The next day, when the sky was once again illuminated by three suns, Lin Feng woke up early.
The fire in the cave had dwindled to just embers, so he got up and added some dry wood to make it burn brightly again.
His wounds were still painful, but they had stopped bleeding.
He stretched his muscles and felt that his physical condition was pretty good.
He walked to the cave entrance and took a deep breath of the cold, fresh air.
After a night of wind and snow, the outside world seemed to have been washed clean, and everything was covered in white.
His primary task was to deal with the two wolf skins.
He recalled the tanning knowledge that came to mind. Although he lacked suitable tools and materials, he planned to use the most primitive methods—smoking and rubbing with brain matter—to try to process wolf skins and make them soft and durable.
This was a long and tedious process. He first carefully scraped away the remaining fat and bits of meat from the inside of the wolf skin with a knife, then repeatedly smoked it over a fire while constantly rubbing it.
Wolf brain is also a natural tanning agent. He carefully split open the wolf's head, took out the brain, and evenly applied it to the leather, rubbing it repeatedly until the leather became soft.
This task took up almost half of his "daytime".
After the two wolf skins were initially processed, although they still had a strong smell of smoke and a hint of fishiness, they were much softer and more resilient than before.
Lin Feng nodded in satisfaction. He planned to use the wolf pelts to make himself a simple vest and leggings to protect himself from the cold.
While processing the wolf pelts, he also checked several traps he had set earlier, but unfortunately found nothing.
It seems the animals in this area are very alert, or perhaps the snowstorm last night made them all hide.
Food is the biggest problem right now. There's not much wolf meat left, and he must find a new food source as soon as possible.
He dried the processed wolf pelt in a relatively dry spot inside the cave, then, carrying his Swiss Army knife, ventured back into the vast snow-covered forest.
This time, his goal was clearer—to find food and, at the same time, to survey the surrounding environment to see if there were any resources he could use.
He went further than he had yesterday. The survival knowledge in his mind acted as a compass, guiding him.
He began to notice the roots and stems of certain plants that still stubbornly grew under the snow, some of which, although bitter, provided essential starch and vitamins.
He even tried to break the frozen river surface to see if he could catch fish, but the ice was too thick and he didn't have the right tools.
As evening fell, Lin Feng dragged his weary body back to the cave.
His haul today was meager; he found only some edible plant roots and a few frozen bird eggs. Better than nothing.
He lit a fire, roasted the bird eggs, and threw the roots into the fire to roast as well.
After a simple dinner, he began to sew the treated wolf pelts into simple garments using a knife and tough plant fibers. His movements were clumsy, but he was very focused.
Night fell again, and Lin Feng, wrapped in the wolfskin vest that was beginning to take shape, felt much warmer.
He began to think about longer-term plans. The cave was nice, but the food source was unreliable.
He needed to make more effective hunting tools, such as bows and arrows or spears. He also needed to find a way to store more firewood and drinking water.
Winter seems to have only just begun.
Meanwhile, the situation for the seven women was even more difficult.
Liu Fei's ankle was swollen like a bun, making it impossible for her to walk.
They spent a miserable night in that small, damp cave, and when they woke up in the morning, everyone was frozen stiff and starving.
"I'm so hungry... I'm starving..." Tang Bao groaned weakly, her lips cracked and her eyes dull.
"Hang in there, everyone. It'll be dawn soon, and then we'll think of something." Qin Lan's voice was also filled with exhaustion.
They tried to leave the cave in search of food. But they knew nothing about the forest and had no idea what was edible or inedible.
Su Wanqing tried to climb a tree to reach some things that looked like berries, but she accidentally fell from the tree. Although she was not seriously injured, she was quite frightened.
Liu Fei and Qian Xiaoxiao got into an argument over a trivial matter, each blaming the other for dragging everyone down.
Ruan Mengtian sat silently to the side, her eyes vacant.
In the end, Qin Lan remained relatively calm. She organized everyone to search the area near the cave, hoping to find some root-like plants that Lin Feng had eaten the day before.
But they were unlucky, or rather, they didn't recognize them at all. After searching for a long time, they only found some oddly shaped mushrooms and some dry, hard moss.
"Can we eat these things?" Tang Bao looked at the brightly colored mushrooms, feeling a little scared.
"I have no idea……"
Qin Lan hesitated. She remembered that some mushrooms were highly poisonous.
Just as they were in despair, Su Wanqing suddenly pointed to a patch of snow not far away and exclaimed, "Look! There seems to be... there's blood there!"
The group rushed over to check and found some messy footprints and a few drops of blood that had not yet completely congealed on the snow, along with some gray animal fur.
"It's a rabbit! There's a rabbit here!" Although Liu Fei's foot was injured, her eyes were still sharp.
"Can we catch it?" A glimmer of hope flashed in Qian Xiaoxiao's eyes.
"Give it a try!" Qin Lan decided immediately.
They hurriedly followed the trail of blood and footprints.
Although they were clumsy and loud, the injured rabbit was clearly not fast.
After chasing for about half an hour, they finally cornered the snow hare, which was already on the verge of death, in a thicket of bushes.
The women's eyes lit up with excitement as they looked at the little animal shivering in the snow.
This was the first time they had obtained food through their own efforts since coming into this world.
But a new problem arises—who will kill the rabbit? How should it be disposed of? How should a fire be started?
