Chapter 235: Long-Awaited Wilderness Survival

The first morning of wilderness survival.

Both of them got up very early.

Chen Shu paced back and forth along the beach, pinching his chin with his hand, thinking about how to construct a device to extract fresh water from seawater—the thought that he could use his own wisdom to obtain a continuous supply of fresh water and solve the imminent fresh water crisis for himself and Qingqing gave him a huge sense of accomplishment.

Make full use of the things he brought.

Pot, stove, mineral water bottles, etc.

Make full use of the things available on the island.

What is on the island is not yet known.

Make full use of the power of Spells and Runes.

"Hmm..."

Chen Shu walked back and forth four or five times and finally had a preliminary idea, but when he turned his head to look—

Qingqing was standing just over ten meters behind him, holding a toothbrush in one hand and a bottle of mineral water in the other, brushing her teeth while looking at him expressionlessly; just as he looked toward her, she happened to take a swig of mineral water.

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

"Pfft!"

Alright, there is no fresh water crisis for the time being.

Chen Shu's mental plan was shelved.

Ning Qing glanced at him:

"You aren't brushing your teeth?"

"I have the Tooth Cleaning Technique."

"?"

"A type of Spell that uses ultrasonic waves to remove plaque; using it every few days can ensure dental health, ten thousand times healthier than brushing."

"So how many days do you go between brushing?"

"This is an emergency, isn't it! Usually, I use a toothbrush at home too..." Chen Shu paused, "The Tooth Cleaning Technique can also be used every day."

"Did you not bring a toothbrush?"

"... Forgot it on the ship."

"I brought one."

"That works."

The Tooth Cleaning Technique is naturally useful, but it's better when paired with a toothbrush and toothpaste; it can be fragrant.

Chen Shu walked toward Qingqing.

He saw Qingqing take the toothbrush she had just used, flick it casually to shake the water off, and hand it to him expressionlessly.

Chen Shu:???

"Don't want it?"

"..."

Chen Shu twitched the corner of his mouth as he took it, unable to help but say: "You're so capable..."

Ning Qing ignored him.

A few minutes later.

Chen Shu handed the toothbrush back to Qingqing; Qingqing looked at the bristles, looking a bit disgusted. Chen Shu pretended not to see it and began walking around again. Meanwhile, Qingqing boiled a pot of water, preparing to cook two bowls of noodles to eat.

Chen Shu quickly caught a bird, sat down cross-legged at the edge of the beach and the jungle, closed his eyes, and let the large bird soar with the wind at an altitude of a thousand meters.

With the help of the bird's vision, he saw the entire island.

Yes, this is an island.

The area is not small, but it is not very large either.

The reason the beach is almost endless to the eye is that the island is shaped like a long, thin strip; their current position is just on the west side of the island, only about ten kilometers from the southernmost tip, separated in the middle by cliffs hugging the sea. Looking north, one naturally cannot see the end, and looking east, the view is blocked by that huge volcano behind it; in fact, the distance between east and west is only twenty or thirty kilometers, while north to south is at least one or two hundred kilometers long.

There are many lakes on it, though it is unknown if they are fresh water.

Generally speaking, the possibility of small islands having freshwater lakes is lower, while large islands and volcanic islands have a higher possibility.

To think it is an island...

Then it is not Nanzhou.

Chen Shu fell into deep thought.

It might be some uninhabited island near Nanzhou Island.

Because the map he looked at before was too small, and the island was also small and uninhabited, it wasn't marked on the map?

That does make sense.

In any case, it certainly isn't far from Nanzhou Island, because the dragon whale didn't take them for very long, maybe just an hour or two; it's just that the light under the sea was dim and severely lacked reference points, making it difficult to estimate the dragon whale's speed and the specific time.

If that is truly the case, then perhaps with luck, they could encounter passing ships, at which point a few shots of the Tracer Technique would be enough to attract their attention.

At worst, a Small Blazing Sun Art.

It's just that he doesn't know how long he will have to wait.

But there is another problem—

This island seems to be shrouded in an unknown power, very likely a power surpassing the Ninth Stage, causing many of the Secret Sect's abilities to fail here.

Surpassing the Ninth Stage...

The only things Chen Shu can think of for now are the Square Body and the shattered and lost origin of the Reed God.

He opened his eyes.

The pot in front of Qingqing was already boiling, white steam appearing in the cold morning air; she held a handful of noodles, tilting her head slightly, as if recalling how much Chen Shu usually eats or how much he puts in when he cooks noodles; time seemed to freeze briefly right there.

"Two pinches is enough, let's eat a little less; we have a limited supply of these noodles. I'll go down to the sea to see if I can get something to fill the gap."

"You still need to season it."

"..." Chen Shu twitched the corner of his mouth; this girl even wanted him to handle the seasoning, "Then wait for me to come up before you cook."

"Okay."

"Go pick two coconuts."

"Okay."

Ning Qing turned the fire down to the lowest setting and watched as he took off his shirt and jumped into the water.

A few minutes later.

He came back up, holding two small spiny lobsters and two sea cucumbers in his hands, walking over step by step.

"Impressive, right?"

"..."

"Move."

Ning Qing silently stepped aside.

Chen Shu took over the makeshift stove.

Half an hour later.

Two bowls of seafood noodles were fresh out of the pot.

