The sunlight was so scorching that moving for two hours without replenishing fluids could lead to dehydration.
Therefore, Lu Zhe chose to enter the jungle from the southwest side's mangrove forest to avoid the blistering sunlight.
The main purpose of entering the jungle this time was to look for waterproof materials. Of course, if they encountered other useful supplies, they would collect them too, such as berry, nut and different medicinal herb species that provide vitamins, edible mushrooms and algae, etc.
Checking the survival manual:
In nature, there is more than one material that can be used as a waterproof coating.
The easiest to obtain is the mixture of burnt paper, grass and wood ash blended with oil to make a primitive glaze.
The advantage of this material is that it can hold water after being generously applied to bamboo baskets and left to dry.
The downside is its poor durability. Over time, it would be soaked through and lose its effectiveness. Therefore, it is not suitable for waterproofing reservoirs in the long run.
Somewhat more reliable options are certain resins from the torchwood family plants, the rubber tree, and pine resin.
However, dammar resin, which is easily found near the southwestern ridges of the small island, is very rare here.
After two hours of searching in the jungle, Lu Zhe and Shen Bing had only collected about one kilogram of resin. Far from enough to coat the entire water reservoir.
Should they climb mountains and traverse streams to get more from that place? It would be better to look for pine resin in the northern pine forest!
It was 10 AM now!
The temperature had reached over 35 degrees Celsius. The sweltering weather coupled with the harsh environment made every step require tremendous strength!
But this was no longer an issue for Lu Zhe! With his physiology enhanced nearly 8 times and his strength amplified by almost 6 times, he had no problem moving around under such heat.
Although he would still feel a little thirsty and uncomfortable, there was absolutely no risk of dehydration or fainting.
Shen Bing was having a harder time, barely keeping up with Lu Zhe's pace thanks to her years of unremitting exercise strengthening her constitution.
"What do you eat to grow up so resilient, don't you feel tired at all!" Shen Bing panted.
Hearing her labored breathing, Lu Zhe realized that if they kept going, Shen Bing would surely collapse.
"Let's take a break!"
"Sure!"
Lu Zhe took off his vest and wrung it forcefully, squeezing out a lot of sweat.
Shen Bing gasped for air and also removed her vest, using it to wipe the sweat from her neck and forehead instead.
On her upper body she only wore a sports bra, which showed off her figure sculpted from years of disciplined fitness training, shapely and full of primitive charm.
"Have some water!" Lu Zhe passed her the bottle.
Shen Bing took it and started chugging greedily.
"Hey, slow down, you might hurt your lungs."
She drank half the bottle, then wiped her mouth and gave it back to Lu Zhe: "No worries, I know my limits. You should drink some too."
Though they both had water left, they tacitly shared the one bottle. Perhaps this was the so-called atmosphere.
After drinking up, it still wasn't enough.
Lu Zhe took out another bottle, drank a couple mouthfuls and handed it to Shen Bing. Shen Bing smiled coyly, accepted it and downed it all in one go.
"Look at you, your stamina is impressive too. When we get back, we can be gym coaches together!" Shen Bing joked.
Lu Zhe shook his head: "No good!"
"Why not?"
"You're so gorgeous with such a hot bod, the number of creepy guys lining up to ogle during your classes would be insane. I'd be constantly jealous and afraid we'd have a falling out that I'd end up sobbing alone at night." As he said this, Lu Zhe deliberately put on a slight look of dejection.
Shen Bing giggled at his teasing: "Well, you'd also get plenty of pretty girls signing up for your classes!"
Lu Zhe shook his head again: "That's why I don't want to give them any chance in the first place. You know me, I'm a loyal man! My heart belongs only to you five!"
"Oh stop it, keep this up and you'll completely ruin the meaning of the word 'loyal'."
With that said, Shen Bing leaned against a tree and lifted her feet onto Lu Zhe's lap: "My feet are sore, give your big sis a massage."
"Ah..."
Shen Bing tilted her head coyly: "Aren't I your beloved young miss? You wouldn't even do this tiny favor?"
"Fine!"
Reluctantly, Lu Zhe started massaging Shen Bing's feet.
Proportional to her height, Shen Bing's feet were not big, around sizes 36-37.
Her arches were slender and graceful, toenails neatly trimmed with nail clippers.
They felt fine to hold in his hands, not unpleasant at all.
Shen Bing was exceptionally comfortable, her expressions becoming more animated: "Mm... Lu Zhe, I just realized you'd make an excellent..."
Lu Zhe quickly cut her off: "Stop! Even if I go back I won't become a foot masseuse!"
Shen Bing deliberately showed disappointment: "What a shame! Ah... go lighter... yeah, that hits the spot..."
Under the scorching sun yet cool forest shade, chatting away while giving a foot rub, both of them started feeling drowsy. Perhaps due to inadequate sleep last night.
"Mm... feeling sleepy, gonna take a nap!"
"Sure, me too!" Lu Zhe set an alarm on his watch: "One hour timer."
They gathered a few banana leaves to pad the ground, then used each other's lap as a pillow and drifted off.
Before the alarm rang, Lu Zhe keenly sensed an intruder approaching, jolting him awake.
He secretly opened his eyes to a slit, and spotted a proboscis monkey cautiously watching them from not far away - likely the one they had chased out of the bear cave.
But clearly, it had returned harboring less than honorable intentions.
Lu Zhe decided to keep pretending to sleep and observe its actions.
After a while, seeing no reaction from Lu Zhe and Shen Bing, it gradually crept closer.
Then, it started rummaging through their bags!
Its sausage-like nose twitched intensely, seemingly extremely nervous.
Finally, it fished out a bottle of water from a bag!
Upon laying eyes on this bottle, its gaze seemed to light up, immediately gnawing at the container.
Fortunately the bottle was quite sturdy and round, leaving the monkey at a complete loss on where to start biting.
It was clearly parched.
Just then, Shen Bing suddenly opened her eyes and fluidly spun into an agile side kick, squarely striking the proboscis monkey's head!
She had used considerable force, actually kicking the monkey silly.
Just as it was about to flee with the bottle, Lu Zhe also sprang up and tackled it to the ground.
He then took out some rope from his pouch and tied it up!
"You dare to steal from me, do you know what I used to do for a living?"
Originally intending to teach it a good lesson, Shen Bing was surprised to see the proboscis monkey directly faint from the kick and tackle combo.
Lu Zhe examined the monkey and noticed its dry nose, some foam at the mouth corners - signs of dehydration.
It was also then that Lu Zhe discovered something else!
It wasn't actually unconscious at all. Merely playing dead!
Lu Zhe said: "It's also thirsty, wandering around looking for fresh water sources. And found its way here."
Shen Bing frowned: "When there's lakes and mountain springs in the northern highlands, it refuses to go there yet dares to steal from us here!"
"But that place isn't its territory!"
Lu Zhe pondered: "Despite being a thief, on humanitarian grounds I don't wish to watch it die like this. Have to give it some fluids!"
With that said, Lu Zhe took an empty bottle, turned around, undid his belt and after a moment the sound of flowing water could be heard. Soon after he had filled the entire bottle.
Then he pried open its mouth and poured the whole bottle down its throat.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
