The second time, Chen Wen was a bit luckier.

As he blew, the smoke grew thicker.

But this time, there was just smoke without fire.

This made Chen Wen exceptionally frustrated.

Ultimately, the result of the second attempt to create fire was still failure.

"There must be something wrong!"

Chen Wen tossed the fire tinder that no longer smoked to the side, furrowing his brows tightly.

Logically speaking, every step he took was textbook perfect.

There shouldn't be any problem!

But why wouldn't the fire ignite?

...

Chen Wen's act of tossing the fire tinder aside caught the attention of many.

As the sky began to darken, at this moment, more than half of the ten contestants had already stopped their activities.

They had persisted through the first day.

Simultaneously, all the contestants except Chen Wen had lit their campfires.

As long as they could rest by the campfire, enduring the first night seemed not to be a difficult task.

Out of ten monitored computers, nine were very bright.

Except for Chen Wen's side.

"What's his situation?"

Gina's assistant, a young white woman, came over and asked.

Adam's assistant, Hei, pointed at the screen with his chin: "As you see, his fire plow skill has failed, twice."

Roland's assistant, who was also his wife, came over: "It seems he must be very cautious to get through the first night."

"Ha-ha, what did I say?"

An ear-piercing mocking laughter came.

Fat assistant of Gina squeezed through the crowd, disdainfully said: "Arrogance! Arrogance! The Sonora Desert will punish all arrogant people!"

Lin Jiawei remained silent, letting others speak.

He was analyzing the situation now himself.

Yet, he couldn't figure out where exactly the problem was.

Fat assistant was somewhat disappointed seeing Lin Jiawei's indifferent behavior, feeling that the sharp-tongued girl wasn't present.

This stone-like male assistant didn't give him the satisfaction of delivering mockery.

...

Chen Wen didn't hastily start his third attempt to make a fire.

He stood up and watched the sunset for a while.

"The solitary smoke in the desert rises straight, the river and sunset are round."

"It's a pity there's no long river in this damned place, but there's plenty of solitary smoke in the desert."

Chen Wen looked at a distant valley in the west, where a straight line of smoke was rising into the sky.

It seemed to be the nearest contestant to him, though he didn't know who it was.

And Chen Wen didn't care about that smoke.

The sunset in the Sonora Desert looked very spectacular.

The gigantic sun hung unshielded falteringly in the western sky.

As the sun inclined westward, the shadows of the giant column cacti elongated continuously.

Under the sunset, they resembled motionless humans watching the sun's demise.

"Really beautiful!"

Chen Wen exclaimed with emotion.

The two failures had a certain impact on him.

This was also why he didn't immediately start the third attempt.

At this moment, after calming his mentality.

Chen Wen began his third, and perhaps last, fire attempt for the day.

"The steps are fine, the problem must be the materials!"

Chen Wen said, picking up his materials for a careful inspection.

Yucca, no problem.

It's extremely dry, even internally it's dry and hard.

Then it must be the fire tinder's problem.

Chen Wen picked up the fire tinder he'd failed with twice, examining it thoroughly.

"Hmm, it's dry outside, but inside..."

Chen Wen reached out, pinching the interior of the fire tinder.

Logically speaking, this area should be very dry.

It was like that when he pulled it out.

But now, when Chen Wen pinched the interior of the tinder.

A moist liquid appeared in his hand.

Chen Wen was dumbfounded: What situation is this? Why did it suddenly get wet?

He pulled out his hand, placed it in front of his nose, and took a careful sniff.

It was a very rich plant juice smell.

Chen Wen suddenly thought of a very bizarre possibility.

"This... could it be the plant hasn't died, it's now in dormancy, storing energy in the main stem?"

Chen Wen couldn't help but strip the surrounding branches and leaves of this unknown plant clean, pulling out its main stem.

He casually found a stone and smashed open the main stem of the plant.

The abundant juice almost burst out directly!

Damn it, that indeed was the reason!

