Starting from Robinson Crusoe

"No way, even if we're envious, we can't tame beasts. We can only watch from afar."

Watching the deer herd linger on the ridge, leisurely searching for dead grass in the shallow snow, struggling to absorb nutrients, Chen Zhou shook his head.

…

As he continued forward, he planned to quickly collect some rock salt, then take advantage of the bright morning and warm weather to walk around the mountain foot, looking for caves.

If he could find a suitable shelter, perhaps he could relocate with Paul.

When building the wood-stone shelter in the Baihar Mountain Range, his priority was to spot other challengers' tracks early, creating an advantage for seizing air-dropped supplies.

Unexpectedly, the air-dropped supplies bore such a bright beacon that even a blind person would feel dazzled.

Moreover, the supplies were located at the extreme north, and both he and Paul happened not to be home at that time, rendering the shelter with its lookout function utterly useless.

Now the challenge has entered its second stage, where everyone will fully stockpile food to survive as long as possible through the winter. There certainly won't be anyone reckless enough to continue wandering outside.

With this realization, the shelter at the mountain waist seemed particularly redundant.

The Ice Age winter is already long and cold, and the perpetual winds on the mountain further exacerbate the temperature loss.

If it weren't for the time and effort required to rebuild the shelter, combined with Paul's unhealed leg injury and subsequent genetic modification injection, Chen Zhou would've already tried to move the pine nuts and other resources down from the mountain.

Planning for relocation, he contemplated what items should be prioritized for removal, given the absence of pack animals, and unknowingly found himself very close to the mountain foot.

…

The towering mountain blocked the sunlight, and the shaded ground felt particularly cold.

Though less than a day had passed, the snow on the ground had already shown significant differentiation—

The snow surface exposed to sunlight had melted, exhibiting a damp texture.

In the shadows, however, the snow remained solid, especially the snow layers directly beneath the rock face, stacked with previous snowfall, appeared even thicker.

The closer he got, the more he could feel the treacherousness of the mountain's topography and its towering presence.

At the foot of the mountain, anyone would naturally look up to see where they were amidst the high peaks.

Afraid the Three-headed Saw-toothed Tiger would run away, Chen Zhou called out, bringing them back, and when he lifted his head again, he unexpectedly saw a white line rising from the mountain ridge side.

Initially, he thought he was seeing things, as the white line rising from below only appeared fleetingly, soon blown away by the wind, disappearing into the pale blue sky.

But after careful observation, he finally confirmed that the white line was not a uniquely shaped cloud but smoke from someone lighting a fire.

Moreover, having noticed it, he paused and observed for a while, detecting something strange—

The Great Horned Deer seemingly hadn't migrated and remained on the mountain, appearing to forage freely, yet never leaving the ridge, as if someone was restricting their movement.

…

"Is this deer herd being raised by humans?"

A thought emerged.

Afraid he was going crazy from thinking about deer and associating everything with deer, Chen Zhou didn't rush up the mountain but instead moved to a less conspicuous position to continue his observation.

The result was affirmative.

Although the smoke rising from the ridge was often blown away by the wind, it always showed up when the wind was mild.

And the Great Horned Deer herd always remained near, especially the suspected leader of the herd, constantly looking towards the smoking area, monitoring their master's reactions.

"Searching high and low, the answer comes effortlessly."

Chen Zhou didn't expect this trip to yield such unexpected gains, so he continued watching the deer herd on the ridge without rushing towards the mountain—

This mountain slope was bare, almost without trees, not even large stones could be found. If someone climbed the mountain, the people there could easily spot them from above.

If discovered, the occupants could avoid conflict, mount the deer, whistle once, and with humans and deer running together, they'd quickly leave him several kilometers behind. In this icy terrain, he certainly couldn't continue tracking them.

For now, gathering salt is the priority.

Once he collects enough rock salt, he will have enough knowledge of the surrounding terrain.

When the sun sets and it becomes slightly dark, he can try climbing directly onto the rock face or descend the side to approach the ridge.

Chen Zhou is confident that this group of Deer Raisers has permanently settled here.

Because the location has water, grass, rock salt, and no shortage of fuel, it really counts as a resource-rich area.

In harsh winter months, migrating with the deer herd is clearly not as beneficial as staying here.

The only thing puzzling him is that the grass doesn't appear to be abundant, and he wonders where the Deer Raisers get grass to sustain so many deer.

But these aren't issues he needs to consider.

In the afternoon, when he ascends the mountain, he will follow the deer herd's tracks to find the Deer Raisers, and his questions will naturally be answered.

As for how to negotiate for a tamed Great Horned Deer, Chen Zhou still hasn't decided—

Though the challenge rules dictate that this competition will be full of violence, and he is well aware of the rules' harshness, he actually dislikes being forced by the Space-Time Administration Bureau to act as a gladiator in the arena, fighting others.

When he first encountered another group of challengers, he and Paul lacked survival tools severely, their identity was repugnant to him, and having preemptively discovered their tracks, he laid traps, solidifying his resolve.