Capitalist Streamer
After about ten minutes of resting, the stiffness in my arms had subsided to some extent.
I drank some of the remaining water, then stood up from my seat and first looked up at the sky.
The sun was still quite high, but if I went into the forest here to search for a freshwater source and it took longer than expected, there could be problems.
Since I didn't know the exact time, it seemed better to start searching for water from tomorrow morning, when I could secure at least 12 hours.
“I’ll tweak the plan a bit.”
“Yeah. But right now, there’s a bit of water left, and building the shelter after sunset is much more troublesome than finding water. So, I’ll just build the shelter, rest, and look for water tomorrow.”
I pulled the makeshift boat onto the beach and slowly walked inward.
I had no intention of going deep into the forest.
Today, what I needed was a good place to sleep, and there was no reason to crawl into the middle of the jungle just to look cool in front of these people.
“The campsite shouldn’t be too close to the beach. There’s no guarantee that water won’t come in even at night. But if I go too deep into the forest, there’ll be lots of bugs, no wind, and I don’t know what animals are there. In the Fiji area, there’s a high chance there won’t be any large wild animals that could put my life in danger, but gambling my life on that small possibility is a bit much.”
“An appropriately high place. The most boring answer in survival streams, but most are correct.”
I climbed a bit away from the beach, and the sand changed.
Instead of repeatedly wet, damp sand, hard, dry sand began to appear, and beyond that, trees created shade.
I walked around the area and checked above.
After making sure there were no large dry branches hanging, and no palm fruits dangling over my head, I chose a spot.
“Let’s do this. The sea is visible, water won’t reach here, and the back trees can be used as shelter frame.”
“Even if I want to get a coconut pot smashed on my head while sleeping, that’s fine.”
“It’s a joke, right? There are even papers investigating people who died or got injured from falling coconuts. There are actual death cases too. So, in tropical areas, you have to look up as well.”
“It’s not a house yet. I’ll just make something that can withstand the rain tonight without getting wet. There are people who start building mansions from the first day, but if I find a better spot here tomorrow, all that effort will be wasted.”
I started gathering dry branches that had fallen nearby.
Even though they looked dry, some branches had moisture inside when broken, and I set those aside.
I picked from relatively thin branches thicker than my finger to thicker ones, and scraped up some dry fibers under the palm trees.
“Because fire doesn’t catch on suddenly to thick logs.”
I sat and gathered the longest materials in the center.
“At first, use easy-to-light materials, and once stable, gradually add thicker ones. If you put this in from the beginning and it doesn’t light… of course it won’t.”
I paused for a moment.
“It’s a newbie, right?”
“No, well… I can ask that question. But there are many reasons.”
I picked up a nearby branch and put it down immediately.
“Even if conditions are perfect, it takes time to prepare, your hands get sore, and if it fails, you have to do it again. Most importantly, during that time, you have to watch you guys rubbing sticks for tens of minutes.”
“Do I have to rough up my palms and take care of your vibes too?”
I took out a small device fixed at my waist.
A short, thick metal rod attached to a black handle.
The chat atmosphere changed immediately.
I saw the chat window filling with text even though I hadn’t opened my mouth yet and let out a dry laugh.
“Before I even start, why are you doing it.”
I brought the firesteel close so the white logo engraved on the handle would show properly on camera.
It was the logo of a Nordic outdoor company, Nordfire, that had been sponsoring my streams with equipment for years.
“Yes. Long-time viewers have probably seen it boringly many times, but this time too, it’s Nordfire who’s bearing part of the cost of my life.”
“This company’s Stormlord Firesteel can be wiped and used even in the rain, and I’ve been dragging it around deserts, mountains, and forests for years like a dog, and it’s still fine.”
“Even in torrential rain.”
“Even in bitter cold.”
“Your first spark… stop, I’m advertising.”
I laughed and pressed the scraper to the metal rod.
“And the person who asked earlier missed one important reason.”
I held up the firesteel.
“Because if you rub two sticks to make fire, you can’t get this ad.”
“Surviving in a capitalist society is also survival.”
I scraped the firesteel, and a bright flame burst out, but it didn’t catch on the first time.
I didn’t panic and pulled some dry fiber a bit more to create space for air, then scraped again.
This time, a small spark caught between the fibers.
I blew gently with my hand, thin smoke rose, and soon a small orange flame came alive.
“In this state, you shouldn’t be greedy.”
I placed a few dry twigs on it.
Once the flame started licking them one by one, I added a bit thicker branches.
“What one-shot cut. It’s because of guys like you that survival streams fail.”
I adjusted the position of the burning branches and said.
“The product doesn’t make the fire for you. It creates the flame. If you prepare it poorly and scrape anywhere saying it won’t light, the company would be unjust.”
“Need to extend the contract.”
As soon as I said that, the fire properly transferred to the dry branches.
Small flames rose steadily.
I watched the fire for a while, then added a few thicker trees before standing up.
“Good. Fire secured.”
“This is extremely important. I can roast shark meat tonight, or dry my body if the temperature drops at night. Most importantly, I don’t have to dig around to make a fire after it gets dark.”
I looked back towards the beach.
The shark meat still looked fine.
The weather was humid and hot, but it wouldn’t spoil immediately.
I had no intention of eating it right away.
First, I had to complete the campsite.
I chose a spot with appropriate spacing between the trees and laid thick branches diagonally, and it seemed I could make a simple form of shelter. Since I only needed a roof that could hold through the night, I didn’t need to build perfect walls.
“After making the fire and a good place to sleep, I’ll look for it from tomorrow morning. Since I have the water I brought, I won’t be dying of thirst right away today.”
I pulled a branch and looked into the forest.
“And if I go inside that and sunset comes, it’ll be extremely troublesome from the first day.”
The wind blew, and the leaves shook all at once.
The forest that looked bright during the day, the deeper parts didn’t get proper light.
Tomorrow, I’d have to go into that inner part.
I’d have to find drinking water, check what’s edible, and if possible, climb to a high place to check the location of surrounding islands.
But that was tomorrow’s problem.
Today, first, I needed to make a roof that was enough to not run out screaming if it rained when I slept.
I slung a thick branch over my shoulder and walked again.
“If the sponsorship ends, I’ll show you.”
The campfire started burning quite realistically.