The sun rose from the horizon, signifying the dawn of a new day.
Zhang Heng opened his eyes in the cave and found that Ed was already sitting up. "Morning, Zhang."
"Morning," Zhang Heng replied.
"Gosh, I wish I had a cup of hot coffee, fried eggs, sausages, and toast right now." The former army captain sighed. "But given our current situation, we can't ask for too much, can we? It's a pity that coconuts don't give us enough calories. One green coconut can only provide us with 200 calories, and even if we don't exercise, we still need to consume 2000 calories a day. Besides, we need to expand our diet to get more nutritious sources. Well, since we're by the sea, I think we can make use of this. "
"What should I do?" Zhang Heng asked.
"Don't worry. You live in the city, and this has made your stomach very fragile. Even if I tell you how to get food from the sea, there's no way to heat it up. A single crab could make you suffer from diarrhea and dehydration. That's why we need a fire. Also, the water you found earlier needs to be heated before it can be drunk. Boil it for three minutes, and most bacteria will be killed. So let me teach you how to start a fire first."
Ed paused and began to explain patiently. "The most important thing to start a fire is to find the right wood. Fast-growing soft wood is the best. The fire drill and the floor can be taken from the same tree. Scrape off the bark and dry it in a sunny place …"
Zhang Heng listened attentively, but when it came time to do it, he realized that it was not as simple as he had imagined.
For the entire morning, he was busy trying to start a fire.
But in the end, he failed again and again. To rub the fire drill, a large piece of skin was scraped off his hand, and he grimaced in pain. At the same time, as there was no time to go out and look for food, he and Ed ate the few coconuts they had stored.
But what was even more depressing was that they had spent so much effort without any results.
"Zhang, you can't go from a rookie to an expert in just one day," Ed consoled. "The beginning of everything is always the hardest."
"That's true, but failure still makes people feel bad," Zhang Heng said helplessly as he tossed the broken fire drill in his hand.
"Failure is also a valuable experience. Tens of thousands of years ago, our ancestors evolved from failure." Ed was as caring as ever. "You're a smart student, Zhang. Don't worry, there's still time for you to learn and grow. Now, tell me, what have you learned from this failure?"
"Wood still doesn't work. The skin on my hands is almost gone, and I can't get any sparks. I have to try something else," Zhang Heng said.
However, the weather was unpredictable. At dusk, the wind blew on the island, and soon, dark clouds covered the sky. Zhang Heng did not have time to clean up. The wood that he peeled off and placed on the rock wall to dry was soaked by the heavy rain.
This also meant that his entire day had been wasted.
Zhang Heng lay sprawled out in the cave, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. "Ed, I don't think your chicken soup for the soul will work now."
"Then give up," Ed said calmly.
"Hmm?"
"But only before the rain stops. Only by venting your negative emotions can you better devote yourself to work."
"Are you always so positive and optimistic? Ed. "
"Maybe it's because when I crossed the Amazon on foot, I encountered worse situations than this. Thinking about how I survived those difficulties, there's no reason for me to give up now," Ed said.
"Experiences make us who we are today," Zhang Heng murmured. Zhang Heng murmured. He remembered what the bartender lady said before, and he felt like he had caught on to something.
"It looks like this rain won't stop before dark. Go to bed early, there's a lot of work to do tomorrow," Ed said and lay down first.
The next night, the two of them spent the rest of the night hungry.
…
The next morning, Zhang Heng got up before dawn, mainly because he was hungry. He ran to the coconut tree and picked a few coconuts to fill his stomach. He had almost finished picking the coconuts that grew in the lower parts of the tree. The remaining ones were taller, and it would be difficult to smash them with stones. Zhang Heng knew that he didn't have much time left. He had to start the fire quickly, or else he wouldn't be able to carry out the follow-up work.
So this time, he decided to take a little risk. After bringing breakfast back for Ed, he ventured a little deeper into the primeval forest behind the beach.
The results were gratifying. Not only did he find a type of tree suitable for making fire, but he also found what looked like pheasants. Unfortunately, those little things were very agile, flapping their wings and disappearing before Zhang Heng could even get close. At least for now, Zhang Heng could not do anything to them.
He broke off a branch and brought it back to the beach. Using the same method as yesterday, in the afternoon, he finally managed to dig out some smoking sawdust. Following Ed's teachings, Zhang Heng placed the sawdust on the tinder made from the leaves of the candle tree. He carefully blew on it, causing the sawdust to glow and ignite the tinder underneath.
After a while, the two of them on the island finally got the long-awaited fire.
"Good job! Now we can avoid the risk of infection!" Ed said happily.
Zhang Heng never thought that he would one day be so excited when he saw fire. Just as he was about to say something, a third person's voice rang in his ear.
"Fire successfully started. Obtained new skill – Wilderness Survival Lvl 0. Game Points + 3. Character panel activated. You can now check your status."
The voice sounded familiar. Zhang Heng thought about it carefully and realized that it was the same voice that had rung in his ears when he was unconscious.
Zhang Heng asked Ed, "Ed, did you hear anything just now?"
The latter was a little confused. "Should I have heard anything?" Then, his expression turned serious and he asked with concern, "Zhang, are you hallucinating because you're dehydrated?"
"…"
Zhang Heng also wondered if he had fainted from the scorching sun because there was something that looked like a character card in front of him.
Name: Zhang Heng
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Player ID: 07958
Rounds Played: 0
Current Game Points: 3
Skills: Piano Lvl 1, Language Proficiency Lvl 1 (Proficient in two languages for daily communication)
Evaluation: The player is mediocre. There is nothing commendable about him and he has no special skills. He is not expected to survive the first three rounds of the game.
Zhang Heng was speechless. Putting aside the harsh evaluation below, why did he only have two skills?
Well, he also saw a small line of text below the skill bar — Lvl 0 skills are not displayed.
With his amateur level nine piano performance, he was only a pathetic Lvl 1? The game's definition of skill was a little too harsh. Starting a fire in the wild with one's bare hands was something that not even one in a hundred people would be able to do, and yet he was barely at the edge of Lvl 0.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
