Desert Island Survival Arc (3)

Desert Island Survival Arc (3)

By the time Zhang Heng dragged the naked guy onto the beach, both of them were utterly exhausted.

Zhang Heng did not even know how he had swum back during that final stretch. Only after reaching the man did he realize that the man's lumbar spine was injured and his thigh had been cut open by the reefs. He could not move at all. No wonder he had been drifting with the waves like a plastic bottle.

Dragging him back was no easy task.

Several times along the way, Zhang Heng had almost given up. Unexpectedly, the guy's mindset was pretty good, and he kept encouraging Zhang Heng instead.

In the end, Zhang Heng gritted his teeth and hauled the guy ashore.

The two lay sprawled on the beach for a while. Zhang Heng did not even want to move a finger. If possible, he would have loved to close his eyes and fall asleep right then.

But unexpectedly, only two minutes later, the naked guy spoke again. "Hey, buddy, this won't do. We're not far from the equator. At noon, the temperature can reach thirty-five or thirty-six degrees Celsius. If this keeps up, we'll dehydrate very quickly."

"..."

"I'll get you somewhere cool right now." Zhang Heng took a few breaths and gathered a little more strength. He dragged the man beneath a rock face, then took off his T-shirt and roughly wrapped the wound on his thigh.

After that, Zhang Heng truly had no strength left. He could not even lift a rock. Fortunately, he found several coconuts that had fallen to the ground a little farther away.

When the naked guy saw Zhang Heng preparing to smash the coconuts, he opened his mouth, then hesitated.

"Hm?"

"I don't want to seem like I'm pushing my luck, but if possible, please get me green coconuts. Coconuts like these that have fallen to the ground are already old. The milky liquid inside may cause diarrhea if drunk, and on a deserted island with nothing at all, that can be fatal."

"You seem to have a lot of Wilderness Survival knowledge?"

"I was in the military for a while. I once spent more than two years hiking across the Amazon Rainforest, so yes, when it comes to Wilderness Survival, I think I can call myself an expert."

Zhang Heng knew he had gambled right. A good game would not have a stage designed to completely doom the player. He knew that the man before him was his hope of surviving on this deserted island.

Still, it made him curious about who the other two guys were.

After all, in terms of difficulty, rescuing the naked guy had been the easiest thing to do. And according to the usual thinking of game designers, the more you gave, the richer the reward you received.

Yet Zhang Heng did not regret it. He knew his own physical condition best.

Saving the naked guy had already been a struggle. Even if he could swim to the other two farther away, he would have had no strength to bring them back.

Besides, this man with the badly receding hairline at least seemed easy to get along with.

For an introductory teacher, attitude was sometimes far more important than ability.

Sure enough, he soon heard the other man say, "Friend, can you help me find some green coconuts? My throat is incredibly dry. Afterward, I'll teach you how to find water."

"No problem." Zhang Heng lay down for a while and recovered some of his strength, just enough to meet the man's request.

This time, he knocked down fourteen coconuts in one go. He gave five to the naked guy, ate three himself, and saved the remaining six as stored food.

After drinking the coconut water, the naked guy looked much more energetic. He extended a hand. "I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Ed Wilson. I'm British, a former British Army captain stationed in Afghanistan. Just call me Ed. Thank you very much for saving my life."

"Zhang Heng, Chinese. I'm currently a sophomore in college. Don't mention it." Zhang Heng shared a friendly handshake with the former British Army captain stationed in Afghanistan.

Then the latter's tone suddenly turned somber. "It's a pity about those two guys. There's no other land around here besides this island. If they didn't make it ashore, I'm afraid their chances are slim."

However, the man named Ed clearly had good emotional self-regulation. He was only sad for a moment before becoming optimistic again. "All right, as promised, it's time for me to keep my word and teach you how to find water."

"While we were at sea, I roughly estimated that this island is around twelve thousand hectares in size. I found some animal tracks near the brush, which suggests there may be streams on the island. Follow the animal tracks and you can find them. But the bad news is that this also means there may be predators on the island. Night will be here soon, and without a torch, venturing deep into the island is not a wise choice. You could get lost, or be attacked by wild beasts..."

Ed patiently taught him survival skills for the wild. To make it easier for Zhang Heng to catch every word, he deliberately slowed his speech.

Even so, Zhang Heng still interrupted him from time to time to ask about the meanings of certain words. Although Zhang Heng had parents who worked abroad, those two immortals rarely stayed home and had never deliberately cultivated his foreign-language skills.

As a result, his English was only at the ordinary CET-6 level. Daily conversation was not much of a problem, but once professional vocabulary came up, Ed had to explain it again.

One taught while the other listened. Twenty minutes later, Zhang Heng finally had a rough idea of how to find fresh water in the wild. Following Ed's advice, he temporarily used coconut water as his main water source. At the same time, he searched the nearby rock walls and not only found several small pools of water, but also discovered a natural cave.

It was about ten square meters in size and filled with bird droppings. The smell was unpleasant, but the ground was relatively high, so they would not have to worry about being swept away by the tide while sleeping at night. More importantly, it was sheltered from the wind. The island was still quite chilly in the morning and evening, especially when the wind blew against their bodies and carried away even more heat.

As the sun set, Zhang Heng used the last bit of light on the horizon to pick a few more coconuts. He ate them along with the earlier ones for dinner, and then the two people in the cave wished each other good night.

As a city dweller, this was Zhang Heng's first time sleeping in the wilderness. Though he knew both his mind and body had reached their limits and desperately needed rest, he still could not close his eyes for a long time. The smell of bird droppings in the air, the hard rock beneath his back, the unknown insects crawling over his arms in the darkness... every one of them tormented his nerves and left him restless.

Ed suddenly spoke. "Zhang, have I ever told you what is most important in Wilderness Survival?"

"What?" Zhang Heng had not heard any movement behind him for a long time and had thought the man was asleep.

"Survival skills are certainly very important, without a doubt. But more important is keeping yourself optimistic. When you feel like you're suffering, think about happy things. Tell yourself that maybe tomorrow, a ship will pass by and take me back to the civilized world." Ed's mindset was as positive as ever.

Zhang Heng sighed inwardly. If this truly was a game, no ship would pass by within forty days. Still, Ed's words made him feel much better. Most importantly, they made him realize that he was not alone at this moment. Zhang Heng had never been someone who liked to complain about fate.

It was only forty days on a deserted island. With a teacher, he believed he could do it. Zhang Heng tried to clear all those negative emotions from his mind. Drowsiness soon washed over him, and he closed his eyes.