Recaps

Su Wei weighed Matt’s estimate for a museum-grade hunting exhibition hall and the road improvements it would require, realizing the project would consume most of his savings. He left the discussion determined to keep the hall at one thousand square meters while negotiating lower-grade materials and adjusted plans.

• Matt estimated that the original exhibition hall would cost two million dollars, with another three hundred thousand needed to repair the road to the site.
• Matt proposed a three-hundred-square-meter, two-floor hall that could meet Su Wei’s needs for under one million dollars and preserve funds for future construction.
• Su Wei considered his finances and recognized that his plans for an estate had grown beyond what his three million dollars could support.
• Su Wei rejected Matt’s scaled-down proposal and insisted on keeping the hall at one thousand square meters across two floors.
• Su Wei agreed to discuss cheaper materials and adjusted plans, but said the road must be upgraded to handle heavy oil tankers.

Su Wei considered how to fund his ambitious estate and exhibition hall, then spotted a future business opportunity in his birch woods as spring approached. After returning home, he warmed the cabin and fed Cotton Candy.

• Su Wei told Matt he wanted the exhibition hall built to a high standard within two months and hoped to keep its cost near a million dollars, excluding necessary roadwork.
• Su Wei decided that hunting alone could not provide reliable income and resolved to develop businesses that would generate steady cash flow.
• Su Wei noticed the Gathering Module's estimate that his birch trees would approach peak sap sugar content in about 118 days, giving him an early-spring opportunity.
• Su Wei returned to the cabin, where Cotton Candy eagerly greeted him, and he lit the fireplace and served the fox cub premium food.

Su Wei struggled with the unreliable internet at his remote Alaska property while trying to research new business ventures. He found a Starlink advertisement and called the local provider, only to learn that installation would normally take two weeks and that the few available kits cost extra.

• Su Wei tried to research birch syrup production, fishing permits, and other business opportunities, but his computer and phone could barely connect to the internet.
• Frustrated by the prospect of running his estate without reliable service, Su Wei considered fiber-optic and microwave connections and rejected both.
• Su Wei noticed a newspaper advertisement for Starlink service in Kodiak and realized satellite internet could solve his connectivity problem.
• Su Wei called Kodiak High-Speed Communications and asked for urgent Starlink installation.
• The employee said hardware would usually take about two weeks to arrive from Seattle, but mentioned that the store had a few higher-priced kits reserved for VIP business customers.

Su Wei planned ways to earn money from his Alaska land while arranging for a faster internet connection. After outlining a birch-sap operation, a premium fishing club, and future hunting-guide work, he went to bed feeling at home and imagining a grand estate.

• Su Wei ordered two internet connection sets and arranged for a technician to install them at his cabin the next day.
• He planned to hire workers, possibly including Aruk, to help collect birch sap during its short harvesting season.
• Su Wei sketched out a high-end recreational fishing club on Pilan Creek, using his fishing skills to guide wealthy clients to salmon.
• He considered offering private hunting guides but decided to ask Black for advice when he returned.
• Su Wei carried Cotton Candy upstairs, settled into bed during the storm, and fell asleep imagining his future estate as Cotton Candy burrowed against him.

Su Wei agreed to join Aruk on a sea fishing trip and headed to Kodiak Town to buy better equipment. He arrived at Old Charlie's shop and went straight to the fishing tackle section.

• Su Wei woke up thinking about his thirty-million-dollar estate dream, then decided to focus on preparing for a sea fishing trip.
• Aruk called Su Wei and invited him to fish for rock crabs from his newly equipped boat, waiting at berth fourteen in section C.
• Su Wei accepted the invitation, fed Cotton Candy, and drove his Raptor to Kodiak Town.
• Su Wei entered Old Charlie's Guns and Outdoors and told Old Charlie he had come to buy something before heading to the fishing tackle section.

Su Wei bought high-end deep-sea fishing gear and arranged for Starlink internet to be installed at his remote Pilan Creek territory. The technician mounted the antenna on the cabin roof and began searching for satellites, leaving Su Wei waiting to see whether the connection would work.

• Su Wei purchased a Shimano Stella reel, a G-Loomis rod, and other deep-sea fishing equipment from Old Charlie for two thousand dollars.
• Su Wei visited a Starlink service shop and bought the town’s last two units, paying extra for an immediate installation at Pilan Creek.
• A bearded technician accompanied Su Wei to his territory and mounted the antenna beside the cabin’s chimney.
• The technician adjusted the antenna and began searching for satellites as Su Wei watched nervously from below.

Su Wei got internet access at his estate, finished preparing his fishing gear, and agreed to join Aruk for a fishing trip. Before dawn, he met Aruk at St. Paul Harbor and boarded the Wavebreaker, where Aruk eagerly inspected Su Wei’s new rod and reel.

