Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 359: Chapter 229: Birth of the Bamboo Raft

’Lin made a metal saw???’

Andre was getting ready for bed. As usual, he turned on the screen of his wrist device to catch up on some information, only to be hit with a piece of news that left him utterly shocked.

’He found a can? Where’d he find it, the beach?’

’What! He actually found it back at the chili pepper field and hid it?’

So that chili pepper field really was man-made!

The last time, he’d had a vague feeling that something was off, but he hadn’t given it much thought. After all, there were no obvious signs of human activity around the chili pepper field.

Even if someone had planted them, it must have been many years ago for the peppers to have spread over such a large area.

But what he hadn’t expected was that right under his nose, Lin Chen had secretly found a metal can and even gone out of his way to bury it so they wouldn’t find it.

’That’s going a little too far, isn’t it? Am I the kind of person who would take someone else’s prize?’

On a personal level, it did sting a little.

But from the perspective of a competitor, he didn’t think Lin Chen had done anything wrong at all.

After all, if they knew, the audience watching the livestream would know too. Once word got out, there was no telling if another contestant might sneak over and take it.

’A metal saw... How enviable.’

’But the can’s material didn’t seem that sturdy. I wonder if the saw he made from it will even work well.’

Driven by curiosity, he was dying to rush over to the bamboo house and see for himself.

But he forced the urge down, flopped onto his back, and continued to stare at the scrolling comments on his wrist device in the darkness, hoping to glean some other useful information.

Meanwhile, most of the other contestants had also heard the news about Lin Chen making a metal saw.

The contestants who were already apprehensive about abandoning their shelters for a long-distance migration suddenly felt their confidence surge. They figured that if a metal can could be found on the beach, there must be plenty of other similar garbage.

After all, this area wasn’t too far from the city, so it was likely that ocean debris would wash ashore. Combined with the frequent signs of past human habitation in the mountains, the chances of finding discarded junk were extremely high.

The endless supply of food from the ocean, combined with the chance of finding discarded junk at any moment... the allure of these two prospects alone was enough to keep them pushing toward the Dalian Mountain Range.

Besides, getting into an accident in the tropical forest and being forced to quit the competition was hardly a rare occurrence.

This place was a haven for venomous snakes, and with poisonous plants hidden all around, nobody knew if they’d be the next unlucky soul to fall victim.

’That’s awesome! He was even wary of me and Andre, and he still managed to make a saw from a can. He really is my idol—keeping his cards so close to his chest and being so good with his hands!’

Upon hearing the news, Erica pumped a small fist. She didn’t have the slightest complaint about Lin Chen keeping a secret from her.

On the contrary, she felt even more strongly that Lin was someone who knew how to separate his personal feelings from the competition.

If he had trusted her without question and shared all his secrets just because she said she wasn’t competing for the championship and was his fan... well, while that would have won her over, she’d also have thought the guy was a little too naive.

’Anyone who can survive in the wild has to be meticulous and cautious.’

’So what if I’m a fan who’s a girl? We’ve only known each other for a few days. Of course he should hide something as important as a metal can.’

’This is consistent with the cautious personality he displayed last season. If he’d spilled everything just because I’m a female fan, it would have made him seem too easily fooled by women.’

’Even though I’m not that kind of person, I’m the only one who knows that for sure. We’ve only known each other for a little over a week; it’d be nuts to trust someone 100% after such a short time.’

’Now those people migrating over won’t be able to sit still. They’ll probably pick up their pace, and when people rush, accidents happen.’

’Haha, I hope a bunch of them get eliminated. The sooner this competition is over, the sooner I can go taste Lin’s real cooking!’

Lin Chen could make such delicious food even with the limited resources in the wild. If he were given a professional kitchen with all the right tools and a full pantry, just how incredible would his food be?

The thought alone made her restless with anticipation; she didn’t want to stay here a single day longer than she had to.

After all, wilderness survival wasn’t her main objective. She’d met her idol, eaten his cooking, and they’d even huddled together in a cave for two nights. Honestly, there wasn’t much else she wanted to accomplish.

The reason she was still here was actually quite simple: she wanted to personally witness Lin place in the competition and see what else would happen along the way.

This was a points-based competition, after all. Once they got past the initial difficult phase, everyone would definitely start competing for points.

And to earn points, besides upgrading their shelter and crafting tools, the only other major way was hunting.

Hunting on the coast didn’t offer much besides fishing. To get a better catch, you had to go out to sea.

Even the nearby coral reefs in the shallows had a far, far greater variety of life than the shore.

Judging by the fact that Lin Chen made a saw, he probably wanted to build a boat and head out to sea. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so secretive about it.

As Lin Chen’s strongest competitor, Andre would certainly not be outdone.

The thought of getting to witness these two men build boats with their bare hands made her too excited to sleep.