“Lu Zhe, we’re all warmed up now. What are you going to do?” Shen Bing asked worriedly.
Lu Zhe turned his head slightly. Raindrops were dripping down his handsome face, making him look somewhat aloof.
"Sorry, I can't accompany you for now. Your majesty still has some other things to do. My beloved consorts, just stay here peacefully and wait for me to come back."
After saying that, he drew out his dagger, leapt out of the cave entrance and dove into the pouring rain.
"Hey, Lu Zhe, where are you going?!"
"Worried to death!"
"Come back quickly..."
Shen Bing knew that worrying wouldn't solve anything. She could only choose to trust him for now!
"Everyone...don't worry anymore. Lu Zhe knows what he's doing, he definitely won't have anything happen to him!"
Ning Shu also said, "That's right, there's no mistake, he's a man who has read ten thousand whys!"
"Mm..."
After Lu Zhe left, the only sound left in the bear cave was the pitter-patter of rain.
The five girls were squeezed together in the small space, covering themselves with the bear skin to keep each other warm.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the cave entrance, waiting for Lu Zhe to come back.
"What do you think he went to go do?"
"Hey, he didn't even tell us, making people worry!"
"He can't have gone to beat up that monkey, right!"
"Why would Lu Zhe beat up a monkey? That monkey looked pretty silly."
"Just looking ugly is original sin, and more so with that shameless thing on its face!"
Ning Shu sighed, "Fruit, be proper. Lu Zhe wouldn't do something so foolish."
At this time, Shen Bing thought that Lu Zhe might also lose body heat, and wanted him to squeeze in with everyone. But after all, there are differences between men and women that need to be accepted.
She thought for a moment and came up with an idea in her mind: "Hey, do you guys watch wilderness survival shows normally?"
Ning Shu nodded, "Occasionally I'll watch them. I know Bear Grylls and Les Stroud, and I know Sparrow Sister - she's the pride of us women in the survival world!"
Jiang Yao laughed leisurely, "I've only seen Robinson Crusoe, the others I just heard about!"
Lin Qianqian shyly said, "I watched an anime called Are You In Trouble? But I didn't pay much attention to the survival skills in it."
Tang Xiaoguo ridiculed, "You were just paying attention to the yuri subplot, right?"
Lin Qianqian softly defended, "How can you call that yuri?"
"What about you, Fruit?"
Tang Xiaoguo was very direct, "I don't pay any attention at all! Just heard you guys discussing."
Shen Bing nodded, "Actually, I also like watching survival shows, and I know that overseas there's a 21 day wilderness survival reality show that requires a male and female to participate together. Each pair that succeeds in the challenges gets a $100,000 prize!"
Jiang Yao exclaimed in surprise, "21 days? $100,000?" Then she thought for a moment, "Isn't this free money? I want to go with Lu Zhe."
Tang Xiaoguo nodded, "Right, we've already been here 25 days. As long as it's partnered with Lu Zhe, the difficulty will definitely be low."
Ning Shu thought for a moment, "Aren't the contestants on that show strangers?"
Shen Bing nodded, "Not only are they strangers, when they first meet they aren't even allowed to wear underwear. It's completely back to primitive, they can only bring one tool at most. There are special camera crews to film them."
Jiang Yao stuck out her tongue, "Foreigners really know how to play! I really can't accept that."
Lin Qianqian frowned, "I feel like it's not really about survival."
Tang Xiaoguo pondered, "Considering it's filmed by a camera crew...are you sure it's a survival show, and not a primitive mating ritual show?"
Shen Bing sighed, "It's a very professional survival show, the participants all have a lot of experience in survival."
Tang Xiaoguo was incredulous, "Is that so?"
"What I mean is, when those survival experts face the trials of nature, partners need to work together, abandon distracting thoughts. At night facing hypothermia, even if you're naked, you still need to hold each other for warmth."
Lin Qianqian nodded and hugged Shen Bing, "Like this?"
Shen Bing sighed, "That's not what I meant!"
"Then what did you mean?"
"I'm saying, later when Lu Zhe comes back, I hope everyone doesn't feel awkward and sincerely invites him to get warm with us!"
The four girls blinked, looking at Shen Bing as if they could hardly believe it.
"Sis Bing, do you think..."
"We would dislike Lu Zhe..."
"And not let him in??"
Shen Bing was stunned, she suddenly felt like she had done something really stupid!
Ning Shu thought for a moment, then slapped her forehead, "Right, right, right! We did have reservations before, but after Sis Bing's persuasion - hey, all of a sudden we understand!"
Jiang Yao also nodded quickly, "As expected of a policewoman, enlightening us ignorant girls on the true meaning of survival. Between men and women, there really shouldn't be any taboos."
Lin Qianqian said, "Then between women and women, shouldn't there also be no taboos?"
Tang Xiaoguo, bored, said, "When is little Lu Zhe coming back to warm my feet~..."
Shen Bing's head hurt. How did they manage to twist my words like this and push responsibility onto me?!
Speaking of Lu Zhe, he went back into the woods with his dagger and hacked off a big bundle of bamboo and sections of palm wood, as well as over a dozen large banana leaves.
When he got back to the cave entrance, he dragged everything inside, making the space even more cramped.
Ning Shu happily said, "Lu Zhe, Sis Bing said you can also easily lose body heat, so you should get warm together with us."
Jiang Yao said, "After listening to Sis Bing, I was deeply moved. Little Zhe, I've saved you a spot!"
Tang Xiaoguo said, "You can sit in my spot, and I can reluctantly sit in your lap. After all, Sis Bing said that in this extreme weather, men and women should rely on each other for warmth."
Lin Qianqian looked at the things he brought: "Lu Zhe, you've filled up our little cave."
Shen Bing sighed with her hand on her forehead!
Did I say all that for you to hit on him in my name?
However, faced with their enthusiastic invitations, Lu Zhe remained extremely calm:
"Take off all your damp clothes and use the banana leaves to wipe yourselves dry and as clothes. I don't need to explain the specifics, right?"
Jiang Yao asked, "I understand the banana leaves, but bringing all this bamboo and wood sections, what are you going to do with them?"
Lu Zhe started working on the bamboo, saying, "First, the rain outside is too heavy. It will probably keep going for a while. Not only will a lot of moisture get blown in, but also a lot of noise. I need to build a door to completely block the outside moisture and noise!"
The girls looked at each other and all nodded.
When they first came in, they didn't notice, but now carefully tasting it, with the heavy rain outside and no door to the cave, the moisture inside the cave was too high, and their ears were full of the pitter-patter rain noise.
At first there was no feeling, but after a while, their heads started buzzing and aching.
If there was a door, it could greatly improve the environment inside the cave.
"Second, I need to examine the rock structure of the cave, and while maintaining the structural integrity, dig out the cave as much as possible to expand the interior space, so everyone has enough room to move around!"
Right now the girls were all squeezed together in a small space. If they could expand it a bit, that would be the happiest thing ever.
"Third, I also need to figure out a way to build a fire inside the cave, to provide us with light, warmth, and hot soup. But this will be the most difficult - I have to ensure the fire doesn't produce smoke, otherwise we won't freeze to death but will suffocate from the smoke."