Culinary God in Wilderness

"AWOO! AWOO!"

While he was still stunned, the wolverine suddenly barked twice. The sounds were sharp and loud, much like a dog’s.

’What is it barking at?’

’It can’t be calling for backup, can it?’

Although Lin Chen didn’t know much about this creature, he knew it was a powerful fighter and most likely not a pack animal.

’If it’s not calling for its pack, is it a warning?’

He didn’t make any sudden moves, remaining crouched in the weeds and bushes, watching the wolverine from a distance.

Suddenly.

A figure shot out from the woods on the other side of the river.

"Hey! Little guy, how’d you get all the way over there?"

Lin Chen’s pupils contracted, and he quickly looked across the river.

The newcomer was burly, looking to be over 1.8 meters tall. The muscles on his bare arms were bulging, and his full head of brown hair looked as if it had been dyed, giving it a matte sheen.

The man had sharp, deep-set features. He also had a hunting bow slung over his back, a quiver at his waist, and an Engineer Shovel held in a reverse grip. He was squinting at the wolverine on the opposite bank.

"I wasn’t gonna hurt you! I just wanted to play! Why’d you run off? I have a tasty squirrel for you, come on back~!"

The man pulled a dead squirrel from his other side and started shouting and whistling at the wolverine.

The wolverine warily glanced back at him before charging into the forest without a second thought.

"AWOO! AWOO!"

"Hey! You’re no fun."

Watching the dark shape rapidly disappear into the distance, the man stomped his foot in frustration and stuffed the squirrel back at his waist.

’What was his name again?’

Lin Chen quickly searched his memory, trying to recall the host announcing the names when the show first started filming.

’Jonathan? Gass? Johnson?’

’No, none of them are him.’

After eliminating them one by one, only two or three blurry names and faces remained that he couldn’t match.

Lin Chen looked up at the man across the river again. For no particular reason, a name gradually came into focus.

Andre.

"AWOO! AWOO!"

The wolverine, already at the edge of the woods, shot one last look at the man still standing on the opposite bank. It gave two defiant barks and dove into the bushes.

The moment its figure vanished, the previously quiet forest erupted with activity.

Several squirrels popped out from nowhere, nimbly scrambling up branches in the blink of an eye.

Two grouse flapped their wings, darting about chaotically and leaving a few feathers floating in the air.

A black, spiky shadow the size of a honeydew melon also scurried out from the low grass, moving silently toward the bank of the Yukon River.

"Holy shit?"

Lin Chen was dumbfounded. He never would have imagined so much prey was hiding right under his nose.

His fingers drew the bowstring. He aimed at the chaotically flying grouse for a moment but quickly gave up, instead targeting the dark shadow exposed on the riverbank with no cover.

THWIP— 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Just as he took aim, the sound of something slicing through the air rang out.

A feathered arrow shot from the opposite bank, accurately striking its target from across the river and pinning the dark shadow to the ground.

"?"

The corner of Lin Chen’s mouth twitched, and he rolled his eyes, speechless.

’Looks like that guy’s a true survival expert. Not only was he faster on the draw from that far away, but his accuracy is terrifyingly high.’

"Nice! Woohoo~!"

The burly man pumped his arm fiercely, but he quickly realized a problem.

How was he going to get across?

The Yukon River’s water level was high, and the current was relatively swift. Although he was confident he could swim to the other side, swimming back and forth would consume a great deal of energy.

On top of that, the weather was turning colder, and entering the water could easily lead to hypothermia.

But if he didn’t swim across, he would not only waste his prey but also lose a precious arrow.

Just as he was hesitating, a person suddenly stood up from the bushes at the edge of the forest on the other side.

"?????"

The man’s jaw dropped. He clearly hadn’t expected to run into another contestant here.

Yellow skin, black hair, black eyes, a youthful face.

’Is that the chef from Great Xia?’

Watching the young man walk over and pull the arrow out of the ground, he panicked and started waving his arms and shouting.

"Hey! Buddy, that’s my kill!"

Lin Chen picked up the small creature by the scruff of its neck. "It’s mine now."

A North American porcupine, one of the rarer creatures in the Alaska Forest.

The man blinked, never imagining this person from Great Xia would be so difficult.

But soon, he remembered the guy’s identity, and his eyes lit up.

"You’re the chef, right?"

"To survive in the forest for this long, I admit you’re a respectable opponent. How about we cooperate?"

’Cooperate?’

Lin Chen had never even considered that someone would want to team up with him. Faced with the sudden invitation, he wasn’t sure whether to accept.

’My workload has been huge lately. I have to practice my archery and upgrade my shelter. Most importantly, I need to store enough food for the winter.’

After a moment’s thought, he decided to ask for details first.

"What kind of cooperation?"

"You saw for yourself," the man said, pointing to the porcupine in Lin Chen’s hand. "I can hit prey with ease, but I’m not very good at cooking. I can only roast meat until it’s barely edible."

"Once we agree to cooperate, we have twenty-four hours to work together. I can be in charge of hunting, but you’ll have to cook my food. It’s that simple."

The man lifted his chin with great confidence. "Squirrels, grouse, wild rabbits, porcupines... as long as I spot it, no prey can escape..."

"I refuse."

"Haha, I knew... what? You refuse???"

"Holy shit, that’s not right! If you team up with me, you won’t have to worry about hunting for at least a day. There’s no reason to refuse!"

"Do I look like someone who’s starving?"

Lin Chen scoffed dismissively, walked right over to the riverbank in front of him, squatted down, and began to skillfully process the porcupine.

Although it was his first time seeing such a creature up close, for a chef, the process for dressing most animals was the same: skinning, bleeding, and gutting.

The man scratched his head, staring at Lin Chen with wide eyes for a long time.

Because a whole river separated them, he couldn’t make out the details clearly, but he could vaguely see that the kid’s complexion was healthy and his spirits were high. He didn’t look like he was having a hard time at all. In fact, he looked pretty much the same as he did before filming started.

If he had to point out a difference, it was that Lin Chen was a little thinner, but his entire aura had undergone a dramatic transformation.

If the old Lin Chen had the air of a pure city slicker, the current him was a seasoned wilderness survival master!

The man lowered his head and saw his own scruffy, bearded, and disheveled reflection in a puddle by the riverbank. He froze, as if he had just realized something.

’Wait!’

’How does that kid look so clean?’