"Is that a metal plate?" Lazarus looked at the plate curiously.
"We are rolling it today! Not only did we bring a lot of food, we also found a hint of civilization!" Lexus said. His hands were cocked on his hips. If there is one thing Lexus excelled at, that would be his pride. He then looked at the others, smirking. "So, what did you guys find?"
"Ah. We found this. We saw those scarab-eater rhinos digging the ground and ate this… fruit?"
[The metallic onion has similar characteristics as bulbs. Bulbs such as onions are specialized, underground storage organs consisting of a short stem base surrounded by fleshy, layered leaf bases that store food for the plant.]
Mistral corrected him after inspecting the pictures and videos Xiaolang uploaded to him. Lexus, who didn't care about such detail, ignored him and inspected the metallic onion.
"What's that? Metallic onion? Why only one? Are you saying we are supposed to eat this?" Lexus pondered the metallic hue. It looked like a toy or an expensive plant model he saw in a department store.
"The rhino chased us all the way to the great tree. So we only got one."
"I see. Good work, everyone. Let's sleep for today. We will test the metallic onion once we get some rest," Laurel said as she saw the sun approaching the horizon. The sky began to change, and the forest began to light up with an iridescent purple glow.
"I want to take a bath…" Anna muttered.
"Ah, yes. Let's take a bath. I remember that there are some tide pools around here. We won't have soap or shampoo, so we will have to scrub our bodies with rocks," Laurel said as she took out several smooth stones Anna picked from the river.
"Geh, no soap, no towel. Are we going to get clothed while wet? We have totally turned into cavemen here," Lexus shrugged.
"We will take a bath first. After we are done, the boys can take their turn. Maybe we can use our blazers as temporary towels…" Laurel contemplated how to do laundry. The school uniform they wore had a necktie, blazer, shirt, skirts, socks, and shoes. Unless Lazarus finished those leaf clothes, there was no way they could do laundry. Moreover, without soap, doing laundry was pointless.
"Tch! Feminist." Lexus pouted.
"You can take a bath first tomorrow. Moreover, it will be near the river while we boil the water," Laurel sighed.
"Deal!" Lexus smiled. The others sighed at Lexus' childish attitude.
"We will be off then. Mistral, please watch over them. Make sure no one peeks. If we are in trouble, we will ask for help through you," Laurel said as she, Lazarus, and Anna went out from the lifepod to the nearby tide pool.
The tide pool was small, barely the size of a fish pond. Anna looked around, feeling shy. She was the one who asked for this. Her body felt gross, so she didn't want to skip out on bathing.
"It would be nice later if we could install some walls, huh? It feels a bit too exposed here. It would be perfect if we had a swimsuit. We can bathe without worry," Lazarus sighed as she removed her clothes. Unlike the others, she lived in an orphanage; she used to bathe together with her sisters there to save water.
"But if we add a wall, we might not know if monsters attack. Remember, we are not in a colony. It's not safe here," Laurel sighed as she fought off her shame and removed her clothes. The water was a bit warm after sunset. As they sat down, rubbing the dirt off their bodies, the waves hit them with a gentle splash. The sunset cast an ember glow as they took their first bath.
It was a bit unsatisfying without soap. But at the very least, they managed to clean themselves just a bit. They sniffed their bodies, and it still smelled. Laurel and Lazarus promised to somehow make soap later. Mistral said soap could be made using ash and fat.
After they returned, it was the boys' turn.
"Geh. I don't feel clean at all. These clothes are gross," Lexus said as he shouldered his blazer and lay down. Laurel and the others ignored his comments. As their heads hit the seat, their exhaustion finally caught up to them, and they drifted to sleep.
Several hours later, under the dark, moonless sky, they woke up. As usual, Bob lit up a campfire while the group gathered around the fire. Now that they had seen this fire almost daily, the novelty had faded, and they began to do their own things around the fire.
Laurel and Anna brought out the crystal watermelon and served it to everyone. Lazarus was trying to tie some leaves to make the leaf dress she promised. Xiaolang went near the forest to gather vines for additional ropes. Bob was trying to make more stone knives, while Shingo and Lexus were grinding the metallic onion to test it with a water spectrometer.
They cut a part of it after peeling the skin and ground it using stones, then mixed it with water. After turning it into a watery paste and testing it with the spectrometer, the metallic onion turned out to be edible. Lexus didn't hesitate to bite a chunk out of it.
"It tasted like… dunno, jellified peanut?" Lexus gave a complicated expression.
"It's edible. And that's what counts," Laurel said. "I am glad we found another source of food. But this one isn't safe, right? Xiaolang said a family of those carnivorous rhinos was there."
"I can outrun them," Xiaolang said. "They are just a bit faster than the scarab. We can flee into the great tree, and they couldn't get to us."
"Hm… Still…" Laurel frowned.
"Does it even matter? We should focus our attention on finding a civilization. We should seek out where this nameplate came from! I am tired of living like a caveman!"
