Culinary God in Wilderness

It’s actually very difficult to get salt in the wild without any tools.

Even though he was right by the sea, with what looked like an endless supply of sea salt, the reality was much different. Seawater is completely undrinkable. Even the salt extracted through evaporation can’t be eaten directly; it must be purified before consumption.

The process was time-consuming and a hassle, so he decided to save it for when he had more free time. In these early stages, while he hadn’t lost much weight, getting by on the salt from the oysters was sufficient.

Although he was ’roasting’ them, the oysters’ high water content and naturally sealed shells meant they were actually being steamed.

The texture of the cooked oyster was completely different from when it was raw. It was something like seafood-flavored tofu, or maybe fish pudding.

The salty, fishy taste of the raw oyster was gone, replaced by a hint of sweetness. It didn’t need any seasoning at all; it was already savory and delicious on its own.

This time, he didn’t have to forcefully suppress his cravings. Cooked oysters were perfectly safe to eat.

Lin Chen attacked the oysters like a starving man who hadn’t eaten in three days. He tossed them into his mouth one after another, stuffing his cheeks until they bulged and he was forced to stop, unable to fit even one more.

His mouth was packed with plump oyster meat. He barely needed to chew; with just a gentle press of his tongue, a burst of sweet, savory juice erupted from the flesh.

[Enjoying delicious roasted oysters on the coast of Panama. Happiness +2]

"Phew... So satisfying!"

He finally managed to swallow the mouthful of oysters, letting out a long, heartfelt sigh of satisfaction.

This was his first proper meal since the competition began. The pleasure of taking huge bites of meat was something that eating fruit simply couldn’t compare to.

He polished off the last few oysters, tossed the shells aside, and went back to dismantling his crabs.

By the time he finished picking all the meat from the crabs, the banana leaf under the fire had been roasted to a yellowish-brown. He used a stick to pull the whole bundle out of the embers.

The steamed banana leaf parcel looked a bit like a lotus-leaf-wrapped chicken, giving off a faint, grassy aroma.

As he peeled back the layers, the cooked razor clam shells had opened completely. The finger-thick meat hadn’t shrunk much and lay quietly in shells that now seemed too small for it.

A shallow pool of pale white broth had collected at the bottom of the banana leaf.

Forgetting all about his image, he leaned in and slurped the hot broth clean.

The razor clam meat could wait until it cooled, but the broth couldn’t. It would taste fishy once it got cold.

Then, he picked up a crab shell brimming with meat and tapped it against the nearby camera lens.

"It’s five P.M., perfect time for dinner. Hope you’re all having a great meal. Cheers!"

He tilted his head back and poured the contents of the shell into his mouth.

The savory sweetness of the crab meat was on another level entirely. The texture was delicate, with almost no fishy taste, making it more approachable for most people than the oysters.

"Friends, if you’ve only ever had king crab and never tried one of these palm-sized crabs, trust me, you have to give them a shot. They’re a bit more work to eat, but I promise the flavor won’t disappoint you."

"Oh, right. I just remembered something."

He picked up another crab shell, holding it up to the camera. "I wonder if you’ve all heard of a restaurant called White Whale?"

"If you haven’t, you can check out our official Wild Survival website—it should be mentioned there. For those of you who do know, you’ll know that White Whale is currently the only restaurant partnered with our show."

"Most of the dishes I make on the show will appear on their menu. I’m not sure if they’ll be permanent additions or limited-time offers. And they won’t be exactly the same, of course. Out here in the wild, I’m limited by conditions. The restaurant version will definitely be refined a bit to make it even more delicious."

"Gray, you watching? Or maybe Max? If you’re there, drop a ’1’ in the chat."

Seeing the stream of 1s flood the screen, Lin Chen rolled his eyes, speechless.

’Great. Looks like the Wild Survival livestream has been infiltrated. What’s next, an invasion by the entire Chinese fanbase?’

"I don’t know if you’re actually watching, but if you see this, I highly recommend you start selling picked crab meat. Whether it’s for salads, as a topping for fries with meat sauce, or stir-fried into a crab pasta, it would be an absolutely fantastic choice."

...

「At the same time.」

In the back of the restaurant’s kitchen, a busy Gray looked at the long line of order tickets on the wall, a headache already forming. He started shouting out orders, assigning tasks to his kitchen staff.

"Eight lamb offal soups! Six lamb chops! Two of the chops no chili, one with extra chili!"

"Six salmon burgers! One medium-rare, two well-done, the rest are medium! No pickles on the medium-rare, no tomato on one of the mediums!"

"Seven ribeyes, four Phils, three sirloins! Temps are..."

He went on like that for a full two minutes before he finally got through all the orders.

The cooks at their various stations were already a blur of motion. Every one of them was flushed and working furiously, the atmosphere in the kitchen as taut as a bowstring.

"Gray!"

Max poked his head through the service window.

"What is it now?"

"Lin’s live right now, making a seafood dinner. He just gave the restaurant a huge shout-out and suggested you start using hand-picked crab meat in your dishes."

"What the—!!??"

Gray let out a yell and slapped a hand to his forehead.