Chapter 297 - 198: I’m Talking to You, Move Your Hand

Chapter 297: Chapter 198: I’m Talking to You, Move Your Hand

This thing looked about twice as big as it had in the bamboo basket, almost like a rug. It had already been flipped over, its white belly facing up.

He held out his hand, palm open.

Quick on the uptake, Erica handed him the combat knife.

"See the pattern around its abdomen? That’s its abdominal cavity. This part up here that resembles a smiley face is its mouth and nostrils, and on the sides are its gill slits. A fish’s gills filter seawater, so they’re dirty and inedible. We’ll just cut it open starting from the mouth."

Recalling what he knew about stingrays, Lin Chen grabbed the ray’s nostril openings with his left hand. He placed the sharp combat knife at the center of its mouth and sliced all the way down to its tail.

"You don’t need to cut too deep, just enough to break the skin. Look, inside its belly, there are two lungs and a plump, tender liver. Connected behind that are the other internal organs."

Lin Chen worked deliberately. After slicing open the belly, he reached in and pulled out two large, palm-sized lungs. Attached to them was the liver, which resembled raw foie gras, followed by a long string of other strangely-shaped internal organs.

"The livers of stingrays and skates are edible, provided the water quality is clean enough. They’re not only rich in various vitamins but also packed with fat, making them one of the most important food sources for survival in the wild."

"You can just throw away all the remaining organs, or you could keep them as bait for your fish traps."

"Like sharks, stingrays don’t have a urinary system. They excrete urine through their skin, so you have to eat them fresh. If you let it sit for a while, the skin will produce a foul ammonia smell, like a fart."

"But this type of fish has its upsides. It doesn’t have bones, for one, and it has a lot of meat. The texture of the wings, which are the most active parts, is especially incredible."

"It excretes through its skin?"

Erica subconsciously took half a step back, a look of disgust plain to see on her face.

’If you don’t skin it, doesn’t that mean when you cook it, all the urine evaporates, leaving only the "essence" to seep into the meat?’

’How the fuck is that edible?’

While she was still in a daze, Lin Chen had already removed all the internal organs, setting the liver aside from the rest.

"How do you want it cut? In half, or just the wings? Forget it, you can do the rest yourself. Cut it however you want."

Compared to the size of a normal fish for grilling, this stingray was a bit too big. It would be hard to cook it through without cutting it into pieces.

Lin Chen suppressed the urge to process the ingredients himself. After all, she was the one who caught the fish, and she would be the one cooking it later. It was better for him not to get too involved.

After saying his piece, he stood up and, without a backward glance, walked up the steps to the surface to get back to work.

The moment Lin Chen’s figure disappeared from view, Erica immediately took off the banana leaf wrapped around her.

The moisture on her body hadn’t dried yet, and the banana leaf was waterproof. It kept slipping down, and it also blocked the heat from the fire, preventing the moisture from evaporating. It was very uncomfortable.

After taking it off, that feeling of light, carefree freedom washed over her again, as if she’d cast off a heavy set of shackles.

She let out a sigh of relief and looked down at the stingray, which had already been gutted.

’Huh? Wait. After taking out the organs, I should rinse the blood out of the abdominal cavity.’

’I almost forgot about that!’

"Lin~!"

"Can you help me take this fish up and rinse it in the rain?"

Lin Chen, who had just picked up a bamboo tube, rolled his eyes. "Didn’t you say you were going to cook for me?" he said, sounding impatient. "Why do you keep making me do your work? Wash it yourself."

Although he was quite touched by Erica’s gesture of bringing the fish in the rain, strictly speaking, he hadn’t asked her to come over in the downpour. Special circumstances called for special treatment; it wouldn’t be the end of the world if they waited for the rain to stop before cooking.

His reasoning was simple. ’Since you decided to come over, and you promised yesterday that you’d do the cooking, it stands to reason that you should see it through from start to finish.’

’Helping her gut it was already a friendly gesture on my part, considering she came out in the rain. Now she wants me to help with something as simple as washing the fish? Why doesn’t she just ask me to cook the whole thing for her and be done with it?’

Erica blinked, glanced down at her current state, and a playful smirk appeared on her lips. "Fine. Then I’m coming up."

She put the stingray into the bamboo basket, hoisted it onto her back, and walked barefoot, step by step, up the stairs to the surface. Then she leaped across the one-meter-wide ditch.

"You..."

Hearing the sound, Lin Chen instinctively turned his head. The word died in his throat when he saw Erica walking toward him with her head held high. His brain instantly short-circuited.

Erica even thoughtfully explained, "I’m all wet, and the banana leaf wouldn’t stay on. It kept slipping down and was getting in the way. My clothes are hanging down there to dry. I can’t just wear them out into the rain and get them soaked again, can I? You can’t blame me for this."

With that, she walked straight past him and stood at the entrance, looking from side to side.

When she saw the waterfall-like curtains of water pouring from the eaves on both sides, her eyes lit up. She carried the bamboo basket over and placed it under the sheet of rain, letting the water freely wash the blood from the skate.

Only then did Lin Chen realize what had just happened. He also discovered that, at some point, he had subconsciously covered the camera lens with his hand.

From his time in Alaska until now, he had never once done something like blocking the camera. Worried about the viewers’ reactions, he quickly tapped his watch screen.

Get your hand out of the way!!

You’re blocking my view! Hey, I’m talking to you!

He immediately saw two comments pushed to the top. With an apologetic look, Lin Chen was about to explain when he saw more comments flooding in.

Lin, you’re going too far! If you don’t want to look, just close your eyes! What’s this about turning away?

There are so few female contestants in this survival competition, and we finally get a young, beautiful European one. If you keep blocking my view of the hottie, I’m going to her livestream channel!

Erica might be slender, but she’s definitely stacked. She has the kind of body you’d see on a yoga teacher who really works out—perfect for a bikini on the beach. She’d absolutely be turning heads.

This isn’t the first time! I’m giving you one last warning. If you dare to turn away again, I’m out of here. Not kidding!