Chapter 139: Chapter 138: Overlord Level Probing

The second time I encountered a brown bear, I think I was also near Andre’s shelter, digging for potatoes.

And now this made it the third time.

’Could it be... that Andre guy is actually a jinx?!’

Although his own luck wasn’t great either, having run into a Black Bear and the Yukon Wolf Pack, that was nothing compared to a group of brown bears. There was no contest.

Compared to last time, these few brown bears were clearly a size larger. The fat on their bodies jiggled as they walked, having accumulated a thick layer.

Just like before, he held his breath and carefully backed away.

With the thick layer of snow providing a buffer, he didn’t have to worry about stepping on dry branches or leaves and making a sound that would alert them.

With the experience of the last two encounters, he wasn’t the least bit panicked. He knew in his heart that at this time of year, the brown bears only had eyes for the plump and delicious King Salmon.

King Salmon were not only larger than Red Salmon but also had a higher fat content, making them fatally tempting to the bears who were about to hibernate.

He had just retreated about ten meters when the brown bears in the middle of the river suddenly stirred, all looking behind them in unison.

Lin Chen thought he had been discovered and hurriedly stopped.

But soon, the sound of splashing water gradually faded into the distance. It was clear they weren’t coming for him.

He curiously peeked out and saw that not far in the direction the bears were facing, a behemoth with two horns on its head was standing by the river, watching them warily.

The antlers on the giant deer’s head were like open palms, connected at the base, with only the upper parts branching out into tines.

’That unique shape... It’s a moose!’

Now things were getting interesting.

The brown bears and moose in the Alaska region are similar in size, both in the seven-to-eight-hundred-kilogram range. The bears stand just over two meters tall, while moose can even reach three meters. You could say they were two evenly matched, Overlord Level species.

In terms of combat strength on land, the brown bear was definitely superior. The striking force of its front paws, weighing up to 1.6 tons, could shatter a moose’s skull on the spot.

But moose are extremely capable in the water. Their antlers could effectively block the impact of the current, and they could move faster in water than brown bears, easily shaking off any pursuit.

Most importantly, although brown bears gather by the river to hunt in winter, they were still solitary individuals.

Moose also spend most of their time alone, but in winter, they gather in small groups of five to ten, moving collectively. They stay within a few meters to a hundred meters of each other, roaming freely within a small area.

The relevant data had just surfaced in his mind when he saw a brown bear give chase.

The river was deeper here than downstream, almost two meters deep. Given the size of the two behemoths, only their heads were visible above the water.

The other three brown bears showed no signs of moving. One paced back and forth, seemingly hesitant, while the other two turned around without a second thought, redirecting their attention to the King Salmon before them.

Just a few minutes after that one brown bear had given chase, five or six tall figures suddenly shot out from the forest on the bank.

They warily eyed the three brown bears not far away and slowly waded into the icy river, letting out soft calls that were incongruous with their massive bodies.

"Oohhh~"

"Ooh~"

"Ooh~"

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, just by hearing it, Lin Chen felt he might have mistaken it for the cry of some animal cub. It sounded no different from a whine.

The few moose entered the water quickly, and the relatively calm river surface was instantly churned into a raging storm. Visible waves spread out in circles, almost comparable to ocean waves.

And that wasn’t all.

In the forest, large swaths of snow suddenly flew into the air.

Two massive moose charged out like dump trucks, plowing through the snow. They plunged into the river with a great leap, swiftly catching up to the end of the line and soon swimming toward the one at the very front.

The sudden appearance of the moose herd gave the brown bear a huge fright. Layers of waves washed past it, the immense force rocking its body back and forth, almost making it lose its footing and fall under the water.

After that, the brown bear wisely gave up on the chase and turned to swim back toward its companions.

’Holy cow, is this a clash between Overlord Level forest beasts?’

He swallowed a few times in shock and used the opportunity to silently retreat several more meters.

Only after confirming he was more or less safe did he dare to turn his back and stride away.

He specifically searched his mind for knowledge about moose and was left speechless after reading it.

Don’t be fooled by their seemingly clumsy appearance—over two meters tall at the shoulder, three meters long, and weighing up to eight hundred kilograms. They were actually agile athletes.

Not only could they jump straight up to eat high-hanging leaves, but they could also dive five or six meters to the bottom of the water to feed on aquatic plants. Swimming over twenty kilometers in one go was no difficult task for them either.

Furthermore, they could run quickly even in snow over a meter deep, just like the bulldozer-like scene from before, capable of carving out a path wherever they went.

Under most circumstances, moose wouldn’t provoke brown bears. After all, they spend most of their time on land, and a herbivore’s instinct is to avoid carnivores. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

But if a brown bear dared to target their calves, an enraged moose would proactively charge.

’Hiss... At my current level, I’d better not even think about messing with them.’

A seemingly sharp arrow hitting one of them would probably feel like getting a shot. It would have no real effect other than enraging them.

Unless he could get a one-shot headshot.

But with their fighting prowess and intimidating size, it was impossible to get too close. That would be tantamount to betting his own life.

From a distance, the probability of a headshot would approach zero.

