A misunderstanding sparked by making fire

"Ah..." Tang Xiaoguo was a little disappointed, but she soon perked up again. "Even if we can't find a king crab, finding a hairy crab would be pretty good too!"

"A hairy crab on the beach?" Jiang Yao was astonished.

Tang Xiaoguo said with absolute certainty, "I've really found one before!"

Ning Shu smiled. "Are you sure it was a hairy crab and not a swimming crab?"

Tang Xiaoguo thought for a moment. "Aren't all crabs the same?"

"Of course not," Lin Qianqian said. "Some are sea crabs, and some are river crabs!"

Lu Zhe had no interest in debating whether hairy crabs could be found on the beach, so he said, "The question is, can you walk on that foot?"

"Let me try!"

She tried taking two steps with her little foot tilted up, looking like a penguin. "See? No problem..."

But she only managed those two steps. On the third, some sand she kicked up accidentally touched her wound, and she started howling in pain again!

"I think you'd better stay at camp!"

"No, I'm going!"

Lin Qianqian said, "How about this? We take turns helping Guo'er walk, and wherever there's something fun, we let her sit there for a while. Okay?"

The girls all raised their hands in agreement!

Jiang Yao winked with a soft laugh and invited him, "Xiao Zhe, come with us!"

To be honest, searching for supplies along the shore really was fun, but Lu Zhe knew he had something more important to do right now!

"No, you girls go have fun. Remember, the four of you must stay together, and don't go too far from camp. Blow your whistles if you run into danger!"

Jiang Yao pursed her lips in disappointment and reminded him, "Then make sure you stay safe!"

Tang Xiaoguo pouted. "Yaoyao, come help me!"

Lu Zhe smiled and made an "OK" sign.

Watching the four girls walk away, laughing and chatting, lifted Lu Zhe's spirits too!

Now that they had a basic camp and a few bottles of fresh water to keep them alive, thinking about it rationally, the most pressing task was to make a fire.

A campfire could not only cook food but also bring light, warmth, and hope.

If a rescue team or fishing boat appeared, they could also burn wet wood and plastic to produce black smoke and send a signal.

A campfire was just as essential to survival as fresh water.

He felt he needed to get a campfire going before nightfall.

However, he didn't smoke, and he didn't have a lighter.

Even if he did smoke, he wouldn't have been allowed to bring one onto the plane!

How many ways were there to start a fire in the wild?

He could find flint and strike it to make fire!

Or he could use the principle of a convex lens to focus sunlight and start a fire!

Then there was the most common method: drilling wood to make fire!

Right, there was also starting a fire with a battery!

That was the easiest!

But of the three phones they had, some were out of power and the others had soaked in seawater for too long. Their batteries were already ruined and completely unusable.

What about the other methods?

He had no idea where to find flint, and he had nothing resembling a convex lens. The only method he had the means for was drilling wood to make fire!

There were several ways to do that too: drilling directly by hand, using an Indigenous Iroquois-style pump drill, using a bow drill, or rubbing a groove!

Lu Zhe carefully weighed his options!

Spinning a drill directly between his hands definitely wouldn't work!

His hands would have to be covered in calluses, and he would have to know how to apply the force. Otherwise, several big, shiny blisters would definitely sprout on his hands in less than ten minutes!

What about an Iroquois-style pump drill?

That wouldn't work either!

The device was relatively complicated and required drilling holes. He had neither a drill bit nor a machete on hand, so making it would be practically impossible!

The rubbing method?

Also known as the fire plow method.

It was the method Tom Hanks used to survive, but it was rather inefficient!

Come to think of it, the method best suited to him was a bow drill!

The fire-drilling method Lord De used most often!

This device was fairly simple to make!

Find a flexible piece of wood and a length of cord to make a bow, then find a little stick, loop the cord around it once, and press it against a piece of wood!

As the bow was pulled back and forth, the little stick would spin rapidly!

It was far more efficient than spinning it directly between his hands!

Yes, a bow drill it is!

With his plan settled, it was time to put it into action!

First, he needed somewhere sheltered from the wind so the tiny, newly lit flame wouldn't be blown out.

He decided to make his fire beneath a tree forty meters from camp!

Once the fire was stable, he would move it to camp!

Next came finding a suitable branch. That wasn't difficult either; in less than five minutes, he found a branch thirty centimeters long!

He bent it with his hands. Its flexibility and springiness were just right!

As for the cord!

He would use his own shoelace!

He tied one end securely, bent the stick, then tied the other end tight!

In less than three minutes, a small, simple fire bow was finished!

Preparing tinder was easy too. He found two dry leaves and rubbed them between his palms with a rustle, and it was done.

Then he found a dry stick about fifteen centimeters long and a thick piece of wood!

He ground both ends of the stick round against a rock, wrapped the bow's shoelace around it twice, placed the thick piece of wood beneath it, and pressed a shell on top!

The materials weren't perfect, but at least they would work.

Holding down the shell with his left hand, he pulled and pushed with his right. Sure enough, the stick began spinning rapidly!

This really wears out your arm!

Lu Zhe had only pulled back and forth for a little while before his upper arm began to ache.

It seemed strength alone wasn't enough. His constitution needed improving too!

There was nothing for it but to try a different position!

He switched to gripping the end of the bow with his right hand and moving it up and down, so his arm only had to exert force when pulling back!

Hey, what do you know? This really does feel much more comfortable!

Before long, he had drilled a small hollow in the thick piece of wood!

But this was only the beginning. Actually getting a fire going would still take sustained patience and perseverance!

Half an hour later, Lu Zhe had produced a considerable amount of wood dust, and it was starting to darken. He knew the end of the spindle was already heating up!

He couldn't let up now. He had to keep going!

Meanwhile, the girls had found quite a few "good things"!

Their little bottles held hermit crabs of various sizes, and their plastic bags held colorful seashells!

Perhaps to them, how much protein and how many calories something contained didn't matter. Looking pretty was king!

"We've found so much stuff! Lu Zhe won't dare look down on us now, will he?"

"Too bad we didn't find any hairy crabs! Still, it's not so bad. We found a whole bunch of little hairy crabs!"

"Those are little sea crabs, aren't they?"

"And they're tiny. If you don't look closely, you'd think they were ten-cent coins."

"Oh, right. Do any of you know how to eat hermit crabs?"

"No idea. Maybe Lu Zhe knows how!"

"Come on, let's go see him!"

The four girls supported one another as they returned to camp, but Lu Zhe wasn't there!

Ning Shu stood on tiptoe and looked around, spotting Lu Zhe sitting on the grass not far away, doing who knew what!

"Over there!"

"Come on!"

The four girls headed over, but when they were still more than thirty meters from Lu Zhe, all four stopped in unison!

"Huh?"

"What... is he doing?"

Not far away, Lu Zhe sat on a rock with his back to them, vigorously moving his right hand up and down. They had no idea what he was doing!

The four girls exchanged looks!

Tang Xiaoguo said, "Does anyone know... what he's doing?"

Lin Qianqian shook her head blankly. "Won't we find out if we go ask him?!"

"No!"

Ning Shu seemed to have suddenly realized something. Her expression was extraordinarily grave, her brows slightly furrowed, and her face pale yet tinged with red!

Jiang Yao was puzzled. "What's wrong, class monitor?"

Ning Shu pressed her lips together and said in anguish, "I never thought he... he'd actually be doing that legendary thing!"