Time for Some Light.

Jiang Yao stepped on Lu Zhe's foot and said softly, "You haven't called me so intimately before..."

Tang Xiaoguo yelled loudly, "Humph, me too..."

"Come on, don't mess around. Let's see what's going on with Sister Bing!"

Lu Zhe cleared his throat and called out "Dear" five times in a row.

Every time he called out, Shen Bing seemed to react a little, but after he was done she still sat there motionless, looking somewhat silly.

The girls also started calling out to her.

Strangely though, when Lu Zhe called "Dear", Shen Bing would react a little, but when the others called her, it was as if she didn't hear anything!

"What should we do now?" Even Lu Zhe was a bit stumped.

"When did Sister Bing become like this?"

"She was fine before you all came. She even saved me, shooting the crocodile several times. It seems that after seeing that python...she became like this."

Lu Zhe came up with an idea: "Perhaps nearly being eaten gave her a psychological shadow about it..."

Thinking of a different approach:

Lu Zhe suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Bingbing, I'm your dad..."

Ning Shu immediately understood: "Mom is here too..."

Still no reaction!

Ning Shu sighed, "This child..."

Lin Qianqian held Sister Bing's hand worriedly, "Lu Zhe, what should we do now!"

Lu Zhe rubbed his stomach, "My stomach is growling. Let's find some food first. Oh right, what do we have here?"

"Some canned luncheon meat, hot sauce, and a few packs of instant noodles..."

Instant noodles wouldn't be bad, but without hot water, eating them dry would be too wasteful.

"What else is there to eat on the island?"

Ning Shu said, "There are some coconuts and bananas tied to the banyan tree..."

"Oh right, there's also the crocodile and python, but..." Listening to the pouring rain outside, Lu Zhe imagined himself slaughtering animals in the torrential downpour and felt it was a bit abnormal. "But they wouldn't be easy to deal with in this rain. Let's do this - I'll go get some bananas to fill our stomachs for now, then get back to digging the cave."

Lin Qianqian said worriedly, "The rain is too heavy, wait until it lightens up!"

"Don't worry, I'm already soaked anyway!"

The entrance to the stone cave had not only a vertical ladder for climbing up and down, but also a horizontal ladder connecting to the banyan tree.

The purpose of this ladder was to guide the banyan's air roots to grow down in a specified spot, eventually forming the "root bridge" that Lu Zhe had planned, to facilitate crossing back and forth.

With a backpack on, Lu Zhe wanted to cross through the horizontal ladder, but the moment he stepped on it he was drenched by the raging storm!

The rain poured down nearly horizontally, completely soaking his head and face. Licking his lips, he tasted a hint of salt - the rainwater had mixed with seawater.

He quickly crouched down to minimize his surface area exposed to the wind, lest he be blown off.

He had to admit, the treehouse location was truly excellent.

Built amidst the dense banyan canopy, even a storm this big still hadn't collapsed it.

Lu Zhe climbed up and found the coconuts had rolled who knows where. There were still a few bunches of bananas left, so he quickly picked them.

Oh right, there was also the grape wine that Guo'er had stomped - it should just about be finished fermenting. He brought down a barrel.

Back to the cave!

It was soaked with water again. The girls hurriedly used rags to wipe the floor and wring water into the ceramic basin to avoid flooding their supplies.

It took great effort to seal up the entrance again.

Everyone panted to catch their breaths.

"Are you okay, Lu Zhe!"

"I'm great! Quick, everyone eat something, then let's get back to work!"

"What about Sister Bing?"

"It's too dark now. She probably recalled some painful memories. We need to dig out more space, then get a fire going. Maybe with some light she'll snap out of it."

"You're right, hurry..."

Lu Zhe wolfed down five bananas, two slices of luncheon meat, and half a barrel of grape wine.

Fully replenished.

He then tied up his hair, took off his shirt, and continued digging.

Compared to the bear cave, the advantage of digging here was not having to worry about collapse, but the downside was it was very slow.

After another five or six hours, Lu Zhe opened up another 1 square meter.

This speed seemed slow, but was actually faster than the world's best stonemasons.

By now, Qianqian, Jiang Yao, Guo'er and Shen Bing were all leaning against the bundles fast asleep.

It was crowded but they each had their own spot.

The only one left awake was Ning Shu, helping Lu Zhe clear away rubble.

The continuous digging had exhausted them. Lu Zhe was also drenched in sweat, panting heavily. Ning Shu was even more tired, her face flushed red and hair disheveled.

"Take a break?"

"Okay!"

The two sat down together, leaning against each other.

Lu Zhe very unceremoniously put his arm around Ning Shu's shoulder, "Do you mind!"

"It's okay..." Ning Shu pursed her lips, then leaned further into him, but frowned, "Hey, your beard is prickly..."

Lu Zhe stroked his beard and sighed, "Do I look less handsome now?"

"You're alright, it makes you look a bit like an artist! But...I still prefer your clean-shaven look."

"Yeah, I don't want to be like this either, but we have no choice given the circumstances. Just bear with it!"

The two chatted for a bit, then Lu Zhe recounted to Ning Shu their journey so far.

Ning Shu sighed, "No wonder Sister Bing is like that! I've been having nightmares these past few days too, dreaming that you all would never come back, and Sister Bing and I would be widowed on this island for life."

Lu Zhe looked seriously and solemnly at Ning Shu, "As long as I have one breath left, I will come back. I will come back for you all."

"Mm, that's the only belief keeping Sister Bing and I alive. You don't know, I still feel like this is all a dream!"

As Ning Shu spoke, her eyes grew slightly red.

Lu Zhe lightly kissed her cheek, "Nothing will happen to me! Because whenever I encounter a situation, I think of you all, of my responsibilities, and that gives me endless courage to easily overcome difficulties!"

"You make it sound so simple!"

"If I told you everything, it'd be a long tale of woe."

"Did you think of me this time?"

"If I didn't think of you I wouldn't have survived at all! Just like I said, it's because I thought of you that I had endless courage!"

Ning Shu pouted, "Pure nonsense!"

But she was quite pleased inside, and unconsciously leaned closer into Lu Zhe.

Exhausted, the two unknowingly fell asleep leaning against each other.

When they awoke, it was nighttime!

The others had also woken up. It was pitch black in the cave, unable to see five fingers in front of their faces, but that didn't stop the girls from whispering to each other.

The thunderstorm outside showed no signs of weakening. Lu Zhe drank some grape wine to invigorate himself.

"How is Sister Bing?"

Qianqian checked, "Still sleeping!"

Tang Xiaoguo said, "It's so dark, feels too oppressive!"

"Want me to take you out for some fresh air?"

"No!"

"Then be patient. You can help me dig out the cave later."

"We want to help too, but we can't see anything!"

Lu Zhe understood the girls didn't have night vision.

To work more effectively and lift everyone's oppressed moods, it was time to shed some light.