Li Hao Chen was a great admirer of survival and adventure television shows, deeply influenced by Bear Grylls and Les Stroud.
Upon returning to the cave, Li Hao Chen, on a whim, attempted Bear Grylls' fire-starting technique. However, after half an hour of struggling, his hands trembled with pain. In a fit of frustration, he kicked the pile of firewood, scattering it into pieces.
"Damn it, why am I bothering with friction fire when I have a lighter?"
He arranged dry twigs into a teepee shape, placing dry leaves at the bottom. With a flick of his lighter, the leaves ignited, and soon the small twigs caught fire with a crackling sound.
Slowly, he added larger pieces of dry wood. The fire grew steadily, illuminating the entire cave and increasing the temperature significantly.
With an abundance of firewood, Li Hao Chen also started a fire two meters outside the cave entrance. The dark, deserted island seemed to brighten, and a distant light always brought a sense of comfort.
The night sky was exceptionally clear that evening, filled with a multitude of stars. The wind on the island was quite strong, and without the fire, it would have been rather chilly.
Li Hao Chen sat by the cave entrance, his mind gradually calming. He entered a state of tranquil meditation. After a while, he checked his phone, which showed no signal, and realized it was only 8:30 PM.
He added a few larger logs to the fire, then picked up his flashlight and bucket and headed towards the beach. As soon as he arrived, he heard a rustling sound. Shining his light, he saw large, plump sand crabs busily digging their burrows, and their numbers were immense.
Li Hao Chen grinned, feeling as joyful as a wolf in a flock of sheep. Before long, a chilling symphony echoed across the desolate island, more terrifying than the island itself.
"This is truly a great place. I haven't encountered such plump sand crabs in many years," Li Hao Chen exclaimed, holding a female crab the size of a baby's fist.
"Keep going, keep going! Sand crabs make me happy, hehe!"
Li Hao Chen traversed the short hundred-meter stretch of beach back and forth, raking through the sand crabs until he was thoroughly satisfied before returning to the cave.
"Gurgle~"
"I forgot to bring food. I'm such an idiot," Li Hao Chen lightly tapped his forehead, speechless at his own oversight.
He brought the sand crabs into his spatial dimension and poured them onto the beach. He picked a few coconuts and also gathered a few pounds of exceptionally large mussels from the reef.
He pried open the mussels one by one and placed them beside the fire to slowly roast. Within a minute, a hint of the unique, fresh aroma of seafood wafted out, making Li Hao Chen even hungrier.
He picked one up. The shell had already curled upwards, and the mussel meat was still sizzling hot. Li Hao Chen broke off a shell without meat and used its edge to scrape near the spiral base, dislodging the entire mussel meat. He brought it to his lips, blew on it gently, and then poured the meat and juice into his mouth.
Tender and juicy, it was delicious. It would have been even more perfect with some minced garlic.
Perhaps due to extreme hunger, Li Hao Chen devoured all the mussels and still felt unsatisfied. He went back into his spatial dimension and brought out a few more pounds. Drinking coconut juice while eating roasted mussels was an incredible feeling.
Full and content, sleepiness washed over him, but Li Hao Chen dared not sleep yet. He went outside, retrieved the empty cans and rope he had collected from the beach earlier, and set up a simple alarm system outside the cave entrance. After testing it to ensure it was working, he returned to the cave and added a few large logs to the two fires.
After a full day of sailing and several hours of labor on the deserted island, his exhaustion became unbearable. Before long, the cave was filled with deafening snores.
Although the cave was covered with coconut leaves, the sleeping surface was still rather prickly. The next morning, Li Hao Chen woke up with a body full of aches and pains.
"This is so uncomfortable. I really don't know how Bear Grylls and Les Stroud managed to survive for so long in such extreme environments."
Li Hao Chen walked towards the extinguished fire, found some charcoal, crushed it between his index finger and thumb, and rubbed it against his teeth. He had learned this from Bear Grylls to keep his teeth clean and his breath fresh. Since there was no fresh water, Li Hao Chen had to use coconut juice instead. "Gulp gulp gulp, spit~~"
After tidying up the cave, Li Hao Chen had only taken a few steps when his expression changed, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
"Rumble~ Rumble~ Rumble~"
Perhaps he had eaten too many mussels the night before, as his stomach began to churn, followed by agonizing cramps. With the urge to break free, Li Hao Chen gritted his teeth, sweat pouring down his face, clutching his stomach, and clamping his buttocks tightly as he rushed towards the mountainside.
Just as he was about to relieve himself, he suddenly braked, dropped his pants, and squatted in one smooth motion. This was immediately followed by a series of explosive sounds, and the smell was…
Li Hao Chen held his breath. Feeling a slight relief in his stomach, he shuffled forward like a crab and then opened his mouth to take deep breaths.
"Ah... Hoo... Ah... Hoo..."
He squatted for a while, his legs starting to go numb. Seeing that his stomach was no longer causing trouble, he reached into his pocket. "Damn, no paper."
Li Hao Chen's complexion at this moment was even worse than when his stomach was hurting. He hesitated for a moment and had to continue squatting, with his buttocks occasionally letting out small puffs.
After another two minutes, he looked at his hands. An absurd thought flashed through his mind, but thankfully it was just a flash. Li Hao Chen quickly extinguished it, otherwise, he wouldn't know how to face food in the future.
As he was contemplating his predicament, Li Hao Chen spotted a small slope of bamboo a few meters ahead, and his eyes lit up. "Heh heh, I almost forgot about this lifesaver."
Li Hao Chen puckered his buttocks and cautiously shuffled towards the bamboo. He selected an old bamboo stalk, bent it back and forth a few times at the bottom joint, and finally snapped it off. He picked up a small stone nearby and smashed it against the joint, causing it to split into several pieces with a crack.
Li Hao Chen tore off a strip and reached towards his buttocks, gently scraping a few times before flicking it away and grabbing another strip. He repeated this process. After four or five strips, he was clean. He recalled that in ancient times, when there was no toilet paper, this was an essential item, although it was quite scratchy to use, requiring him to keep his buttocks tightly clenched.
Pulling up his pants, Li Hao Chen did not dare to return the way he came. Instead, he squeezed through the dense foliage ahead and returned to the cave. He picked up the dropped knife and then headed up the mountain.
Li Hao Chen was quite curious. He couldn't rest easy without exploring, and with his spatial dimension, he wasn't afraid of danger. At worst, he could slip inside and hide. Although he wasn't afraid of danger, he tightly gripped his small knife, just in case.
The mountain forest was very dense, with trees of varying heights intertwined. Birds were abundant. In the sections Li Hao Chen passed through, he saw many partridges, pheasants, and stone arrows, all so plump they made one's mouth water. Unfortunately, he couldn't hunt them now. If he caught one, he'd be in serious trouble.
However, Li Hao Chen was also excited. He had spent his childhood often going to the mountains to raid bird nests and set traps for a taste of meat.
The trap was very simple. Find a small tree of moderate length with good elasticity, find a branch with a hook, and insert it into the ground. Use a thin rope to make a noose, to which a small wooden stick is tied. One end of the stick is tied to the tip of the elastic small tree.
Pull down the noose, and the rope is caught in a forked groove. Note that the contact point should be close to the ground and small. Place a few sticks at the contact point, place the noose on the sticks, and the trap is ready.