Wilderness Survival with Druid System

Chapter 347: Chapter 18: The Unexpected Flavor of Egyptian Catfish

The third is Feng Zhong.

As the vice president, his survival skills are quite good.

In terms of food, he also found munjeti fruit, which he found in elephant dung.

This is experience he learned from Qu Yong.

Large herbivores, their dung usually surprises you.

You can try your luck like opening a blind box.

Besides that, Feng Zhong’s luck was also quite good.

He encountered a dead hippo, with quite a bit of its meat eaten by crocodiles.

But there was still some meat left, and once he confirmed the crocodiles were far away, he eagerly went into the water to get some hippo meat.

As for the remaining contestants, Jamie gathered some plants, and the others were starving.

But being hungry for a day is quite normal for most survivors.

If you can’t handle a day, what are you doing playing survival?

...

Over on Chen Wen’s side.

Chen Wen’s BBQ stand was open for business again.

He expertly handled the Egyptian Catfish, cleaned the broken munjeti fruits with stones, and gathered lotus roots.

”Meat and veggies, and they’re all free.”

Chen Wen cheerfully said, ”This little life is pretty good, huh.”

He planned to skewer the catfish and roast them all.

This would make it easier to store them.

The munjeti fruit was simply heated a bit before Chen Wen popped it into his mouth.

”The taste of munjeti fruit is decent, not unpleasant, I would even say it’s quite delicious.”

Chen Wen had a good opinion of the munjeti fruit.

”It probably has a high oil content, tastes quite fragrant, and it has a sweet taste, which suggests it has a high sugar content. It contains energy that’s hard to come by when surviving.”

As the munjeti fruit was swallowed, system prompts appeared in Chen Wen’s mind, prompting him to choose options.

[Plunder from natural creation—the munjeti tree!]

[Plundering... Plundering complete!]

[Please choose one of the following three options]

[Slow Growth (Blue): Your growth speed is slower]

[Note: Growing quickly isn’t always winning, growing to the maximum is true success!—Munjeti Tree]

[Heat Tolerance (Purple): You can endure high temperatures better, less prone to heatstroke, and your brain stays cooler in high-temperature environments]

[Note: As a desert plant, enduring high temperatures is reasonable, right? It’s reasonable that trees don’t get heatstroke, right?—Munjeti Tree]

[Pest Repellent (Purple): You can actively control your skin to secrete special tannic acids and alkaloids, making mosquitoes reluctant to approach. ps: Active option, each use requires an hour of recovery time, and the secretion remains effective for a day]

[Note: With insects as numerous as grains of sand in South Africa, to counter the hordes of insects, we can only make our skin repulsive to insects—Munjeti Tree]

[Make a choice within a minute or forfeit! If time expires, the first option will be automatically selected!]

The options from the munjeti tree took Chen Wen by surprise.

The negative first option wasn’t worth considering, and as for the second option, [Heat Tolerance], Chen Wen already possessed a similar option.

Besides, although the Caprivi Strip was hot, it was still within bearable limits.

This time, he didn’t even bring the heat-tolerant option, proving the area’s temperature was manageable.

So, the [Pest Repellent] option became Chen Wen’s choice.

There are indeed many insects in Africa, especially mosquitoes.

Getting bitten and having welts is bearable.

But catching a disease would be a different story.

So, this option was quite good.

It’s just the description mentioning the skin secreting special tannic acids and alkaloids that truly surprised Chen Wen.

Can human skin secrete such a thing?

...

Chen Wen, eager to test it, opened his eyes.

He actively initiated the option.

Chen Wen clearly felt an unusual smell wafting from him.

It was a very strange fragrance.

Very faint; you wouldn’t smell it without getting close.

But despite that, after Chen Wen actively triggered it, the mosquitoes and insects hovering around seemed quite repulsed.

The mosquitoes quickly reacted.

They almost instantly avoided Chen Wen, as if this was a forbidden area.

This surprised Chen Wen greatly.

Wow, could I be invincible in mosquito-infested areas now?

But just as Chen Wen was thinking this, a mosquito seemingly unfazed by the smell flew straight to Chen Wen’s skin.

Ah, it wasn’t a hundred percent deterrent after all.

Feeling a bit let down, Chen Wen slapped and killed the daring mosquito.

Damn it, my [Extreme Vision] is still on.

Are you seeking a thrill?

The munjeti fruit’s gone, the lotus root is gone.

Now it’s the main course, the Egyptian Catfish!

The well-barbecued Egyptian Catfish smelled quite enticing.

After all, it was fish, and the roasted smell was quite familiar.

Combined with fragrant spices—a mix pounded into a red and yellowish powder.

The spice preparations must have been done by an Indian.

Seeing these spices, Chen Wen showed some reluctance.

As someone used to cumin, thirteen spices, and chili powder, he was a bit wary of Indian spices.

However, once roasted, the spice aroma was quite pleasant.

This slightly changed Chen Wen’s stereotype about Indian spices.

Peeling off the charred fish skin, white fish meat, and red spices.

In the reflection of the campfire, it looked quite tempting!

Unable to wait, Chen Wen quickly put the fish in his mouth.

Hmm?!

Chen Wen stared at the Egyptian Catfish in surprise, ”Wow, the taste is unexpectedly good!”

”Is this really the Egyptian Catfish I know? It’s actually delicious!”

”The texture is like regular fish, but maybe with the added freshness, it’s quite tender, and doesn’t have the expected earthy taste. The spices’ fragrance overpowers the earthiness, leaving just a hint.”

”Remarkable, truly remarkable, the flavor took me by surprise.”

Saying this, Chen Wen couldn’t help but take another bite.

Indeed, quite good!

...

Back at the show crew.

Watching Chen Wen delight in his meal, a guide couldn’t help but swallow.

Returning from shift, Lin Jiawei chuckled and asked, ”Is it that good? In our Hua Country, these Egyptian Catfish are invasive, and many avoid them for their strong earthy taste and potential toxins.”

The guide responded, ”Indeed, but the catfish from the Kuanduo River is different. It’s tastier than catfish from most rivers. Our tribe often catches it. According to the chief, it’s because the Kuanduo River is a gift from the gods, and everything from this river is delicious.”

Sounds like the Kuanduo River isn’t heavily polluted.

Lin Jiawei thought to himself.

The guide, reminiscing, said, ”But in recent years, big catfish have become scarce. When I was young, my father often went fishing, and the catfish he brought back were quite large, even reaching half a meter. Each time he came back, my siblings and I eagerly looked forward to a barbecue feast.”

”Those times, those flavors... I really want to taste them again!”

Nostalgia filled the guide’s eyes, longing for those flavors and the people who shared the meals.

Lin Jiawei patted his shoulder, ”You’ll taste it again.”

The guide nodded with a smile.

...

Over on Chen Wen’s side, he had finished the whole Egyptian Catfish.

”Unexpected, truly unexpected.”

Satisfied, he sipped boiled Kuanduo River water and couldn’t help but say, ”Whether it’s the fish’s flavor or the spices, both exceeded my expectations, never judge by stereotypes!”

With that, Chen Wen closed his eyes, seemingly at rest but actually reviewing the options.