Lu Ke put the bag of water into his basket, then also placed the pot inside.
The sleeping bag was placed in Lu Ke's basket because it was relatively light.
The pot contained some charcoal, so there was no need to worry about starting a fire.
"Xu Yi, doesn't it seem like the day here is longer than 24 hours? Are we on some alien planet?" Lu Ke checked the time and found it was already 18:05, yet it was still very bright outside.
"It should be 26 hours. The countdown has changed to 12988, indicating that we've been here for 12 hours. 500 days multiplied by 26 hours just equals 13,000 hours. So it's very likely. I suspected this survival challenge wouldn't be simple, with the military guarding everywhere," Xu Yi explained.
Lu Ke stuck out his tongue playfully, then said, "So you figured it out early on? It wouldn't have hurt to tell us if this really is another planet."
"Not that early. Maybe they can't tell us. Just look at that flying ball that's been filming us; their technology is far more advanced than ours," Xu Yi said calmly, although he had realized it when the countdown became 12999.
After arriving at the temporary shelter, Xu Yi got the fire going again.
"Let's not worry about where this is; we're already here. We can always return to our own world without much trouble. You manage the bird roasting, and I'll fetch water." With that, Xu Yi took the pot and engineer shovel and left to get water. They aimed to conserve the water in the plastic bag for use the next day.
In any case, it's still not dark, so fetching water is possible.
When it turns dark, Xu Yi would obediently retreat to the humanoid shelter.
Who knows what beasts could be lurking here? If they encountered something terrifying, at least the shelter could provide some defense.
Xu Yi returned after half an hour with a pot of water.
Then it was time to start cooking the rabbit meat.
Unfortunately, there weren't any seasonings, not even anything to remove the gamey smell.
But having meat to fill the stomach was already quite good. The cleaned rabbit weighed at least two pounds. Turning it into rabbit soup might not make them feel completely full, but it was enough to satisfy 70 to 80 percent of their hunger.
"Wow, it smells so good!"
Lu Ke fanned the steam with her small hand and took a deep breath.
"It does smell a bit different from the rabbit meat on our planet," Xu Yi said with some surprise.
Actually, Xu Yi had noticed the unique flavor when eating bird eggs earlier.
Perhaps it's because this planet isn't polluted at all?
Xu Yi silently thought to himself, then took two crossbow arrows to use as chopsticks and tried poking the rabbit meat.
"It's tender now, ready to eat," Xu Yi said happily. After a tiring day, a hearty stew was quite delightful.
"Xu Yi, do you think we're the unluckiest team?" Lu Ke asked with her eyes narrowed, as she took the 'chopsticks' Xu Yi handed her.
Such words could easily provoke resentment.
"Too much, little loli, too much. Apart from the two sisters from Team 233 who are eating grilled fish, the other challengers are either munching on wild vegetables and tree roots or facing hunger."
"Who says that? My goddess Ivica has sashimi to eat."
"Sashimi? It's just raw fish meat."
"Yes, and raw fish slices are called sashimi only because it sounds nicer."
"Xu Yi is just too lucky. First, he found bird eggs, then a foolish bird delivered a rabbit to him, sacrificing itself too. Is Xu Yi cheating?"
"Cheating? Do you think we're on our own planet? Haven't you listened to Xu Yi's analysis? We're on an alien planet, dude."
Cheating?
Xu Yi really seemed to be cheating.
He remembered he hadn't checked in today.
So, he silently said 'check-in' in his mind.
Then he saw a chart where the number 6 lit up, indicating he had successfully checked in for six days.
One more day, and he could claim a check-in reward package.
He was quite curious about what's inside the package.
"It really tastes good, not a hint of gamey flavor," Lu Ke remarked after tasting a piece.
"Then have some more; you've worked hard today, crafting so many things," Xu Yi smiled and patted Lu Ke's head as if she were a little girl.
"You're the one who worked hard," Lu Ke retorted, then added, "I'm not a child. I'm an adult, don't pat my head."
"Alright, alright, you're a grown-up lady," Xu Yi laughed happily.
Seeing Xu Yi's gaze, Lu Ke blushed slightly and said, "Hmph, I will grow up sooner or later!"
"That's for sure," Xu Yi said, picking up a piece of meat, his expression barely suppressing laughter.
He naturally understood that Lu Ke's 'sooner or later I'll grow up' had a double meaning.
"Hmph," Lu Ke huffed again, snatching the piece of meat Xu Yi was about to take in a playful retaliation.
In fact, Lu Ke was troubled over how to sleep at night.
She and Xu Yi weren't a couple and couldn't possibly sleep in the same sleeping bag.
But without sharing the sleeping bag, would Xu Yi have to sleep on the ground?
The temperature at night surely wouldn't be high, and if Xu Yi got cold and fell ill, what would they do?
While Lu Ke was lost in thought, Xu Yi asked, "What are you thinking about so intently?"
Xu Yi noticed Lu Ke's vacant look and knew she was deep in thought. He had experienced it during their time together in the ward.
Sometimes Lu Ke could maintain that state for an hour.
"I'm thinking about the sleeping arrangement tonight; we only have one sleeping bag," Lu Ke regretted it as soon as she said it, worried that mentioning it would make things awkward.
"We'll take turns sleeping. We don't know the situation on this island. There are birds and rabbits, so there could be wolves, tigers, or other predators. Someone needs to stay awake," Xu Yi stated seriously. Given this undeveloped location, who knew what creatures might appear?
"Okay, got it," Lu Ke sighed in relief, now free of the awkwardness.
She had secretly studied a lot about such matters and knew boys were easily stirred.
Plus, they had certain physiological occurrences every morning that couldn't be ignored when sharing a sleeping bag.
If… she just said if the filming wasn't continuous, she could be more comfortable with it.
But with all eyes watching, she couldn't.
After all, she was a reserved and somewhat traditional girl.
"I'll go rest after I finish eating, and you take over after midnight. Is that okay?" Xu Yi asked, knowing he needed rest for tomorrow's journey.
"Can I stay up until 1?" Lu Ke thought Xu Yi might not get enough sleep by resting until just midnight.
"No, just until midnight. We need to leave by 6 AM tomorrow," Xu Yi insisted.
Realizing she couldn't sway him, Lu Ke nodded.
After eating the meat, they shared the remaining soup.
Then Xu Yi adjusted the shelter entrance to be just big enough for one person to enter or exit.
"I'm going to sleep. Keep an eye on the fire and make sure it doesn't go out," Xu Yi instructed before laying out the sleeping bag inside and crawling into it.
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