Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

Banna Rainforest survival, day seven.

Two days had gone by without any gains, and the sunk costs were getting higher.

Bi Fang yawned, reached to grasp the edge of the hammock, swung his body to the vines at the edge, and let go to land on the ground.

Throughout the entire sixth day, Bi Fang had been following far behind the Wild Baizhi Ox, but unfortunately, it hadn’t headed towards its salt mine base.

“It shouldn’t be able to last so long, how is it enduring?” Bi Fang was puzzled.

Having already dealt with two nights in the wilderness, the experience was far from pleasant.

Last night he used vines to build a hammock between two trees, two meters off the ground, which was any but comfortable to sleep in, it was not only unyielding but also extremely rigid.

It was so hard that his back ached.

All the meat he had brought from the camp had been eaten up. However, yesterday he managed to catch a squirrel. Apart from that squirrel, all that remained was half a root tuber of konjac, plus some wild vegetables he had collected along the way.

Bi Fang put the basket on his back, took his wooden spear, and cut the vines from the tree before continuing his journey, “Today we will continue tracking, if there is still no gain today, then we will have to find another way.”

[This ox is pretty tough, a day without salt and I’d be dying.]

[How do you live through days without salt, just thinking about it is terrifying.]

[No flavor in the mouth, no strength in the body.]

[Brave ox, don’t fear difficulty!]

Today’s rainforest was just as bustling, with bird calls coming from all directions without any visible source, Bi Fang advanced carefully with each step, leaning on his wooden spear.

“There’s a term called sunk cost, a kind of historical cost, it is an uncontrollable cost regarding current decisions, and it can greatly influence a person’s behavior and decision-making,” he said.

“Like we have been tracking for three days now, yet the acquisition of salt is still in the distant future. I don’t know if I can get it today, or even tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, I’m not certain.”

Time and energy are the most precious resources in survival.

It could have been used to fortify the campsite, build walls, set more traps, capture more game, and find the possibility of iron smelting.

But now, all these efforts are wasted on tracking a wild ox, hoping to follow it to a more valuable resource.

Bi Fang wiped the sweat from his forehead, “The considerable energy and time I’ve already spent, if abandoned, would mean that these three days are nothing but excrement, worthless, no, even excrement can be used as compost, now it’s nothing.”

[Wuwuwu, storm crying.]

[These days, even dung has its value, only I am useless.]

[So sad, I always feel like I’m being scolded.]

“Many people at this point don’t want to give up, even if they’re out of ammunitions and rations, they still believe they are about to succeed. This kind of mindset is a big taboo in the wild. Don’t be wishful, if there’s no gain today, I will turn back to where I began.”

Not all persistence pays off, to stubbornly continue without any sign of success is a rather foolish act.

Decisiveness is key.

Whether to persist or not is not decided by reading an inspirational essay.

Apart from scientific experiments, there is nothing that will produce the same results with mere replication.

At least for now, without any meat and only some vegetables left, Bi Fang felt that today was the last deadline he could give himself.

“It looks like there might be rain today too.”

The leaden skies brought endless oppression, and the dense foliage of the rainforest made it even harder to breathe; Bi Fang’s frown grew even deeper.

Living within the rainforest doesn’t make one feel close to nature but trapped within a suffocating cage of vines.

Many observant viewers watching from beginning to end noticed that these past two days, the frequency with which Bi Fang frowned had obviously increased.

Through the gaps in the leaves, today’s forest seemed darker than yesterday; perhaps it was the cloudy weather, overall, not good news.

It’s ironic to think about it, no one expected that finding a salt mine would take so long. With thirteen days left, would he even be able to smelt iron?

The audience didn’t know; they couldn’t even figure out how to begin the smelting, let alone estimate the time needed. But seeing the halfway mark of the twenty-one days approaching, they were inevitably worried.

Stepping unevenly along the edge of the riverbed, Bi Fang looked at the ox tracks that suddenly disappeared at a stretch of river.