He only had Basic Bow Mastery, not advanced. He couldn’t pull something like that off.

Lost in thought, replaying the stunning scene on the Yukon River, he unknowingly arrived near the Musk Ox herd’s habitat.

He first observed the Musk Ox herd’s movements. As usual, there were no openings to exploit.

He couldn’t be bothered to wait around, so he first identified the direction of Andre’s shelter, then found the northeast.

’Thunder Mountain?’

He picked up a branch and began to sketch in the snow, quickly outlining a simple map.

He closed his eyes, recalling the situation he saw when he parachuted in on the first day.

His initial landing spot was near Wolf Mountain. A few other contestants had indeed chosen to parachute nearby, likely attracted by the resources of the Yukon River’s location.

Two of them were definitely Andre and Connor. The last one most likely drifted toward Thunder Mountain.

Which was to his and Andre’s northeast.

After determining the general direction, he didn’t act rashly. Instead, he walked a little further up the slope to find a spot with a wider field of view.

Gazing out, the peaks of the distant mountains were already covered in white snow. The mountainsides and foothills were also draped in silver, with only a little dark green exposed.

’No, that direction is north. That should be near the Endicott Mountains and the Arctic Gate. Once you get there, you’ve officially entered the Arctic Circle.’

His gaze shifted horizontally, and he soon found several small peaks to the northeast.

Further south was the meandering blue channel of the Yukon River, and beside the river...

’Wait, no, are my eyes playing tricks on me?’

He stared with wide, incredulous eyes, rubbed them a few times, and looked again.

South of the Thunder Mountain range, the Yukon River split into two branches, which then converged to form a Y-shaped terrain.

Right on the bank, he seemed to see the outline of something like a reinforced concrete building.

’Could there really be a United States town in a godforsaken place like this, overrun with wild animals?’

When he was doing his pre-competition research, he had never even considered this possibility.

He figured any sane person would choose to live in or around a city, not out in the remote wilderness.

’Should I go check it out?’

The bold thought popped into his head, but he quickly shook his head and dismissed it.

The whole point of the show was wilderness survival. Even if there was a town nearby, going there was not allowed. Otherwise, what was the difference between that and cheating?

Besides, the distance didn’t look that far, but actually walking it could take days.

’Better to go northeast and look for the other contestant.’

His gaze shifted back toward Thunder Mountain.

On the map, this area looked like an entire mountain range, but seeing it in person, it was just a region of numerous small hills and a few relatively tall, small mountains clustered together.

If he wasn’t mistaken, Wolf Mountain was probably a similar situation.

This type of terrain was bound to retain heat better than flat ground. It was also more humid and suitable for plant growth, making it a natural habitat for wild animals.

He scanned the area roughly but didn’t see any obvious signs of a man-made shelter.

’I have two conclusions now. One, that contestant built their shelter in a well-hidden spot. Two, their shelter is farther away than I thought, possibly on the other side of the mountain.’

After seeing the terrain of Thunder Mountain, Lin Chen was basically certain of this contestant’s identity. It was most likely an experienced wilderness survivalist.

A professional contestant like himself would most likely choose to land near a river at the start of the competition to secure a water source. After all, you can’t survive more than three days without water.

But an experienced wilderness survivalist would consider more factors, likely choosing a place where food was easy to obtain. Finding a water source would be no challenge for them.

’To go or not to go?’

After deducing the other person’s identity, Lin Chen suddenly became hesitant again.

It would take at least a day to get to Thunder Mountain from his current location, and it was unclear what dangers he might encounter along the way.

Once he got there, he had no seasonings and would have to use the other person’s salt for cooking. If their food stores were low, he’d have to hunt on the spot, and the other person might not be willing to cooperate. That would disrupt his original plan.

Setting aside cooperation, even if he did manage to ask about the locations of other contestants, he’d have to keep traveling, and he still wasn’t guaranteed to find a carpenter.

’Is it really necessary to take such a risk?’

Thinking about it carefully, he had already redeemed the Complete Collection of Outdoor Tools. Although the content seemed very basic, it was mostly sufficient for the forest.

Even if he went through hell and high water to find a carpenter, it was still a question whether they’d be willing to teach him. What if what he learned was just one of the things already in the tool collection he’d redeemed? Wouldn’t that be a complete waste of time and energy?

’Maybe I should just try to figure things out on my own and use the tool knowledge I already have to see if I can make some simple tools.’

’That process of creating something from nothing should give me a certain sense of accomplishment, right?’

Having made up his mind, he turned and left, abandoning the plan he had just formulated.

This was his personality. As long as a possibility existed, he would think of many different plans, but he never knew which one he would ultimately choose until the very end.

This was a common problem for chefs. When busy, their minds would race, preemptively considering a ton of potential incidents and how to handle them. But when an actual emergency occurred, or when some idiot customer made all sorts of bizarre requests, they usually just had to improvise on the spot.

He returned to the vicinity of the Musk Ox herd, watching the massive beasts in the snow from several hundred meters away.

’If I actually managed to kill one, how would I haul it back?’

’I’ll design my first tool with that goal in mind.’