Chapter 43 Survival on a Deserted Island 5

Chapter 43: Survival on the Deserted Island 5

Soon after, Zhong Rui returned from his stroll and grabbed a skewer of grilled fish to eat.

Su Han asked, "Is there anything you want? We still have three skewers of grilled fish left to trade."

Zhong Rui honestly replied, "Nothing really stands out to me, but there are a few things I might trade for, even if it's not ideal."

"Like what?" Su Han was quite curious.

Zhong Rui pointed in a certain direction, "Someone's got rice, flour, and oil in their Portable Storage. To keep from starving in this dungeon, he chose a bag of rice. Who knew this stupid dungeon wouldn't even have a pot? He's got rice but no way to cook it."

Su Han's eyes sparkled, and she deliberately lowered her voice, urging, "Where is he? Go trade with him now!"

"You know how to cook it?" Zhong Rui seemed to sense something.

"We can make bamboo rice!" Su Han exclaimed.

Zhong Rui looked confused, "...What?"

He wasn't sure what bamboo rice was.

Su Han explained, "Bamboo rice is made by stuffing rice, water, and meat into a bamboo tube, then roasting it in a fire. Once the bamboo tube is charred, the rice is done. Then you crack open the bamboo, and the rice inside is soft, fragrant, with a hint of bamboo. It tastes incredible."

"Plus, rice lasts a long time if it stays dry. If we get enough rice, we won't have to worry about food for the next ten days. We'll have bamboo rice for meals and snacks like rye bread, Pork Floss Cream Bread, and chocolate cake. Getting through this dungeon will be a breeze."

"Bamboo rice is usually made with fragrant rice, but regular rice will do. But in this disaster dungeon, having food is good enough."

Zhong Rui's interest was piqued, and he immediately went to talk to the player. After a while, he returned with a cloth bag and four pounds of rice, having traded three skewers of grilled fish and a sparrow. He sighed, "That's all he'd give. He's sure he'll figure out how to cook the rice; he just needs time."

Su Han blinked, "What if he can't figure it out and starts starving? Would he change his mind then?"

Zhong Rui nodded, "Maybe."

Su Han sincerely hoped that the player would give up his stubbornness and trade the rice.

After trading six skewers of grilled fish, the willow basket was still not secured. Zhong Rui decided to take the rice back to the cave first and then bring out the last five fish.

In fact, he thought it was quite troublesome to go back and forth like this. It would be much more convenient to just take out a dozen fish at once and grill them all. But there was no other way. If a bunch of envious players ganged up on him, he'd be in trouble.

So, despite the hassle, Zhong Rui had to patiently take things step by step.

As night fell, the last five fish were just finished grilling when Bei Bei finally appeared with the willow basket.

Su Han breathed a sigh of relief, "Finally, you're here."

Bei Bei pursed her lips and asked, "Where's the fish?"

Su Han quickly handed over three skewers.

Bei Bei immediately felt at ease.

After the exchange, her expression improved, and she couldn't help but ask, "Do you need anything else?"

"Not for now, we'll let you know if we do," Zhong Rui replied decisively.

"Alright," Bei Bei said, taking her reward and leaving happily.

"There are still two left," Su Han said almost as if announcing bad news—she really couldn't think of anything else to trade with the players. But with her satiety almost full, eating them would be a waste.

Zhong Rui felt just as hopeless. Then, it hit him—a solution. "Let's save it for breakfast tomorrow."

Su Han nodded, agreeing.

They grabbed the wicker basket and the leftover firewood, then casually left the camp.

**

Back in the cave, everything was just as they left it. Su Han let out a slow breath. She couldn't help but notice that more stuff meant more problems.

With nothing but her backpack, she could move freely. After all, they'd eat whatever they found today, leaving nothing behind. With nothing to their name, there was nothing to steal.

But more supplies meant more headaches. What could they trade the extra food for? Would someone steal their food while they were gone? Should someone stay behind to guard it? And who?

Problems kept piling up.

...

Su Han piled up the firewood and sparked it with a flint.

Soon, flames were crackling.

Zhong Rui came over and packed all the food and water into the wicker basket.

Su Han brought up, "The water's untouched and can last a while. If we get milk, I'll try to save it too."

"Preserved food lasts. If we get the chance, we can trade An Rongyue for some salt to make salted fish."

"Without a Portable Storage, bread and cakes won't last, so we should eat them first."

"Plus, we shouldn't both go out; someone needs to stay and keep watch."

Zhong Rui had thought about this too. "For the first three days, everyone's too busy hunting to explore, so we're free to move around. After that, someone's gotta stay and guard the cave."

"Sounds good." Su Han agreed.

After the discussion, the two leaned against the wall and dozed off, not waking up until the sky was slightly bright.

Zhong Rui ate a stick of grilled fish for breakfast, took his tools, and was about to go out.

At this moment, Su Han yawned and woke up leisurely.

"I'm off," Zhong Rui said.

"Be careful on the road," Su Han said casually.

Zhong Rui left the cave, carefully concealed it, and meticulously erased any traces of someone having been there.

In the cave, the fire's smoke lingered, and Su Han fell asleep again in a daze.

Suddenly, the system's mechanical voice sounded, "Game Day 2."

