Chapter 41 Survival on a Deserted Island 3

Chapter 41: Stranded: The Island Survival - Part 3

The bald man was ready to dish out some punishment when the other person nonchalantly tossed the fish aside and lunged forward aggressively.

The bald man sneered menacingly before delivering a swift kick, but the other person deflected it with ease by raising his arm. With his other hand, he grabbed the bald man's calf and hurled him to the ground with a thud.

The other two closed in, attempting to overwhelm Zhong Rui. Zhong Rui wrenched one man's arm with a sharp twist, kicked his calf, and sent him sprawling to the ground. When it came to the last man, Zhong Rui landed a solid punch to his face, then delivered a punishing blow to his midsection.

In almost an instant, all three men lay defeated on the ground.

Zhong Rui said indifferently, "I prefer not to kill, but don't mistake that for inability."

The bald man's face turned red with anger.

Su Han was about to step in to help when she saw her companion heroically take down all three men. So she scratched her nose thoughtfully and stood by, watching the scene unfold with calm interest.

But the next second, the bald man drew a gleaming dagger from his pocket and made a desperate lunge towards Zhong Rui.

"Watch out!" Su Han shouted a warning.

However, Zhong Rui was already prepared. He seized the bald man's wrist in a vice-like grip and applied relentless pressure.

"Hey... you..." The bald man felt excruciating pain and gradually changed his expression. In the end, the dagger slipped from his grasp against his will.

Zhong Rui punched and kicked. Then he took the dagger and hurled it with deadly accuracy, piercing the bald man's chest with unerring precision.

The moment the dagger struck, the bald man was taken out of the game.

Su Han didn't just stand by and watch anymore. She snatched up the dagger and joined the fray.

Soon, those obstructing their path were swiftly dealt with. Both Zhong Rui and Su Han retained over 90% of their stamina, nearly unscathed.

The onlookers couldn't help but feel a chill—were these two really players, not humanoid bosses?

One person whispered, "With such powerful people, are you sure you can handle them?"

The burly man opened his mouth but couldn't say anything for a long time.

Zhong Rui picked up the fish again and chatted with his companion as they walked, "How long have you been at the camp?" His expression looked very gentle, showing no trace of his earlier ferocity.

Su Han estimated, "Most of the day."

After a pause, she asked curiously, "By the way, where did you go? Did you get lost?"

Zhong Rui smiled slightly and mysteriously, "I'll tell you later."

Su Han was a bit surprised. Judging by his expression, it seemed like he had made some unusual discovery?

Zhong Rui planned to set up a stall on the spot.

Su Han couldn't help but remind him, "Not many people want live fish, grilled ones are easier to sell."

Zhong Rui's expression immediately became subtle, "Grilled?"

"Do you need help?" Su Han asked.

Zhong Rui didn't hesitate and gave up his spot, "You do it."

So Su Han got busy again. Soon, the tantalizing scent of grilled fish wafted through the camp.

Before the two could even start offering their goods, someone approached them and asked, "Wanna trade for some grilled fish?"

Before they could respond, someone else rushed over, mouth watering at the sight of the grilled fish, and eagerly said, "I’ve got plain yogurt—how about we trade?"

Zhong Rui was speechless.

Back when the fish were still flopping around, nobody even bothered to come over!

"Here." Su Han handed five skewers of grilled fish to her companion.

Before they knew it, a line had formed in front of Zhong Rui. Everyone was eyeing the grilled fish hungrily.

Some thought about scheming, but the first batch of schemers had already disappeared from the game, so the others had to drop the idea and wait their turn.

"Nah, not interested," Zhong Rui replied to an offer of partridge.

"Plain yogurt? Okay, but I’ll need two cartons."

"Two bags of chips? That’s not enough—make it three."

Once all the grilled fish were traded, Zhong Rui ended up with a bunch of useful items.

Players who missed out weren’t happy and kept pressing: "No more grilled fish? Are you gonna make more later?"

Zhong Rui waved his hand. "That’s it for now, everyone clear out."

The players had no choice but to leave disappointed.

Just then, a young girl stepped up to Zhong Rui and asked brightly, "Need a wicker basket? I can make one."

"Wicker basket?" Su Han looked surprised.

"Yeah," the girl nodded. "About a foot long, a foot wide, and twenty inches tall—it can hold a lot of stuff. It takes me all afternoon to make one, though."

Meaning, if she made a wicker basket, she wouldn’t have time to go hunting.

"What’re you asking for it?" Zhong Rui asked.

The girl didn’t hesitate. "One basket for five grilled fish!"

Zhong Rui shot back, "Make it three fish per basket."

After a moment’s thought, the girl reluctantly agreed. "Deal."

After finalizing the details, she added, "I’m Bei Bei. I’ll stay in the camp and weave. Don’t forget our deal—I’ll bring the basket before dark to trade for the fish."

"Alright," Zhong Rui agreed straightforwardly.

Bei Bei then hurried away. Judging by the direction she was heading, it seemed she was going into the forest to cut willow branches and prepare materials.

Su Han murmured, "This works out great for everyone."