The sand table and stools built last night had already crumbled, and Chen Shu only glanced at them, too lazy to rebuild them; he sat down right where he was, eating while saying, "I saw a lot of abalone and oysters under the sea just now; which one do you want to eat?"

"Abalone, sweet and sour style."

"Abalone isn't suitable for sweet and sour, but it can be made sweet and savory, similar to the flavor of fish-flavored eggplant or Fish-flavored Shredded Pork."

"I like that too."

"Alright then."

Chen Shu slurped his noodles while saying, "After we finish eating, let's go for a walk and see what's on this island, whether there are any wild fruits, wild vegetables, or plants we can use. I estimate I won't be able to explore this island in a few days, and we still need to find a suitable place to build a house."

They had talked until very late last night and just slept on the beach.

If they were going to stay for a few more days, they had to be a bit more particular, at least to satisfy Chen Shu's joy for wilderness survival.

Although Chen Shu knew the "Travel Living Technique," a modern Spell modified from "Traveling Hostel," which could directly use earth-based methods to build a house, a structure made purely of condensed sand could only be supported by Spirit Power; when Spirit Power was present, it was comparable to concrete, but once the Spirit Power dissipated, it would crumble.

Using only soil wouldn't hold up for long either.

Essentially, it was for emergencies during travel, without considering long-term habitation.

To make it last, the Spell could only serve as an aid; he still had to do the work himself, adding some wood or bamboo structural supports into the soil.

He also had to consider waterproofing.

Chen Shu was just thinking about it and...

Full of anticipation!!

"Hiccup~"

Finished the noodles and let out a satisfied burp.

Then opened a coconut to drink; perfect.

One hour later.

The two passed through dense forests, heading toward the lake on the island.

Chen Shu walked very slowly, scouting as he went.

This island was rich in species, a paradise for wild animals.

Along the way, the most common things they saw were various tropical birds, followed by insects, lizards, snakes, and monkeys, but Chen Shu also saw muntjacs, deer, and something that might have been a wild boar or a Sword Boar; furthermore, he had seen flying exotic beasts when they arrived yesterday.

He also saw quite a bit of fruit; besides coconuts, there were a type of plantain and wild cherry tomatoes, as well as unknown fruit varieties, though he didn't know if they were tasty.

There was no lack of wild vegetable varieties.

There were fungi too.

It seemed there was plenty to eat.

Chen Shu calculated as he walked.

The two soon arrived in front of the lake.

The lake was large and clear, bottomless, and the banks were covered in the footprints of wild animals, which was enough to prove it was a freshwater lake.

Chen Shu still drew some water from the lake to taste; it was indeed a freshwater lake, and he immediately began to examine the footprints on the bank—in truth, he didn't possess the skill to identify animals by their tracks, but looking down carefully like this, the vibe was just right.

"Expert Chen, any findings?"

The person who liked to tear down his act had arrived.

Chen Shu pretended not to hear and said to her, "I think it's better if we stay closer to the beach; the forest isn't great, and being near the beach makes it convenient for us to catch seafood, watch the stars and sunset, and observe passing ships. If we run low on fresh water, or need to bathe or wash clothes, we can just come here when needed."

"Okay."

"Then let's find a place closest to here that's suitable for camping, and use a Spell to build a simple house to shelter us from the wind and rain."

"Mm."

"Let's go..."

Chen Shu identified the direction and walked in front again to clear the path, walking out of the jungle.

They hadn't gone far when they actually encountered a Sword Boar.

This Sword Boar was almost identical to the ones at Qingshan Ridge; its whole body was pitch black, its build wild and sturdy, its snout sharp and body large, its shoulders arched high, its hair like needles, its tusks like spikes, and a row of bone Swords growing along its spine; it weighed over a ton.

But it wasn't as worldly-wise as its cousins at Qingshan Ridge; it seemed it had never suffered from human hunting, and it even dared to lock eyes with the two of them.

At this moment, the Sword Boar had no power to resist before Chen Shu, but considering he hadn't eaten enough seafood yet and had no refrigerator, Chen Shu only placed a Tracking Rune on it and said goodbye.

The two came to the coast and searched for a while at the junction of the beach and the jungle, finding a relatively suitable spot.

"We'll make one bedroom, one kitchen, one bathroom, two toilets..."

"Two bedrooms."

"Well, you, Secretary Ning! I pour my heart and soul out to you, yet you actually guard against me like this!"

"..."

Chen Shu began to busy himself according to a plan.

First, he used his Agricultural Large-scale Tree-felling Technique to ravage the surrounding area several times, clearing away all the weeds and small trees, and even plowing the ground, clearing out an open space and cleaning everything up before releasing the True Fire Technique; this not only burned away the remaining plants on the ground but also made the soil dry and hard, killing the germs and insect eggs hidden within the soil.

Immediately after, Chen Shu went to chop down trees of various sizes, cut them into suitable shapes, inserted them deep into the ground, and set up the outline of the house.

He used the Travel Living Technique to gather earth into a house, wrapping these skeletons within it.

This way, it would be a bit sturdier.

During this time, Qingqing walked leisurely along the coastline barefoot, looking down to search for oysters and abalones on the reefs by the shore.

There were more reefs here than over there, making it more suitable for the growth of abalones and oysters.

Plus, this was an uninhabited island, and usually, no one came to forage for seafood or put on a show, so the seaside produce was far richer than imagined. Before they grew tired of eating them, this beach alone was enough to satisfy the mouths and stomachs of the two.