ILITIWS Chapter 3.1

Fire.

The brilliance of life, the bedrock of civilization, the seeds nurturing scientific and technological advancements, and the foundation of health, safety, and warmth.

To survive in this desolate and uninhabited place with no one to contact for assistance, having fire is necessary.

Furthermore, given that there is a river as Qi Guang’s food source, it is more than likely that his future meals will include fish, shrimp, crabs, and snails from the river. However, there is a high risk of parasitic diseases if the food is not cooked using fire.

The majority of the materials he collected along the way were for preparing the fire.

Bow drill. ¹

Branches can be used as fire poles and drilling board.

Because he is not sure which one is suitable for making a fire, he deliberately found several more tree species to collect the branches, and there are always combinations and permutations that can make fire. Curved bow branches and dry vines are used to make bow drills, which can save his energy and improve efficiency when drilling wood for fire.

However, the dry vines still need to be treated before they can be used. Presently, the slender and withered vines were unable to endure even a slight tug from Qi Guang.

Qi Guang kneaded the vines into fibers and dried them in the sun, separating them counterclockwise, then rubbing and twisting them together tightly clockwise. This method, similar to twining hemp ropes, can increase the friction and load-bearing capacity of the vines, making them stronger and more durable.

Qi Guang kneaded 6 or 7 long ropes in this manner, and the vines squeezed out some water because of the contraction. That’s why, after kneading it, he placed it on a rock to continue drying.

Everywhere on the river’s edge were big and small stones, resembling a natural tool open field. Qi Guang picked up a finger-length stone and polished it to have a sharp corner. Using this crude makeshift stone drill, he dug a shallow hole in the drilling wood plank and repeatedly cut vertically on its side, causing wood shavings to fall out.

He then picked a flat stone the size of a palm, and the stone drill knocked out a depression in the center of the stone as a stress point, which together with the rope and the bow branches formed the bow drills appearance.

When the materials for igniting the fire were ready, Qi Guang gathered a bundle of branches from the edge of the surrounding forest and also spread them on a stone to dry in the sun, removing moisture.

Later, it doesn’t matter if the firewood is slightly damp, but when igniting a fire, the drier it is, the better.

After doing these tasks, Qi Guang continually gathered vines both can fastened tightly bamboo fish hamper and small basket.

Counting that the fishing trap has been placed for almost three hours,

After doing these tasks, Qi Guang continued to wove two fish traps and a small basket. Considering that the fish traps have been placed after 3 hours, It’s now time to fish it out to see if there is any harvest.

After doing these tasks, Qi Guang made up two fish baskets and a big basket with the harvested vines, counting the time that the fishing trap had been put already for almost three hours, and it was time to fish it out to see if there was any harvest.

It is true that many wild vegetables and fruits are ripe now, and the forest was full of berries and plants. There is no doubt that picking wild vegetables and wild fruits is an easier way to obtain food rather than fishing.

Definitely true, but only if Qi Guang can recognize which plants are edible.

After all, he’s not in a wilderness survival reality show. Qi Guang’s persona was not that of a botanist who was knowledgeable about surviving in the wilderness. Before the apocalypse, he hadn’t farmed nor set-up any vegetable garden on his balcony. In the apocalypse where the whole city was encircled by zombies, let alone inside the forest where wild fruits and herbs were locally born and bred. Even the usual vegetables he’d only seen on dinner tables and in supermarkets.

Before Qi Guang scooped up the fish trap, he fervently prayed to Gods and Buddhas once more, wishing that he could eat tonight.

He started to feel anxious and uneasy, as if he were purchasing a draw ticket with his last remaining banknote.

He’s not seeking to transmigrate as a European Emperor; he merely wants to be a white-collar employee.

Generally speaking, Qi Guang’s luck today is really good or perhaps the fish here who have lived free from all anxieties for hundreds of years have long forgotten the past of being caught by human beings, and Qi Guang caught three fish in the first fish trap.

Each fish is the length of Qi Guang’s palm, with slender figure and fine scales, which is the limit a fishing trap of this size can catch. The three fish crowded into the basket did not forget to bite the earthworm bait that Qi Guang put in, skimping and jumping around splashing his face with water.

Three fish!

The corner of Qi Guang’s mouth can’t help to curve a little, revealing a bit of surprise as a proud expression appeared on his face.

