Chapter 56: Chapter 8: Baka People
How did you do it?
Chen Wen shook his head, without answering.
This was the effect brought by the purple [Swift].
When the snake lunged down from the tree, Chen Wen had already noticed it.
He first withdrew himself from the attack range, then instinctively pulled Wang Zhi out of the way as the snake attacked.
Making the snake miss its target.
Then he struck the snake’s body with the long spear, disabling its ability to attack.
Finally, with outstanding reflexes and movements, he beheaded the snake with one spear strike.
It sounds simple.
But if it weren’t for his enhanced reflexes and actions, he might have only just started to react when the snake landed on Wang Zhi.
"Are you alright?"
Chen Wen asked.
"I’m fine, just landed on my butt."
Wang Zhi wasn’t bothered by the minor injuries, and instead probed further: "Mr. Chen, have you trained in martial arts? Why are your movements so fast?"
"I trained a little."
Chen Wen gestured a small amount with his thumb and index finger.
"Got it, fingertip universe, just a tiny bit."
Wang Zhi shook his head and stood up.
He glanced at the snake’s head, surprised: "It seems to be a non-venomous snake, its head is round."
"This is a ’tree-hopping banyan,’ that’s what we call it back in my hometown."
Chen Wen examined the snake’s shape, recognizing its species.
It’s a species of tree-dwelling non-venomous snake, edible and can be used to make snake wine.
However... it’s one of the three types...!
Chen Wen pondered for a moment, then took out the satellite phone that could contact the show’s crew.
With his back to the camera, he explained the incident to the crew, who expressed there was no need to worry.
A snake belonging to the three types does not meet the filing criteria, especially since they’re overseas.
They said they could just blur it later.
Feeling relieved after hearing this, Chen Wen picked up the still-twisting body of the tree-hopping banyan and looked at Wang Zhi.
Noticing Chen Wen’s gaze, Wang Zhi shook his head repeatedly.
He refused to carry this thing.
"Alright, normal people are indeed afraid of snakes."
Chen Wen didn’t mind, and rudely bundled the long slender body of the tree-hopping banyan, even tying a knot.
Then he stuffed it into his backpack.
His backpack and luggage were left on the deserted island and were now brought to the camp by Yan Bian and the others.
After this harmless little incident passed.
Chen Wen became more cautious.
It was obvious there were definitely snakes on the island.
This time it was a non-venomous snake; next time, it could be a venomous snake.
Being more careful is indeed necessary.
[Such quick movements!]
[Is this guy really a fisherman? Do fishermen have such skills?]
[I already said, Chen Wen is a naturally gifted survival expert, can’t judge by common sense]
...
Next, under Chen Wen’s deliberate attention, he and Wang Zhi returned safely.
Meanwhile, both also brought back a large amount of materials for building shelters.
Seeing the two return, Lu Heng and Du Feng lay around the campfire, looking utterly hopeless after cleaning the waste.
Gan Tieshan and Zhuo Hongnian came over.
"Banana leaves, these are banana fruits, and there’s a snake."
Chen Wen showcased his harvest: "And here’s wood, so much that building three small shelters won’t be a problem."
"Then there’s some vines which can be processed or used directly, to replace ropes."
Looking at the stuff Chen Wen brought back, Gan Tieshan and Zhuo Hongnian’s eyes widened.
"This much? How did you find them?"
Gan Tieshan asked incredulously.
For the past two days, he had also gone looking for materials to make a bed.
But in the dense rainforest, he had to spend a lot of time distinguishing which was usable and which was not.
"An exclusive secret, can’t be shared."
Chen Wen smiled and glanced at Lu Heng and Du Feng lying down.
"How did it go on your end? Is the waste covered?"
Lu Heng’s mouth twitched: "It’s done... ugh!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Wen nodded.
Indeed, these two did toil quite hard.
The men’s group’s waste over ten days was all over there, quite troubling for them indeed.
Therefore, Chen Wen turned to Gan Tieshan: "Shan, let’s help them build a shelter first."
"Alright."
Gan Tieshan had no objections.
The first two steps of building a shelter were completed, now only the last step remained.
Since the men’s campfire site, or the outer camp, was in a clearing among the woods.
Thus, there were not many leverage points.
Chen Wen and Gan Tieshan discussed for a while, with Wang Zhi listening nearby.
After a while, Wang Zhi suddenly spoke: "Hey! I have an idea!"
"What idea?"
Chen Wen and Gan Tieshan looked over at the same time.
"Waterproofing, we can learn from spiders!"
Wang Zhi excitedly picked up a tree branch and drew on the ground while explaining: "We can use the fishing nets we found earlier and the ropes we brought to the island to weave a big net, like a spider web, and fix the perimeter of the big net to the trees around the camp."
"Put waterproof cloth on top, then banana leaves, that’ll make it waterproof, right?"
Gan Tieshan looked at Wang Zhi in speechlessness, holding back for a while before saying: "Your solution is like wiping with window mesh."
Wang Zhi was stunned: "What do you mean? Is it good?"
"Window mesh wipe—showing off, meaning your idea is completely crappy!"
Zhuo Hongnian also came over, grinning.
"This idea is really not great."
Chen Wen didn’t wait for Wang Zhi to say more and directly said: "First, look around, this clearing isn’t small, but it’s certainly not big, where can we find so much rope?"
"Second, there aren’t enough support points, the net definitely can’t bear that much weight."
"Third, there are too many flaws, I don’t even want to mention them."
Listening to Chen Wen’s analysis, Wang Zhi also felt his idea wasn’t great.
The four continued to look at the materials and discuss.
Gan Tieshan’s plan was comparatively simple.
It was to use wood to build a triangular frame, fixed with rope, covered with banana leaves.
A simple triangular shelter.
Simple, highly versatile.
"What do you think?"
After explaining his idea, Gan Tieshan looked at Chen Wen.
Unknowingly, he had already come to value Chen Wen’s opinion.
But Chen Wen frowned and said: "Actually, I initially thought of using a triangular shelter too, but look at our materials, the thickest wood is about wrist-thick, and there’s not much, only four pieces, only enough for one shelter."
"Cut more trees?"
"No axe."
Chen Wen said: "Just cutting these four made some wear and tear on the knife, if we cut fifteen pieces, our knife will be destroyed."
"Moreover, if it’s a small rain, the triangular shelter might work but if it’s a heavy rain, the triangular shelter wouldn’t be suitable."
Seeing Chen Wen not wanting to use a triangular shelter, Gan Tieshan said: "Then what’s your idea?"
"Have you heard of the Baka people?"
Chen Wen didn’t answer directly, instead asking a question.
Baka people?
The three looked at each other, until Wang Zhi hesitated and said: "I think I have an impression, they’re black people living in Africa? Seems they’re really good at climbing trees!"
"Yes, they’re a group living in the rainforest, an indigenous tribe."
Chen Wen slowly said: "Before coming here, I read some materials, among them, the traditional houses of the Baka people, I think their houses are quite suitable for use in the rainforest, and the materials I chose also fit this type of house."
Upon hearing this, the three looked at the materials Chen Wen selected.
Slender, resilient woods and branches took a large portion, as well as many banana leaves.
"How to build this kind of house?"
Knowing his understanding of construction was not as good as Chen Wen, Gan Tieshan no longer insisted.
Chen Wen thought for a moment, then began to share the traditional construction method of Baka houses.
Everyone watched as Chen Wen drew on the ground, frowning.
This thing... can really be built?