Such damn bad luck!

Chen Wen cursed under his breath.

He really hadn't thought of this aspect, mainly because he was overwhelmed by the surprise of discovering the hedgehog silk cactus and the agave.

Actually, many plants do this kind of dormancy.

Take the common hyacinth for example.

It's a type of plant that goes dormant.

After blooming in spring, by early June, the above-ground part of the hyacinth withers and goes into dormancy.

At this time, the hyacinth looks like a withered dead flower.

But in actuality, it is secretly gathering strength, storing nutrients.

Once the temperature is right and the rain comes, it quickly returns to a vibrant state.

This unknown plant was just like that!

And the place where it stores energy is in the dense roots!

After identifying the problem, Chen Wen let out a big sigh of relief.

He stripped away the moist main stem, leaving only the withered side branches.

Still using the Fire Plow Skill.

Chen Wen worked hard, and the fire starter quickly emerged.

Because time was pressing, and the sun was about to set!

Soon, the fire starter was ready.

He poured the fire starter into a new tinder—a pile entirely made up of withered side branches.

Gently enveloped the fire starter with the tinder.

Chen Wen raised the tinder, half-kneeling on the ground, like a devoted fire worshipper.

By now, most of the sun had set.

The remaining light was struggling to fend off the encroaching night, and the world was becoming dim.

If this doesn't succeed, Chen Wen will have to spend a long night in darkness tonight.

Low temperatures, venomous insects, or even poisonous snakes.

Any of these could harm Chen Wen.

So this attempt must succeed!

Chen Wen held the tinder and gently blew on it.

As oxygen entered, the fire starter emitted an orange glow.

The glow came into contact with the withered branches and leaves.

It rapidly spread along them, like specks of disease.

Soon, the tiny glows turned into larger patches of light.

Chen Wen took a deep breath and blew on it again.

The patches of light grew larger, starting to spread to the nearby branches and leaves.

Thick smoke billowed up, obscuring the patches of light.

But Chen Wen could feel the tinder in his hands getting hotter.

Finally, just as night was about to fall.

The patches of light in Chen Wen's hands expanded rapidly, visibly to the naked eye.

An orange flame, like a demon, instantly devoured the entire tinder.

Even the smoke was colored orange by the flame.

At the moment the sun set, a new sun appeared in Chen Wen's hands.

In the shot, Chen Wen was half-kneeling on the ground, gazing at this fire with an excited expression.

And this fire just so happened to coincide with the setting sun.

The visual effect was perfect!

The monitor observing this scene was stunned, thinking: What a perfect shot!

Be sure to tell the director to include this scene in the program!

...

"It's done!"

Chen Wen's tired face flashed with excitement.

He had put a lot of thought into achieving this fire!

Carefully shielding the flame, he placed it into the already-prepared campfire.

As the flames began to lick, the dry branches crackled and popped.

Chen Wen's campfire ignited, sending the tenth column of smoke rising into this desolate desert.

...

"Beautiful!"

Lin Jiawei couldn't help but slap his thigh, his eyes full of excitement.

The first day played out entirely according to Chen Wen's plan.

Even with unexpected events, Chen Wen achieved his goals: starting a fire, finding a suitable spot to build a shelter, securing some food!

And all this was done under the harshest of conditions, with minimal tools!

Chen Wen truly has the potential to be a champion!

At this moment, Lin Jiawei no longer had any doubts, only admiration.

Partly for Liu Yu's foresight, but mostly for Chen Wen's skill!

Gina's assistant was watching and muttering something to herself.

But Lin Jiawei didn't care anymore.

The situation was already clear!

He stood up and exchanged a look with the plump assistant.

Remembering the constant provocations from the other side before.

Lin Jiawei decided to handle it Chen Wen's way: "Mussels!"

After saying this, Lin Jiawei watched as the assistant's face changed instantly, and then walked away without looking back.

No need for manners, damn it feels great!

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