Day eight on the island.
No casualties. No one even showed any signs of illness.
No one had stomach issues or trouble adjusting to the local food and water.
Lin Qianyi felt that their five-person team really was pretty elite.
In the morning, while checking the fish traps and fishing rods, he ate the remaining Xisui Grass.
He could now perform thirty-six of the forty-eight moves in the Three Treasures Auspicious Routine.
No matter what he did, he couldn't complete the final twelve.
His stamina was almost completely drained by the thirty-sixth move.
No matter how strong his willpower, his body simply wouldn't cooperate for the next move.
In theory, if someone could complete all forty-eight moves, that would be the human body's limit.
Still, thirty-six moves meant he was at about seventy interference value already remarkable.
That single Xisui Grass seedling had worked wonders.
But improving further wouldn't be so easy.
The closer one gets to the theoretical limit, the sharper the diminishing returns.
Taking the final steps from ninety to a hundred is dozens of times harder than getting from zero to ninety sometimes downright impossible.
To go further would require talent and resources.
Lin Qianyi stretched. Although he still wasn't at the theoretical peak of eighty interference value like his main body, he was far stronger than his original fragile self.
He could now do a standing backflip on the spot, or single-handedly lift seventy kilograms without effort.
Even if he turned into a zombie, he'd be a pretty tough one.
Nothing much happened during the day.
Su Mandong and Reina had their food rations cut as punishment for stealing food.
The extra portions went to Lin Qianyi and the other two.
Thanks to He Yanghui working harder, their food supplies were now a bit better than before.
Mainly fish.
And some shellfish.
Nearby, there was a cliff wall with lots of barnacle-like creatures attached.
He Yanghui and Zhou Yun used ropes to climb down and harvest them.
It was risky, but they only sent one person down at a time, always secured by two ropes if one snapped, the other would hold as long as nothing else went wrong.
The ropes Lin Qianyi's group had woven weren't as good as factory-made ones, but they'd hold up well enough for now.
That evening, Lin Qianyi's second mushroom matured.
As usual, he harvested it and planted a third one.
He was lucky again it was still normal quality.
But this time, it had a different trait:
[Rocksteady No. 3 (Normal): A large edible fungus. [Delicious]]
[Delicious]: It tastes better.
In a normal situation, he would have been pleased with this trait.
But compared to [Satiating], it was a step down.
Still, it wasn't useless at least it could help restore some sanity.
Mental problems were starting to surface among the group, so having a tasty mushroom could help a bit.
He'd already eaten nearly seventy percent of his first big mushroom.
It went fast, since the [Satiating] trait made each bite worth three regular ones.
If he hadn't been training the Three Treasures Auspicious Routine, he probably would have only used up forty percent by now.
"If there's extra, maybe I can share a bit with the others."
Lin Qianyi thought about how to make its origin look believable.
He'd probably keep producing more in the future.
So he planned to gather some humus from the jungle to disguise it.
He'd just claim he foraged it, and later say he tried cultivating it himself.
The only tricky part was that the growing process was hard to fake.
Plants harvested from his planting space couldn't be replanted there otherwise he could exploit it for infinite traits.
Even seeds from harvested plants couldn't be reused.
His planting space only accepted seeds collected from outside.
In the original game, seeds came from the shop.
In reality, he had to forage them himself, which was much harder.
Also, anything harvested from the planting space couldn't be replanted outside either.
So he couldn't show the cultivation process openly.
Normally, this would be a problem.
But with Su Mandong's incident, he now had an excuse.
He'd just say that, for the good of the team and to prevent stealing, he chose to grow it somewhere hidden.
---
Day nine.
Morning.
Thanks to the good harvest these last two days, breakfast was pretty decent today.
Fish soup, some seaweed, and even fruit.
But when Su Mandong reached for her share, Zhou Yun snapped.
"You can only take half," Zhou Yun said, staring at her.
"I already accepted my punishment! I barely ate anything yesterday or the day before!"
Su Mandong protested, gritting her teeth
.
"But you didn't do your share of the work," Zhou Yun shot back. "Do the work, earn the food."
"Try doing all that work with barely any food!" she retorted.
She didn't want to fight, but waves of hunger forced her to argue for more food.
"That's your problem." Zhou Yun's face was cold.
"Zhou, let it go it's over," He Yanghui tried to smooth things over.
"No! She only gets half!" Zhou Yun insisted, glaring at Su Mandong.
