Chapter Summaries

With the cabin’s diesel running low and deep snow blocking the way out, Su Wei tried to start the damaged snowmobile Emily had left behind. The engine sputtered but failed to start, leaving him still without a way to reach town or escape.

• Su Wei realized the generator had only two days of diesel left and that the blizzard would soon cut off the cabin’s power and water.
• Su Wei decided the snowmobile Emily had left behind might let him travel through deep snow to get fuel or escape.
• Su Wei geared up, went to the garage, and found the snowmobile’s battery dead.
• Su Wei used the choke and primer, then pull-started the engine; it sputtered and stopped without starting.

Su Wei discovered that the Polaris snowmobile would not start because its fuel tank was empty, then decided to siphon gasoline from his Dodge pickup. He found a suitable hose and bucket and prepared to transfer fuel, but had not yet begun siphoning.

• Su Wei checked the Polaris’s fuel tank and found it completely empty after repeatedly trying to start the engine.
• Su Wei realized the snowmobile needed gasoline and that he had used up his spare fuel before the blizzard trapped him.
• Su Wei checked his Dodge pickup and saw that its hundred-liter tank was still nearly full.
• Su Wei searched the garage and found a bucket and a flexible PVC hose for siphoning fuel.
• Su Wei opened the pickup’s fuel cap and smelled gasoline as he prepared to transfer it.

Su Wei siphoned gasoline from his pickup into the snowmobile and managed to start its engine, giving him hope that he could travel to town and reach Emily. The engine faltered and began sputtering just after he revved it.

• Su Wei siphoned gasoline from his pickup, accidentally getting some in his mouth, then rinsed with snow.
• Su Wei poured the collected gasoline into the snowmobile using a cardboard funnel.
• Su Wei primed the carburetor and pulled the starter until the snowmobile engine roared to life.
• Su Wei gently revved the engine, but it began sputtering and losing power.

Su Wei failed to get the old Polaris snowmobile running and returned to the cabin, where he prepared to eat after working in the freezing garage. The chapter leaves him in the kitchen, hungry and ready to make a substantial meal.

• Su Wei dismantled parts of the snowmobile, cleaned its soaked spark plug, and tried repeatedly to restart it, but the engine kept dying.
• Su Wei concluded that the carburetor or another part likely needed repairs beyond his skills, so he stopped working and stored the remaining gasoline.
• Su Wei locked the garage and trudged through the snow back to the cabin.
• Su Wei warmed himself by the fireplace while Cotton Candy rested on the sofa.
• Su Wei, hungry after his exertion, went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

Su Wei cooked red-braised pork and eggs during the blizzard, and his meal earned a fitness buff that increased workout efficiency. He enjoyed the food by the window and fed Cotton Candy some lean pork.

• Su Wei prepared pork shoulder, carefully blanched it to remove its strong smell, and browned it with caramel and spices.
• Cotton Candy followed the cooking smells to Su Wei and eagerly watched him cook.
• Su Wei simmered the pork with soy sauce and added boiled eggs, then served the dish over rice.
• The system awarded Su Wei a three-hour fitness buff that increased workout efficiency by 10%.
• Su Wei ate by the window and gave Cotton Candy the lean meat he had set aside.

Su Wei decided to wait for the storm to ease before fishing in the frozen lake for food. He worked out under the Fitness buff while Cotton Candy turned his exercises into a playful game, and he noticed his improved endurance and strength.

• After eating, Su Wei planned to fish in the frozen lake once the wind and snow stopped, since his vehicle could not move and his food supplies were running low.
• Su Wei warmed up and began doing push-ups, noticing that the Fitness buff helped his body loosen up faster.
• Cotton Candy joined Su Wei, climbed onto his back during the push-ups, and made them into weighted exercises.
• Cotton Candy perched on Su Wei's chest during crunches and nudged his face whenever he sat up.
• Su Wei continued his workout while playing with Cotton Candy and noticed his muscular endurance and explosive strength had improved.

Su Wei realized his firewood was running low and went out into the snow to chop and split dead trees. He returned with a large stack of wood, securing several more days of heat for the cabin.

• After his workout, Su Wei noticed the fireplace’s wood basket was empty and decided to gather more firewood.
• Su Wei dressed for the cold, told Cotton Candy to stay inside, and went into the nearby woods with an axe.
• Su Wei felled three dead trees and gained life experience for each one.
• Su Wei dragged the trunks back to the cabin, sawed them into logs, and split the wood.
• After finishing the work, Su Wei piled the firewood beneath the porch and gained more life experience.

