A full day had passed, and the innards of the Banana Worm bait had long since been completely devoured by the three Cao Fish.
If they wanted to continue using the fishing trap, they would have to put in new bait, but this problem was solved once Qin Tian finished processing the three Cao Fish.
He put the fish guts into a bottle, then sank the fishing trap back into its original spot.
If luck was on their side, by early morning the next day, this fishing trap would provide them with breakfast.
This was the advantage of traps: no need to guard them constantly, just check periodically.
As long as the trap itself wasn’t damaged, it could be reused indefinitely.
***
Meanwhile, Ye Lin had cleaned the Coconut Crab and returned to the camp.
She gathered some stones from the stream and built a simple stove, then placed the stone slab they had previously used to roast Banana Worms across it, turning it into a stone pot.
This was a Coconut Crab—the meat was hard-earned and naturally couldn’t be treated carelessly.
But Ye Lin did this because she didn’t want to throw the crab directly into the fire and end up eating a mouthful of ash.
Back at the camp, Qin Tian spotted the stove at once and was immediately surprised. “You made this? Impressive, really impressive.”
“Why, surprised?” Ye Lin’s expression darkened slightly; she could guess why Qin Tian was shocked.
“Not at all, no reason to be. You’re overthinking it,” Qin Tian coughed dryly, a little less confident.
To be honest, Qin Tian’s impression of Ye Lin as the School Flower was that she came from a wealthy family and wouldn’t be involved in such practical matters.
But now it seemed his assumptions were narrow-minded.
Holding up the fish, Qin Tian changed the subject, “By the way, what do you think this is?”
“Fish!”
Seeing the three Cao Fish in Qin Tian’s hand, Ye Lin was delighted.
She was already content having caught the Coconut Crab today, and now there were three fish as well.
***
Night fell, and Qin Tian and Ye Lin sat by the stove, each holding half a coconut shell containing scattered fish bones.
The three Cao Fish had already been eaten by the two of them earlier.
The firewood blazed fiercely beneath the stone pot, and the Coconut Crab gradually turned bright red.
Soon, a tantalizing aroma of coconut filled the air.
The Coconut Crab weighed a full nine pounds.
Even though half of that weight was shell, the remaining meat was enough to satisfy both Qin Tian and Ye Lin.
Not to mention, the crab meat was more plentiful than expected—even the smallest legs were packed with meat when broken open.
Once cooled a bit, they cracked the giant crab claws with stones, revealing the fluffy meat inside.
Taking a bite, a sweet flavor exploded on the tongue, filled with the fresh scent of coconut juice.
The taste was indescribably delicious.
They both agreed it was the best food they’d had in three days.
Lost in the delight of the crab meat, Qin Tian and Ye Lin worked hard.
After a whirlwind of activity, they collapsed onto the ground, content, digesting and savoring the meal.
***
Thinking of something, Qin Tian turned away and covered himself with several Banana Leaves.
When they had gone to the Banana Plantation earlier, they had brought back a lot of leaves.
Most had been spread on the ground; the rest were used as blankets.
Banana Leaves weren’t warm, but at least they provided some insulation.
“I’m going to sleep first. Wake me up in the middle of the night,” Qin Tian said.
Ignoring whether Ye Lin agreed or not, Qin Tian curled up, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
He was exhausted.
Seeing this, Ye Lin was about to speak but saw Qin Tian was already asleep, so she swallowed the words.
She moved closer to Qin Tian and picked up the Stone Axe, staying alert.
From the moment Qin Tian fell asleep, the forest seemed terrifying.
The dark corners beyond the reach of light appeared to conceal lurking beasts.
The night was quiet—so quiet it was unnerving.
The moon hung high at midnight.
After staying awake for so long, Ye Lin wasn’t sleepy at all.
Her nerves were tightly wound, every rustle of grass or breeze making her shiver with fear.
In such a state, how could she feel drowsy?
***
Suddenly, a hand rested on Ye Lin’s shoulder.
Startled, she almost shouted, but Qin Tian quickly covered her mouth.
“It’s me!”
Hearing his voice, Ye Lin exhaled and playfully punched him. “I haven’t called you yet, why did you wake up by yourself?”
Not wanting to break the night’s silence or wake any sleeping beasts, their voices were hushed.
Qin Tian smiled. “You sleep. I’ll keep watch.”
“Are you well rested?” Ye Lin looked at him hesitantly, “How about I keep watch tonight? I already slept through last night.”
