However, despite the horny thoughts, the serious tasks Chuck assigned had to be completed.
The goat was quickly hung up. Chuck took the small flint knife he had just synthesized from the flint axe fragments on the Workbench and began to skin and butcher the meat.
Simple stuff like the head and the messy digestive organs were discarded; the rest of the offal and mutton were essentially all good things.
Having had the experience of smoking meat once before, Chuck was much handier this time.
But unlike last time, he planned to cut the choicest and most delicious parts—the leg, neck fillet, and ribs—and keep them separately in the Storage Space in their freshest state.
After a morning of work, and cooperating with Gu Yitong, it took about two hours to completely process the entire goat.
The hide was peeled off and stretched for tanning, as usual. Later, he could decide whether to scrape off the wool for a wool quilt or use the entire hide as a wool mattress—both good options.
The goat, weighing just over forty kilograms, yielded less than twenty kilograms of edible meat after removing the internal organs, bones, and head.
When Chuck finished segmenting the entire goat as planned, he had:
Ten kilograms of prime fresh mutton stored in the Storage Space.
Five kilograms of smoked and dehydrated jerky.
A pot of mixed offal ready to be stewed with wild vegetables.
A pile of bones and the spine (scapula) for making future soup.
And one skewer of super-aphrodisiac meat personally made by Chuck, a trinity of goat penis, goat testicles, and goat kidneys!
"Oh my goodness…"
The skewer was made from small, sharpened twigs Chuck carved himself. Holding the full set of 'artillery and ammunition' in his hand, even Chuck felt a little intimidated.
To be honest, if you were to eat this thing, how strong would the smell be?
But if you didn't eat it, it felt like a bit of a waste.
Chuck hesitated for a long time but finally made up his mind.
Since the skewer was already prepared, he might as well eat it.
At worst, I'll just throw up breakfast. It won't kill me, will it?
So, he set up the pot and started the fire.
The offal and wild vegetables stewed together, with several pieces of pancake dough pasted to the side of the pot. Chuck, holding his 'artillery', placed it over the fire. It crackled and sizzled with oil, and the scent—a mix of aroma, gaminess, and an indescribably musky, animal odor—silently rushed into Chuck's nostrils.
Good heavens.
It was intoxicating.
The three women nearby had varied reactions to the sight.
Julia: "Holy fark, darling, are you really going to eat that? (∑(°□°@))" Chuck: "I'll give it a try." Gu Yitong: "Honey, while frugality is a good habit, maybe let's skip this one. After all, it's that part (-₁_-)…" Chuck: "Don't worry, I washed it several times. It's clean and hygienic." Gu Mòmo: "So what part of the goat is this? (.·▽·.)" Chuck: "You'll find out tonight."
Amidst the small talk, the goat soup was quickly cooked, and the powerful skewer was perfectly roasted.
Chuck slowly brought it to his mouth. The flavor, after being grilled, had not weakened but intensified.
Strong and powerful. Strong and powerful indeed.
But honestly, while pungent, it was also inexplicably tempting.
Like fermented fish, durian, or stinky tofu, it carried a strange, alluring magic.
Chuck hesitated no more, opened his mouth wide, and devoured the 'artillery and ammunition' in three quick bites.
An instant burst of juice, followed by a greasy sensation mixed with chewiness, the chewiness carrying a musky animal odor, and the animal odor tinged with deliciousness.
Chuck quickly finished the skewer, feeling both satisfied and nauseous.
It was hard to imagine these conflicting feelings could appear simultaneously; it was truly an eye-opener for Chuck.
The expected surge of heat did not appear immediately. Chuck wondered if the 'eat-what-you-want-to-strengthen-what-you-eat' effect was just an urban legend or simply needed some time to kick in.
Lunch was a rare feast of goat offal soup. Although the goat meat was a bit gamy, its fresh flavor was incomparable to the wild boar meat.
All four ate contentedly.
This also prompted Chuck to think.
Since they had reached the stage of comprehensively improving their quality of life, diet seemed to be a crucial aspect.
Jerky was their standard reserve and wasn't really about flavor, but the ribs, leg, and neck fillet meat stored in the Storage Space were all high-quality mutton.
If they simply roasted or stewed it, it would certainly be tasty, but it lacked a certain finesse.
They now had pots, bowls, and other cooking supplies, but they lacked a proper stove and various seasonings like salt and spices.
