"So many fish? You caught all these?"
Su Mandong looked astonished, unable to believe that Lin Qianyi and the others had managed to get so many fish so easily.
"Two were caught in a trap. The rest were fished," Lin Qianyi replied.
"Even for professional sea anglers, it wouldn't be easy to catch this many fish in such a short time, even near a large school and with enough equipment," He Yanghui muttered thoughtfully. "I can only say the ecosystem here is very rich… though it's also a bit unusual. Could it be the spawning season? Is this their breeding ground? But the season doesn't match…"
"Old He, you're not a scholar. Why overthink it?" Su Mandong chuckled. "The important thing is we no longer have to worry about food."
"True. These aren't problems we need to solve," He Yanghui smiled. "We can't finish all this fish at once. Let's process the excess smoke and air-dry the meat. We can keep the fish intestines and guts too, and maybe render a little fish oil..."
Under He Yanghui's direction, everyone sprang into action.
Though the wooden knives they'd made were normally only good for cutting grass, they sufficed for handling fish.
It was a day of abundance. Everyone ate their fill a rare moment.
That evening, they began discussing the possibility of relocating.
The other side of the island clearly had more resources. Constantly going back and forth to transport materials was troublesome. Making the other shore their base would be much easier.
Still, they needed to explore first.
He Yanghui planned to go with Lin Qianyi's group.
When building the raft, they had considered weight, so three people could ride it together.
Day 11.
The three men set out and reached the other side of the island.
When He Yanghui saw the absurdly large school of fish, he was stunned.
He'd seen migratory and spawning fish before so many they looked like grains of sand.
But this school wasn't any smaller.
It defied common sense.
The fish were of many different species, not just one type and some were even natural enemies.
Yet here, their predatory instincts seemed dampened. They all followed the same path deeper into the lake, rarely attacking each other. They would enter and exit the lake in cycles.
"Is it a magnetic field issue?" he murmured.
There was no answer, but one thing was certain: this place was ideal for gathering food and surviving.
The coconut grove near the shore was part of a rich ecosystem. Deeper in, there was dense vegetation, and He Yanghui even spotted banana trees and the long-desired bamboo grove.
With bamboo, they could make more tools.
It's a tough and versatile material easy to work with. It could significantly improve their quality of life.
Nearby, they also found a good water source: a natural spring trickling out from the earth.
Farther in, thorn-covered paths stretched toward the island's interior.
But even without exploring further, what they had found already justified moving camp.
"Let's prepare to move supplies. Bring only what's necessary mostly tools," He Yanghui said.
Once they decided, it took them two days to move the camp.
There wasn't much worth carrying just some bottles, tools, and the broken lifeboat. The rest they left.
They ferried people and tools first, then began building shelters at the new base.
With plenty of food, everyone was motivated.
Finally, there was a glimmer of hope for escape.
On an empty stomach, it's impossible to imagine working together to make escape tools.
That day, Lin Qianyi found another mushroom.
Even though food was no longer scarce, it helped improve flavor.
It was a [Common] quality mushroom again. Lin felt like he'd been pretty lucky so far.
Otherwise, by now, he should've drawn a [Poor] one.
Trait: [Excellent Taste]
> [Excellent Taste]: It tastes better.
Well, not as good as "Delicious," but still useful.
That night, he cooked it with fish and planted a new spore.
People noticed the mushroom didn't taste as good as last time but no one questioned it.
They figured they had just been too hungry before and hallucinated.
After all, when you're starving, even plain bread tastes like heaven.
---
Day 13.
Their new base was shrouded in smoke, as large amounts of fish were being smoked. Nearby, Rena and Su Mandong were preparing fish, Lin Qianyi was weaving baskets with bamboo, He Yanghui was helping out, and Zhou Hong was gathering firewood and carrying over bamboo from afar.
No one recognized the bamboo species, but some stalks were as thick as an arm, others just a few fingers. Heights ranged from 10 to 20 meters.
They were quite flexible and suitable for crafting.
"Guess what I found?" Zhou Hong returned with a heavy bag full of items.
