Xu Xin shook his head and stopped thinking about it. This was not something he needed to consider at this stage; for now, he had to ensure his survival.
During the foraging process, the little creature on Xu Xin's shoulder had been looking at him with a resentful gaze, as if to say, "You have so much, and you only give me one a day, you miser."
The entire bush yielded 32 red berries, with the little creature just having eaten two. This time, Xu Xin harvested a total of 30 large red berries. He packed all the red berries into his backpack, filling one slot.
After finishing all this, Xu Xin decided to head back. It should be around four or five in the morning by now. The sky was even starting to show hints of dawn, and it would soon be daytime. But the activity mentioned earlier wouldn't start until nine. Even though Xu Xin had eaten oranges and wasn't mentally affected at all, he could clearly feel his physical exhaustion.
It's time to go back and rest for a while.
Quickly returning to the treehouse, under the curious gaze of the little creature, Xu Xin wrapped a root around his waist and returned inside the treehouse.
The little creature that had entered Xu Xin's treehouse jumped down from his shoulder, running around and looking everywhere, full of curiosity about the whole treehouse, chirping softly.
It usually slept in tree hollows, but it was his first time seeing such a large tree hollow.
"Don't touch anything!" Xu Xin warned it, while packing all the blue-grade food in the house into his backpack to prevent the little creature from secretly eating it when he wasn't paying attention.
After a busy night, Xu Xin was hungry. He touched his flat stomach, remembering the bear meat he hunted and the blue-grade bear paw, swallowing his saliva. It's been three days, and Xu Xin hadn't had a bite of meat; this vegetarian diet was making him feel unlike himself.
Using a boning knife, he cut two kilograms of meat from the bear meat, and picked up the blue-colored bear paw, setting up the grill in front of the fireplace.
Although the best cooking method for bear paw is long boiling over several phases, roasting it also offers a unique flavor.
As mentioned in Cao Zhi's "Mingdu Pian": delicate cuts of carp cooked into shrimp soup, stir-frying turtle and then roasting bear paw. Being a foodie, this was the one sentence Xu Xin remembered from the Mingdu Pian.
He had been longing for bear paw for a long time, but in his country, bears are protected animals, which caused this long-standing culinary tradition to fade away.
As a seasoned foodie, he even considered a trip to the northern country to legally enjoy it; he didn't expect to fulfill it in this world, which was quite a fortunate event for him.
Right now, Xu Xin didn't have a pot. He searched through the crafting list but couldn't find the methods for making an iron pot and stove. By reasoning, the materials for these two items should have been complete, yet couldn't be made.
Grills could be crafted, but not pots or stoves. Could it be that more advanced kitchen tools' blueprints need unlocking?
Xu Xin used the boning knife to cut a few slits on the meat and bear paw, then placed both ingredients onto the grill for roasting.
Unfortunately, without any seasoning, he would have to enjoy the natural flavor for now.
In the coming days, he must keep an eye on these things. Without salt, food doesn't taste good, and a prolonged lack of salt could cause body issues. Although animal blood contains salt, he couldn't exactly feast like a brute, right?
The tired little creature returned to the third floor, curled up on Xu Xin's leg. It didn't seem interested in the roasted bear meat on the grill, so Xu Xin stuffed an apple into its arms, and the little creature quickly began gnawing on it.
"I ought to give you a name," Xu Xin muttered to the little creature happily chewing on the apple upon his leg.
Upon hearing Xu Xin's words, the little creature raised its head, tilted it to look at him.
"Hmmmm, you're so furry; why not call you Hairball then?"
After hearing this, the little creature shook its head immediately and took a fierce bite of the apple, expressing its disapproval.
"Well, with your brown fur, should I call you Coffee? Chocolate? Keke?"
The little creature tilted its head at him, unaware of what these three words meant.
Seeing the little creature not object, Xu Xin instantly decided, "You'll be called Keke!"
"Squeak!" The little creature wasn't happy with Xu Xin's authoritarian decision, but it didn't object to the name, continuing to munch on the apple, effectively accepting it.
Soon, the bear meat on the grill started sizzling with oil, the sound making Xu Xin's mouth water. After eating vegetarian food for three days, he finally could enjoy some meat.
This meal was delicious. Though lacking seasoning, the wild bear meat had a peculiar taste, but Xu Xin ate with relish. Especially the blue-grade bear paw, its texture was firm, fats were abundant, and the gelatinous quality made it an exceptional delicacy. Xu Xin ate with oil dripping from his mouth, thoroughly enjoying himself.
After the meal, feeling his greasy hands and mouth, Xu Xin shook his head with a wry smile, carefully heading down to the lakeside to wash up. Luckily, according to the map's sensors, the red dots in the lake were all concentrated in the deeper water area, so he washed without incident.
To avoid such hassle in the future, he made a large wooden basin, filled it with water, and brought it back to the treehouse.
"Phew~" Xu Xin laid on the bed. Unlike when he ate mushrooms, this time the bear paw brought him an increase in strength he could distinctly feel.
While eating, he felt a warm current flowing from the abdomen to all parts of his body. And just now, when carrying water, the large basin of water that was originally heavy for him didn't feel that heavy. He deliberately didn't put the water-filled basin into his backpack, but brought it back without panting.
With the table and grill boosting effects, the benefits from the bear paw were maximized.
"With increased strength plus the backpack effect, I can carry more stuff now." Xu Xin was very satisfied with the bear paw's benefits.
Lying on the bed, Xu Xin gradually fell asleep.
Xu Xin was awakened by bird chirps. He glanced at the screen's time; it was half-past eight, leaving thirty minutes until nine. Coco was still curled up in a ball on his bed, her big tail wrapped around her body, still sleeping.
After washing up briefly, Xu Xin came to the screen. The local channel was already lively.
"Just twenty minutes until it starts!"
"What's it called? Jungle Exploration Activity?"
"Just hearing about it gets me excited! Will there be any treasures?"
"Don't get excited too early; did you forget last night's nightmare?"
"Speaking of which, is everyone nearby? Could we form teams to explore? Exploring alone seems too dangerous."
He also saw Li Wenxi had replied to him: "?? How do you have a backpack? After last night's beast surge ended, I went down and wandered around for a long time but didn't find any animal carcasses. Could it be you who killed one? By the way, why is this backpack white grade? Isn't it supposed to be green according to the list?"
The message was sent at seven in the morning. This little lady slept quite late last night yet woke rather early, probably knowing Xu Xin hadn't gotten up yet. The little lady who liked to call and send videos just sent a reply.
Well, what a brave soul she is. Xu Xin dared to go down because the map provided beast location hints. Without this ability, he certainly wouldn't have gone down right after the beast surge retreated.
"Managed to kill one while it was feeding. The backpack is made from the shredded skin of the animal being eaten. Want to trade? How about some blue-grade stones and iron ore."