The heavy tailgate slammed down.
The apprentices, who had initially been peeking out with some curiosity, all gasped in unison.
Inside the truck bed, the black tarpaulin was roughly pulled back.
A strong, pungent smell of blood exploded out instantly, completely drowning out the aroma of buttered scallops blowing from the kitchen exhaust vents.
That was a mountain of flesh.
Large chunks of bear meat were piled together, the dark red muscle fibers giving them an almost metallic sheen in the midday sun.
A thick layer of white fat, like solidified wax, enveloped the red meat.
At the very top is a huge bear skull, its skin and flesh stripped away.
His empty eye sockets stared directly at the group of apprentices, with a deathly gaze.
A huge pelt was rolled up beside it; even though it was bound up, its astonishing size still reminded one of the beast's terrifying physique in life.
"God..."
A young kitchen helper covered his nose; the smell was too pungent for someone like him who was used to handling pre-cleaned vegetables and vacuum-packed meats.
"This... this was just killed?"
Another apprentice even forgot to extinguish his cigarette, only jerking off when the sparks burned his fingers.
Su Wei leaned against the car, took out a lighter from his pocket, and lit a cigarette.
Nicotine, when inhaled into the lungs, relieves muscle stiffness caused by driving.
He doesn't need an explanation.
The contents of this truck bed are the best pass for getting around here.
"What are you all doing? Don't you need to prepare the ingredients?"
A reprimanding voice with a heavy French accent came from inside the door.
The kitchen helper who was covering his nose shuddered and immediately stood up straight, as if he were a new recruit seeing his drill instructor.
"Head... Chef."
The automatic sensor doors slide open to both sides.
Laurent Laroche came out.
Today he wore a custom-made double-breasted black chef's uniform with a dark gray silk scarf tied at the collar.
Her hair was neatly combed, and she wore her signature Patek Philippe Nautilus on her wrist.
He was holding a cup of freshly brewed espresso in his hand.
Even at the entrance to the kitchen, filled with grease and smoke, he maintained the elegance one would have when taking a curtain call at an opera house.
Until his gaze fell on the Raptor's cargo bed.
The elegance on his face vanished.
Laurent did not cover his mouth and nose like the others.
Instead, his nostrils flared slightly, as if he were discerning the tannins in red wine, greedily inhaling the bloody scent in the air.
"Male bears in their gluttonous phase... only during this season, to store energy for hibernation, do they possess this scent."
He muttered to himself, casually placing the expensive cup of coffee on the dusty unloading platform.
He strode forward, completely ignoring the blood dripping from the edge of the truck bed that might stain his expensive handmade leather shoes.
Laurent pulled a pair of blue nitrile gloves from his pocket and put them on quickly, almost hastily.
His fingers pressed against that huge piece of hind leg meat.
The fingertip sinks in and then quickly springs back.
"Perfect elasticity."
Laurent's voice trembled slightly with excitement.
He then parted the thick layer of fat to observe the interwoven red and white texture.
"The fat layer is over ten centimeters thick, and its color is pure white like jade, without any trace of stale yellow. This means it has ingested a large amount of high-protein food during this week... It might be some kind of migratory fish, or..."
He glanced back at Su Wei.
"... or other competitors."
Su Wei flicked his cigarette ash, his expression calm.
That doesn't matter. What matters is that it's yours now.
Laurent straightened up and took off his gloves.
He looked at Su Wei, the fervor he once had for examining ingredients fading, replaced by an appreciation for a fellow strongman.
"The heart has stopped beating for no more than 24 hours."
Laurent gave his judgment with certainty.
"The bloodletting was very thorough, without even damaging the main vascular network. The skinning technique... was very skillful, without damaging the subcutaneous fat or allowing any hair to get into the flesh."
He shook his head and sighed.
" Su Wei, I know you're amazing. But in this godforsaken weather, deep in the Pillar Mountain, bringing back such a massive thing... I even doubt if you drove a tank into the mountains."
"Good luck."
Su Wei's words were concise and to the point.
He did not intend to dwell on this issue.
Every hunter has his own secrets, and the details of surviving in the wilderness are often more cruel and unspeakable than the outcome.
Laurent could tell that Su Wei didn't want to talk about it anymore.
As a shrewd businessman, he knew when to shut up.
He took his phone out of the inside pocket of his jacket and quickly swiped his fingers across the screen.
"As previously agreed, $100,000."
bite.
A crisp notification sound came from Su Wei's pocket.
He took out his phone and glanced at it.
The bank's SMS notification showed that the account balance had increased by a delightful string of zeros.
Including the fish caught earlier, and existing savings.
His savings have once again surpassed three million.
Su Wei put away his phone and nodded to Laurent.
Happy transaction.
"It's not just pleasant, it's an honor."
Laurent turned around, clapped his hands, and his elegant tone instantly turned into a tyrannical roar.
"What are you still looking at? This is tonight's star! Get moving! Get it in there! If even a speck of dust gets on it during transport, I'll roast you like turkeys in the oven!"
A group of kitchen helpers and apprentices, as if waking from a dream, hurriedly pushed over a heavy flatbed cart.
Several strong young men worked together, chanting slogans, trying to unload the heavy bags of meat from the truck bed.
A sous chef with a full beard directed the group to push the flatbed cart into the processing room.
Su Wei did not leave immediately.
He leaned against the car, watching as the largest piece of shoulder blade meat was lifted onto a huge stainless steel cutting board.
This is Laurent's core territory.
A complete set of Germany- imported WMF kitchen utensils, including a wall full of Yanagiba, Deba, and boning knives, each one sharpened to the point of being able to cut a hair with a snap.
The sous chef took a slender Japanese sinew knife from the knife rack.
This knife is beautiful; the Damascus steel's grain flows under the light, and the handle is made of precious ebony.
Normally, it's a powerful tool for preparing top-grade Wagyu beef or bluefin tuna.
The sous chef took a deep breath, trying to show off his skills in front of the boss.
He held the bear meat down with his left hand, and with his right hand holding the knife, he stabbed it into the joint where the shoulder blades met.
when!
A crisp sound.
The blade sliced through the surface fat and muscle, but got stuck the moment it touched the bone.
That was no ordinary bone.
This is the shoulder blade of an adult male Kodiak brown bear, with a density and hardness comparable to granite.
The dense connective tissues and ligaments that connect the bones are as tough as high-strength nylon ropes.