Chapter 910 - 80: The Inedible Canned Food

Seeing the pika killed with a single talon by the Golden Eagle, Chen Wen couldn’t help but hold a moment of silence for the pikas in the Qiangtang.

To have caught the attention of a Golden Eagle with agility far surpassing the ordinary, those pikas are truly unlucky!

During the time while the Golden Eagle continued hunting pikas,

Chen Wen started preparing lunch.

He picked up some fuel blocks, ignited them with a fire starter, then placed a can on the makeshift stove to heat it up.

The can was a beef pasta can.

Chen Wen took a sniff; it wasn’t exactly unpleasant, but there was a strange odor.

The texture of this thing is surely mediocre!

Chen Wen couldn’t help but think.

While heating the can, Chen Wen added half a bumblebee into it.

Then he chewed on the leaves of the snow rabbit grass.

The taste wasn’t delicious; it had a grassy, astringent flavor.

And it was a bit prickly on the mouth.

But overall, it was still swallowable.

After swallowing the snow rabbit grass, Chen Wen took a sip of water.

Soon, the system sent a notification.

The entries from the snow rabbit grass were two bad and one good, leaving no choice.

But the good entry wasn’t too bad; it was an entry with a camouflage effect.

[Beginner’s Camouflage (Purple): When you lie on the ground, reduces the chance of being discovered, organisms are more likely to see you as part of the ground, works better on rocky surfaces]

This type of camouflage entry isn’t bad.

Chen Wen felt it was quite suitable for use in Qiangtang and environments with sparse vegetation.

After choosing the good entry, the Golden Eagle landed on the ground with two pikas.

It gave one to the Snow Leopard, ate half of the other, and then gave the remaining half to Chen Wen.

"What’s the matter? Not hungry?"

Chen Wen asked, somewhat surprised.

The Golden Eagle shook its head: "I just want something fresh, I plan to hunt again tonight."

Alright then.

Chen Wen shook his head and gave the remaining half of the pika to the Snow Leopard.

One pika wouldn’t be enough for it for sure.

Adding half more, it should not be hungry for the whole day.

...

Chen Wen began his lunch.

Meanwhile, Hunting Owl was staring miserably at the barren plateau around him, feeling confused.

"Could it be that after rescuing the Snow Leopard, Chen Wen rode away without stopping?"

Beardy looked full of bewilderment and doubt.

It was the same for Harelip.

He was using binoculars to survey the surroundings, trying to find any sign of Chen Wen or the horse herd in the tiny lenses.

But he was destined to find nothing.

"Let’s eat first."

Beardy sighed and stopped the car.

Harelip began preparing a meal — which was really just heating self-heating food.

While Beardy used this time to refuel the car and check the remaining fuel stock.

"We need to find Chen Wen within two days, otherwise we’ll run out of gas."

Beardy sighed again.

Harelip nodded: "Alright, let’s search for another two days, if we still can’t find him, we’ll stick to the plan."

By the time they were talking, the self-heating food was almost ready.

The two held the food and looked at the surrounding wilderness.

Then Beardy said: "By the way, we should pay attention to smoke pillars too. If Chen Wen eats, he’ll definitely light a fire. You can see the smoke from yak dung for kilometers, we just need to keep an eye out."

Harelip acknowledged with a grunt, then said: "We should also change directions. We’ve been heading out of the reserve so far, but I think Chen Wen is bold enough to head back into the reserve on purpose."

"We’ve come this far and haven’t seen a trace of him, it’s likely he went back into the reserve."

Hearing this, Beardy agreed that Harelip made sense.

"Then we’ll head into the reserve this afternoon!"

...

On Chen Wen’s side.

After obtaining the snow rabbit grass entry, he waited for the bumblebee entry and his lunch can.

The fuel blocks burned continuously, and the can slowly began to bubble as its contents heated up.

As it heated, the mixed scent of meat and industrial flavoring wafted out, making Chen Wen frown.

After about half an hour, the beef pasta can began to boil.

Chen Wen took a spoon and chopsticks, prodding at the beef inside.

Hmm...

Seeing the beef fall apart with a poke, Chen Wen figured today’s lunch was going to be a tough one.

Forget it, let’s get the bumblebee entry first!

Chen Wen thought as he fished out the cooked bumblebee and put it in his mouth to chew.

The taste was unsurprisingly bad, mostly because of the mediocre can flavor.

Chewing the bumblebee, Chen Wen couldn’t help but stick out his tongue.

So gross!

But he still washed it down with water, swallowing the bumblebee.

What an unforgettable taste!

Chen Wen shook his head.

After eating the bumblebee, Chen Wen quickly received the entry’s notification.

He glanced at the entry; the bumblebee provided a rather average one.

It was just a low-temperature tolerance entry, far inferior to the entries Chen Wen already had.

[Cold Temperature Vitality (Blue): When the surrounding temperature is too low, you can still maintain a certain level of vitality, slightly increasing your resistance to cold]

If it were at the beginner level, Chen Wen might have been pleased with this entry.

After getting the entry, Chen Wen turned his attention to the beef pasta can.

He used a fork to pick up a piece of beef and put it in his mouth.

Quickly, Chen Wen’s expression turned intriguing.

The Snow Leopard nearby saw this and couldn’t help but giggle to itself.

Its keen sense of smell had already picked up the can’s scent; it was truly unpleasant!

Chen Wen forced down the beef and opened his backpack to check the expiry date on the military food pouch.

It felt as though this ration had long expired.

But upon a closer look, it was still within the expiry date.

This puzzled Chen Wen greatly.

How do foreigners make it this unappetizing?

The texture and taste of the pasta didn’t surprise Chen Wen; it was utterly awful.

Chen Wen even detected a plastic taste.

Realizing the can’s flavor was unacceptably bad, Chen Wen stopped savoring it slowly and instead gulped it down with water from the side.

Hardly chewing at all.

Eventually, Chen Wen consumed all the contents, both meat and pasta, feeling a hint of uncertainty flash across his eyes.

Who am I?

Where am I?

What am I doing?

Chen Wen burped, the plastic taste bringing him back to his senses.

Is the association’s military ration always this awful?

He looked at the can with a complex expression and resolved that once this survival exercise was over, he must give feedback, no, suggest — to change the military rations!

...

The unsavory can was finally eaten by Chen Wen.

He tidied up the surroundings, intending to call upon the animals and continue advancing into the heart of Qiangtang.

The Snow Leopard remained sprawled on Xiong Ma’s back, and as the two chatted along the way, they felt far from lonely, forming a rather harmonious pair.

The Snow Leopard cubs were still packed into a bag by Chen Wen, hung at Xiong Ma’s side.

This not only prevented predators from noticing them but also allowed them to constantly sense their mother’s scent, keeping calm.

Meanwhile, the Golden Eagle, who rarely furled its wings, also stood atop Xiong Ma’s back.

It needed a rest.

Xiong Ma: Always carrying the load, that’s me!

But Xiong Ma didn’t mind, its temperament quite irritable toward outsiders but very patient with its own kind.

Thus, the team proceeded mightily toward the core area of the Qiangtang Nature Reserve.

And right behind Chen Wen,

a swirl of dust arose as two unwelcome guests approached.