Culinary God in Wilderness

’A person like Lin Chen, skilled in both Chinese and Western cooking techniques while also possessing a talent for hunting, is one in a million. The production team was just plain lucky to have run into him.’

’If they hadn’t picked him, this season of the show might not have made any splash at all.’

"Even if you’re not good at hunting, you can assist the other contestants. For example, by making hunting tools and traps. And you," Robert said, looking at the doctor, "you can treat the contestants’ injuries..."

"You’re being too optimistic, Robert."

The doctor shook his head and said in a low voice, "The human body is a very precise machine. It’s affected by the environment and temperature, especially in a place like the wild where nutrition is extremely unbalanced."

"Without enough nutrients and vitamins, without a sanitary environment, even if I have medicine, the most I can do is temporarily keep a contestant’s wounds from getting worse. But complete recovery is almost impossible."

"Once someone gets injured, the best-case scenario is that they continue to survive with the injury. In most cases, they’ll just get weaker day by day and might even develop things like frostbite."

"Most importantly, I can’t hunt medium-sized game on my own. At most, I can catch some fish in the Yukon River, but there are often wild wolves wandering the banks. So, I only dare to fish when I’m working with someone. And the game I do get has to be traded for medicine, which means I have to rely on others for my food supply."

"To put it bluntly, I’m just a useless burden. It’s better to quit the competition early than to stick around. That way, if a contestant gets hurt, they won’t hold on to any unrealistic expectations."

"My situation is pretty much the same," the carpenter agreed with a nod. "I can make a lot of furniture and tools, but those are just household items. They don’t offer any significant help for wilderness survival; they only improve quality of life."

"Once I quit, the other contestants can divide up the things in my shelter. It’s not much different from me making things for them individually."

"Honestly, I didn’t come on this show to win. It was more about challenging myself. I wanted to see if I could make things without tools that I’d normally make easily with machines."

"And the facts prove I did it. Look at those exquisite wooden rocking chairs, wooden beds, wooden tables, storage cabinets, and this treehouse shelter."

The carpenter pointed at the doctor’s home behind him, a look of pride on his face.

"They’ll stay with me in my memory for a lifetime, a constant reminder not to rely too much on machines and tools. Craftsmanship is the only skill that’s truly your own."

Seeing that the two were resolute, Robert didn’t press the matter further.

’Anyway, the viewership these two could bring to the show had already peaked. If they want to quit, let them quit. It’ll mean two fewer locations to travel to in the future.’

In truth, the production team had seen their situation clearly. Although they each had their own skills, their inability to hunt independently in the wild would ultimately drag down their partners.

Their withdrawal meant that nearby contestants would have no one to team up with.

Although, it wasn’t as if they were much help when they did team up; they even had to be given a share of the food. From that perspective, them quitting almost seemed like a good thing.

The other contestants wouldn’t know about the two professional contestants quitting, at least not for the time being. To keep things fair, the production team didn’t plan to inform the remaining few contestants at all, leaving them to discover the truth for themselves.

Whoever reached their shelters first would have first dibs on the loot.

In a way, this was also a matter of luck.

「...」

"Are the finals still going to be scored based on hunted game?"

Andre’s expression grew solemn as he watched the production team’s vehicle drive away into the distance.

He was currently the second-ranked contestant. His main points came from that big Musk Ox, followed by the Dai’s Plateau Sheep and a few types of deer.

Although he often wandered around the wolf pack’s territory and had encountered them a few times, he had never taken the initiative to attack, nor had the wolves attacked him. The two forces had coexisted peacefully.

’If I want to catch up to Lin Chen in points, I’ll need to hunt at least one Black Bear and more than ten Yukon Wolves.’

’But I also have to surpass his score from the shelter.’

A headache forming, he sighed and shook his head with a wry smile. "If I’d known shelters were going to be part of the final score, I wouldn’t have helped Lin upgrade his."

He glanced back at his log cabin, which offered decent protection from the wind and rain. Although it looked comfortable enough, compared to Lin Chen’s two-story mansion with a yard, it was the difference between a commoner and a wealthy man.

’There’s a month and a half left. Upgrading the shelter isn’t hard, just time-consuming. The days are short now, and working in the dark is really inconvenient.’

’If I spend my time renovating the shelter, I won’t have much time left for hunting. And I’d have to go out at night to have a chance at finding more game.’

’Bears are still active right now, but if I want to surpass Lin in points, hunting just a Black Bear won’t be enough. It would have to be a brown bear, at least.’

’Brown bears are too big and far too dangerous. Without a gun, it’s best not to even think about hunting one.’

He sat on a tree stump, pondering for a long time, and finally came to a conclusion that left him at a loss for words.

’To win, first, I have to expand my shelter to be even bigger than Lin’s. It needs a yard and a second story, at a minimum.’

’In terms of hunting: at least one Black Bear and more than twelve Yukon Wolves, and that has to include the alpha.’

’And that would only be enough to tie him, because Lin won’t necessarily stop hunting.’

’To be safe, I’d also have to take down a moose.’

"Huuuh..."

Andre let out a heavy breath and looked up at the sky.

"Darling, do you think I should go all-in on this one?"

Meanwhile, Lin Chen was in his yard, drawing up his own plan for the finals.

’Robert said Andre is currently in second place. I have a pretty good idea of his hunting record, and he’s still a ways behind me.’

’If I hadn’t provoked that herd of Musk Ox last time, I wouldn’t have gotten all those Yukon Wolves for free. That was pure luck.’