Chapter 993 - 12: Pine Needle Water and Rotten Bird Eggs

"Chen Wen’s group is totally solid now."

Oleg watched the screen and gave his conclusion: "They’ve got a stable place to live, everyone’s gathered, they even have fire, and the division of labor is clear. They’re completely settled in already."

Hearing Oleg’s assessment, the bald man beside him—he wasn’t very tall, not really fat either, but built like a tank—swept him with a sharp look.

The bald man asked, "Judging from your tone, you’re very optimistic about this group?"

"Very optimistic!"

Oleg didn’t hold back his praise: "If this group forms a permanent team, I think they could even attempt the Sea Extreme Challenge!"

The bald man chuckled and nodded: "I know Fred. He doesn’t say much, but he’s got a strong personality. Back when I noticed he was good at survival and tried to bring him into the Association, he was a bit unconvinced by me. But looking at his performance today, he holds Chen Wen in high regard. Chen Wen... this guy is interesting!"

Oleg laughed and said, "Exactly, he’s a very interesting guy. And Fred respects Chen Wen because during the Desert Extreme Challenge, Chen Wen saved his life, and they got the whole team through Desert Extreme with no one suffering serious injuries."

The bald man suddenly understood: "So that’s it! Looks like the kid’s been won over by Chen Wen’s strength. Very interesting!"

At this moment Oleg glanced at the other teams’ footage, but quickly lost interest and switched back.

The reason was simple: most of the other teams’ contestants hadn’t even gathered yet, let alone started actual survival.

Once the feed switched back to Chen Wen’s side, Oleg looked at the bald man: "President, what’ve you been up to lately? I remember that ever since the Eight Extremes Challenge started, I haven’t really seen you around."

Hearing that, the bald man—President of the Russian Survival Association, Valery—laughed: "You still remember I told you to leave an empty slot in Team Two?"

Oleg nodded at that.

He’d always remembered that matter.

Valery’s lips tugged up: "That slot was reserved for myself."

Oleg froze for a moment: "Reserved for yourself? You’re planning to..."

"That’s right."

Valery laughed wildly: "After Liu Yu and I both fell short in that Sea Extreme Challenge, the war between us technically ended. But I don’t want a draw! I want to beat him! So, I’m planning to re-challenge the Sea Extreme Challenge and the Cold Pole Challenge!"

Oleg’s expression instantly grew much more serious, and he couldn’t help saying, "But your body..."

"Relax. All this time I’ve been ’missing,’ I was adjusting my condition."

Valery said this, then looked at Chen Wen with a deep gaze: "Back then, the war between Liu Yu and me didn’t really end. I think this kid could be my new rival! In this Cold Pole Challenge, I’m going to face him as an opponent!"

Hearing that, Oleg really didn’t know what to say.

The survival skills of his President were ridiculously strong, but his competitive drive was just as freakish.

Back in the day, just for the title of ’Number One Survivor,’ he and Liu Yu kept butting heads.

Of course, it was healthy competition.

Whether it was Liu Yu or Valery, they were very good friends—but also each other’s biggest rivals.

Now the President had set his sights on Chen Wen. Oleg couldn’t help wondering if Chen Wen could withstand that pressure!

That was what Oleg was thinking.

After all, the Sea Extreme Challenge doesn’t allow direct confrontation between contestants, but the Cold Pole Challenge does allow you to go at each other!

...

Back to Chen Wen’s side.

He had no idea that an old-school veteran Survivor had already marked him as a target.

After getting the fire going, he busied himself with Gaston, stacking up a stone stove, then set a pot of water on it.

Considering that plain boiled water has no taste, Chen Wen had Fred pick some pine needles. After washing them, he tossed them into the pot and added water to bring it all to a boil.

Pine needle water is one of the few healthy drinks you can make when surviving in coniferous forests.

From a survival perspective, pine needle water is rich in vitamin C and can replenish what you need to keep going.

In traditional medicine, pine needles are often used to ease respiratory problems like colds, coughs, bronchitis, and sinusitis.

Out here on the frozen shores of Lake Baikal, drinking more pine needle water can help prevent catching cold.

Besides, the volatile oils and decoctions extracted from pine needles are considered to have some antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, helping soothe sore throats and reduce inflammation.

The pine oil in the needles releases a fresh, resinous aroma. That scent has a kind of aromatherapy effect—it can help reduce stress, lift your spirits, and ease fatigue. It’s somewhat similar to the effect of coffee or tea.

A cup of pine needle tea can make you feel clear-headed and refreshed.

You might not notice much in the short term, but over time, these effects give you a clear edge in survival.

The others also understood the benefits of pine needle water.

After everyone added the needles, they left Adam in charge of simmering the pot.

The rest followed Chen Wen’s instructions and got busy.

Chen Wen himself went back to the collapsed cabin and continued looking for any useful supplies.

But he quickly noticed the rotten bird egg he’d set aside earlier.

He thought for a moment and called out to Gaston: "This thing... mix it into your fishing bait. The stench can attract fish—some scavenger fish are very likely to be drawn in by the smell."

Gaston scratched his head: "Seriously? Isn’t bait usually all about smelling good?"

Chen Wen was a bit helpless: "We’ve got no other use for it anyway. Just treat it as an experiment. Oh, and you can mix in some sawdust or plant scrap into the bait to increase plasticity, then work this stuff in. We’ll know once we try."

Gaston took the rotten bird egg and nodded: "Alright, I’ll give it a shot."

After handing off the egg, Chen Wen went back to searching the cabin.

In the end, he pulled almost a hundred nails out of the boards, plus a bunch of screws and other fasteners, and some pieces of metal strips.

Looked like the kind of metal bars commonly used to secure window frames.

Regardless of their exact use, Chen Wen collected all of it.

Meanwhile, the collapsed logs and planks had pretty much been cleared out.

Looking at the wrecked interior of the cabin, Chen Wen took a deep breath: "Let’s hope we can find something useful in here!"

He flexed his arms, put on his protective gloves, and started searching.

There actually wasn’t much left inside the cabin.

Chen Wen found several wooden cabinets, but they’d all been smashed flat and were badly damaged.

Examining them carefully, Chen Wen realized they must have been handmade by the cabin’s previous owner.

Nails had been used in their construction, and Chen Wen pried those nails out.

He also found some bottle caps from liquor bottles in the cabinets, quite a few can lids, and even two intact glass jars.

Chen Wen kept all of these as well.