Chapter 103

Chapter 103: “We haven’t even solved our food problem yet, and you’re already bringing animals home?!”

Without gloves, the soft and fluffy texture was clearly felt in her palm. Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but curl her fingers slightly, her thumb brushing over its ear— even the fur on the snow-white Arctic fox’s ears was thick.

The Arctic fox let her rub as much as she wanted, even eagerly pressing into her hand and rubbing back nonstop. It rolled over, holding her wrist with its paws and licking it again and again.

Lin Qianyu petted the Arctic fox’s belly, her five fingers pressing down through the fur, sinking into its soft coat.

After smoothing down its fur completely, Lin Qianyu put her gloves back on.

The Arctic fox rolled around on the ground, sweeping all the nearby snow clean. Its big tail swished across the ground, revealing the icy surface beneath the snow.

With her gloved hand, Lin Qianyu gave the Arctic fox’s fur a light scratch, then took the fish off the rack. The outside was already charred, but since she had cut it cleanly in half, the inside was evenly cooked.

Lin Qianyu shook the steaming, still-smoking grilled fish. “Want a bite?”

Grilled fish sprinkled with fine salt was clearly not part of the Arctic fox’s usual diet. It sniffed, lay on its back, and tilted its head. “Ying…”

It didn’t seem interested in grilled fish.

“Little seal?” Lin Qianyu looked down at the little spotted seal lying comfortably by her feet, already dozing off. “Don’t sleep, get up and eat something.”

The little seal drowsily opened its eyes, mouth slightly parted.

Lin Qianyu tore off a piece of fish, took aim, and tossed it.

The little seal smacked its lips— not even fully awake, but it ate anyway.

Lin Qianyu smiled with her eyes and fed it a few more bites the same way.

Maybe it was dreaming about eating, but after it was full, the little seal shoved its head into the snow, avoiding the food that kept falling from the sky.

As for the remaining fish, Lin Qianyu sprinkled on some seasoning and tasted it— it was really good. “This fish is so fresh.”

It was the first time Lin Qianyu had eaten fish raised in extreme cold.

Normally, the seasoning during grilling would mask some of the fish’s natural flavor. Since she hadn’t removed the fishy taste beforehand, she had to compensate with extra seasoning. But even covered in cumin and chili powder, the fish’s freshness still came through.

Lin Qianyu thought aloud, “Next time, I’ll catch more and make soup.”

This kind of fish would definitely make a delicious broth.

She’d forgotten to bring the lunchbox provided by the production crew. Otherwise, she could have just added some snow to the remaining half and made a soup right then and there.

She hadn’t found any fresh water on this trip, but melting snow would do. The only real issue was that without fresh water, bathing would be a hassle.

Lin Qianyu slowly finished the whole fish, then tossed the stick with the fish bones into the fire to burn.

“I should head back now.” Lin Qianyu patted the little seal. “Go on back to your companions.”

The group of spotted seals over there kept glancing this way— clearly very concerned about the little one.

The rested seals had already begun returning to the water. The little seal, still smacking its lips after being woken up, looked around. “Awoo!”

Tomorrow!

Lin Qianyu agreed readily. “Alright, I’ll come play with you again tomorrow.”

As she said that, she reached out and patted the little seal’s short flipper. “Go on now.”"Awoo!"

The little spotted seal let out a cry and rushed toward the group of seals.

"Little fox? It's getting dark." Lin Qianyu packed up her fishing rod. "I'm heading home."

"Ying..."

The Arctic fox’s eyes were locked on the fishing line being slowly reeled out of the ice hole. It reacted to her voice a bit late—instinctively let out a soft cry in reply, then suddenly turned its head, just in time to hear a soft click.

Lin Qianyu had already disassembled the rod and placed it in the tackle box.

Arctic foxes are social animals—this little one should also have companions waiting for it.

After packing up, Lin Qianyu stirred the fire pit and buried it fully with snow to put it out. "Alright, you should go home too."

The Arctic fox flipped over and stood up nimbly, shook the snow off its body, and stared blankly at Lin Qianyu’s retreating back for a moment—then took off after her.

