Culinary God in Wilderness

The distance between them was no more than thirty or forty meters. At this range, if the bear decided to charge, the two of them wouldn’t even have a chance to escape.

Lin Chen swallowed hard and glanced sideways at Andre with a grim smile, his eyes questioning.

"What do we do?"

If it were a Black Bear, he wouldn’t be this scared.

After all, Black Bears aren’t that big—about the size of a person. With Andre’s Archery and the Bear-Repellent Spray, it would be a toss-up who would come out on top.

But a brown bear was different. The Alaskan Brown Bear, the largest of its kind, commonly weighed upwards of 300 kilograms. Four or five hundred kilograms was normal, and the largest could even reach 800 kilograms.

Their average height was nearly three meters, making them true lords of the land. Even a passing tiger or lion wouldn’t dare give one a second glance.

A single swipe of its paw could carry the force of several hundred kilograms, enough to instantly flatten any smaller creature into a meat patty.

Andre could only manage a wry smile. He never would have thought that after spending the whole trip teaching Lin Chen how to spot bear tracks and what to do in an encounter with a wild bear, they would run into a living, breathing disaster the very next second.

And it was the worst kind of disaster—the largest species of brown bear in the world.

That was one thing about Alaska: all its animal species were the world’s largest.

He shook his head, signaling for Lin Chen not to make any sudden moves. He then reached back, drew a fletched arrow from his quiver, and nocked it. He also double-checked that his Bear-Repellent Spray was within easy reach.

For an Alaskan Brown Bear of this size, especially at the end of October, its body would have already stored a massive amount of fat—accounting for at least thirty percent of its total body weight.

Even if every one of his arrows found its mark, the thick layer of fat would act as a buffer. It would be like the bear was wearing a bulletproof vest; the arrows wouldn’t have much of an effect.

He’d have to hit a critical spot like its limbs or eyes to cripple its mobility. Only then would it feel its life was in danger and give up the attack.

In that brief instant, countless possibilities flashed through Andre’s mind.

The extreme tension unconsciously transformed into large, glistening beads of sweat on his forehead, silently soaking his shirt.

Lin Chen was in a similar state. He slowly lowered his raised right foot, also drawing a fletched arrow and nocking it.

His intention wasn’t to take an offensive stance, but to build up his own confidence.

Just as the two of them stood there, facing a formidable enemy and racking their brains for a solution, the dining brown bear suddenly turned its head and glanced at them. Its eyes held a human-like contempt before it turned back, viciously tore open the salmon’s belly, and continued to feast on the delicious entrails.

"Whew..."

Andre let out a breath of relief. He put an arm out in front of Lin Chen and said in a low voice, "Back up slowly. Don’t turn around. Hold this posture and don’t let it see our backs. Don’t make eye contact, but don’t let it out of your sight either."

Lin Chen nodded, and the two began backing away toward the dandelion field at an extremely slow pace.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Ten steps.

Twenty steps.

Not until they were deep inside the forest and the brown bear still showed no sign of getting up to chase them did their hearts, which had been lodged in their throats, finally settle.

"Thankfully, the salmon carcasses all over the ground have created a natural buffet for it. Lying down to eat is clearly preferable to wasting energy on a hunt."

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Andre explained in a low voice, "Bears start hibernating in December. In this last month, they eat a huge amount and minimize their activity as much as possible to build up fat reserves."

"If it were any other season, we probably would have been in real danger."

"Let’s go, get far away from here. Brown bears usually fish in groups. This situation with dead fish everywhere is a bit different, but to be safe, we should take a detour."

Faced with a life-and-death crisis, the two couldn’t care about anything else and immediately took off at full speed in the opposite direction.

Only after running for a good ten-plus minutes did they reorient themselves and head toward the Yukon River from a different direction.

"This section of the Yukon River where we are has a lot of tributaries, and there are a few isolated islands in the middle of the river. I’ve never been on them before. We might find something good."

As the two cautiously approached the edge of the forest, Lin Chen immediately spotted the so-called isolated islands Andre had described.

They weren’t islands in the traditional sense, but rather a patch of land separated by branching river channels, situated right in the middle of two streams and surrounded by water on both ends.

From a distance, they didn’t seem very large. But when the two of them actually reached the riverbank and got a close-up view of the opposite shore, they realized just how big these islands were.

"It’s about time. Let’s cross the river. For the next six days, you’ll have to rely on your own efforts."

Andre handed him a length of parachute cord. Lin Chen tied it around himself, and they waded directly into the river, one behind the other.

After draining for a day and a night, the Yukon River’s water level had mostly returned to its original depth, coming up just above their waists. Tying the rope was a precaution against any accidents.

Once on the other side, Andre led him straight to a potato patch. After digging up around twenty pounds of huge potatoes, he waved goodbye and headed off toward the shelter.

’Yukon Gold potatoes... The good times are coming!’

Lin Chen sat on the ground for a good half an hour to recover. He then used potato stems as a makeshift rope to tie the potatoes into a bundle, which he carried back to the riverbank.

Andre, having just returned to the shelter, had just finished taking off all his gear when his gaze suddenly fell on three plump, leaf-wrapped bundles.

He smacked his forehead.

’Crap, how could I have forgotten about these!’

He had stuffed them into his backpack and held it over his head while crossing the river, then completely forgot about them afterward.

He hurriedly unwrapped one. The two translucent mochi-like balls inside had stuck together, but they were still cool and firm to the touch.

’Whew... good thing they haven’t completely melted. The morning temperature is still cold enough.’

Cupping the leaves in his hands, he brought them to his lips and gave one a tentative lick. He didn’t taste any sweetness; instead, the texture was like licking raw dough.

Trusting Lin Chen, he didn’t overthink it and took a big bite.

The soft, springy, translucent skin stretched into long strands. The parts that hadn’t fully thawed retained a slight chewiness, while the semi-frozen egg custard filling was as smooth as cream, interspersed with tiny ice crystals.

He pressed his tongue against it, and the ice crystals dissolved, releasing a fresh, sweet-and-sour berry flavor that spread throughout his mouth.

He wasn’t particularly impressed with the first bite, but as he continued to chew, Andre’s eyes slowly lit up.

’What a strange dessert. The soft, glutinous skin gets more fragrant the more you chew. I can actually taste a hint of creaminess from the duck egg filling, and paired with the rich berry jam, there’s surprisingly no eggy smell... The only drawback is that it’s not sweet enough.’

’But then again, being able to eat dessert in the middle of the forest is a miracle in itself. I can’t be too demanding about the flavor.’