Chapter 375: Chapter 181: Training Camp Shows Its Edge (First Update)
In fact, although the prize money is one million, the actual amount received needs to consider the combined impact of federal tax, state tax, and China’s personal income tax, so realistically, you definitely won’t get a million US Dollars.
However, there are preferential terms in the China-US tax agreement that can be applied. After comprehensive calculation, as a Chinese citizen, after deducting all taxes, Li Younan can actually receive around 800,000 US Dollars, plus the one million RMB reward from Douyin. So if he wins the championship, effectively the prize can indeed reach about a million.
However, at the moment, Li Younan hasn’t made up his mind to stay until the end.
Even though during the interview, he confidently expressed his determination and ability to endure loneliness, when it truly comes to not wanting to continue, everything could change.
A week later, Li Younan successfully arrived at the training center in the wilderness of northern Canada.
Almost everyone who arrives here is one of the world’s top survival experts, so the relevant training is not as rigorous as Li Younan imagined.
In fact, before they arrived here, they already had sufficient knowledge in various aspects. The training here focuses more on explaining the local geography, climate, and related wildlife. In addition, the more professional content includes outdoor navigation and positioning, first aid training, equipment usage and maintenance, and psychological adaptation.
But overall, for most of the participants, the training was more form than substance.
If they still needed training on these basic things, it’s very likely they wouldn’t have been selected to be here.
Although the training camp is in the wilderness, they can demonstrate building shelters and handling food in the field, but the supplies are very sufficient.
Overall, the living conditions at the camp are quite good, with a chef responsible for cooking.
For Li Younan, the 7-day training felt more like a camping trip with foreign friends.
The pre-competition training is basically not shown in the main program.
Although the content of the training is not within the scope of the confidentiality agreement, overall it is somewhat dull and monotonous, so looking at many previous "Alone in the Wilderness" programs, this part is rarely included.
But for Li Younan, the pre-competition training was one of the few opportunities to communicate with and get to know the other contestants. After all, once the competition officially begins, each person will be dropped at different starting points, making it quite difficult to interact.
This season, of the 10 contestants participating in "Alone in the Wilderness," there are three women and seven men, covering various dimensions of the population, involving four of the five continents, although primarily from the United States.
After spending a day at the camp, Li Younan noticed that the five Americans and the five international contestants subtly formed two camps... It’s not an open competition or conflict, but rather a subtle competitive edge revealed during daily training.
When Li Younan first arrived, survival skills training was underway, mainly including learning to use a fire starter, friction fire, and skills for finding and purifying water sources.
These skills are a bit mixed and have a lot of content. After the training concludes, there is a demonstration session for the participants.
At this point, whenever the international contestants performed slightly better, an American contestant would immediately try to outperform them.
After a few such instances, everyone developed this kind of tacit understanding.
In this atmosphere, of course, Li Younan couldn’t remain unaffected.
As the only Asian participant, he naturally was considered part of the international contestants’ camp by everyone present.
In this regard, Li Younan was indifferent. He understood clearly that the need for belonging is one of humanity’s most primal underlying needs.
However, this competitiveness didn’t affect the harmonious atmosphere among them.
Over the next two days, there were trainings for outdoor navigation and positioning, and for first aid knowledge.
The former was the most challenging part of this training. Although many contestants had solid outdoor survival skills, recognizing terrain and topography leans more toward theoretical knowledge. Those who have truly systematically studied how to read maps know very well that map reading and usage aren’t as easy as people imagine.
When everyone is dropped in the wilderness, each will be given a map. This internationally standardized map is a reference for determining one’s location. If you can’t read a map, even if you have one, you wouldn’t know where you are on it.
For Li Younan, as a player with top-level mountaineering skills, map reading and usage, even judging geological structures, is not difficult at all. The geological features around Chilco Lake are like mental imprints deeply embedded in his mind.
In contrast, there were two guys on the scene who performed somewhat clumsily in this course. If they got lost once the program starts, Li Younan wouldn’t be surprised at all.
However, everyone has their strengths and unique understanding of wilderness survival. Not everyone thinks this skill is important.
The next day’s session was the most lively: the equipment usage and maintenance course.
This course instructs participants on the correct use and maintenance of survival gear, including knives, ropes, tents, sleeping bags, and even fish nets, bows, and arrows. It’s also the best chance to display prowess (or show off).