Su Wei prepared a hot bath in his unheated cabin during a blizzard, conserving diesel by heating water over the fireplace. After washing off the grime and soaking in the tub, he felt the cold leave his body, while the blizzard, power outage, and his $160,000 debt remained.

• Su Wei added birch logs to the fireplace and heated water in a large iron pot.
• Cotton Candy woke up, sniffed the steaming pot, sneezed, and followed Su Wei to the bathroom.
• Su Wei poured the boiling water into an iron tub, added cold water, and tested the temperature.
• Su Wei stripped, washed away the wood chips and grime, and stepped into the tub.
• Su Wei relaxed in the hot water as the chapter left the blizzard, power outage, and $160,000 debt unresolved.

After surviving the night, Su Wei warmed up in a bath and made a bed beside the fireplace, where Cotton Candy curled up with him. As he drifted off, he planned to fish in the frozen lake for food during the continuing blizzard.

• Su Wei bathed in a galvanized iron tub and gained Life Module experience as he rested.
• Su Wei decided to sleep in the living room beside the fireplace rather than risk the cold upstairs.
• Cotton Candy joined Su Wei under the quilt and curled against his chest for warmth.
• Su Wei planned to fish for rainbow trout and Arctic char in the frozen lake because his food supply was dwindling.

After a blizzard buried his cabin, Su Wei cleared snow from the entrance and roof, then warmed up and prepared his father’s ice-fishing gear. He left the cabin ready to go out ice fishing, with the search for an underwater concentration zone still ahead.

• Su Wei woke to find the blizzard had stopped and snow piled halfway up the cabin door.
• He rekindled the fire and shoveled a path through the deep snow outside.
• Su Wei tied himself to the chimney with a safety rope and cleared most of the snow from the roof.
• He returned inside, cooked bacon and eggs, and shared some bacon with Cotton Candy.
• Su Wei checked his ice-fishing rods, tackle, and hand-cranked auger.

Su Wei used the Gathering Module to find a patch of aquatic vegetation beneath the frozen lake and drilled an ice-fishing hole there. After breaking through more than thirty centimeters of ice, he cleared the hole and prepared to fish.

• Su Wei checked the lake ice by the shore and confirmed it was thick enough to be safe.
• Su Wei activated the Gathering Module and detected stonewort and other algae beneath the lake about twenty meters away.
• Su Wei carried his fishing equipment to the glowing spot and used a hand-cranked auger to drill through the ice.
• Su Wei broke through into the lake water and quickly cleared the ice chips from the hole before they could freeze over.

Su Wei caught a large Arctic grayling through the ice, unlocking the Fishing Module and gaining a reliable new source of food. He left with the fish and Cotton Candy, encouraged that he could survive the winter.

• Su Wei lowered a golden lure through the ice and patiently jigged it near the bottom while Cotton Candy watched.
• A powerful fish took the lure, and Su Wei fought it until he hauled an Arctic grayling over forty centimeters long onto the snow.
• The Fishing Module unlocked, granting Su Wei the ability to sense the approximate density and activity of fish within ten meters while rod fishing.
• Cotton Candy pounced on the fish, but Su Wei lifted them away, killed the grayling with his folding knife, and tucked Cotton Candy into his pocket.

Su Wei used his new Fishing Module to catch a rainbow trout, many three-spined sticklebacks, and a brook trout while ice fishing. With nearly fifteen pounds of fish and enough food for the short term, he prepared to move on as the cold set in.

• Su Wei used Water Condition Perception to locate fish and hauled up a 5.8-pound rainbow trout.
• Su Wei removed the trout’s gills and stopped Cotton Candy from climbing out of his pocket to reach the fish.
• Su Wei switched to a smaller red-feathered hook and caught several three-spined sticklebacks from a dense cluster beneath the ice.
• Su Wei continued fishing for half an hour and caught a four-pound brook trout, bringing his total haul to nearly fifteen pounds.
• Su Wei stood up with stiff knees as the cold penetrated his boots and he decided he needed to pick up the pace.

Su Wei caught an elite Arctic grayling and prepared to return to his cabin, but Cotton Candy alerted him to a herd of large animals emerging from the forest. A deer’s call confirmed the shapes were deer, and the chapter left Su Wei tense on the frozen lake as the herd appeared.

• Su Wei fought and landed an 8.4-pound elite Arctic grayling, increasing his Fishing Module experience to 72/100.
• Su Wei gathered his fish and picked up Cotton Candy, planning to head home and make fish soup.
• Cotton Candy warned Su Wei of a group of large shadows approaching the lakeshore from the forest.
• Su Wei saw the herd stop at the forest’s edge and heard the lead animal call like a deer.
• Su Wei remained crouched and gripped his knife as the snow obscured the approaching herd.