【Lin-jie!!! Turn around ahhh!】

【Don’t leave! Don’t leave! The little fox is chasing you!】

【Hug it! Hurry up and hug it! Lin-jie if you won’t, I will—I’d run up, grab the little fox, and dash off with it.】

The Arctic fox caught up to Lin Qianyu and stopped right beside her, its body pressing tightly against her lower leg.

Lin Qianyu paused mid-step. "Hm?"

"Ying!" The Arctic fox’s big fluffy tail drooped behind it, swishing anxiously.

Lin Qianyu crouched halfway down and asked, "You want to come with me?"

The Arctic fox sat up straight and lifted its head, sniffed toward her affectionately, then gave her cheek a gentle lick. "Ying..."

Lin Qianyu had been thinking about taking the little seal and the Arctic fox home—but the little seal had its own group, its companions. Taking it away in front of them wouldn’t feel right.

The Arctic fox was the same—but now that it clearly didn’t intend to return to its group, taking it in would be no trouble at all.

"Alright, then come with me." Lin Qianyu cupped the Arctic fox’s head with both hands. Its canine features made for a small face, and with her bulky gloves, her hands looked several times bigger, almost covering the entire fox when she held it like this.

Up ahead was a patch of deep snow, almost reaching Lin Qianyu’s knees.

The Arctic fox was still struggling to walk through it, so she bent down and scooped it up. Even through her down jacket, she could feel how soft and squishy it was in her arms.

Held like that, the Arctic fox went completely stiff—probably not used to being carried for the first time.

Lin Qianyu held it with one arm, using the other hand to grip a stick and test the path ahead.

This mode of travel was new to the Arctic fox. It stared curiously at the stick, bobbing its head every time the stick moved.

As they neared the base, they could already see smoke rising from afar.

A few people were gathered around a fire, busy with something.

Yu Lingyu’s incredulous voice rang out: “Is this stuff really edible? It looks just like moss!”

Gong Xinming replied earnestly, “Of course it is. Before joining this show, I trained in the Arctic for seven days.”

He pointed to the mystery food in the pot. “This is wild vegetables I dug up from the tundra’s permafrost. It may not look great, but the taste…”As she spoke, Hang Sisi took a bite of the wild vegetable mush—instantly, her face turned greener than the mush itself.

Her expression was hard to describe.

Gong Xinming gave a light cough. "But it's really nutritious! And in this freezing weather, drinking something warm is super comforting."

Seeing Lin Qianyu return, he enthusiastically called out, "Qianyu-jie! We cooked two pots of wild veggie mush, come have some. It's really good!"

As if trying to prove his words, Gong Xinming lifted his bowl and took a big gulp. He paused, his Adam’s apple visibly bobbing as he struggled to swallow it. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse, “Um… next time, Qianyu-jie, next time we’ll drink together.”

Before Lin Qianyu could respond, she noticed the lower half of Gong Xinming’s face—uncovered by a mask—had turned all sorts of colors. "Did you not add any seasoning? Add more water, maybe stew it with some canned meat—it might turn out better."

Judging by the color in the pot, it probably only had wild greens and water. Even adding salt probably wouldn’t help much.

“Oh! Right!” Gong Xinming smacked his forehead. “I’ve still got canned food. Qianyu-jie, wait up—once I cook it, you can try some.”

“No need, I already ate. You all go ahead.” Lin Qianyu stomped her feet to shake off the snow.

Hang Sisi took a few sips of hot water from her bowl and asked, “Qianyu-jie, why are you carrying so much snow?”

Something seemed to click in her mind and her eyes lit up. “Are you building an igloo? Already starting on a shelter?”

When there’s no shelter, building one is the top priority in wilderness survival. But now they had thick windproof tents, so everyone had focused on finding food instead and hadn’t rushed to build shelters.

Lin Qianyu replied, “An igloo…”

Just as she spoke, the Arctic fox buried in her arms lifted its head. Its dazed gaze paused as it noticed the humans not far away, then quickly ducked back into her arms, even trying to stuff its drooping tail further into her embrace.

Hang Sisi: “?!!”

