In the following days, Li Younan started focusing on another task.
That is to prevent bear intrusion.
It’s well known that bears are animals that hibernate.
Before hibernation, bears accumulate a large amount of fat, and after collecting food from spring through summer, they are now plump and strong.
During their final preparations for hibernation, bears reach peak levels of aggression and physical power for the year.
Although Li Younan is confident that as long as he’s armed with a bow and arrow, he could shoot through a bear’s eye with one shot.
But what if a bear attacks while he’s not around?
His fence has successfully defended against bears before, but times are different now; the weather is turning cold, and bears are stronger than they were in summer. So, Li Younan decided to further strengthen his fortress.
He added another row of sharp wooden stakes to the fence, making it resemble a chevaux-de-frise.
At the same time, he made many spear-like weapons in the yard.
Additionally, he cleared the underbrush around the shelter on the slope to open up the view, which could slightly deter bears.
Bears have incredible night vision, but in the dark, the effect of fire becomes more pronounced—wild animals have a genetic fear of fire.
Therefore, Li Younan specially built a small signal fire outside his room so that when he lights it before going to bed, there will be a noticeable flame for most of the night as a defense measure.
Of course, Li Younan hoped that the bear in this area would recklessly intrude during the day, allowing him to take it down with one shot, giving him a peace of mind to sleep well.
Bears are solitary animals; adult bears usually occupy and defend their territory, avoiding sharing space and resources with others.
In most cases, if there is one bear in an area, there is unlikely to be another bear except for a few specific situations.
These specific situations usually include three types: one is during the spring mating season when male bears actively seek out females to mate; the second is when a mother bear is with her cubs; the third situation... it is now winter, so there’s no mating season.
Also, although there are plenty of fish in the nearby lake, the terrain in such a steep area makes it impossible for bears to fish there without fishing equipment.
So even if there were more than one bear here, it would only be possible if a mother bear was with her cubs.
For Li Younan, if a mother bear dared to come harass his place, he wouldn’t mind turning the cubs into orphans (super cool).
The latest episode of "Alone in the Wilderness" aired as scheduled.
Since only three contestants were left, each contestant got significantly more screen time.
Upon airing, this episode sparked considerable controversy.
Because, in this episode, Li Younan made a crystal radio.
Of course, initially, there was shock.
But after the shock, the emotion gradually turned into a kind of incomprehensible confusion.
For the majority of the audience, they lacked a solid foundation in science and technology, making it hard to understand why a radio that can produce sound doesn’t need a power source.
Even when relevant bloggers explained it, they still couldn’t resolve this part of the public’s confusion.
Next came the discussion of whether what Li Younan did counted as cheating.
However, because the show aired Younan’s creation process, it meant the show’s producers approved of his actions.
He didn’t use any external help, only the equipment provided by the show to make the crystal radio, so technically, he wasn’t cheating.
After the brief discussion, Li Younan’s fans became even more enthusiastic.
Even some of his critics had to admit, in the wilderness, when other contestants were still worried about basic needs, this guy was living like a modern civilized person.
The contrast was simply astounding.
"He was practically born for this show!"
Followed by were scenes of the three contestants enduring a snowy night.
Viewers watched the resilient Kanna, who, despite her hardships, remained optimistic. When the snowfall came, she had to go outside and chop enough wood to keep her room warm with a burning fire.
This scene, enhanced by a special editing technique, was incredibly moving.
"She truly is a strong woman!"
Of course, some mocked Kanna; after all, she was the only contestant who didn’t choose a saw.
But then again, she had chosen to bring a net and trapping tools; without these, she might have been eliminated much earlier.
In comparison, Pacini was the ordinary yet confident one.
His shelter, of course, was a bit better than Kanna’s, but not by much.
The food reserve in his shelter was only enough for two weeks, and it consisted mainly of unappetizing jerky.
He had hunted deer, which is considered a fine meat source in modern society due to its low-fat content, but in the wilderness, dried deer meat is tough and has little fat, so it’s not very tasty.
Yet he still confidently expressed in front of the camera, "I don’t think any other contestant has living conditions as good as mine right now. Once the snow stops, I’ll go..."
Then the scene transitioned to Li Younan’s daily routine in the snowstorm.
This guy got up in the morning and made himself a gourmet breakfast, then applied butter to his skin for skincare—who could even argue with that?
While the other contestants were enduring hunger and cold, this guy was using precious, vitamin-rich butter as a skincare product.
And his reason for doing so, and choosing to go out in such weather... were you kidding me, was to find food for a slightly dumb-looking goat.
The audience was left speechless, and as everyone knows, when people are speechless, they really do laugh.