When he had time later, he needed to properly research this. At the very least, he couldn't let such excellent ingredients merely become "food" to fill their stomachs.
After lunch, Chuck began to delegate tasks.
The women had been relatively idle for the past few days, and it was time to put them to work. Conveniently, Chuck now needed large amounts of materials for construction or blueprint upgrades.
The lime mortar required for the basic water tower needed someone to collect coral from the seaside and then burn it into lime in the kiln. Chuck assigned this job to the Gu mother and daughter, letting them divide the labor themselves.
Upgrading the kiln to a furnace required firebricks and mud bricks, which meant settling a large amount of clay. However, the mud in the existing mud pit had been depleted, so Chuck would have to travel to the swampy wetlands in the southwest to dig for it. Fortunately, he had the Storage Space, and even with some space occupied by "milk" and mutton, he could transport over thirty kilograms of sludge at a time.
However, collecting the fine sand needed to mix the mud bricks and the seawater required for the subsequent mortar mixing required numerous trips to the seaside. Chuck assigned this task to Julia.
With the three women sharing the workload, Chuck's pressure significantly decreased. He grabbed his tools and once again climbed the steep slope to the cliff, planning to first cut some hardwood in the Red Wood Forest and try to secure all the materials needed for the water tower within the day.
But just as he crossed the stony beach and reached the perimeter of the Red Wood Forest, Chuck unexpectedly ran head-first into two familiar faces.
"Ah, it's the ossan!"
Kaoru's exquisite face suddenly showed a hint of "surprise" the moment she saw Chuck, and she quickly stepped closer.
"Hello, hello, what a coincidence~"
Chuck, who was about to start working, felt slightly impatient seeing the sudden appearance of the sexy schoolgirl (JK), but he still politely nodded.
Yet, even though he didn't verbally respond, Kaoru seemed determined not to leave him in peace.
"Perfect. I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about, ossan."
Chuck sighed, finally stopping, and looked at her.
"What is it?"
Kaoru clasped her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, and looked up at him. Her exquisite face showed a hint of shyness, making her bright and captivating. A youthful aura rushed forward, giving one the illusion of being on a school campus with cherry blossoms flying overhead.
"Actually…"
Kaoru blinked her delicate eyes, and the corners of her lips curved into a charming smile. Her cheeks flushed, and she spoke softly with a demure and ambiguous tone.
"The first time I saw you, ossan, I thought you were quite handsome."
Chuck was taken aback by these words.
Calling me handsome?
If she had complimented him on being manly or attractive, like Julia did, that would be normal. After all, Chuck was confident in his physique, which was constantly trained and now enhanced by the potions.
But even though he was now the harem man of a deserted island, Chuck honestly believed that his looks, by worldly aesthetic standards, were average at best.
In his view, a man stands tall in the world by his competence and courage, not by dressing up like a girl to lure the opposite sex.
So, hearing the evaluation "quite handsome," Chuck didn't feel happy; instead, he grew more vigilant.
Or rather, it only confirmed the sexy schoolgirl's intentions.
He sighed slightly and responded calmly again.
"I'm busy. What do you want to say?"
"Eh—don't be so cold."
Kaoru, seeing Chuck's indifferent reaction, maintained her bright, sexy persona but inwardly felt the situation was tricky.
This guy is completely unyielding.
It seems I have to be direct.
She blinked, making a decision in her heart.
"Ossan, don't misunderstand."
As Kaoru spoke, her tone and demeanor simultaneously dropped, and her eyes instantly became pitiful.
"I just suddenly arrived on this deserted island and need to find someone reliable to depend on. The first time I saw you, ossan, I felt you were a good person…"
Chuck's scalp immediately prickled at the sight.
This girl is truly a master of the 'green tea' art.
Seriously, if he hadn't been exposed to "tea flavor" on the Chinese internet in the past, he might have fallen for this trick.
If he were to bring such a human bomb home into his harem, not only would his peaceful life immediately turn into a mess, but even if it didn't, Julia and the Gu mother and daughter would certainly be disgusted by her "tea flavor."
At this thought, Chuck's vigilance reached its peak, and his patience was completely depleted.
"I'm not a good person. If you have nothing else, can you please stop disturbing me?"
Chuck spoke with a heavy tone, making no effort to hide the impatience on his face.
Kaoru, who had been feigning pitiable "green tea" charm, saw this and her expression completely froze.
Her mouth twitched a few times, but then she forced another smile.