The women looked at each other, none of them having ever killed a living creature, let alone skinned and cooked it.
In the end, Qin Lan gritted her teeth, picked up a sharp stone from the ground, closed her eyes, and smashed it against the rabbit's head. After a few blows, the rabbit stopped moving.
Seeing the bloody rabbit carcass, several timid women couldn't help but turn their heads away.
"What... do we do now?" Mei'er's voice trembled slightly.
“We…we have no knife, and no fire.” Su Wanqing looked at the rabbit and felt a sense of helplessness.
Just then, Ruan Mengtian, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "I... I think I have a lighter in my bag. I put it in when I was preparing to go camping. I don't know if it still works."
Everyone was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately asked Zhang Jing to find it.
Sure enough, Ruan Mengtian pulled out a pink windproof lighter from her designer handbag.
She tried pressing it, and with a click, a small cluster of tiny flames jumped out.
"Great! There's a fire!" the women cheered, seeing a glimmer of hope.
They found some relatively dry twigs and leaves and carefully lit them.
Although the fire was difficult to start, and the thick smoke choked them and brought tears to their eyes, when the first stable flame ignited, everyone was so excited that they almost cried.
With fire ready, the next step was to process the rabbit.
Without knives, they could only use sharp stone shards and their fingernails, and with great effort, they barely managed to skin the rabbit and haphazardly rummage out its internal organs.
Then, they cut the rabbit into pieces, skewered them with branches, and roasted them over a fire.
Because of inexperience, the rabbit meat was either burnt or undercooked, emitting a strong fishy and burnt smell.
But for the starving women, it was an unparalleled delicacy. They devoured the poor rabbit, chewing even the bones.
After eating, they regained some of their strength and their spirits lifted considerably.
Liu Fei's foot injury was still serious, so they decided to stay in the small cave for the time being and make further plans once Liu Fei's injury had improved.
Over the next few days, the women began to struggle to adapt to this primitive way of life.
They learned to divide the work: some were responsible for finding firewood and water, while others were responsible for finding food. Their luck was sometimes good and sometimes bad; sometimes they found some edible plant roots or bird eggs, and sometimes they found nothing and went hungry.
Their relationship also became delicate. Their shared predicament forced them to stick together for warmth, but their different personalities and ideas led to frequent friction and conflicts.
With her composure and decisiveness, Qin Lan became the leader of this small group.
However, Liu Fei and Qian Xiaoxiao often expressed their dissatisfaction and questioned her decisions.
Su Wanqing mostly remained silent, observing everything.
Tangbao is still timid and prone to crying, but she is trying her best to do what she can.
They often think of that cold-hearted man—Lin Feng.
They resented his ruthlessness, yet they had to admit that he was far superior to them.
They had also secretly peered towards Lin Feng's cave, but no one dared to approach again.
As time went by, the temperature in the snowy forest dropped lower and lower, and the days grew shorter and shorter.
Lin Feng's life became more and more comfortable.
He had a needle and thread in his pocket, so he used the tanned wolf skin, along with some other small animal pelts, to sew himself a relatively complete leather jacket and trousers, and even a simple leather hat and gloves.
Although its workmanship was rough, its warmth retention was surprisingly good.
He also made a simple wooden bow and several arrows with sharpened hard wooden shafts and sharp stone blades tied to their tips.
He test-fired it a few times; although the power wasn't great, it should be enough to deal with some small to medium-sized animals.
He also cut down some small trees and made a spear with wolf teeth embedded at the tip, which could be used for both hunting and self-defense.
Food reserves remained his primary concern. He expanded the area where traps were set and learned to create different types of traps based on the habits of different animals.
His luck began to improve, and he successively caught several snow hares, grouse, and even a plump snow fox.
He used some of his captured prey as daily food, and stored the rest by smoking or drying.
He also collected a large amount of firewood and piled it in a corner of the cave, enough to last him for a long time.
He found a clever solution regarding drinking water.
He noticed that water droplets were seeping from some places on the cave ceiling, so he made several simple containers from hollowed-out tree trunks and placed them underneath to collect the water. Although the amount was small, it was enough for his daily drinking.
In addition to material preparations, Lin Feng's mental state is also getting better and better.
He enjoyed this solitary yet fulfilling life, busy every day with the struggle for survival, which gave him an unprecedented sense of security.
He stopped thinking about the troubles of the past and stopped resenting anyone.
He would occasionally think of those women, wondering whether they were alive or dead.
But he would quickly dismiss these thoughts. Their lives or deaths were none of his concern. He only cared about his own survival.
That day, Lin Feng was practicing archery outside the cave. He hung a target made of bundles of grass on a tree in the distance, held his breath, drew his bow, aimed, and fired.
"Whoosh! Snap!"
The wooden arrow hit the bullseye accurately.
Lin Feng smiled with satisfaction. After practicing for some time, his archery skills had improved considerably.
Just then, his keen ears caught an unusual sound.
He immediately became alert, gripped his spear tightly, and looked in the direction from which the sound came.
In the distance, through the snow-covered forest, he saw several thin figures stumbling toward him.
Judging from their disheveled appearance, they were the same group of women he had driven away earlier.
Lin Feng frowned again. Why were these women here again? And judging from their appearance, they seemed even more miserable than last time.
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