It’s a fox!!!

【Who understands, y’all! That move just pierced my heart—it’s too cute!】

【All curled up in her arms to be squished and cuddled.】

【LOL look at Hang Sisi’s expression—“We haven’t even solved the food issue and you’ve already brought home an animal?!”】

【Can’t compete. Just can’t. And that pot of green health food… barely wins over slop by being brightly colored. Are we sure it’s not poisonous?】

…

Hang Sisi stared, dumbfounded. “That was way too fast.”

Lin Qianyu smiled. “Just happened to run into it while it was out foraging.”

She set the stick aside. The snow had stopped on her way back, and not much remained on her, so she casually patted the Arctic fox and unzipped the tent, letting it in first.

To a small animal, this was a semi-enclosed space with just one narrow opening—a strange room. It might feel trapped or uneasy.

Sure enough, once inside, the little fox cautiously inspected the interior.

Seeing that she kept holding it, Hang Sisi couldn’t help asking, “Is it injured?”

“No. The path was just hard to walk, so I carried it.” Lin Qianyu placed her backpack inside too.

The Arctic fox seemed to have finished circling the tent and came back to the entrance, stretching its paw through the gap, trying to hook Lin Qianyu in.

From inside the tent, Gong Xinming shouted, “Sisi! Have you seen where I put my canned food?”“Right by…” Hang Sisi started to call out but trailed off—she couldn’t remember where it was. “Qianyu-jie, I’ll go help him look.”

Lin Qianyu nodded. “Mm, go ahead.”

She bent down, took the Arctic fox’s paw, and left her snow-covered shoes outside before stepping in.

If it were a completely unfamiliar enclosed space, wild animals would naturally feel anxious.

But if the environment included a human the animal knew, then not only would the Arctic fox not feel tense—it might even enjoy the cozy, private space shared with someone it liked.

It was too cold outside, so Lin Qianyu zipped the tent shut. Even inside, she could only take off her down jacket—the rest of her thick clothes had to stay on.

Her warm hand ran through the Arctic fox’s fur. Lin Qianyu murmured thoughtfully, “Still need to build an igloo.”

Fires couldn’t be lit inside the tent, but they could inside an igloo.

And thanks to the unique structure of an igloo, even when the temperature outside dropped below freezing, you wouldn’t need a sweater inside.

Otherwise, even returning to the tent after being outside, you couldn’t really warm your hands—at most, you’d be out of the wind.

With that in mind, Lin Qianyu started rummaging again to see if anything could be used.

This time, the production team had prepared the most complete set of supplies for the guests so far.

The little fox lay on the ground licking its fur. Inside the tent, it didn’t need to curl up—it could sprawl out without feeling cold.

As she searched through supplies, Lin Qianyu noticed and freed a hand to scratch the little fox’s chin. “Do you like it here?”

“Ying…” The little fox tilted its head up, its front paws pawing at her wrist—almost like it was trying to hug her.

“Good boy.” Lin Qianyu rubbed along the fox’s neck fur. “Play here by yourself for a bit. I’m going to build the igloo.”

“Ying?”

Ice?

“Igloo is just a name. The material is snow bricks.” Lin Qianyu stood up with the axe in hand. Her down jacket was still on, and after putting on her goggles again, she saw the Arctic fox already crouching by the tent entrance ahead of her.

Looked like it didn’t want to stay in the tent alone.

“Alright then, let’s go together.” Lin Qianyu unzipped the tent, and a gust of cold wind immediately blew the flap inward.

Before setting out, Lin Qianyu built a fire in the center of the base. She scooped some snow from a higher, cleaner area into a mess tin and hung it over the fire to boil water.

It would take some time to boil, so she got it started first—by the time she returned, it would be ready to drink.

Looking at the mess tin, packed full of snow, she noted it was a three-layer type, with the bottom layer deeper, meant for soup. One potful would be enough.

Lin Qianyu clipped the other two layers together and said, “These two can be used like frying pans.”

The material felt somewhat like iron, but tapping it sounded more like stainless steel. Either way, as long as it could go over an open flame without burning through, it would do.