Su Wei spotted a herd of Roosevelt elk during the blizzard and calculated that hunting the lead bull could earn him a fortune, but he had no rifle with him. He let the herd retreat into a sheltered valley and returned to the cabin, where he planned to warm up and eat his catch before attempting a hunt when the weather improved.

• Su Wei saw seven Roosevelt elk crossing the frozen lake and estimated that the lead bull’s meat, antlers, and hide could be worth about fifty thousand dollars.
• Su Wei realized he had only a Bowie knife and fishing gear, while his rifle was back in the cabin, so he could not safely hunt the bull in the storm.
• Su Wei memorized the elk herd’s route to a sheltered U-Shaped Valley, where the blizzard might keep them trapped for several days.
• Su Wei soothed the frightened Cotton Candy and carried his bucket of fish through the snow back to the cabin.
• Su Wei bolted the cabin door, warmed himself by the fireplace, and prepared to eat fish while considering a possible elk hunt after the storm eased.

Su Wei cooked a warming rainbow trout soup for himself and Cotton Candy during the blizzard, then prepared his Browning rifle for the danger he expected. The cabin remained calm, but Su Wei finished the chapter checking his weapon for an approaching threat.

• Su Wei prepared the fish he had caught and cooked Cotton Candy a piece of trout belly.
• Su Wei made milky-white rainbow trout soup, and the Life Module rewarded him with experience and a four-hour Warm Current buff.
• Su Wei and Cotton Candy ate while the blizzard raged outside, and Su Wei felt the cold leave his body.
• Su Wei took down his Browning rifle and inspected its bolt, firing pin, and locking lugs.

After three days of heavy snow, Su Wei cleared the snow threatening his cabin and discovered that the storm had cut off all communications and blocked the road to Kodiak Town. He was left trapped at the cabin with no way to reach help or get supplies.

• Su Wei spent two hours clearing snow from around the cabin and knocking dangerous snow off its roof.
• Su Wei earned 15 Life Module experience for clearing the snow and preventing the cabin from collapsing.
• Su Wei found that his radio had no signal and his phone showed no reception.
• Su Wei saw that deep snow had buried the road to Kodiak Town, leaving him stranded without a way to get help or supplies.

Su Wei ate a high-calorie meal and considered how to pay his debt by hunting the Roosevelt elk herd he had spotted during the blizzard. He prepared to search the U-shaped valley for the herd, while Cotton Candy noticed him gearing up to leave.

• Su Wei ate bacon and egg fried rice, gained a temporary Satiety buff, and noted that he still needed $15,000 to make his bank payment.
• Su Wei recalled the Roosevelt elk herd and estimated that the large bull could be worth $50,000.
• Su Wei reasoned that the herd might be sheltering in the U-shaped valley and decided to confirm its location.
• Su Wei equipped snowshoes, winter clothing, his Browning rifle, and survival gear before heading out.
• Cotton Candy sensed Su Wei was preparing to leave and made a sound.

Su Wei left Cotton Candy at home and followed fresh signs of a Roosevelt elk herd through the snow. Using the Hunting Module, he tracked the animals to the entrance of a sheltered U-shaped valley.

• Su Wei told Cotton Candy to stay inside, then set out with his Browning rifle and snowshoes.
• He crossed the silent, snow-covered forest toward the southeast, stopping to drink hot water along the way.
• Su Wei found disturbed grass, gnawed shrubs, fresh hoofprints, and warm elk droppings beneath fallen Korean pines.
• He activated the Hunting Module, which identified a Roosevelt elk cow and revealed a glowing trail.
• Su Wei followed the trail into a warmer valley lined with alders and willows, where the herd had likely gone to feed.

Su Wei discovered a large herd of Roosevelt elk and began planning how to hunt them, but a sudden blizzard forced him to retreat. As he hurried back toward his cabin, his snowshoe slipped on a hidden ice-covered rock.

• Su Wei found at least thirty Roosevelt elk, including several powerful bulls, gathered in a valley.
• Su Wei photographed the herd and considered how its antlers, meat, and hides could bring him a fortune.
• A blizzard swept in, and the elk crowded toward a rock wall as the weather worsened.
• Su Wei withdrew from the valley and hurried back along his footprints, thinking about how he would spend the money.
• Su Wei stepped onto an ice-covered rock hidden beneath the snow, and his snowshoe slid sideways.