Usually, in a deserted island survival game, everyone should be striving to obtain food and drinking water. Fishing, hunting, gathering berries, searching for water sources, doing everything possible to survive longer. In extreme cases, one might even need to snatch food and water from others to stay alive.

But in server D16, there are Su Han and Zhong Rui. These two have extremely strong survival skills, greatly improving the efficiency of obtaining food.

With ample food, some players who aren’t good at hunting can spare time to do other things. Like collecting honey, weaving, making wooden tools, and then trading with players who have plenty of food.

This way, the top players can live better lives, and those who can’t hunt can also trade for enough food to survive.

Zhong Rui packed the miscellaneous items into his backpack, then waved to his companion, "Follow me."

Su Han thought to herself, what is this guy up to? But she said, "What if the firewood gets taken when no one's watching?"

Zhong Rui indifferently replied, "Then forget it. It’s not like it’s worth much anyway."

Su Han had no response.

"Hurry up and follow," Zhong Rui urged, leading the way.

Su Han obediently followed behind.

Soon, the two left the camp and headed deep into the woods. The surroundings were desolate and dead silent.

Su Han thought to herself, if she hadn't interacted with Zhong Rui several times before, she would have thought he was trying to abduct her.

Suddenly, Zhong Rui spoke in a very soft voice, "I stumbled upon a cave with only one entrance. It’s dry inside, the temperature’s just right, and it’s pretty spacious. Plus, it’s close to camp, so I’m thinking of living there."

A cave?! Su Han's eyes lit up, her expression a mix of surprise and joy.

"Let's go, let's go," she perked up, becoming full of energy.

Zhong Rui couldn’t help but smile.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, they arrived.

The cave entrance was surrounded by two-meter-high weeds, making it well-hidden. Entering the cave, Su Han noticed the cave was pretty big, about 100 square meters. But the cave was completely empty.

Zhong Rui pulled out a rough wooden bucket from a corner. Su Han peeked inside and saw that there were actually eleven fish!

Su Han couldn't help but be curious, "How did you manage this? Where did you get so many fish?"

If she remembered correctly, Zhong Rui's fishing skills were nowhere near as good as hers. Even she wouldn’t guarantee catching more than ten fish. Moreover, in total, Zhong Rui had sixteen!

Zhong Rui's thin lips parted as he slowly uttered two words, "Fishing net."

Su Han, "..."

Fishing net?? He cheated!!

But then she felt strange, "When did you get this ready?"

Zhong Rui said indifferently, "In the beginner's dungeon."

In the beginner's dungeon? Su Han was stunned and couldn't help but ask, "What about the last dungeon..."

Before she could finish, she suddenly realized. The third dungeon was chaotic, and using a fishing net to catch a lot of fish would be too obvious. Besides, there was plenty of food in the inventory at that time, so there was no need to catch too much.

The fourth dungeon was different. On a deserted island, you had to prepare everything you needed to eat, drink, and use, so the fishing net became a game-changer.

Seeing that his companion had figured it out, Zhong Rui continued, "I found a player with a boat, and we cooperated to catch fish. We split the catch 70-30, with me getting 70% and him 30%."

"Heading out daily means we don't have to worry about food, and the extra food can be exchanged for other items."

"From what I saw today, fishing only takes half a day in the morning. After all, the partner’s boat isn’t big, and with two players and twenty fish, it’s almost at its limit."

Su Han couldn't help but remind him, "Although you can get a lot of fresh food every day, it's not easy to preserve. It's best to exchange with players for food and water that can be stored for a long time."

But then she thought, Zhong Rui probably already knew all this, so she didn't need to say more. So Su Han took off her backpack and changed the subject, "Who's going to show what they’ve got first?"

"I'll go first," Zhong Rui began, rummaging through his backpack. "The five items I chose are a fishing net, a dagger, a vitality potion, a protective vest, and a 1L bottle of mineral water."

"There are still eleven fish left from what I caught."

"Just now, I exchanged five grilled fish with someone and got the following items: six packs of potato chips, two boxes of plain yogurt, and five chocolate bars."

"That's all I've got; I'm practically broke," Zhong Rui sighed deeply.

If other players heard this, they would surely protest loudly, saying this is far from being broke!

Then Su Han took her turn and said straightforwardly, "The five items I chose are a flint, a dagger, a Tang sword, a protective vest, and a 1L large bottle of mineral water."

"On the first day, I triggered a talent skill and got a loaf of rye bread and a bottle of milk."

"Then I exchanged grilled fish for five 10g packets of honey and two cans of cola."

"That's pretty much it."

Su Han thought to herself, after all, she hadn't resorted to cheating or using any hacks.

Zhong Rui glanced around and said seriously, "This place is too bare; we need to stock up on supplies ASAP."

"Makes sense!" Su Han nodded in agreement.

With the cave as their base, she could stockpile boldly, without constantly worrying about other players eyeing their supplies.

Thinking it over, living in the cave meant fewer people to deal with; each day would just be about figuring out how to get food and water; the only real worry was the system acting up—a game mode that suited her just fine.

Author's note: Su Han: There's always someone who wants to protect me.