As she spoke, a thought crossed her mind. Lin Qianyu hesitated. “To get snow bricks…”

That stretch of road from earlier—the snow there was ideal for building an igloo.

But it was a bit far.

And… snow bricks for an igloo had to be cut into shape right when gathering the snow.After all, she didn’t have a mold to shape the snow bricks. If she did, she could crush the snow, compress it, and carry it back.

Lin Qianyu thought for a moment, then turned her foot and didn’t go directly for the snow bricks. Instead, she went to chop wood first. “Make a transport tool.”

Fortunately, the ground was covered in snow, some of which had even frozen solid. A dragging transport tool could be pulled without wheels.

Lin Qianyu chose a moderately sized tree to chop down.

Wearing heavy gear, chopping a tree was inconvenient. If it were a machete or kitchen knife, sharpening it just for one tree would take half an hour.

She split the wood in half, then relied on breaking it apart by hand. Uneven, jagged edges didn’t matter. The axe couldn’t shape it, and scraping bit by bit was troublesome.

In this freezing weather, Lin Qianyu didn’t plan to sit outside to whittle wood. “This shape will do.”

She stood up the six prepared wooden planks, then said, “Then tie them together with rope, like tying a raft, to secure them…”

She wound the rope around the planks arranged side by side in a crisscross pattern. The rope length was limited, so she economized, tying a tight knot at the end. The leftover length formed a handle for dragging.

“All done.” After finishing, Lin Qianyu stood, pulled the rope forward, and the planks left winding marks on the ground.

The rope underneath the planks caused the scratches to be messy.

But dragging it was not very tiring.

[“Handcart ready, now just need someone to sit on it. I mean… let me?”]

[“If the little wolf were here, it could definitely help Lin Lin pull the cart, and Lin-jie could sit on it.”]

[“Uh… little fox?”]

[“Not to mention whether this rope-tied plank cart can be pulled fast enough to fly, with the little fox’s size, it couldn’t even make a dent by stomping in place. There’s no way it could drag it.”]

“Can’t sit on it, dragging too fast would make it fall apart.” Lin Qianyu tied it herself and knew the quality best. “If you want a sliding plank, it’s better to use solid wood boards.”

Or something fixed with sturdy materials would also work.

But definitely not rope.

When she reached the deep snow, Lin Qianyu used her axe to carve marks on the flat snow surface, pressing down along the lines.

Cutting snow bricks didn’t require much force, just shaping them carefully so they wouldn’t crumble when lifted.

“Make a bigger one.” Lin Qianyu said as she slowly lifted a snow brick and gently placed it on the wooden cart.

Once the igloo was formed, modifying it would be difficult.

When the igloo was built, living inside it caused the temperature to rise, melting some of the surface snow, which would quickly refreeze. This repeated until the ice layer was hard enough not to be melted by the fire inside—then it was complete.

Compared to this freezing process, building it wasn’t that hard.

Two experienced Inuit could build an igloo within one day.

Snow bricks were stacked on the wooden cart, some at the edges wobbling precariously.

The Arctic fox tilted its head, nudged one with its snout, and seeing it didn’t move, gently stepped on it with a paw one by one, not leaving any claw marks but seemingly pushing it.

Looking up, Lin Qianyu was adjusting the position of a snow brick.

She rolled up her sleeve, glanced at the time, and said, “Let’s lay the foundation today.”After dark, return to the tent first and continue building the center area tomorrow.

The igloo they wanted to build was relatively large, so naturally required many snow bricks.

Seeing that the snow bricks on the cart were almost enough, Lin Qianyu put away the axe and planned to take them back first and build later.

But as she turned, she twisted her foot and heard a faint rustling sound beneath the snow. “Listen, what’s down there?”

The Arctic fox also heard it, but since it had just eaten, it naturally didn’t have the energy to hunt now.

Lin Qianyu acted quickly. The moment she sensed the sound approaching, she crouched down and pressed with her hand. Feeling it slip away, she lunged forward, pressing her whole body into the snow.

On the thick, uncut snow, she left a human-shaped depression.

