Outside the cave, a fierce wind was raging, and torrential rain poured down.
Inside the cave, it was peaceful and serene, warm like spring.
Four girls were huddled together on a bearskin blanket, fast asleep, their gentle and sweet breaths filling the air.
They curled their legs up, deliberately leaving a space.
There was room for one more person to sleep.
Lu Zhe handed a hot water bottle to Shen Bing and said, "Go get some rest, I'll keep watch!"
Shen Bing took the hot water bottle and placed it on her belly, whispering, "You're exhausted, you should go instead."
"You need to get enough rest!"
"But I'm not sleepy."
Lu Zhe glanced at Shen Bing's belly and asked, "You're not sleepy, but is he not sleepy either?"
Shen Bing tilted her head and smirked, "What's the matter, feeling concerned?"
Lu Zhe sighed and remained silent.
Shen Bing didn't say anything more either. She understood what this meant for a responsible young man like Lu Zhe.
Not to mention the increased difficulty of surviving in the future, these four sleeping girls would explode when they found out someday.
What should they do then?
Keep hiding it?
That wouldn't work!
After thinking for a moment, Lu Zhe decided to find an opportunity to explain this situation to Ning Shu first. Compared to the other three girls, she was the most sensible one among them!
Then they could discuss when to be open with the others!
The most important thing right now was to take good care of Shen Bing.
Lu Zhe brought over a segment of coconut tree.
Shen Bing said, "We have enough fuel, no need to chop more wood."
"This is not firewood, it's for eating."
With that, Lu Zhe used his hands to break the tree trunk, revealing the snow-white fibrous interior.
"Hey, the core of this tree is so white!"
"This is the West Valley coconut tree, but what we eat is not the coconut, it's this trunk."
"We have enough food to eat, we don't need to resort to eating trees."
Lu Zhe smiled and said, "Based on our current living conditions, this can be considered high-quality food."
Shen Bing was somewhat surprised, "This...is high-quality food?"
"Don't believe me?"
Shen Bing became interested, "I actually want to see how it's eaten."
Lu Zhe took the stone mortar, broke the snow-white trunk material into several pieces, added some water, and started pounding.
Soon, the trunk was mashed, and then he used a clean cloth to strain the contents onto a helmet, wrapping it up tightly and squeezing hard!
Milky white liquid dripped into the helmet until nothing more could be squeezed out.
Then, Lu Zhe threw the dry fibers from the cloth into the stove as fuel.
Repeating this process several times, he obtained a half-helmet of white liquid.
After letting it settle for a while, the white substance settled at the bottom of the helmet. Lu Zhe poured out the water on top, leaving behind the remaining substance, which he placed on the stove to cook.
As he stirred with a bamboo stick, the milky white, non-Newtonian fluid gradually turned into a translucent gel-like substance.
It emitted heat and a faint aroma of sticky rice porridge.
"It looks like it's really edible!"
"Not only is it edible, it's also safe and nutritious. It can be used as complementary food for babies after six months."
Lu Zhe was taken aback. He was just sharing some knowledge from the system manual, but it seemed like he said something he shouldn't have.
Shen Bing's face turned red again.
Lu Zhe took off his helmet and used bamboo pieces to scoop up some rice paste, blew on it to cool it down, and then handed it to Shen Bing, saying, "Try it!"
"Mmm!"
Shen Bing took a small bite and immediately nodded in pleasant surprise, "It's delicious, and... the texture is a bit like... sago porridge."
"Impressive! This is actually the raw material for sago. If we dry it, it will turn into sago flour or we can process it into sago pearls. However, we don't have the necessary equipment at the moment to make sago pearls like the ones sold in supermarkets. But its nutritional value is definitely higher than what they sell!"
Shen Bing marveled, "I never imagined that sago comes from the trunk of a tree."
"What do you think of it?"
"After eating, I feel warm and comfortable in my stomach."
"But you can't eat too much of this. It's like sweet potatoes or potatoes, high in starch content. When we have the means, we can pair it with coconut meat, coconut milk, fish paste, and shrimp powder. And when we catch shrimp, we can use it to make shrimp dumplings."
"Shrimp dumplings?" Shen Bing's face immediately lit up with joy. "I love shrimp dumplings!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes, I used to eat them once a week."
"I see." Lu Zhe nodded. "We'll add some water to the remaining rice paste and cook it into porridge for everyone tomorrow morning."
"When I first ended up stranded on this deserted island, I really had no idea that there would be so much food here!"
"No wonder you ate the poisonous mushroom."
"Well, believe it or not, I didn't recognize anything else, but I did recognize that one!"
"Why?"
"Because it's a poisonous hallucinogen. Don't forget, that's my field of expertise."
"Then why did you eat it..." Lu Zhe paused, suddenly understanding why Shen Bing consumed it.
"At that time, I couldn't go on living, so I wanted to find a slightly more comfortable way to die, and that's why I picked some..."
Lu Zhe nodded.
Indeed, being stranded on a deserted island, with no one to talk to or communicate with, feels like being trapped in a closed space. Sometimes, you might even think that everything around you is an illusion!
And when you can't see any hope, that fear is something not everyone can endure.
But because of this, Lu Zhe seemed to have thought of something.
Besides causing hallucinations, could the poisonous mushroom have any other effects?
"Do you know, Lu Zhe!" Shen Bing sat there, hugging her knees, looking like a young girl. "Even until now, I have this feeling that maybe I encountered all of you as my final illusion before I die."
Lu Zhe silently watched Shen Bing and asked, "Why?"
"Because being with all of you feels so happy..."
As Shen Bing spoke, she became a bit emotional.
"Like... a dream, suddenly going from hell to heaven. Not only do I have all of you, but I also have..." She gently touched her own belly.
"So, these past few days, I've been thinking, maybe all of my luck is brought by him? Because before he appeared, my life was so miserable, and after he appeared, I became so lucky..."
Lu Zhe, however, fell into contemplation.
It had been more than ten hours since he learned about this matter, and he had been busy surviving with everyone else, not having the mental energy to ponder over it!
Now that he had calmed down and thought about it, Lu Zhe had many doubts.
He thought, if Shen Bing were pregnant, he should take responsibility!
He would do everything possible to take care of them!
But what if it was all just a misunderstanding?
Was there any way to test it? The survival manual didn't have any relevant information!
Shen Bing thought for a moment and said,
"Lu Zhe, do you... mind if I'm pregnant?"
Lu Zhe was suddenly startled, "I..."
"I... heard something?"
Ning Shu's voice came from behind. Lu Zhe turned back in astonishment to see her standing up, looking at the two of them with a shocked expression.
"Sister Bing, are you pregnant?"
After she spoke, the other three girls also got up, their eyes wide open.
"What?"
"Is this a dream?"
"Sister Bing, you... are expecting a baby?"
Lu Zhe felt that since this matter would eventually be revealed to everyone, it wouldn't hurt for the storm to come a little earlier.
"Yes, Sister Bing is pregnant."
"Whose child is it?"
Lu Zhe hesitated about how to respond, but then he heard Shen Bing laugh softly.
"Of course... it's my husband's!"