"Bamboo shoots?" Lin Qianyi noticed the tip poking out.
He actually had some bamboo seeds in his space inventory he had tried to collect every common species when gathering earlier.
"Yep, there's a whole patch over there," Zhou Hong said.
He opened the bag several large shoots, each as thick as an adult's arm, and 30–40 cm tall.
"Is this the right season for bamboo shoots?" Su Mandong asked.
She didn't know much about plants but felt it wasn't the right time.
"It depends on the species and environment. Some grow in winter, spring, or summer. We're in August, so if this variety shoots in summer to early fall, it's normal," He Yanghui explained.
"Well, lucky us! Didn't we get some fish oil yesterday? I'll make bamboo shoots with fish slices," Lin Qianyi said.
"College boy, can you even cook?" Su Mandong teased.
"College students can do anything!" Lin Qianyi retorted.
"Then we're counting on your cooking, Qianyi," He Yanghui laughed.
He peeled the shoots, keeping the tender yellow-white parts and trimming off the green.
From the amount of green, Lin deduced this was mid-season for the shoots. A little later and they'd be gone; earlier and they wouldn't have sprouted yet.
So they'd arrived just in time.
The trial set by the main god was generous.
Even if Lin Qianyi hadn't handled the group conflict well or secured strong allies, as long as he had the courage to explore and the will to survive, they would make it.
He boiled the shoots briefly to remove bitterness, preheated the fish on a stone slab, then stir-fried the sliced shoots in sizzling fish oil, added the fish slices, and finally splashed in some coconut juice…
"Ta-da~!" Lin Qianyi announced as he served it. "Stir-Fried Bamboo Shoots with Coconut Fish Slices! Please enjoy!"
"I'll try!"
"Me too!"
Everyone grabbed chopsticks.
Su Mandong raised her brows. "Surprisingly good. The bitterness is just right, still crisp. The fish isn't overcooked, just enough. The coconut juice brightens the flavor amazing, even without seasoning. You sure you're not studying culinary arts instead of botany?"
"Nah, I just cook a lot," Lin Qianyi replied with a modest grin.
That was true. In both his past and present lives, he had lived alone. He had over 20 years of cooking experience he'd studied four entire home-cooking recipe books.
Su Mandong nailed the key points in her critique she clearly knew her food.
"Save me some!"
Seeing everyone dig in, Su Mandong quickly joined in the chopstick battle.
Lin Qianyi was starting to realize his role in the group
Clearly, the cook.
---
That night.
The moon hung high in the sky, stars scattered across it.
Lin Qianyi sat by the shore, full and a little melancholy.
Humans shouldn't eat too much it made them overthink.
Suddenly, he spotted a blonde girl hugging her knees a little distance away.
Come to think of it, he hadn't interacted much with Rena. He didn't know much about her.
She seemed introverted rarely spoke, and when she did, it was always brief.
He walked over and sat down beside her.
"Did you eat enough?" he asked.
"Mm," she answered softly.
"Missing home?" he asked, then added before she replied, "I do. I always complained about how crappy everything was back home but now that I'm away, I realize how precious it all was... By the way, you're from Marjovia? Which region?"
"Brutanstaan," Rena replied.
"Never heard of it. Got any good food?"
"Nothing as good as Xianghao," Rena said.
"What do you usually eat then?"
"Flatbread, smoked sausages, big loaves of bread, roasted black goose, apple jam..." she listed.
"Sounds pretty delicious to me," Lin Qianyi smiled. "When we get out of here, I'll come visit your place. Can you treat me to all that?"
Rena looked at him.
He was different from the others.
Always so confident, so sunny like he was certain they'd get out of here.
Even He Yanghui didn't have that kind of certainty.
"Can we really leave?" Rena murmured.
"Of course. I promise," Lin Qianyi said, extending his pinky. "Let's do a pinky promise I swear I'll get you out of here."
"Pinky promise?" Rena asked, confused.
"It's a childhood promise from my hometown," Lin explained. "You hook your pinkies together, make a vow, and you mustn't break it. Wanna try?"
Rena cautiously extended her right pinky and linked it with his.