“Ying—?!” Seeing the human disappear before its eyes, the Arctic fox hurried forward, digging with its front paws, trying to dig Lin Qianyu out from under the heavy snow.

Lin Qianyu looked up swiftly; her goggles and mask were covered in snow, hiding her expression, but she raised her hand holding a lemming. “Look!”

Her tone was light and cheerful, sounding like she was laughing.

The Arctic fox didn’t even glance at the lemming, instead anxiously licking the snow off her goggles.

“Good, I’m fine.” Lin Qianyu wrapped her arm around the fox, pulling it close. “Look what I caught.”

[Action tip: Arctic fox.]

[Haha, can someone make a gif comparing Lin-jie and the Arctic fox hunting lemmings?]

[Falling into such thick snow—does this randomly make any southern person drool?! Wow, this is amazing.]

Lin Qianyu didn’t lie in the snow too long, even though it was comfortable. She handed the lemming to the Arctic fox.

She stood up, shook off the snow from her body; the slick down jacket didn’t hold any snow.

The Arctic fox held the lemming in its mouth, looking up at her eagerly.

Lin Qianyu picked up the Arctic fox and placed it beside the wooden cart. “Watch it for me. If the snow bricks aren’t stable and start to fall, just let me know.”

The Arctic fox was about to get down but pulled back its paws, “Ying!”

With a snap of its mouth, the lemming was freed, landing on the ground, then turning to jump off the wood into the snow.

Lemmings dig holes in the snow and try to escape by quickly digging tunnels when chased by the Arctic fox.

But the Arctic fox deliberately jumps up when catching them, landing to crush the tunnels dug by the lemmings and precisely snatch them from inside.

At the moment, the lemming hadn’t even reached its familiar environment before the Arctic fox quickly bit it, killing it instantly.

The Arctic fox sat upright on the edge of the wooden cart, its body swaying with the movement of the dragged cart.

...

The igloo site Lin Qianyu planned was not far from the tent, in a sufficiently open space.

She placed the wooden cart aside, picked up the top snow brick, and began arranging them on the ground along the traced circle.

The corners were placed first, brick by brick, outlining the circular base.

“The outside corners can also be sealed with snow, but I think this looks pretty good.” Lin Qianyu pointed to the outer edges, “If you’re worried about insulation, you can fill a little snow inside, just a shallow layer.”After arranging the snow bricks brought back, less than two layers had been stacked.

Lin Qianyu stood with one hand on her hip, looking at the low layer. At this rate, she’d have to make at least a dozen trips to bring enough snow bricks to build the igloo—not including the arched entrance and kitchen.

Having an igloo kitchen would make cooking and making fires much more convenient.

Lin Qianyu planned to build one, then open a door in the middle, and leave a chimney outside. This way, the sleeping bedroom space inside would feel much more spacious.

She already had a concept in her mind for this two-room igloo, but just one igloo would take so many snow bricks. If she wanted to build more, she might have to run back and forth thirty or forty times.

Wearing heavy clothes and busy all this time, Lin Qianyu was already feeling a bit warm in the subzero environment.

Anyway, there was no rush. She thought for a moment and said, “Take it slow.”

“Ying!” The Arctic fox, digging a hole, deliberately dropped its prey to respond, but didn’t stop digging.

The Arctic fox had a habit of storing food. Like red pandas, they would bury food during seasons of abundance to save for winter when food is scarce.

But in half the cases, the stored food wasn’t enough to last the whole winter; it was only a temporary food source when temperatures suddenly dropped.

For the lemmings it couldn’t finish, the fox planned to dig a hole and bury them. It dug one earlier but, possibly smelling another animal’s scent, abandoned that hole and started digging elsewhere.

Since it chose to dig somewhere else rather than giving up burying the food, that animal was probably not threatening but might steal food.

“Let’s go, little fox.” After adjusting the foundation, Lin Qianyu picked up the axe and called out.

The little fox gave a “ying” sound, quickly stepped on the buried snow, then turned to follow.

After just a few steps, the Arctic fox sensed something, suddenly bristled up, blocking Lin Qianyu’s side, and looked alertly toward a spot not far away.

Author’s note: Here we go.