After three days, Lin Qianyi had consumed all of the Sea God Grass.
And he had successfully completed all 48 movements of the Three Treasures Auspicious Technique.
At this point, he could truly say that this body was no weaker than his original one.
However, Lin Qianyi didn't stop consuming the Sea God Pills just because of that.
Even when he had nothing else to do, he'd take two high-concentration Sea God Pills not necessarily to improve his stats, but just as energy supplements.
He had access to a special supply no need to reduce toxicity or balance the medicinal effects he could just take them straight.
This often left Su Mandong wanting to say something, but stopping herself.
With the help of the Sea God Pills and Lin Qianyi's superhuman physique, their speed at building the wooden raft greatly improved.
What was originally estimated to take six months could now, thanks to Lin Qianyi's "cheating-level" help, be finished in just over a month, or so He Yanghui believed.
"Since we have the extra capacity, let's make it better," Lin Qianyi said.
Originally, they had planned to just piece together some floating boards to drift on the sea, but now Lin Qianyi had new plans.
They wouldn't build a real ship, but at least they could add guard rails, right?
And places to store food and water.
Under everyone's combined effort, the once-simple raft at the shore gradually became more complex.
But not too complex it was still mostly the same overall, just with some simple barriers and two small storage compartments to hold food and water.
Day 51
Lin Qianyi harvested the third Sea God Grass.
Its trait was: Long-Term Storage.
[Long-Term Storage]: Allows items to be preserved for extended periods without spoiling.
This was basically a useless trait practically equivalent to having no trait.
The warehouse already had a space-time stasis effect. Lin Qianyi could leave hot food in there for a month, and it would come out just as fresh.
So from the start, preservation was never a problem.
Besides, Lin Qianyi usually consumed the Sea God Grass quickly after growing it, so this trait had little significance.
Day 56 Morning
Lin Qianyi stood in the morning sun beside a massive wooden raft.
The general structure was now complete. Next was just the detail work reinforcement with wooden rivets and the like.
That was the most delicate part.
In a place with so few tools, even making a basic tool could take a long time.
But Lin Qianyi wasn't in a hurry. He approached it like a life experience just something to pass the time.
Building things was like a hobby. When there really was nothing to do, he could always start a game with Su Mandong.
Among the group, he and Su Mandong were the least concerning in terms of psychological problems.
He Yanghui would sometimes just stare blankly out at the sea.
Zhou Hong was generally fine as long as he had work, his mind wouldn't wander.
Rena, on the other hand, occasionally seemed absent-minded, but not to a worrying degree. Lin Qianyi would often encourage her, promising he'd definitely get her out of there.
She was a simple girl easy to reassure. She was quickly infected by Lin Qianyi's confidence.
Truthfully, Lin Qianyi didn't know for sure whether this plan would lead to salvation. But one thing he was certain of:
He would leave and he would return.
If this attempt failed, next time he'd bring a ship or some kind of signal device, and maybe then, everyone could be saved.
That was the source of his confidence.
Without some glimpse of future success, he'd be lost in confusion too.
---
Later That Night
Around midnight, Su Mandong came knocking on Lin Qianyi's wooden cabin.
The cabin was only about six or seven square meters, with simple furnishings a bamboo bed with minimal polish, a few decorative plants, and a folded sword resting against the wall.
Everyone's small cabins were roughly the same.
"What is it?" Lin Qianyi asked, closing the door.
"I missed you what else?" Su Mandong said, hanging onto him.
"We'll wake them up. And it'll get messy. Didn't we always do this outside?" Lin Qianyi said.
"Like animals. I don't like it."
Without another word, Su Mandong began.
Lin Qianyi couldn't resist and decided to let her "submit."
The bamboo bed creaked loudly it couldn't quite bear the weight of two people.
Although Lin Qianyi's body hadn't changed much in appearance, his muscle density had increased significantly he'd gained around ten kilograms. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to perform such explosive feats of strength.
To prevent the bed from breaking, Lin Qianyi had to switch positions.
---
After a while, Lin Qianyi opened the door, ready to head to the beach with Su Mandong to wash up.
Suddenly, he heard another door.
It was from Rena's cabin.
He Yanghui and Zhou Hong were never so tactless. They already knew about him and Su Mandong without needing to talk about it.
"Looks like we've been discovered," Su Mandong said.
"It was bound to happen."
Lin Qianyi's expression changed slightly he was mainly worried Rena might cause team friction at this crucial moment.
"What? Feeling guilty? Looking at her while eating with me? I can help, you know~" Su Mandong teased.
"Cut it out," Lin Qianyi said irritably.
He didn't plan to hurt that girl. Any earlier "moves" had been just to stabilize the team.
If he really did anything, that'd make him worse than an animal.