• A technician successfully installed satellite internet at Su Wei’s house, and Su Wei checked that birch syrup prices were rising.
• Su Wei finished rigging his new Shimano fishing gear, then received Aruk’s invitation to meet at five in the morning and replied, “Roger.”
• Su Wei got up before dawn, fed Cotton Candy, loaded his fishing equipment into his Ford Raptor, and drove to St. Paul Harbor.
• Aruk welcomed Su Wei aboard the Wavebreaker and showed off the boat’s new Yamaha motor and thirty baited crab pots.
• Aruk opened Su Wei’s tackle box and carefully lifted out the Shimano Stella reel and Loomis boat rod.

Su Wei joined Aruk on a rough Bering Sea fishing trip, deploying crab pots before searching for migrating black cod near Shipwreck Bay. The chapter ended with Su Wei using his Fishing Module to scan the deep water, where he found the seabed empty and still.

• Su Wei fitted his Shimano reel to his rod and set out with Aruk, showing no signs of seasickness despite the rough waves.
• At their first spot near the continental shelf, Su Wei used Water Condition Perception and detected many crabs on the seabed.
• Su Wei and Aruk deployed thirty crab pots, which would soak for at least five hours.
• Aruk took Su Wei to a deep-water fishing spot near Shipwreck Bay, where he hoped to find migrating black cod or halibut.
• Su Wei activated Water Condition Perception and scanned down to two hundred meters, finding a sloping seabed with reefs but no visible fish.

Su Wei used his mysterious ability to search the seabed for fish while telling Aruk that feng shui was guiding them. He found a dense school beside an underwater cliff and persuaded Aruk to fish there, leaving both men waiting for a bite.

• Su Wei told Aruk there were no fish where they first stopped and explained it with a made-up feng shui reading.
• Su Wei had Aruk circle the Wavebreaker slowly while he searched the seabed with his perception.
• Su Wei spotted a dense school of fish near an underwater cliff and ordered Aruk to stop despite the blank sonar.
• Su Wei rigged squid bait onto a heavy jig and convinced Aruk to give the rocky waters half an hour.
• Su Wei and Aruk dropped their jigs into the dark water.

Su Wei and Aruk hooked two enormous Pacific halibut at once and struggled to control them in the Bering Sea. After using the Wavebreaker to stop their run, Su Wei saw through Water Condition Perception that both fish were door-panel-sized halibut trying to burrow into a rocky cliff.

• Su Wei and Aruk hooked powerful fish that pulled their rods dangerously toward the water.
• Su Wei yanked Aruk back and told him to secure his rod in a holder while Aruk moved to the helm.
• Aruk used the boat to help halt the fish, and Su Wei stopped the line at 310 meters.
• Su Wei used Water Condition Perception to identify two enormous Pacific halibut pressed against an underwater cliff.

Su Wei and Aruk fought to bring two enormous halibut up from the seabed, and Su Wei’s fish finally surfaced beside the boat. Aruk gaffed it through the gill cover, securing their first catch as the struggle continued.

• Su Wei recognized the fish as halibut and taught Aruk to pump their rods to haul them up.
• Su Wei and Aruk endured the exhausting fight as the two fish made a final powerful run.
• Su Wei judged that his halibut was tiring and ordered Aruk to prepare the gaff.
• Su Wei pulled a massive Pacific halibut alongside the boat and told Aruk to hook its gill cover.
• Aruk drove the gaff into the halibut’s gill-cover bone and began lifting it aboard.

Su Wei and Aruk hauled two giant Pacific halibut aboard, earning a Fishing Module upgrade and discovering a research tag on one fish. Su Wei then spotted a dense school of valuable black cod and sent down a baited rig to catch them.

• Su Wei and Aruk teamed up to land a halibut weighing at least 250 pounds, and Su Wei killed it with his Ka-Bar knife.
• Aruk rushed to his rod, and the two men hauled a second halibut weighing close to 200 pounds onto the deck.
• Su Wei’s Fishing Module leveled up to LV2 and upgraded Water Condition Perception to detect fish within fifty meters.
• Aruk found a 2009 Fish and Game Department research tag on the first halibut and said the two fish could be worth more than three thousand dollars.
• Su Wei detected a dense school of black cod and told Aruk to switch to fine hooks and squid bait.
• Su Wei lowered a five-hook rig toward the school, and the line counter reached the 300-meter seabed.

Su Wei and Aruk turned back with the Wavebreaker dangerously overloaded with fish and began retrieving their crab pots. They hauled the first pot from the hundred-meter-deep water, leaving its catch unrevealed.

• Su Wei stopped fishing for black cod when the crowded deck and low gunwales made it unsafe to keep loading the boat.
• Aruk turned the Wavebreaker toward the crab pots while Su Wei stacked the black cod on the halibut to clear a little deck space.
• Su Wei spotted an orange buoy and guided Aruk into position as the boat rocked in the swells.
• Su Wei hooked the buoy’s rope and fitted it into the hydraulic hauler.
• Aruk operated the hauler, and the first crab pot rose from the water and struck the gunwale guard.

