In the cave at night, by the flickering fire.
Haruno Kaoru sat there rigidly, hugging her knees, her eyes empty, staring blankly at the fire. Her haggard face was expressionless.
It was as if the flickering firelight was the most beautiful scenery in the world.
Now that things had reached this point, she didn't know what to do.
She had voluntarily left Tang Yumo's protection, then tried to exploit Chuck, only to fail and nearly be killed.
And Kanae was supposed to be her last chance.
Her best friend, who only wanted the best for her, had not only voluntarily taken her place in the hands of a man like that but also insisted on bringing her food every day and showing her concern. Yet, in the end, she had utterly broken her heart over a trivial, petty emotion.
Did Haruno regret it?
Of course, she did.
But more than regret, she felt fear.
What should she do next?
The choices available to Haruno were truly limited.
She watched the flickering firelight, and her frail shoulders involuntarily began to tremble.
Now, in her heart, Chuck was no longer the simple, easily exploitable Chinese man. He was a ruthless, cold-blooded lunatic who treated women as playthings and would do anything for his own benefit.
To ask her to fawn over such a man again, let alone offer her body… She might not even be able to get past her own mental barrier, let alone muster the courage to approach him again.
Wait…
Just then, Haruno suddenly looked up.
Teacher Tang… there's still Teacher Tang!
Although she had always thought Teacher Tang was unreliable, she at least cared for them as a gentle elder sister, doing everything she could.
And now, the only person left to rely on was Teacher Tang.
Thinking this, Haruno looked around anxiously…
But her gaze gradually became blank.
In the vast cave, besides her, where was anyone else?
Outside the cave, the sky was completely dark.
Normally, Tang Yumo would return to the cave to rest before evening. Since she wasn't here now, it meant…
"…Teacher Tang?"
A chill gradually crept into Haruno's heart. She tentatively called out.
At this moment, Haruno had never wanted to see the woman, whom she hadn't even looked at directly for the past few weeks, so desperately.
"Teacher Tang?!"
Haruno's expression turned to horror. She scrambled to her feet, ran out of the cave, and shouted loudly into the darkness.
But the only response was the rustling of insects in the night and the distant sound of waves hidden by the darkness.
It wasn't until this moment that Haruno realized belatedly…
The Teacher Tang who had always been in this cave, silently collecting food and fresh water, cleaning, and never complaining, had quietly left her alone without her even noticing, just as Haruno had ruthlessly abandoned her earlier.
Where did she go?
Haruno looked around the cave and found that the stored wild fruits and fresh water, as well as various simple homemade tools, were all neatly placed where they were, organized methodically.
Even though she left without saying goodbye, Teacher Tang didn't take any belongings with her, leaving everything for Haruno.
She walked back to the fire pit step by step. Haruno slowly sat down alone again in the silent cave.
Two lines of tears finally rolled down her haggard face.
She had never felt so lonely, so helpless in her entire life.
Meanwhile.
North from the southwest cove, crossing the swamp, and turning west into a dark, silent dense forest on the outskirts before entering the Redwood Forest.
This was black bear territory.
It was an area that even Chuck didn't dare to enter easily now.
On the outskirts of this forest, under the moonlight, on the slightly damp tropical soil, a clear line of flip-flop prints could be seen.
They continued deep into the forest, through the black bear territory.
Black bears are active during the day and night but prefer dawn and dusk. When the sun is strong at noon, they usually find a shady spot to rest.
Of course, the owner of these footprints didn't consider this much.
She knew this was the territory of a wild beast, but she just wanted to leave this cove that was pushing her to the brink of collapse. Either find a place where she wouldn't be disturbed by anyone and live quietly alone, or become dinner for a wild animal and end this long nightmare.
So, just like her initial stroke of luck when she was stranded on the deserted island, the goddess of fortune favored her once again.
The line of footprints miraculously crossed the black bear's territory without encountering any danger or obstruction, reaching the depths of this vast tropical forest, continuing west.
Unfortunately, the footprints finally stopped abruptly just before crossing the dense forest and reaching a wide, new area, leaving behind a large patch of flattened ground.
The air was thin and humid in the depths of this forest. Clearly, the owner of the footprints hadn't made it to the end.
However, this trail didn't end there.
In front of the abruptly terminated flip-flop prints, a fresh line of footprints, clearly left very recently, appeared.
The prints were large, almost the size of Chuck's. The heels were distinct and sharply defined, looking like sturdy and heavy leather boots.
The prints were also very deep, sinking into the wet forest soil with almost every step. Clearly, the person leaving the prints was carrying a heavy load.
Those prints followed the intended path of the flip-flop prints, continuing west.
Until they left the tropical rainforest.
Tang Yumo had a dream.
In the dream, she was back in her familiar classroom lecture hall. It was a sunny, pleasant morning. Beneath the podium sat rows of familiar, immature faces.
The boys all had slick hair, buzz cuts, and faint mustaches. The girls all wore black-rimmed glasses and bob haircuts, dressed in cheap, uncomfortable sportswear. They looked like little simpletons, raising their heads, their eyes forever glazed over and sleepy, watching her write and draw on the blackboard, absorbing knowledge they would likely never use in their lives, spending forty minutes of their cheap youth in this meaningless way.
It was an absolute nightmare.
