Chapter 1006 - 25: Involution

After Chen Wen and the group brought all the bear meat back to the camp, they were quite exhausted.

After all, it was more than a ton of stuff.

Sitting by the campfire, Gaston wasn’t idle. He grabbed a trap line meant for fishing and a nail, starting to craft a fishhook.

Chen Wen watched for a while, and when he felt Gaston was doing it right, he nodded with satisfaction.

This kid truly has a knack for fishing!

Using a stone, Gaston hammered the nail into the shape of a hook, then tied the nail with rope.

Quickly, a simple fishhook was finished.

Plus, with their existing fishing gear, they essentially had two sets of fishing equipment.

Enough for Gaston to use by himself.

After making a fishhook, Gaston started contemplating the bait situation.

He set his sights on the guts of the brown bear.

Chop the bear guts into strips, then bait the spot with some stinky bird eggs, fishing shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Gaston thought about it, but still decided to seek Chen Wen’s advice.

Regarding bait selection, Chen Wen pondered and said, "Let’s go with your bait idea, I think it will work. Additionally, you might want to find some beetles, beetle larvae can also be used as bait. Thread them while alive, then throw them into the water. Moving insects are extremely attractive to fish!"

Hearing this, Gaston nodded.

This method seems great!

Feeling rested enough, he decided to delve into the woods to look for beetles.

Hua Yun was also well-rested at this time.

She’s holding bear skin and a dagger, planning to go to the water’s edge to clean the bear skin for subsequent tanning.

Roland and Fred finished the leftover tea in their utensils, and grabbing axes and saws, they also headed into the forest.

Unwilling to lag behind, they also wanted to contribute to the team.

And seeing everyone start to spring into action, Adam also asked Chen Wen to call on Wolf Mink and Golden Eagle, having them follow him to explore around the forest.

Besides looking for stones, Adam had other tasks assigned by Chen Wen—searching for insects, mushrooms, and berries.

His work wasn’t heavy, but it was quite tedious.

Only someone like Adam, with a calm, meticulous, and careful nature, could handle it.

Originally intending to slack off for half a day, Chen Wen saw everyone leaving the camp, each busy with their own tasks, so he couldn’t just sit and slack off.

It’s not about worrying over being outdone in contributions; hunting the brown bear alone had already heightened his contribution beyond measure.

The fact was, with everyone busy, he felt from deep inside he shouldn’t remain idle.

The damned internal competition!

Chen Wen lifted the bear meat, feeling quite emotional.

...

For Chen Wen, processing bear meat isn’t a complicated task; instead, he handles it with great proficiency.

With a dagger, he precisely and forcefully stabbed between the fat and lean meat junction.

White fat separated from the bright red bear meat accurately as Chen Wen cut the chunks along the fat’s veins.

By noon he barely completed a third of the tasks.

"It’s a bit tricky!"

He wiped his forehead sweat with his shirt; this task was harder than imagined.

At this moment, Hua Yun came over.

After cleaning the bear skin, she was busy tanning it.

Right now, she had just evenly spread bear brain on the skin, having worked up to now.

Upon arriving at Chen Wen’s place, Hua Yun said, "Let me separate the meat and fat; you make the food."

Chen Wen looked up at the sky; indeed, it was time to prepare the meal.

He chuckled and replied, "What? After all this time, you still haven’t learned to cook?"

Rolling her eyes, Hua Yun said, "I can cook, okay! Just not well. It’s not as if any other survivor keeps thinking like you about cooking delicious meals every day."

To most survivors,

Cooking skills don’t need learning.

As long as fire-cooked or boiled meat goes into their stomach without causing diarrhea, it suffices.

Unlike Chen Wen, they don’t continuously research culinary art and improve it.

Hua Yun was just like that.

To her, cooking simply meant two methods: boiling and grilling.

Chen Wen smiled without saying more.

Looking at the available food, he soon decided on lunch menu: "For lunch today, let’s roast three rabbits and boil some bear meat; that should do it."

Hua Yun felt it was a bit much.

But considering five out of the six of them were grown men, and including someone like Fred, the amount actually wasn’t too much.

If they truly ate to their heart’s content, it might even fall short.

...

While Chen Wen pondered cooking,

In the forest,

Roland pushed with force at one side of the tree in front of him, then quickly left.

The next second, with a crash, the tree with a cut opened fell over.

Fine branches and leaves scattered all over the ground.

"The quality of trees here is truly good!"

Admiring the straight branches, Roland couldn’t help but praise.

Hearing this, nearby Fred pushed down a Yunshan Tree, chuckling as he said, "For sure, this place is one of the world’s finest wood forests!"

After chopping the trees, they used saws to clear the branches, then cut trunks into segments of logs, carrying them to build a pile near the shelter.

These logs serve as raw materials to construct the shelter.

While dealing with the wood, Fred recalled Chen Wen’s instructions.

He picked a thicker branch and took it back.

Roland casually asked, "What’s that for?"

Fred shook the branch in his hand and replied, "Chen Wen asked for it. He wants to craft spoon; told me to find suitable materials."

Roland thought about it; then searched for another thick branch nearby.

After completing the morning’s task almost thoroughly, both headed back to the camp with their finds.

...

In another part of the forest,

Gaston used a twig to pick a beetle larva from the trunk, placing it into his pocket.

"Caught a dozen beetle larvae this morning; should be enough, right?"

Gaston muttered, glancing at the sky, "Almost time to return; this afternoon I’ll try fishing! Let’s see how lucky I am this time!"

Not far away,

Accompanied by Golden Eagle and Wolf Mink scouting the surroundings, Adam also decided to head back.

After half a morning of exploration, Adam’s haul was limited.

During scouting, Adam found a few pine mushrooms; they were decent quality, which he planned to bring back.

Additionally, Adam discovered a rocky slope where stones are not only abundant but of decent quality.

He guessed it should meet requirements for a stone shelter build.

"Let’s head back!"

After stowing the last pine mushroom into his backpack, Adam stood up, calling on Wolf Mink and Golden Eagle.

The latter ended its idle wandering state.

Using senses, Wolf Mink mainly assisted Adam in avoiding some dangers here.

Seeing Adam ready to return, the excited Wolf Mink started to lead the way.

With wings flapping, Golden Eagle soared high, directing Adam toward the shelter.

Everyone completed tasks well and began heading back to the shelter.

Meanwhile, at Chen Wen’s place, lunch had already taken shape.

The skewered rabbits were charred black but didn’t affect their aroma.

Chen Wen dissolved some salt, processing rabbit meat with brine.

Bear meat bubbled in the pot.

Subtle fragrance popped out between the pot lid cracks.