Starting from Robinson Crusoe

"If only I could have them help me tame two Great Horned Deer."

Watching the two people by the river chatting and laughing, quickly shaping the bear skin into a saddle-like form, then removing the original saddle and attempting to fix the bear skin, Chen Zhou couldn’t help thinking.

If he and Paul could also have two mounts or beasts to help carry supplies, it would be much more convenient to travel to more distant places.

Unfortunately, the challenge rules state that only two survivors are allowed; if more, he wouldn’t mind cooperating with this group of challengers.

In terms of combat, Chen Zhou is confident; with adequate preparation, he can handle most wild beasts alone.

But regarding beast taming and identifying herbs and spices, he finds himself lacking; in such situations, having some professionals as complements would be best. Clearly, this group of challengers is rare talent.

Certainly, aside from having others help tame, killing these two and leaving the Great Horned Deer is also a way to obtain mounts.

To be even more ruthless, one could kill the person who doesn’t know beast taming and keep the one who does, torturing him to force him to work—this is also an option.

However, both methods carry risks.

If they are killed, the Great Horned Deer, without a master, may not obey.

Forcing someone to tame beasts would result in unstable temperament of the mounts, and perhaps they might reserve some means, causing great losses in the future.

For now, as long as both parties remain unfriendly and cannot solve the challenge rule issue, cooperation seems a difficult topic to broach.

Silently pondering that he should definitely get a young Great Horned Deer or some other herbivore to grow slowly, Chen Zhou looked toward the mountain.

After dawn, the weak light of the torch could not compete with the morning sun; without the backdrop of night, it’s impossible to see the challenger’s location on the mountain from afar, only a dense forest.

Looking from the mountain toward the rock wall, last night’s battle left only a ground of corpses.

But today it’s difficult to recreate such a lively scene, because besides the Large-Horned Deer Herd, a group of Mammoths has arrived here.

As the largest prehistoric land creatures, the undeniable rulers of Mammoth Plain, these giant beasts’ arrival forces all predators with a bloody scent to retreat far away—

To protect the calves, sometimes adult Mammoths will proactively attack carnivorous beasts.

While Mammoths can’t generally catch fleeing predators, if they do catch or surround them, survival is nearly impossible.

Perhaps Mammoths don’t have a mouth full of sharp teeth or claws and beaks, but their size and strength give them immense destructive power. Even similarly massive Hairy Rhinoceroses or Giant Ground Sloths can’t withstand a Mammoth’s kick, let alone other creatures.

Mammoths are the "Sea Gods" of the plains, guardians of many herbivores lacking attack abilities, gentle by nature.

When they arrive, this place naturally becomes a "forbidden zone" for carnivores; at least for now, it is so.

...

Seeing the challenger riding Great Horned Deer having no intention of tracking him, and still no sign of the mountain challengers, concerned that Paul might sleep too deeply, unable to rely on the three small Saw-toothed Tigers for warning, Chen Zhou descended the tree, quietly left the rock wall area.

He thought it wouldn’t be long before the group of challengers riding Great Horned Deer would continue to advance south.

The mountain group is also unlikely to camp directly near the rock wall, giving him the opportunity to collect Rock Salt.

At the same time, Chen Zhou also harbors covetous thoughts towards the survival tools of the two groups of challengers.

Fire starting tools, weapons, these things don’t matter much; what he really needs are drugs, whether for treating himself or Paul, medicines are crucial.

Living in the wilderness all day, they encounter countless bacteria, viruses, parasites; although he and Paul are very careful, generally not drinking raw water or eating raw food, in such an environment, mere caution cannot prevent parasite and bacterial and viral intrusions.

In such cases, even obtaining just one bottle of antiparasitic medicine would be of great help to the two of them.

Otherwise, when the challenge reaches its later stages, the contest will be about who has the better physical condition, fewer parasites, and fewer diseases.

...

Returning to the temporary camp, Chen Zhou traveled less urgently compared to his previous haste.

Paul’s large gun was broken; he wanted to take the chance to find a sufficiently straight, tall, and appropriately thick tree to make a pole for Paul.

He also hoped to test his luck to see if he could find another salt-producing area.

Rock Salt is certainly the best choice, but salt frost is barely edible too; before making preparations, Chen Zhou still hopes to avoid conflicts prematurely.

The confrontation between two groups of challengers and the situation formed by the encounter of three groups of challengers is entirely different.

Two groups of challengers only need to promptly engage in battle, exert maximum effort, use all means, to kill or severely injure the enemy.

But with three groups of challengers, it becomes far more complex.

Any person who acts first must have absolute certainty of victory.

If they can’t quickly and cleanly kill the opponent, or get injured after killing the opponent, wasting too many weapons, the team watching and waiting will benefit, and may even take the opportunity to destroy both teams, becoming the greatest winners.

Mountain side, riverbank, across the river.

Among the three groups of challengers, each group knows of the others’ existence, making everyone cautious and conservative.