[Roar of the Savage Island]

[The Deserted Island's Thunderous Roar]

When he woke in the morning, the campfire had gone out at some unknown time. A faint wisp of smoke still drifted from the ashes. Du Wei felt a little cold. He shifted, only to feel something in his arms.

Looking down, he saw that Vivian had somehow burrowed into his embrace. The little mage was sleeping soundly, but she seemed cold as well, curled into a ball. Her tiny hands had even slipped inside Du Wei's clothes, trying to draw out the slightest bit of warmth.

She must have felt too cold in her sleep and, driven by the instinct to seek warmth, naturally burrowed into Du Wei's arms without waking.

Du Wei sighed. He did not immediately wake the girl. Instead, he gently took off his own clothes and covered her with them before setting her down and rising to his feet.

The moment he lifted his head and stood up, Du Wei's face changed drastically!!!

"No!!!! Damn it!!!! No!!!!!!" On the deserted island that morning, Du Wei let out a furious, despairing roar.

•

Thick fog blanketed the sea before them, so dense and heavy that it seemed heaven and earth had been draped in a thick veil of white gauze! The air was saturated with damp mist, and beneath such fog, nothing at all could be seen on the ocean!

In weather this vile, visibility at sea was likely less than ten meters!!!

How could Du Wei not be anxious?

They were stranded on this barren island, with no food and only a small amount of fresh water to drink. They desperately needed to leave as soon as possible. Thus, his only hope was that another ship might pass near this island and rescue them along the way.

To that end, Du Wei had already made up his mind. Starting that morning, he would keep fires burning on the shore day and night! He would use the flames and thick smoke to draw the attention of passing ships—if any ships truly passed through these waters.

But now... faced with such immense fog... Du Wei's heart immediately sank into an icy abyss!

The fog was this thick, the visibility this low! Even if Du Wei lit a fire here, if a passing ship sailed near the island, it would never see it in this cursed weather!!

What drove Du Wei to despair was that, according to the common knowledge he knew, such heavy fog at sea generally lasted quite a while!

Fog on land might disperse in a day. But at sea... even if it lasted three or five days, that would be perfectly ordinary!

Three or five days...

Du Wei sighed inwardly. Do I even have three or five days? We haven't found a scrap of food so far.

Vivian was startled awake by Du Wei's shout. Seeing his grim expression, the poor little Vivian began to feel uneasy as well.

Without saying a word, Du Wei swiftly gathered nearby branches into a pile and lit a fire, doing his best to make the blaze burn brighter and fiercer.

Then he ran about collecting more branches and tossed them down in front of Vivian.

"Hey, stay here and watch the fire. The moment it gets even a little weaker, add more wood! You absolutely cannot let the flames die down, much less let the fire go out! Understand? And watch the sea too... If you see a ship... find a way to catch their attention. Make the fire bigger... or use magic to shoot fireballs into the sky! Understand?"

"U-understand." Vivian nodded, but then a doubtful look appeared on her face. "W-with such th-thick fog, can we see ships? C-can ships see us?"

Du Wei sighed and did not answer her question. "Just do as I say. It's the only thing we can do."

With that, Du Wei selected a long wooden stick, weighed it in his hand, and walked along the beach.

"W-where are you going?"

"I'm going to find food!" Du Wei said coldly. "Maybe I can find some mushrooms, or some wild fruit. This forest is so big—there might be some. I hope I find them! It'll be easier than catching fish. If I can't find anything, then I'll have no choice but to go into the sea and catch fish."

Du Wei paused here. "You'd better pray I find something. Otherwise, tonight, no matter how much you cry at me, we'll have no choice but to eat your Chirp Chirp. A human life matters more than an animal's!"

Seeing the cold look in Du Wei's eyes as he left, Vivian could not help but shiver.

Du Wei was gone for the entire morning.

Left alone on the beach, Vivian was terrified. There was no one around, and more importantly, she felt that she had no one to rely on now!

In the past, although she had lived in seclusion with her teacher, there were often times when her teacher went out and left Vivian alone at home. But back then, Vivian still had magic.

Now, she had nothing.

All morning, Vivian diligently kept adding fuel to the fire. Her hands were cut in several places by sharp branches, and patches of her little face had been blackened by smoke. Still, she tried hard to follow Du Wei's instructions, not letting the flames weaken and keeping the fire burning brightly.

At noon, Du Wei finally returned.

From afar, Vivian watched Du Wei make his way back, one deep step and one shallow step. His leg seemed injured, yet he looked rather pleased.

A vine was looped around Du Wei's neck, with quite a few strange things hanging from it. They looked like roots or tubers of some plants he had dug out of the ground, still covered in black dirt.

He used one hand to lean on that wooden stick, while his other carried a small cluster of shrub branches dotted with little orange-yellow fruits.

Those fruits looked utterly adorable, each one brilliantly colored and as large as a grape. They had to be delicious!

Vivian immediately began to drool.

Before this, the female mage had never experienced hunger, much less gone hungry for this long!

"F-food! Y-you found food!!" Vivian cheered, hopping barefoot toward Du Wei.

Seeing Vivian's expression, the corners of Du Wei's mouth seemed to curve slightly before the hint of a smile vanished. With a somber face, he said, "Don't get happy too soon. This is all I found after an entire morning."

