Their conversation was captured by two cameras simultaneously, but undeniably, the solution Robert proposed was the most suitable one, bar none.
It both compensated Lin Chen and maintained the competition's fairness. Most importantly, he didn't discuss it off-camera but spoke about it openly and candidly.
This way, even if the audience had any complaints about their reckless behavior just now, it wouldn't blow up into a huge issue.
The helicopter quickly flew into the distance, and once again, Lin Chen was left alone in the forest.
Staring in the direction the black dot had disappeared, Lin Chen narrowed his eyes. 'Are there other contestants in that direction...'
He had no intention of cooperating with anyone else. Judging by the situation before the competition started, it was unlikely any other contestants would want to team up with him anyway.
Unless someone had so much prey they couldn't eat it all. That was a possibility.
But on the Yukon River Shore, if you were to talk about inexhaustible prey, the only thing that came to mind was the abundant Red Salmon.
After eating it for two days straight, he felt he was starting to become immune to the allure of Red Salmon.
It couldn't be eaten raw anyway, and it all tasted the same when cooked. For now, he couldn't come up with any other cooking methods.
Most importantly, eating the same food every day really makes you sick of it.
'But if I don't eat fish, what else can I eat?'
'Rely on those few fat white grubs?'
His gaze began to scan both sides of the riverbank. Generally, the richest ecosystems were found near water sources.
Soon, a patch of uniquely shaped plants caught his attention.
Each one had a long stalk with a spiral pattern at the tip like a mosquito coil, ranging from tender green to dark green, and even purple, just like plants from the Elf Realm in a movie.
"So many fiddleheads!"
Without even needing to consult the knowledge in his mind, he excitedly rolled up his sleeves, picked up his leaf basket, walked over, and squatted down.
He pinched the fiddlehead's stem about two knuckles up from the base and gently snapped it.
SNAP.
With a crisp sound, a tender green 'tendril' was left in his hand.
In just two minutes, he had picked a huge handful of variously colored fiddleheads—so many he couldn't even hold them all in one hand.
Lifting his head, a dense, colorful forest of them lay ahead, waiting for his visit.
"I'm sure I don't need to explain how delicious fiddleheads are. You definitely can't buy them in Western supermarkets; in Great Xia, you have to get lucky. People who have eaten them know the taste. As for those who haven't, you'll just have to find a way to try them yourselves."
He gave the camera a mysterious smile and only stopped after picking a good half-basket full.
"This leaf basket has a short shelf life and rots easily. It's better to make one from something sturdier, like vines, bamboo, or bark, so it will last longer."
He rested for a moment, hands on his knees. Moving through the forest in a squat for a long time, with damp moss underfoot, meant it was easy to slip if he wasn't careful. Holding this posture for an extended period was a test of his core and lower back.
At this height, about two meters away and within his line of sight, a few unremarkable weeds once again caught his attention.
The closer he got, the more familiar the plant seemed.
Its long, slender leaves had a serrated pattern, looking a bit like a plant made from countless crown daisy leaves pieced together.
'Is this... Split-leaf Wormwood?'
After examining it carefully for a moment, he confirmed the plant's true identity.
"It really is this stuff. No wonder it looked so much like crown daisy. Looks like I can add another dish to dinner."
The tips of these few Split-leaf Wormwood plants were already covered in dense, obovate fruits. Many small flower buds were hidden nearby, but most of them had already withered.
He stripped off the fruits, casually scattering them around, before picking all the leaves one by one.
The taste of this stuff wasn't much different from crown daisy; they both had a unique fragrance. If it weren't for the boost from the Wild Plant Encyclopedia, he would have never been able to identify it.
'This was so worth trading for!!'
After just wandering along the riverbank for over half an hour, he returned with a full basket of wild vegetables.
The nearby prey had long been scared away and wouldn't be returning anytime soon. As usual, he clubbed two Red Salmon to take back to camp.
On the way back, he detoured to the wild apple tree and chopped off a branch, taking the three wild apples on it with him.
"One to make a drink, two to marinate the salmon, and I'll save the last one for now. I don't have a use for it yet."
He took out the wild apple left over from yesterday, intending to deal with it first. In the world of chefs, this was a supreme, unbreakable rule.
First, he used his Engineer Shovel to clean the apple branch he had cut down. The leaves were tossed on the ground to act as an air freshener, while the branch itself was split down the middle.
After all, this was a fresh branch with a high water content. It wouldn't catch fire easily, so it had to be dried for a while before it could be used.
He started boiling the wild apple water and placed the applewood next to the fire to dry.
He minced the two fresh wild apples into a fine paste, spread it evenly over the surface of the Red Salmon, and then sprinkled a layer of fine salt on top to add flavor.
Although he was a Great Xia chef, he had still studied abroad. He had attended culinary school in Canada and worked in restaurants for a few years. While he wouldn't claim to be an expert in Western cuisine, he could still whip up the basic dishes with ease.
"I believe the audience watching my solitary life in the wild will be more familiar with Western food. So today, I'll make a simplified version of Northern European-style cured Red Salmon for a change of pace."
"A proper Nordic cure requires a large amount of coarse salt and herbs, like fennel leaves or dill, depending on your preference. You chop them up, mix them with the coarse salt, and rub the mixture onto the surface of the fish. Then you wrap it tightly in parchment paper and plastic wrap. Finally, you place it in a sealed container, press it down with something heavy, and refrigerate it for two to three days."
"Salmon cured this way has a unique flavor and texture, somewhere between smoked salmon and sashimi. It's best served with sour cream and a baguette."
"But as you can all see, my materials and conditions are limited. Since I don't have any herbs, I've chosen to use smoking to add a special flavor to the fish."
"The acidity of the wild apple is similar to lemon juice. Spreading the minced apple on the fish denatures the protein in a short time, changing its texture. There's a similar dish in the Philippines, which also requires chopped onions and parsley and so on."
To allow the fish to marinate quickly, he deliberately cut the whole fillet in half lengthwise, spread the marinade in the middle, and then closed it back up. This way, it would only need to marinate for about ten minutes.
While waiting, he used the same trick as before. He rendered some fish oil from the fish head and belly bones and tossed in the dozen or so large, fat grubs he hadn't used yesterday.
SIZZLE—
Billows of thick smoke rose up.
Under such intense heat, their tender white bodies instantly turned a golden yellow.
Using two peeled twigs as chopsticks, he flipped the grubs one by one, ensuring each side was evenly heated without getting burnt.