"Okay, I’ve added your name to the list of ten, and once it’s reported, you can’t back out!"
"Ok!"
.....
After hanging up the phone, Lin Yang stretched lazily and then bade farewell to Uncle, leaving the fishing ground.
This decision seemed somewhat abrupt, but it wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment idea.
He had been live-streaming for quite some time, and before going to Russia for the fishing trip, the growth of his followers had notably slowed; it was only after he made it into the hot searches twice in Russia that his followership surged by several hundred thousand.
The audience interested in fishing live streams was limited; after nearly half a year of development, he had almost tapped out that audience. To reach greater heights, there was a need to expand the content of his live streams qualitatively, and the wilderness fishing and hunting challenge was a perfect fit.
Moreover, his past catches of various rare fish species had also unlocked quite a few wilderness skills.
If Lin Yang had only been somewhat confident about procuring food initially, he was now certain that he could survive in any regular wilderness environment.
Even the basic outdoor survival attempts had taught him a lot of common-sense knowledge he had no clue about before, such as how to avoid attacks from wild animals, how to source water, and how to judge wind directions, among other things.
His mind was filled with a vast array of wilderness knowledge. His understanding of the wilderness was becoming increasingly familiar, and his demeanor had undergone a significant change.
Upon returning home at noon, Lin Yang mentioned to Yue’er his plans to participate in the wilderness fishing and hunting challenge.
Knowing he had already made up his mind, Yue’er, though slightly worried, was surprisingly calm. She knew that Lin Yang was a man who was always seeking progress and never satisfied with the status quo. Considering that the challenge posed little safety issues except for its duration, Yue’er readily agreed.
To help Lin Yang for the challenge, Yue’er began to gather information for him after lunch.
The wealth of knowledge on the internet was boundless; as long as one sought it, one could definitely find it. Yue’er helped Lin Yang gather materials on making various traps and surviving in the wilderness, compiling them into a hefty folder.
Facing this material, Lin Yang actually already knew most of it, but he didn’t let on. Instead, he patiently began to study it, occasionally deliberately discussing it with Yue’er.
After several days of intensive research, he ordered a full set of outdoor survival gear online.
A complete set of Arctic series outdoor clothing from Arc’teryx, an extreme cold goose down sleeping bag capable of withstanding temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees, and a multi-purpose outdoor tool knife costing over a five-figure sum—basically, anything that seemed potentially useful, he ordered first.
After a considerable shopping spree, he had spent more than 200,000 RMB and Lin Yang could not help but lament that top-tier outdoor gear was indeed quite the money burner.
Compared to fishing expenditures, those costs were negligible!
After about ten days of preparation, most of the gear he ordered online had arrived.
At Lu Cheng’s end, after further verification and discussion, the whole project was finally settled and entered the preparation stage.
At the end of August, all preliminary preparations were complete. Lin Yang received the invitation from the production team, convened in the capital with many other staff members, and flew by plane to a high-latitude uninhabited land at the border between Norway and Finland.
According to the rules set by the production team, each of the ten participants, besides the standard clothing on their body (underwear, mid-layer, outerwear, hat, shoes) could only select ten items as their initial supplies.
Among these ten slots, an axe for building shelters, a multifunctional hunting knife for handling game and self-defense, and a sleeping bag were essential, leaving Lin Yang not choosing the bows and arrows that most participants would have chosen but instead picking a lure fishing rod for himself.
A sturdy lure rod "Golden Finger" swapped, a spinning reel, and though not the best in terms of feel, it was durable.
According to the rule limitations, hunting weapons did not include accessories, so the lure fishing rod only included the rod and reel, while the remaining lures, fishing lines, and other gear had to take up additional equipment slots.
To other competitors, utilizing slots for these small, miscellaneous pieces seemed rather uneconomical.
But Lin Yang didn’t mind and chose a roll of 500-meter, number 4, 8-strand PE line along with ten versatile mid-sized spinners.
This essential fishing gear could provide him with enough fish. Trusting his always reliable fishing rod over a bow and arrow he was unfamiliar with, Lin Yang was confident in his choice.
Eventually, Lin Yang’s initial gear was set.
Sleeping bag, multifunctional survival knife, axe, lure rod, PE line, medium-sized spinners x10 (taking up two slots, with each slot limited to five), size 20 fishing hooks in a packet (twenty in total), a field cooking pot, and an outdoor backpack.
Apart from the personally selected gear, each challenger also received a set of filming equipment including a satellite live-streaming camera and a solar charging panel. Lin Yang’s own streaming gear, after a simple inspection, was also approved for use.
After almost a day of flying, he finally boarded the chartered helicopter arranged by the production team.
The helicopter took off from a remote small town, flew over vast forests and water bodies, and headed straight to the challengers’ area preselected by the production team, where he was randomly drawn and dropped off in the uninhabited wilderness.