Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 401: Chapter 250: Ultimate Enjoyment

"Eh, whatever~"

Erica threw up her hands. "It’s not like I do this job for the money. I’m just helping my old man patrol the forest and earning a little spending money on the side."

"I actually wouldn’t be happy if a ton of people wanted me as their guide. I’d have no free time at all. Who wants to work?"

Lin Chen opened his mouth, but for a moment, he was at a loss for words.

"...You’ve got a point."

’If I weren’t so poor, I wouldn’t want to work either!’

He easily found his way to the American Crocodile nest. He shone his Hat Lamp inside first, and only after confirming it was empty did he begin searching for them on the water’s surface nearby.

After American Crocodiles begin hunting at night, they often lie in wait at the surface, camouflaging themselves as dead branches or driftwood. Only their foreheads and two small eyes remain above the water.

They’re hard to distinguish in the dark, but with a light, it’s very easy. An animal’s pupils reflect light, so a sweep of the Hat Lamp reveals their hiding spot wherever two bright points shine back.

Don’t be fooled by their cold-blooded killer appearance when floating on the surface. Their posture underwater is actually quite comical, especially in shallow areas, where they move around by practically standing upright on two legs.

To put it bluntly, they walk underwater.

It’s the same in deep water, except they float because their feet can’t touch the bottom.

During high tide, the water in the Mangrove Forest is at most a meter deep, sometimes even less. So they were definitely in a standing posture right now.

In this state, their explosive power is immense. It’s the same stance they use to suddenly lunge from the riverbank, bite their prey, and drag it into the water, just like on nature documentaries.

For safety’s sake, he absolutely could not get too close to the bank.

He observed from a distance for a long time and found numerous game trails on the ground near the nest, left by the crawling American Crocodiles.

Although they were a bit messy, they all generally led in the same direction.

’Game trails... I could try using traps.’

’But American Crocodiles are generally over four meters long, and many are even five. With a body that large, their weight must be ridiculous. Ordinary traps probably wouldn’t work on them.’

Never mind a crocodile weighing several hundred kilograms; even he, at eighty kilograms, could easily snap a wrist-thick sapling.

You can’t use wood that’s too thick for making traps, so unless it’s a pitfall trap, they’d be basically useless against them.

As for a pitfall trap, to ensure they couldn’t climb out, it would need to be at least two meters deep and six meters wide.

That’s a massive amount of work, and it might not even be effective.

If they managed to prop themselves up against the earthen walls, they might be able to escape.

’Forget it. I’ll just have to face them head-on. Making a bow is the safest bet.’

A bow for long range, a fish spear for medium range, and a bamboo blade for close range. To be extra safe, I could make a stone hammer, too. That would cover all my bases.

The question is... would they be effective against an American Crocodile, and if so, how effective?

’The aboriginal hunting permit isn’t active yet, so I can’t do any hands-on practice. Looks like I’ll have to go back and tinker with some weapon experiments.’

After tonight, there were only six days left until the official hunt could begin.

That meant he had to get his weapons sorted out within those six days.

"I’m heading out. Good night."

He didn’t linger by the Mangrove Forest. Once he had firmed up his plan, he turned and left, calling out a farewell to Erica.

"I’m going back to sleep too. Good luck!~"

Erica waved, her eyes brimming with anticipation.

She came to the Mangrove Forest every so often to gather shellfish for a nice meal, so she was well aware of how terrifying these behemoths were.

She had even witnessed American Crocodiles cannibalizing their own kind on more than one occasion. With a death roll, one had brutally ripped the limbs from another, an utterly gory scene.

Without modern tools, she honestly couldn’t imagine any way to hunt such monsters.

If she were hit by one of those thick, long tails, she suspected her own little head might just explode on the spot.

For the sake of winning the competition, these contestants were actually targeting them. It was truly thrilling.

During the Alaska season, although there were also many massive creatures, animals like the Musk Ox, moose, and Dorper Sheep were all herbivores. The only true medium-to-large carnivores were bears and wolves.

But back then, they had weapons and Bear-Repellent Spray, so there was nothing to be too afraid of.

This time, they had nothing.

’Is there some way I can give him a little extra motivation?’

She was still looking forward to trying the authentic Great Xia cuisine at Lin Chen’s stall after the competition; she couldn’t let him get injured here.

But she couldn’t help him. If she were judged to be collaborating, she would only hold Lin Chen back.

’If I can’t help him physically, then I guess all I can do is offer moral support, right?’

...

「Day Thirty-Three.」

Lin Chen woke up early, planning to try and make the bow today.

Just as he stepped outside, a light, drizzling rain began to fall.

The entire sky was gray and overcast, but it didn’t look like it was going to be a downpour.

"A drizzle?"

He frowned but didn’t pay it much mind.

Getting caught in this level of rain wasn’t a big deal, but it was best not to stay in it for too long. As long as he took timely measures to stay warm, there wouldn’t be any major problems.

Speaking of staying warm, he had a new idea.

A bathtub.

He was getting tired of taking cold baths, to be honest. He was definitely looking forward to a nice, comfortable hot bath.

With the rubber bands he had, he could make a bow at any time, so there was no rush on that front.