Wilderness Survival: Building a Powerful Camp

Wild Survival: Synopsis

As the war alarm tore through the dawn, Chen Pi was crouched on the balcony watering the mint Lily had planted. The water from his enamel mug had barely splashed onto the third leaf when the first burst of fire bloomed outside the window, like a deformed rose staining half the sky rust-red.

Lily rushed out of the bedroom, her pajama collar still crooked and two crumpled sheets of paper clutched in her hand. They were conscription notices delivered by the community yesterday. Her fingers trembled over the words “Reserve Replacement Force.” “Chen Pi, we...” The corner of a hospital ID card peeked out of her white coat pocket. The words “Intern Lily” had been grayed by smoke. She had forgotten to take it off when she fled the hospital.

“We’re not on the list,” Chen Pi interrupted, his voice two tones lower than usual. He set the enamel mug on the floor and turned to rummage through the bottom of the wardrobe for a metal trunk. The army-green paint had long since peeled away, revealing the aluminum underneath. It was the commemorative trunk his unit had given him when he retired. “We’re just outside the age limit. I’m six months over, and you’re three months short.”

Lily’s tears suddenly fell, blurring the ink on the notice. She remembered the chaos in the hospital emergency room three days ago, stitching up the wounded in her surgical scrubs, blood splattered across her white coat like a sinister flower. She remembered joining the university’s wilderness first-aid team and treating a teammate’s frostbitten fingers at a camp in the snowy mountains. Back then, the team leader had said, “A doctor’s hands should be used to save lives, no matter where they are.” Most of all, she remembered the dark brown scar on Chen Pi’s left shoulder, left behind during a mission at the border. She had been the one to change the dressing while she was an intern.