His walking posture was somewhat strange. Only then did Vivian notice that several places on Du Wei's feet were torn open. He must have cut them on something sharp while walking barefoot through the forest.

"All right, eat first."

Du Wei set down his spoils and pointed at the string of roots hanging from the vine. "These are plants I can identify. I know a thing or two about potion-making. These plants are all wild, and their roots have quite a few uses. They're edible, and they aren't that small either."

As he spoke, Du Wei took the things to the edge of the sea and carefully washed them several times before handing them to Vivian. "These are all yours. You can eat them as they are, or roast them over the fire first."

Vivian froze. Looking at the large handful of tree roots and grass roots in her hands, she suddenly felt wronged. Her lips puckered as she looked at the shrub branches beside her, laden with bright fruits. "I-I want to eat the fruit, I..."

"No, you eat this. I'll eat those fruits." Du Wei's voice was calm, yet it carried an unmistakable note of command.

Vivian nearly burst into tears.

She was utterly miserable. This guy had to be doing it on purpose! He was deliberately tormenting poor little Vivian! Yes, that had to be it—because Vivian wouldn't let him eat Chirp Chirp! That was why he was taking revenge on her like this!

Full of grievance, Vivian could only squat pitifully beside the fire, holding those roots and grass roots over the flames for a couple of moments before haphazardly stuffing them into her mouth and chewing.

The plant roots Du Wei had picked were all thick and plump, and they did not taste bad... or rather, they had no taste at all. They were simply rather tough, making them hard to chew. Poor Vivian's cheeks were sore by the time she had eaten two of them. More importantly, the things were not tasty at all... They had no flavor whatsoever, far too bland.

Du Wei sat opposite the fire without saying a word, plucking fruits from the shrub one by one and tossing them into his mouth, chewing each one before swallowing.

Gradually, Vivian's gaze could not help being drawn over...

She swallowed hard. Those fruits... they had to be pretty delicious, right...? That stingy bastard!!

"Why are you looking at me?" Du Wei sneered. "Are you blaming me for not letting you eat the fruits? For making you eat nasty roots?"

Vivian said nothing, only pursed her lips.

While Du Wei was not paying attention, Vivian suddenly reached out and took a fruit from the shrub's branches... Her mage robe was large and roomy, and her movements were well concealed. Du Wei did not notice.

Then, while Du Wei was looking elsewhere, Vivian swiftly tossed the fruit into her mouth and bit down hard...

Just as she eagerly anticipated a sweet, fragrant taste...

Pfft!!!!!

Vivian's expression abruptly changed. Her face twisted strangely, and as though she could not hold it in any longer, she quickly opened her mouth and spat it out in one gulp!

What was that?! It was so sour her teeth hurt, so astringent her tongue seemed ready to curl up!! Vivian had taken only one bite, yet she felt as though she were about to throw up!

Could fruits like this even be eaten??

Watching Vivian's appearance, Du Wei merely smiled faintly. Then he bit into the last fruit, eating it slowly, bite by bite, before standing up. "All right, now that we've eaten, we still have work to do."

At that moment, Vivian looked at the bare branches of the shrub on the ground, then at the two remaining handfuls of plant roots in her hands... Compared with that sour, astringent fruit that made one want to vomit, these bland, tasteless roots could practically be called a delicacy!

She remembered Du Wei saying, "You eat these. Those fruits are mine."

Then she remembered how Du Wei had silently eaten those terribly flavored fruits one by one without changing expression...

Suddenly, Vivian found herself unable to say a single word.

She gripped the tree roots and grass roots tightly in her hand and stared at Du Wei.

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and eat. We still have things to do!" Du Wei frowned.

"Yes! Yes!" Vivian tucked the roots into her robes, then skipped over to Du Wei's side. Her gaze and voice had softened considerably, even carrying a trace of apology. "W-we... what are we doing? I-I'll listen to you!"

"We're catching fish. Otherwise, if we only eat roots, we won't last long!" Du Wei smiled. "Tie this vine around me. You hold the other end, and I'll go into the water and try spearing with a branch, see if I can find a way to get a few fish... But..."

Before he could finish, an earth-shattering roar suddenly rang out!!

Immediately, the ground beneath their feet shook violently! Neither Du Wei nor Vivian could keep their footing, and both were thrown to the ground!!

That roar seemed to have come from hell itself—deep and heavy, yet it slammed mercilessly into their hearts! Du Wei had heard a dragon roar before, and he had thought that was probably the most terrifying roar in the world!

But now, this sound was far more terrifying than a dragon's roar! It was louder, and it filled them with even greater fear!!

The ground continued to shake and tremble. Du Wei felt as though he were experiencing a horrifying earthquake!!

And amid the shaking, even the sea began to roar... fierce waves surged across its surface!!

"W-what the hell was that sound?!" Du Wei's face changed drastically as he held Vivian, who had fallen into his arms.

Vivian's face had already gone white with fright.

Just then, Vivian's pet dragon in the forest seemed to have been awakened by the roar as well! The sleeping dragon had awoken, but...

Clearly, both Vivian and Du Wei heard the dragon let out a mournful cry!

There was fear in the dragon's cry!