Chapter 15: Diarrhea at Sea

After breakfast, Li Chenfeng was busy building a raft, while Lu Xinyao and Ning Jingjing were responsible for sorting the supplies they had picked up over the past few days.

At 10:30 AM, everyone gathered at the camp and held the final pre-departure mobilization.

“Senior, how are things on your side?”

Lu Xinyao answered solemnly, “I am responsible for collecting food and fresh water. We currently have twenty-five bottles of boiled drinking water, six coconuts, thirty cooked mussels, and three cooked cassava. These are our supplies on the boat.”

Li Chenfeng nodded, “Senior, you did a great job! Not only did you boil and cool the rainwater so it could be drunk directly as fresh water, but you also prepared food supplies for the sea. Logistics are now secured. How is Ning Jingjing doing?”

“I mainly handled collecting and organizing the remaining supplies. I have tied all the bottles and jars with vines and coiled the fishing line into bundles. I even dismantled my favorite sea-view bathtub and packed the plastic sheeting to bring with us,” Ning Jingjing reported.

Li Chenfeng looked around the camp and saw that the supplies had indeed been neatly arranged, so it seemed the two of them had done a very good job on logistics.

“Everyone did a great job this time!”

The two of them clapped their hands, “Yay! He praised us too.”

Li Chenfeng checked the time and the weather and said, “We expect to reach Sun Island before 3:00 PM this afternoon.”

“OK! Everything’s ready! Let’s set off!”

The three of them secured all the important supplies onto the raft with vines, and each took a paddle… though the paddles were really just plastic buckets split apart and fitted with handles.

『Please light a fire before sunset to ward off the cold. Task completed! Stamina +20! Talent +20!』

That reward came at just the right time; he could level up again. Unknown dangers might appear at sea, and every extra point of Stamina meant a bit more safety.

Ning Jingjing looked at their old camp reluctantly, “Goodbye, Storm Island. After spending so much time here, I’m a little sad to leave.”

“You usually act so carefree; why are you suddenly getting sentimental now?”

“Girls tend to be more emotional.”

“Hurry up and go; I’ll build you a big house someday.”

And so the three of them began their first voyage out to sea. The distress signal planted on the shore had already been blown over by the wind, as if foreshadowing that the rescue Strength would never arrive.

Li Chenfeng paddled on the left while the two women paddled together on the right.

Under the blazing sun, Lu Xinyao soon felt her Stamina falter, “Chenfeng, I want to rest for a while.”

Li Chenfeng looked back and saw that the two of them were already sweating profusely and that their lips were dry from the sun.

“Okay, sit tight. I’ll row slowly up front. You rest first and drink some water to replenish your Stamina.”

Ning Jingjing leaned against the plastic bottles to rest, and her stomach kept growling.

“Jingjing, are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?”

Ning Jingjing patted her belly in embarrassment and said, “I’m not hungry; my stomach hurts.”

“Your stomach hurts? What’s wrong?”

Li Chenfeng put his hand on Ning Jingjing’s arm.

『Please light a fire before sunset to ward off the cold. Stomach discomfort caused by eating an unclean oyster.』

(Oyster? Good grief, that little foodie actually sneaked a taste!)

Li Chenfeng looked at Ning Jingjing with a teasing expression, “Did you eat something unclean?”

“No, we all ate the same things, but only Jingjing’s stomach hurts,” came the reply.

Ning Jingjing’s eyes rolled as she wondered if she had eaten something unclean… did she sneak an oyster yesterday?

“What’s wrong, Jingjing? Did you remember something?”

“I… I ate a raw oyster with you at the beach yesterday, and this morning my stomach started rumbling. I thought it would be fine,” she admitted.

Lu Xinyao was a little surprised, “Oyster? Raw? You’re really bold!”

“Oh, I just suddenly wanted to try it, but it was really delicious,” Ning Jingjing said.

(Li Chenfeng helplessly covered his forehead: Is this really the school beauty I know? Can someone explain to me whether pretty girls are all such goofballs in private?)

“Oh no, what do I do now? I need to go number two.”

What? Now? As expected, Ning Jingjing really never took the usual route and always did things her own way!

Lu Xinyao actively thought of a solution, “Why not use a plastic bag to deal with it? After she’s done, just throw it into the sea.”

“But I can’t bring myself to do that in front of everyone!” Ning Jingjing protested.

“If she really can’t hold it, using a plastic bag is fine, but don’t throw the bag into the sea; protecting the ocean is everyone’s responsibility,” Lu Xinyao responded.

“I guess I didn’t think it through; then why not just go in the sea?” Ning Jingjing suggested.

“Ah~ I can’t do it!” she cried.

“Fine, I’ll hold it for now and deal with it once we reach shore. Hurry, let’s paddle quickly.”

She had just taken up the paddle and squatted when a sudden “plop” sound shocked all three of them.

Before long a choking stench spread and someone said, “Ugh, Ning Jingjing, did you soil your pants?”

“Jing… Jingjing, are you okay?”

Lu Xinyao turned her head to one side, “Ugh, I’m not feeling well!”

Ning Jingjing sobbed frantically, “Wah wah~ what do I do, this is so embarrassing, what should I do?”

『Please light a fire before sunset to ward off the cold. Sea water washes the filth from the companion.』

Li Chenfeng turned around and, suppressing the urge to gag, said, “Take off your pants and wash in the sea!”

“Yes, yes, yes, Jingjing, don’t cry, we’ll clean you up and you’ll be fine! Ugh…” someone encouraged.

“Ah~ don’t make fun of me, ugh,” she cried, for even she couldn’t bear the force of it.

Li Chenfeng took off his own pants and laid them behind him, “Senior, after Ning Jingjing is clean, give her my pants to wear.”

Lu Xinyao pinched her nose, “Okay!”

Ning Jingjing clamped her butt and slowly shuffled to the edge of the raft. The moment she pulled down her skirt and underwear, her legs were covered.

Li Chenfeng sat at the bow, trying hard to hold his breath and endure it. Amid a chorus of gagging, Ning Jingjing finally washed herself clean. After putting on Li Chenfeng’s pants she began washing her skirt, and the water behind them turned into a yellow stain.

Schools of sea fish swam behind the boat and gorged themselves, and when Ning Jingjing recalled that she had eaten sea fish soup the night before she gagged again.

“I’ve lost all my dignity; I can’t face you, Li Chenfeng. You won’t abandon me, will you? Waaaa~” she wailed.

At that moment Ning Jingjing looked wronged like a child, and Lu Xinyao wiped the tears from her face, “There, there! We’ve all seen you make a fool of yourself before; don’t worry, it’s not a big deal.”

Li Chenfeng had not expected that Ning Jingjing would care most about his opinion in this situation, and he felt warm inside, “Senior is right; in this environment, aside from life and death, everything else is trivial.”

Hearing their comfort, Ning Jingjing calmed down a little.

“Alright, let’s just say we gave the fish an extra meal!”

When Li Chenfeng heard her words he almost dropped his paddle into the sea… who else besides Ning Jingjing could possibly say such a brazen thing?