“Crossed the river?”

The Wild Baizhi Ox’s tracks vanished there, Bi Fang stooped to look; the river had narrowed and became clearer here, transforming from a small river into a stream, it was crystal clear and didn’t look very deep.

It seemed the Wild Baizhi Ox had crossed the river, and Bi Fang could see its tracks on the opposite bank.

The riverbanks on both sides were high, with water only flowing at the bottom, and the edges were lined with protruding stones. The curved side was piled with lots of dead branches and leaves, and even decayed trees — most of which had washed down from upstream.

Stepping onto the protruding stones on the bank, Bi Fang jumped across to the other side and pointed to the river underfoot to introduce to the audience.

“This kind of riverbed is quite common in the Banna Rainforest. During the rainy and dry seasons each year, the runoff of the surface rivers is completely different. Some may even dry up completely in the dry season. The river before us should have been quite deep, washed continuously by the rain, and then dried up during the dry season, turning…”

While speaking, Bi Fang suddenly stopped.

[Eh, where is he?]

[Such a big person, where is he?]

[My connection’s not good, it’s lagging for you guys?]

[Try tapping, it should work after tapping.]

[Are you tapping on the TV over there?]

Bi Fang returned from the bank to the riverbed, stepped on a stone into the stream, went back to the side before he crossed, and cleared away all the dead branches next to a stone, revealing a dark small hole in front of everyone.

At the edge of the small hole, the moist yellowish mud was so abundant it was almost spilling over, distinctly different from the surroundings.

Everything around was black, or covered with mossy dark green rocks, only this soft, squishy patch was bright yellow — hard to miss!

Bi Fang poked into the hole with a stick to make sure there was nothing inside, then reached in to smear some of the yellow mud from the entrance; it felt different from ordinary mud and sand, quite hard.

[What the heck is this thing, such a weird color.]

[Is he just going in barehanded?]

[This looks like…!]

[Yue]

[It’s shit, isn’t it? It must be shit, right?]

[Is there fish inside? Or something else?]

Twiddling the yellow mud in his palm, Bi Fang brought it close to his nose and sniffed. A unique pungent, rusty smell shot aggressively into his nostrils.

Then he stuck out his tongue and licked a bit, the unique salty and fishy taste spreading on his tongue, similar to fresh blood.

The audience felt nauseated, perfectly interpreting the subway, the elderly, and mobile phones.

Bi Fang’s previously furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, and the pressure lingering in his heart completely dissipated.

What a great thing, really good stuff!

He had been thinking about looking for salt mines, but as it turned out, he hit the jackpot and found what was most critical for survival this time.

Iron ore!

If he hadn’t turned back to introduce the river, he might have missed it.

Bi Fang took out a bamboo tube, swigged some water to rinse his mouth, and happily explained to the audience. After hearing his words, everyone was shocked.

This big lump of yellow stuff, you’re telling me it’s ore?

[Don’t think you can deceive me just because I’m uneducated, and you tell me this thing is iron ore?]

[Ah, I am blind]

[Designating shit as ore!]

[Please spare the idioms, I beg you!]

[I believe in Boss Fang!]

[Boss Fang? Since when did Old Fang get this title?]

[People started calling him that after the club opened. Boss Fang is awesome!]

Boss Fang laughed, a brilliant, sunny smile: “This is iron bacteria, not what you guys think. It was among my initial search targets. I was planning to focus on finding it after locating the salt mines, but as it turns out, ‘no need to break a sweat to get what comes without effort.'”

Iron bacteria?

[Another unheard term added to my vocabulary.]

[Weird knowledge cat enters the scene!]

[Explain, please. Forgive my ignorance, and be quick about it.]

Bi Fang looked at the sky, which had already darkened considerably, signaling that it might rain soon. He quickly scooped out the ‘yellow mud’ from the cave and threw it into the frame with a plop.

