Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 432: Chapter 266: The Unreachable Gap

As he read off a string of data, everyone present grew tense.

’All those supplies, and that’s only good for eighth place?’

"Let’s congratulate..."

Before Robert could finish, the other female contestant stood up on her own.

While others might not know the exact numbers, the contestant in question certainly did. Even if a name wasn’t called, reading out the data was essentially a notification for that person.

"Su, congratulations on achieving eighth place this season."

Robert extended his hand to shake hers. "Don’t be discouraged. The gap between you and the next two was minuscule—you were nearly tied for sixth. You were just shy of the prize money."

The female contestant forced a smile and walked to the side without a word.

"Seventh place. This contestant..."

"That should be me, right?"

Erica raised her hand again.

She had originally thought she’d just scrape by in eighth. She never expected someone to be ranked below her, and she couldn’t have been happier.

Robert glanced at her and continued reading the stats.

"Two grouse..."

Hearing the word "grouse," Erica froze, her eyes filled with disbelief.

’It’s still not me?’

"Seventh place with a total of 71 points! Let’s congratulate Bruce!"

"Sixth place with a total of 72 points! Let’s congratulate Evan!"

Erica pinched her arm hard and turned to look at Lin Chen.

"I actually made it into the top five?"

It wasn’t just her; even Lin Chen found it unbelievable.

’This lazy ass made it into the top five?’

’Just how much seafood did she secretly gather?’

He couldn’t think of any other possibility for her high score.

"Next up is fifth place. This contestant will receive a reward of one hundred thousand US Dollars!"

"Three grouse..."

’Still not me??’

Erica was dumbfounded.

She’d barely put in any effort, just lazing around all day. How could her score be so high?

"Fourth place: one black-tailed deer, 30 points; two grouse..."

"Looks like you’re third," Lin Chen said, patting her shoulder. He never imagined she could get third place just by gathering seafood.

Andre, standing beside them, wasn’t surprised in the least.

He had worked with Lin Chen before and had witnessed most of his haul this time, so he knew just how lucky the kid was.

Erica was hanging out with this guy constantly. It would be a miracle if her score *wasn’t* high.

"Now, let’s reveal third place and its five-hundred-thousand-dollar prize!"

Robert didn’t bother drawing it out. He glanced at Erica, then looked down to read the stats.

"One bunch each of bananas and plantains, 20 points; 51 mangoes, 17 points; 2 pineapples, 2 points; 42 blue crabs, 14 points; 8 Lobsters, 40 points; 7 beltfish, 14 points; 162 American Oysters, 30 points; 84 Green Mussels, 16 points; 42 blue crabs, 14 points; 6 squid, 6 points; 1 stingray, 20 points..."

Not hearing the familiar mention of grouse, Erica finally breathed a sigh of relief. She stepped forward, ready to shake Robert’s hand and get the formalities over with.

"Total score of 222!"

Before Erica could extend her hand, she heard a sound from behind her.

PFFT—

"?"

She turned to look at Lin Chen quizzically. He immediately waved his hands.

"It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Go on, shake his hand."

’Something’s up with him!’

Erica mentally filed that away, shot him a glare, and planned to interrogate him thoroughly once the cameras were off.

Lin Chen might have been laughing, but after hearing the long list of Erica’s stats, he was secretly dumbfounded himself.

’They’d been at the beach for less than forty days, and this girl ate 51 mangoes? That’s more than one a day. Didn’t she ever get sick of them?’

"Looks like I’m second."

Andre took a deep breath and stepped forward as well.

As soon as he moved, all eyes in the place fixed on him.

As the Hunter King from the previous Alaska season, Andre had showcased an incredible variety of outdoor survival and hunting techniques, dropping a bombshell on the Hunter Realm.

His name was seared into the memories of countless Hunters overnight. Many novices even studied clips of him to learn the basics.

He had returned to compete this time specifically to go head-to-head with Lin Chen, the king of luck.

Yet, before the results were even announced, he was conceding second place?

’Then just how high must Lin Chen’s score be?’

"Two grouse, 20 points."

Hearing the announcement begin with grouse, Andre let out a long sigh of relief. The knot in his stomach finally loosened.

’Second place isn’t bad,’ he thought. ’At least there’s a million-dollar prize. I can pay back Lin Chen and still have some left over for my daughter’s schooling.’

Lin Chen wasn’t interested in the basic prey. He was mainly curious to see if the man had bagged anything unusual.

"...two stingrays and one skate, 60 points total; twelve Lobsters, 60 points; three West Indian spider crabs, 30 points; one juvenile Caribbean reef shark, 30 points; one adult American Crocodile, 50 points."

"Reef shark?? Adult American Crocodile???"

"My god, he can hunt sharks and American Crocodiles? What kind of monster is he??"

