Under the current circumstances, they had to keep things simple in terms of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Shen Xiao picked up a flat stone and placed it by the fire, then put the snails and mussels he had collected on it. As for the large conch, he simply placed it by the fire to roast.
Soon, the mussels began to open their shells as they heated up, revealing the tender white flesh inside. As the temperature rose further, the tender meat began to quiver slightly, and one could faintly see the broth bubbling inside the shells.
Noticing Yang Hong looking at him, Shen Xiao thought for a moment. Seeing that the mussels were almost done, he took a piece of banana leaf from earlier, placed it in his hand, used a twig to pick up four of them, and placed them on the banana leaf, handing them to him and saying, "Thank you for the fire."
"No need," Yang Hong waved his hand to refuse. He didn't need this little bit of food.
Those who could still eat and drink in such a situation at least had the mental fortitude to survive. Perhaps this woman would make a decent companion, Yang Hong thought.
Seeing that Shen Xiao had prepared food, the other girls also perked up and began preparing food for themselves.
At least they could eat and sleep now, just like living people.
Despite Yang Hong's refusal, Shen Xiao placed the oysters in front of him. Some favors are best returned when one can, for when one is struggling to survive, how can one spare the thought for others?
After giving away four mussels, Shen Xiao still had about ten left. She knew over a dozen ways to prepare mussels, but the current method of simply grilling them was, to be honest, a bit fishy. The broth simmered from the shells was bland and tasteless, far from the freshness one would expect.
"Ugh, this is terrible." Someone else had also roasted one over the fire, but after tasting it, she immediately spat it out. "This is way too fishy."
"Without seasoning, it's no wonder it tastes bad." Yang Hong shrugged it off and ate one. "But I advise you not to waste food. Mussels are called 'sea eggs' because they're rich in protein and various amino acids. Only by eating them will you have the energy to continue gathering survival supplies."
After speaking, Yang Hong looked at Shen Xiao and said, "You roasted these mussels perfectly—not too tough, not too tender, just right. What did you used to do? Were you a chef?"
If the other person was a chef, things would be much easier for them. Chefs not only have good skills but also have a more professional understanding of ingredients, and they should be able to distinguish between toxic and non-toxic ones more clearly.
"Yes." Shen Xiao didn't hide it. First, after spending so much time together, they would eventually figure it out. Second, within this small group of six, she had to show some value to avoid being abandoned in the future.
Seeing that he had guessed correctly, Yang Hong's regard for Shen Xiao increased by two points. "That's great. By the way, shall we all introduce ourselves? It'll make it easier to address each other later."
"My name is Fang Mingshu," said the girl who had helped Yang Hong gather firewood earlier. "I work in TV shopping. But on this island, my profession seems pretty useless."
"My name is Yingzi, and I'm an elementary school teacher." This was the girl with the injured foot. She didn't want to give her full name, and everyone else didn't mind, since it was just a nickname anyway. However, the two girls behind her also chose the same approach as Yingzi, letting everyone call them "Fangfang" and "Xiaoyun."
Fangfang had a fair complexion and worked in an office doing clerical work; Xiaoyun was also a teacher, but she taught middle school and looked slightly more mature.
After everyone had introduced themselves, Shen Xiao said, "My name is Shen Xiao, and I'm a chef. If you come across anything you're unsure about eating, you can show it to me first."
This last sentence undoubtedly added to Shen Xiao's authority, and everyone looked at her with much friendlier eyes. "Alright, with you here, our food safety is assured."
After eating a little, the group split up to search the island for water. Compared to food, water was more important. Although they still had coconuts, they couldn't rely on them indefinitely.
"For safety reasons, we'll go in pairs," Yang Hong said.
Before he could finish, Fang Mingsnow quickly replied, "Then I'll go with you."
As the only man on the island, Yang Hong undoubtedly felt safer than the others.
Yang Hong didn't refuse, "Alright."
In the end, Shen Xiao and Yingzi, who had injured her foot, were paired together, while Xiao Yun and Fangfang were paired together.
The six of them split up and entered the forest. Perhaps because the island was in the tropics, most of the plants on the island were broad-leaved. Shen Xiao observed carefully and noticed that there weren't many coconut trees on the island, which was not a good sign. If they couldn't find other freshwater sources, it meant their freshwater supply would run out soon.
People can survive without food for ten days or two weeks, but without water, they can only last about three days. For them now, water was more important than food.
However, after searching the forest for nearly two hours, Shen Xiao and his partner still hadn't found any signs of water. Instead, due to the rising temperature, they had begun to feel thirsty.
"I'm so thirsty," Yingzi licked her lips impatiently, but this not only failed to quench her thirst, it made her lips even drier. "We won't keep searching without finding water, will we?"
That's hard to say.
As Shen Xiao pondered which direction to go next, she suddenly heard someone scream nearby, "Ah, a snake!"
It was Fangfang's voice.
Shen Xiao and Yingzi immediately headed toward the sound to see if she was okay. Shortly after they arrived, Yang Hong and the others also came over.
Fangfang was sitting on the ground, scared to the point of crying, "What a big snake! I almost got bitten just now. Why am I here? Why did this happen to me? I want to go home!"
