He couldn’t help but ask, "Uh, isn’t there someone a bit stronger? If you guys have any discoveries, you can share them with me; this information is quite important to me."
"Yes, latest news, participant number 8, a black guy who reportedly served in the SEALs, just killed a porcupine with a bow and arrow five minutes ago. Lin Yang, your rival has arrived. A porcupine weighs at least thirty to forty pounds, so he probably won’t have to worry about food for the next few days."
"Damn, hunting a porcupine on the first day, he’s a beast. It’s channel number 8, right? I’m gonna check it out. Don’t worry, the audience will keep you updated with any news."
Once word spread that someone hunted a porcupine, Lin Yang’s live stream quickly lost several thousand viewers, all flocking to watch the porcupine being carved up.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang too was filled with eager anticipation; it turned out there were porcupines around.
He had only seen these creatures on television and never encountered one in real life.
While chatting casually and eating and drinking, the sky gradually darkened without notice.
More than an hour had passed since he started cooking. Lin Yang turned the beggar’s rabbit over, adjusting its position.
After roasting for about another half hour, the sky had turned dark.
Lin Yang used a long stick to pull the beggar’s rabbit out of the fire. After letting it cool briefly, he tapped it with the stick, cracking the hard layer of clay to reveal the slightly discolored lichens and the roasted hare within.
Under the enclosure of the clay, the hare’s aroma had hardly dissipated and was thoroughly blended with the lichens.
Besides the scent of the roasted meat, there was also the faint fragrance of the lichens.
And these lichens, soaked in fat, seemed to be very attractive in appearance.
Having not finished the fish and already mostly full, Lin Yang didn’t rush to eat the hare but instead picked up a piece of lichen and tasted it first.
A flavor akin to grilled vegetables without any seasoning exploded on his taste buds, a light plant aroma mixed with the subtle flavor of hare meat; the taste was quite good.
For Lin Yang, who had eaten fish for the last two meals, the taste of the lichens was appealing, even more enticing than the roasted meat itself.
"Haha, it seems I’ve struck gold. After being roasted and soaked with fat, these lichens taste really good," Lin Yang said, tearing off a piece and chewing it with his eyes half-closed, a look of enjoyment on his face.
"That’s it? Not eating the rabbit and showing off eating the lichens wrapped around it? You’re getting carried away, host."
"That botanist lady at channel number 6 was also talking about these lichens in her live stream. She didn’t roast them, just washed them simply and ate them raw, and they seemed to taste quite good too."
After swallowing a mouthful of lichens, Lin Yang said, "This stuff is rich in plant fiber, which can help with digestion. Eating only meat is not such a good thing. Vitamins and roughage are also very necessary. Having a balanced diet is important. Alright, while it’s still not pitch-dark, let me perform eating a rabbit leg for everyone."
He gave a wave and broke off a whole back leg of the hare, unceremoniously taking a big bite.
Perhaps due to preparing for winter, the hares here were particularly plump. One bite nearly burst with juice, unleashing a rich meaty aroma on his taste buds, another experience of pure enjoyment.
With his usual appetite, the better part of a roasted fish had left him nearly eighty percent full. With a little fish soup, he wouldn’t need to eat the hare to last through the night.
However, he had learned many survival tips in the wild, such as always maintaining peak condition when food is abundant, to eat as much normal food as possible without overeating or engaging in strenuous exercise.
This concept, which contrasts with the ’stop eating when you’re seventy to eighty percent full’ in civilized society, was not something Lin Yang explained further as he kept gnawing intensely.
Once he finished off a back leg and felt completely full, he wiped his mouth and began cleaning up.
"It’s completely dark now. I’ve had my dinner. I’ll preserve the rest of the beggar’s rabbit for tomorrow. As for the fish head soup, I’ll cover it and pack it away properly, so I can heat it up first thing in the morning to get some warm soup to maintain my body condition. As for the fish bones and other remnants, they can’t just be discarded willy-nilly; the best method is to bury them in a hole."
While speaking, Lin Yang picked up his tools and dug a shallow hole about tens of meters away from the camp, where he buried the fish and rabbit bones.
After dealing with the remains, the sky had turned completely black. He glanced at the time; it was already past nine o’clock, night falls late here.
"Alright, it’s getting late, I should log off and rest now. See you all tomorrow." He waved and ended the live stream.
After a busy day and a full meal, fatigue gradually washed over him.
He stoked the fire until it was roaring, pulled out his sleeping bag beneath the lean-to, took off his jacket to use as a pillow, and snuggled into the sleeping bag.
He had never camped in the open air since he was a child, but once he actually lay down, it didn’t seem too hard to accept.
The sleeping bag was a custom-made, high-priced purchase advertised to have thermal insulation on par with the gear used by Antarctic research teams.
Indeed, this item did seem to possess a bit of ’black technology,’ as lying inside, he didn’t feel cold at all.
The parts of his face left exposed felt slightly warmed thanks to the lean-to reflecting heat from the nearby fire.