Culinary God in Wilderness

The reason they chose Alaska as the location for the competition was its abundance of prey, which lowered the initial survival difficulty. It was meant to prevent a massive number of contestants from quitting.

They had successfully avoided it early on, but not in the middle and later stages.

But then they ran into Lin Chen, a monster who came out of nowhere and completely crushed the other contestants’ morale and confidence.

It wasn’t that he was overwhelmingly skilled, not really. It was mostly his good luck, coupled with a rookie’s characteristic fearless drive. He dared to shoot when he met a Black Bear, he dared to shoot when surrounded by a wolf pack, and he still dared to shoot when facing a herd of Musk Ox.

What a reckless greenhorn!

And to top it off, his luck was ridiculously good. He ran into Andre, the contestant who was practically the pre-ordained champion, which only accelerated his growth.

"Robert, what do we do now?"

The entire production team gathered around a table, with the six recently retrieved contestants standing nearby.

"What else can we do? Film a one-man show? Change the livestream’s name to ’Lin Chen’s Wilderness Food Special’?"

Continuing to film was out of the question. Every extra day would incur huge expenses, and just relying on Lin Chen’s wilderness eating show for the rest of the time wouldn’t bring in much viewership. This season was fated to end here.

But the filming period was a full third shorter than planned. That loss was pure money, and the higher-ups would never be willing to just waste resources like that.

Sure enough.

Their internal meeting had only been going for a few minutes when Robert’s satellite phone rang.

"It’s me. Yes, all contestants besides Lin Chen have quit the competition."

"As it stands, our only option is to declare him the winner. If we force another month of filming, I’m not sure how the audience will react..."

"What? Start planning for next season ahead of schedule? When was this decided? Why wasn’t I informed?"

"...Is that right? Fine. I’ll talk to Lin about it later."

Hanging up the phone and facing a room full of curious gazes, Robert waved his hand dismissively. "This doesn’t concern the rest of you. Hei, you get the helicopter. Daniel, you drive. And I need a few people to help move the cargo."

「A few minutes later.」

When the helicopter landed nonchalantly in an open area not far from Lin Chen’s shelter, the thick layer of snow was completely blown away, revealing the long-hidden ground underneath.

"What’s going on?"

Lin Chen walked out with a frown, clearly sensing that something was wrong.

"Congratulations, Lin! You’ve won! You are the champion of the fourteenth season of the Wild Survival 100-Day Challenge, and you’ve won the one million US Dollar prize!"

"Huh??"

Even though he had a vague premonition, he still found it a little hard to believe now that he was hearing the news with his own ears.

’There were still so many contestants left. Did they all quit in just half a day?’

’Seriously, am I that intimidating...?’

He thought of his overflowing stockpile by the river.

’Alright, maybe it is a little intimidating.’

Ignoring the risk of malnutrition, the meat and fat he had was enough to survive out here for two or three years.

After quickly filming a wrap-up segment, the crew removed the camera from Lin. Then, Robert conspiratorially pulled him up to the second floor of the shelter, leaving the first floor for the crew to move supplies.

"Lin, as you’re aware, this situation is pretty unique. We’re short a full third of our planned filming time."

"And while the overall results were unexpectedly great, the shorter runtime means the final, edited version of the show will have to be shorter as well."

"Stop, stop, stop. Just get to the point. Don’t beat around the bush."

"Alright. Bringing in professional contestants this season was a bold experiment. To be honest, we didn’t think too much about it before the competition—we just randomly picked a few people. We never expected a monster like you to emerge."

"I’m sure the audience is going wild right now. A show that was supposed to be a hundred days got compressed into two months. They definitely haven’t had their fill. So, I just got word from the higher-ups—they’re planning to greenlight the next season ahead of schedule."

"The project was originally just in the early concept stage, with nothing set in stone. But they see the potential to make a lot of money with you, and audience demand is extremely high, so they’re hoping you’ll agree to participate in the next season."

"Huh?"

Lin Chen was dumbfounded. He never in a million years expected this kind of development.

"What’s the prize money?"

"You really get straight to the point! Haha, I love talking to people like you!"

Robert let out a hearty laugh and clapped him on the shoulder. "The prize money hasn’t been decided yet, but I can give you a heads-up on the survival location so you can do some research in advance."

Doing research wasn’t really considered cheating. There was a long period between contestant selection and the actual start of the competition. Most contestants who signed up would be from the Americas and naturally more familiar with the environments here than he was.

Giving him a head start on research would only level the playing field.

"Where is it?"

"It’s also in North America, but the complete opposite of the icy landscape of Alaska. It’s a tropical rainforest region on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, boasting the largest ecosystem in all of North America."

"The temperature there is constant year-round. While resources are abundant, it’s also home to many ferocious beasts and highly venomous creatures: Jaguars, American Crocodiles, poison dart frogs, pythons, anacondas... You might even see whales, sharks, and dolphins in the sea."

"Countless wild fruits, coral reefs teeming with seafood, dense and humid primeval forests."

"It will be easier to find food there than in Alaska, with much more variety, allowing you to get the vitamins and minerals you need."

"But at the same time, the ubiquitous mosquitoes and venomous insects in the forest will be a deadly hazard. There are also ferocious beasts, unpredictable weather, and the constant threat of sudden storms. It won’t be a leisurely, stable vacation like you’ve had here."

GULP.

Just listening to the description sent a chill down Lin Chen’s spine.

On the surface, it sounded rich in flora and fauna, a place where survival would be easy. But anyone in the know understood that, in reality, a tropical rainforest is one of the deadliest places on Earth.

You could get a casual scratch from some nameless plant by the trail and need an amputation a few hours later. There were even cases of people dying on the spot.

The presence of Jaguars, pythons, and anacondas meant that even the trees were no longer safe.

There were American Crocodiles by the rivers, and bears and wolves on land.

In other words, death lurked around every corner!

’For a place this difficult to survive in, the prize money must be pretty high, right?’