Wandering America: My kill threshold is far ahead

Chapter 241 First Day Rankings and Camp Feast

"10...9...8..."

"4...3...2...1!"

As the countdown reached its final number, the Inuit huntress completed the test at the last second, leaving everyone breathless.

Exhausted, she collapsed onto the ground, exhaling large puffs of white breath. After a while, she uttered a long, incomprehensible sentence, which was probably Inuit.

Lehman Stein responded with a smile, acting as a temporary translator: "She said her name is Sila, that she grew up in a tribe and made a living by whaling, and that she was very happy to see so many friends today, but her English is very poor and she can only understand some simple words."

"Hello Sila, I'm Jack, from China," Jack greeted her. Sila smiled back and said in broken English, "Good, plaster removal and recovery."

Damn... It seems that even kangaroos in Australia probably know that everyone in China knows kung fu.

However, people seem more interested in the prey she brought back than her professional background.

This is a typical North American porcupine, which can be simply understood as a super hedgehog. It is covered with about 3 easily detachable quills, each with 700-800 barbs, making it extremely defensive.

The Bristleback in Dota 2 was designed based on this, but when the porcupine is in danger, it does not actively launch its quills. Instead, it turns its back to the enemy and swings its spiky tail to fight back.

Once it gets caught, the barbs on the thorns will pierce deeper and deeper into the flesh, and forcibly pulling it out will cause even more serious secondary damage.

Of course, this thing is not without weaknesses. Like most mammals, it can be effectively killed by attacking its abdomen and head.

Judging from the wound, Silas must have hit it with at least three arrows.

One arrow crippled its hind limbs, causing a significant decrease in its movement speed; another arrow hit its back to finish it off; and the final arrow was a direct headshot kill. The sequence of actions was well-organized, making it a textbook example of a hunting demonstration.

Seeing that most of the contestants had returned, Lehman announced the start of the scoring phase. Everyone placed their spoils on the table and nervously awaited the results.

Just then, another athlete returned to the camp, carrying two fluffy Arctic hares in his arms.

Arctic hares are prized for their delicious meat and valuable fur. They are also known for their incredible jumping ability. Unlike the short legs of ordinary rabbits, they have evolved long limbs due to their numerous predators and low ecological position. They are frequently preyed upon by polar bears, Arctic foxes, and Arctic wolves. They can be considered supermodels in the rabbit world. Their maximum speed can reach 65 kilometers per hour, and they do not sink in ice and snow, hence the name snowshoe hare.

The most amazing thing is that this rabbit's fur is grayish-brown in the summer, which can blend in with the vegetation and rocks. In the winter, it automatically turns white and can use the snow as camouflage, so it is not easy to find its tracks. It is usually caught by setting traps.

"Guys, I caught two Arctic hares, two whole ones! You know how hard they are to catch, but luckily I'm a bit better at it. Haha, what a wonderful start."

This guy looked incredibly happy, showing off his prey with obvious gusto.

But the way people looked at him was almost the same as how they would look at a landlord's foolish son. It wouldn't matter if he caught a whale or not, let alone an Arctic hare.

Sure enough, Head Instructor Lehman yelled at him without any politeness, "Idiot, do you even know what time it is? Your score is invalid, zero!"

"What?" The smile on the other person's face vanished abruptly, and his eyes widened like bull's eggs. Only then did he remember that this was a timed assessment, and the first rule of the assessment was that exceeding the time limit would result in a loss.

"Sir, could you make an exception? My wife is seriously ill, and I'm here for the training camp because..."

As the man spoke, he couldn't help but cover his face, his voice trembling with obvious sobs. If he got zero on the first day, no matter how hard he tried afterward, he probably wouldn't be able to catch up.

Do you expect your competitors to make such a basic mistake along with you? Don't be ridiculous. None of the competitors who make it to this stage are easy targets; they are all selected from tens of thousands of people.

"Shut up!" Lehman interrupted his sob story with a sharp voice, looking like a cold robot: "Rules are rules, and no one can trample on them for any reason. Don't complain to me. This is 'Living in the Wild,' not 'America's Got Talent.' If you feel wronged, you can quit now. If you're a man, then fucking fight to the end."

