Building a temporary shelter!
Building a temporary shelter!
Inside the cruise ship studio.
Mystery Rich was looking at the massive monitor wall with his arms crossed.
On it, the screens of twenty participants were lined up.
People wandering along the coastline searching for food.
People struggling to gather branches and start a fire.
People soliciting donations to purchase items through the API system.
Mystery Rich laughed, as if surprised.
"Everyone's doing better than I thought? I guess there's a reason they say humans are creatures of adaptation."
The survival expert sitting next to him slowly nodded his head.
"It seems the streamers did study up to some extent before participating."
That was actually true.
Whether because the prize money was substantial or not, most participants were genuinely committed to creating content.
No one had been eliminated yet.
Among them, a few participants stood out in particular.
A woman who had already purchased a tent with overwhelming donations.
A group that had already formed a team.
And Reels, who had smeared mud all over her face and was catching rainwater from a crevice in the rocks.
"But Professor."
Mystery Rich asked with a smile.
"Which participant do you think is ahead of everyone else, in your professional opinion?"
The survival expert thought for a moment.
His gaze slowly swept across the monitors. Then it stopped on the screen showing Reels.
"...If I had to pick one."
He slowly opened his mouth.
"Wouldn't it be Reels-nim?"
"Oh."
Hearing that, Mystery Rich's eyebrow lifted slightly.
The survival expert pointed at the streamers on the screen with a stoic expression.
"Most of the participants are still focused on securing shelter or food."
"That's true."
"And they're using API donations to cover water."
Then he seemed to hesitate for a moment before continuing.
"Actually, at this stage, that's the standard judgment."
Water is essential for survival. But at the same time, it's also the cheapest item.
In a system like this, water was something you could solve if you just had money. Especially since most participants were streamers with decent followings.
"But Reels-nim is different."
The expert's gaze turned toward Reels on the screen.
"She secured a water source first."
"She was definitely the fastest among the participants, that's true."
"That's a huge deal."
The survival expert said firmly.
"Humans can't last long without water. Especially in a tropical environment like this."
Sweat.
Dehydration.
Loss of stamina.
Diminished judgment.
In survival, water is literally a lifeline.
"Right now, everyone's getting by on donations, but."
He smiled meaningfully.
"What if donations start drying up?"
Mystery Rich understood immediately.
"...That would be the end."
The survival expert nodded.
"On the other hand, Reels-nim has already secured water, and she's also received a ten million won donation."
"Yes."
"If she uses that to purchase essential equipment like a fire steel..."
Mystery Rich finished the thought.
"Then she'll have fire secured too."
"Exactly."
Fire and water.
The two core elements of survival.
Resolved in just half a day.
And by that small-framed kid at that.
The survival expert chuckled.
"Plus, her situational judgment is remarkably cool-headed."
On screen, Reels and Yerin were even planting sticks near the rocks to mark the location.
To make it easy to find the water source again.
As if that weren't enough, they were beginning preparations to build a shelter a short distance away from the water source.
Mystery Rich asked, puzzled.
"But is there a reason to build the shelter away from the water?"
The survival expert stroked his chin.
"As I just said, water is essential for survival."
"Yes."
"That's also true for humans, but."
He looked at the dark jungle on the screen.
"It's the same for animals."
"Ah."
"Especially at night, animals are likely to move toward water sources."
In other words.
Sleeping right next to a water source was no different from lying right in the middle of an animal migration path.
"I believe they're intentionally keeping their distance."
"That's impressive. Really."
Mystery Rich let out a small laugh.
And he looked at Reels on the monitor, who was calmly moving branches with her mud-covered face.
"...That streamer named Reels."
The corners of Mystery Rich's mouth slowly rose.
"I want her more and more."
@
Yerin was hugging an armful of branches and asked in a grumbling tone.
"If we're gonna build it anyway, wouldn't it be better to do it properly? What if it collapses in the middle of the night because we made it half-assed?"
Ever since the age attack, Yerin had naturally dropped formal speech with me.
Since she's actually older than me anyway, I didn't really mind.
I shook my head while collecting broad leaves that had fallen on the ground.
"We're only gonna make it good enough to sleep roughly tonight."
"...Why?"
"Because I don't like the location."
Yerin's face filled with disbelief.
"What, you're gonna critique the feng shui of a spot on a deserted island?"
"It's important."
I calmly looked around.
Damp, muddy ground.
Dense jungle.
And a nearby water source.
At first glance, it seems like a good spot for a shelter, but if you look closely, there are more iffy points.
"It's too humid here. I'm gonna get bitten by bugs."
I tapped the squishy mud with the tip of my foot.
"And if it rains, this is gonna turn into a complete mud pit."
"Ah ha."
Jjireureureureuk.
