Her consciousness sank behind a black curtain.
A notification popped up on the interface: Dr. STONE had just released two whole new episodes.
Li Xiang casually tapped play. The screen lit up, and the familiar anime art style came into view.
The footage faithfully depicted the entire process of gathering materials from the cave, measuring ingredients, fermenting wild fruit, and using chemical reactions to improve the nitric acid.
It began with their discovery that the natural nitric acid was too dilute and lacked oxidizing power, followed by Senku's proposal to brew alcohol and mix it in to boost its potency, then showed the two of them picking wild grapes, crushing them, and sealing them up to ferment.
After patiently waiting two weeks, they finally mixed their first successful batch of revival fluid.
Every scene felt vivid and familiar, documenting the entire process of the two of them starting from scratch and making their first bottle of revival fluid.
A dense stream of viewer comments scrolled across the screen.
[Checking in.]
[Checking in.]
[Saved up two episodes to watch together, hehe.]
[Taiju's getting revived next, right? That's definitely how it goes.]
Li Xiang quietly watched as the footage continued.
Although they had successfully made revival fluid, their current supplies were too limited to revive humanity en masse. They could only prioritize awakening one reliable person with exceptional physical strength to serve as the team's main powerhouse.
Without question, their first choice was Taiju.
The shot changed to Taiju's stone statue, standing silently in the woods after 3,700 years of petrification.
Revival fluid slowly poured down over him. Faint cracking sounds rang out as the stone shell peeled away layer by layer.
After three thousand years, Taiju Oki successfully awakened, given a new lease on life.
When Taiju first opened his eyes, his mind was blank. Only one person remained in his thoughts-Senku.
He couldn't spare a thought for his surroundings and completely forgot that he was stark naked. Overcome with excitement, he acted entirely on instinct, letting out a roar as he launched himself at Senku to give his best friend a crushing hug.
Senku reacted swiftly, anticipating him perfectly. He raised his leg and delivered a precise kick, stopping the overexcited Taiju dead in his tracks.
Senku's exasperated, disgusted voice rang out from the screen. "You idiot! Don't come charging at me naked!"
[Taiju... could our little boy show a little restraint? Your butt's hanging out.]
[I'm dying.]
[Can't be helped. They don't even have clothes out here.]
[Guess they'll be building houses and stuff now.]
[Here comes the time skip.]
After awakening, Taiju brimmed with energy and seemingly inexhaustible strength.
Once he joined the team, the house-building project that had seemed almost impossible suddenly became far easier.
The video clearly showed the three of them working together. Their once-arduous efforts to build a life in the wilderness became a breeze.
Comments flooded the screen again.
[Having Taiju around is like having a built-in excavator!]
[That stamina is downright inhuman!]
[Science cheats + muscle cheats.]
[Bet the other group has already started farming by now.]
Near the end, the three of them sat down in a clearing to rest after a day of construction.
Looking at their steadily improving camp, Senku casually dropped a bombshell.
"We've got one last dose of revival fluid left. We can revive one more person." Those words instantly brought Taiju, who had been sprawled nearby resting, back to full energy.
He sprang up, his eyes shining. "It's Yuzuriha, right? It's got to be Yuzuriha, hasn't it, Senku?"
Senku picked at his ear out of habit, looking completely unruffled, and gave a slight nod. "Yeah, that's right."
With that confirmation, Taiju completely lost control. He lunged at Senku and hugged him tight enough to squeeze the breath right out of him.
The final frame froze on the iconic sight of Taiju locking Senku in a frenzied hug, his face filled with wild delight.
The opening theme began, and the intro animation played.
Li Xiang couldn't be bothered to watch the same opening again. She skipped it with a tap and opened the next episode.
Rather than immediately advancing the story, the second episode opened with a tender flashback.
The scene returned to the day the petrification disaster struck.
Taiju had been so close to confessing to Yuzuriha, just a little bit away, when the Petrification Beam arrived without warning.
In an instant, an eerie green light enveloped the world, reducing their thriving civilization to nothing.
The flashback ended, and the scene returned to the present.
In a forest clearing, Yuzuriha's stone statue stood silently amid the vegetation, wrapped in layers of branches and vines.
He gazed steadily at the petrified, sleeping girl. "I'm sorry, Yuzuriha."
"I couldn't protect you, and you were trapped here alone for so long. I'm really sorry."
Holding the revival fluid, Senku stepped forward, ready to awaken Yuzuriha.
But just before the liquid could drip down, a familiar scene played out once again.
Taiju suddenly snapped to his senses as a crucial problem struck him.
She'd wake up completely naked once the petrification wore off!
Yuzuriha was a girl!
Panicking, he shouted, "Wait, Senku! Don't pour it yet! Yuzuriha isn't wearing any clothes!"
In his panic, his body moved faster than his brain. Two fingers shot out and jabbed Senku squarely in both eyes.
"Urgh!"
Caught completely off guard, Senku clutched his red, swollen eyes, his face full of exasperation. He rubbed them as he complained.
"What are you freaking out for?"
"She's been petrified for over three thousand years. Even if her butt's bare and she's showing things she shouldn't, nobody's going to give her a second glance."
At that outrageous remark, Li Xiang's mouth twitched sharply on the other side of the screen.
Honestly, Senku's scientifically minded, clueless-guy logic never failed to be bizarre.
She knew this scene all too well. Uninterested in watching their childish bickering, she shifted her gaze to herself in the video.
On-screen, Li Xiang calmly watched the spectacle the whole time, her lips twitching.
Then she stepped forward, spoke up to stop their antics, and directed Taiju to gently lower Yuzuriha's statue.
Next, she took out the clean cloth outfit she had sewn beforehand and carefully, gently dressed the statue.
With all the preparations complete, nothing could go wrong.
Only then did Senku steadily pour the revival fluid over Yuzuriha's head.
Fine cracking sounds spread as the stone shell peeled away layer by layer.
After 3,700 years of silence, the girl slowly opened her eyes and regained consciousness.
Seeing the familiar faces of Taiju and Senku before her, Yuzuriha looked dazed and spoke softly. "Everyone...?"
Once she understood their current circumstances, Yuzuriha readily accepted them. Just as they were about to head back, Taiju suggested grilling some fish there, and everyone agreed.
Li Xiang glanced at the progress bar. There were five minutes left, so she figured the scene with the elbow strike against the lion would come later.
They went into the river and caught plenty of fish, then returned to shore. Just as Li Xiang was about to start a fire, a rustling sound came from the bushes.
All of them turned their gazes toward the source of the sound at once.
[Wait, could that be a wild animal or something?]
[Don't jinx it! How could there be?]
[You never know. Our boy Senku has always had terrible luck, hasn't he?]
[Holy crap, wouldn't they be dead if they actually ran into one?]
[They've got Taiju on the team, don't they? He can tank it, right?]
[Are we counting on Taiju alone? Forget Yuzuriha for now, she definitely can't fight much. No idea about Li Xiang, either. Senku... Senku's also... Senku... sigh.]
[Senku: Hey, hey, hey, lady, what's that supposed to mean?]
[I'm dying. We should thank our lucky stars if Senku's combat power isn't negative.]
Before you continue