Making tools

He had gained another source of fresh water, and another Potential Point!

Leaving Lin Qianqian to handle it herself, he picked up the tin can's lid.

Once removed, the lid could never be fitted back on, and holding it could easily cut his hand.

In that case, making a small knife out of it was a pretty good idea!

He could even earn Potential Points if he succeeded!

"Class monitor, come here. I've got a good job for you!"

Ning Shu looked warily at Lu Zhe, afraid he would assign her another improper task. "What is it?"

Lu Zhe handed the tin lid to Ning Shu. "You can make a knife!"

"A knife?"

"It's simple. This lid is a round piece of iron. Sharpen one edge, and you can use it as a knife!"

Ning Shu took it and examined it. "Something this small? Can it chop wood?"

Lu Zhe said helplessly, "A piece of iron this size will only be about as useful as a utility knife when it's finished. It'll work for slicing fish or cutting shrimp! If you're expecting it to chop wood, you'd be better off picking up any old rock!"

As he spoke, he picked up a rock and waved it. "Like this one!"

Ding! Congratulations, host, on discovering natural volcanic granite! Potential Points +1!

"Holy shit!"

He was startled!

He had only picked up a random rock as an example. He hadn't expected the system to actually give him a prompt that it was usable!

Looking more closely, he saw that the rock was a flattened oval, slightly rounded at one end and flat at the other.

With some grinding, it really would make good material for an axe!

Ning Shu looked at the rock, a little puzzled. "You can make a stone axe out of that?"

Lu Zhe nodded. "I was just giving a random example, but it turns out this thing really is quite suitable!"

"Then do we make the stone axe or the knife first?"

"Hmm, how about this? You make the knife, and I'll make the stone axe. We can work at the same time!"

Ning Shu patted Lu Zhe's shoulder in satisfaction. "It really is a perfectly proper task! All right, do we start now?"

Just then, Jiang Yao called from her side, "Hold on, breakfast is ready! Come and eat, everyone!"

They really were hungry, too. Working on an empty stomach would double their physical energy expenditure!

They would make an offering to the temple of their stomachs first!

Their so-called breakfast, however, amounted to a few roasted mussels, two spicy strips, and either a sea snail or a crab per person.

These were the fruits of their search along the way that morning.

Although it wasn't enough to fill their stomachs, it could still provide the protein and carbohydrates their bodies needed!

After making do with breakfast, it was time to start making tools!

Ning Shu looked at the round iron lid. "How do we start?"

"First, we need to find a relatively flat rock to use as a grinding stone!"

There were plenty of rocks like that on the beach, and Lu Zhe soon found a suitable one!

It was just a little big, and out in the sun!

But if they ground their tools here, it wouldn't take long for the sun to dehydrate them. The best option was to move the rock into the shade!

He gave it a try, barely lifting it off the ground before putting it back down!

Fuck me, this thing is way too fucking heavy!

He estimated that the rock weighed at least 125 kilograms. Lifting a hundred-kilogram person might be possible, but lifting a hundred-kilogram rock was nowhere near as easy!

No need to panic!

He immediately spent 5 Potential Points on strength, bringing it to 20. At once, his muscles felt as though they had been tempered, and his whole body brimmed with strength!

With another heave, he easily lifted the huge rock!

The four girls stared, dumbfounded. Who could have imagined that this delicate-looking, scholarly boy could lift such a huge rock? "Wow, Lu Zhe, what did you grow up eating? You're ridiculously strong!"

"Of course..."

Lu Zhe grinned smugly and carried the huge rock into the shade!

Lin Qianqian took a look. "Huh, is it for a dining table?"

Lu Zhe was just about to poke fun at Lin Qianqian's unusual train of thought, but after setting it down and taking another look, it really did look like a fucking dining table!

"It'd make a decent dining table, but right now I'm going to use it as a grinding stone!"

"A grinding stone? To make what?"

"A knife and a stone axe!"

Ning Shu proudly waved the little round disc. "You didn't know, did you? This is a major project. Want to join us?"

"Sounds pretty fun!"

"Count me in, too!"

Lu Zhe poured a bottle of seawater over the rock's surface, then pressed the oblong stone against it and ground it. The stone shavings turned into slurry and trickled down!

On the other side, Ning Shu ground the iron disc against the rock's edge, producing a metallic scraping sound!

It was exhausting work, no less arduous than making fire with a hand drill!

But it was worth it, no matter what, to have their first wilderness survival tool!

They chatted as they worked, while also doing their best to watch the sky and the distant sea for any passing rescue helicopters or rescue boats!

Ning Shu, Jiang Yao, and Tang Xiaoguo took turns grinding for over two hours before the little round disc finally had an edge!

They tried slicing an old bottle with it, and it cut through easily. It really was every bit as sharp as a utility knife!

Tang Xiaoguo proudly waved the blade. "See? We're pretty useful, too!"

Ning Shu said, "I'm so tired, but when I think about how I actually made a tool out in the wilderness, I feel such a sense of accomplishment!"

Jiang Yao said, "Me too!"

Lu Zhe took it, examined the sharp edge, and nodded. "I can't help wanting to praise you."

Although it sounded somewhat perfunctory, the girls ate it right up!

Each of them pursed her lips in delight. "Xiao Zhe, how's yours coming along?"

Lu Zhe held out the stone. "Take a look!"

One side of the stone was thick and solid, while both faces of the other side had been ground thin, forming a sharp angle of about forty degrees!

He had also ground a long, narrow stone, with one flat end and the other sharpened, making it look like a chisel!

Ning Shu asked in puzzlement, "What's that for?"

"If we want to make a complete stone axe, it's best to have a chisel!"

"What do we do next?"

"The handles for the knife and stone axe!"

As he spoke, Lu Zhe found a branch, scored two lines in it with the round blade, and gave it a hard tug, tearing off a strip of bark!

He then used the stone axe to chop off a twenty-centimeter length of thumb-thick branch and shaved its surface smooth with the round blade!

Then he split it halfway down the middle, wedged the round blade inside, and bound it tightly from top to bottom with bark cord. A rather oddly shaped little knife with a handle was finished!

For them right now, it didn't matter if a tool looked odd, as long as it worked.

Next came the axe handle!

The axe handle would be much harder to make, requiring a thicker tree trunk!

Fortunately, there were plenty of small trees of even thickness nearby!

Lu Zhe chose a small tree about as thick as a young man's forearm, sat beneath it, found a position where he could exert his strength, and began chopping at the tree, gripping the stone axe in both hands!

This wasn't easy work either. There were still 8 Potential Points in the system, and he put them all into strength!

With 28 strength, he was 2.8 times as strong as he had originally been, so naturally his efficiency improved considerably.

Seeing how hard Lu Zhe was working, Tang Xiaoguo sat beside him to fan him and wipe away his sweat!

Work really did go faster with a girl beside him!

In less than half an hour, he felled the four-meter-tall tree!

He spent another half hour chopping off a forty-centimeter length of wood!