Wandering America: My kill threshold is far ahead

Chapter 262 Salted Fish Candied Fruit and Hunting

Over the next few days, Ma Jieke focused on independent exploration.

He first used flexible tree branches to make his own lure fishing rod, and then paired it with a hand reel and artificial lures. The results were almost as good as those of a real fishing rod.

Larger predatory fish such as lake trout and pike, which were previously difficult to catch, are now being caught one at a time without making a sound.

Since fresh freshwater fish are very perishable, he, like most contestants, chose to process the fish into dried fish through methods such as smoking and air-drying, so that it could be preserved for a long time.

As for the smoked meat room, it couldn't be easier for Ma Jieke, who has maxed out his construction skills.

First, find a slope near the shelter. Dig a pit one meter apart at the top and bottom of the slope. Then, dig a 15-centimeter-wide trench between the two pits to serve as a chimney.

Then, use a handsaw to cut out a long plank, soak it in water, and cover the trench. Cover the gaps and the pit at the bottom of the slope with bark to ensure that the smoke does not leak out.

In this way, the pit at the bottom of the slope is responsible for starting a fire and generating smoke, which then rises continuously through the flue.

The pit on the slope is used to hang the meat. About half a meter above the pit, a sealed cover is built with wooden sticks and waterproof cloth to completely cover the fish, but not completely seal it. A small hole is made at the top of the cover to let out smoke.

Since the principle of smoking meat relies on producing a lot of smoke rather than open flame, Majeke used oak branches as the main fuel, which were ignited and then covered with damp sawdust and leaves to continuously produce smoke.

If I had to say what makes him different from others, it would be that he uses a lot of salt to thoroughly marinate the fish. Fish smoked this way shouldn't be called smoked dried fish, but rather smoked salted fish.

Unfortunately, salt, as a strategic resource, is actually included in basic equipment, but you are only given a very small amount. Even if you eat it sparingly, it is difficult to last until the final round.

If you want to achieve salt freedom, you can only do what Ma Jie did and take up an extra equipment slot.

This is a very risky choice. It's completely useless in the early stages, but its value increases as time goes on.

Whether it can be of value depends on whether you can get a lot of meat. If you are starving for three days and nine meals a day, it is more economical to choose two pounds of beef jerky than three pounds of salt.

After preparing five smoked salted fish, Ma Jie only symbolically tasted them to get a taste of their saltiness. This stuff shouldn't be eaten as a main meal unless absolutely necessary; it can be considered a side dish.

Of course, in addition to the dried salted fish, the honey that had been collected earlier also began to play a role.

Taking advantage of the fact that the berries are ripe, he carried his foraging bag around collecting berries, focusing on blueberries, which have the best taste, and adding some cranberries and raspberries to improve the flavor.

Simply mix honey with a little water, add washed berries, and simmer over low heat. The honey will penetrate the fruit pulp and effectively kill bacteria.

Next, heat a stone slab, place the candied berries on it, and let them dry slowly using the residual heat of the slab.

The metal cookie boxes that were previously salvaged from the old camp were perfect for storing candied fruit, making the most of everything.

Another afternoon, Majek returned to camp with a bag of wild mushrooms and a spruce grouse on his back.

Before the delicious chicken and mushroom stew was ready, he started his live stream as usual.

"Yoyoyo, this is MaJack, your favorite wilderness food expert."

On the 15th day of the competition, having spent the day in harmony with nature, all the previous reserve and novelty had vanished.

Only when interacting with the audience can he truly let loose.

"Haha, what's going on? It's getting more and more intense. How about a West Coast rap?"

"Your condition is good; I suggest continuing to increase the dosage."

"Stop acting crazy. Didn't you know a contestant withdrew from the competition?"

"Who withdrew from the competition? Is there any evidence?" Amidst the sea of ​​comments, Ma Jieke found a message that interested him.

However, most of these kinds of news are fabricated, after all, some viewers said yesterday that Donya hunted a bear.

Seeing his curiosity, the audience members offered their answers.

"This time it's for real, it's that Leighton Bailey nicknamed 'The Lumberjack'."

"That's right, he tripped and fell during his live stream, injuring his back."

"Oh, poor Leighton, he finally managed to build the house."

