Without waiting for the animals to respond, Chen Wen began cooking.

He glanced at the oil in the pot and put in the grizzly bear’s heart.

With a sizzling sound, the wolf mink closest to him instinctively flinched back.

Scary, no, it scared the wolf mink!

It glanced at Chen Wen, seeing his usual expression as he flipped the heart with chopsticks.

Then it relaxed.

Using hot oil, Chen Wen stir-fried the heart pieces until half-cooked, then decisively put in some boletus.

Another sizzle sounded.

This time, the wolf mink was mentally prepared and wasn’t startled.

However, it curiously glanced at Chen Wen and asked, "What are you doing?"

"This is a human cooking method, stir-frying."

Chen Wen said, quickly tossing the heart and mushrooms in the pan to let them fully mix.

The high heat and hot oil released the aroma of the two ingredients, gradually melding them together.

The boletus had a strong fresh fragrance, and with the wolf mink’s keen sense of smell, it could already detect that unique scent.

"Smells good! I’ve never smelled anything so fragrant!"

The wolf mink sniffed eagerly, almost making itself dizzy.

At this point, the old wolf and the eagle also temporarily put aside their worries and looked at the delicious dish.

A moment later, when Chen Wen felt it was almost ready, he sprinkled in some salt.

He stir-fried again to evenly blend the salt into the ingredients.

Chen Wen’s face showed a satisfied expression.

"Chen Wen’s farmhouse restaurant by the Great Slave Lake is open!"

With Chen Wen’s laughter, he took the dish off the stove: "Just look at this aroma. If there was some rice to go with it, it would be absolutely delightful!"

Pot aroma?

Although the wolf mink didn’t know what it meant, it felt that it must be something high-end!

"Let me taste it! I’ll try it for you!"

The wolf mink urged.

Chen Wen reached out, picked up some heart pieces, and shared them with the wolf mink and others, saying, "It’s very hot, be careful."

Meanwhile, he also picked up a piece of boletus for himself.

He blew on it before eating.

So satisfying~

Chen Wen sighed with contentment.

Who cooks in the wilderness alone anyway!

This boletus was incredibly tender, soaked with oil, with a meat flavor enhancement, and of course, a slight negative touch.

And there was that comforting salty taste.

That bite was really enjoyable!

After eating the boletus, of course, he didn’t skip the bear meat.

After being stir-fried over high heat, the grizzly bear’s heart also became very tender yet retained its elasticity.

With one bite, it was chewy and bouncy.

Even though there was a slight hint of blood, it was delicious!

"How is it? Tasty?"

Chen Wen asked as he looked at the animals.

The wolf mink, still hot and rolling its eyes, grinned and said, "Delicious! More, please!"

Chen Wen cooked an entire heart, so he certainly didn’t lack a bite for the wolf mink.

The old wolf also nodded: "As long as there’s salt, it’s a rare delicacy for us!"

The eagle nodded in strong agreement.

The short-tailed weasel held a piece of heart, enjoying it beautifully, and even wiped the grease on its nearly pure white new fur.

"Delicious, now that I’m full, I’m going to sleep!"

The short-tailed weasel said, and then it slipped out of the shelter to get more sleep.

Well, it looks like the short-tailed weasel is heading towards a bloated phase like the shik owl by eating so much.

Chen Wen shook his head, but didn’t bother further.

After a few days, he would let the short-tailed weasel adjust its biological clock or increase its exercise.

...

After the meal, Chen Wen also made some selections from the grizzly’s entries.

As a top predator, the entries given to Chen Wen by the grizzly were quite good.

Apart from the fixed negative entries, both positive entries were decent.

One boosted perception but overlapped with Chen Wen’s existing entries.

So he eliminated that one.

Instead, he chose the other one.

[Solitary Bear (Purple): Enhances survival skills when living alone, increases ability to find food, and helps to resist the effects of loneliness]

[Note: Solitude is great, no worries! — North American Grizzly Bear]

This entry was quite handy, especially if his next survival looked similar to this solitary wilderness life.

After selecting the entry, the topic returned to leaving this place.

The old wolf had a thought.

It no longer hesitated: "I’ll go with you, there’s no animal left in this forest that I miss anymore, though the scenery is pretty nice, and besides, I don’t think I have much time left. With you, maybe I’ll see some sights I’ve never seen before."

The old wolf’s words puzzled the wolf mink and eagle, for, from a human perspective, they didn’t have much time left either.

But from the perspective of their species, they were still young, with a long life ahead.

Thinking of this, Chen Wen remembered the Northeast Tiger, Old Ju.

That tiger also seemed to be nearing its end, and even with Chen Wen’s blessings, it was hard to escape the end of life.

Compared to them, Chen Wen took a longer look at the wolf mink.

Among the animals following him, the wolf mink appeared to have the shortest lifespan.

Seeing off friends, even animal friends, stirred mixed emotions in Chen Wen.

The system...

Perhaps at a higher level, it might be possible to extend the animals’ lifespans?

This was Chen Wen’s vague speculation.

But whether it was possible, he didn’t know.

Once the old wolf finished speaking, the eagle didn’t agree.

It only said, "I can’t say for sure now, ask me again when I’ve figured it out."

"No problem, there’s plenty of time."

Chen Wen smiled, reassuring the eagle.

For the afternoon, Chen Wen softened and cleaned the two gray wolves inside the shelter.

Then he froze them in the storage room.

Meanwhile, the old wolf took the night watch, replacing the red fox.

When the red fox ate the new dish Chen Wen had made, it was quite shocked.

"Humans are amazing!"

The red fox commented.

As for whether to leave with Chen Wen, the red fox and the short-tailed weasel gave the same answer as the eagle—let’s see.

Chen Wen wasn’t in a hurry.

He was contemplating what wood to use to make a perch for the eagle.

...

While Chen Wen was settling into a comfortable life,

the other contestants’ situations weren’t quite so dire, but still rather hectic.

This challenge brought colder temperatures sooner than before, as everyone expected and prepared for.

But when it came time to face it, the bunch of them were greatly affected.

Take the heavyweight bowman Vic, for instance.

His current situation was the most dangerous.

Before the competition, the show’s staff didn’t have much impression of him.

They thought he was impressive; that big bow and arrow was lethal to anything.

But after the competition started, everyone felt he was just average.

Though he could take down any prey he found, the key was actually finding it!

As a hunter guide, you haven’t found any large prey yet—isn’t that a bit lacking?

Especially since there are quite a few hunter guides on the show.

The consensus wasn’t overly impressed with Vic’s performance.

Vic himself was encountering numerous troubles.

Earlier, his food was stolen by the wolf mink, and after the temperature dropped, he started showing some cold-like symptoms.

Although Vic claimed it was just rhinitis, the show’s evaluation of him was on the verge of elimination.

Vic was well aware of the current situation.

His weight was dropping significantly, and if he can’t find any significant game, he’ll have to go home!

It hasn’t even been thirty days, and he’s unwilling to give up just like that!

Thus, on Chen Wen’s second rest day, Vic decided to make a bold move with all his food and weapons.

He started hunting for big game!