aino has sent the host fishballs*999—professional, bold.]
[iMuji has gifted the host shark fins*10—for basic construction, I hail you as the strongest!]
[Lord Mu has sent the host a rocket*1—I’ve watched many outdoor live streams, Master Fang is the toughest one!]
[Awesome (voice cracks)!]
“Haha, Lord Mu, that’s a bit of an overstatement, let’s keep it low-key, shall we?”
Bi Fang pressed down with his hands, signaling everyone to keep it cool.
[Say Master Fang is fat and he starts panting.]
[But Master Fang is really awesome, first stream and such high popularity, since encountering that snake until now, got a few thousand viewers, right?]
[No wonder these days everyone wants to be an internet celebrity and do the same.]
[Doing is the main point.]
[But there aren’t many with real skills. When it comes to live streaming, I only admire Old Fang.]
“Now, let’s go inside and take a look.”
With the shelter completed, Bi Fang crawled into it, and the camera switched to a first-person perspective.
From the first-person POV, Bi Fang pointed to a layer of branches and dry ferns on the ground, “Due to the large temperature difference, in order to keep warm, we can lay some branches and ferns on the ground for insulation and moisture protection.”
As he spoke, he lay down in the shelter, rolled around a bit, pressed down to test it, and found it to be decent, not too uncomfortable.
Despite its small size, the shelter gave him a strong sense of security in the wilderness. This was his domain, a “home”.
Bi Fang lay in the shelter and began to discuss some key points about selecting a campsite.
“The nights in Qinling are cold, so the chosen campsite should be dry and sheltered from wind, especially not in valleys and caves, as such terrains become wind traps at night.”
“Judging the wind direction is quite complicated, and I’ll explain it in detail later. Right now, I have something more important to do, and that is to make a fire!”
Fire is one of the greatest discoveries of humans, especially when alone against a strange, hostile wilderness. At such times, fire is indeed a gift from the heavens.
The flickering flames that represent hope could even shake one’s faith; they can change not only the survivalist’s condition but also give the survivalist hope.
Bi Fang crawled out of the shelter, the drone gradually rose, capturing most of the sky in its lens, while the sun’s light gathered bit by bit, turning the clouds a lush red, a sight of extraordinary beauty.
Bi Fang was engulfed in the red sun’s light, like a surging tide.
Regrettably, he didn’t have much time to enjoy the scenery.
“For this survival trip, I only brought one jacket, so a shelter is not enough on this cold night. We must start a fire before dark to keep warm; otherwise, if we catch a cold, our deteriorated condition could very well cost us the chance to walk out of Qinling.”
“Don’t think I’m exaggerating. In fact, in the wilderness, even a minor cold can be extremely fatal!”