Chapter 134: Survival for Two
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 134: Survival for Two
'So far, everything is going according to plan.'
Akagi Shinjiro thought to himself as he headed toward the pre-established base camp with his younger sister, Minami.
In truth, this was all his design.
Project S.U.V
An operation he had devised to ensure the young lady and Kim Yoo-Sung would get together this summer.
The fact that they had taken a yacht far out into the open sea, that the fuel had run out at just the right moment, and that a suitable island had been scouted out—it had all come from his mind.
Isn't it a law of nature that when a grown man and woman are left to survive alone on a deserted island, they naturally grow closer?
It was the perfect shock therapy for the clueless young lady who, despite meeting him earlier than anyone else, still hadn't managed to confess her feelings.
He had told Kim Yoo-Sung that the young lady had chartered the boat because she was concerned he hadn't had much fun yesterday, but in reality, the yacht had been prepared from the start, and the reason was just a convenient excuse.
Besides, without the young lady's approval, he never could have pulled off something this big on his own.
For reference, the island they had landed on had already been scouted, and exactly one day's worth of food was prepared in a cave halfway up the mountain.
"Brother, can't you put down that transmitter bag now? It's just for show, anyway."
Shinjiro shook his head at the question from Minami, who was beside him.
"What's in here isn't actually a transmitter."
"Then what is it?"
"A much more precious treasure."
He opened the bag to show her the contents.
He had called it a transmitter to Kim Yoo-Sung, but what was actually inside the bag were two portable game consoles, a high-capacity power bank to charge them, and snacks and drinks to enjoy while they played.
But Minami's expression hardened.
"You came all this way just to play games?"
Shinjiro confidently pushed up his glasses with his middle finger and said.
"It's not like there's much to do in the cave anyway. And don't be mad, I brought one for you too."
With that, Shinjiro handed one of the consoles to Minami.
"...You have Tetris and Puyo Puyo on here, right?"
"Of course I downloaded them. Who do you take me for?"
"Fine. I'll forgive you, just this once."
The two siblings, who had been on the verge of a falling out, quickly made up.
*
Left on the shore with the President, I looked around to build a temporary shelter as the two had requested.
To be honest, this was my first time trying to survive on a deserted island like this.
The most I'd ever done was camp outdoors; I'd never had to build something from scratch.
Even in the military, they provided tents and food.
But I couldn't just stand around doing nothing, so I opened the toolbox I'd brought from the yacht.
Inside the box were a portable hand axe, a shovel, a knife, and a flare gun.
The flare was for emergencies, so I had to save it. It would definitely get cold at night, so the first thing I needed to do was start a fire.
It was summer, so the long days were a small blessing in this unfortunate situation.
"President, would you mind gathering some dry branches from around here?"
Eager to help, the President rolled up her sleeves with a motivated expression and replied.
"Of course!"
"Then I'll get started on building a hut."
After dividing the tasks, we each got to work.
The President went about her task, gathering branches along the beach, while I chopped down nearby trees with the axe to build the frame for the hut.
Once the frame was built, I needed something to cover it for a roof. Seeing nothing suitable, I brought a waterproof tarp from the yacht and draped it over the top.
Thankfully, the yacht was well-stocked with all sorts of items, so the work never got held up.
I don't know why they were so thoroughly prepared with everything except checking the fuel.
"Yoo-Sung! I've gathered all the branches!"
In the meantime, the President, having collected the dry branches as I'd asked, looked at me with an expression that seemed to be asking for praise.
She looked so much like a puppy wagging its tail that I couldn't help but laugh.
"Wh-why are you laughing?"
"No reason. It's just that you're cute, President."
"Mmph!"
The President puffed out her cheeks as if slightly annoyed, but would it be strange of me to say that even that looked cute?
Anyway, she had returned at the perfect time, so I stacked the branches layer by layer in a pit I had dug earlier.
Then, I built a wall around the pit with large stones and lit the fire with matches I'd brought from the boat.
Viva modern civilization. Viva strike-anywhere matches.
"With this, we've secured a temporary shelter and a fire."
Standing beside me, the President spoke, her face full of excitement.
"You know, this is my first time doing something like this. My heart is pounding."
"Pounding?"