Seeing that they were telling a story with great detail, Ma Jieke had no choice but to believe it. After all, it was already quite absurd that only one contestant withdrew from the competition every two weeks.

In the fastest season before, a contestant was so frightened by a bear that he called for help that very night. From landing to elimination, the entire process took no more than 12 hours.

"Alright, let's leave that topic aside and take a look at my dinner tonight."

When the cooking time was almost up, Ma Jieke lifted the lid of the pot, and a rich aroma wafted out.

Even with only salt as a simple seasoning, the oil released by the grouse itself and the unique flavor imparted by the wild mushrooms are enough to whet the appetite.

Not to mention that besides the chicken and mushrooms, the remaining broth is the soul of the dish. One sip is incredibly delicious, warming the body and providing great healing to the lonely soul.

After completing his daily food vlogging task, Ma Jieke, at the request of his fans, showcased his resources in front of the camera.

"Take a look at these family members first." He pointed to the dried salted fish hanging from the roof beam with rope: "This is smoked salted fish made from lake trout and pike. The largest one weighs at least 8 kg, and the smallest is 5 kg. As the weather gets colder, the fish..."

The fish will gradually migrate to deeper waters, making it much harder to catch them from the lakeshore unless you can build a boat and fish in the middle of the lake.

"However, as far as I know, in the history of solo wilderness living, the contestants who build boats are just like those who build villas or eat beavers—none of them escape the curse of withdrawing from the competition."

After displaying the dozens of kilograms of salted fish, Ma Jieke opened the metal biscuit box, inside which were neatly arranged candied fruits with plump flesh and a crystal-clear color.

He then picked up a dried cranberry and popped it into his mouth. The cranberry, which was originally only sour, was marinated in honey, which cleverly achieved a balance of flavors. It was sweet and sour and appetizing, and you wouldn't feel tired of eating it no matter how much you ate.

"Just one a day is enough, don't be too greedy." Reluctantly closing the box, Ma Jieke explained, "The main problem is that we don't have enough honey. There are only a few pounds of honey, and I need to save some to make water."

This isn't Versailles; it's a winning mentality. This is a battle of titans, with so many skilled opponents—who knows how long it will drag on?

If more than one contestant persists for 100 days, the program team will decide the final champion based on a comprehensive evaluation, according to the competition rules.

The most important indicator is the physical examination; those with better physical examination data automatically win.

Secondly, there's the remaining food reserves. Whoever has more food reserves will survive longer, and the losing side will accept the outcome willingly.

Finally, he pointed to a homemade basket filled with Jerusalem artichokes: "These Jerusalem artichokes are my main food source right now. I can go dig more when I run out. If I don't care about the taste, I won't have to worry about food for at least ten days."

I thought such a generous reserve would surely elicit a chorus of "wows," but instead, I was met with a cold shower.

"That's it? Where's the meat? You've overlooked the most important thing. Without meat, you can't maintain your physical strength by just eating salted fish and Jerusalem artichokes."

"That's right. The real champion doesn't rely on tricks, but on genuine prey. Compared to large prey, these are just scraps."

"Go hunting, Jack. Your archery is so good, I'm sure you'll have a great time touching Big Red."

Seeing the comments questioning him, Ma Jie smiled knowingly.

In his view, only true fans could say such things; those casual viewers who just clicked in were just watching the show.

Among the players who might make it to the main competition, who doesn't know that hunting is the answer? But in the past ten days or so, apart from that crazed mother bear, they haven't encountered any large prey.

The main reason is that most wild animals have a very keen sense of smell and movement, so they give themselves away before they even notice others.

Moreover, the sunk costs of hunting are extremely high. Without sufficient food reserves, one may not only come away empty-handed but also exhaust their physical strength and even risk injury.

However, high costs also mean high returns. Ma Jieke prides himself on being a risk-taker, so he decided to take the gamble at the suggestion of his fans.

The next day, after waking up, I simply washed myself with water.

It's worth noting that the basic equipment provided by the production team includes chemical products like facial cleanser and shampoo.

After all, this is "Living Alone in the Wilderness," not "The Croods." If the contestants all appeared on TV looking disheveled, it would be too unpleasant to watch.

To maintain his personal image, Majeke cleans himself every day, but this very cleanliness becomes the biggest obstacle to his hunting.