“Iron bacteria, as the name implies, are a type of microorganism that lives in waters like ponds, lakes, and hot springs with high concentrations of divalent iron ions.”

“They can oxidize divalent iron salts into trivalent iron compounds and utilize the energy produced in this oxidation process to assimilate carbon dioxide for growth.”

“These microorganisms use organic matter as a nutrient source, requiring organic matter for their growth, with a preference for organic compounds of iron and manganese. Once the organic matter is consumed, iron and manganese are excreted as waste, adhering to the filamentous body of the bacteria.”

A deluge of biologic and chemical concepts thrown out left many feeling dizzy.

[I get it, do you?]

[I get it too, it’s quite simple—it’s just a kind of microorganism. Don’t you know that?]

[Scratching my head, am I the only one who doesn’t quite understand?]

[Were you not paying attention during Teacher Fang’s lessons? I’m assigning you to copy this a hundred times!]

[Copying now, copying now.]

“It’s getting darker now, and I guess it might start raining soon. I need to scoop them all out now. Otherwise, it would be hard to do so once the river rises, and there’s also the possibility of them being washed away. We should search around here; there should be plenty more.”

Iron bacteria generally live in oxygen-poor but iron-rich and CO2 -dissolved acidic waters; they do not thrive in alkaline environments, so the surrounding area should all be acidic.

After scooping out all the yellow mud, the later part had turned brown and emitted a strange stench, but Bi Fang was undeterred and scooped it all out.

The entire bark frame sunk heavily.

Having scooped out all the iron bacteria from the small cavity, Bi Fang searched in other directions, leaving no stone unturned, and he found two more spots.

Before he finished digging the third one, ripples started to appear on the surface of the water.

It began to rain.

Bi Fang wiped away the droplet about to fall from his hair and quickened his digging pace.

“The rainy season is really annoying, raining every other day. It might be sunny when you go out during the day, but in less than an hour, it could start pouring. Luckily, this rain doesn’t seem too heavy.”

After digging out all three holes, Bi Fang was soaked through.

Fortunately, the bark frame was almost one-third full. The amount collected would be more than enough to smelt a sword.

[This seems too risky, can that much really be smelted?]

“Enough, you have no idea how heavy they are, and they feel just like iron filings. It should be more than enough.”

Bi Fang covered the bark frame with leaves to avoid too much rain from getting in and the water from flowing out the seams. Then, with the large frame on his back, he chased after the direction of the Wild Baizhi Ox.

Entering the rainforest, the rain became much lighter.

“If only I’d known earlier, I should have made a raincoat in advance.” Bi Fang scrambled through the woods, looking around. He actually found an arch made entirely of vines.

The thick vines curved into growth, leaving a not-so-small space inside.

Bi Fang propped it up, quickly covering the top with large leaves and binding them simply. He slipped inside, and immediately, the wind and rain were shut out.

“It’s a pity, the situation was a bit urgent, I didn’t bind the leaves properly. If the rain gets heavier, they might be washed away. Let’s hope the rain ends soon.”

Bi Fang wiped off the mud on his body and let it fall, then grabbed handfuls of palm leaves covered with iron bacteria out of the bark frame and started weaving.

“To be on the safe side, we should prepare a raincoat early, so if this temporary shelter is overwhelmed, I won’t have to scramble around.”

“Many of you must have heard of straw raincoats. ‘An old man in a straw cape and hat, fishing alone in the snowy river bank.’ Actually, many straw raincoats are made from palm leaves. Of course, they don’t compare to those made with genuine straw, but it’s enough for us.”

Palm leaves can be woven into a simple straw raincoat quickly but are rather thin, offering subpar shelter from the rain.

A raincoat woven from straw is thicker, with sleeves, and provides great protection from the rain as well as warmth.

However, at the moment, Bi Fang wasn’t that picky; as long as it was functional, it would do.

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