"Xu Yi, morning."
After waking up, Lu Ke saw Xu Yi twisting his waist outside and greeted him.
"Morning." Xu Yi grinned. Since Lu Ke was awake, he could go fetch water.
After Lu Ke got up, she rolled up her sleeping bag and placed it in her basket.
Xu Yi mentioned that they needed to hurry and find a suitable location to establish a sturdy shelter early today.
"I'll go fetch some water; be cautious." Xu Yi said as he prepared to collect fresh water.
"I'll go. Meanwhile, you gather some tree bark; we'll take it with us." Lu Ke shared her idea.
Xu Yi nodded, handed the pot to Lu Ke, and said, "Take the crossbow with you and stay safe."
"Got it. If anything happens, I'll call for help and run towards you." Lu Ke smiled, completing Xu Yi's unfinished sentence.
"Good to know." Xu Yi grinned and headed towards the nearby umbrella tree with the Engineer Shovel.
Half an hour later, Xu Yi had collected around ten tree barks.
After Lu Ke returned, she immediately started boiling water.
Xu Yi continued gathering tree bark; now that they had a basket, they could carry the bark with them.
The tree bark was light; even with over ten pieces rolled together, it didn't weigh two pounds.
By the time the water boiled and cooled down, another half an hour passed, and Xu Yi had collected another dozen tree barks.
"Xu Yi, the water has cooled; it's ready to drink." Lu Ke cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted to Xu Yi in the distance.
"Okay, I'm coming." Xu Yi peeled off the last piece of bark from the umbrella tree and headed back.
"Do you want to brush your teeth?" Xu Yi asked Lu Ke.
"How do you brush?" Lu Ke blinked a few times, asking in surprise.
"With charcoal; it's not very comfortable." With that, Xu Yi picked up a piece of charcoal, crushed it with his fist, dipped his finger in it, shoved it in his mouth, transforming his finger into a toothbrush, and started brushing.
Lu Ke found it novel and mimicked Xu Yi, dipping some charcoal powder and brushing her teeth.
As Xu Yi mentioned, it wasn't very comfortable.
After a few brushes, Xu Yi rinsed his mouth and drank some water.
Then, he handed the pot to Lu Ke.
Xu Yi rolled the tree bark together and placed it in his basket, along with the smoked large bird, a round basket holding meat, and a plastic water bag, secured with a lid.
He then found two umbrella tree trunks he planned to craft into spears.
Last night, Xu Yi had sharpened the tops, turning them into crude spears over two meters long.
Besides serving as spears, they could be used to scout paths or ward off snakes.
After all, the current weather was exceedingly hot, a season for snake activity.
Encountering them would be fortunate.
Snake meat wasn't just delicious; it was also nourishing.
"Xu Yi, could you check if I brushed thoroughly?" After rinsing, Lu Ke asked Xu Yi.
Girls were naturally more concerned about their appearance.
She'd probably be too embarrassed to smile with yellow teeth.
"Very clean." Xu Yi grinned, not expecting her to focus on this at such a time.
If she had a mirror, she'd likely be very pleased, right?
"Lu Ke, we have two options now: one is to head down and swim from the shore. The other is to go uphill. Girls' intuition tends to be accurate, so I'll let you choose." Xu Yi laid out the two plans, inclined to head uphill.
Lu Ke bit her lip, looked up, then down.
Then, she pointed and said, "Let's strive upward, not downhill." She spoke earnestly with a double entendre.
"Alright, let's extinguish the fire and set off." Xu Yi utilized the Engineer Shovel to cover the firepit with soil, preventing a forest fire.
If it truly ignited, their lives would be in jeopardy, along with the wellbeing of the other 498 group members.
"Let's go." After ensuring everything was in order, Xu Yi began heading uphill.
Lu Ke followed behind Xu Yi, softly humming an unknown tune.
She felt particularly great today, having slept soundly with no headache the previous night.
Earlier when in the hospital, she couldn't sleep without painkillers, and her sleep was shallow.
She felt Xu Yi might be right; her illness might improve in this world.
Naturally, her mood was uplifted, prompting her to hum.
The two climbed steadily upward, only pausing briefly to drink water before continuing onward.
After nearly four hours, they finally reached the summit.
"As expected, it hasn't completely split; it's still intact up here." Xu Yi said gleefully, affirming their choice with Lu Ke.
"Should we go across?" Lu Ke asked while wiping sweat from her forehead.
Her face was slightly flushed due to continuous climbing.
Seeing her rosy complexion, Xu Yi couldn't help swallowing.
Hold back, don't act impulsively!
"Let's eat a bit and have some water first." Xu Yi sat down and lowered his basket.
Then, Lu Ke saw Xu Yi's bare shoulder.
"Xu Yi, your back is red from the straps. I told you to give me some weight, but you wouldn't listen. What if it blistered and got infected?" Lu Ke said with concern and a hint of reproach, as her basket only contained a sleeping bag and pot; everything else was with Xu Yi.
"No worry, I'm a rough man; a little chafe is nothing. If your delicate skin gets chafed, your fans will tear me apart once we complete the challenge and go back." Xu Yi jokingly remarked, indicating he wasn't bothered.
Xu Yi had never backpacked up a mountain with so much load, so being chafed red was quite normal. Especially since he didn't even have clothes on.
Not just Xu Yi; likely Lu Ke's shoulders were also reddened.
"Honestly, your stamina amazes me. You sustained for 3 hours and 49 minutes." Xu Yi said while taking out water in plastic bags and smoked bird meat from his basket, changing the topic.
He was well aware that Lu Ke's physical fitness improvement was due to the Body Enhancement Agent.
If the basic level was this impressive, wouldn't intermediate and advanced levels turn people into superheroes?
"Yeah, I was surprised too. I thought I'd need to rest for half an hour after walking an hour." Lu Ke, also astonished, thought back to what her health condition used to be. She'd be out of breath even jogging for half an hour.
But after arriving on this planet, it felt like she'd swapped bodies.
Hence, she hoped to survive 500 days with Xu Yi.
That way, she'd gain survival skills here and could stay on this planet forever, unburdened by illness.
So, she must strive hard to grow, and avoid dragging Xu Yi down!