The human traffickers were apprehended, and after DNA verification, the police returned me to my affluent parents.

My parents gave a cold nod, thanked the officers, and instructed the butler to make me comfortable.

Two months after returning home, the fake heiress, Irene Burrel, secretly signed me up for a wilderness survival course. My parents gently stroked her head.

“Since you want to play, let her accompany you.”

They did not care one bit if I died out there.

Irene smirked triumphantly at me. “What does it matter if you’re the real heiress? I can still do whatever I want with you!

“Survival training is my daily routine. I’ll make sure you leave that competition on a stretcher!”

When we arrived at the wilderness training grounds in the mountains, I laughed.

I grew up in these very forests. Did she think I did not know this place?

After signing the life-and-death agreement, Irene saw me smiling. She crossed her arms and scoffed.

“Are you still smiling? This is a life-and-death agreement. The production team won’t be responsible for whether you die from poison, natural disasters, or even by accident.

“Instead of wasting your time, you should hurry and find a partner. You just might survive.”

She added smugly. “But someone as clueless as you probably won’t find anyone willing to team up.”

I gazed at the forest, feeling a warmth in my chest. It felt like I was returning home.

“I don’t need a partner or a team.”

Irene scoffed coldly. Her death glare was intense.

“Of course. No way anybody would partner up with a dead weight like you.”

She emphasized the word “dead weight.”

I knew it. She must have told everybody about my circumstances.

This was the nation’s first reality show on surviving the wilderness. Those who signed up were mostly people who were experienced in surviving the wild.

All contestants had to sign a life-and-death agreement.

The entire journey would be broadcast live, with countless cameras scattered throughout the wilderness to capture the contestants’ every move.

The large wild beasts had been cleared from these mountains, and the survival challenge would span nearly six months.

But if a beast suddenly appeared, the production team would not intervene.

Survival depended entirely on the contestants’ skills.

The champion would secure countless endorsements, peak popularity, and instant stardom.

It felt a bit like a real-life gladiatorial arena.

After signing the life-and-death agreement, their fates were sealed.

As a long-lost heiress who was just found, I was just cannon fodder in their eyes. I was a weakling.

They would definitely seek out strong teammates.

When it was time to select their teams, countless people swarmed Irene.

“Miss Burrell, please team up with me! I’m strong and fit. I can be of so much help to you!”

“Get lost! Miss Burrell will definitely team up with me! I regularly film wilderness survival videos!”

“You’re all just show-offs! I’ve survived in the real wilderness for over ten days!”

“Miss Burrell, you must consider me! We can win the championship together!”

“Join me!”

“Me! Me! Me!”

I sat silently on my chair, quietly observing their commotion.

Irene glanced at my lonely, desolate area. Then, she feigned concern for me and spoke up.

“Oh, everyone, please don’t come for me all at once! Seek others as well. Maybe someone like my sister Lucia?”

They dismissed me without even a glance.

“We’re not taking any dead weights.”

“Miss Burrel, you survived over thirty days on a deserted island! You’re experienced!”

“Exactly! She grew up in the countryside. She might be strong, but she knows nothing about surviving the wilderness,” said Irene.

“This is wilderness survival! We won’t even have matches to light stoves. Hahaha…”

“We know you’re soft-hearted, Miss Burrel, but we’ve all signed waivers. Compassion won’t keep us alive.”

Irene shrugged helplessly at me. “Lucia, I tried my best for you.

“They refused. What can I do? Honestly, it’s not their fault. It’s just that you lack the skills.”

I closed my eyes. I did not even spare a glance at them.

Irene punched into thin air, scoffing in displeasure.

Team selection ended, and Irene picked two people to join her.

Two men, one burly, the other sharp-witted. They were reputed to swiftly locate food sources using geographical knowledge.

To Irene, my leisurely demeanor looked like I had given up and was waiting for death.

She did not know I had lived here for twenty years. I could find and survive in this place with my eyes closed.

To survive half a year was simple work.

It was currently autumn. When the weather got colder, it would be harder to survive.

If memory served me right, heavy snowfall would likely start in half a month.

This mountain range had peculiar temperatures compared to other areas. Every winter, there would be an exceptionally heavy snowfall.

It would snow for three full days and nights straight.

The snow would pile up to the waist, and avalanches in this place were easily triggered.

Half a month was ample time for me to find a suitable spot and build a safe house.

As for the others…

That was none of my concern.

I was relaxing with my eyes closed when someone suddenly ran over to me and kicked me out of my chair.

