"Why are you making that face?" Anya asked, puzzled, unaware of Qin Ruoshuang's thoughts.
"This red sportswear I'm wearing isn't see-through from sweat."
"Well..." Qin Ruoshuang's expression was one of extreme discomfort. She crossed her arms over her chest, the soft flesh becoming even more pronounced under the pressure.
Noticing how Qin Ruoshuang's breasts still held their shape despite not wearing a bra, Anya fell silent.
She suddenly understood why Qin Ruoshuang had looked so embarrassed yet polite when she suggested changing underwear.
Sometimes, communication between girls is just that simple.
"I'm going to wait for Zhang Liu downstairs. You do whatever you want."
Like a startled puppy, Anya quickly climbed down from the ledge, not daring to glance back at Qin Ruoshuang's chest.
Meanwhile, Zhang Liu had returned to the cave with an armful of dry firewood.
He sat down, pondering why his earlier attempt to start a fire by rubbing sticks together had failed.
The biggest issue was likely that he hadn't drilled long enough.
According to wilderness survival videos, drilling wood to make fire doesn't directly produce a flame.
Instead, the repeated friction and heat turn wood shavings into something like glowing embers.
Those embers are then placed in tinder and gently blown to add oxygen, sparking a flame.
That was the theory, at least.
Zhang Liu picked up the piece of wood he'd used as a base for fire-making and inspected it closely.
There was a small hole in the peeled bark, surrounded by blackened, carbonized sawdust.
After staring at it for a while, he couldn't think of any improvements to the tool itself.
Just keep at it!
Noticing the sun had moved across the sky, Zhang Liu took a deep breath.
He wrapped the rounded stick around his belt and the bow drill made from bent branches.
Using a shell as a pivot point in his left palm, he prepared to pull the bow back and forth again.
But then he paused.
He recalled the final step of drilling wood for fire: pouring the glowing embers onto flammable material and supplying oxygen.
Could it be that the hole he'd drilled was too small, limiting oxygen flow?
Grabbing the metal shard from the ground, he carved a shallow new hole near the one from his failed attempt.
Maybe this would let more oxygen in?
With a flicker of hope, Zhang Liu took another deep breath and began his second attempt at making fire.
Scritch, scritch…
The sound of drilling wood carried to Anya, who was nearby gathering branches.
She immediately ran toward the cave, clutching an armful of sticks.
Qin Ruoshuang, still in the cave and debating whether to come out, hesitated briefly before carefully climbing down.
She lowered her arms from her chest and slowly approached Zhang Liu, who was focused on his fire-making.
She had come to a realization.
If no rescue arrived, she and Zhang Liu would have to survive in this wilderness together.
Eventually, clothes would tear, and exposure would be inevitable.
It might be better to let Zhang Liu get used to her semi-transparent clothing now…
At the same time, she felt a pang of helplessness.
Whether Zhang Liu would adapt or harbor ulterior motives was something only he could know.
Zhang Liu heard the sounds of running and walking nearby but had no energy to pay attention.
This second attempt at fire-making was clearly more promising than the first.
After just a few dozen rotations, wisps of green smoke began rising from where the stick met the wooden base—something that had taken over a hundred rotations last time.
Scritch… scritch…
As the smoke thickened, Qin Ruoshuang and Anya, now standing nearby, held their breath.
Though Zhang Liu knew that rubbing sticks wouldn't produce flames directly, he wasn't sure how long he needed to drill to create glowing embers.
His arms ached again, but this time he didn't give up.
Instead, he shifted his position.
He had been squatting while pulling the bow drill; now, he knelt on the beach, one foot planted in the sand, the other knee pressing down on the wooden base.
His right hand yanked the bow back and forth with renewed vigor, the new stance giving him better leverage.
Huff!
With a heavy gasp, Zhang Liu tossed the bow drill aside, grabbed the smoking wooden base, and poured its contents onto the prepared pile of "old man's beard"—a fluffy, white tinder.
Black sawdust, mixed with wisps of green smoke, settled onto the tinder.
"There's a spark!"
Unlike Qin Ruoshuang, who was still preoccupied with her chest, Anya's attention was entirely on whether Zhang Liu could start the fire.
She clearly saw a smoldering red glow, like charcoal, among the black sawdust he'd poured out.
The discovery thrilled her.
There was no time to respond or hesitate.
Despite his aching arms, Zhang Liu grabbed the fluffy tinder and mimicked the wilderness video, blowing gently.
Huff…
Kneeling on the ground, he blew with an almost reverent focus.
Slash-and-burn marked the evolution of early human civilizations.
For Zhang Liu, successfully making fire meant securing the basic conditions to survive in this wilderness.
No more pitch-black nights.
Food would no longer be cold and unappetizing.
Mornings could be warmed quickly.
These thoughts raced through his mind as he blew, and they flickered through Qin Ruoshuang and Anya's minds as well.
Anya had even dropped her gathered branches at her feet, waiting to feed them into Zhang Liu's fire.
Huff…
With the tenth breath, the twentieth, the thirtieth…
The old man's beard shifted from faint blue smoke to thick blue-white plumes.
Zhang Liu knew this was a sign of ignition.
But he didn't stop.
He kept blowing, extending each breath while softening the force.
Even as choking smoke filled his lungs, he pressed on.
The discomfort was nothing if it meant starting a fire!
He could feel the tinder in his hands growing hotter, almost scalding.
Burn, please!
As if answering his plea, the first flames licked through the smoke.
The upper part of the old man's beard erupted into a blaze.
"Ah!" Zhang Liu froze, stunned, holding the ball of fire.
He hadn't expected success on his second try.
He'd even prepared himself to attempt fire-making again tomorrow after repeated failures.
"It's fire!"
Anya, watching the flames, threw her arms around Qin Ruoshuang, pressing her cheek against her chest and cheering wildly.
Qin Ruoshuang's chest was squished in the embrace, but she didn't care. Her face lit up with joy.
Though she wasn't sure how they'd use fire moving forward, she knew that she, Anya, Zhang Liu, and the others could at least stay warm!
"It's hot!"
After about two seconds of burning his hands, Zhang Liu snapped out of his daze.
He quickly placed the flaming tinder among the nearby dry branches.
Then he stood, clapping his hands to shake off the ashes and ease the burning sensation.
But at that moment, Qin Ruoshuang's anxious voice cut through:
"Zhang Liu, the fire's going out!"