Everyone left comments with smiling faces: I wonder how the other two contestants will feel after the show ends when they see this kind of scene.
And what’s most unacceptable is that Li Younan ended his day with a bath.
Just imagine, while the snowstorm outside rages on, this guy is comfortably soaking in a tub.
This isn’t "Alone in the Wilderness" or "Wilderness Survival" — it’s clearly a vacation!
Previous contestants who were eliminated also came out with a live stream to share their feelings about watching Li Younan in "Alone in the Wilderness" after wrapping up their parts.
Everyone’s emotions can probably be summed up in two words: ridiculous.
Especially when they saw Li Younan hand-crafting a stone radio, one contestant even furiously said, "I suspect if you throw this guy into primitive society, given enough time, he could lead those savages into a civilized society!"
"In fact, he really shouldn’t have participated in this show!"
"It’s freaking crazy, what kind of guy are we competing with!"
Indeed, Li Younan’s performance is on a completely different level from the other contestants.
There is almost no doubt about who the champion will be.
If in these conditions Li Younan doesn’t win, then there’s definitely something fishy about the show.
Despite this, the viewership ratings remain high.
This "Alone in the Wilderness" has truly been turned into a "Wilderness Survival" experience by Li Younan, while the other contestants merely serve to highlight how skillful he is at surviving.
Regarding which of the other two contestants will be eliminated first, everyone almost unanimously thinks Kanna will be first, with the final showdown between Li Younan and Pacini.
People are even looking forward to seeing Kanna’s reaction after quitting the show — when she watches it live, she might even earn some money, somewhat making up for not winning the grand prize.
However, the way things unfolded caught everyone off guard.
After a few days of clear weather, Pacini had a hunch that once the next snowstorm hit, Chilco Lake’s shores would truly enter winter.
So he wanted to seize the last window of opportunity to find his next prey substantial enough for him to live on for a time.
He must stockpile enough food before the weather makes it too difficult to find.
"Alone in the Wilderness" is certain to produce a champion because these chosen survival sites don’t have the conditions for anyone to live a full year.
In winter, food scarcity makes it theoretically impossible for two top contestants to last till the end.
Of course, if he’d seen Li Younan’s performance, he probably wouldn’t think this way, but before being eliminated, this belief was the reason he kept going.
Before setting off today, he reminded himself again: I must find enough food before the weather turns completely harsh.
Unluckily, not only he near his shelter thought so.
He set out, bringing all his bows and arrows.
His previous hunting experiences made him walk towards the forest with ease.
Unfortunately, as it gets colder, more and more animals migrate inland, away from the lake.
The ecosystem’s balance on the lakeside was primarily because fish were plentiful before the lake froze, and the lush aquatic plants nearby.
This makes hunting increasingly difficult.
Today was another day of no success.
Returning, Pacini clutched a few pine nuts in his hands, somewhat helplessly, as he turned on his action camera to record: "Well, folks, although we didn’t find any prey, it’s not a complete waste. At least we know this direction doesn’t even have any animal tracks."
He jokingly told two jokes and added, "Maybe tomorrow we’ll still have to try our luck by the lake."
Yet just as he was about to reach his shelter, his expression suddenly changed drastically — the roof of the shelter was lifted.
He uttered words starting with F and S, his steps hurried but still cautious, observing the surroundings before cautiously approaching the shelter with his bow and arrow in hand.
As he saw the scene before him, his world crumbled.
He immediately knew it was definitely a bear.
The wood of the shelter was clawed open into a big hole, and the bear’s strength was truly astonishing.
With the structure below damaged, the roof collapsed, yet the bear wasn’t satisfied and seemed to have climbed up and wreaked havoc.
Adding to that, the items inside the shelter were scattered everywhere.
Pacini was in utter despair. He aimlessly lifted the roof of the shelter, and sure enough, all his stored venison inside was eaten.
At that moment, he couldn’t help but slap himself twice and mutter several words starting with S and F.
Luckily, not all his venison was stored in the shelter, only about a day’s worth of food was here; most of it was hung in the trees, so things weren’t as bad as they could be.
However, the shelter was destroyed, and some essential items inside, like the sleeping bag, were bitten through.
This was a huge blow; facing winter without a down sleeping bag was far from delightful.
He couldn’t help but curse, but as he cursed, a sudden pang of panic hit him — this was a instinctive response.
Suddenly aware, he looked in the direction of his peripheral vision — a massive black bear was running towards him.
Pacini felt as if he’d plunged into an ice cellar, a primal fear gripping him.
He shouted loudly, trying to scare the bear away.
It did have some effect; the bear stopped and observed Pacini, then continued moving towards him with determined steps.

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