In his eyes, she kept causing problems she did shoddy work, stole food, slacked off, and showed no sign of regret.
To him, it was a waste to give her any food at all he only agreed to half out of respect for He Yanghui.
"I'm doing my best! Don't push it too far!" Su Mandong snapped.
Her eyes flicked to Zhou Yun's ankle a memory surfaced from before they set sail.
She'd been watching the news a broadcast about a fugitive.
"Too far? Did you think about that when you stole food? You can't even weave a fish trap, dig up some soil for a stove, or twist a rope properly! You laze around every day, you're like a leech! You're probably like this outside too! Honestly, even half a cup of fish soup is too good for you!" Zhou Yun slammed her bowl from her hands.
That was the last straw for Su Mandong. She stared at Zhou Yun and shouted:
"Don't think I don't know who you really are, Zhou Hong! You're a murderer who got tricked by a woman! What right do you have to judge me?"
The word murderer stunned He Yanghui.
Lin Qianyi, on the other hand, had half expected it.
Zhou Yun's or rather, Zhou Hong's face twisted with rage. His eyes filled with killing intent as he silently drew his knife.
"See that? This is who he really is! Before we left, I saw the news his real name is Zhou Hong, a murderer! A woman tricked him out of his money, so he killed her! That's why he's picking on me he sees me as his imaginary enemy! This man is antisocial"
"Calm down! Both of you, calm down!" He Yanghui cut in, but things escalated instantly.
Zhou Hong lunged at He Yanghui.
He knew his secret would turn the others against him if he didn't take control.
If he lost control of the situation, he'd be the next target.
He Yanghui reacted fast, guarding his gun at his waist.
He was right Zhou Hong was going for the gun.
In an instant, Zhou Hong grabbed He Yanghui's waist and reached for the weapon.
He Yanghui locked his hand over Zhou Hong's, trying to keep him from pulling it free.
"Calm down! Calm down!" He Yanghui shouted, but Zhou Hong didn't hear him.
Zhou's knife slashed He Yanghui's hand pain forced him to let go, and the gun changed hands.
Before Zhou Hong could celebrate, he felt cold metal against his neck.
"Zhou, don't do anything rash."
Lin Qianyi stood right beside him, the blade of his folding sword at Zhou Hong's throat.
He'd grabbed the sword the moment the fight broke out with a weapon, he could keep things under control.
Zhou Hong's right hand gripped the gun, safety off, aimed straight at He Yanghui.
A tense standoff.
"Zhou, listen to me. We won't do anything to you because of your past. I'm sure you had your reasons no one turns into a beast like that unless they're cornered. I sympathize with you. But this is an island no law here cares about your past. Put down the gun and the knife." Lin Qianyi's voice was calm and steady.
When trying to persuade someone, never ask what they want start from their pain.
As the saying goes: Those who understand me know my sorrow, those who don't only ask what I seek.
He Yanghui, clutching his bleeding hand, chimed in:
"Lin's right. We're not going to hold this against you."
Zhou Hong glanced at He Yanghui, then at Lin Qianyi's steady blade, then at Su Mandong, who was backing away in panic.
"This woman only causes trouble. Let me shoot her!" Zhou Hong barked.
Su Mandong flinched, about to protest, but Lin Qianyi cut in first:
"Zhou! Don't hurt yourself for her! She's not worth it!"
Zhou Hong wanted to kill her, but Lin's words made it sound like he was harming himself. It didn't make sense but it hit Zhou hard.
Lin Qianyi had been watching closely. He knew Zhou Hong wasn't truly antisocial he was simple, loyal, ready to take orders and carry burdens for the group.
If such a man killed someone, it had to be for a reason that weighed on him every day.
Probably someone close to him even loved.
So each day since then, Zhou Hong had lived under that guilt carrying it was its own wound.
In a sense, killing again was just deepening that wound.
"Zhou, put it down. Let it go it's not too late to start over." Lin Qianyi said softly.
His words had two meanings put down the gun and the knife, and put down the guilt in his heart.
Zhou Hong's hand trembled. His voice was hoarse:
"But I killed someone…"
"Here, no one cares about your past," Lin Qianyi said gently. "When we leave this place, you'll have another chance. If there's punishment, there's also redemption. You can start again."
Clatter.
The gun and knife hit the ground at the same time. Zhou Hong at his core was still that honest man. Once his rage faded, killing another person was too much for him.
Lin Qianyi quickly kicked the gun and knife aside.
The crisis, for now, was over.