As soon as the words fell, a piece of rye bread and a bottle of milk appeared in front of Su Han.

"It's really great that I chose to be a Nutritionist back then," Su Han couldn't help but sigh. She stored the milk and then gnawed on the grilled fish for breakfast.

As for the rye bread, that was today's lunch.

Bored, she put on her backpack, took a rubber band, and went out hunting.

In the woods, the breeze was gentle, and the temperature was pleasant. From time to time, rabbits poked their heads out and then quickly ran away. Or there were deer in the woods, but they soon disappeared into the jungle.

Su Han was afraid of getting lost, so she didn't chase after them.

Suddenly, birds in the forest were startled and flew up. Su Han squinted slightly, quickly wrapped the elastic band around her hand, and crouched down to pick up a small stone. She took aim and shot!

"Snap!" A sparrow fell to the ground.

Su Han quickly approached, swiftly plucked a long blade of grass to tie the sparrow. Then she looked at the elastic band on her hand, feeling a bit awkward. She was used to using a wooden-framed slingshot, and switching to a frameless one was quite uncomfortable.

Actually, she had aimed at a different sparrow nearby, but the stone missed and hit another one instead...

Su Han comforted herself, thinking that such a small mistake didn't matter as long as she caught some prey.

A gentle breeze blew through the forest, making it eerily quiet, as if she were the only living person there.

Suddenly, Su Han's expression changed. If she wasn't mistaken, a gray shadow seemed to dart through the green grass? Judging by its size, it looked like a rabbit.

She crouched down silently and picked up five stones. She put four in her pocket, placed one on the elastic band, took aim, and shot.

Instantly, Su Han heard a sharp scream. The next moment, the gray rabbit dashed away without looking back.

Su Han "..."

She helplessly touched her nose, thinking to herself that using stones as ammunition had this drawback—they were too weak to be lethal. Once the target was startled and ran, she could only stand there and watch.

By mid-morning, the variety of prey Su Han had caught had gradually increased. Partridges, pigeons, sparrows, bamboo rats—she had them all, though each prey was inevitably tied up.

Approaching noon, she returned to the cave, nibbling on a piece of black bread.

Just then, Zhong Rui returned carrying a wooden bucket.

"Today's catch was average—only 14 fish in total, and I got 10 of them," Zhong Rui said with some regret.

Su Han tossed another piece of black bread over. "Lunch."

Zhong Rui deftly caught it, unwrapped it, and took a bite, mumbling, "How about we pickle 5 into salted fish and trade the other 5?"

"No tools," Su Han counted on her fingers. "Pickling requires coarse salt, then placing the fish in a wooden basin to pickle, and finally hanging them on a wooden rack to air-dry. Right now, we have no coarse salt, no wooden basin, no wooden rack—we're missing everything."

Zhong Rui clicked his tongue lightly, somewhat dissatisfied—he didn't know when they'd have abundant supplies and enough food for both of them for 20 days.

Additionally, there was some bad news. It had been two days since entering the game, and players were gradually adapting to the dungeon's rhythm, improving their fishing and hunting efficiency. If players were no longer in urgent need of food, they probably wouldn't be willing to trade good items.

After a long silence, Su Han suggested, "How about we keep two for dinner and trade the rest for firewood?"

"Firewood..." Zhong Rui frowned. They did need firewood, but he didn't want to trade for it now.

"Look," Su Han said somewhat helplessly, "Don't always focus on hunting and trading for talent skill items. We have many other things to do."

"Like what?"

"Set up traps outside the cave to prevent accidental entry and enemy attacks. Dig pits in the forest as traps—if small animals accidentally step in, they'll fall into the pit and can't escape. Checking the traps periodically might yield some harvest. Also, it would be good to get some rabbit pelts, tiger pelts, and deer pelts. I suspect there might be a temperature drop soon. If there's spare time, we could make the necessary tools ourselves," Su Han counted on her fingers one by one.

"I've thought about all that," Zhong Rui pointed at himself, "I plan to stockpile enough supplies first, then do other things."

Then he pointed at Su Han, "It seems your plan is to stockpile some supplies first, start preparing other things, and then continue stockpiling after everything is ready."

Finally, he calmed down, "Both plans are feasible, just the order is different."

Su Han suddenly suggested, "How about we act separately according to our own plans?"

Zhong Rui, "..."

With two members in a team, if everyone does their own thing, what's the point of having teammates?

Without waiting for a response, Su Han added, "Anyway, both of us are quite capable. Whether we split up or work together, we can definitely complete the level. It's just a matter of whether the process is harder or easier."

"Are you still thinking about splitting up to hoard supplies..." Zhong Rui couldn't help but complain.

Unexpectedly, Su Han replied seriously, "Splitting up works too. Pretend we're each stranded alone on a deserted island, no buddies around."

Zhong Rui was completely baffled: "Huh???"

"Don't worry," Su Han reassured, "If anyone's struggling, we can still back each other up. After all, we're teammates."

Zhong Rui kept a straight face, thinking, who wouldn't be able to hold out?!

Author's note: Su Han: Alright, the team name's gonna be "Lone Wolf Squad."

An Rongyue (laughing): You're just getting what I got.

Zhong Rui: Not happy

**

Why are the two plans different? Because Su Han's a top-notch nutritionist with a surefire way to get food and water.