Chen Wen didn't have to wait long.
Soon he saw the flock of chickens scrambling for the bear berries.
These grouses indeed fell for it!
Chen Wen's lips curled up, and he was filled with excitement.
He reversed the grip on his dagger and kept a sharp eye.
The flock of grouses moved quickly, and soon enough, the bear berries outside the trap were devoured entirely.
And the bear berries piled inside the trap drove all the grouses a bit crazy.
There were just so many!
The grouses didn't have any doubts; they didn't hesitate for a second.
They didn't even care about the ropes hanging around.
They all stepped into the trap.
Chen Wen suddenly waved his hand, and the Golden Eagle above stretched its wings and dove down swiftly.
With the Golden Eagle's full-force dive, the loose ropes abruptly tightened!
Without any guard, the grouses were caught together as the ropes pulled the net.
Some of the grouses on the outer side noticed something was wrong.
They instinctively tried to run.
The azure grouse's wings are short and round; flying isn't their strength.
But trying to escape sideways was walking right into trouble!
As the net was lifted off the ground, it caught the grouses in its mesh.
Then, the surrounding net closed in, squeezing the caught grouses into a bundle, blocking the only exit above.
Some younger, smaller grouses were pretty lucky.
They slipped through the net.
And then fled without a second thought in all directions.
Chen Wen didn't care about those little escapees.
He typically hunts with mercy in mind.
Even if those little ones didn't run, he would let them go when it came time to kill the chickens.
He approached the net.
The Golden Eagle hovered in the air, holding onto the rope effortlessly.
This task was easy for it.
Chen Wen gestured for the Golden Eagle to fly higher.
As the net descended before Chen Wen, he grabbed the net's mouth, making the grouses lose their will to resist.
The Golden Eagle also flew down from above, allowing Chen Wen to untie the rope.
Watching the grouses caught in the net, the Golden Eagle salivated.
It couldn't help but say, "You're incredible! This trap is more efficient than us catching them!"
Hearing this, Chen Wen chuckled.
Humans have thousands of years of wisdom; you just have to learn!
Before leaving the woods, Chen Wen packed up the remaining bear berries.
No waste, these are precious vitamins!
...
Chen Wen walked out of the woods with a net full of grouses.
He went to the water's edge and laid the net flat on the ground.
Chen Wen placed his right foot on the net's mouth and began to kill the chickens.
He first released some of the net, then reached in and grabbed a grouse from the net's mouth, immediately stepping on the net's mouth again.
Quickly using his dagger, Chen Wen ended the life of the azure grouse, tossing the lifeless grouse to the side.
Then came the second one.
In the eyes of the grouses, they were facing the scariest thing of their lives.
Their group suffered a devastating blow.
The culprit behind it all was a giant.
This giant controlled them within a magical thing, continuously grabbing and killing them one by one.
The remaining grouses were terrified.
But their terror didn't last long either.
Soon enough, all the big grouses were slaughtered by Chen Wen.
The blood from the grouses almost turned the river water red here.
"These are just little ones, let them go back."
Chen Wen released some of the younger grouses stuck in the middle.
Next, he tied the net back onto the sticks and deployed it in deeper areas.
Meanwhile, Chen Wen also gutted two grouses on the spot, using their entrails as bait.
After finishing the work, he returned triumphantly with that afternoon's haul.
...
Back at the campsite.
Hua Yun had been cutting meat all afternoon and was mentally exhausted.
This grizzly bear was truly enormous!
Big enough that cutting the remaining meat would take half a day just to finish!
After all, the strips for smoked meat need to be very small, so they can be quickly smoked and take on flavor.
As Hua Yun threw down her dagger, about to rest.
There was a flapping sound from the sky.
The Golden Eagle lightly landed in front of Hua Yun and snatched a strip of bear meat she had just cut.
Hua Yun was taken aback.
Why is this guy back?
She instinctively looked outside the camp and just caught sight of Chen Wen and the grouses in his hand.
A whole heap of grouses!
Hua Yun gasped.
"Did you raid a grouse nest?"
Hua Yun asked somewhat incredulously.
"You know what, I did raid a grouse nest."
Chen Wen laughed happily.
He recounted the afternoon's events to Hua Yun.
Upon hearing how Chen Wen set up a trap with a net, then used hand signals to command the Golden Eagle to trigger the trap.
Hua Yun marveled at Chen Wen's whimsical ideas.
She couldn't imagine that Chen Wen would use a fishing net to catch chickens.
And he succeeded!
"Your whimsical survival tactics really opened my eyes!"
Listening to Hua Yun's praise, Chen Wen couldn't help but say, "Say more, I love it."
Alright, the same temperament as Mr. Liu.
Hua Yun shook her head helplessly and said, "But what you've brought back is a joyful burden!"
"Look at the bear meat here, then look at these grouses, just processing these foods would take at least an entire day!"
Looking at the grouses he brought back, Chen Wen couldn't help but grimace.
These things are definitely harder to handle than the grizzly bear!
"Fine, fine, let's not go out for the next two days, just fetch water and quickly deal with and preserve this meat."
Chen Wen shrugged and said, "You keep cutting meat; I'll handle the cooking."
Dinner was boiled grouse and smoked bear meat.
Grouses are quite large, and the big ones Chen Wen caught averaged over three pounds each.
Of course, in the eyes of the Golden Eagle, these are small prey.
Unless it's starving, it wouldn't even look at them.
Chen Wen skinned two gutted grouses with his dagger.
He didn't want to bother plucking feathers.
Then he cut the skinless grouses into pieces and tossed them into the pot to cook.
By the time it was completely dark, the rich aroma of meat soup slowly wafted up.
Chen Wen served the chicken and hot soup into his tin and Hua Yun's enamel bowl.
Paired with salt water-rubbed bear meat.
This meal was pretty extravagant!
"This smoked jerky tastes really good, but admittedly it looks quite unattractive."
Chen Wen tore a strip of the dark jerky with effort and said.
Hua Yun was sipping soup.
Drinking hot chicken soup in the icy wilderness was a very blissful thing for her.
"In survival, food needs to be convenient and storable for long periods; it's hard to achieve both looks and taste in such conditions."
Hua Yun slurped the soup and continued, "Many times, going hungry is normal. Do you know what people called Mr. Liu when he started out surviving?"
Hearing gossip about Liu Yu, Chen Wen immediately showed interest, "What?"
"The Legendary Hunger King."
Pfft!
Chen Wen burst out laughing with food spitting out.
What a chance, playing with this gag so early?
Hua Yun, also an avid web surfer, smiled with her eyes narrowed and said, "Interestingly, when he was first given this nickname, it was a compliment. Everyone was amazed at how Mr. Liu could survive three days without food at first, enduring hunger to build a shelter before beginning to hunt, especially during that time in the Sahara. Mr. Liu went five days without food, walking dozens of kilometers in the desert to find an oasis."
"To people back then, it was incredible, so 'Legendary Hunger King' was born."
"But as time passed, this nickname turned into an insult; truly... fate plays tricks!"
Hua Yun said as she sipped the hot soup again.
Being able to drink hot chicken soup, eat grouse and bear meat, and chat about gossip in this kind of survival setting was indeed quite enjoyable!
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