The Best Day of His Life

That crab leg, so plump it made his heart race, more tempting than black, white, or nude stockings, lay there all alone... on the ground.

Zhang Ming's heart sped up again. Almost unable to believe it, he picked up the crab leg. It was hard, covered in prickly hairs, and slick with a trace of slime.

It must have broken off when that crab fell from the boulder earlier.

A whole range of expressions crossed his face. This crab leg was enormous, as thick as an adult's arm and weighing around five kilograms!

The turn in his fortunes came so swiftly that Zhang Ming trembled with excitement, heat coursing through his body until he practically gave off smoke.

In that instant, he felt his defenses crumble, and tears rolled down his cheeks unbidden.

He even felt an urge to find that giant crab again and keep it as his "lifesaving benefactor crab," eating only one leg a day and leaving its body untouched.

Crab legs grew back anyway. Why let them go to waste?

He would keep feeding it, keep caring for it, right up until the day it died of old age.

He swiftly stuffed the crab leg into his backpack, glanced around like a thief to make sure no monsters had noticed him, then fled like the wind.

This was no mere crab leg. It was...

Joy, delight, happiness.

And... life!

[Spirit +1 +1 +1]

Should I steam my "lifesaving benefactor crab's" leg, grill it, or boil it?

Wait, where's the fire?

I haven't even made a fire yet!

[Spirit -1 -1 -1 -1]

His mood riding a roller coaster, Zhang Ming impatiently checked the dead leaves and branches drying in the blazing sun.

Come to think of it, he had gone three whole days without a proper meal.

Every time he ate from his stockpile, he felt guilty about steadily draining his supplies.

Who knew when a rescue team would arrive?

But now, one crab leg had completely changed his fortunes. He had acquired it through hunting, which met the requirements for sustainability, so he could eat his fill without a care!

And so, before he had even managed to start a fire, he was already drooling.

"I'll boil the crab after all. Better cook it thoroughly, just to be safe." He rubbed his sweaty hands together.

"I need a bigger pot."

The only container he had on hand was the inner pot of a rice cooker, which would not fit a whole crab leg.

As for the suitcases, most were plastic and could not be used to cook over a fire.

Zhang Ming returned to the plane wreckage to search for a larger metal container.

The plane's meal trolley was made of stainless steel and held several metal drawers that had originally contained airline meals.

The trolley had been badly twisted out of shape in the crash, so Zhang Ming had passed it over before.

"A few knocks with a rock, and it'll make a big pot."

Once he had found a container, the last step was to start a fire.

Zhang Ming had a knife, scissors, a radio, medicine, and a hand-cranked flashlight, but no lighter. Those were prohibited on planes and could not be carried aboard or checked in.

That left him with only one option: making fire by drilling wood.

He took a deep breath. He had never tried making fire this way before and could not help feeling nervous.

Plenty of things looked simple, but when it came to actually doing them, an expert saw the technique while an amateur saw only the spectacle.

Without trying it yourself, you would never know how difficult it was.

Last night's radio broadcast had just covered the steps for making fire with a hand drill, and they were not especially complicated.

First, he had to prepare an easily ignited tinder nest made from wood shavings, paper napkins, and other flammable materials.

Then he needed to find a wooden stick and a wooden board.

He would carve a small hole in the board with his knife and fill it with wood shavings.

Then he would keep spinning the long stick in the hole, using friction to produce an ember.

Finally, he would place the ember in the tinder nest to kindle a small flame, giving him a proper source of fire.

The idea was simple, but once he actually tried it, he felt like an idiot. Details such as choosing slightly harder wood for the spindle and slightly softer wood for the fireboard were things he could discover only by trying them himself.

Even when he barely managed to produce an ember, it was pitifully small, and a passing breeze would accidentally snuff it out.

Trying to make this fire wore a layer of skin off Zhang Ming's hands, sent his Spirit plummeting, and even cost him a handful of hair.

[Spirit -1 -1 -1 -1 -1]

It took him an entire afternoon to finally coax up a flame!

Watching those bright sparks, he was so moved that his eyes nearly filled with tears.

That was far too hard!

He placed the flame in the stone-lined pit he had prepared earlier and lit more wood. Then it was time to cook the crab leg!

No sooner had he sat down than the delicate aroma of crab meat wafted toward him. He hurriedly covered it with another drawer to keep the scent from spreading too far and creating unnecessary risks.

What could possibly inspire more anticipation than this moment?

Zhang Ming sat quietly beside the fire, listening to the wood crackle and pop.

His heart was utterly at peace.

In that moment, he had no troubles.

Carefree, he gazed at the setting sun and breathed in the scent of the waves, filled with heartfelt happiness.

For some reason, he remembered the past.

Before this, the happiest moments of his life seemed to have been... those times in high school when he waited for his first girlfriend.

Zhang Ming had been a "good student" with reasonably decent grades, but he was not the sort who followed every rule. It was high school, after all. Every class inevitably had a few young couples.

What he looked forward to most each day was taking his girlfriend's hand and walking a lap around the sports field.

At first, they only held hands. Then came kisses on the cheek, and finally stolen kisses on the lips, before they fled hand in hand from the dean's relentless pursuit.

That happy relationship lasted only one semester.

Then it stopped being quite so pleasant.

So many things in this world were like that. If only life could stay as it was when people first met. Perfection existed only in fantasy.

He did not know why that time in his past had suddenly come back to him, but Zhang Ran could not help letting out a long sigh.

He had been about to ride the good mood and make a few cheeky remarks, perhaps sing life's praises, but now he suddenly had no idea what to say.

Those bygone days were like a string of lost pearls. As he drifted away from human civilization, it seemed they would never return.

You thought it was just an ordinary day.

You thought it was simply what life was like.

But time passed, and circumstances

changed. You suddenly looked back and realized it had been the best day of your life.

And that day was gone forever, flickering past only in memory.

The wood here had unusual properties. Rich in oils, it burned with exceptional intensity.

In theory, half an hour of boiling should have been enough.

To be safe, he boiled it for a full hour.

While he waited, Zhang Ming used the spare suitcases to set up a dozen or so "dew collectors."

Then, using two pieces of clothing as towels, he carefully lifted the scorching metal drawer out of the fire. A layer of white foam floated on the bubbling hot water, while the crab leg had turned orange-yellow and gave off an enticing aroma.

His appetite thoroughly whetted, he exclaimed in eager appreciation, "Time to eat some crab leggies!!"