Laurel frowned. She wondered whether it was the right thing. Searching for food was crucial, but Lexus' words might be true. If they found a civilization and got help from them, searching for food would no longer be an issue. From the nameplate she found, she assumed the civilization was quite advanced. It had a somewhat modern feeling to it.
"Yeah. This nameplate certainly came from a civilization with at least rather modern technology… I think this plate is made from titanium alloy," Shingo said as he inspected the nameplate Laurel brought.
"Yeah! We should totally focus on finding this civilization! Let's forget playing cavemen right now."
"But where are we supposed to look? This nameplate was stranded on a reef," Laurel said. "They might come from different islands."
"The river," Xiaolang said after some contemplation.
"Huh?"
"The river stretched from the lake into a dense, forested area in the southern forest. The nameplate might come from there," Xiaolang said. His voice was hesitant, as if he was unsure about it himself.
"... Huh? There is no way that nameplate came from this island. You have seen this island from the mountain, right?"
"... Yes." Xiaolang turned his head. Lexus was right. He had seen this island from the mountain, and he didn't see any buildings—no concrete, metal structures, or polymers or any manmade structures. Only trees, grass, and sea.
"Maybe this civilization lives underground? Or maybe they live in the sea!" Anna said.
"If they live in the sea, then there is no way we could be compatible. We can't live inside water!" Lexus said.
"At the very least, maybe we can be diplomatic and ask for food? They should have some kind of harbor on land…" Laurel sighed. "Anyway. I am against looking for this civilization first thing in the morning. We should secure our food and water like usual. Only after we secure the bare necessities do we search for civilization."
"Hm… I think we should search for the civilization first… We have enough food and water for tomorrow… We can afford to skip a day, right?" Shingo looked over to Lazarus and Xiaolang. They both nodded.
"... I would also like to meet with the new civilization. They might have food and soap for us," Anna said. Her head cast down as she hesitated. Laurel had been their leader. She had been right so far, so Anna was not confident to go against her judgment.
"... I understand. If most of you vote to search for civilization tomorrow, we will do it. As Shingo said earlier, we do have enough supplies even if we don't work tomorrow," Laurel nodded. Laurel was fair. As long as it didn't impede their survival, she let the majority vote win.
"Bob, what are you making?" Anna went beside him with some vines Xiaolang collected from a nearby forest. Lazarus had asked her to braid the vines into a rope. The vines were only half a centimeter thick. They were strong enough to handle a person's weight, but braiding them would increase their strength further.
"I want to make a hammer and an axe."
"Eh? What are you going to use that for?" Anna asked.
"We might need them. A hammer could smash rocks into sharp pieces, then those rocks could be made into knives or axes. Axes could be used to cut down trees."
"We could also need those sharp rocks to make weapons," Xiaolang said. There might be dangerous monsters there. Bob nodded. Xiaolang then turned his gaze to the ocean.
"Is something on your mind?" Laurel asked. Her hands were busy chipping away at the crystal watermelon's shell and grinding them with rocks to turn them into bowls with Lexus. The crystal watermelon's shell was perfect for bowls. They were both pretty and clean. But since they couldn't crack it cleanly, it left a jagged edge. Bob then offered to grind the jagged edge against a stone to smooth it out.
"For food. I wonder if we can fish around here."
"That's cruel! We shouldn't kill animals!" Lazarus yelled.
"Tch. We are in a jungle right now! It's eat or be eaten. We shouldn't pander to such things as morality!" Lexus said.
"Lexus. You have stopped your hand. Grind the edge. Slowly, so you don't break it. I don't want jagged edges on our bowls," Laurel commanded. Lexus was lazy and privileged. Unless Laurel commanded him, he would do nothing. She then added a comment, "We don't know whether they would be edible."
"I think they would be edible. As long as their blood is red, there is a high chance they have meat similar to meat grown in meat culture or fish culture." Shingo said. A red blood cell means haemoglobin. Haemoglobin mean fat, muscles, and meat.
"... I think we shouldn't kill animals. We still have crystal watermelons right now. In the future, we can also harvest metallic onions from the plains. They are edible, right?" Lazarus pouted.
In colonies, meat is usually sourced from meat culture grown in labs. Even fish meat was the same. Only the truly rich could eat real fish. Lazarus always found the idea of eating real animals to be apprehensive. Killing others for your own benefit was greedy.
"There is no meat culture here, Lazarus. Moreover, I heard from Mistral that we need a balanced diet to survive. Without meat, we will be lacking in protein," Shingo said. "I think we should try fishing at least."
"Alright. That's it for today. Let's clean up and rest. We will depart at dawn to the southern forest," Laurel said.
"I will sleep in a while. We need at least a stone spear for the expedition," Xiaolang said.
"I am also almost done with another knife too. I will join you later."
And so, they retired for the night. Their hope was high. A nameplate made from metal. A symbol of civilization was in their hands.
What kind of civilization will they find? What kind of civilization lives here? They will find out tomorrow.
***
Father! Why must I apologize? He was in the wrong! He insulted Mom! I am just defending our honor! ~Bob