Seeing her emotional breakdown, the others had mixed reactions. Yingzi couldn't help but complain to Shen Xiao in a low voice, "It's just a snake. She's making such a big deal out of it. She's such a delicate girl."
Shen Xiao ignored her. This wasn't just about a snake; everyone had their own psychological barriers. After the sudden change earlier, everyone had been forcing themselves to suppress their emotions. Now that they had been suddenly triggered, it was natural for them to want to vent.
Once Fangfang had cried herself out, Shen Xiao knelt down, gently patting her back and asked, "How big was the snake? What color was it? Did it have any patterns? Did you see clearly?"
After crying it out, Fangfang's emotions were released, and she felt much better. Seeing that she had lost her composure in front of everyone, her fair face flushed red, and she looked a bit embarrassed. When Shen Xiao asked her, she hurriedly answered to ease the awkwardness, "At least a meter long, black, I forgot the patterns. I was about to look for a branch, but suddenly noticed it falling from the tree. Before I could react, it had already slithered away."
With only this information, Shen Xiao couldn't determine if the snake was venomous, but one thing was certain: "It looks like we'll have to sleep on the beach tonight." Shen Xiao looked at Yang Hong and said, "If there are venomous snakes in this forest, we'll be in great danger tonight."
The wind was strong by the sea, and it would get very cold if the temperature dropped at night. Although there was also wind in the forest, at least it would be a bit warmer. However, due to the unknown snakes and insects, it was best for them to stay on the beach until they found a suitable shelter.
"Hmm." Yang Hong had no objections. "Have you found a water source?"
"No," Shen Xiao shook his head.
"We haven't either," Xiao Yun replied
"We haven't found anything either." Yang Hong sighed and looked up at the sun, "It's almost noon. The next two or three hours are the hottest part of the day. Instead of accelerating dehydration, it's better for everyone to rest first. After noon passes, we'll go look for water."
This decision was unanimously agreed upon. The surrounding forest was dense and dark. The group picked a few banana leaves, spread them on the ground, and rested there.
Earlier, when they were busy with tasks, Shen Xiao hadn't felt homesick. Now that they had stopped, her thoughts couldn't help but wander to whether her parents could bear the news of her death.
Shaking her head to force herself not to think about it, Shen Xiao closed her eyes and opened the virtual marketplace.
Earlier, she had been deterred by the price of the resurrection pill and hadn't looked closely at the other items. Now that she opened it, she found it resembled a marketplace like Taobao, with a wide variety of items. Items like talismans, elixirs, and rare treasures were countless, though of course, the prices were extremely exorbitant.
After flipping through these items that were like fairy tales to her current situation, Shen Xiao noticed a small category at the bottom of the virtual mall labeled "survival supplies." Clicking in, she saw beverages listed at the top, priced from highest to lowest. She scrolled all the way to the bottom of the category.
The familiar mineral water icon appeared, with the description reading: "Clean drinking water, 550ml; price: 10 points."
10 points… That was equivalent to 10 pearls.
Even Shen Xiao, who was usually calm and composed, couldn't help but feel exasperated. If the mineral water merchants on Earth knew that one day their mineral water, which cost two yuan per bottle, would be worth 10 pearls, they would probably laugh in their sleep.
"This is truly an absurd seller's market." Shen Xiao knew that in a seller's market with no competition, skyrocketing prices were inevitable.
The path to obtaining water resources from the virtual mall was completely blocked. Shen Xiao glanced at the other supplies. Foods like instant noodles, bread, and cakes all had prices starting at 10 points.
It was clearly a rip-off.
Seeing that he couldn't get what he wanted here, Shen Xiao closed the virtual mall with a sigh and closed his eyes to rest.
With his eyes closed, the sounds of the forest became more noticeable. Like the gentle breeze rustling through the leaves, the birds chirping in the forest, and the soft sobs of her companions nearby.
Yingzi, sitting beside her, seemed unwilling to hear the crying. She turned away impatiently and muttered, "Stop crying. Isn't it better to save your energy for searching for water later? Your crying is making everyone else feel uneasy, and you're not the only one who's suffered misfortune."
Her words caused the atmosphere to freeze for a moment. Fangfang, who had been quietly sobbing, saw that no one was speaking up for her and gradually stopped her sobs.
Regardless of how difficult the time was, noon passed quickly. After the temperature cooled slightly, the group of six set off again.
"There should only be a few hours left until sunset," Yang Hong said. "My idea is that Shen Xiao and I can handle finding water. The four of you can split into two groups: one to find food, and the other to collect firewood and banana leaves to build a shelter."
As the only man in the group and with more experience, Yang Hong had clearly taken charge of the team.
"Why don't I go with you to find water instead?" Fang Mingsnow volunteered to switch places with Shen Xiao. "Shen Xiao can cook, so she's definitely better at finding food than we are. Specialization is key. Instead of having her follow you to find water, it's better to have her lead the others to find food."
Her reasoning made sense, so Yang Hong agreed. After they left, Yingzi watched Fang Mingsnow's retreating figure and sighed, "She really goes out of her way to stick with Yang Hong."
From gathering firewood at the beginning to searching for water now, wherever Yang Hong was, Fang Mingsnow was there too.