It wasn't until Zhang Liu personally experienced the unyielding grip of the oysters clinging to the rocks that he truly understood their strength. There was a reason the ancients used these as bridge supports. But at the end of the day, they were just shells made of calcium carbonate.
Raising a stone high, Zhang Liu unleashed the fierce combat skills of a determined human. Soon, the coconut shell he was using as a container was half-filled with oyster meat.
Glancing at the sun, now halfway dipped below the horizon, Zhang Liu turned and left without hesitation. The previous night, he had paid close attention to how quickly darkness fell. Without any timekeeping tools, he relied on mentally counting and his book knowledge to estimate that it would be completely dark in about an hour and a half.
He looked at the oyster meat in the coconut shell with satisfaction, though he wasn't sure if Qin Ruoshuang or Anya would accept this kind of food. But he could handle it, and that was enough.
Zhang Liu understood one thing clearly: as the strongest person in this wilderness, he had a responsibility to look after the weaker Anya and Qin Ruoshuang. But even more important was taking care of himself. Only by ensuring his own safety could he better protect the two girls. Eating was a form of self-preservation.
By the time he reached the cave with the oyster meat, the sky had grown darker. Only the area around the setting sun still glowed, while the distant clouds swept toward the light with their darkness. It was a breathtaking scene. In a moment of leisure, it might inspire awe. But for Zhang Liu, struggling to manage his small patch of land, it felt like nature's countdown timer, urging him to finish the day's tasks.
Standing at the cave entrance, Zhang Liu didn't climb up right away. Instead, he called out, "Anya, Qin Ruoshuang, is it okay for me to come up now?" He didn't want to barge in and catch them in an awkward moment, like changing clothes.
Inside the cave, Anya, who was carefully grinding a rusty piece of metal with a flat stone, stayed silent and focused. Qin Ruoshuang, peeling coconut flesh nearby, replied, "Zhang Liu, come on up."
"Alright!" Zhang Liu secured the leaves covering the coconut shell, stepped on the nearby rocks, and climbed into the cave in a few moves. He was immediately struck by how different the cave looked.
"How's it look?" Qin Ruoshuang paused her coconut peeling and smiled at Zhang Liu. "I just tidied it up."
"It's great," Zhang Liu nodded approvingly, then sighed. "You must be exhausted, huh?"
Anya, still grinding the metal, glanced up at them briefly before lowering her head again. Zhang Liu's words stirred an indescribable feeling in her heart.
"Not too bad," Qin Ruoshuang said, pointing to a foam board nearby. "Can you sleep here tonight?"
"Yeah, that'll work fine," Zhang Liu replied. "By the way, I got some oysters from the beach for dinner. Oh, Anya, what are you doing?"
The light outside was brighter, but the cave was already dim. He could hear a scraping sound and see Anya moving back and forth, but he couldn't tell what she was up to.
"Anya said she knows how to maintain tools, so she's removing rust from that metal piece you found," Qin Ruoshuang explained as she took the coconut shell from Zhang Liu.
"It's not rust removal," Anya suddenly interrupted, her voice firm. She looked up at Zhang Liu and explained softly, "At the seaside, metal rusts easily without oil or other protective measures. I'm just sharpening it now."
Qin Ruoshuang glanced at Anya, sensing the tone was directed at her but unsure why. Just moments ago, they had been chatting and laughing, with Anya even saying she'd make weapons so she wouldn't need Zhang Liu's protection in the future.
Could it be…? Qin Ruoshuang stole a glance at Anya, whose head was lowered even further, her delicate earlobes looking slightly flushed in the dim light. A guess formed in her mind.
"Oh, sharpening it is good. It'll definitely come in handy later," Zhang Liu said, oblivious to the tension between the girls. He nodded, sat down to rest, and took another look around the cave. His eyes soon landed on a Nongfu Spring bottle filled with clear liquid.
Before he could ask, Qin Ruoshuang, who was eating a piece of oyster meat, said, "Zhang Liu, I tested it this afternoon. The water should be fine."
"You tested it?" Zhang Liu turned to her, concerned. He had planned to check it himself tomorrow, but she had already done it?
"Yeah, I drank some, and I'm fine," Qin Ruoshuang nodded, pointing to the bottle. "We've both had some. Want to try it?"
"Sure," Zhang Liu said, reaching for the bottle and unscrewing the cap. But as he lifted it to his mouth, he noticed both Anya and Qin Ruoshuang staring at him.
"You… want some too?" he asked, confused, holding the bottle mid-air.
"No, go ahead," Qin Ruoshuang said.
"I've had some," Anya added.
Both spoke at the same time, their faces calm but their eyes betraying a hint of nervousness.
"Oh," Zhang Liu nodded, raising the bottle again. But the girls kept staring, their gazes intense, like they were watching a rare animal. He started to feel uneasy, his mind racing with wild thoughts.
What if rescue had arrived, and Qin Ruoshuang and Anya had poisoned the water to cover up something embarrassing—like touching or grabbing something they shouldn't have—planning to silence him? It was absurd, but the thought crept into his mind.
"Drink it… why aren't you drinking?" Anya said, no longer grinding the metal. Her eyes were fixed on the bottle's rim, which she had drunk from, the phrase "indirect kiss" flashing through her mind.
"Yeah, Zhang Liu, drink it," Qin Ruoshuang urged, her curiosity piqued. Though she cared a little that it was her drink, she didn't mind too much if it was Zhang Liu. She just wanted to see what would happen.
"Are you both… okay?" Zhang Liu asked nervously, their stares making him paranoid. He rolled his eyes and tested the waters. "Uh, has any rescue team shown up?"
He watched their faces closely, ready to catch any hint of deception.
"Oh… no," Qin Ruoshuang and Anya sighed in unison, shaking their heads. Qin Ruoshuang's gentle eyes even shimmered with tears.
Seeing their genuine reactions, Zhang Liu relaxed. Their expressions seemed too real for his wild rescue-and-murder theory to hold up. But when he raised the bottle again, the girls resumed their intense staring.
"I'm not drinking," he said, shaking his head and setting the bottle down. Instead, he grabbed a jaboticaba fruit from nearby and popped it into his mouth, skin and all.
In this strange moment, he'd rather risk poisoning himself with fruit than drink that water.