The thought had barely surfaced when Julia made her decision without hesitation.
Tending to Chuck's injury was clearly a higher priority than the shirt.
"Chuck, wait for me a moment."
She said, then walked straight out of the cave.
Just as Chuck wondered what she was doing, he heard a tearing sound from outside the cave…
Riiip, Riiip.
A few minutes later, the foreign woman reappeared.
Chuck looked at her, his expression dumbfounded.
The T-shirt she had been wearing was now significantly shorter than before. Her slender waist, snow-white lower abdomen, and delicate belly button were all fully exposed to Chuck's view.
The hem of the T-shirt was now jagged and irregular.
In contrast, Julia was holding a small bundle of cloth strips in her hand.
Seeing this, Chuck instantly understood her intention, and his heart warmed, but he still shook his head with a wry smile.
"You didn't have to go that far. It's not as serious as you think."
"Hey, shut up. Sit still right there."
Julia suddenly became inexplicably bossy, glaring at him fiercely and pointing at the palm leaf beside her.
Chuck scratched his head and grudgingly obeyed.
He watched the foreign woman walk to the corner of the cave, bend down to retrieve a few green leaves from the pile of wild fruits, and then approach him.
"What is this?"
Chuck looked at the green plant in her hand. The leaves were broad and thick, like open palms, and didn't look like anything edible.
"You don't recognize it? This is plantain leaf. I saw it near the puddle area and thought I'd gather some just in case. I didn't expect to need it so soon."
Julia replied softly. Then, she opened her mouth, put the leaves inside, chewed them quickly, and spat the masticated plant matter onto the cloth strips in her hand.
She then looked up, asking with concern, "How did you get hurt? Did you run into danger?"
"I guess you could say that."
Chuck nodded and didn't hide anything, simply recounting his recent discovery—though omitting any mention of the red Spider Lily or the System.
"Holy crap, there was a wild boar?!"
Julia's face turned pale when she heard the story. She said, still shaken, "It seems you were right. If I had followed you, I would have just been a liability."
Chuck couldn't help but smile at her honesty.
This was what was great about the foreign woman's personality: she didn't feel inferior about her biological disadvantage as a woman but openly accepted it.
She was leagues better than those women who pretended to be "independent" but constantly sought advantages through perceived weakness.
Having found such an exceptional companion, he certainly couldn't afford to wait idly for death.
"I need to check how the bamboo tubes are doing…"
Chuck muttered and prepared to get up, but the foreign woman yanked him hard, forcing him to sit back down.
"I told you to sit still, don't move!"
She shot Chuck a look. Her herbal poultice was finally evenly spread. She moved closer to Chuck and gently placed the dressing on the wound on his left arm.
A fleeting, needle-like pain briefly assaulted him, but vanished instantly.
Their bodies were extremely close at that moment. Julia's warm breath puffed lightly onto Chuck's shoulder, making him feel ticklish.
His hand, resting by his side, happened to be pressed against Julia's soft lower abdomen. The fine, smooth sensation, along with her warm body temperature, traveled through his skin.
Chuck's breathing quickened involuntarily.
"Does it hurt? Just bear with it for a moment, I'll wrap it up quickly."
However, the foreign woman, focused on bandaging Chuck, was completely oblivious to his arousal. Hearing his quickened breathing, she thought it was due to pain, so she became even more focused and sped up her movements.
After wrapping the strips a few times to ensure the wound was fully covered by the herbal dressing, Julia finally released Chuck's arm and nodded, satisfied with her handiwork.
"That should be fine. Take the bandage off before you sleep tonight, and be careful not to get the wound wet, especially with seawater…"
As Julia spoke, her long eyelashes fluttered up, and she met Chuck's gaze with her blue eyes. It was then that she noticed his unusual state.
"What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"How am I looking at you?"
Chuck countered without missing a beat.
Julia froze, then noticed the anomaly below them, and her eyes wavered.
She quickly raised a hand and gently pressed Chuck's chest, stopping him from moving closer.
Then, she glared at him irritably.
"Just so we're clear, even though you're hurt, I won't be nice if you try anything stupid."
"Stupid? What stupid thing?"
Chuck said innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Hey!"
Seeing Chuck play dumb, the foreign woman grew embarrassed and annoyed.
She pointed between Chuck's crossed legs. "What the fuck? That tent is so huge I could crawl inside, and you're still playing innocent?"
Chuck paused, then looked down.
"...If you want to crawl inside, I guess it's not impossible."
"FUCK YOU!"
Julia raised her hand and punched Chuck right in the abdomen.
However, she didn't use any force; it was simply a physical expression of displeasure. She then backed away slightly, glaring at Chuck indignantly.
"I told you I'm not an easy woman! Did you forget what I said last night?"
"I never said I was going to do anything to you, though?"
Chuck shrugged innocently, feigning confusion.
"...That's true."
Julia considered this, actually agreeing with his statement. Then she looked down at Chuck's lower abdomen.
"Alright, Chuck, I'm sorry I hit you just now."
Julia sighed, but the expression on her beautiful face quickly grew serious.
"So, are you going back near the deep jungle?"
The concern in her voice was palpable.
She wasn't a child; she clearly understood the danger posed by the wild boar.
"Of course I am, but I need to be prepared first."
Chuck looked down at the stone axe beside him, lost in thought, his face filled with eagerness.
Hearing his answer, Julia's frown deepened. Knowing she couldn't convince him, she simply sighed resignedly.
However, a faint blush mysteriously crept onto her snow-white, delicate cheeks.
As Chuck said, the injury on his arm wasn't severe; it just looked gruesome because the cut was long and bled profusely.
So, immediately after being bandaged, Chuck began to work.
He failed to find new water in the deep jungle, and the passage beyond the stone wall was occupied by a wild boar.
The only thing Chuck could do now was figure out how to take down that beast.