Su Wei and Aruk hauled crab pots in Alaska, sorting and keeping legal male snow crabs while returning females, soft-shell crabs, and undersized ones. They finished with a full load of snow crabs, halibut, and black cod.

• Su Wei and Aruk found the first crab pot nearly empty and returned its starfish and undersized crabs to the sea.
• They hauled up a second pot packed with large Alaska snow crabs and kept only the legal male crabs.
• Su Wei and Aruk worked through the remaining pots, storing their live crabs in circulating seawater.
• After hauling the thirtieth buoy, Su Wei counted forty-two legal snow crabs, two large halibut, and nearly three hundred pounds of black cod.

Su Wei and Aruk hauled in a valuable catch, then carefully brought the dangerously overloaded Wavebreaker back to St. Paul Harbor. Old Kash and the fishermen saw the enormous haul as Su Wei secured the boat.

• Su Wei’s fishing system reported 42 Alaska snow crabs and increased his Fishing Module to LV2.
• Su Wei warned Aruk that the Wavebreaker was dangerously overloaded and ordered him to return at ten knots while steering into the waves.
• Aruk piloted the Wavebreaker through rough seas as Su Wei watched the cargo, and they reached the shelter of St. Paul Harbor.
• Su Wei tied the Wavebreaker at the dock, where fishermen noticed it riding low in the water.
• Old Kash inspected the catch of enormous flatfish, black cod, and snow crabs before Su Wei greeted him.

Su Wei protected a tagged Pacific halibut from George the Vampire’s attempt to buy it illegally, and Laurent Laroche offered better prices for the rest of the catch. The fish still had to be inspected by the Fish and Game Department before Laurent could buy it.

• Old Kash offered Su Wei a cigarette and praised the crew for bringing in a strong catch despite the weather.
• George offered low prices for the catch and tried to persuade Su Wei to remove the tag from the 250-pound halibut for an extra five hundred dollars.
• Su Wei refused, cleaned the research tag, photographed it, and said the fish had to go to the Alaska Fish and Game Department for data collection.
• Laurent Laroche praised Su Wei’s principles and offered to buy the tagged halibut if officials released it, while bidding higher prices for the other fish and crab.
• Su Wei calculated Laurent’s offer as George protested that he had arrived first.

After selling most of their catch to Laurent, Su Wei and Aruk celebrated a profitable trip. Laurent then offered Su Wei $100,000 to hunt a large adult brown bear within two weeks, and Su Wei left the dangerous commission undecided.

• Su Wei sold the black cod, snow crabs, and halibut to Laurent’s restaurant, splitting $4,240 with Aruk.
• Laurent gave Su Wei his business card and asked how good a shot he was, explaining that he wanted fresh game for wealthy guests.
• Laurent offered Su Wei $100,000 to bring down a well-fed adult brown bear weighing over 400 kilograms within two weeks.
• Su Wei weighed the dangers of hunting bears in worsening mountain weather and said he would answer Laurent by six the next day.
• Old Kash warned Su Wei that bears were especially dangerous as they guarded their last food before hibernation, and Su Wei agreed that the money would not be easy to earn.

Su Wei brought a huge halibut to the Fish and Game Department and gave Sarah detailed information about its capture. Sarah identified it as a tagged research fish and awarded Su Wei five hundred dollars, with an official letter of thanks to follow.

• Aruk offered to join Su Wei's bear hunt, but Old Kash scolded him and Su Wei put him to work loading the fish.
• As they drove through Kodiak Town, Su Wei considered the costs and risks of hunting a large brown bear near Pillar Mountain or farther into the wilderness.
• Su Wei, Old Kash, and Aruk wheeled the halibut into the Fish and Game Department, where Sarah examined its research tag.
• Su Wei provided Sarah with precise capture details, including the location, depth, equipment, and fight duration.
• Sarah found that the halibut had been tagged near Unimak Island in 2011 and awarded Su Wei five hundred dollars, promising an official letter of thanks.

Su Wei sold his giant Pacific halibut to Daniel’s research institute and received a research reward, then Sarah registered his unrecorded hunting points. The guild raised Su Wei to professional hunter LV2 and unlocked new job and cross-region hunting permissions.

• Su Wei agreed to sell the halibut’s complete skeleton and otoliths to Daniel’s institute for a premium, receiving a total of $4,100 including the research reward.
• Aruk refused to split the institute payment, saying Su Wei had earned it, and Old Kash agreed.
• Su Wei considered Laurent’s $100,000 brown bear commission and his plans to hunt independently and become a guide.
• Sarah told Su Wei that his points for hunting a brown bear, assisting with a moose, and attacking the King of the Island had not been registered.
• Sarah registered 24 points, raising Su Wei from LV1 to LV2 and unlocking medium-sized commercial commissions and eligibility to apply for cross-region hunting.