As if agreeing with my words, the sound of insects rang out nearby.
Yerin's face soured slightly.
So she's not afraid of lizards, but she hates bugs, huh.
Acting all tough in front of me when she got that shot.
As they say, the scaredy dog barks the loudest.
"Plus, the water's too close."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"It is good, but."
I jerked my chin toward the pool in the rock crevice.
"Bugs and animals are crazy about water too."
"...Ah."
Only then did Yerin nod as if she understood something.
"So that's why we're just making a temporary shelter today. Until we find a good spot."
I leaned a branch of decent length against a rock of decent size.
"Just enough to hide our bodies and sleep for now."
"Then, tomorrow?"
"We gotta explore the island more and find a proper spot."
Somewhere that's a reasonable distance from water, easy to find food, and not too damp.
Preferably a location with good airflow if possible.
Because natural wind keeps bugs away.
Yerin stared at me for a while like I was some fascinating creature, then asked in a small voice.
"...Have you, like, actually lived on a deserted island before? Or are your parents survivalists or something?"
"My parents. They passed away."
"Uh?"
At the sudden UFC, Yerin's pupils shook violently. The grumbling expression on her face froze solid.
"...S-sorry."
"It's fine."
I answered nonchalantly while weaving together the branches needed to build the shelter.
"They passed away when I was little, so I don't really remember them well. I heard they were both sick."
"Th-then, how did you live all this time without your parents...?"
"I grew up in an orphanage, then after I graduated high school, I moved out and worked part-time jobs to get by."
"..."
Yerin's mouth opened and closed, but in the end, she lost her words.
Usually, when you tell a story like that, the mood gets heavy.
People try to comfort you, or they tread carefully.
But I wasn't really used to that kind of reaction.
Because to me, it was just a common story that could happen anywhere.
I said while laying large palm leaves one by one on top of the woven branches.
"There are plenty of people in this world who have it harder than me."
"...Why do you say things like that so calmly? It makes people feel awkward."
"It's a common story."
"That's what's weird about it..."
Yerin had a complicated look on her face.
Instead of answering, I focused on finishing the shelter.
The structure itself is simple.
Lean long branches diagonally against a large rock that blocks the wind. Then cover them with several layers of palm leaves.
For the floor, roughly spread some dry leaves to block the cold rising from the ground.
As long as it can block the rain and wind to some degree, that's enough.
The first night isn't about a war of attrition anyway.
It's just about surviving safely.
I placed the last leaf and took a step back.
"Hm."
It's better than I thought.
Small, but big enough for one adult to curl up and fit inside.
But that didn't really matter. My build is small, and Yerin is also quite thin.
Yerin's eyes went wide as she looked at the finished temporary shelter too.
"Oh. Not bad? But it looks way too cramped for two people to sleep in."
"It's three."
"...Huh?"
I jerked my chin toward the top of the rock. There, Baby was slowly wagging her tail and munching on something.
"Baby, how greedy, eating something by yourself?"
Slurp.
Baby had a large bug in her mouth, caught god knows when.
"Eeek!"
Yerin made a disgusted face at the bug in Baby's mouth.
Baby, on the other hand, was completely unbothered.
Maybe because she's a lizard, the deserted island actually seems to suit her.
I chuckled, amused.
"Baby needs a spot too."
"...I guess so."
Yerin laughed as if she couldn't believe it, then looked up at the sky.
The sky, which had been tinged with red, was slowly darkening.
"...So what do we do now? We got water, we built a shelter."
"We need to get food."
"Now?"
"It's harder to find food once it gets dark."
It's dangerous when visibility gets low.
Easy to get lost, and you might get attacked by nocturnal animals with good night vision.
It also becomes harder to identify poisonous plants.
I slowly looked around.
My body is exhausted from walking around for so long today.
Hunting is out of the question. I don't have proper tools either.
The sun was almost gone.
"For today, I'll look for root vegetables or fruits."
"How do you know if they're safe to eat?"
"We'll just have to try."
I started thoroughly searching the surrounding bushes with Yerin.
"Mm. This is a problem."
Finding food wasn't as easy as I thought.
I can't really see any edible-looking fruit.
If I pick the wrong brightly colored fruit I don't know and end up with an upset stomach, that'd be the worst.
Mushrooms are even more dangerous.
For today, I'm planning to just fill our stomachs with whatever can keep us going.
Swish.
Just as I was pushing through the bushes and looking around.
"Reels."
Yerin pointed upward with her finger.
"Is it okay to tear off vines like that? Seems like they could be useful later."
"...Huh?"
I looked in the direction she was pointing.
A massive tree. And a thick vine coiled around that tree.
"Huh?"
"What."
"That's what our hyung used to eat."
"Who's our hyung?"
"Brother Grylls."
"???"