Culinary God in Wilderness

Not being able to capture wild animals meant that to survive in the forest, one could only sustain themselves by eating fruits, plants, and insects.

Therefore, shelters had to be built near the coast. Otherwise, it would be no different from quitting the competition early.

As the journey wore on, the initial excitement of most contestants slowly faded, and they gradually fell silent.

After more than an hour, they reached the coast near Cologne. They then switched to medium-sized helicopters to continue their journey, changing from groups of five on the speedboats to groups of ten.

Watching the city below rapidly recede and the dense sea of trees come into view, a shadow of gloom gradually fell over everyone’s hearts.

Only then did a hint of tension finally begin to fill the air.

Everyone already had a personal camera strapped to their chest, but the live broadcast hadn’t started yet. They were completely cut off from the outside world.

Only Robert was there, mysteriously shouting at the scrolling comments on his tablet screen.

"Viewers!"

"Let me secretly tell you all some bad news!"

"I’ve told you so much about Panama’s rich ecosystem before. Weren’t you all looking forward to seeing the contestants stage a battle between man and nature here?"

"Ha!"

"If that’s what you were thinking, you’re dead wrong! Because the laws in Panama and its neighboring countries explicitly prohibit the hunting of wild animals!"

"That’s right, you heard me correctly! Hunting animals is forbidden here!"

Originally, among the scrolling comments in the live stream chat, a few viewers familiar with Central America had mentioned this rule. But their comments were posted and then immediately buried by the fast-moving chat, so almost no one saw them.

After Robert shouted out this rule, the live stream chat exploded. The screen filled with strings of question marks.

"???????"

"????"

"?????????"

"Seriously, if hunting is banned, what’s the point of coming here!"

"I wanted to see the contestants make their own tools and weapons to hunt! And now you’re telling me hunting is banned?"

"Damn it! Does your production team even know how to pick a location? If you can’t find a good one, just don’t bother! Without hunting, this show has lost half its fun!"

"I think it’s actually fine. They can’t hunt animals, but they can fish in the sea. As far as I know, there haven’t been many island-based series."

"Wait a minute, since Robert is saying this now, does that mean... the contestants don’t know about this?"

"Heh, that’s so evil. I love it."

「Meanwhile.」

Inside the White Whale Restaurant.

The familiar seats were already filled with customers who had come after hearing the news. Besides the local residents who lived nearby, many tourists who had come seeking it out were also staring with great interest at the projected image on the wall.

"No hunting?"

Hearing Robert’s announcement, the place was instantly in an uproar.

The difference was, far from being disappointed, these people grew even more excited.

"Gray!"

"Did you hear that? The Panama Chapter is going to be mainly seafood and fruit! Isn’t that right up your alley?"

The White Whale was on an island to begin with. The residents here had practically grown up eating seafood and had long since grown tired of the local preparations. It would be a lie to say they weren’t looking forward to trying new styles of seafood cuisine.

Gray also raised his eyebrows in surprise. Lin hadn’t mentioned this to him before, and the production team hadn’t revealed it either, likely to maintain secrecy.

’What’s that supposed to mean? Do I look like the kind of person who can’t keep a secret?’

However, the fact that this season’s main ingredients would be seafood made him even more expectant. He wanted to see what kind of delicacies Lin could whip up without being able to exchange for many seasonings.

Besides, recreating the dishes was a challenge for him as well.

Not only did he have to find the same ingredients, but he also had to figure out how to modify the recipes to meet the standards for being sold in the restaurant and to cater to the tastes of his customers.

It was precisely this kind of challenge that awakened the long-dormant, self-challenging instinct within him. It was a feeling that made his blood boil. He wished Lin Chen would be thrown into the sea the very next second to start catching ingredients.

On screen, Robert paused for a moment, as if giving the audience time to think, before continuing.

"According to our production team’s communication with the local forestry department and other agencies, the current response is that if a contestant has failed to obtain food for more than two days and their health may be at risk, the scope of permissible hunting within the forest is limited to the Green Iguana and Nile Tilapia."

"Furthermore, according to information provided by the Forestry Department, the populations of spiny rats, pythons, cobras, electric eels, and other creatures have shown a significant increasing trend in recent years within the area where the contestants will be surviving. The contestants will be permitted to carry out a certain degree of culling work on behalf of the Forestry Bureau—in other words, hunting."

"However, I won’t tell them about this situation right now. We’ll let them set off full of hope, and only after they’ve all entered the forest will we announce this news."

"Also, I am now announcing that the format for this competition will be a survival elimination match. The champion must last for more than sixty days and become the final survivor!"

「Some time later.」

The five helicopters suddenly stopped moving forward, hovering over the forest.

The cabin doors were yanked open, and blinding, golden sunlight poured in.

"Everyone, take your envelope. After you’ve all landed, we will activate the cameras on your chests. A green light will indicate a successful connection. At that point, you can open your envelopes."

"Remember, before you begin your survival, you must carefully read the contents of the envelope!"