We’ve got dinner for today.

And it is high in protein and a high-energy meat.

Meat!

Qi Guang couldn’t help but emphasize the seductive word to himself, and his mind reflexively circulated through pictures of braised fish, fish fillets with hot chili oil, Mandarin fish fillet……

As a result, his empty stomach became even more lively.

No fish was caught in the second trap, but several small shrimps swam inside and three or five green-shelled crabs. Qi Guang counted and there are five shrimps and three small crabs.

After counting, it’s not just for today’s dinner, he even has enough for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Qi Guang stuffed the shrimps and crabs into a basket, he tied the openings of the fish trap and put them back into the water for tomorrow’s harvest. Two fishing traps were put back into the river, he was hoping to have a good harvest tomorrow morning.

Putting three fish in another basket, Qi Guang saw that it was already evening, and felt that it was about time for him to take his harvest to the shelter and prepare for the night.

He packed up today’s harvest like an old farmer who had a bountiful harvest, brimming with happiness as he put them in the basket: Three fish, a crudely made stone knife and stone drill, the bow-drill used to drill wood to ignite fire, a small bundle of branches dried by the sun, a bundle of unused withered vines, several already cut vines, and a few unpolished stones.

The small basket was full and heavy. Qi Guang’s physical strength was nearly exhausted at this point. He could only tie vines to the small baskets to drag it, saving his physical strength. Along the journey, he collected some hay to spread on the ground at night.

Not too far from the river lies the cave that Qi Guang selected as his long-term shelter. He dragged the basket for less than 10 minutes and saw the mark he made.

Taking two steps forward, the cave was still nicely situated on the mountain slope, the cave entrance was illuminated by the warmth of the setting sun. When Qi Guang climbed up and from the cave’s entrance, he looked far into the distance, and could faintly see the glistening river.

Qi Guang took three seconds to admire the scenery outside as a reward for his hard work all day before starting today’s finale.

—-Drilling wood to start a fire. ²https://youtu.be/ibaMy_WvhE0?si=d-TPOpjddLbLks_J You can start at 2:25 to see how a bow drill is used.

First, the dried firewood was stacked on a pile like a tower on the side, it was reserved for future use. The gruff and thick branch was used as the bottom plank with the stone drill already embedded, the thin branch used as the pole has a scraped off and polished smooth surface.

The vine rope was much tougher than a single strand of vine, after being dried and twisted tightly together. Qi Guang coiled the vine rope to the fire pole, and then raised the bow-shaped twig perpendicular on the fire pole.

Both ends of the vine rope and bow-shaped twig were fastened together tightly to prevent the vine rope from slipping. Qi Guang also dug grooves on both ends of the bow-shaped twig as a notch for the vine rope.

This is the drill “bow” used to rotate the fire pole.

Next, the remaining unused vines were kneaded and rubbed into fiber clusters and placed on the base plank to catch the sparks, one end of the fire pole was prodded up against the shallow hole dug on the base plank.

Qi Guang adjusted his sitting posture and stepped firmly on the bottom plank. His hand pulled on the bow back and forth, the rope coiled around the fire pole and produced the centrifugal force, spurring on the fire pole to rotate rapidly on the bottom plank.

Although the preparation in the early stages took more time, the efficiency of the bow drill is higher than manually using hands to drill wood. After about ten seconds, Qi Guang noticed dark gray powder splattering where the fire pole made contact with the bottom plate.

The principle of drilling wood for fire is to make use of the heat generated by the friction to produce charcoal powder using the wood, and then the gathered heat will generate sparks.

But it shouldn’t be this kind of dark-gray powder.

The dark gray powder indicates that the wood is too soft; wood capable of producing sparks will emit black charcoal powder and smoke simultaneously.

Qi Guang stopped, threw the branch into the firewood pile and took out the second bottom plank.

……

……

……It can’t either.

Qi Guang pulled the bow for a long time and even broke a vine rope, but not even a half a wisp of smoke was produced.

He took a deep breath and replaced the fire pole and bottom plank with new ones to continue his efforts.

But to be honest, if he hadn’t found a source of water and food for dinner today, he would never dare waste his strength like this.

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  https://youtu.be/ibaMy_WvhE0?si=d-TPOpjddLbLks_J You can start at 2:25 to see how a bow drill is used.