Chen Wen’s side.

Seeing that the eagle brought back food, he was somewhat surprised.

The eagle dropped a frozen stone-like ground squirrel on the ice, excitedly saying, "Humans, there’s a big island right up ahead! There are many animals on it! Shall we go hunting?"

"I don’t think so."

Chen Wen cooled the eagle’s enthusiasm.

He gave his reasoning: "We’re not lacking food, so let’s not go hunting so far away. Besides, even if that place has more animals, it’s still not as many as on the mainland here. If we really want to hunt, I think it’s best to focus on big game."

The eagle heard this and knew Chen Wen was right.

But it was still a bit disappointed.

However, at this moment, Chen Wen said, "But if you want to catch ground squirrels, I’ll accompany you tomorrow or the day after."

Not for hunting, just purely to stroll with the eagle.

Hearing this, the eagle’s eyes, which had lost some of their shine, brightened again.

"Deal!"

"It’s a promise!"

...

Returning to the shelter with the animals and half a fish.

The wolf mink looked at the only half a pike fish and complained, "Seeing you take so~ so many things for fishing, I thought you’d bring back lots of fish, but it’s just this one?"

Before Chen Wen could speak, the red fox immediately defended, "Catching even one is not easy. You have no idea how hard fishing is!"

Upon hearing this, the wolf mink shook its head.

Why should I know?

However, it didn’t voice this thought. The red fox, thanks to its intelligence, held a position in the group second only to the old wolf.

Generally, the wolf mink wouldn’t argue with it.

But while observing Chen Wen and the red fox, it felt happy for the growing bond between the two.

This way, when Chen Wen leaves, he can take more familiar animals with him.

The four of them, after spending so much time together, had become quite good friends.

No, seems like one is missing?

The wolf mink turned its head to glance at the short-tailed weasel that had just come out of the storage room and darted into the woods, shaking its head.

This little guy had very little connection with them; only Chen Wen would occasionally chat with the short-tailed weasel.

....

In the evening.

Chen Wen also prepared a rather sumptuous dinner.

Salt-roasted wolf leg, paired with musk ox bone stew.

The North American gray wolf leg was cut in a criss-cross pattern and slow-roasted; though it didn’t look good, with the outer skin charred black.

The taste was still quite nice.

Especially after gnawing off that charred black shell, the tender white meat inside, with a touch of saltiness.

Made Chen Wen quite happy while eating.

Chen Wen only ate about a pound of the wolf leg before he stopped.

He closed his eyes and chose a trait from the North American gray wolf entry.

This time, the quality of traits from the North American gray wolf was average, leaving Chen Wen without much choice.

[Status Suppression (Purple): When facing fellow creatures with lower status than yours, you can actively release an aura to suppress them, causing them to feel an intense fear of you. Status is mainly judged by combat power, and if you have defeated them before, the effect is enhanced. ps: An active trait, each use requires a twelve-hour recovery period]

[Note: Hey! Kid, come here! Brother gives you a red buff! — North American Gray Wolf]

This trait is for PvP use.

Chen Wen felt that eighth-level challenges would likely have a PvP aspect, so overall, it was somewhat useful.

After choosing the trait, Chen Wen turned his attention to the musk ox bone.

This pot of musk ox bone stew had cost him quite some effort.

After breakfast and cooking the North American pike fish.

Chen Wen added the cleaned musk ox bones and clean water into a large pot and set it on the stove to simmer.

Though it hadn’t been simmered for a whole day, it had been a long while.

After all, before heading out, Chen Wen added quite a bit of firewood.

The firewood was enough to cook the bones thoroughly.

And since the firewood’s burning time was limited, Chen Wen was not worried about the water boiling dry.

Moreover, Chen Wen had also placed a lid on the pot.

So when he returned in the evening, Chen Wen obtained a pot of cooled but excellently cooked bone broth.

He simply reheated it over the fire.

And it was a feast!

Chen Wen picked up the soft-cooked musk ox bone from the pot and inhaled its aroma.

Delicious!

With a slight movement of his hand, the tendons and muscles on the musk ox bone wobbled, and the slightly yellow fat quivered along with the bone.

One bite might be a bit greasy!

Chen Wen raised an eyebrow, yet did not look for any palate-cleansing food.

With one bite, he chewed off the soft musk ox tendons and meat.

"Whoa! Delicious!"

Chen Wen narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, as this fat was the nutrition he urgently needed now.

With the weather turning colder, he had to stockpile some fat.

After gnawing a bone clean, Chen Wen took out an axe and cleaved the musk ox bone.

Soon, the marrow the size of an adult’s pinky emerged before him.

With a slurp, the marrow entered his belly.

"That was great!"

Chen Wen’s eyes smiled, the feeling of eating meat was truly comforting!

...

The next day.

Chen Wen took the wolf mink on shift and continued ice fishing.

However, since the wolf mink was with him, naturally Chen Wen didn’t bring back much prey.

Not really, he did bring back a bit.

Some pike scraps and pike meat as bait.

In any case, taking the wolf mink along, the haul wasn’t significant.

Thus, on the third day, Chen Wen declined the wolf mink’s company, and instead brought the old wolf and the eagle, heading near the island it had previously reached.

With the cooperation of the eagle and the old wolf, the two animals took out half the ground squirrels on that island.

Chen Wen also played to his strengths, using a slender stick to dig into some old ground squirrel nests, obtaining some dried mushrooms.

"These ground squirrels actually dry and store mushrooms, how peculiar."

Chen Wen said as he unceremoniously took the mushrooms.

Among these mushrooms were some red fungi Chen Wen had never seen before.

To be honest, when he first saw these fungi’s color, he thought they were poisonous mushrooms.

But then he found some partially nibbled red mushrooms, which put his mind at ease.

"This thing should be non-toxic, yeah, should be."

Chen Wen hesitated briefly, then said, "Later, catch a live ground squirrel, and feed it some, otherwise... I’ll be a bit uneasy."

Given his significant advantage, it was better to be cautious.

If by any chance he got reckless and lost the advantage, he’d have nowhere to cry then.

Shaking his head, he put away the mushrooms.

Chen Wen continued searching for other edible plants and fungi.

Upon receiving Chen Wen’s order to catch a live ground squirrel.

The eagle stood ready among the trees on the island, and soon, under the old wolf’s provocation, the hibernating ground squirrels were awakened.

Some newly awoken, dazed ground squirrels timidly emerged from their burrows.

This was the method previously used by the old wolf and the eagle.

The eagle leapt down from a branch, its body swiftly darting through the woods, extending its claws to pin a ground squirrel down.

Captured alive!