True, Tang Yumo came from a highly educated family and had a smooth sailing first half of her life. She had even sat there numbly like these children once. But when she finally walked from below the podium to above it after two decades, she suddenly woke up and began to feel deep sorrow for the faces below the podium…
So, she chose to escape, eventually becoming an "excellent" young teacher who, under her parents' arrangement, didn't teach graduating classes or act as a homeroom teacher. She attended class when she had one and left when she didn't. She spent her free time reading, gardening, and cycling, living a tranquil and refined life.
As for the tired faces, the empty eyes, and the numb hearts below the podium?
She could only watch, powerless.
That feeling was exactly the same as watching those two high school girls in the cove cave taking steps toward an irreversible path.
Yes.
She had already experienced this feeling long ago.
"Momo."
A familiar voice sounded again. The scene shifted. The air was filled with the scent of books.
Tang Yumo was sitting in a comfortable lounge chair. Across from her was her father, sitting at his desk, reading a newspaper and holding a teacup.
He lit a cigarette and looked at her, speaking earnestly.
"In the future, the greatest pain you will face in life will not be work problems, nor colleague interactions, but the sense of powerlessness you must endure as a teacher."
"Momo, tell me honestly… do you really want to be a teacher?"
"…"
Yes.
Why did I choose to be a teacher in the first place?
What a mistake that was…
In a haze, Tang Yumo finally opened her eyes again.
The bright moonlight shone on her. The cold night wind blew the earth-stained strands of hair around her neck.
She instinctively looked down and was horrified to see that she was tightly bound to a rock with vines around her hands and feet.
In front of her was a vast plain under the night sky.
Behind her, a fire glowed, casting the shadow of the rock onto the grass-covered ground in front of her.
A chill ran down Tang Yumo's spine. Her expression suddenly turned dead.
She had heard that on some tropical islands and in African tribes, isolated, barbaric cannibals still existed.
And the current situation…
As if confirming her thoughts, a heavy set of footsteps suddenly sounded from behind her after noticing her movement.
Her body began to tremble from extreme fear, and her teeth chattered incessantly.
The next moment, a tall figure slowly appeared on the ground in front of her, illuminated by the firelight.
With a heavy step that made Tang Yumo's heart clench, the figure got closer and closer.
Finally, the figure appeared before her.
The next moment, Tang Yumo's gaze froze.
The figure was tall, nearly 1.85 meters, almost the same height as Chuck.
They had messy silver, choppy hair and unusually fair skin. A pale green gemstone pendant hung between their white collarbones. The exotic color matched the cold pupils beneath the silver hair.
Their shoulders were broad but not bulky, leading to a pair of long arms that were heavily muscled. They wore a dirt-stained black short sports vest. On their distinctly defined abs, there were a few slightly visible, long, thin scars.
On the lower body, they wore loose, military green cargo pants tucked into a pair of black combat boots, seemingly for ease of movement.
After Tang Yumo clearly saw the figure in front of her, a complex mix of relief, fear, and confusion followed.
What brought her relief was that the person was wearing modern clothes, not some cannibal savage.
What brought her fear was the wild aura radiating from the person. The pair of cold, pale green pupils staring at her made her spine crawl, causing her to involuntarily tremble.
And what confused her…
Was the exquisite, sculpted facial features beneath the silver hair, and the two unusually prominent curves in front of the short black sports vest…
…It was a woman?
Such a tall, strong figure, with a wild appearance and terrifying scars, was actually a silver-haired, blue-eyed woman with extremely delicate features!
And as she assessed the person, the person was also assessing her.
The pair of pale green pupils scanned her up and down. The silver, thin eyebrows furrowed, and the woman looked coldly at Tang Yumo, slowly speaking.
"Zhenshchina, kto vy?" (Russian: Woman, who are you?)
Slap slap slap slap slap…
In the wooden cabin, still filled with steam, Chuck knelt on the wooden bed. His hands grasped Kanae's tanned, rounded cheeks. Accompanying Kanae's increasingly high-pitched and wanton feminine cries, and her size 39 feet hooked tightly and straining behind her, he rapidly pounded with his muscular hips and waist.
And honestly, watching them get injected with so much essence that their lower abdomens bulged felt… indescribable.
It was exciting.
He firmly squeezed Kanae's tight buttock flesh. With a loud final smash that drove him to the hilt amidst her final loud shriek, Chuck gave the last remaining bit of his load to the lovely and sexy volleyball girl. He let out a long breath, withdrew, and lay on his side, embracing the soft, fragrant body, falling into a deep sleep.
The next day, Chuck woke up early.
The construction of the Forge was a critical point for the subsequent technology. Using the hard-earned copper ore to smelt metal tools was the key to the next stage.
The type of tool, needless to say, was definitely a pickaxe.
To mine stone and excavate more ore, all he needed was a copper pickaxe, and it would bring him a continuous supply of copper!
Facing the rising sun, Chuck didn't wake the women. He went alone to the Forge, started a fire, added wood, and then worked the bellows, slowly watching the temperature displayed on the light screen beside the Forge rapidly increase…
Finally, after about ten minutes, it reached 1200
∘
C, the required temperature for copper smelting.
Chuck picked up the already prepared Chalcopyrite Ore from the side and placed it directly into the Forge.