King of the Wilderness

He walked to a clump of bamboo, touching the smooth and cold bamboo stalk with his hand, carefully observing its nodes and sheaths.

"Judging by the shape of the nodes, the height, and the white powder on the stalk, this is likely the native bamboo species of Yunnan - sweet dragon bamboo, or a large clumping bamboo closely related to it."

"The material of this bamboo is tough, with thick walls, making it top-quality material for making various containers and tools."

"Fortunately, this is a common economic bamboo species, not a protected plant, so we can use it reasonably without worry."

Lin Yu’an’s eyes quickly searched the ground and soon found what he most desired to see.

At the base of several old bamboo clumps, a few shoots covered by thick bamboo leaves, with pointed tops forming a pagoda shape, wrapped in brown, fuzzy husks, were stubbornly breaking through the soil.

He squatted down and gently brushed away the soil with his fingers, excitedly speaking to the camera: "Spring shoots! The shoot season for sweet dragon bamboo is in early spring, around February to March."

"Its shoots are large, succulent, and sweet, with almost no bitterness, considered a delicacy by the locals. This is a great source of carbohydrates and plant fiber!"

"Having a bamboo forest means a rich ecological chain." He carefully dug out the two fattest and tenderest spring shoots while continuing his analysis.

"Bamboo not only provides us with food and materials but also supports many residents of this forest."

"For example, the red-cheeked pine squirrel, a typical protected animal, likes to burrow and nest in bamboo forests. And the bamboo rat, a specialist in eating bamboo roots and shoots."

"I must emphasize this point here: many people might misunderstand that bamboo rats are edible."

"But since the strictest national wildlife ban issued in 2020, the protection level of all wild bamboo rats has been raised to an unprecedented height, strictly prohibiting any form of hunting and consumption."

"They are a crucial link in maintaining the balance of the underground ecosystem of this bamboo forest, not our food option."

"Remember, a true survival expert in the wild must know not only what is edible but what absolutely should not be touched. Our baseline must be updated in sync with local laws and regulations."

"With these herbivorous animals, their predators are inevitably attracted, such as the golden cat we encountered yesterday; the bamboo forest is also an excellent ambush site for them."

"So even when in a treasure trove, one must remain vigilant."

This discovery once again completely changed his plans.

"The initial plan was to advance three kilometers, but we’ve only covered one and a half kilometers now."

He stood up, surveying the vibrant bamboo sea, "But in surviving in the wild, rigidly executing a plan is foolish behavior."

"When nature provides you with a five-star supply station, the only thing you should do is stop and respectfully accept this generous gift."

Lin Yu’an immediately began to take action; he needed a few things: containers, water, and more food.

"Bamboo is the Swiss army knife given to survivors by nature; it can almost meet all our needs."

His primary goal was to make several bamboo tubes, which would completely overhaul his previous reliance on snakeskin water bags and banana leaf bowls.

Enabling him to have cooking vessels for boiling water and making soup, becoming someone who can drink hot water and eat hot soup. His survival quality and ability to resist hypothermia would also experience a qualitative leap.

But without an axe or saw, how could he obtain complete bamboo tubes from a whole, iron-hard sweet dragon bamboo?

"The answer is still fire. We’re going to use fire to perform a precise minimally invasive surgery on the bamboo."

Lin Yu’an paced back and forth in the bamboo forest for nearly ten minutes, like a picky engineer inspecting materials.

His sharp eyes swept over each of the huge bamboo stalks, passing by several with a diameter of 20 centimeters, those massive objects standing silently in the forest like green totem poles.

He only stepped forward, tapped one, and the hollow sound was dull as if hitting a stone wall. He shook his head and gave up.

"Big fellows... are indeed tempting, but their bamboo walls are too thick, trying to burn through them with the tools I have might take half a day and astronomical amounts of fuel."

"The survival formula is that the payoff must far exceed the effort, so what we’re looking for is not the best, but the most suitable."

He examined a few newly grown green bamboo with fine fuzz on the stalks, just a glance and he walked away.

"Too tender, like a young man with a silver spear, pleasing to the eye but useless."

Finally, his steps stopped in front of a bamboo a bit on the outer edge of the clump. It wasn’t the stoutest but had a regal stance.

The color of its trunk wasn’t a bright green but a stable yellow-green, with a light layer of white wax on the surface.

He approached it like an old carpenter appraising a fine piece of wood, walking around it.

He tapped the bamboo with his knuckles at different spots, carefully listening to the echo. The sound was crisp and solid, the sound he wanted.

He roughly circled the bamboo’s diameter, about twelve to thirteen centimeters, not too big, not too small, just right.

He nodded in satisfaction and then turned to the camera, with a slight smile of having found his target on his face.

"This is it. In the jungle, choosing material is like gambling, you have to be sure before placing your bet."

He patted the bamboo beside him, his tone becoming relaxed, "Those tender new bamboo, whose layers can be pinched to draw water, have walls too thin, can’t withstand the burn."

"And those old yellow ones are too brittle, cracking at the slightest touch, even more unusable. What we need is this kind of guy."

He rubbed the layer of white wax, "The yellow-green color indicates it has stopped growing, and its moisture and sugar content are just right, the material has reached the most robust state."

After selecting the target, he began drawing lines for pre-surgery.

Walking to the selected bamboo, he used the Stone Knife in his hand to carve a circular groove at the base of the bamboo about half a meter above ground with force repeatedly.

"Alright, the line is drawn, but before starting the fire, I must first confirm one thing—the location of the water source."

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(Although the monthly vote ranking has fallen beyond 240, I still want to ask for monthly votes!)