Stranded on a Deserted Island—They All Started Plotting Against Me - Chapter 23 - Chapter 23

Under the tension of the bowstring, the lower end of the small stick standing on a piece of dry wood began to produce tiny sawdust.

This was just the beginning. Zhang Liu gritted his teeth, pushing the stick down with more force while vigorously pulling the bow back and forth.

Come on—just let me succeed once!

The muscles in his arms were already sore and numb, but in return, a small hole had been drilled into the dry wood.

The wood shavings around the hole had turned brown, and faint wisps of smoke were beginning to rise.

The air now had the distinct smell of smoked wood.

“It’s smoking!” Anya couldn’t sit still anymore. As soon as she smelled the smoke, she rushed over to take a closer look.

Qin Ruoshuang, who had been gently scrubbing her T-shirt around the chest area, also paused what she was doing and walked over.

Both of them bent over to observe the scene, but from different angles—Anya faced Zhang Liu directly, while Qin Ruoshuang stood behind him.

The sun in the sky was scorching. Even though Zhang Liu had taken off his shirt and exposed his upper body, he was drenched in sweat from the exertion.

Sweat trickled down his forehead, over his brows, and into his eyes. He had to keep blinking to alleviate the sting.

But this wasn’t the most important part. What worried Zhang Liu more was his arm. Though the smoke was thickening, he had already reached his limit.

The pain in his arm had accumulated to its peak, and with the next push-pull movement, he let out a heavy sigh.

The bow slipped from his hands and silently fell to the beach.

Zhang Liu, now supporting himself with one hand on the ground, began to pant heavily.

His right forearm and upper arm had lost all sensation, replaced only by a stiff, numb feeling.

“Huh?” Anya, who hadn’t noticed what had happened, showed a surprised expression. She quickly called out, “Zhang Liu, keep going! We’re almost there!”

From Anya’s perspective, the wood used as the fire-starting base had already developed black shavings, indicating that a carbonization reaction was occurring due to the high heat. It would be a waste for Zhang Liu to stop now.

“It looks like his arm is too tired, he can’t drill anymore,” Qin Ruoshuang said, quickly unscrewing the partially filled water bottle in her hand and holding it to Zhang Liu’s mouth.

“Glug… glug…”

Zhang Liu didn’t hesitate and took the bottle with his still-functioning left hand, finishing the remaining half of the water in one go.

He sighed in relief, then, under Anya and Qin Ruoshuang’s worried gazes, gave a bitter smile and said, “My muscles started to cramp from pulling for so long, and I can’t hold the bow anymore.”

“But it’s working!” Qin Ruoshuang said, placing her finger on the pile of black wood shavings. After a brief touch, she quickly pulled it back, then added, “The temperature is really high.”

“Yeah, I deliberately chose the right time,” Zhang Liu looked up at the sun, now positioned at the center of the sky. “It’s the hottest time of day, so the chances of ignition are highest.”

He said this with a hint of helplessness.

His right hand was nearly powerless at this point. He could probably pick up something, but trying to continue drilling for fire seemed out of the question.

“Let’s eat something first.” Anya peeled a jabuticaba fruit, took out the pit, and handed it to Zhang Liu as she stared out at the sea.

“Thanks.” Zhang Liu accepted the fruit and bit into it. The sweet taste lifted his spirits a little as he chewed. “I’ll go pick up some more wood by the shore. After my arm recovers, I’ll try drilling for fire again.”

Though he said this, he knew deep down that his plan to start a fire today was probably a lost cause.

After all, this was the hottest part of the day, and his body was in its best condition, yet the fire hadn’t been successful. Once the weather cooled down and his arm had only partially recovered, how could drilling for fire work then?

He walked over to the beach to collect some driftwood, piling it all in an open space. Occasionally, he would gaze out at the endless dark blue sea, hoping to see a small dot appear on the horizon and gradually get closer, turning into a rescue ship…

But after collecting a small pile of wood, Zhang Liu sighed helplessly and gave up on the unrealistic fantasy, beginning to organize the wood.

Back at the cave entrance, after Zhang Liu left, Anya picked up the bow and drill that had fallen to the ground from Zhang Liu’s exhausted arm.

She then started mimicking him, attaching the wooden rod and pulling the bow to make it spin.

Compared to before, there was no longer the squeaky sound as the wood rod and the small hole in the wood had begun to adjust to each other.

However, Anya still had to exert a lot of effort, and after less than half the time Zhang Liu had managed, she stopped, breathing heavily, and declared her failure.

“Drink some water and rest.” Qin Ruoshuang handed Anya a coconut that she had just cracked open, then whispered, “Looks like we won’t be able to start a fire today. Don’t show any disappointment, though. We don’t want to make Zhang Liu feel bad.”

“I understand.” Anya was about to nod when her gaze suddenly landed on Qin Ruoshuang’s chest.

She felt something was off but couldn’t quite place it.

She frowned. As a girl herself, she wasn’t shy about staring. After a moment of careful observation, she finally raised her head in surprise, asking, “Where’s your bra?”

Without the support of a bra, Qin Ruoshuang’s chest, while still prominent, had a slight sag, especially under the hot weather, as her white school uniform became semi-transparent due to sweat.

Awkwardly, Qin Ruoshuang crossed her right hand over to grab her left arm, trying to block the faint red tips peeking through her shirt.

She answered softly, “I had to take it apart. Come with me.”

“Huh?” Anya blinked, still confused, as Qin Ruoshuang climbed into the cave.

After hesitating for two seconds, Anya followed her inside, only to see Qin Ruoshuang pull a sponge out from under the foam where they had slept the night before.

“I took the sponge out of it. We’ll each use one. After I accompany Zhang Liu to the beach, you can use it to clean up down there.” Qin Ruoshuang handed the sponge to Anya, then whispered, “Hurry, Zhang Liu might come back soon.”

“Oh, but why not just put your bra back on?” Anya quickly grabbed the sponge and stuffed it into her shirt pocket, still feeling a bit confused.

If she took out the sponge, she could still wear the bra, right?

“It’s a front closure bra, and the hooks are connected to the sponge. Now that the sponge is gone, the hooks will dig into my skin if I try to fasten it again.” Qin Ruoshuang displayed the bra in front of Anya with a helpless tone.

She had, of course, tried to wear it even when the hooks dug into her skin.

But with every move, it felt like needles were stabbing her chest. Eventually, she decided it was better to go without anything in front of Zhang Liu.

“Then wear mine!” Anya reached out and adjusted the edge of her inverted bra, and said what she had in mind.

Then, she noticed that Qin Ruoshuang’s expression suddenly turned strange.