Volume One, Chapter Seven: The Wise Helpmate?

With a torrential downpour sweeping wildly across the landscape, the moonlight that had previously offered faint visibility was now swallowed by impenetrable darkness.

The seaside, in particular, was engulfed in an endless abyss of gloom, stirring an instinctive, boundless dread within the soul. Near the shoreline where the surf met the sand, a shadow—darker still than the night—was slowly undulating.

Even through the shroud of darkness, the sight, coupled with the persistent sounds emanating from the gloom, left Ye Feng trembling. He might have been able to maintain his composure in front of others, but he was, at his core, an ordinary man, and he was just as susceptible to fear as anyone else.

Especially now, alone and witnessing this scene, he was truly paralyzed by terror. He wanted to flee, to lift his legs and run, but he found they no longer obeyed his commands. The presence of so many corpses scattered around only served to amplify his fear to an unbearable degree.

Was it a sea monster? Or were they the dead—the walking dead? For a moment, only these two terrifying possibilities flickered through his mind.

"Help me..."

Just then, the whimpering sounds ceased, replaced by a faint, trembling voice. Though weak, it cut through the silence of the surroundings with startling clarity.

It was a person! A living human being!

The terror in his heart was instantly halved. Yet, he dared not be reckless and did not rush forward blindly.

"Please... help me..."

When the second plea came, Ye Feng was convinced. He took small, cautious steps, slowly moving toward the dark silhouette. Approaching, he let out a sigh of relief; it was a man in his fifties.

He was alive. But his condition was dire—one of his legs was gone. His breathing was heavy and ragged, suggesting he was on the verge of death from blood loss.

"Old timer, in your condition, I’m afraid there’s not much to be done. This is a desert island, after all. If there’s anything you want to say to your family, tell me. If I ever make it out of here, I’ll pass your message along."

Though he hated to shatter the man’s hope, the reality of the situation was absolute. The man understood his fate. Slowly, he produced a golden credit card from his person.

"My daughter... she’s still in school. Take care of her for me. The PIN is her birthday. Her name is Lei—"

Before he could finish, the old man’s breath failed him.

Damn it!

He should have finished the name! In a country as vast as China, those with the surname Lei were as numerous as the hairs on a cow. How was he supposed to know which one was his daughter? And if the PIN was her birthday, wouldn't this card be useless if he couldn't find her?

Staring at the deceased man, Ye Feng felt a twinge of regret, yet he still kindly dragged the body to the edge of the forest and buried it in a shallow pit.

"I wonder how much is in there?"

Once finished, Ye Feng sat down on the ground, staring at the credit card in his hand and muttering to himself.

Am I overthinking this? Ye Feng rubbed his nose.

I don’t even know if I’ll survive this island myself, and I’m worried about money? Even if there were ten billion, what use would it be if I can't leave this place?

Putting the thought aside, he scavenged for more supplies before heading back. As the only man among a group of beauties, the first night of watch duty naturally fell to him.

The next day, the sound of rushing water startled Ye Feng from his fitful sleep on the craggy rocks. The rock where he had been resting was high up, a safe distance from the tide. The women had helped him dry his clothes, and he had spent the night keeping watch from that vantage point. It was at least three or four meters above the beach—roughly the height of a single-story building—and not easily accessible.

In the quiet of the early morning, the splashing sound was unmistakable. Puzzled, Ye Feng followed the noise, and when he looked down from the rocks, he froze.

Lin Yao was there, relieving herself.

Upon hearing the sound, the first stirrings of a man’s morning temperament flared up. Lin Yao seemed to sense something amiss and looked up instinctively. The next second, she shrieked, pulled up her pants, and bolted.

"Lin Yao, what's wrong? Are the wolves back?"

Her scream woke the other women in the cave. They all rushed out, clutching wooden clubs, their faces taut with vigilance. But when they saw there were no wolves, they looked confused.

"Cough, cough, nothing. I... I accidentally stepped on a crab and got scared!" Lin Yao explained, her face flushed. Whether it was embarrassment from waking the others or shame from the earlier incident, her cheeks were bright red.

"But why is your face so red? Are you sick?" Chen Jing, ever observant, asked immediately.

"I... I..." Lin Yao couldn't come up with an excuse.

"She got her bottom pinched by a crab, so she was too embarrassed to tell you," Ye Feng interjected, walking over to smooth things over. He couldn't let anyone know what he had accidentally seen; his image would be completely shattered. He knew that since Lin Yao didn't intend to speak of it, he certainly wouldn't either.

"How do you know?" the sharp-witted Chen Jing pressed.

"I saw it!"

"You saw what?"

"I saw her bottom get—cough, cough—that's not the point. The point is the sun is up, and I should head to the beach to see if any more supplies have washed ashore." Realizing he had been led into a trap by Chen Jing, Ye Feng laughed awkwardly and slipped away.

Chen Jing and Lin Xiaoxiao stayed behind to guard the camp, while Lin Yao and Gao Fei’er went out to scavenge for supplies. They were a large group with no wilderness survival skills; finding supplies was their best hope of holding out until a rescue team arrived.

Once the sun was fully up, they saw many other survivors also scouring the shore for supplies. But compared to the number of people they had seen yesterday, there were less than half left. Most had perished in the jaws of the wolves during the night.

It was a sobering realization: once taken from the comforts of the city and dropped into a primitive environment, humanity was left utterly defenseless. As technology had progressed and civilization advanced, the most primal survival skills had regressed—or, more accurately, had been entirely forgotten. If they had been ancient humans, those wolves wouldn't have had such an easy time.

Life on the island had effectively thrown them back into the habitats of their ancestors, and most people were being culled. The few who survived did so largely by luck, and they were among that number.

Time flew as everyone scrambled for supplies. Soon, the sun hung high in the sky. The forty-degree heat forced many to pause their search and retreat into the forest. Water was their most urgent need, and the scorching sun was lethal. Once a person became dehydrated, the end came quickly.

"Ye Feng, look what I found!"

On the way back, he ran into Lin Yao. She was jogging toward him, excitedly hoisting two backpacks, her pretty face glowing with triumph.

As she spoke, Lin Yao pulled a baseball bat and a Swiss Army knife from one of the bags. Ye Feng immediately snatched them up. While food and water were critical, weapons were equally important to him. He carried the weight of responsibility—he had to protect not only himself but the women as well. A powerful weapon was exactly what he needed. He had been looking since the night before without success, and here Lin Yao had found two at once. A Swiss Army knife was incredibly useful on a desert island.

"Ye Feng, how's your 'dutiful wife' doing? Are these things useful?" Seeing the look of delight on his face, Lin Yao gave a proud, coquettish huff.

"Dutiful wife?"

Hearing her use those words, he felt a flicker of excitement as he looked at her. She was wearing someone else's clothes, which were clearly a size too small, yet they perfectly traced the contours of her figure. Even though he had experienced her beauty before, the sight left him feeling parched.

What did "dutiful wife" mean? Even a dog knew that! For Lin Yao to suddenly use such a term—what was she implying? Was she trying to send him a message?