"7

"I'll repeat myself: there's no politeness, no pity, no comfort here. Any affectation or sob story will only disgust me."

"The strong stay! The weak get out! It's that simple!"

"Any more questions? If not, get back to the group, immediately!"

After being harshly scolded by the instructor, the man gritted his teeth, stopped his grief, and his eyes became much clearer.

Next, he and his two assistant instructors scored the contestants' performances one by one.

Contestants who successfully collected ingredients mostly scored between 3 and 5 points, depending on the quality and weight of the ingredients.

Surprisingly, some air force athletes did not receive zero points, but rather one point.

Lehman explained that this was because they followed the rules, so they were given a point as an incentive, which meant that even if they didn't get anything, their score would still be higher than those who exceeded the time limit.

Reaching the table next to MaJack's, Lehman picked up a wild blueberry from the mountain of berries, chewed it a few times, and smiled with satisfaction: "It tastes good, sweet and sour. It'll be the perfect dessert for the dinner later, so I'd give it a 6 out of 10."

"Thank you, Instructor." The other party responded happily, seemingly satisfied with the result.

Next up is the Russian girl, Tonya. She grew up in Siberia, a place that's practically uninhabitable. The coldest temperatures there can drop to -70 degrees Celsius, where refrigerators aren't for keeping food fresh, but for thawing. Compared to that, Alaska is like a beginner's village.

Therefore, she comes with almost maxed-out ice resistance and has been learning hunting skills since elementary school, because she has a hibernation period of up to 7 months every year.

She doesn't go out, doesn't work, and doesn't earn money. She has to stock up on food and firewood in advance. According to her, she has fought with every animal she can see, including Ussuri brown bears. She is also an expert in ice fishing. In addition, she has super physical strength, so it's no wonder that she can perform so well.

Lehman merely glanced at her prized prey before coldly stating, "7 points."

"Why?" Logically speaking, 7 points is not low, and it is the highest score in the game so far, but it is significantly different from Donya's expectations. She couldn't help but ask, "Give me a reason."

"You want a reason, huh?" Lehman replied expressionlessly. "Have you even eaten the prey you hunted? This animal's meat is extremely coarse, with tough muscle fibers and a persistent, unpleasant odor. Even after long cooking, it's still hard to swallow. The texture is similar to fox and raccoon, so I can only give you a 7 out of 10. Any objections?"

Donya wanted to retort, but someone stepped on her foot. Majek, who was standing next to her, was giving her a wink, reminding her not to get involved.

Going against the instructor is like going against electricity, isn't it? What they said is reasonable and well-founded, so what's the point of continuing?

"Tch, wait until I kill the bear, then let's see what you have to say."

The girl muttered something under her breath, and Lehman just shook his head when he heard it, thinking she was a bit too confident.

In previous seasons, bears appeared in almost every season, but no one actually dared to fight them. There was even a person who was so scared by a bear that he cried after landing and called for help that very night, setting a record for the fastest surrender in the show's history.

When his gaze fell on the table in front of Ma Jieke, a light flashed in his deep eyes, and a smile appeared on his lips.

Not only him, but the other contestants also turned their heads to look, all filled with envy and jealousy.

You could have just taken two geese as a token gesture, but you went and wiped out the whole flock. There were so many goose eggs that there was nowhere to put them; they had to be stacked up to barely fit them.

Showing off like that!

Lehman picked up a goose egg, weighed it in his hand, then looked at the two plump geese, a male and a female, and said with a smile, "Good luck, Chinese kid. If I'm not mistaken, you shot one of them first, and then patiently waited for the second one to come back, right?"

"Yes." Ma Jie nodded slightly. Although this old man was arrogant, he really knew something, just like he had seen the crime with his own eyes.

"It seems your homemade clock... oh no, I mean sundial, has played a significant role. I looked it up on Google after you left, and it is indeed a great invention. You and your people are very good at using wisdom to solve problems. Now, let's announce the score."

"Ma Jie, from China, gets a perfect score!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole room erupted in uproar. The foreigners looked at each other, completely convinced and unable to find any reason to question him.

