Island Diaries: My Life with Ten Beauties

Chapter 33

Stella's buttocks trembled as she froze in surprise, not expecting me to make a move.

Thinking about how I almost got eaten by wolves because of her, I couldn't help but feel furious. I gave her a few more slaps.

Stella snapped out of her daze, her face turning bright red. "Jerk! Let go of me!"

Before she lost it completely, I let her go and warned her again, "If you cause trouble again, I won't help you."

Stella started crying. "Who needs your help? Damn! Just leave me alone!" She wiped her tears, pushed me away, and left the cave.

Watching her walk away, I suddenly felt a bit guilty. 'Did I slap her too hard just now?' 

I sighed and followed her quickly. If she ran into danger on the way back, it would be a problem. I could apologize to her later.

Stella and I returned to the forest's edge. She was still angry, so she went straight to Zoe, ignoring me.

"It's not safe here with the wolves around. You should head back quickly," I waved to them.

Hearing about the wolves, everyone followed my instructions, picked up all the food we found, and headed back to the cave camp.

"We only have one gun. You should stay home and wait for me to come back," I said, looking into the forest with determination.

We had no food, and despite the danger, I had to risk hunting. Considering that Quinn might lead a raid while I was gone, I decided to distribute the weapons.

Eva was the most skilled among the girls, so I gave her the katana. Mandy and Stella each got a bamboo spear. Zoe, being the weakest, got the Swiss Army knife. With everyone armed, we seemed quite formidable.

Of course, I knew that in a real fight, only Eva and I could hold our own. For the other girls, it would be good enough if they could protect themselves.

Despite Eva's sexy figure and sweet looks, she was a trained pilot from a military academy. Her skills were not to be underestimated. When Mandy and Eva fought in the forest back then, Mandy wouldn't have stood a chance if Eva hadn't been starved for days.

"Be careful. If something happens to you, we're all doomed. Missing a meal or two isn't a big deal." Zoe held my hand, reminding me to be cautious.

Eva gave me a thumbs-up. "You're the best. Good luck. We'll be waiting for our hero's triumphant return." Her enthusiasm and calling me a hero made me a bit embarrassed.

After a few more words of caution, I set off into the forest to hunt. 'It'd be great if I could catch one or two forest mice,' I thought while searching around.

Forest mice, like the furry wolves, were unique to this island and resembled large rats. Their fur was thin but very warm, perfect for making small items like gloves. Each girl now had a pair of forest mouse gloves. However, we still lacked a few pairs of warm shoes, so catching some would solve that problem.

Unfortunately, these little creatures were rare and precious resources on the island. Today, luck wasn't on my side; even after half an hour of walking, I hadn't found any edible prey, let alone a forest mouse.

After some hesitation, I ventured deeper into the island, into the warmer jungle. The wolf pack we encountered earlier had headed towards the northern forest, indicating it was their territory. In the past, I wouldn't have dared to approach it, but now that the situation was urgent, I had to take the risk.

The weather was getting colder and winter was coming, but we had no food reserves. We might die because of it!

About twenty to thirty minutes later, I saw the warm forest ahead. I took a deep breath, gripped my gun tightly, and stepped in slowly.

To my delight, not long after entering the jungle, I made a great discovery! Under several large trees, I noticed many big birds perched on the trunks! These birds were about the size of a human head. They had long necks but tended to lower their heads and tuck them under their wings, which gave them a hunchbacked appearance. I decided to call them hunchback birds.

They stood densely on the branches, one next to the other, making me feel like I had found a moving meat warehouse. Confident in my shooting skills, I knew it wouldn't be hard to kill these hunchback birds.

Of course, things couldn't be that simple.

These birds were large, with sharp beaks, and clearly aggressive. There were so many of them that if they attacked me, I'd be in big trouble. Normally, I wouldn't provoke such a flock. However, with our food shortage, I had to take the risk.

After observing for a while, I found a concealed bush and fired at the big birds! With a loud bang, one big bird fell to the ground, flapping its wings a few times before dying.

The other hunchback birds on the branches were instantly startled by the gunshot and flew away.

To my shock, dozens of hunchback birds emerged from the dark forest in the distance, flying around searching for the enemy. The massive wings almost covered the sky, creating a sense of oppression.

I stayed hidden in the bush, not daring to make a sound. After a while, the hunchback birds, not finding the enemy, settled back on the branches. This was the moment I was waiting for. I fired again quickly, and after repeating it seven or eight times, four large birds fell to the ground.

Even with their low intelligence, the hunchback birds realized they were under attack. After a few loud calls, the remaining birds flew away from this part of the forest.

I breathed a sigh of relief and waited for a while before emerging cautiously. I rushed over, picked up the dead birds, tied them with a wire, and carried them on my back. This haul was very satisfying. These hunchback birds would be enough for us for a couple of days.

After gathering the prey, I started heading back. Although I wanted to hunt a few more, I was wary of using too many bullets. Bullets were limited, and with other people on the island, having a gun with bullets was a deterrent.

I didn't want to waste any bullets, so I chose the safest way to retreat. I headed in the opposite direction from where the hunchback birds had flown, moving deeper into the forest. I planned to wait until it was completely dark before sneaking away to avoid an ambush from the returning birds.

However, after a few steps, I suddenly stopped. A warm breeze seemed to be blowing from the southeast valley.

I had noticed that the deeper I went onto the island, the warmer it got. I guessed there might be a volcano in the mountains before. At that moment, I believed the heat source was nearby!

What could be generating this heat? Could it be related to the island's secrets?

While hunting in the forest these days, I found traces left by Japanese soldiers, such as carvings on stones. Unfortunately, I didn't understand Japanese.

I thought, during World War II, many Japanese must have come here. What did they do?

What was on this island? Was it related to the warm wind from the valley?

Curiosity drove me to walk in that direction.