How could wild animals, whose sense of smell is thousands of times stronger than that of humans, not smell the chemical odors that even humans can detect?

People would probably know there are two-legged creatures around even from several kilometers away, so what's the point of hunting then?

In addition to avoiding the use of toiletries, he also buried his hunting clothes in soil and pine needles, "marinating" them overnight to isolate his body odor.

After solving the odor problem, he also addressed the sound issue, wrapping cloth strips around the portable thermos, the bow strap interface, and the contact point between the bowstring and his fingers—areas prone to noise—to prevent friction from causing sound.

Everything was ready. Armed with a camera, they stepped out of the permanent sanctuary, their only objective being the hunt!

"Good morning, everyone. This is MaJack. It's the 16th day of the competition. As requested by our fans, I'm about to begin the hunt. Now, please follow my perspective and enjoy an immersive experience."

Talking to himself as he went, he came to a temperate coniferous forest and immediately turned his gaze to the ground, carefully searching for animal tracks.

To put it bluntly, it's about finding excrement. Excrement is like a message from the prey, providing a wealth of valuable information.

Only by finding the feces can we determine whether it is worth investing time in this area.

Persistence pays off. After searching for nearly an hour, we finally found some small dung balls.

He quickly broke off a small twig and mashed the grayish-brown dung ball. After carefully examining it, he smiled helplessly at the camera: "Good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first?"

"Okay, the good news is that it's deer droppings, which proves that deer have been active in this forest."

"As for the bad news, the dung ball has dried and hardened, which means that guy is already far away."

Although this did not bring Majekl any substantial progress, he was not discouraged and continued to search for traces of the beast.

As a result, the entire morning passed without finding a single wild animal, let alone any. Instead, their stomachs started growling with hunger.

"Alright, family, what's done is done, let's eat first."

Sitting awkwardly on the bare tree stump, I took out some dry food from my foraging bag: a few roasted Jerusalem artichokes, a piece of dried salted fish, and some berries I had picked along the way.

After eating and drinking their fill, they rested against a tree for a while before continuing their search through the woods.

I thought the morning was just bad luck, but the afternoon was the beginning of a nightmare. I walked from noon until dark, but I couldn't find a single clue.

In the end, Maje returned to the permanent shelter empty-handed, sat in front of the campfire and seriously questioned his existence, not even bothering to do a live stream.

His feelings at that moment were mixed, and a strong sense of frustration enveloped him.

It's important to know that from the first day of the competition, whether it's building a campsite or searching for ingredients, regardless of efficiency, there's at least progress every day.

That's terrible! A whole day's energy and food have been wasted. Anyone would be upset in that situation.

It seems that hunting is not just about hard work; luck also plays a significant role. In the previous nine seasons, very few contestants actively sought out prey; they mostly encountered it by chance.

However, as the old saying goes, it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost.

Starting from the second day, Ma Jieke stopped trying to achieve success and stopped limiting his targets to large prey during his explorations. He also hunted grouse, wild ducks, and red foxes whenever he encountered them.

The advantage is that you won't get a zero anymore, so you won't feel frustrated.

The downside is that it causes severe wear and tear on hunting arrowheads, especially when hitting hard tissues such as bones.

Besides the low-risk prey, what really cheered Ma Jie was that he also caught a fisherman!

Don't be fooled by its cute appearance; in the northern forests of the United States and Canada, it is undoubtedly a top killer.

Among all medium-sized predators, its prey includes not only squirrels, hares, and birds, but also other predators in the same ecological niche.

The most well-known of these is hunting porcupines that are even larger than itself.

With its extremely agile movements, the fisherman circled around, harassing and attacking the porcupine's relatively vulnerable, quill-free head and face.

Once it finds an opportunity, it will quickly bite the porcupine's face and attack repeatedly until the porcupine dies.

Then, it flips the porcupine over and begins to feed from the soft, quill-free part of its belly, demonstrating its remarkable intelligence and courage throughout the process.

In addition, lynxes, which are similar in size to fish martens and resemble leopards in appearance, are also frequently beaten by them and have no chance to fight back.

However, in the face of species skilled in using weapons, any beast relying on its own strength can only become food for the terrifying upright ape.

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