"Don't talk like that, ossan. Don't think I'm just a high school student; I'm very capable, you know~ I really admire you, ossan…"
As Kaoru said this, she deliberately emphasized the word "capable" and subtly took a half step forward, leaning slightly, intentionally adjusting the angle of her neckline.
This was completely and utterly straightforward seduction.
Reaching this point was her absolute limit; she had never tried to please anyone this much in all her years.
But even so, she was still met with Chuck's unceremonious, cold response.
"Sorry, I'm not interested. I have things to do. Please move aside."
"..."
Finally, Kaoru slowly lowered her head, standing still, her shoulders trembling slightly, completely silent.
Chuck glanced at her, too lazy to waste any more time, and deliberately walked around her, heading into the Red Wood Forest.
But then, a sharp shout suddenly rang out from behind him.
"Stop right there!"
Turning his head, he saw that the exquisite face, which had been bright and enthusiastic one moment and pitiful the next, suddenly turned dark and fierce.
"Everyone looks down on me! What makes you so great?!"
"A broke loser ossan like you—back home, I wouldn't even look at you twice!"
Whether it was her previous attempts to flatter and seduce him or her current broken-down attack, Chuck's expression remained as calm as ever.
"It must have been tough holding in that hiss until now."
"Hmph."
Kaoru straightened her posture, crossing her arms.
Since the cards were on the table, there was no need to keep up the pretense.
Her original intention was to lure Chuck in, then use her usual manipulation tactics to string him along, leveraging his ability to ensure she and Kaede could live safely on this island.
But now that the soft approach had failed, she had no choice but to use force.
A look of contempt suddenly appeared on Kaoru's dark and fierce face. She looked coldly at Chuck and finally spoke again.
"Ossan, if I remember correctly, you arbitrarily took my companion away yesterday and made her stay overnight at your place, right?"
Chuck narrowed his eyes upon hearing this and nodded.
"That's correct. So?"
"Tsk."
Kaoru clicked her tongue in frustration, then frowned at Chuck and spoke again.
"So, ossan, you wouldn't want us to sue you once we get back, turning you into a rapist who took advantage of a high school girl… Mmf!"
The last word of Kaoru's sentence was muffled as an iron-like hand clamped down fiercely on her face.
Then, to her confusion and horror, Chuck lifted her up off the ground, holding her head firmly.
"Mmmph mmmph mmmph—!"
Her slender legs, clad in over-the-knee stockings, slowly lifted off the ground, and her feet in their small leather shoes thrashed in vain in the air.
As Kaoru struggled, fear slowly surfaced in her eyes.
She raised her small hands and desperately beat Chuck's arm, but he was like steel, completely immovable.
Chuck held her up with one hand, his gaze calm, his brow slightly furrowed.
He was silently contemplating.
Indeed, Kanae's companion, Kaoru, was quite striking in appearance.
But was Chuck lacking beautiful women?
No.
Weren't all three women at his cabin exceptional?
If this woman's personality was as honest and dependable as Kanae's, Chuck wouldn't have refused her multiple times; he would have actively invited her.
But the problem was, this woman was clearly a troublemaker.
If she were just a troublemaker, he might have tolerated it, letting her stay with Tang Yumo, living in mutual peace. If trouble arose later, he might have even helped out.
But this person had the audacity to threaten him.
This is a goddamn deserted island.
No matter how generous Chuck was, he could tolerate a non-hostile peer living in peace on the island with him, but he would never tolerate someone who had threatened him.
After all, though he was strong, there were three important people behind him whom he needed to protect.
Looking at Kaoru, who was gradually suffocating in his grasp and struggling with less and less strength.
A question emerged in Chuck's mind.
Was this Kaoru smart, or just plain stupid?
"Mr. Chuck!"
Just at this critical moment, a familiar call suddenly sounded from ahead.
Chuck looked in the direction of the voice and, unsurprisingly, saw a panicking Kanae, rushing over even with her limping gait.
"No! Mr. Chuck, please!"
The still-injured athletic girl was pale, her eyes brimming with tears. She stumbled toward Chuck, pleading with him.
Then, she directly fell to her knees in front of him with a loud thump.
The advanced, bouncy development of her tanned breasts, encased in her JK uniform, caused a violent ripple right before his eyes.
"Please, Mr. Chuck, don't kill her. Kaoru is just temporarily unaware of the situation, but she's really not a bad person!"
"I promise, she will never offend you again!"