It seemed to compensate for the poor sleep before, for this nap was deep and serene.
The chirping of insects and birds became the best lullaby, gently rocking Chen Zhou's peaceful dream.
Not until the sun hung high, with the subtropical climate of the island showing its sharpness, the blazing sunlight spilled onto his face, did Chen Zhou groggily lift his arm to shield his eyes, slowly waking up.
The sunlight made his eyes darken, and Chen Zhou got up, rubbed his face, looking at the daylight on the lonely island, still feeling somewhat dazed.
The world had swept away the gloom, restored freshness and brightness, with flowers vibrant and grass tender, a riot of color.
A gentle breeze brushed across the hillside, startling a white butterfly perched on a flower next to Chen Zhou, which flapped its wings and flew away.
The sporadic insect song paused for a moment due to the rustling in the grass, soon returning to its noisy chorus.
Below the slope, the Rock Beach, which was still covered with a layer of shallow water in the morning, had been filled by the sea, with orderly advancing waves gently and steadily caressing the shore, even the sound of water seemed exceptionally gentle.
Just like the book described, after the storm, it was a rare day when the sea was extremely calm.
Chen Zhou sat in a daze for a while, finally shaking off the laziness after waking up.
Standing up, he fertilized the flowers and plants, his stomach felt empty, the long-silent hunger resurfaced, reminding him — it's time to look for food.
The body doesn't lie, his limp limbs had already lost some strength due to hunger, his empty stomach craved starches, sugars, fibers, fats, or proteins.
Wandering a few steps like a headless fly, with thoughts of what to do next, Chen Zhou's sense of urgency grew stronger.
Glancing around, he noticed birds preening their feathers atop the bushes lining both sides of the river, which made him think of gathering bird eggs.
Chen Zhou wasn't sure if October was the breeding season for the island's birds, he could only hope to strike it lucky.
So, dragging his weary body through the grass, on the still-damp riverbank, amidst the rising water mist, and within those dense intertwined branches, he crouched searching for "Schrödinger's bird eggs."
Time gradually passed, the temperature kept rising, yet the wind grew weaker.
The scorching sun baked the lonely island, a muddy smell emerged from the riverbank's green land.
Chen Zhou found nothing, sitting dejectedly on the slope.
Clearly, luck was not on his side this time.
He futilely fumbled through the grass patch, rummaging the green wall-like bushes, hoping to feel a bird's nest or some round thing, while also worrying about catching a large, fatty insect or worse, getting bitten by a snake hidden in the grass.
Green, whether dense or light, varieties of green were brutally stuffed into his eyes.
Tangled vine plants, slender shrub branches, low flowers, aquatic plants…
The colors, which had gradually dimmed or disappeared after he entered society, were returning with force, occupying Chen Zhou's eyes, making him dizzy.
This was not an easy task, nor as fun as traveling or camping.
Even the little novelty rapidly faded with time, leaving only a growing sense of bodily fatigue and mounting psychological pressure.
Over two hours were wasted like this.
Staring blankly at those lush green bushes, Chen Zhou only felt the accumulated fatigue rushing over him, coupled with the hot weather, making him a bit nauseous.
Sourness welled up from his stomach, which Chen Zhou forcibly swallowed back down.
The situation was no longer optimistic.
The irritation caused by hunger affected his mood, he knew this was a normal physiological response, constantly comforting himself —
"This is just a small difficulty, you must stay calm, don't panic, as long as you find food, everything will get better."
Now, Chen Zhou deeply realized that searching for bird eggs was a lousy decision.
Concerning survival, he had to give up the safe and palatable bird eggs and turn to obtaining some food that was easy to capture but risky and hard to swallow.
For example, the readily available insects in the grass, mantis shrimp and crabs on the Rock Beach, fish swimming in the small river, and the shellfish attached to stones.
Acting right away, driven by hunger, Chen Zhou's energy rose to an unprecedented level.
He foresaw needing a container for the crabs and fish he would catch, so he untied his bundled clothes, planning to use Robinson's jacket as a pocket to hold the booty.
While untying the knot, he thought he should bring that small knife, which would be more convenient for killing prey and dissecting food.
Suddenly, Chen Zhou remembered there were still some preserved fruits in Robinson's inner shirt pocket, an indescribable delight overwhelmed him, hastily spreading out the jacket rolled into a ball, and pulled out the clump of sticky preserved fruits.
A night's time was not enough to dry the preserved fruits soaked in seawater, this sticky mass was overall dark red, with deep brown spots in parts, not looking good.
As for its taste, it was needless to say.
Any food soaked by seawater would become salty and bitter, the already sweet-and-greasy preserved fruit mixed with seawater, the taste was probably worse than most so-called dark cuisines.
But at this critical moment, for Chen Zhou, there was no better food than this preserved fruit.
Frowning, he broke off a piece of preserved fruit and put it into his mouth, chewing meticulously.
The taste was terrible, the excessive sugar made it extremely sweet, yet could not completely mask the salty bitterness of the salt and minerals in the seawater, plus the faint fishy smell belonging to algae, blending into a nauseating hodgepodge.