A New Source of Fresh Water and a Bond with Shui Bing'er

There were plenty of ways to extract fresh water from seawater, but doing it without any tools was another matter.

Chu Xiu found a slightly raised spot on the beach. After making sure the tide would not reach it, he dug a large round pit and a smaller collection pit in the sand with his hands.

Then he gathered several seashells and conch shells from the shore. He used a conch shell to carry seawater to the large pit, a little at a time, and placed a large seashell over it. One edge of the shell sloped down toward the smaller pit.

Once the sun heated the seawater, the vapor would touch the underside of the shell, condense into fresh water, and run down the slope into the collection pit.

"Will that really produce fresh water? Why does it look so unreliable?"

Ning Rongrong frowned, plainly unconvinced by Chu Xiu's handiwork.

Chu Xiu placed one last seashell in the collection pit so the fresh water would land in it instead of soaking into the sand.

"Explaining it would take too long. Just wait a while, and you'll see water collect."

It was Chu Xiu's first time doing this too. He was not entirely sure it would work.

"How long?" Qian Renxue asked.

Chu Xiu glanced at the sky. It was probably only eight or nine in the morning. The sand had just begun to warm up; the hottest part of the day was still ahead.

"Maybe a few hours. It's still too cool right now."

"That long?"

Qian Renxue frowned. "We can't just stand here waiting the whole time, can we?"

"Of course not," Chu Xiu said with a smile. "But to be safe, one of us should stay and watch it. The rest can come into the woods with me. We need to find things we can use."

Surviving on a deserted island was impossible without resources.

There was only so much to find on the beach: shells, pebbles, and little else.

The woods were bound to have much more.

Even a wooden stick could serve as a weapon when it mattered.

"Rongrong should stay. You're the youngest, and the woods might be dangerous," Shui Bing'er said to Ning Rongrong.

Ning Rongrong wanted to say she was no coward and was not afraid of danger.

But she did not want to be alone with Chu Xiu and Qian Renxue either.

After thinking it over, she agreed.

"Fine. Hurry back, and don't keep me waiting too long."

The woods were not far from the beach. Chu Xiu walked ahead, with Qian Renxue and Shui Bing'er following about three meters behind him.

As soon as they entered the woods, the light dimmed considerably. It was several degrees cooler than on the beach.

Chu Xiu shivered and moved forward, watching the ground beneath his feet.

He did not forget to warn the two women behind him. "Watch where you step. Don't let a venomous bug or snake bite you."

Neither Qian Renxue nor Shui Bing'er was an ordinary girl. At his warning, both grew more alert.

They had gone only a few steps when Chu Xiu bent down and picked up a branch.

It was about two meters long and as thick as a thumb. Best of all, it was as straight as a crafted staff.

Chu Xiu hefted it, and a smile tugged at his lips.

"Not bad. Fits my hand nicely."

"You two keep an eye out as well. We're not just looking for food. If you spot a good stick, some vines, or a sharp stone, pick it up."

Qian Renxue and Shui Bing'er had no experience with Desert Island Survival.

Only after Chu Xiu pointed them out did they start paying attention to such things.

Each of them soon picked up a branch that felt right in her hand. Chu Xiu also found a fairly sharp stone.

Once he had a chance to shape it and tie it to a branch with vines, he would have a simple stone spear.

The three moved slowly. After about an hour, they had covered only two or three hundred meters.

By then, the sun had reached its ten o'clock position, and the woods were growing stuffy and hot.

Tiny beads of sweat covered Chu Xiu's back. Qian Renxue and Shui Bing'er were doing a little better, though sweat had dampened their foreheads too.

"It's so stuffy and hot in here. I'm getting thirsty."

Shui Bing'er's cheeks were flushed. Sweat ran down her forehead, and her rosy lips parted as she breathed hard.

Qian Renxue was a little breathless too. "Didn't you say you saw fruit trees in the woods? Where's the fruit?"

Chu Xiu had only been boasting. He had no idea whether there were any fruit trees here.

He knew no more about the island than Qian Renxue and the others did.

"Uh... Maybe I saw wrong."

Chu Xiu brushed off the question, then suddenly spotted something and hurried a few steps ahead.

Gray-brown vines sprawled beneath a large tree. Several looked as though something had bitten through them, and drops of clear water were seeping from the broken ends.

Chu Xiu tore off a length of vine and chewed it. Water with a faint, bitter taste of bark immediately moistened his mouth.

Qian Renxue and Shui Bing'er stared at him in confusion.

"Chu Xiu, what are you doing? Can you eat that?"

Chu Xiu finished chewing and spat out the pulp before smiling. "You can't eat it, but you can drink from it."

He picked up two more lengths of vine and was about to turn and hand them to the women when Qian Renxue called out sharply:

"Don't turn around! Just tell us what to do."

Chu Xiu had tried to make his turn look casual, hoping to sneak a peek.

He had been caught.

With a chuckle, Chu Xiu said without a trace of embarrassment:

"Not every vine in the woods has water you can drink. Some are too dry, and some are poisonous. We're lucky—these happen to be ideal."

In Desert Island Survival, aside from rainwater and the rare natural underground freshwater source, drawing drinking water from vines was one of the most common methods.

It was far easier and more efficient than extracting fresh water from the sea.

The only catch was that finding the right vines took luck.

Chu Xiu moved a few steps forward and told Shui Bing'er and Qian Renxue to come closer. Each took a vine and chewed it, drawing plenty of liquid from it.

"Wow, this is wonderful! We're saved."

"I almost thought I was going to die of thirst."

Shui Bing'er took another vine in both hands and kept chewing, drinking deeply from it.

Qian Renxue did the same. In that stifling heat, a mouthful of slightly bitter fresh water tasted better than any delicacy.

[Shui Bing'er developed a slight reliance on you. Bond Value +10]

[Current Bond Value: 10]

Chu Xiu was searching the area for anything else they could use when a notification suddenly sounded in his mind. He froze.

It was that easy to form a bond? Shui Bing'er has a decent heart, after all.

A smug smile spread across Chu Xiu's face.

Unfortunately, only Shui Bing'er had formed a bond. There was no response from Qian Renxue.

But Chu Xiu was in no hurry.

It was only their first day of survival. As long as nothing happened to them, he would max out their Bond Values sooner or later.