What Is Ying Doing That's So Shady

On the fifth day of surviving on the Uninhabited Island, sunlight fell on Ying, who was lying on a straw mat.

"Hm? Has Ryuen already left? He's certainly diligent." Ying sat up lazily and stretched.

He first checked how many supplies he had left, then washed up at a nearby pond and caught two fish from the traps he'd set the day before.

After finishing lunch, Ying began to think.

What should he do next? He couldn't just stay here forever, but he didn't know what to do if he went out exploring. If only he had someone to talk to.

Ryuen was alone, too, but he spent all day trekking around and checking in at various spots. He had a clear goal; he had things to do.

Ying, on the other hand, was different. Since he'd discovered Ryuen's secret, he had to live alone for the remaining few days to avoid being targeted by Class C later on. Though after Ryuen failed to beat him, he no longer seemed interested in targeting him that way...

"Maybe I should start by improving my bed." Ying glanced at his shabby straw mat and made up his mind.

"Now, how can I get a better night's sleep?"

After thinking it over for a long while, Ying decided that there simply weren't enough resources on the island. And because of the school's environmental-protection rules, he couldn't cut down any trees. In the end, all he could do was gather more leaves to pad his mat.

"What's... this!?"

As he was picking up leaves, Ying spotted something strange: a small depression in the dirt.

"Could this be the footprint of one of those creatures on the Uninhabited Island? I mustn't let them find me, or I'll be doomed!"

In reality, Ying had only found a footprint...

"Where the hell did Ying go?" Hamaguchi said irritably.

"Don't worry. We'll find him. Maybe he's already crossed paths with us and gone back to camp," Shibata said. Beppu nodded beside him.

Only ten meters away from them, Ying heard their voices and hurriedly hid in a nearby bush.

Had they really found this place so quickly!? Ying tensed up, afraid that any sudden movement would give him away.

All he had to do was wait quietly for them to leave... Wait, weren't they coming this way? Shit! Ying had planned to slip past them unnoticed, but Shibata and the others were heading straight toward him.

"Snap."

"Who's there!" Ying had tried to move slowly, but of course he stepped on a branch.

Seriously, could this situation be any more cliché!? Ying grumbled helplessly to himself and began thinking up an excuse.

Actually, I was captured by the wild natives of the Uninhabited Island and only just managed to escape after a long, arduous ordeal.

"It was only a rabbit," Hamaguchi said.

Ying: ?

A wild rabbit darted out of the bush where Ying was hiding. Ying breathed a sigh of relief and continued moving slowly.

"Rustle..."

"Why does it feel like there's something else in there?" Beppu said, looking at the bush.

"Let's take a look, then." Hamaguchi used a stick to part the branches.

But there was no sign of Ying inside, only...

"It's a snake! There's a snake!" Hamaguchi cried, stumbling back several steps.

"Where!? Give me the stick!" Shibata hurried forward, grabbed the stick, and began an intense one-on-one battle with the snake.

Ying broke out in a cold sweat, even imagining that there was a snake crawling on his leg right now.

Good thing I stayed there for so long without getting bitten. Ying let out a breath, thinking this to himself.

Where could Ying be? Why not look above you?

Ying hadn't spent all that time learning to read nature's signs with Morishita for nothing. At the very least, he'd mastered the art of climbing trees and hanging upside down.

After Shibata beat the snake to death, the group left with its body. Ying's taut nerves finally relaxed.

"They're finally gone. But why do I still feel like there's a snake crawling on my leg?"

Ying swung his head back. There was still a snake coiled around his leg.

There sure were a lot of snakes on this Uninhabited Island. As Ying stared in shock, the snake opened its mouth and bit down...

" Hoshinomiya-sensei, what should you do if you get bitten by a snake?" Back at the Class B camp, the group was relieved that none of them had been bitten. As they grilled the snake, they asked Hoshinomiya-sensei what to do in that situation.

"Hmm~ First, check the wound to see if the snake was venomous. Tie a bandage or rope around the limb, about five centimeters above the wound toward the heart. If it was venomous, you should suck out the venom, then wash the wound thoroughly with plenty of clean water. Of course, these are just emergency measures. You should still get medical attention as soon as possible."

Hoshinomiya-sensei answered their question, and the three of them ate the grilled snake, marveling at how delicious it was.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, how is Byakuya-kun doing?"

Ever since Ying went missing, Ichinose had been coming by every so often to check whether he was all right.

"Everything's fine~" Hoshinomiya replied lazily.

Hearing that, everyone relaxed.

"Snake, you showed me no mercy, so don't blame me for doing the same. You bit me first, after all. It's not unreasonable for me to grill you, is it?"

Ying was grilling a snake at Ryuen's base. As it happened, the snake had bitten the camera Kaneda had put in his pants pocket.

"What's that smell? It's pretty good. Grilled snake? Interesting." Ryuen had returned just then.

Whenever his supplies ran out, he came back here to replenish them. Ying also timed his return to coincide with mealtime.

"Don't just eat this one without asking. I almost got bitten by it. I'm definitely going to enjoy eating it!" Ying said, picking up the skewer and shielding it behind his back.

Ryuen merely shrugged, went to the supply box, took some supplies, and headed out to check in at the various spots again.

After finishing the grilled snake, Ying had nothing else to do, so he continued wandering around nearby.

"Where the hell am I supposed to find underwear for those girls? They say if they can't find it, the boys must have stolen it. Isn't that just looking for trouble? Especially Shinohara!"

Ying had meant to take a walk, but he unexpectedly ran into Ike, Ayanokoji, and a few others from Class D searching outside for the girls' underwear.

Following his rule of running whenever he saw anyone, Ying turned around and left at once.

"We can't find it anywhere! It has to be those boys who stole it. Call them over! We're searching their bags!"

Several girls led by Shinohara were searching ahead of Ying.

Seriously, do you have one group search first and then another group follow behind? If it really fell out here, there'd be no chance of finding it.

Ying could only shake his head in disbelief. He was now caught between the two groups, and neither side offered much cover. If he went either way, he'd definitely be spotted.

So Ying had no choice but to climb a tree again, though this time he kept an eye out for any snakes slithering nearby.

Ayanokoji suddenly looked in Ying's direction.

Ying, crouching in the tree: He shouldn't have noticed me, right?

Ayanokoji: What's Byakuya doing here? And why did he climb a tree? Is he trying to get me to go over there?

Ying: Why is Ayanokoji coming over?