Culinary God in Wilderness

As soon as Connor left the shelter, Lin Chen and Andre went back up to the second floor.

The two of them watched as he let out a whistle. A gray shadow then darted out from who-knows-where, rubbed against his calf, and headed toward the forest with its tail hanging low.

"A drooping tail... so it really is a Coyote."

Lin Chen couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. ’I never thought someone could actually tame a Coyote. Even if it’s just a pup, that’s just absurd.’

"Actually, that’s not a juvenile Coyote, but an adult male."

"I know."

Andre glanced at him in surprise, nodded, and didn’t say anything more.

With his knowledge of animals, Lin Chen had known from the moment Andre came in and called it a juvenile pup that the man was deliberately testing him.

’Coyotes mate between January and March and give birth in late April or early May. It’s only early November now, so how could there be a juvenile pup?’

’Saying it’s six months old would be more believable.’

’Male Coyotes learn to hunt around six to nine months of age, then leave their mothers to live alone. They only rarely operate in groups; only female coyotes form family packs.’

’This little guy probably just left its mother, so its wild instincts aren’t fully developed yet. Then the temperature dropped, it went hungry for a few days, and it ran into Connor, who started feeding it and deliberately trying to tame it. Over time, it was taken in.’

’If it were just a few months older, it probably wouldn’t have been so easy.’

"Let’s not worry about him. First, tell me if there’s any particular dish you’d like to eat."

Lin Chen didn’t dwell on the topic, changing the subject back to food.

After that simple test, it was crystal clear to both of them: that old fellow Connor didn’t actually know anything about Coyotes. He’d just gotten lucky. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have failed to even tell if it was a juvenile or not.

Of course, there was another possibility: he was playing dumb, deliberately not contradicting them in order to make them underestimate him.

Whichever it was, Lin Chen wasn’t going to overthink it.

’The contestants are competitors, but not enemies. There’s no benefit to making things so complicated. As long as I can survive until the end, that’s all that matters.’

"No need for roasted meat; I had that last time. A soup dish with a different flavor from last time would be best, if possible. On a snowy day, you’ve got to have some hot soup. For anything else, you can just do whatever you think is best."

"Soup... huh. I think I have an idea."

Lin Chen nodded, a clear image of mutton soup already forming in his mind.

"Don’t worry, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied. The only question is whether I make it today or tomorrow. Anyway, you live nearby, so don’t get mad if it’s a failure."

"I won’t," Andre said, waving his hand dismissively. "Life in the wild is pretty boring on its own. More people means more fun. The professional element this season is really interesting."

"Oh, right. Did they tell you the shelter locations of the other three professional contestants?"

"Hmm? No, they didn’t."

"I see..."

Andre nodded thoughtfully. "They announced it to me this morning—the specific locations and distances of the four professional contestants’ shelters. If I’m not mistaken, all the regular contestants like me will get this information."

"That’s normal," Lin Chen wasn’t surprised. "Ever since my suggestion for professional privileges was adopted, the production team was bound to take corresponding measures to deal with the changing situation."

"If the special items the professional contestants get can’t be used for the regular contestants, the show gets boring. It would look like we’re just here enjoying a comfortable life."

"Announcing our four locations, and showcasing our respective achievements, is all meant to stir up the regular contestants’ interest and motivation. The ultimate goal is to get them to seek us professional contestants out for cooperation."

"Right, that’s what I was thinking too," Andre nodded.

"And there’s a hidden aspect I wonder if you’ve thought about: why didn’t they announce the other professionals’ information and locations to you four?"

"It’s simple."

A smile played on Lin Chen’s lips. "Today is only the thirty-first day. There are still sixty-nine days to go—nine and a half weeks. If the professionals found out each other’s locations too early and teamed up, this competition would become incredibly easy."

"With my cooking, the carpenter’s tools, the doctor’s health support, and the farmer in charge of getting food, we could theoretically form a self-sufficient loop. That would give us an insurmountable advantage over the other contestants."

"By letting the regular contestants know our locations first, it indirectly forces cooperation between them and us. And if a competitive situation like yours arises, things will get even more interesting."

"I imagine what both the production team and the audience want to see is a more exciting survival game, right?"

"You see things very clearly."

Andre gave him a thumbs-up, not hiding his admiration in the slightest.

’This young Asian, who was the biggest underdog before the competition started, had transformed into the red-hot favorite to win in just one short month. Soon, he might even become a partner the other contestants are scrambling to cooperate with.’

"There’s more to their move than just that. It has a deeper meaning."

Lin Chen took a deep breath of the cold air, extended a gloved hand, and quietly watched the snowflakes drift down onto it.

"They also didn’t announce the regular contestants’ locations to each other. This adds a huge amount of uncertainty to each day. Take Connor, for example. No one would have thought that guy would find his way to me right after the new system was implemented."

"In a seven-day week, even if I spend all my time on collaborations, I can only serve seven people. One person will inevitably be left out."

"Will the one left out feel good about it? Probably not. So, their motivation will be even stronger next week."

"Also, if two professional contestants decide to cooperate with each other, then two regular contestants will effectively lose a chance to cooperate that week."

"If the four of us professionals were to regularly cooperate with each other, when you factor in the travel time, a single round of collaboration would likely take up five whole days."

As he listened, the expression on Andre’s face grew more and more impressed.

He had only thought one step ahead and hadn’t yet considered the second.

After Lin Chen’s explanation, he finally realized that if the professional contestants were allowed to cooperate with each other, the balance of the survival competition would quickly be shattered.

This was especially true for Lin Chen, a contestant who not only had culinary skills but could also hunt ferocious animals like Black Bears and wild wolves—a truly all-around player. His opportunities for collaboration would most likely be fought over.

"But this is all just my speculation. It’s hard to say how things will actually develop."

Lin Chen suddenly smiled. He drew his hand back in front of his face, carefully observing the fine details of the six-pointed snowflake.

"On a cold day like this, with the heavy snow blocking the paths, there’s really no need for people who live far away to risk coming all the way over here to ask me to cook. That would just be throwing away their shot at the million-dollar prize."