The moment Robert finished speaking, the crowd erupted. Even the boat captain looked completely baffled.

Lin Chen was no better, his mouth hanging open in astonishment.

’When the hell did he secretly catch a shark? That’s just too damn ridiculous!’

’Even if it was just a pup, it’s still a shark! A true marine predator! Is that something you can kill with a wooden harpoon?!’

The crowd’s shock didn’t last long before they were struck by an even more stunning realization.

If a monster like Andre only ranked second, then Lin, in first place... just how insane would his score be?

"Andre’s total score is 417. Congratulations, you’ve earned second place on your own merit."

Robert shook his hand firmly and patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Don’t lose heart. You didn’t win the championship because you lacked skill, but because this kid’s luck is just too good. When it comes to the quality of your prey, you’re still superior."

"That’s not how it works," Andre said, shaking his head. "Luck is a part of skill, especially for us Hunters. Luck determines the frequency and variety of prey. The strongest Hunter in the world is useless if they can’t find anything to hunt."

"That’s true."

"Go on, announce it. I’m sure all the viewers are just like me, dying to hear just how monstrous Lin’s score really is."

With that, he walked over to stand with Erica, looking back with an expectant gaze.

With all eyes fixed on him, Lin Chen silently swallowed, took two steps forward to stand before Robert, and felt a strange sense of anxiety, like a child waiting for their teacher to announce their grades.

"Half a black-tailed deer, 15 points; 42 Green Iguanas, 42 points; 37 blue crabs, 12 points; 65 Green Mussels, 13 points; 483 American Oysters, 96 points; 8 squid of various sizes, 5 points total; 17 spiny lobsters, 85 points; 1 coconut crab, 30 points; 6 Queen Phoenix Conchs, 120 points; 136 Flying Fish and assorted sea fish, 83 points; 1 adult American Crocodile, 50 points. That’s 551 points."

Robert swallowed, glanced at the crowd who looked like they’d been struck by lightning, and cleared his throat to continue.

"37 mangoes, 12 points; 6 pineapples, 6 points; 42 oranges, 10 points; 1 bunch of plantains, 10 points; 8 Brazil nuts, 40 points; 3 breadfruit, 15 points; 67 assorted mushrooms, 11 points; 35 bamboo shoots, 35 points. As for the potatoes, sweet potatoes, chili peppers, taro, and cassava, those were too difficult to count. We estimate the total weight at over two hundred kilograms, which translates to 100 points. That’s 239 points from this category."

"Finally, construction and facilities: a two-story bamboo house with a cellar, 50 points; a cave, 10 points; a bamboo aqueduct over 200 meters long, 40 points; a ground trench of the same length, 20 points; two bamboo beds, 10 points; tables, chairs, and benches, 20 points total; two smokehouses, 20 points; one heatable bathtub, 10 points; one large bamboo raft, 30 points; three bamboo baskets, 15 points; three bamboo knives, 15 points; two stone axes, 10 points; one metal saw, 30 points; one slingshot, 10 points; one bamboo bow, 10 points; one Ejected Harpoon, 10 points; two sets of diving gear, 60 points; three bottles of red wine, 60 points. I won’t count the miscellaneous items. This section comes to 420 points."

"Adding all the points together... gives a grand total of 1,220 points!"

...

...

...

...

A score almost three times higher than Andre’s plunged the entire scene into a dead silence.

"Hold on, what the hell is up with the diving gear and red wine?"

"Yeah, the bamboo bow is one thing, but what were the slingshot and Ejected Harpoon even made of?"

Basic tools like stone axes and knives weren’t unusual; nearly everyone except Erica had made those.

But items like a saw, a slingshot, and an Ejected Harpoon? You definitely couldn’t make those without modern materials.

Not to mention completely bizarre things like diving gear and red wine.

"If any of you are curious about the details, you can go back and watch the show’s footage online. I won’t waste everyone’s time here. All I can say is that Lin’s luck is just ridiculously good."

"If he hadn’t found that container, the whole series of tools, harvests, and infrastructure that followed wouldn’t exist. His score would have been about the same as Andre’s."

"And so, to everyone watching at home, let’s congratulate Lin on winning this season’s championship, successfully defending his title, and taking home the grand prize of three million US Dollars!"

"This season of the Panama Wild Survival challenge has come to an end. We look forward to seeing you all again at our next mysterious location. Goodbye!"

As Robert waved, the signal lights on all the contestants’ chest cameras suddenly turned red.

"Phew... Finally, I can take this annoying thing off."

Without a second thought, Erica yanked hers off, then unclipped Lin Chen’s as well, handing both to Robert.

Andre walked over and clapped him on the shoulder, his face full of admiration.

"Congratulations, Lin. You’ve proven with your skill that you’re the undisputed champion. I didn’t hold anything back this time, as you could probably tell from my list of prey."