King of the Wilderness
Chapter 342 - 215: Turning Point of the Incident (3)
"Hey, little one," Lin Yu’an said softly, his voice carrying a hint of a smile even he didn’t realize.
"Did you hear? We’re going to be together for a while. Not only do you have to stay out of trouble, but you have to behave well. The whole world might be watching us."
The little bear seemed to understand the light-hearted tone, sticking out its pink tongue to gently lick Lin Yu’an’s nose in response.
Lin Yu’an put it down, feeling a giant stone in his heart fall to the ground. No more worries about legal issues; everything he’s done will be recognized as a legitimate rescue.
A thought flashed through his mind like lightning, and he instinctively touched the GoPro on his chest. He had turned it on earlier to record a black box, possibly evidence for a courtroom defense.
He had thought the contents of the videotape would remain known only to him, to be watched again alone some night in the future.
But now, everything is different.
Mark and the Discovery Channel are working hard to turn this into a global positive event.
And the footage on his video tape captures the most crucial, original, and heartwarming beginning of the whole event, unique footage missed by the program’s cameras due to "low temperature power outage."
He skillfully opened the card slot of the program crew’s GoPro camera, took out a MicroSD card, then opened his own GoPro on his chest, and took out the memory card that recorded the entire rescue process.
Then he swapped the cards in his hand, inserting his memory card full of precious footage into the program crew’s camera.
He put the almost blank card from the program crew into his GoPro.
A perfect exchange of materials.
The value of this footage is immeasurable; it has the chance to be seen by more people!
If disclosed, the story of him and December can be perfectly told, gaining maximum support and protection.
As for whether more people will see the potentially illegal footage, he’ll leave it to Mark and the others to worry about.
After finishing all this, he reopened the GoPro’s recording switch, showing a meaningful smile before picking up December and holding it up to the camera.
He smiled and said, "Alright, December, let’s officially say hello to the world from now on."
Then he refocused on the task at hand.
Although this time’s catch wasn’t as large as the last, only over twenty fish, each one was an impressively large size, with the total weight being overwhelming.
With December as a "sweet burden," his need for food and fat resources is more urgent than ever.
He spoke to the curious little one at his feet, and to the GoPro lens on his chest: "Alright, December, today I’ll give you a lesson on processing wild ingredients."
"The first step in handling fish is always categorization. Different fish, different parts, all have their best processing methods."
Lin Yu’an divided the twenty-plus fish into three piles. The most numerous, red spot salmon, with firm flesh and moderate fat, were classified together.
He picked up one, brought it to his nose to smell the cold fishy scent, showing a hint of disdain on his face, and gently shook his head.
Speaking to the GoPro with a tone mixing self-mockery and seriousness, he slowly said, "To be honest, I’m really tired of eating flavorless grilled fish chunks."
"Every day it’s just salty or fishy, over time, I feel like I’m turning into a beast only knowing how to eat."
Lin Yu’an tapped the frozen fish body lightly with the back of the knife, producing a "bang bang" sound. "Of course, directly freezing the fish is the easiest way. The natural ice box at minus twenty degrees is convenient enough. But people can’t live just for convenience."
"So, I’m planning to spend some time and effort handling these."
He pushed the pile of red spot salmon forward, a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes.
"I intend to cold smoke them, which will give the fish a completely different, complex smoked flavor."
The second pile consists of several medium-sized Northern pikes, with tender meat but many intramuscular bones. "These aren’t suitable for making jerky; I’ll debone them and grill them directly in the near future."
Finally, he focused on the largest Lake Trout that December had played with as a toy, along with some equally plump ones.
"And these big guys, they’re today’s main attraction. Besides their thick meat, the most valuable parts are the oils in their innards and heads."
He began processing the giant Lake Trout first, his sword technique precise and efficient. The blade glided along the spine, easily filleting two large pink pieces with beautiful fat patterns intact.
He strung the top-quality fillets and hung them near the top of the shelter’s crossbeam; the dry air inside the shelter and the subtle warmth from the fireplace will slowly turn them into nutrient-rich jerky, just lacking a hint of smoke flavor.
After processing the fish, he threw the remaining fish heads, bones, skins, and innards into the iron pot, ready to make more fish oil, providing ample "ammunition" for December’s "substitute milk."
While waiting for the fish oil, Lin Yu’an began preparing December’s second "luxurious meal" of the day.
He spoke to the GoPro: "Yesterday’s wolf heart is used up, so starting today, I need to find new protein and trace element sources from the catch."
Then he carefully picked out a few whole, brightly colored fish livers and the thin, fat-rich membrane surrounding fish roe from the pile of fish scraps.
"Fish liver is also rich in vitamins, but compared to top predators, the risks are much lower. And these roe membranes are a premium source of fat and protein."
"Again, these must be processed into the most digestible form."
Using the same meticulous technique for handling wolf hearts, he repeatedly scraped and ground the fish livers and membranes, ultimately creating a small pile of fine pink mince.
These will be the new source of animal protein and trace elements in today’s substitute milk formula.
Once finished, he reached out, turned off the GoPro, and the flashing red dot instantly vanished. In this completely private state, he began executing his true "secret formula."
With a mental command, he extracted a metal milk powder can, printed with a cute baby portrait, from the Golden Finger Space, scooped a few spoonfuls and put them in a clean birch bark bowl, then quickly returned the can.
Purely handmade fat substitute milk is limited in nutrition, so he decided to make a wild substitute milk in front of the camera while secretly adding an extra meal for December in private. Fortunately, Mark promised to air-drop professional milk powder for polar bear cubs tomorrow.
After completing all this, he reopened the GoPro recording, commencing the portion he intended for global viewers.
Lin Yu’an skillfully mixed newly refined, warm fish oil with a small amount of wolf oil, added prepared fish liver paste, and finally combined them with warm water, carefully stirring to a uniform consistency.
He even tailored the "substitute milk" to be thicker than before, based on December’s recovery.
Then he explained to the camera rigorously, "Its digestive system is slowly adapting, so a slight increase in energy density is possible. Today, fish liver and roe membranes replace wolf innards, diversifying nutritional sources."
When the bowl of fragrant food was placed before December again, it instantly leapt up with joy, quickly finishing the substitute milk to the last drop.
After eating, December’s energy was noticeably more vibrant than yesterday; instead of immediately falling asleep, it embarked on another adventure inside the shelter.
By evening, after tending to December’s food, Lin Yu’an finally started preparing his own dinner. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
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(Daily plea for votes! PS: Check out the author’s note on the last page of this Chapter’s ending.)