Chapter 192: Deserted Island Survival 16

A massive black figure suddenly appeared inside the cave, making the once-spacious cavern feel instantly crowded.

The Black Wolf pressed its immense body down on the Titanbear, then extended its sharp claws, aiming straight for the carotid artery on the bear’s neck.

With a single strike, blood sprayed.

The Titanbear, roused from hibernation by the searing pain, shot its eyes open.

Seeing its nemesis right before it, the bear instantly let out a furious roar.

The tremendous roar was so loud it could be heard clearly for miles around.

It wanted to fight back, but the Black Wolf already had its limbs pinned. No matter how much it struggled, it was powerless.

In fact, the more it struggled, the faster its heart beat, and the quicker the blood pumped through its veins.

The Black Wolf’s strike had shown no mercy. Blood gushed out like a fountain, a torrent of crimson.

Seeing this, Moira Lynch didn’t let it go to waste. She remotely collected all of the Titanbear’s blood into her storage space.

’I’ll see if I can make some spicy blood curd stew with this when I get back.’

A few minutes later, the Titanbear’s struggles grew weaker and weaker until, gradually, it breathed its last.

Once it confirmed the Titanbear was dead, the Black Wolf leaped off its body, looked at Moira Lynch, and let out a soft "Awoo."

*Can you handle the rest?*

’The rest?’

Moira Lynch didn’t think much of it and simply shook her head subconsciously.

At this, the Black Wolf sighed, a hint of resignation in its eyes. It then extended its sharp claws once more and began to butcher the Titanbear’s carcass.

"Awoo!"

*"The loose fur on the hide needs to be cleaned off. You don’t need my help with that, do you?"*

Looking at the blood-soaked hide before her, Moira Lynch nodded. "No, I can handle this myself."

’I learned how to cure animal hides from a video.’

"Awoo."

*"Right. This Titanbear’s blood, meat, and organs are all valuable. And this gallbladder—take it."*

"Okay."

"Awoo."

*"This was the Titanbear’s territory, so other animals won’t dare approach. We’ll rest here for a day and set out tomorrow."*

"Alright, sounds like a plan."

Moira Lynch had no objections to the Black Wolf’s suggestion.

’Besides, our last cave is most likely unusable now. This one is big enough to serve as a temporary shelter.’

Seeing Moira Lynch’s agreement, the Black Wolf found a comfortable spot to rest its eyes. Moira, meanwhile, set to work on the rest of the Titanbear.

Moira Lynch took out her miraculous medicine box and placed the gallbladder, heart, blood, and other parts inside.

Aside from the blood and meat, there was only one of each of the other parts. Once consumed, they’d be gone for good. It was far better to place them in the medicine box to be extracted into Medicine. That way, new Medicine would refresh daily.

Over the past two days, Moira Lynch had figured out a few things.

Placing ingredients with different properties inside allowed the box to extract their essence and discard the impurities. It was also an infinite resource. Although chance was a factor, no matter how you looked at it, there was no downside, only profit.

Watching the items disappear, Moira Lynch knew her guess had been correct.

"I hope there’s a new surprise tomorrow," Moira Lynch said expectantly.

After stowing the medicine box, she turned her attention to the bearskin.

She hadn’t gotten a good look at it earlier in the heat of the moment. Now that she could, she saw the bear’s fur seemed a bit coarse. When she ran a hand over it, it was not only prickly but also left her with a palmful of fur.

This Titanbear actually shed. A gentle tug was all it took to pull out a large clump.

The reverse side, however, had been scraped clean.

Moira Lynch gathered some sticks from outside and fashioned them into a frame. She then stretched the bearskin over it, pulling it taut and tying it down securely.

This would prevent the hide from shrinking as it dried.

The next step was to scrape off any remaining scraps of flesh from the back of the hide.

But since the Black Wolf had done such a clean job, she could skip this step.

Moira Lynch conjured two combs and began working on the hide with both hands.

Watching a large clump of fur fall away with a light combing, she couldn’t help but worry aloud, "Am I going to be left with just a bald piece of leather by the end of this?"

’The Titanbear wasn’t shedding when it was alive and struggling, and there’s no fur lying around the cave, so why is so much coming off now?’

Just then, Patience provided an answer.

[The Titanbear’s coat has two layers. One is a soft inner coat, which is very insulating and meant for surviving the winter. The other is a coarse outer coat, meant to protect the inner coat and provide defense. After a Titanbear dies, the outer coat automatically begins to shed.]

"Oh, so that’s how it is."

Moira Lynch nodded, her hands moving much faster now. As long as it didn’t go completely bald, she was fine with it.

The Titanbear hide was enormous. It took Moira Lynch several hours to clear away all the coarse outer fur, revealing the soft, black inner coat beneath.

Without the outer layer, the hide’s thickness was reduced by ninety percent, leaving only a layer as thin as paper.

At this stage, Moira Lynch’s movements became much gentler, afraid she might accidentally tear it.

Even though Patience had said the Titanbear hide was very durable, she still didn’t dare to be too forceful.

’Besides,’ she thought, ’can something this thin really be warm?’

She put the processed hide into her storage space to let it air-dry.

Seeing that the sky outside had darkened, Moira Lynch’s stomach started to RUMBLE.

’I was so focused on the hide today that I forgot to eat lunch. And this morning, I only had a couple of bites because of the emergency.’

Moira Lynch was starving, her stomach feeling completely empty.

She took out some leftover grilled fish and ate a few bites to stave off the worst of her hunger, then began preparing dinner.

Looking at the Black Wolf resting behind her, Moira Lynch asked politely, "Want to eat together?"

Moira Lynch swore that if she could have foreseen the outcome, she would have never opened her big mouth.

"Awoo."

*Since you’re offering, I suppose I can force myself to accept.*

Moira Lynch was speechless. ’You really don’t have to force yourself...’

With the Black Wolf joining her, Moira Lynch had to change the menu on the fly.

With a body that large, its appetite was sure to be huge. Anything too complicated would be a waste of time.

After some thought, she decided grilling was the best option.

Grilled fish, grilled meat, grilled mushrooms.

It was simple and fast.

As it turned out, Moira Lynch’s decision was the right one.

When the first batch of fish was grilled, the Black Wolf started devouring them one after another like they were small snacks. Moira Lynch could only watch, dumbfounded.

In no time, a dozen or so fish had vanished into its maw.

After finishing, the still-unsatisfied Black Wolf eyed the fish in Moira Lynch’s hand.

"No way. Don’t even think about it. I have to eat, too."