He was the same with Wang Xiaoyi. The girl liked him, sure but it was on her, and he would restrain himself. He wouldn't hurt someone who wasn't emotionally mature.
As for Su Mandong?
If a bad woman offers herself willingly he saw no reason to say no or waste it.
Even though Lin Qianyi clearly rejected the idea, Su Mandong had her own thoughts.
On this island, Rena was the best person to ally with.
Now that she knew the secret of the Sea God Grass, Su Mandong would never let her live on her own again. She had to rope her into her own plans.
After all, she figured, Lin Qianyi was a beast. One field or two it didn't matter, he could plow them all.
---
Behind the door, Rena's face was flushed, her thoughts tangled.
She recalled the moment when Lin Qianyi pinky-promised her, teaching her the Three Treasures Auspicious Technique, watching the sunset as she leaned on his shoulder, and the time he brought her a handmade hot water bottle when she wasn't feeling well...
But all those memories were replaced by the image of Lin Qianyi and Su Mandong exiting the cabin disheveled.
And the sounds she'd heard earlier...
Her head was buzzing.
"Too much…"
It felt like betrayal.
She wanted to cry, but didn't even know what for. After all, it had always been one-sided. Lin Qianyi never promised her anything.
She didn't know how long she sat like that before there was a knock at her door.
Rena quickly composed herself.
"Who is it?"
"It's me," said Su Mandong. "Rena, can we talk?"
Rena opened the door to that familiar face.
Once a warm, big-sister figure now somehow irritating.
"Angry?" Su Mandong asked as she stepped inside, glancing at the room. She spotted a flower Lin Qianyi had picked.
"He picked that? He's never given me flowers…"
Rena stared at her silently. The room was dim, lit only by moonlight through the vent. She didn't know what Su Mandong was trying to say.
"After we get out of here, I plan to start a new company," Su Mandong said. "Xiao Yi will be there too. Why don't you join? You can still continue your studies at the company it won't be worse than school."
Rena didn't understand why Su Mandong was acting like nothing happened. She was annoyed, but didn't know exactly why.
"No thanks. I'll find a job myself…"
"Xiao Yi likes you," Su Mandong said.
"Then what about you and him?" Rena asked.
"He likes me too," Su Mandong said without shame. "Can't someone like more than one person?"
"Sure, but…"
Rena trailed off. She couldn't justify it it just felt morally wrong.
Of course, you can like more than one person. But in the end, there should be only one partner.
If Lin Qianyi had chosen Su Mandong, then Rena couldn't be that choice anymore.
"But you should know," Su Mandong said seriously, "We may never leave this place."
"Didn't we build the raft?" Rena asked.
"Even high-tech ships crashed here. What chance do we have with a simple raft? Our survival odds are slim."
"So, we should stop clinging to meaningless constraints and follow our hearts. There might not be a future."
---
Later, Lin Qianyi noticed Rena was unusually distracted.
He figured Su Mandong must've said something she shouldn't have.
"Rena, want to take a walk?" he asked.
"Oh... Okay."
They walked toward the beach together.
"Why have you been so distracted today?" Lin Qianyi asked knowingly.
"Last night... I saw you and Su-jie... Is it true?" Rena asked, tearfully.
Even though she already knew, she wanted to hear it from him.
Lin Qianyi sighed he was amazed by the suspension bridge effect. He hadn't even tried that hard, yet here she was, this affected.
Time for a guilt trip.
"Yeah," Lin Qianyi nodded, feigning melancholy. "If it upset you, I'm sorry. But I've been under a lot of pressure. You know… after Uncle He was injured, I've had to carry the whole team, find food, fight beasts, build the raft… I was just a student before, never dealt with this… I was scared. Mandong-jie comforted me, and I felt a bit better…"
Only then did Rena realize Lin Qianyi was younger than her by a year.
He always acted so optimistic, so reliable…
She had completely forgotten that he was the one who should be cared for.
Yet she had always been the one demanding comfort.
"I'm sorry…"
She held Lin Qianyi's hand.
Suddenly, she understood what Su Mandong meant there might really be no future.
"Why say sorry?" Lin Qianyi gently held her hand and gave a strained smile.
"I don't know…"
Tears rolled down Rena's cheeks.
She did know she was apologizing for adding to his burdens, even while receiving so much care from him.
But she didn't know how to say it.
"I'm sorry too," Lin Qianyi said earnestly. "For making you feel hurt."
When dealing with women especially pure ones don't explain. Just apologize and offer emotional comfort.
That was Lin Qianyi's hard-earned wisdom from his past life.
Hearing his words, Rena couldn't hold it anymore. She hugged him and cried.
Lin Qianyi's arms hovered awkwardly in the air.
After some hesitation, he gently let them fall.
Whatever... When you have too many lice, you stop itching. When you owe too much, you stop worrying.