"...Is that strange?"
"No, now that I think about it, I can see why."
The President was raised in a wealthy home, so she's definitely never experienced anything like this before.
As for me, I went through plenty of this in the military.
Anyway, all that moving around made me thirsty, so I was about to drink some of the bottled water I'd brought from the boat when I paused.
"President, have you ever had coconut before?"
Perhaps because it was such a random question, the President tilted her head and answered.
"You mean when I went to Hawaii a while ago?"
"Was it any good?"
"Personally, I didn't think it was bad."
I hesitated, remembering a drink I'd had a long time ago, but since we were surviving on a deserted island anyway, I wanted to try a coconut at least once. I put down the water bottle I was holding.
"I'll be right back."
The President asked in surprise.
"Don't tell me you're going to get a coconut?"
"We don't have much drinking water. Wouldn't it be better to save it if we can?"
And personally, I wanted to try it.
Fresh coconut juice.
"I'll go with you!"
Worried about me, the President quickly followed.
With the axe in my left hand and the knife in my right, I headed for a nearby palm tree.
*
Up close, the palm tree was enormous.
At a glance, it looked to be about 5 or 6 meters tall.
"How do people normally get coconuts?"
The President crossed her arms and replied.
"When I was in Hawaii, I saw the locals use long poles to get them down."
"I see."
But we didn't have a long pole.
And there weren't any good handholds to climb the tree barehanded.
In the end, the only option was to cut the tree down, but it felt like it would take forever to chop through the trunk with the hand axe I had.
I spoke to the President, who was watching a coconut crab scuttling nearby with fascination.
"President, could you please step back for a moment?"
"Huh? What are you going to do?"
"I'm not planning on doing anything particularly dangerous."
I said, spreading my legs to a suitable width.
With a deep breath, Yang Energy spread throughout my body.
This was the first time I had used such a massive amount of ki since Li Meiling passed her techniques on to me at Mount Fuji.
The Yang Energy circulated through my body once before concentrating in my arms and legs. I settled into a Horse Stance, then took a large step forward and thrust my fist out in a straight line.
CRACK!!
The Rushing Hammer of Baji Quan.
It was the most basic of basics, but the powerful thrust, combined with a stomp, was enough to deliver a heavy blow even to the thick palm tree.
The palm tree, half-splintered from the impact of my fist, couldn't support its own weight and slowly began to topple over to the other side.
Thud!
"Awawawawawa."
The President let out a strange noise from behind me, seemingly flustered by what had just happened in an instant.
I brushed the wood splinters off my fist and asked.
"Are you alright, President?"
"Huh? Y-yes..."
The President finally managed to reply, nodding her head.
After confirming she was safe, I started gathering the coconuts that had fallen to the ground.
*
The coconut harvest was a success.
It seemed cutting down the whole tree had been worth it, as I'd gotten more than enough coconuts for the two of us.
There were probably enough to share with the Vice President and Minami when they arrived.
Separately, some coconut crabs that had been near the palm tree hadn't managed to escape in time and were crushed by the falling tree, giving us some free food.
It looked like dinner for tonight was sorted.
By the time we returned to the hut with our spoils, the sun was beginning to set.
I took out my smartphone to check the time and saw it was already past 7 PM.
Coconuts were great, but I needed to prepare dinner before it got any later.
"President, why don't you have this for now."
I lopped off the top of a coconut with the axe, stuck a straw into the flesh, and handed it to the President.
"What about you, Yoo-Sung?"
"I'll have mine after I'm done with this. We need to eat dinner."
As I said that, I held up one of the dead coconut crabs. The President hesitated for a moment, then held out the coconut I'd given her.
"You have a sip first. You worked hard to get it."
"Huh? I'm fine..."
"Go on!"
At the President's insistence, I couldn't refuse any longer and took a very short sip.
Right after, I handed the coconut back. The President brought the straw to her lips, then paused and hesitated.
"Ah, should I get you a new straw?"
She looked back at me, startled.
"No! I'll just drink from this one! Why be wasteful on a deserted island!"
Then she quickly put the straw in her mouth and started sipping the coconut juice.
I watched her out of the corner of my eye before starting to prepare the coconut crabs in earnest.