After earning enough points to become a level-two professional hunter, Su Wei accepted Old Kash’s invitation to dinner, hoping to learn more about Laurent’s lucrative bear-hunting order. Martha welcomed him warmly at the family home, where Aruk joked that Su Wei was treated like the real son.

• Sarah told Su Wei that he had earned twenty-four points and advanced to level two, while Aruk received twelve.
• Su Wei declined Aruk’s dinner invitation at first, but Old Kash persuaded him to come and discuss Laurent’s order over dinner.
• Su Wei followed Old Kash and Aruk through Kodiak Town to their home in the Alutiiq community.
• Martha welcomed Su Wei warmly and brought him inside, while Aruk’s younger siblings admired his hunting gear.
• Su Wei gave Aruk’s younger brother a piece of chocolate, and Aruk joked that his family treated Su Wei like their real son.

Su Wei joined Aruk’s family for a warm dinner after returning from the cold, and he used his cooking knowledge to help prepare their catch. The family gathered around the table and began eating, while Su Wei settled into the comfort of their home.

• Martha welcomed Su Wei into the house and sent Aruk to help him warm up by the fireplace.
• Isaac asked Su Wei about the bear king, and Su Wei described how enormous it had been.
• Su Wei advised Martha to bake the snow crabs for twelve minutes so they would stay tender, then helped prepare the side dishes.
• Old Kash, Aruk, Martha, Su Wei, and the children gathered around a feast of venison stew, snow crab, and black cod.
• Aruk blushed when everyone noticed him eyeing the food, and Old Kash announced that they could eat.

Su Wei discussed Laurent’s dangerous brown bear hunt with Old Kash and insisted on facing it alone to build his reputation as a hunting guide. After dinner, he asked Old Kash for help finding workers to collect birch sap in spring, but Old Kash warned him not to go to the labor market east of town.

• Su Wei told Old Kash he planned to hunt Laurent’s bear alone, despite Aruk and Martha’s concern.
• Old Kash warned Su Wei about a huge, dangerous bear with part of its right ear missing on the area’s northern slope.
• Old Kash praised Su Wei’s clear plans and urged him to look after Aruk, and Su Wei called him Uncle Kash for the first time.
• Su Wei asked Old Kash for extra hands to collect birch sap in spring and said he planned to check the labor market east of town.
• Old Kash told Su Wei not to go to the labor market.

Su Wei learned from Old Kash that he could hire reliable Alutiiq workers through Aruk, then discovered that Black had won a season of Alone. Inspired by the show’s popularity, Su Wei decided to use Aruk’s GoPro to begin filming his own hunting and wilderness videos.

• Old Kash warned Su Wei about theft by transient workers and offered to have Aruk find local Alutiiq men for the job.
• Su Wei agreed to pay the workers ten percent above the market rate, with daily payment.
• Su Wei recognized Black on an episode of Alone and learned that Black had hunted a musk ox during the hundred-day challenge.
• Su Wei decided to start his own channel with hunting and food videos rather than compete on Alone.
• Su Wei asked Aruk for his old GoPro and left with food Martha had packed for him.

Su Wei returned to his cabin after leaving Aruk and began considering filming Laurent’s commissioned brown bear hunt. The next morning, he researched commercial birch syrup production and started planning how to use the birch grove on his property.

• Su Wei declined Aruk’s offer of a ride, collected his fishing tackle, and said he might record the hunt for Laurent as a calling card.
• Su Wei drove through the snow to his cabin, where Cotton Candy waited at the door.
• After sleeping in, Su Wei made breakfast and shared a piece of bacon with Cotton Candy.
• Su Wei researched commercial birch syrup production and noted that roughly 110 gallons of sap yielded one gallon of syrup.
• Su Wei considered the forty-acre white birch grove on the eastern side of his property.

Su Wei calculated the equipment and labor costs for producing birch syrup on his estate, then went to Kodiak Town to find workers. After rejecting the labor market’s unreliable applicants, he drove to the Kodiak Industrial Rental Center to look for equipment.

• Su Wei estimated that forty acres of birch trees could yield enough sap for nearly 700 gallons of syrup, but industrial equipment would cost about $35,000 and require skilled workers.
• He decided to explore renting or buying secondhand equipment rather than purchasing new machines for a three-week season.
• Su Wei told Cotton Candy to stay home and drove to Kodiak Town’s northern labor market.
• He rejected a group of applicants whose skills and behavior seemed unsuitable, despite their offers to work for lower wages.
• Su Wei left the labor market and drove to the Kodiak Industrial Rental Center.