Qin Tian waved his hand dismissively.
Ye Lin stopped persuading and handed him the Stone Axe, then lay down nearby.
Only then could she fall asleep peacefully.
***
Still tired, Qin Tian yawned.
The exhaustion of the past two days couldn’t be dispelled by just a few hours of sleep, especially since he had only slept the first half of the night.
Anyone who had kept watch at night knew that sleeping the first half was uneasy—you were always thinking about the shift change.
Sleeping the second half was more comfortable and better suited to the body’s rhythms.
That was why Qin Tian had insisted on sleeping the first half—to take care of Ye Lin.
Sitting by the fire, Qin Tian zoned out for a moment.
After a while, he picked up a stick and dug out some stones they had prepared, tossing them into a coconut shell filled with raw water.
“Sizzle—”
Steam rose as the water began to boil.
After repeating several times, the water boiled fully.
Though the water, once clear, was now somewhat murky from the ashes on the stones, at that temperature, there was no worry about bacteria.
He plucked a few mint leaves and threw them into the water, brewing a simple cup of mint tea.
Taking a sip, Qin Tian felt much more refreshed, his body warming up.
This mint tea was surprisingly effective.
The night was still cold.
Adding a few more sticks to the fire, Qin Tian turned to look at Ye Lin.
The firelight flickered on his solemn face.
He had thought Ye Lin was optimistic, but seeing the dullness in her eyes today made him realize he was wrong.
Her cheerfulness was just a facade.
In truth, Ye Lin had reached a breaking point.
Qin Tian was certain the double blow of the Shipwreck and being stranded on the Deserted Island had overwhelmed her mental endurance.
To protect herself, Ye Lin’s mind had unconsciously begun self-hypnosis.
Deep down, she kept telling herself a Search and Rescue Team would arrive within three days.
That belief was the only thing giving her hope to keep going.
Today was their third day on the Deserted Island.
According to Ye Lin’s understanding, the rescue team should have arrived by now.
But the reality was different, leaving her on the verge of collapse.
Fortunately, Qin Tian had already prepared Ye Lin for this possibility and had reassured her with words today, extending her mental endurance to a week.
That had kept her from falling apart completely.
But it was only a temporary fix.
Qin Tian worried—if after four days the rescue team still hadn’t found them, would Ye Lin’s hope shatter?
Would he still be able to use suggestion to keep her fighting?
The thought weighed heavily on his heart.
No matter how much he thought, Qin Tian couldn’t find a better way to comfort Ye Lin.
He would have to take things one step at a time.
Shaking his head, he pushed those worries aside.
***
With a thought, he summoned the System and opened the Mall page.
His eyes scanned the items as he considered what to buy.
He wanted to choose the product that would be most helpful in their current situation.
There were no explanations for the Mall’s goods, but their names were straightforward enough to guess their functions.
Soon, Qin Tian locked onto the book titled Wildcraft Compendium.
Among all the purchasable items, this was the only one he believed would truly benefit them.
Without hesitation, Qin Tian pressed the purchase button on the screen.
“Ding—Purchase successful.”
“Ding—System is delivering the product.”
At the sound, Qin Tian immediately felt intense stabbing pain in his head.
Having experienced this before, Qin Tian braced himself, biting his teeth hard and making no sound.
“Ding—Host has successfully received the product.”
The pain in his head gradually faded until it disappeared.
Unlike when he had received the previous two books, after receiving the Wildcraft Compendium, Qin Tian could clearly feel a surge of information flooding his mind.
Thinking it over, a wealth of information about improving life in the wild and crafting methods filled his thoughts.
Realizing this, Qin Tian’s face lit up with excitement.
If they could make all those items, not only could they survive here for a month, but even a whole year wouldn’t be a problem.
“Ding—Host’s first purchase successful. Extra draw lottery chance awarded.”
Excited, the System’s voice sounded again.
Instinctively, Qin Tian looked up and saw a lottery wheel appear on the Mall page, displaying various goods.
Notably, at its center was a label marked Luck Value.
Looking closely, the words Draw Lottery appeared at the bottom right of the Mall page but were very inconspicuous and easy to miss among the many products.
According to the instructions on the lottery wheel, drawing once would cost 1,000 Points.
The higher the Luck Value, the better the chance of winning good items.
Since this was Qin Tian’s first purchase, the System had rewarded him with one free draw lottery chance.
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