Chapter 4: Tiered Survival System.
1403 Words
Ethan was plunged into utter bewilderment. What was that mystical light in Lucy’s palm?
Moreover, why did he suddenly feel as if his wounds were gone, and the dull ache from earlier had completely disappeared? Could it really be, as this girl claimed, that she possessed the ability to heal wounds? Why did this feel just like something out of a martial arts or xianxia fantasy film?
After about two minutes, Lucy finally stopped. Only then did Ethan lean forward to look at his foot. There was only a faint dry mark left, and the wound had already scabbed over; in another day or two, it would be fully healed.
Miraculous!
“Are you a cultivator or something? Which ancient sect do you belong to?”
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting? This is something I got from the Survival System. I’m rank D, support type, specialized in healing. What about you?”
Survival System, what the hell was that? Ethan reached out to touch Lucy’s forehead, mumbling,
“No fever… so why are you talking nonsense like this?”
“You’re the one talking nonsense! Don’t tell me you don’t have one?”
“Have what?”
“The Survival System!”
Ethan fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. How was he supposed to know anything about some so-called Survival System? He asked her in return:
“You really have? What’s it like?”
“When I woke up, there was a robotic, mechanical voice in my ear, saying it was the survival system that would help me survive in the wild. It said I’m categorized as rank D, specializing in support.”
“So just now you used that ‘system energy’ to heal my wound?”
“That’s right. Unfortunately, I’m only at rank D, pretty low, so I can’t heal you completely right away. But the energy recovery timer for me is short, after half an hour, I’ll be able to heal you again.”
Listening to Lucy, Ethan’s mind became a little muddled. He honestly didn’t understand, but with what Lucy had just done, he couldn’t deny that this so-called ‘survival system’ was real. On top of that, he hadn’t been granted such a privilege, since waking up, he hadn’t heard a single robotic voice.
“So aside from healing, can your energy do anything else?”
Ethan asked, and Lucy immediately shook her head.
“No, only healing.”
“Can’t detoxify poison?”
“No.”
Lucy lowered her head. Did Ethan think she was useless? With a skill like this, for example, if she had just been bitten by a snake and the snake was venomous, she’d be a goner for sure.
“Can your system level up right now?”
Ethan asked again. Lucy replied without hesitation:
“There are nine ranks total, from F to SSS. I’m third from the bottom, haha.”
Lucy gave a bitter smile, then continued explaining:
“Each main rank has three sub-tiers; for example, I’m currently at rank D1. After accumulating enough energy, I can level up to D2. That will enhance my healing ability, shorten the cooldown time, and the system says it’ll unlock more skills.”
Ethan nodded in understanding; he could more or less grasp the general mechanics of the system. In harsh survival conditions, being able to heal was somewhat useful, though it wasn’t very versatile. He’d watched many genres of film, cultivation, xianxia, apocalyptic survival; he’d seen it all, so just hearing Lucy’s brief explanation was enough for him to piece it together. He didn’t want to let it slip and make this little girl sad; in truth, her small advantage seemed almost more useless than being someone without a system at all like him.
“It’s all right, things will get better in the long run. Like just now, your healing really did help me.”
“Really?”
Lucy suddenly looked up, her big, round eyes and somewhat chubby, adorable face beaming at him. She wasn’t exactly beautiful, but she was pleasant to look at, though compared to Emily, his ex-girlfriend, she was still far inferior.
Ethan stood up and reached out a hand to help Lucy up. She accepted his hand, shyly stood up, then bashfully withdrew her hand again.
Was she embarrassed? He’d acted very naturally, with no other intentions toward her. And even if he did, it wouldn’t be at a time like this, when they were on the edge of life and death, with no idea what the future held.
“Are you still hungry? I’ve still got apples.”
“They’re too sour, I can’t eat any more.”
Ethan nodded, then took out a few more apples from his pocket and continued eating; he wanted to regain some more strength for other tasks.
He looked up at the sky. By his estimate, less than half an hour had passed since earlier. Now it was about nine thirty, and the sun wasn’t hot enough yet to start a fire. So he decided he would deal with those dried coconuts and clean the snake.
Why did he think of making a fire? Because in this kind of environment, with the sea in front and jungle behind, things seemed normal by day, but at night, it would be cold and oppressively dark. If they didn’t make a fire, they might not last another night. Unlike when he’d been unconscious and oblivious to everything, now that he was awake, there was no way he could withstand the nighttime chill.
Not to mention wild animals, though none had shown up in the past few days, who knew if one might come tonight? If it were a small animal, fine, but if it were a large predator, how would they deal with it?
Only fire could drive them away.
He spoke to Lucy behind him:
“I’ll go c***k open coconuts and butcher the snake. In the meantime, you find a few dry branches, thin ones, and some dry leaves. If you find a couple of thick logs, that’s good too; they’ll help keep the fire burning longer.”
“Fire? But how are we supposed to make fire?”
Lucy asked curiously. She didn’t have a lighter, and even if she had, after being soaked in seawater, it would be useless.
“Just do as I say.”
Ethan waved his hand, then turned back and tossed a small bag of cotton pads toward Lucy, adding,
“Dry these.”
“All right.”
Lucy didn’t dare say another word. Besides, she herself didn’t know why, but this man was strangely trustworthy.
He was tall and rather handsome, though his skin was a bit dark, so he didn’t stand out much. His clothes were just a regular shirt and slacks, but she found him very attractive; even the tears and rips in his clothes and pants somehow seemed captivating.
Thinking this, Lucy hurriedly covered her face, feeling herself flush hot. Could it be that she’d fallen in love at first sight with this man? Impossible, right? He wasn’t even all that extraordinary!
Leaving Lucy still standing there, covering her face under the blazing sun, Ethan unwound the snake coiled around his arm. This snake was about two meters long, nearly as thick as his wrist, certainly enough to provide two or three hearty meals for both of them.
He took out his folding knife, opened it, and skillfully dipped the snake into the seawater to rinse it off. He chopped off the head and tossed it onto the shore, then expertly cut open the snake, removing everything inedible before laying the snake’s body out to dry on a nearby rock. He planned to sun-dry it for one or two hours; after that, grilling it would make it taste even better.
While waiting, he didn’t stay idle. He went to gather two coconuts and then sat down under the shade of a coconut tree.
The folding knife he carried, though not large, had been specially crafted by the village blacksmith from ultra-durable metal, and it was extremely sharp. He pressed down with force to cut through the coconut’s husk. Since these were old coconuts, the husk was both hard and fibrous, and the small knife made it difficult to cut. He couldn’t use all his strength either, as his body was still quite weak.
- Writer
