Culinary God in Wilderness

[Climb a tree?]

[Did I hear that right? Lin, you’re going to climb a tree?]

[I remember the last time we saw you climb a tree was in Alaska when you were cornered by that wolf pack. Didn’t you try back then? You couldn’t climb it with your bare hands at all.]

[Yeah, and you don’t have an axe to chop footholds into the trunk now. How could you possibly get up there?]

[I thought you just sucked when I saw you fail before. Then I went and found a random tree outside my house... AHEM, I admit, climbing a tree with your bare hands is really hard.]

[This tree is way taller than the ones back in Alaska. It must be even harder to climb, right?]

[I think you’d be better off finding some rocks to throw at them. Some contestants hunt squirrels that way. These mangoes are almost ripe; if you can hit one, it should fall down.]

He had only been out for a few minutes, but the number of viewers in his stream had clearly increased. The speed of the bullet comments scrolling across his watch had also picked up.

He stretched his joints on the spot, then did a few sets of squats and high knees to warm up.

"That’s right. I did fail last time. That’s why during the month or so after I got home, I specifically researched and practiced it. It’s difficult, but I’ve definitely made progress."

"Bare-handed tree climbing is mainly about technique. The bark and the shape of the trunk matter, too. A tree that’s perfectly straight and relatively smooth is much harder to climb; it demands peak physical conditioning."

"But this mango tree in front of me... as you can all see, its trunk is very thick and the bark is rough. That means there’s more friction to work with. However, this kind of rough, cracked bark can also break off easily. I need to test it first."

He first circled the trunk a few times, finding a spot with a slight angle. From this vantage point, the trunk had a subtle lean to the left, probably about five or six degrees.

Don’t underestimate this seemingly insignificant angle. When you’re climbing, it can offset some of the force.

It’s the same principle as a bench press or a squat. When you hit a sticking point, you’re often just a pound or two short of the strength you need. A spotter just needs to give you a nudge with their finger—they barely have to use any force at all—and breaking that equilibrium is enough to succeed.

It’s the same with tree climbing. When the trunk is angled, the pressure on your limbs is reduced to some extent. This allows him to conserve more energy to stay on the tree longer, or even climb a little higher.

Looking up from this spot, there was a broken-off fork about five or six meters up. Another five or six meters above that was the first major branch.

"Everyone, look. There are four mango trees here. The main reasons I chose this one are these two points: one, its trunk is angled, and two, it has a place to rest midway up."

"It might look like it’s over ten meters to the first major branch, but I can actually break it down into two separate five-meter climbs. I can do it in two stages."

"Don’t underestimate this small foothold. It will reduce the difficulty for me by more than seventy percent."

After speaking, Lin Chen, now warmed up, rolled up his sleeves. He tentatively gripped a crack in the bark and pulled hard.

SNAP.

With a sharp cracking sound, he ripped off a piece of bark.

’It’s this brittle?’

His brow furrowed. "Looks like the first method won’t work. I can’t climb by grabbing the bark. It’s too cracked and can’t withstand the pulling force of a hundred kilograms."

"The second method is simpler. It works on most trees and is also a technique used in the military."

That’s what he said, acting as if he’d actually practiced. In reality, he hadn’t tried it even once. He was relying entirely on the Tree-Climbing Ability he had just redeemed.

He wrapped both hands around the trunk, one on the left and one on the right, and placed the tip of one foot against it. But before he even applied any force, he gave up on this method.

"I forgot to mention, the only downside to this method is that it only works on trees that aren’t too thick—preferably one you can wrap your arms around. This old tree is just too thick. I can’t get a good grip, so my hands can’t get any leverage."

"No problem. There’s still a third method."

Again, he wrapped his hands around the tree, but instead of pushing off with the tips of his toes, he pressed his inner thighs tightly against the trunk, using the inside of his feet to push upwards, scraping along the trunk.

This method required more core strength and was more exhausting. It wasn’t like the second method where you could just push off with your toes to get up the tree, which was both energy-efficient and clean.

"HUP!"

Pushing off with the inside of his right foot, he shot upwards half a meter. He pressed his left foot against the trunk in the same way, while his arms strained at the same time.

Even though it was his first time trying, he managed to cling securely to the trunk.

This was only the beginning. The hard part was yet to come.

Because the tree was so thick, he couldn’t reach up with one hand at a time. He had to push off with both feet simultaneously, using the burst of power to propel his body upward a short distance, then quickly hug the trunk again with his arms.

The sequence of movements flashed through his mind. He took a deep breath, tightened his core, and pushed off hard with the insides of his feet.

CRUNCH.

Several pieces of loose, dry bark cracked and broke off. He instantly lost his footing and fell from the tree.

Luckily, his hands were only scraped and dusty; the skin wasn’t broken.

He frowned, staring at the two areas on the sides of the trunk where the bark had clearly fallen off. After a moment’s thought, he quickly came up with an improved plan.

This time, he changed his footing. Instead of using the insides of his feet to grip the trunk, he planted the soles of his feet against it, his knees splayed wide in a V-shape. In an extremely awkward posture, he started up the tree again.