022 Story

After finishing the snake meat, the various stats in Cassius's status panel rose somewhat, though not by much.

Spirit: 65; Hunger: 90; Thirst: 70.

The most notable was his spirit value, which had only risen to sixty-five after eating the snake meat—it had been in the fifties before. Most of this was due to the exhaustion from last night's intense training, and in part from the anxiety of being stranded on a deserted island.

By five or six in the morning, his spirit value had dropped below sixty, and two debuffs appeared on the screen, effects much like fatigue.

[Night Owl: You have gone twenty-five hours without sleep. You are extremely tired. Physical recovery slows, and all bodily functions are reduced by ten percent.]

[Exhaustion: You trained madly for eight hours. Your muscles are in a state of extreme fatigue. Physical recovery slows, and all bodily functions are reduced by twenty percent.]

[Stamina: ∞] [Energy: ∞]

[You are now immune to the above negative effects…]

After all, the “Fifteen Days of Self-Discipline” mode was a reward, and it wouldn’t heap unnecessary trouble on him.

Still, when it came time for the main storyline, these stats would likely become the greatest obstacle to survival on the island.

“You look exhausted. Why not rest a little?” Rayya plunged his branch into the ground.

“No need. I’m just not used to it yet.”

Cassius shook his head, his expression unchanged.

They were making their way to the beach. Here, the woods thinned out, allowing sunlight to stream down from above.

Dappled golden patches shimmered gently across the ground.

Rayya suddenly burst out laughing.

“It’s normal to feel out of place. Anyone used to modern society would find it hard to imagine surviving in the wild without water or electricity. I was the same at first. But after some time in the army, I adapted…”

“Would you tell me your story?” Cassius shifted the broadleaf from his right hand to his left.

“Of course. I… I used to be a street punk. You know, the kind who loiters around…”

Rayya rubbed his stubbly chin, a little embarrassed by his past.

But alone together on a deserted island, it was easy to open up. Besides, Cassius had saved his life—Rayya had nothing to hide.

“I was stubborn in those days, always getting into fights with other punks on the street. My parents were at their wits’ end. I’d always go against them—looking back now, I was pretty childish. Later, they tried everything to talk me into joining the army. I did go, but not because of them. There was a girl I liked, and she preferred tough men who’d served. I just went on a whim…”

A flicker of nostalgia passed through Rayya’s lone eye.

Before the screen, Xiunan let go of his mouse and keyboard.

“I joined the army at twenty-three and stayed for twelve years. At first, I thought I’d regret it, but the longer I stayed, the less I did. I went home three times: once when the girl I liked got married, and the other times for my parents’ funerals. After the third time, I decided to leave the service and moved to another city.”

“In that city—Degol—I met a warm-hearted girl who was very good to me.”

Rayya glanced at the ring on his left ring finger.

“We got married and had a child. I joined a global security company as a retired soldier, traveling all over for work. The injury to my eye happened on one of those trips. In the third year after our wedding—just this year—I boarded a cursed, rickety ship…”

“That’s some bad luck—same as me.”

Cassius reached out and patted Rayya on the shoulder.

“And to think, you’re only thirty-eight. I guess you should call me ‘big brother’ since I’m forty-one, haha…”

Rayya knew Cassius was joking. He pulled his branch from the ground and continued leading Cassius toward the beach.

All along, Rayya never asked Cassius about his past. Some people’s faces are etched with hardship and stories; one look tells you enough.

Soon, they reached the shore.

Rayya said he would make them toothbrushes from plant leaves—clearly, yet another survival skill.

He drove a branch as thick as an arm deep into the sand and took the broadleaf Cassius handed him.

The leaf resembled a plantain, like a broad green fan, at least two palms wide.

Rayya gripped the leaf’s stem and began lashing it hard against the bare branch. Each strike rang out crisply, like a whip striking a stick.

“Can you explain the principle?” Cassius asked.

“There’s no mystery. You just beat the leaf until the fibers split and turn into strands.”

Rayya continued to strike as he spoke.

Once the leaf was thoroughly beaten, he took a twig about half the thickness of his little finger, wrapped the green leaf fibers around the end to form a brush head, and bound it with the remaining strands.

A simple, eco-friendly toothbrush was complete.

Xiunan had Cassius try it, using coconut water to brush. To his surprise, it actually worked!

Next, Rayya taught Cassius how to braid rope from tree bark and how to set up a tent.

By midday, Cassius happened upon several water holes on the far side of the island. He also found a plastic bottle washed up on the beach, its label completely faded.

“It’s best not to drink from wild water holes directly,” Rayya cautioned. “They’re teeming with bacteria and parasites. It’s safest to boil it or purify it somehow…”

[Rayya is teaching you hunting skills…]

Hearing the notification, Rayya walked over.

“Luckily, we’ve found a plastic container. We can fill it with water and heat it over a fire. That way, we’ll have drinkable water, though there might still be toxins from the plastic. For now, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“There are other ways to purify water. We can stuff the bottle with moss and add some ash from plants. That will filter the water a bit.”

Rayya pointed at the branch in his hand.

“We have other tools for filtering water too. If we strip the bark off a piece of wood and attach it to a tube, the wooden filter can block ninety-nine percent of bacteria. A three-centimeter length of wood can filter several liters a day.”

“Too bad we don’t have any clamps to secure it…”

Taking the bottle Cassius handed him, Rayya continued, “No matter what, I need to teach you how to make fire. On a deserted island—no, in any wilderness—this is a survival skill you must master!”