“Lucia? I warn you not to cross paths with Miss Burrel. Withdraw from the competition now!”

I frowned and looked up to see a man with conflicting emotions on his face.

After a split-second hesitation, I stood up and said flatly, “I don’t need your warning.”

He grew visibly anxious. His tone of voice was harsh as he said, “Everyone else in this competition has some experience. You know nothing! How do you plan to survive?”

I tilted my head and studied his face.

After a moment, the corners of my lips curved upward in a smile. “The place will have a heavy snowfall in half a month. Find higher ground to build shelters.”

He froze.

I brushed the dust off my bottom and walked inside.

The show began. It would broadcast live for 24 hours straight.

Irene had already directed her teammates to divide the tasks.

Within half a day, they had found a water source and started building a shelter.

That spot would not withstand the snow’s weight in half a month.

But I did not plan to tell them. I kept climbing upward while surveying my surroundings.

Irene was pondering whether the thing before her was edible when she spotted me. She stood up smugly.

“Lucia, you won’t survive without a teammate. Why don’t you get down on your knees and beg me?

“Do beg, and I might consider helping you out. I’ll give you what I’m looking at right now.”

She pointed at the wild berries she had found.

I glanced at them and instantly saw through her scheme.

She could not tell if they were edible herself, so she wanted me to taste them first.

Although surviving the wilderness was not a big deal for her, the edible nature of any flora depended on the region it was from.

Her previous survival experience was on a deserted island. She had reached that place beforehand and taken loads of reference books with her.

This was a live-streamed reality show. Contestants were not allowed to bring any items to cheat.

Her hobbies and interests seemed downright ridiculous when faced with real survival challenges. If the Burrel family were not the show’s sponsors, the production team probably would not have even agreed to let her join.

I said flatly, “That’s poisonous. Eat it yourself.”

My gaze lingered on her for a moment before I turned back to warn her. “Heavy snowfall is coming in half a month. Prepare for it.”

Irene rolled her eyes at me.

Convinced I was talking nonsense, she picked the wild berries and walked away.

She completely forgot my prediction of heavy snowfall.

In the comments, people mocked me for being clueless and spouting nonsense.

Some had already started building shelters, but I kept climbing upward.

I remembered there was a cave nearby. It was not big but could easily fit a few people.

It was autumn already, and the firewood was already damp. No one would survive the coming blizzard without a safe shelter.

The comments grew suspicious when they saw how well adapted I was.

[This person acts like this wilderness is their home!]

[Yeah. She found a cave so fast! She must’ve walked forever.]

[Can we stop watching this person? She just got lucky finding the cave. Everyone else is already building fires, and she’s still dawdling around here. Does she think the life-and-death agreement was a joke?]

[If you don’t want to watch her, go to another stream. Each contestant has their own dedicated tracking stream. You’re in the wrong place.]

Unaware of the comments, I leisurely began gathering firewood.

I had gathered all the wood nearby in two hours.

The production team had provided each contestant with a machete. Starting a fire was crucial after all.

Autumn nights would be bitterly cold without a fire.

But Irene had deliberately misplaced my machete, leaving me with nothing.

Unfazed, I found a few stones and sat down to craft some tools.

I bound the stones to wooden sticks with vines to fashion makeshift axes.

I also whittled a sharp spear for hunting animals and to ward off large beasts.

While daylight remained, I set several traps to catch wild rabbits.

The forest was vast, and my chosen spot lay deep within the wilderness. Here, wild beasts roamed far more frequently than on the outskirts.

Thus, no one would bother me unless absolutely necessary.

Perhaps my location held little interest because the production crew had placed only a few cameras around my area.

I encountered one occasionally.

Most of them were where Irene was.

Using her experience, Irene quickly mastered the easy art of drilling wood to make fire.

After spending hours to finally get the fire going, she preserved the embers.

She smiled and said, “Let’s gather more stones, stack them up, and build a stove. That way, we can stay warm through winter and keep the fire going.”

The team members praised Irene for her cleverness and eagerly followed her instructions.

Since she possessed important survival skills, many contestants camped near her.

They constantly observed her techniques and copied her methods.

Most contestants clustered in one area, while I remained deep in the mountains, far away.

Since I did not build a fire, I went hungry for two straight days.

The live chat teased.

[Follow Lucia, and you’ll go hungry for sure!]

Gradually, the production team lost interest in me. They shifted the camera to Irene.

I felt relaxed and at ease.

Half a month later, heavy snowfall began. Only then did Irene seem to remember I existed. She asked, “Where’s Lucia?”