Drawing the bowstring all day had left the pads of his index and middle fingers on the second knuckle visibly red, swollen, and bleeding. Where the force was concentrated, you could even see several gruesome, oozing grooves.

Getting injured was a red line on *Wild Survival*. Once a contestant was hurt, it most likely meant they would have to withdraw.

The environment was unsanitary, there was no medicine for treating wounds, and nutritional intake was insufficient. In ninety percent of cases, this would lead to complications.

Seeing the bloody wounds Lin Chen displayed on screen, the female doctor in the cabin couldn’t sit still. She shot up, ready to grab the first-aid kit.

"Don’t be so anxious, Ariana. We’ve been watching for three weeks. Don’t you trust what Lin says by now?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Robert leaned back leisurely in his chair, feet propped up on the desk, and casually gestured for her to sit down.

Daniel, sitting beside him, also smiled and nodded at her. "He just chafed his skin from drawing the bowstring too many times. The wound isn’t serious. Besides, he’s right—arborvitae and fir needles are genuinely good for treating wounds."

"Besides, the contestant himself hasn’t fired his flare gun. We can’t intervene unless his safety is in immediate jeopardy. Let’s just wait for the routine check-up the day after tomorrow."

Hearing them out, the doctor nodded, calmed down, and sat back in her chair.

"Hey, darling," Robert said, giving her a teasing look. "We have twelve contestants here. Someone gets injured almost every two or three days. How come we’ve never seen you react this strongly before?"

Ariana’s expression didn’t change. "Because Lin is the most popular contestant right now. If he has an accident and has to withdraw, our show’s ratings will plummet. I’m just looking out for my paycheck."

"Is that so~"

Seeing his ploy had failed, Robert sighed in mock regret. "Fair enough. But being a chef also requires some first-aid knowledge. Let’s just see if our mysterious Eastern contestant can bring us any more surprises."

...

「Day Twenty-Three.」

Before dawn, Lin Chen was already dressed and ready. He dug a steaming hot potato out of the earth near the pile of embers.

He had buried it the night before, intentionally pouring a little water into the soil. The heat from the charcoal burning all night evaporated the water, creating a natural steamer that cooked the potato.

This method also prevented the potato from getting scorched by the prolonged heat, but the burying depth had to be just right. Of course, the best way was to just toss a couple of pieces of charcoal directly onto the spot where it was buried.

After a simple meal to fill his stomach, he checked his fingers. Peeling away the now-dry herbal paste, he saw that the wound underneath was significantly less swollen.

"The effect is good. But it’s mainly because I ate well yesterday. With proper nutrition, wounds heal faster. Another day of this treatment should be enough."

The wounds on his fingers weren’t deep—just broken skin, really. But continuing to shoot arrows in this condition would be tough, as it could easily affect his stability when drawing the bowstring.

He mashed some more leaves into a paste, applied it to the wounds, and then pulled a bandage he hadn’t used yet out of his backpack. He wrapped it a few times around each of the two fingers and tied it tight.

This would both prevent bacteria in the air from contaminating the wound and reduce the irritation from the bowstring.

He tried drawing the string. Aside from a faint twinge of pain, his fingers didn’t tremble.

’Putting on this act isn’t easy...’

Off-camera, he sighed softly and pulled up his panel. Only then did he realize he had already accumulated another 8 Happiness Points.

’Without a doubt, the next knowledge I need to redeem is the Animal Encyclopedia. Only with that will I be able to spot the faint traces left by animals in this seemingly quiet forest.’

"Alright, let’s go check the eleven traps I set yesterday and see if I’ve caught anything!"

Stepping outside his shelter, a biting chill hit him, a stark contrast to the warmth indoors.

He shivered involuntarily and quickened his pace. Only by staying in constant motion could he warm his body up quickly.

"My goal for today is simple. First, I’ll check if any of the traps have been triggered. Then, I’ll weave one or two new leaf baskets, preferably ones I can carry on my back or hang from my waist. The one I’m using now is about at the end of its life."

"The forest around here is mostly coniferous and broad-leaved trees. There aren’t any vines or bamboo, which are ideal for weaving, so I have to use things like dry grass instead."

"Also, I need to see if I can find any trace of the wolf pack from the night before last. That one wolf took an arrow from me. If it doesn’t pull it out, its movement will be impaired, and the blood loss will cause its body temperature to drop. After a full day and night, it’s highly likely to be either dying or already dead."

"Either way, I have to be extremely careful. To avenge their packmate, those wolves will definitely come after me again, so their hiding spot can’t be too far from here."

He returned to the area with the blood-stained spear branches and followed the trail of dark-brown, dried blood on the ground for about ten minutes, but still found nothing.

"Looks like that wolf’s injury is much lighter than I thought. It’s daytime now, so they’re probably hidden away, sleeping. I’ll come back to investigate later."

Until he had a better understanding of the various animals’ habits and the clues left behind in the forest, he wasn’t prepared to venture recklessly into a dangerous area.

’If possible, it would be best to wait for the wolf pack to come to me at the shelter.’

When he changed direction and arrived at the spot where he’d set a trap, his pupils contracted. He pointed at a pile of fallen leaves on the ground. "I’m certain this is where I put the berries. The trap has been triggered—that slender branch up ahead."

"This trap may have come up empty, but it’s clear there’s wildlife activity in this area. On to the next spot!"

He checked three traps in a row with no luck. But when he reached the fourth, beneath a branch that had sprung back into place, a squirrel hung silently, head down. Its entire body was frozen solid.

"A squirrel?"

"No wonder the first few traps didn’t work. If it was for a little guy like this, my snares were set a bit too large. It would have been easy for them to escape."

He untied the squirrel, which was frozen as hard as a rock, and continued on to the next trap.

Out of a total of seven berry traps, he had only caught one squirrel and one wild rabbit. Still, it was a small haul.

On past seasons of the show, this would have been considered two days’ worth of rations. But for someone who had just hunted a lamb, he couldn’t help but look down on such meager prizes.

"Huh?"

Just as he neared the rodent trap, he saw a dark shape moving intermittently behind some bushes in the distance.

’A big catch?!’

Lin Chen was overjoyed. He quickly broke into a jog and hurried over.