Li Ziming slowly came to. "Damn, my head hurts. Was that booze those guys brought to my bar yesterday counterfeit...? No, I've got to check. If it's fake, drinking it myself is one thing, but if I serve it to customers, I'm done for. I still want to keep my bar open..." But the sea breeze blowing into his face stopped him cold.
"Huh? Huuuh?" Li Ziming was thoroughly startled. "Did those bastards realize they'd brought me fake booze and take me on vacation to make it up to me...?" He scratched his head. "But why the beach? They know I can't swim..."
Li Ziming staggered to his feet, his hangover pounding relentlessly in his head. He looked around but found no sign of anyone else, not even footprints.
"Where did those guys dump me?" Li Ziming frowned. "If I get my hands on them, they're never drinking another cocktail I mix..." he grumbled. He splashed seawater over his face a couple of times, but salt soon clung to his skin, making him even more uncomfortable. Still, the sting of the seawater eased his headache a little.
"Those bastards..." Li Ziming wiped his face with his sleeve, rubbing off some of the salt, then looked around. "Ocean everywhere? Did they actually dump me on a deserted island?" Rather than head into the seemingly dense jungle, he started walking along the coast.
The farther Li Ziming walked along the beach, the grimmer his expression became. He had been walking for a while without finding a single sign of human activity. It wasn't just a lack of houses-he hadn't seen anything man-made at all. Normally, there would at least be some rubbish along the shore, but all he saw was seaweed.
"Where the hell am I...?" Hunger gradually stirred in Li Ziming's stomach. He was beginning to think something unusual had happened to him, rather than this being a prank by his rotten friends. With the sun blazing overhead and all the walking he had just done, finding water and food was now his most urgent priority.
But after searching around without finding any man-made objects, Li Ziming had little he could use to obtain water. As for food, he had spotted some shellfish on the beach. They might give him diarrhea, but in a pinch, they could absolutely save his life.
Although he hadn't made a full circuit of the beach, Li Ziming decided not to keep going. If there was no sign of people on a flat stretch of sand, there was even less point checking sheer cliffs, so he headed toward the dense forest. The jungle would be far more dangerous than the beach, but it also offered far more opportunities.
Li Ziming tore several strips of cloth from the hem of his shirt, then tucked it into his trousers. He tied the strips tightly around his trouser legs and cuffs and buttoned his collar, doing everything he could to keep dangerous insects from slipping through gaps in his clothing. He sniffed the shellfish. Their fishy smell was strong, and he worried it might attract wild animals, though that same smell could also be used to make an excellent trap. Still, he made his decision quickly. He had already gotten the smell on himself while gathering the shellfish, so there was little point trying to hide it now. Taking them with him, he set off.
The jungle was clearly better than Li Ziming had expected-or worse? The good part was that he encountered no danger whatsoever after entering it. The bad part was that, just like danger, food was nowhere to be found either.
He pinched bits off the plants beside him as he walked. If his skin showed no irritation, he squeezed out a little juice and smeared it over his exposed skin to prevent dehydration. But his increasingly dry lips were already warning him that his body was short of water.
Li Ziming stumbled and frowned helplessly. He could only take out a shellfish. There was no food anywhere around him, not even a trace of animal activity. Diarrhea could very well kill him under these circumstances, but that was only a possibility. If he didn't eat now, he figured he would lose all his strength.
Gritty sand scraped against his teeth as he pushed the fishy, acrid flesh into his mouth. Li Ziming swallowed with a frown. "I used to think raw squid was the most disgusting thing in the world, but I was wrong. This stuff is the most goddamn disgusting..."
After eating a little, Li Ziming felt as though his body had recovered somewhat. He knew it was probably an illusion, but at least it gave him the strength to keep walking.
Li Ziming pressed on, steadily using up the little strength he had just regained. Sweat now covered his head-not from the heat, but because he was already dehydrated. If he didn't replenish his fluids soon, he would probably die before long.
Li Ziming no longer wanted to say even a word. His awareness gradually blurred, and his steps grew unsteady, as though he might fall at any moment. Only one thought remained in his mind: find something to replenish his fluids.
Through the haze, Li Ziming seemed to hear a sound echoing around him. Something about it felt familiar, and before he knew it, he had begun following the sound.
As Li Ziming walked slowly onward, an enormous tiger appeared ahead of him. It was over five meters long. If something like that existed on Earth, it would either belong in the Jurassic period or in a laboratory.
Strangely, though, the giant tiger acted as if it hadn't seen Li Ziming at all. It let him slowly walk out of its sight, seemingly uninterested in such small prey.
In this strange state, Li Ziming passed one enormous beast after another without being attacked. Soon, he reached a lake. By then, he had lost consciousness, yet he kept walking slowly into the water until his legs gave way and he collapsed.
Luckily, the lake was shallow, reaching only Li Ziming's knees. Even after falling, he didn't drown. Instead, the cool water gradually brought him back to his senses.
"I survived even that? I'm honestly impressed by my own luck..." Li Ziming simply took out the remaining shellfish, rinsed them in the lake, and wolfed them down.
"They taste just as awful even after washing..." He licked his lips. Although he had eaten something, it had done nothing to ease his hunger.
"Water's no longer a problem, but where am I supposed to find food...?" Li Ziming examined the lake carefully. The water was very clear, but there was no obvious current. It probably flowed slowly from somewhere, though with no visible flow, the lake had no fish at all, only little shrimp, crabs, and the like. Those certainly couldn't serve as a long-term food source. Besides, although he had lost consciousness on the way here, he still retained memories of the journey. Everything in the forest told him this wasn't Earth and that it was dangerous. He couldn't be sure this lake wasn't where those beasts came to drink.
Li Ziming had no idea why the beasts hadn't attacked him while he was unconscious, but he wouldn't dare count on it happening again. This lake wasn't safe either. He had better find somewhere else quickly.
While Li Ziming was thinking, something floated up beside his hand.
"What's this?" Curious, Li Ziming picked it up. It looked much like a cantaloupe, except that spiral patterns covered its surface.
"A cantaloupe?" Li Ziming had never seen this variety before. But after considering that he might not even be on Earth anymore, he stopped worrying so much about what kinds of things this world might contain.
He pinched off a small piece and decided to taste it. After all, fruit was a good choice both for replenishing fluids and as food to carry with him-provided this thing was edible. With just a little piece, he could spit it out immediately if it tasted wrong. If it happened to be the kind of poison that killed on contact, he would just have to accept his fate.
But the instant that tiny piece entered his mouth, Li Ziming cried. Right then, he desperately wanted to apologize to all the shellfish he had eaten earlier, because something even more disgusting than them actually existed in this world. He felt certain he would never forget that shit-like taste for the rest of his life...
Before you continue