Chapter 301 - 200: Phenomenal Natural Disaster

Chapter 301: Chapter 200: Phenomenal Natural Disaster

While the production crew and local government were busy rescuing the contestants who had quit the competition from the storm, Lin Chen had more or less finished reinforcing the wooden hut. He and Erica were now hunkered down in their pit, warming themselves by the fire and eating skewers of delicious grilled fish.

He listened to the rain drumming on the roof and the fierce wind howling outside. The gusts blew the bamboo tiles on the roof, causing them to constantly knock against each other with a CLACK CLACK CLACK sound.

Lin Chen gnawed on the piping hot grilled fish while staring worriedly at the roof.

"I’ve reinforced the four walls, but this roof... I have a feeling it might get blown off."

Compared to the bamboo walls, which had interlocking grooves carved into them, the roof’s structure was simpler. It was just bamboo stalks split in half, arranged in an alternating pattern of face-up and face-down.

While this design meant that wind hitting the roof would naturally scatter and slide off, the bamboo tiles could still be blown away if the gusts were powerful enough.

But he thought for a long time and couldn’t think of a way to secure the roof. He had no rope or heavy objects on hand; he was practically at a loss.

"Lin, how should I cook this stingray liver?"

Erica held the palm-sized piece of liver up to him on a branch. Apparently, while he had been lost in thought, she had already polished off her portion of grilled fish.

"We can only grill it."

Lin Chen sighed inwardly, temporarily pushing aside his worries about the roof. He took the liver and inspected it from both sides.

The stingray liver was even bigger than he had imagined. It wasn’t as thick as foie gras, though; it was relatively thin.

Under Erica’s curious gaze, he took out his combat knife, placed the liver flat on a banana leaf, held it down with his left hand, and sliced it horizontally into thin pieces.

He took the branch they had just used for the fish and poked the tip through the bottom of a thin liver slice. He threaded it on for about a knuckle’s length, then folded the liver over, weaving it onto the skewer in an S-shape, making sure each fold pressed against the last.

After repeating this process, the long strip of liver was neatly skewered on the branch, threaded much like the chicken skin skewers you’d find at a barbecue restaurant.

"Why skewer it like that?"

Lin Chen had expected she would ask that. He asked in return, "Have you ever had fish liver before?"

"Never. Fish organs are usually thrown out. My territory is the North American Forest, don’t forget. Other than migrating salmon, all we have are river fish, and their organs aren’t as safe as those from saltwater fish."

She wasn’t wrong about that.

River fish live in freshwater, making them susceptible to parasites. The concentration of various algae is also bound to be higher in river water than in the ocean, which can lead to a greater accumulation of toxins in the fish’s organs.

"When you fold it back and forth like this, you reduce the surface area that’s in direct contact with the fire. The parts in the middle are essentially steamed by the heat instead of being cooked over an open flame."

"Liver has a unique texture. If you cook it whole, the texture is like egg yolk—powdery and mealy. In Great Xia, we usually slice it thinly and then marinate it to ensure a smooth and tender texture."

"We don’t have the ingredients for that here, so changing its shape and thickness is the only way to achieve a similar result."

As he explained this to Erica, he finished preparing the four skewers of sliced liver and held them in one hand over the charcoal fire.

At this point, the open flames of the fire had died down, leaving only glowing red bamboo charcoal.

"It’s harder to control the heat when grilling over an open flame. Charcoal is the best—the temperature is constant, and it doesn’t produce black smoke."

In the air shimmering above the charcoal, the surface of the liver visibly began to turn white.

Lin Chen continuously flipped them, ensuring that each side was over the heat source for no more than ten seconds.

As he continuously flipped the skewers, the liver’s state slowly changed. Its initial jelly-like texture gradually firmed up, and it became noticeably plumper and thicker.

In total, he only grilled it for about two or three minutes before pulling his hand back and handing two of the skewers to Erica.

"Go on, try it. I’ve never had plain stingray liver either. If it tastes bad, don’t blame me."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he took the first bite himself.

There was no strange taste. The surface of the liver was cooked just right, still retaining its soft and tender texture.

The thin slice of liver burst at the slightest touch of his teeth, releasing a scalding juice with the distinct aroma of offal, mingled with the liver’s characteristic mealy texture.

On top of that, he could also clearly taste a faint, savory richness.

Even without salt, with the added aroma of the charcoal fire, it actually tasted pretty good.

This kind of organ meat is nothing special for Da Xia People; it’s a common ingredient.

He’d thought it would be a small challenge for Erica, but by the time he had polished off his two skewers, he saw that she had kept pace with him.

"You can actually handle the taste of liver? Pretty impressive."

"Mild-tasting organ meat is fine. The ones with a strong flavor are definitely a big challenge."

"It must be your European blood. Americans are usually too squeamish about this kind of thing."

"Nonsense! It’s because I’m a pro at my job. I’m a wilderness guide. If I couldn’t stomach it myself, how could I possibly guide my clients?"

The two had only just exchanged a few idle words when the outside suddenly lit up for an instant without any warning.

The flash of white light was so bright, it was like having a flashlight shone directly into your eyes in the middle of the night.

"What’s going on?"

They both shot to their feet, looking up with alarm and confusion toward the sky beyond the doorway.

The sky was still a hazy gray, with the dense rain drawing countless fine threads through the air.