"Puff—"

A dull sound, like a strike on a sand-filled leather bag, echoed clearly in the quiet forest!

The spruce grouse didn't even have time to make a sound before being blasted off the branch by the immense force, tumbling through the air and landing heavily in the deep snow below.

It left only a small indentation and a few scattered feathers in the snow, then all was silence.

At this distance, Lin Yu'an could easily make a kill with one arrow!

Lin Yu'an's tense nerves finally relaxed. He exhaled a long breath, then quickly stepped forward and retrieved the still-warm prey from the snow pit.

It was an adult male spruce grouse, covered in thick, camo-patterned black-brown feathers. The Hunting Arrow had precisely hit its chest cavity.

He didn't hastily hang the prey on his waist but instead immediately began on-site processing. For any qualified Hunter, quick bleeding is the key first step to ensuring the meat's freshness and removing any gamey taste.

He pulled out his Hunting Knife from his waist, deftly making a small incision at the bird's neck artery.

Then, he took out the waterproof nylon storage bag, which had been invaluable for holding his sleeping bag and served excellently as a liquid container when needed, from his backpack.

Holding the grouse upside down, he aimed the neck wound at the bag's opening, and warm, dark red blood immediately streamed out, trickling into the bag in drips and lines.

As he watched the blood accumulate more and more in the bag, he thought to himself, "This blood is top-notch bait; it could be turned into blood bait for ice fishing and might have unexpected results."

When the last drop of blood had drained, leaving a thin layer of precious blood inside, he tied the bag securely at the opening and carefully placed it back into his backpack.

Only then did he hang the grouse at his waist. With the gain he had made, there was no need to delve further into the forest.

A smart hunter knows when to quit while ahead. On his way back, he checked the trap along the way.

He carefully examined whether the wire lasso was still concealed and if there were any new animal tracks on the ground. Everything was intact with no signs of disturbance.

Lin Yu'an wasn't disappointed, as only a few hours had passed. The charm of the trap lies in exchanging patient setup for unknown surprises.

When he finally emerged from the forest and returned to the open Ice River, it was already afternoon.

Back at the shelter, the warm air rushed in, causing his tense muscles to relax. He placed the precious grouse on a clean piece of birch bark without rushing to process it.

Sitting by the fireplace, warming himself, he rested for a while before beginning to process the grouse.

Instead of gutting it outright as he would with fish, he employed the more meticulous skinning technique used by Hunters for small birds, carefully opening a small slit at the grouse's breastbone.

Then, he inserted his fingers between the skin and flesh, peeling off the feathered skin in one piece.

This method preserved the meat's cleanliness to the maximum extent, avoiding the sticking of tiny feathers. He cut off the two prime breast pieces and two legs.

The meat's color was a deep pink, much more vibrant than a domesticated chicken, glistening with a tempting sheen in the firelight. Yet, it still showed the white meat texture unique to poultry, lacking the deep dark red that awakens the most primal human appetites in mammals.

"Better than nothing." Lin Yu'an smiled self-deprecatingly, weighing the hefty drumsticks in his hand, feeling grateful for such a bounty.

"Although it's not the 'red meat' I crave most, the rich game flavor is enough to comfort my long-protesting taste buds."

He skewered a piece of chicken breast on a sharpened stick, slowly roasting it by the fire. The aroma was so real and strong, unlike the scent of seafood, invigorating his spirit.

He inhaled deeply of this long-lost aroma, leaning against the wall in contentment. In this isolated shelter, the small success and the delicious meal about to be savored gave him a fleeting illusion of possessing the whole World.

Yet, this strong sense of fulfillment inevitably made him think of the other competitors released into this wilderness with him.

"I wonder how the other competitors are doing?" The thought emerged without warning.

Lin Yu'an took a bite of the crispy on the outside, tender on the inside chicken, chewing thoughtfully while his gaze drifted toward the darkness.

"It's now the 28th day, nearly a month. The scarcity of food, the exhaustion, the mental breakdown—all should have eliminated a good number of people by now."

"But there will always be a few real tough ones. If someone landed in a forest with richer resources... might they have already caught a real big one?"

"A deer? A wild boar? Or even a bear?"

This thought caused Lin Yu'an's brow to furrow involuntarily. A deer meant hundreds of pounds of red meat and a huge deer hide. A bear represented top-level fat reserves and unparalleled survival advantage. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

If any competitor had reached that level, the gap between them would be more than a grouse dinner could bridge.

"I hope not..."

He shook his head, casting aside these chaotic thoughts, knowing that thinking too much was futile. Survival is not only a test of the body but also of the mind.

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(I seem to have discovered my advantage, which is illustration! Every chapter with an illustration gets so many monthly votes!)