Chapter Nine: Snatching Food

The gray wolf let out two howls at Qin Fei, then lost interest in him. Turning away, it lowered its head and began tearing voraciously at the dead reindeer before it.

If he wanted to eat venison, he’d have to scare off this wolf first.

Qin Fei pulled a signal flare from his backpack and gripped it in his hand.

[Signal Flare: A bright flare capable of making enough noise to scare off wild beasts.]

This signal flare was one of the items that had been in his system backpack when he first arrived in this world.

As Qin Fei struck the flare, sparks shot from its tip, and it began hissing loudly.

Hearing the commotion behind it, the gray wolf turned, raising its head to glare at Qin Fei, a threatening growl rumbling from its throat.

Facing the menacing wolf, Qin Fei followed the tactics he’d learned in games and hurled the burning flare straight at the wolf, landing it right in front of the beast.

With a yelp, the wolf jumped back and bolted into the distance.

It worked!

Qin Fei was overjoyed—the wolf had been frightened off.

It seemed he would have venison for dinner after all!

But the wolf, after fleeing a short distance, suddenly doubled back, turned and charged straight toward Qin Fei.

The beast moved with astonishing speed. Qin Fei barely managed a few steps before it leaped and knocked him to the ground.

Damn it!

Qin Fei cursed inwardly.

This turn of events was completely unexpected. In the games, a wolf would have run far away, never to return, at the mere sight of a signal flare.

But reality was different—the wolf had come back, and it had knocked him down!

The charge was lightning-quick, using the momentum of its run. As it brought Qin Fei to the ground, the wolf’s predatory instincts took over, and it lunged for his throat.

But Qin Fei, in the instant he was tackled, reflexively thrust out his left arm to shield himself.

The wolf’s jaws closed down on his left arm instead.

The weather outside was frigid, and Qin Fei wore four or five layers of clothing. The extra padding lessened the damage somewhat.

Even so, the polar wolf’s bite was astonishingly powerful.

Qin Fei could feel the beast’s teeth sinking into his flesh, even through the layers.

Pain!

He sucked in a sharp breath, his brows knitting in agony.

Clenching his knife in his right hand, Qin Fei stabbed backward, driving the blade into the wolf’s flank. The wolf’s grip weakened slightly.

But the pain sent the wolf into a frenzy, thrashing violently.

Its jaws were still locked on Qin Fei’s arm, and each convulsion tore the wound open even further.

The pain intensified as the wound ripped open, sending a fresh wave of agony from his arm to his brain.

With another swing, Qin Fei stabbed the wolf twice more.

After three stabs, the wolf could no longer withstand the assault. Howling in pain, it released him and fled, blood dripping onto the ice as it ran.

When the wolf was gone, Qin Fei staggered to his feet, his face pale from the pain radiating from his arm.

His sleeve was soaked with blood.

Bleeding on an empty stomach can easily trigger low blood sugar or even fainting.

If he passed out in this state, he’d be doomed. There was no chance now of reaching Rabbit Island or claiming the reindeer meat. Survival depended on tending his wound.

He had to head back, immediately, to the small cabin on the shore.

Fighting dizziness, Qin Fei turned back and walked for about five minutes to the nearest cabin.

As soon as he entered, he tore off his blood-soaked sleeve, exposing the mangled flesh where the wolf had bitten him.

He took a bottle of antiseptic from his backpack and poured it over the wound.

The burning sting jolted him awake, briefly clearing the fog of near-unconsciousness.

When he finished disinfecting, he soaked some cloth with the remaining antiseptic and wrapped it tightly around his arm to stop the bleeding.

Still uneasy, he retrieved some antibiotics he’d scavenged earlier, swallowed one with a sip of water.

After that, he took the last packet of biscuits from his bag and, with a little water, forced them down.

With nothing left to support him, Qin Fei collapsed onto the bed and fainted.

When he came to again, it was night. His left arm, though still weak, was no longer in immediate danger.

So hungry!

The body consumes tremendous energy while healing, making his hunger even more acute.

He thought of the reindeer on the ice.

He had to eat something, or hunger and injury would sap his strength completely.

Qin Fei stepped outside.

The night was clear—no blizzard, no fog. By the moonlight, he could just make out his surroundings.

Following his previous route, he found the reindeer’s carcass from earlier. To his surprise, a wolf’s corpse lay nearby.

Judging by the wound in its side, it was the same wolf as before.

He guessed that after fleeing, the wolf had tried to return for the reindeer, but its injuries proved fatal; it had bled out on the ice.

Unlike humans, wild beasts cannot tend their wounds, cannot disinfect or bandage themselves. A stab wound like the one in the wolf’s flank is nearly impossible to heal unaided.

Nighttime temperatures were far lower than during the day. Qin Fei had only been out for a short time, yet already the cold was making him shiver.

He quickly gathered firewood, built a makeshift fire, and with his knife, sliced two thin pieces of meat from the reindeer’s foreleg.

He set the meat to roast at the edge of the fire.

Ravenous, he sliced the meat thin so it would cook faster.

Soon, the aroma of roasting meat wafted through the air, making his mouth water. After sprinkling a little seasoning, the venison tasted exquisite.

He’d chosen venison because herbivores have fewer parasites in their meat compared to carnivores, and the taste is better.

Moreover, pound for pound, reindeer meat provides more calories.

Even with a fire burning, the carcasses of the reindeer and wolf remained frozen to the ice in the bitter cold, impossible to move.

He’d have to butcher them on the spot and carry the meat back in batches.

It took nearly an hour just to skin the reindeer, during which he managed to roast and eat a dozen pieces of venison.

If only he could have some rice!

But that was just wishful thinking. Even if he managed to find some staple food, it would be flour at best—after all, this was the land of maples in North America.

Though he still had plenty of fuel, the wind along the coast picked up, and the fire was instantly snuffed out.

Without the fire, exposed to the wind and freezing night air, he could not endure for long.

There was no way to gather more venison tonight.

Qin Fei decided to return to the cabin for now.