Perhaps it was their luck. Not long after entering the forest, they found a few large trees fallen on the ground, all of them rotted.
Xu Yi casually chopped a few times with the Engineer Shovel, and they broke apart.
Carrying two baskets, they headed back to the cabin.
Then, Xu Yi took out the Iroquois-style fire-making tool, which Xu Yi had prepared the night before while he was on watch.
Lu Ke had been curious about what Xu Yi was making, and only when she saw Xu Yi use it did she realize it was a fire-making tool.
"Xu Yi, you're amazing. This tool seems to make fire very quickly," Lu Ke looked at Xu Yi with admiration, her eyes practically sparkling.
"Indeed, it's faster than its predecessor," Xu Yi said with pride, as it had already started to smoke.
Lu Ke quickly leaned over, placed dry moss on it, and kept blowing.
In less than half a minute, the fire was lit.
Then, they added wood bit by bit, making the flames grow larger.
"Alright, while we can still see, I'll make another trip; otherwise, we won't have enough to burn until dawn," Xu Yi said, then picked up the two baskets and set off.
Lu Ke didn't stop him because it was only a seven or eight-minute round trip, and she could easily call out if needed.
Xu Yi went quickly and returned just as fast.
By the time he returned, it was almost completely dark.
"I'm going to fetch some water, then come back and cook the remaining bird meat for tonight," he said.
It was too late today; Xu Yi didn't even have time to set traps.
"Alright, take the Crossbow Arrow, just in case you run into a rabbit," Lu Ke said as she handed the Crossbow Arrow to Xu Yi.
"Sure, you hold the Engineer Shovel, call out loudly if anything happens," Xu Yi said as he took the Engineer Shovel and went to fetch water.
After all, the water source was just a dozen meters away, and if anything happened, Lu Ke could surely run to him.
As for rabbits...
Wow, there really are rabbits, and three of them at that.
The rabbits were startled and immediately about to run.
Xu Yi immediately used stealth, and at that moment, he felt as if he had melded with the environment.
The three rabbits that had jumped away looked back, saw nothing unusual, and returned to the water's edge.
"Whoosh."
With one arrow shot, Xu Yi also moved; the stainless-steel pot in his hand was thrown out as well.
The more he could catch, the better.
Unexpectedly, Xu Yi managed to hit one with the arrow, knock another one out, and one escaped in a panic.
The one hit by the arrow tried to run, but Xu Yi didn't give it a chance. He rushed up and grabbed it by the ears, then picked up the one knocked out.
"Oh, the one knocked out seems to have baby rabbits; its belly is so bloated?" Xu Yi said joyfully, then picked up the pot, filled it with water, and headed back.
"Wow, you actually caught rabbits?" Lu Ke jumped up excitedly, her eyes fixed on the rabbits in Xu Yi's hand.
"Yeah, your words must have been a charm. When I saw the rabbits, I was stunned, almost letting them get away," Xu Yi said happily, then lifted the seemingly pregnant one for a look.
"There are baby rabbits indeed; we can have baby bunnies now," Xu Yi said as he handed the one hit by the arrow to Lu Ke, then took Lu Ke's basket and put the knocked-out rabbit inside.
"If it gives birth to baby bunnies, we'll have rabbit meat to eat all the time?" Lu Ke's eyes lit up as she leaned in for a look.
"I hope it's not dead yet. Otherwise, we can only handle and eat it tomorrow," Xu Yi wasn't sure if the rabbit could recover; if it did, that would be ideal.
If not, they'd have their meal for tomorrow.
Being hungry wasn't pleasant; Xu Yi had experienced it today.
"Should we kill this rabbit now?" Lu Ke asked Xu Yi while holding the rabbit.
"Let's take care of it tomorrow morning. I'm worried the smell of blood tonight might attract predators," Xu Yi said with some concern, knowing that predators were indeed around this area.
Just then, Xu Yi heard a howl.
"Wh-what's that sound?" Lu Ke shivered and grabbed Xu Yi's arm, asking fearfully.
"Most likely wolves, but they're far away. We should be fine. Besides, we have a fire, no need to be afraid," Xu Yi patted Lu Ke on the back of her hand to comfort her.
"Wolves… Are they really far away?" Lu Ke felt her hair stand on end. She had been afraid of dogs since childhood, let alone wolves, which are more terrifying.
"Don't worry. Even if they come, they'd be delivering food for us. I have a way to deal with them. And if things really get out of hand, we can always quit the challenge and be teleported back," Xu Yi continued to comfort Lu Ke, then took the rabbit from her, pulled out the Crossbow Arrow, and tore off a piece of cloth from his trousers to bandage the rabbit.
To prevent it from bleeding too much and attracting other animals, while also keeping it from dying too quickly.
"Sit down and rest. We'll just have some bird soup for today, and we'll cook the rabbit tomorrow morning," Xu Yi said to Lu Ke, now too wary of taking the risk of killing the rabbit.
"Okay, I'm not that hungry, skipping a meal is fine," Lu Ke nodded firmly, sitting close to Xu Yi, almost snuggling against him.
"But there's still bird soup to drink, and some bird meat to eat. Little Loli, you're too much. Do you know some challengers haven't eaten at all yet, like my buddy Wanzi?"
In the livestream chat, a viewer immediately started complaining upon hearing Lu Ke's words.
The Wanzi he mentioned was a female game streamer, appearing on camera for the first time in this survival challenge.
Previously, everyone was curious about the looks of 'Little Wanzi,' with most of her viewers thinking Wanzi was an overweight girl who wasn't good-looking.
After all, during Wanzi's streams, the sounds of her eating were incessant, never stopping.
With such an appetite and never showing her face, everyone speculated she was unattractive and overweight, and she never disputed that.
Until this time, she participated in the show with her cousin, and everyone finally recognized her from her voice and manner of speaking.
Naturally, the information in their No. 52 livestream provided some clues as well.
Wang Jin: 19 years old, game streamer, survival show fan.
Lu Yao: 24 years old, female special forces, Wanzi's cousin, survival expert.
Coincidentally, they had just arrived at the same large area where Xu Yi was.
However, one was to the east and the other to the west, over 10 kilometers apart.
"Cousin, what just howled, was it wolves?" Wang Jin asked Lu Yao, holding her torch higher.
"Yes, they're probably attacking some animal," Lu Yao nodded. She often trained in the wild and was considered an expert in wilderness survival.
Unfortunately, their landing spot wasn't great, filled with rocks and more rocks. They finally made it across the rocky mountains to this hilly area.