King of the Wilderness

But soon, this joy was replaced by a heavier look of worry. He squatted down and used the tip of his Hunting Knife to pry off a mussel with effort to closely observe it.

The shell was tightly closed, but not due to muscle strength; rather, it was because the internal tissue fluid and sea water had completely frozen.

”They’re all frozen to death, which is both good and a huge problem.”

”Although they’re now frozen like stones and are absolutely safe. In such low temperatures, all decay processes have stopped.”

”But the problem is, I’m not sure if they will stay in this state.”

”For instance, when the temperature is a bit higher during the day, the mussels on the surface of the snow pile might partially thaw, which is the biggest danger.”

”Mussels are filter feeders, containing a large number of microorganisms and digestive enzymes.”

”Even if there’s just one thawing, even for a few hours, these microorganisms and enzymes will immediately activate, starting to decompose protein and produce toxic substances like putrescine and cadaverine.”

”Once this process starts, even if you refreeze them, the toxins already produced will still be present.”

”After several cycles, you won’t be able to tell if the piece you get is safe or has already become a toxin bomb.”

”So, similar to how we previously charcoal-grilled mussels, a safety treatment must be carried out.”

”But this time with a larger quantity, I plan to cook them by boiling in water, so the pure mussel meat obtained will minimize the risk of consumption.”

At noon, Lin Yu’an first returned to the shelter.

He stored all the rare seafood harvested this morning, including scallops, bait fish, Snow Crab, and Lobster, into the buried 55 Gallon Giant Barrel in the snow, and brought back the iron bucket to the shelter.

Without resting, he immediately began preparing for the afternoon’s ”mass production” work.

He tied the 5 Gallon Plastic Bucket together with his 1.9-liter stainless steel pot and cut a large piece of fine-mesh cloth from the pile of fishing net scraps to stuff into the backpack.

Then, he set off again, returning to the south coastline, beside the huge mussel bed.

He first needed a giant ”pot” and searched for a while until he found a wide pot hole at the center of a flat granite bed.

Once the pot’s position was confirmed, he immediately began to act, needing two independent heat sources to proceed synchronously.

He piled up stones found everywhere on the coast to form a hearth that could hold a large amount of firewood and stones.

He also specifically chose tightly grained granites without obvious cracks.

On the other side of the pot hole, he created a smaller stove using a few large stones to securely set his stainless steel pot on top.

Everything was ready, and he lit both fires simultaneously.

In the main stove’s huge fire pile, tens of fist-sized stones were buried, flames roaring, starting an over-hour-long continued heating process.

On the auxiliary stove, he began preparing the water source for the massive pot hole. His eyes turned to the abundant resource around him—those huge ice floes washed ashore.

He walked to one that looked cleanest and sturdiest, addressing the camera as he explained.

”Many might think the ice by the sea is salty, which is a misconception. When seawater slowly freezes, salt is expelled, and the ice crystals formed are pure freshwater ice.”

He walked to a large stranded ice floe, knocking at it with the back of his Axe, and it made a dull sound.

Facing the camera, he sternly explained: ”But not all ice can be directly melted for drinking.”

”For example, the one in front of us, massive in size, bluish in color, with clear bubbles layer and sediment structure inside.”

”This likely is ancient glacial ice, possibly housing ancient microorganisms from thousands of years ago inside, so it’s crucial to differentiate between new and old ice.”

He moved to a nearby area of newly frozen thin ”new ice,” stepping on it, causing a cracking sound.

”This level of new ice isn’t usable either, as it still holds a large amount of high concentration saltwater pockets that didn’t have time to expel, making the water salty when melted.”

”We need the top of thick ice blocks that have formed over time.”

He meticulously searched in the chaotic Ice Pressure Ridge.

Finally, he found an ideal target, a colossal ice floe over a meter thick, flipped completely by a storm, revealing its bottom originally submerged in water.

With the blade of his Forest Axe, he easily scraped off the ten-centimeter-thick snow and ice layer, revealing the harder ice layer beneath.

”This is the perfect drinking water source. This thick ice formed this winter, and during its growth process, the salt consistently drains downward.”

”The top of such ice blocks is always the lowest in salt content and the first part to get desalinated.”

”Thus, we only need to use the top 10 to 20 centimeters to get the purest fresh water.”

Using his Axe, he effortlessly chipped off several chunks of crystal-clear ice blocks from the ice floe’s top.

Then, he broke off a small piece to taste, confirming it tasted of pure freshwater with no saltiness.

He immediately took action, using the backpack to transport the safe ice blocks selected from the thick ice top to the ”pot hole,” filling it completely.