Many of them are experts in various fields, and even if they can’t claim mastery of these tools, they’re generally quite proficient with them.
Over a few days, several survival experts left a deep impression on Li Younan. In his view, the most competitive was a lumberjack from the United States named Pacini.
He is said to be a lumberjack, but his experience is somewhat complex. As soon as he became an adult, he served in the United States Marine Corps, sharing similar military experiences with many top survival experts. He retired before he was thirty and had worked as a firearms instructor and a farmer. Now, he works part-time as a lumberjack, which he refers to as a form of exercise.
The guy has muscular arms, which obviously seem powerful.
Besides that, what strikes Li Younan the most is a wealthy middle-aged man. That guy is very rich and participates in this program not for the one million US dollar prize, but simply out of his pure enjoyment for the ’Alone in the Wilderness’ format. For him, it’s more like a game.
After the lessons for the day concluded, the students presented their achievements one by one in a clearing near the camp. At this time, they were exhibiting their archery skills.
Soon, Li Younan heard some shouts of amazement from the other side; it turned out Pacini had fired several spectacular arrows, continually hitting an apple on the tree trunk 30 meters away.
Pacini slowly took down his bow and laughed heartily, saying: "Guys, looks like my luck is good today."
In his opinion, it wasn’t anything special, but he certainly enjoyed the experience of being the center of attention. Even in a survival program like this, few are proficient with bows and arrows. Each episode always has several people who don’t even choose to use them.
Being proficient with bows and arrows provides a significant advantage.
Although he felt it wasn’t something worth bragging about, some international contestants began to have a subtle desire to compare themselves with him.
Immediately, a bearded European uncle seemed eager to try, expressing he would give it a go.
He attempted to draw the bow; this American hunting bow had a decent draw weight of 50 pounds. His posture looked quite professional, and then he aimed at the apple on the tree trunk 30 meters away, shot an arrow, but missed completely. The arrow didn’t even hit the tree.
The bearded man’s face fell, and he quickly grabbed another arrow to try again. This time, he hit the tree trunk but still missed the apple.
He said somewhat embarrassedly: "Alright, guys, looks like I need to practice more."
Li Younan leisurely lay reclining on the folding chair used for the lessons, feeling at ease watching the scene before him.
No matter each participant’s original purpose for joining the program, one can be sure that every contestant here has a pure love for nature. There is not much hostility; overall, everyone is quite optimistic and amiable. Although they are competitors, everyone seems able to accept their own shortcomings calmly.
Li Younan viewing the program from another angle thought that although its initial purpose was commercial, presenting this human-land relationship might also provoke viewers to ponder modern civilization’s relationship with nature.
Right at that moment, several international contestants suddenly turned their gaze towards Li Younan.
During the past few days, they had come to understand this only Asian contestant. They all knew that Li Younan’s archery skills were very impressive.
That bearded uncle took down his bow and came over to Li Younan laughing, saying: "Buddy, give it a shot. They all say your archery is extraordinary; you need to win glory for us international contestants."
This comment made several Americans on site burst into laughter.
Li Younan, not pretending to be modest, laughed and stood up to take the bow and arrow, not walking over but standing in place to start preparing his bow.
The bearded uncle asked a bit surprised: "Isn’t this too far away?"
Li Younan didn’t reply, just showed a confident smile.
Faced with these rookie foreigners, Li Younan changed his usual low-profile demeanor from China.
He knew well that in such a cultural atmosphere, to earn respect, just being low-key wouldn’t work. It’s essential to showcase one’s talents and abilities to gain real respect.
His gaze fixed and stared at the apple in the distance, then the sound of a twang emanated, a small shock from Chinese archery skills, as the arrow flew out.
The arrow hit the apple on the tree trunk steadily, even the arrow’s tail was still gently vibrating.
The atmosphere on site became lively again.
"Unbelievable, Li!"
Everyone praised him like that, including Pacini.
Li Younan clearly understood that within just a few days of the training camp, he had earned respect from everyone with his archery skills alone.
But he also clearly knew that others only held his archery skills in esteem and might not believe that archery could represent all wilderness survival.
The time spent at the training camp quickly came to an end, and the day for contestants to officially enter the competition field finally arrived.
Meanwhile, far away in China, this season of ’Alone in the Wilderness’ had completely exploded in popularity with unprecedented attention.