Because in terms of both the quality and quantity of ingredients, it has an overwhelming advantage, and in a formal program, it could last for at least a month.

To be honest, this result exceeded Ma Jie's expectations; before this, he thought it would be at most an 8 or 9 out of 10.

Because geese are herbivores, hunting them is relatively easy. However, he overlooked one point: for survival experts, hunting in low-risk or even risk-free conditions is the right way to play. Blindly pursuing excitement and difficulty can easily lead to one's own demise, which is actually a plus for "survival" itself.

However, as a novice hunter, there is a lot to learn, especially in terms of concepts.

The next few rounds of scoring were mainly done by anglers, and their scores were generally around 5 points.

When the big shot nicknamed "Fish King" appeared, Lehman once again scored a perfect score, causing the entire audience to erupt in cheers.

The last perfect score went to Inuit huntress Sila. After all, porcupines are the most difficult to hunt and are also a wild animal with high economic value. Their meat is characterized by high protein, low fat, low cholesterol, and excellent flavor. In terms of meat quality, it can be rated between good and top-grade, with a taste second only to beef.

As night fell, the first day of training and selection came to an end. Majek, Sila, and Fish King tied for first place, while Donya ranked fourth.

However, this is only a temporary lead. After all, each contestant has a different focus, and when the assessment comes to their area of ​​expertise, it is still uncertain who will emerge victorious.

In the evening, a grand bonfire party was held at the camp. All the ingredients collected during the day were handed over to the chef team and made into delicious dishes.

The succulent and juicy braised goose in an iron pot, the incredibly fresh salmon sashimi, the wildly roasted pork, and the stir-fried goose eggs with vegetables and mushrooms, pan-fried foie gras, and wild berries rich in various vitamins make this meal just as good as an expensive buffet.

As everyone sat around the campfire, enjoying their meal, they also grew closer to one another.

Only Donya was a little sullen, after all, she did the most dangerous thing but only got fourth place.

"Hi girl." Ma Jie sat down next to her with a meat platter. She puffed out her cheeks, exhaled, and rested her snow-white face on her hand. "Jack, I know what you want to say. I admit defeat this time, but starting tomorrow, you won't be so lucky."

Someone picked up a fork and forced a bite of roast pork into her mouth: "So you need to eat more. How can you beat me if you don't recover your strength? It's a pity we can't drink alcohol during training camp, otherwise I could have a couple of drinks with you."

"Come on, you." Donya couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I know your alcohol tolerance. I could drink more than you when I was in third grade. Do you remember last time in the poor street, you and that little kid, what was his name again?"

Jimmy.

"Oh right, Jimmy, you guys teamed up to challenge me, but in the end, none of you could beat me. Thinking back on it now, it was really fun."

"Aren't you happy now?" Ma Jieke forked another piece of goose wing and force-fed it to him.

"It's alright." Donya chewed, her eyes filled with longing. "This opportunity is so important to me. If I can win the prize money, I won't have to make money by fighting in underground boxing matches anymore. I can use this money to buy a house and a car, and maybe even... never mind, I don't want to think about it anymore."

Seeing her hesitant expression, Ma Jie grinned mischievously and said, "So, you want to find a handsome guy to marry, right?"

"Get lost, don't talk nonsense. Who would like a girl like me? They'd run away from me like the plague."

"I like it... because you can't beat me."

"Go to hell!"

Donya blushed and punched her on the shoulder.

Only he could pull off such a joke; anyone else would probably have been executed on the spot.

"Look, the Northern Lights!"

The two were playfully fighting when they heard someone shout, and they instinctively looked up.

Against the vast and boundless night sky, several streaks of green light flickered and swayed irregularly, like a waterfall of photons falling from the sky. They quickly twisted into a large vortex, then dispersed into ribbons of light. Under the intense collision of solar wind and atmospheric molecules, they brought people a magnificent and wonderful visual experience.

This is a common natural phenomenon in Alaska, especially around 67 degrees north latitude, and can be clearly observed with the naked eye for more than 240 days a year.

Everyone took out their phones to take pictures, and Ma Jie naturally couldn't resist. If this were posted in the group chat, wouldn't everyone be incredibly envious?

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