The massive wooden wall, nearly ten meters long, and the surrounding trench were enough to make his jaw drop.

And that wasn’t even mentioning the considerable courtyard area inside the fence or the four-meter-long shelter.

Andre first walked to the edge of the trench and stared down for a moment. When he saw the sharp branches hidden at the bottom, he gave Lin Chen a thumbs-up.

"This trench can not only store water but also conceal the trap beneath it. Combined with the simple, triangular wooden fortifications, you could probably even survive a brown bear attack unscathed."

The trench itself wasn’t very deep—only a bit higher than his knees—but the upward-sloping earthen bank on the side nearest the fence effectively increased its depth.

Even a person would find it incredibly difficult to walk normally on such a thirty-to-forty-degree slope, making it an extremely effective defense against wild animals.

If some unwary creature decided to attack the camp, crossing the trench itself wouldn’t be hard. However, trying to destroy such a sturdy wooden fence with brute force while standing on that slope would be a clear impossibility.

They would struggle just to stand, let alone exert any real force.

If their footing slipped, they would fall uncontrollably into the trench and risk being ensnared by the trap at the bottom.

"This way in."

Lin Chen walked to the edge of the cliff face, reached through a gap in the fence, and moved aside the wooden bar propping the gate shut, revealing an opening large enough for a person to pass through.

Stepping into the shelter’s courtyard and feeling the sense of security surrounding him, Andre’s face filled with deep admiration.

"This is incredible, Lin! To think you found such a perfect spot to build your shelter. I’d bet this fortress of yours is definitely the sturdiest and most practical shelter in the history of the show!"

After a quick inspection, he realized that while the camp looked like a massive undertaking, the actual amount of work involved was at least half of what he had imagined.

The outer trench was a genuine feat of labor, but the wooden fence was merely made of logs stuck into the soil, tied together with scraps and branches, serving mainly to block the line of sight.

If it faced a powerful attack, the branches holding it together certainly wouldn’t last.

But that didn’t matter. Lin Chen could easily attack through the gaps; the fence’s only purpose was to buy time.

As for the shelter in the middle, it was so basic it might as well have not been built at all—just a few logs propped up like a tent to block the wind and rain.

"Andre, this is why I asked you to come."

Lin Chen pointed to his crude shelter and said, "It’s going to snow soon, and I want to use this time to stock up on more firewood and food, so I don’t have time to build a proper shelter."

"Since you grew up in the wild, this shouldn’t be too hard for you, right?"

"Of course not!"

Andre pounded his chest. "What do you want to rebuild the shelter into? As long as it’s not too complicated and we have the materials, I can get it done for you within the day."

"I want to expand it into a two-story structure based on what’s already here. The roof can just slope down from the cliff face. That way, we only need to build half a roof, which will save a lot of waterproof material."

"The second floor doesn’t have to be perfect. It can be used for air-drying food, observing the surroundings, and, if necessary, I can launch an attack from up there, so it doesn’t need walls."

"The first floor will be for storing supplies, so it has to be waterproof, windproof, and insulated for warmth. It’s that simple."

After hearing the description, Andre let out a visible sigh of relief.

"That’s simple. We just need to cut four logs to serve as the main support beams, then lay down a floor. For the roof, we can use a few layers of fir needles and then gather some broad leaves from the riverbank. We won’t need the waterproof tarp at all."

"We can use all the saved material for the first floor’s waterproofing. That should be almost enough. For any parts that aren’t covered, we’ll just have to make do with leaves."

He went inside the shelter for a look. When he saw that Lin Chen had actually partitioned off a bedroom, Andre’s eyes lit up.

"Lin, I suggest you move the bedroom out here. Do your cooking and have your fires inside. You can store your wood, food, and everything in the rock crevice."

"That way, you’ll keep the firewood from getting damp, and you can take advantage of the low nighttime temperatures and the rock’s insulation to create a natural refrigerator."

"You’re right. It’s going to snow soon, and the temperature inside that rock crevice will stabilize at ten or twenty degrees below zero. It’ll be completely unsuitable for living, but perfect for preserving food."

"As for warmth, you just need to dig a pit in the center for a fire. Surround it with a circle of stones, and you won’t have to worry about it spreading."

"Sounds good. I’ll leave it to you," Lin Chen agreed with a nod, then turned and walked away. "I’m going to go pick some wild onions nearby. You can get started however you see fit."

Just as he reached the entrance, he suddenly turned back.

"Oh, right. I forgot to ask. Are there any dishes you’d like to eat, or any preferred cooking methods?"

He suddenly thought, ’As a chef, I haven’t even asked the customer for his preferences and requests. That’s obviously not okay; it makes me look unprofessional.’

"Huh?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Andre hadn’t even considered it. As someone who had lived in the wild long-term, he wasn’t picky about food at all. As long as it wouldn’t kill him, he’d accept it.

But since Lin Chen had asked, and to make his physical labor feel more worthwhile—as well as to get them both more screen time on the show—he stared at the ingredients they had brought back and thought for a moment.

"Is there a way to roast meat that I could learn just by watching you once, so I can do it myself later? Also, I’d like to learn how to make a good soup with limited ingredients."

"Simple roast meat and soup, got it. All right, I have a plan."

Lin Chen wasn’t surprised by Andre’s request. In the wild, the only practical cooking methods were basically just roasting and boiling.

’In that case, one duck will be for roast duck, and the other will be used to fulfill Andre’s request. As for the porcupine... I’ve never tasted it before, so I’ll have to try it before making a decision.’

A few minutes later, as he reached the area where the chives and mountain leeks grew, his gaze froze, his attention captured by a large, glittering golden patch in his field of vision.

On the thick, moss-covered roots of a tree, a cluster of golden-yellow mushrooms was growing.

Seeing their color, a name immediately surfaced in Lin Chen’s mind.

Elfin Saddle Mushroom, also called Golden Oyster Mushroom, is the king of anti-cancer fungi.

’I’d heard of it, but this is the first time I’ve seen the real thing. If the image hadn’t been triggered, I wouldn’t have been able to just pull the information out of thin air from my vast, ocean-like knowledge base.’

Walking closer for a look, he saw that the Elfin Saddle Mushrooms looked very similar to oyster mushrooms, growing in stacked layers, their entire bodies a tempting, brilliant gold.

According to the knowledge in his mind, any place where mushrooms have grown is called a mushroom bed, and you can return a few days after harvesting to gather more.

"Holy cow. Such a huge patch of Elfin Saddle Mushrooms. There must be a dozen or so pounds here, right?"