The moment this possibility crossed his mind, Lin Chen’s interest was piqued.

Due to the temperature, the biodiversity in the Yukon River wasn’t particularly rich. It was famous for only a few types of fish, most of which were common species.

He was already intimately familiar with them from his time working in a restaurant. For his pre-competition research, he had only needed to memorize their migration times, which wasn’t a difficult task.

He had previously thought the salmon run was over, but after calming down and thinking it through, he realized there was an unexpected opportunity.

However, while the King Salmon run could alleviate his food pressure, it also meant that brown bears would be enjoying a constant buffet along the riverbank.

Hunting Black Bears was relatively easy. When you got down to it, they were basically just burly human strongmen. Under the threat of a bow and arrow, they couldn’t stir up much trouble.

The thought of bears automatically brought relevant information to mind.

The Black Bear he had captured this time weighed just over a hundred kilograms. It was a young male that had just reached adulthood, a member of the Alaskan glacier black bear subspecies.

The average weight for this population could exceed two hundred kilograms, with larger ones possibly reaching over three hundred.

But brown bears were different.

The average Alaskan Brown Bear weighed four to six hundred kilograms. On Kodiak Island, near the southern Alaska Bay, there lived a subspecies of brown bear weighing up to eight hundred kilograms. A single swipe of its paw could generate over sixteen hundred kilograms of force—even a moose weighing nearly a ton couldn’t withstand one of its slaps.

A full-grown moose was the size of a van. The force to smash a van with a single slap was not something a fragile human like him could ever hope to contend with.

It was safe to say that unless you had a gun or a heavy crossbow, you shouldn’t even think about provoking such a monster.

The hunting bow and feathered arrows issued by the production team would feel like nothing more than a pinprick to a brown bear.

...

「Day 24.」

He made a bone broth with lamb spine, dandelion leaves, and potatoes. After filling his stomach, he stubbornly went to check his traps again.

He hadn’t placed any real bait yesterday, just a squirrel that had frozen to death.

When he returned, the frozen squirrel was still lying silently in the snare.

"Just as I thought."

He nodded to himself, his suspicions from the previous night growing stronger.

’As long as the scent of a bear lingers nearby, no other foolish creature will dare to approach.’

"I’m not planning to eat this little guy. Squirrels carry a lot of diseases. There have been plenty of cases of past contestants getting sick from eating them."

He didn’t touch the trap, deciding to leave it there. In a couple of days, once the smell of blood in the air had mostly dissipated, perhaps something braver would dare to investigate.

He went to the riverbank to observe. He could faintly see dark shapes swimming in the water, but couldn’t make out what they were. There was no sign of any brown bears nearby.

Perhaps because the weather was turning colder, the brown bears were sleeping more and weren’t out wandering around this early.

He looked at the opposite bank, and after a moment of deliberation, decided to cross and dig up some potatoes first.

That pack of Yukon Wolves was active in the area; he could track them whenever he wanted.

The wolf pack held a grudge, and so did he. Neither side would let the other off, and they were bound to cross paths again. He could probably find his lost feathered arrow near the pack’s den.

He was certain the spot he’d hit wouldn’t be a fatal wound for that Yukon Wolf, but the inability to remove the arrow would hinder its movement. Every time it tried to move, it would continuously aggravate the injury.

As time went on, the wolf would only grow weaker and weaker until it finally died.

The pack wouldn’t abandon a member easily. They would likely care for it until there was no hope of survival left.

Without enough food, the pack would only grow weaker. Therefore, his own highest priority was also to stockpile food.

Potatoes here couldn’t sprout in the winter; they would just freeze solid. Better for them to die in his stomach.

"HSSS..."

The moment he stepped into the river, the bone-chilling water sent a jolt through his body as if he’d been electrocuted. He shivered violently, his immediate instinct to pull his foot back.

’No, if I back down here, the temperature is only going to get lower!’

Gritting his teeth, he steeled himself and forced his foot to soak in the river for seven or eight seconds before he slowly grew accustomed to the cold that seeped into his bones.

Then, his left foot.

"AHHHHH!!!!"

The heart-piercing, agonizing chill made him let out an involuntary groan, and he nearly threw the boots he was holding over his head.

As he stood locked in a standoff with the freezing water of the Yukon River, his ears twitched. He suddenly heard a RUSTLING sound from the bushes on the bank behind him.

He spun around instinctively, his eyes locking with those of a black wolf that had just emerged.

"?"

Lin Chen froze completely.

The sudden turn of events completely shattered his plans. His heart leaped into his throat. Forgetting all about the cold, he took several quick steps toward the center of the river with a series of SPLASHES.

"Damn it, what is this luck?"

He cursed under his breath, speaking in a voice only he and the camera could hear.

"I can’t believe I forgot it’s still early morning. Most nocturnal animals are active from dusk until dawn, and this pack just had a group hunt not long ago."

If the howls he’d heard were them celebrating a kill, then after a night of rest, this would be the time they were at their most energetic.

Terrified the black wolf would follow, he could only steel himself and continue across the river, turning his head from time to time to check on the animal.

The black wolf didn’t give chase, but one after another, several more black and grey wolves emerged from the bushes. They milled about sporadically on the bank, their gazes unanimously fixed on him.

Well, he was the only large creature moving in the area.

’Great. I can definitely get the potatoes, but how do I get back?’

If the pack decided to wait on the other side, he would either have to walk a long way to cross the river at a different spot or stay put on this side until they left.

"Lin?"

He had just reached the bank when Andre’s familiar voice called out from the forest on this side.

"Hey, what a coincidence, seeing you by the river this early."

Andre waved enthusiastically as he walked out of the forest. He was about to exchange a few pleasantries when he saw the situation on the opposite bank.

Being stared at by five or six pairs of haunting eyes made even his back break out in a cold sweat.

"Lin, did you provoke them?"

Lin Chen didn’t speak, just nodded silently.

"Oh... You’re in big trouble."

Andre put a hand to his forehead, his face full of sympathy. "We’re not scheduled to cooperate for another five days. I can’t help you in any way during this time, or I’ll be eliminated from the competition."

"I don’t want those persistent pests setting their sights on me, either. Sorry, Lin, see you next time~"

With that, the guy disappeared back into the forest without a second glance.

"That disloyal bastard!"

He thought Andre would at least offer some advice—not that he needed it—but he never expected the guy to just turn and leave. Such a clean break actually stung a little.

After all, he had fed the man before. A small part of him had held out some hope.