King of the Wilderness

After confirming these details, a huge surprise erupted in Lin Yu’an’s eyes, and he shouted excitedly, "It’s the Qi kou crack belly fish! It’s it! The king of these high mountain streams!"

He carefully avoided the fish fins and firmly controlled the giant creature. The sturdy Snakebone Fish Hook was deeply entrenched in its thick upper jaw, refusing to let go no matter how it struggled.

Towards the camera, his expression shifted from pure excitement to a solemn mix of seriousness and relief.

"In outdoor survival, obtaining food is certainly important, but there is one premise that can never be crossed, and that is the law."

Lin Yu’an let out a long sigh, a bright smile spreading across his face. The camera zoomed in to clearly display the features of the fish.

"The reason for the excitement is because I can be one hundred percent certain that the Qi kou crack belly fish is not on the ’National Key Protected Wild Animals List’ nor is it a ’three-have’ wild animal."

"This means that, legally, it is a fishery resource that can be reasonably harvested, completely legal and compliant! Now I can enjoy this gift from Ailao Mountain with peace of mind!"

He weighed the three or four pounds of catch in his hand, his joy evident: "With this, my protein and fat intake for the next two days is secured!"

Traveling through the jungle with a lively big fish not only consumes energy but the smell of blood might attract trouble.

He returned to that natural stone chopping board and began his set of fluid processing procedures.

Handling such large fish, scaling is hard work. The blunt side of the flint spent nearly ten minutes thoroughly scraping off its hard armor.

Next came gutting the fish. Due to the size of the fish, he easily completed the steps of removing the guts, tearing off the black membrane, extracting the gills, and removing the fish waist.

Only the most plump piece of fish liver was left, while the rest of the innards were thrown deep into the grass away from the water source.

"Such a large fish can’t be finished in one go, it must be finely divided and reasonably planned."

Saying this, using a sharp stone slice, he cleanly and neatly divided the whole fish along its spine into three large portions.

"Two slices of the thickest and most complete fish belly meat are the essence of the entire fish, tender in texture, rich in fat."

"A fish head with a large chunk of meat and the fish skeleton, these are the materials for making soup."

"A long fish tail, its meat firm, perfect for grilling."

He carried the divided fish meat back to that camp he was about to abandon.

First, he carefully skewered the two snow-white crystal-clear fish belly meat strips with sharpened bamboo sticks, setting them on charcoal fire for roasting.

Then he set the small bamboo-footed pot back over the fire, adding clean water and a few microcarpa leaves without any other ingredients.

Once the water boiled, he put that piece of luscious fish liver in.

"Sizzle——"

Meanwhile, the fish oil dripped onto the scorching charcoal, bursting into a flame, and the rich charred aroma instantly spread through the bamboo forest.

The fish meat surface shrank quickly, turning golden and crispy, while the juices were perfectly sealed inside.

A few minutes later, the first piece of grilled fish was cooked, he blew on the steam and couldn’t help but take a big bite.

The exterior was charred and crispy with the flavor of charcoal smoke, while the interior fish melted in the mouth! The rich oil burst in the mouth, perfectly blending with the tender fish meat.

What amazed him most was that the fish had no sign of the usual earthiness of freshwater fish, nor even a whisper of the typical carp-like fishiness.

The mouth was filled solely with purest, utmost savoriness.

"Too... too delicious..." Lin Yu’an blissfully closed his eyes, savoring the sweetness.

He never thought he could taste such top-quality flavor in the wilds of his country.

While enjoying, he explained to the camera, "Many might be curious why this fish lacks the earthy smell?"

"How is it different from the carp and grass carp we usually eat?"

He swallowed the fish meat in his mouth, picked up the remaining half of the grilled fish, "The answer lies in its environment and diet—this is the secret behind all top-tier ingredients."

"The carp and crucian carp we are familiar with mostly live in sluggish rivers downstream, lakes, or ponds."

"Those places have thick mud at the bottom, and the source of the earthy smell, geosmin, is produced by microorganisms in the mud."

"When fish breathe and feed in such environments, they naturally store this smell in their bodies."

He pointed to the still flowing clear stream beside him, "But it’s different here; this is a high mountain freshwater stream, its turbulent flow leaves no room for mud."

"This fundamentally prevents the possibility of earthy smells, it’s like a top-tier mineral water farm."

"Secondly, the diet—the Qi kou crack belly fish feeds on Mountain Lightlip Fish that also live in this pure stream. The entire food chain is clean like a crystal chain."

"Unlike carp that often forage organic scraps in the mud, clean water plus clean food ultimately create outrageously clean meat."

"So what I’m tasting now is its most original, pure flavor."

He finished the last bit of grilled fish and sipped the simple fish liver broth, "Mm... the taste... hey, as long as it replenishes energy."

A hearty, high-calorie, high-protein breakfast made him feel every cell in his body recharged with explosive strength.