Chapter 7: Everyone Got Diarrhea

Although there were many general abalone, they clung very tightly, and after the two of them spent an hour smashing them together they only managed to collect a plastic bag of general abalone, which yielded very little edible meat once the shells were removed.

“Huh? This little bit wouldn’t even fill the gaps in my teeth; I really want to eat black gold abalone.”

Li Chenfeng shook his head helplessly and said, “Ning, heroine, we’re not here on vacation; having something to eat is good enough, and staying alive is the most important thing.”

“Oh, of course I know; I’m just venting a little.”

When they returned to the shelter, they saw that the weeds and fallen leaves around the shelter had been swept clean, a ring of wood ash had been scattered around the perimeter, and a large bundle of firewood had been stacked beside the fire.

It felt a bit like home!

“Wow, Xinyao, did you do all this? It feels so much more spacious now.”

“Yes, Senior, you are really so capable.”

“Hehe, I just wanted our place to be a little more comfortable.”

“But Xinyao, why did you scatter a ring of ash around here?”

“Wood ash can be used as fertilizer to improve seed germination rates, and it can also disinfect and prevent pests, so I thought there would definitely be lots of bugs here and came up with this method.”

Li Chenfeng was quite surprised by that, because Lu Xinyao usually appeared to be a wealthy young lady who had never done manual work, so how could she know such things?

“Ah, but how did you know that?”

“Hehe, that was thanks to watching a few episodes of some variety shows; I learned it from the people in the show.”

“When I get back I’ll binge-watch it too.”

Li Chenfeng complimented, “You put your learning to use; no wonder you are our school’s top student and school beauty.”

Ning Jingjing blinked and looked at Li Chenfeng expectantly and said, “What about me? What about me?”

“You? You’re just the mischievous school beauty.”

“Hmph, I’m ignoring you then,” Ning Jingjing said, tilting her head and pretending to be angry.

“Alright, let’s pack our things and cook it to eat; I’m starving.”

Ning Jingjing grinned wickedly and said, “Let me see if your chest is really pressed up against your back,” then leered and tried to touch Lu Xinyao’s chest.

Lu Xinyao went pale and clutched her chest tightly, saying, “Ah, how are you even more perverted than Chenfeng?”

“Why would you say that about me? Well then…”

“Ah! Pervert!” Lu Xinyao shouted as she ran toward the beach.

“Hahahahaha…”

After the roughhousing the group felt even hungrier, and after Li Chenfeng had upgraded Constitution he was noticeably better at enduring hunger, though he still ate in front of the two of them to replenish energy so as not to reveal any weakness.

They boiled the general hat in seawater, then removed the meat and washed away the sand before skewering it on sticks and roasting it to eat.

『Please light a fire before sunset to ward off the cold.: Task completed, Stamina +10! Talent +10!』

Lu Xinyao happily put a piece of meat into her mouth, but as time passed her expression gradually froze.

“Xinyao, what’s wrong? Isn’t it good?”

Ning Jingjing also immediately ate a piece and then fell silent.

“How should I put it? It tastes like I’m eating a tire.”

“Yeah, it’s true we got meat, but it’s too hard on the teeth.”

Li Chenfeng, half skeptical, took a bite and said, “Hmm… it really is like eating a shoe sole.”

The three of them stared blankly with vacant expressions, their lips twitching like three grass-eating rabbits, and after breakfast Li Chenfeng opened three coconuts to replenish fluids, since their only freshwater source was the island’s coconuts and they did not know whether those would last until rescue arrived.

Thinking about last night, Li Chenfeng said, “I’ve decided to upgrade the shelter by building three walls so at night we can block the sea wind and it won’t be as cold.”

“So what do we need to do?”

“Mm, you two collect large broad leaves from around here… the more the better… I’ll go into the jungle and gather vines.”

“Okay!”

Without further ado, Li Chenfeng strode quickly into the woods, and while collecting vines he clearly felt much stronger… what used to require finding a stone to grind and break the base now only took a strong tug.

Back at the shelter he connected the vines from the first left post to the second left, then to the second right, and finally to the first right, repeating the pattern so that there was an even gap between each vine.

“We’re back.”

The two of them carried a large, full armful of large broad leaves, and one asked, “Chenfeng, is that enough?”

“Hmm, it’s probably not enough; I’ll show you how to do it, and I’ll go find the rest of the leaves.”

“Thread the leaf through the first vine, fold it over, and place the blade completely outside the second vine; do the same with the leaves on the second vine and fold them over the third, with the first vine’s leaves on top, and so on… do you understand?”

The two nodded and said, “Understood!”

After two hours of hard work the three of them finally finished the shelter’s walls, and Li Chenfeng carefully filled the gap at the bottom with dirt.

“There, that way the cold wind won’t blow through at night.”

Ning Jingjing and Lu Xinyao walked all the way around the shelter and were very satisfied with their handiwork.

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

Huh? There’s such a hidden feature! This task’s reward was doubled, and Li Chenfeng felt delighted, although hidden tasks weren’t revealed, so finding one was just a bonus.

Lu Xinyao and Ning Jingjing walked into the shelter to look around and said, “Nice, look at those rows of leaf walls all neat and uniform; they’re quite pretty.”

“Mm! Chenfeng’s idea is really good.”

“Of course; not only does it block the wind but it also sheds rain… if it rains, the droplets will run down the leaves just like the principle of a straw raincoat.”

Lu Xinyao thought to herself, (This is much more useful than what I used to read.)

“Uh,” Lu Xinyao was still lost in her own thoughts when a loud bang split the silence, and she felt as if the area behind her had deflated like a punctured balloon.

When she looked back, Li Chenfeng and Ning Jingjing were both staring at her in shock, her ears instantly flushed, and she grabbed a dried Jierou tissue wrapper from her black backpack before running to the other side of the beach.

Li Chenfeng immediately realized what had happened and said, “Be careful, don’t go to damp, dark places.”

Lu Xinyao understood what Li Chenfeng meant and mumbled quietly as she ran, “I’m so embarrassed, I’m so embarrassed.”

Finding a patch of open ground, Lu Xinyao immediately squatted down to relieve herself.

“Phew~ that’s better.”

Having just finished and stepped out of the bushes she was barely two paces before her stomach started to hurt again, and with a pained expression Lu Xinyao dove back into the undergrowth.

Ning Jingjing, who had been teasing Lu Xinyao moments before, suddenly found her own stomach betraying her and it began to gurgle.

“See, that’s karma for you.”

“Huh? Is there any paper left?”

“No, that’s it, just that one pack.”

“Ah! I can’t help it.”

Ning Jingjing ran off toward the other side of the beach again.

Li Chenfeng’s mouth twitched and he asked, “Did you two plan this together?”