Hot Spring Crisis

The two ran for several dozen meters, the heart-wrenching cries of a langur echoing behind them.

Lu Zhe suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Seems like we forgot something!"

Shen Bing gasped for breath. "Yeah, that monkey... the monkey's still back there."

"Mm..."

They both turned back instinctively, looking in the direction of the langur's cries, envisioning a scene in their minds:

The black bear returning home to find all the fresh bamboo shoots stolen, only the messy remnants of rotten bamboo left on the ground, along with a monkey that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

In such a situation, what would it think?

Lu Zhe, with a furrowed brow, said with concern, "Bing, do you think the bear would get angry?"

Shen Bing pondered for a moment before replying, "In this scenario, if the bear can still control its emotions, it must have been influenced by Bodhisattva."

"Would it take it out on the monkey?"

As the langur's cries grew increasingly desperate, Shen Bing said, "I guess... it might."

"Well, don't you think the bear would consider if the monkey was really up to mischief, why would it be tethered there?"

"I suppose its cognitive capacity wouldn't allow it to think that far!"

"True!"

Lu Zhe nodded, feeling a bit fed up. "The cries are too piercing, we can't go on like this, let's hurry and leave!"

"Leave? Rescue the monkey?"

"Rescue what monkey? The bear is so dangerous! Let's hurry and get away, once we're far enough, we won't hear it anymore."

"Huh...?"

Shen Bing chuckled bitterly but also understood that since the monkey wasn't well-intentioned either, it deserved a lesson.

So they ran far, running until they were several hundred meters away, indeed unable to hear the langur's cries anymore.

Lu Zhe breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Bing looked around and suggested, "Should we gather some pine resin to use as waterproofing on our way back?"

But Lu Zhe was pondering something else. "No rush for that now."

"What's wrong?"

"Did you notice, it's quite hot here even during the day!"

"Yeah, probably around thirty-two or thirty-three degrees!"

"And freshwater resources are even scarcer. I guess the warm current is too strong, covering the cold currents of the Thousand Islands. Let's go check out the seaside!"

Lu Zhe and Shen Bing arrived at the seaside.

The scorching sun beat down on the beach, distorting the surface, with many dead fish stranded on the shore, emitting a suffocating stench.

This was definitely not a place for humans to stay.

"As expected, it's the same here too!"

Lu Zhe frowned, slightly worried. "If that's the case, we probably won't be able to pass through the hot spring pool."

Shen Bing's heart tightened. "Yeah, the temperature of the hot spring must be very high!"

With the high temperature of the hot spring, it meant they couldn't pass through the hot spring pool, and without passing through it, it meant they couldn't transplant and care for the plants.

Shen Bing worriedly said, "I'm not concerned about anything else, but if the sweet potato vines die from sun exposure, the losses would be significant."

Lu Zhe shook his head. "It's fine, sweet potatoes are drought-resistant. There's also relatively less sunlight there. I don't think the sweet potato seedlings will die. I'm more concerned about the other fruit seedlings."

Indeed, watching the watermelon and strawberry seedlings grow day by day, it wouldn't be long before they needed to be transplanted into the ground.

They are different from local fruits; even after transplantation, they require careful nurturing.

Otherwise, they may quickly wither away.

Could it be that the endeavor of planting urban fruits is destined to fail?

Lu Zhe pondered, "In that case, let's first gather some pine resin and then check the temperature of the hot spring pool before making the next plan."

Shen Bing nodded, "We can only do that!"

The method of collecting pine resin is similar to collecting rubber; both involve cutting the bark and placing a container underneath the damaged bark, patiently waiting for the resin to flow in.

But Lu Zhe didn't have so much time or containers. He used a paratrooper knife to make small incisions in the bark, allowing the pine resin to come out and solidify. The next time, he could easily take away the solidified resin.

During this time, Shen Bing picked up some solidified pine resin pieces from the bark.

However, obviously, these were far from sufficient.

The two of them drank another bottle of water and then returned to the camp.

Back at the camp, both washed their faces and each drank a bottle of water from the "earth refrigerator," trying to cool themselves as much as possible.

At this moment, several girls were finishing the roof they were working on.

This surprised both Lu Zhe and Shen Bing.

As it turned out, the girls found it troublesome and tiring to use bricks and tiles for the roof. After discussing for a long time, they decided to dismantle the crocodile skins, tie them with banana fiber ropes, and use them as a roof. It would be warm in winter, cool in summer, and definitely leak-proof.

Although it was quite laborious to dismantle the crocodile skins with a military knife, it was much simpler compared to making bamboo or pottery tiles.

What was originally a troublesome job was now reduced in difficulty by 80%.

Tang Xiaoguo proudly reported the results to Lu Zhe and Shen Bing.

Shen Bing felt it was a bit of a waste to use the highest-quality leather for the roof, but Lu Zhe gave it high praise!

"In the wilderness, luxury items are the least valuable. Even if you find a piece of gold, the first thought is whether you can use it as a tool. Although it might not be as useful as a stone or a tree branch."

The girls looked at each other; they didn't expect to receive such high praise for being lazy and felt quite satisfied.

"Finally, we're missing a ladder, right?"

"And a door."

"Okay, take your time with it. Drink plenty of water, sweat a lot, and maintain your body temperature. The two of us need to go to the hot spring."

"Hot spring again!"

"With the daytime temperature rising, I'm worried the hot spring temperature will also increase, and then we won't be able to plant the plants."

"Alright, be careful!"

Lu Zhe left the acquired supplies at the camp, filled a few bottles with cold water, and walked towards the direction of the volcano with Shen Bing.

"I haven't really used the restroom all day; it feels like all the moisture has been sweated out."

Lu Zhe also nodded, "Yeah, me too! If I encounter a desperately thirsty monkey again, I don't know what I'd feed it."

The two quickly arrived at the hot spring pool.

Sure enough, there was a large amount of water mist surging out of the stone cave, making the entrance damp, prompting thoughts of a sauna.

Shen Bing sighed, "No need to say it; it's definitely like a steam sauna!"

"You wait here; I'll go take a look!"

"Hey, careful not to get burned."

"It's fine!" Lu Zhe carefully squeezed through the opening.

Fortunately, the steam looked intimidating, but it wasn't hot enough to scald the skin.

It felt like being in a sauna with ten buckets of water added, the perfect temperature for middle-aged men's relaxation.

These girls definitely wouldn't be able to endure it.

Luckily, the stench of rotten eggs wasn't as strong as imagined.

Lu Zhe reached the edge of the pool.

He cautiously dipped a finger into the water.

His mind registered a temperature of 68 degrees!

With his constitution, he could barely tolerate it, but an ordinary person soaking in water of this temperature for a few minutes would definitely pass out at 120.

"Hey, how is it?" Shen Bing's voice came from outside.

Lu Zhe emerged from the rocky cave, shaking his head helplessly. "The water temperature is almost 70 degrees, it'll probably boil by evening!"

Shen Bing worried about the plants, "What about the plants inside?"

"The plants in there are all native species, they should be fine! Let's head back for now, and then discuss what to do with the other plants!"