From Robinson Crusoe

On February 2, when Chen Zhou arrived at the beach with the cheerful Lai Fu, he looked at the wooden and stone wall from afar and saw the light blue spots of light floating in the sky like a swarm of bees, and he suddenly had an ominous premonition.

Since the first reward, he had only seen this blue light once, which was the decryption block called "Holy Sword".

What happened later was not good, because that little cube tortured him for half a month.

Although more than five months had passed since the mystery of the holy sword was solved, he still felt a lingering fear when he recalled the long and tedious process of decrypting the secret.

I haven't received any weird decryption rewards in the past five months.

Chen Zhou originally thought that future rewards would be all kinds of regular supplies, but he never expected that just as he got rid of the shadow of the past, new torture would begin again.

While reminding himself to stay calm and face the puzzle bravely, his hands involuntarily tightened the rope that tied Lai Fu.

There is no way. Anyone who has ever had the experience of facing a small cube all day, bending it repeatedly, and constantly guessing its internal structure, tormenting it for a whole half month, will be afraid when seeing something similar again.

After all, these puzzles are designed to torture people, unlike the difficult bosses in the game, which can be solved by constant practice and memorizing the moves.

The only way to solve them is to exhaustively enumerate them.

And exhausting human effort is undoubtedly the most mentally and physically exhausting way to solve the puzzle.

"Come on, let me see what kind of punishment you want me to suffer this time."

With the spirit of being ready to die, Chen Zhou approached the wooden and stone wall and looked up at the blue light floating above his head.

These things that go against common sense of physics are quietly suspended more than four meters above the ground. You have to get closer to see the full picture.

They were small blue puzzle pieces, arranged in irregular layers above the wood and stone wall.

Each puzzle piece is about one square centimeter in size, and both sides are the same blue, and this is the case for all puzzle pieces.

Seeing them reminded Chen Zhou of a "notorious" puzzle known for torturing people - the Pure White Hell.

Pure White Hell, as the name suggests, the entire puzzle is a uniform white color. If you want to complete it, you can only rely on constantly comparing various shapes and continuous trial and error to complete it.

It can be said that except for the edges of the Pure White Hell puzzle, there is basically no pattern in the restoration process of the entire puzzle, especially the initial restoration work, which is truly worthy of the word "hell".

The most important thing is that this puzzle has a lot of pieces.

According to Chen Zhou, there are two versions of Pure White Hell, priced at 1000 yuan and 2000 yuan.

And at this moment, the blue puzzle pieces floating above his head, at a glance, there are no less than 2000 of them.

According to the Space-Time Administration's principle of increasing the quantity of puzzles without raising the price, he estimated that this puzzle had at least 3000 pieces.

But the good news is that the rules of the puzzle are simple, and the restoration process, although boring, is not brain-burning.

At the same time, the progress of the puzzle is visible to the naked eye, and the gradual expansion of the puzzle scope is also an incentive for the puzzle player.

Unlike the small square, you have no idea which step you are at during the decryption process. If you make a mistake, you may have to start all over again, which is much more torturous.

Moreover, even if an exhaustive restoration is performed, the amount of calculation will become less and the speed will increase as the puzzle progresses.

He once saw a video recording the completion of a 2000-piece pure white hell puzzle. From his impression, it took the puzzler less than 100 hours to complete the pure white hell.

Based on a ten-hour work day, it would take him no more than 120 hours to complete this pure blue puzzle, which was not particularly difficult.

Of course, difficulty is relative.

If Chen Zhou had not experienced the torture of the "Holy Sword", his mentality would not have become so stable.

Anyway, the puzzle has been delivered. Instead of being afraid of the decryption process, you might as well treat it as an ordinary puzzle and enjoy the fun of restoring it.

Besides, there will be rewards after recovery.

The first puzzle, a safe, gave him pistol bullets and some important-looking documents, and the second puzzle gave him the right to exploit the loophole.

Even if the reward for this third puzzle is not as generous as the second one, it is probably one level higher than the other rewards, at least at the same level as the annual gift package.

……

After being mentally prepared, he tied Laifu to a tree along the coast. He picked up a long wooden board and prepared to knock down the blue cube floating in the sky.

I don’t know why the Space-Time Administration wants them to float so high.

Sometimes Chen Zhou feels that these civilizations whose technology is advanced to a level unimaginable to humans are actually quite childish in their actions.

For example, the few words that were projected on the desktop after the last decryption, and the puzzle pieces that inexplicably floated in the sky this time.

“Do they think this is cool?”

Thinking of this, Chen Zhou knocked down the first piece of the puzzle like using a wooden pole to knock down the fruits high up on the tree.

The blue-glowing puzzle piece lost its mysterious power to float after falling from a height, and lay quietly in the sand like an ordinary piece of fluorescent plastic.

It was raining in the sky, and soon a drop of water covered its surface.

I picked up the puzzle pieces and put them in my backpack, then looked up at the rest of the puzzle pieces floating densely in the sky.

Chen Zhou couldn't help but rub his neck, as if he felt the soreness in his neck and shoulders after knocking them all down. He seemed to understand the unique bad taste of the "future man".

It turns out that the puzzle pieces floating in the sky are not for showing off, but for him to expend his energy to knock down all the puzzle pieces bit by bit - this is also part of the torture.

"It's really yours..."

Complaining silently in his heart, Chen Zhou put down the wooden board in his hand and calmly began to move and organize the wooden and stone walls.

In the process of arranging the wooden and stone walls, he stacked many stones and wooden boards directly under the puzzle pieces, and soon built a platform more than one meter high.

He is 185cm tall and stands more than three meters tall on the platform. He is only an arm's length away from the block in the air and within reach.

"Small."

Not daring to show his inner pride, Chen Zhou controlled his facial expression and reluctantly collected the puzzle pieces bit by bit and put them into his backpack.

While collecting puzzle pieces, he did not forget to count the total number of these small cubes.

The result was slightly better than expected. The total amount of this "Pure Blue Hell" was 3000 pieces.

This means that the Space-Time Administration has not been so crazy as to customize a four or five thousand piece pure blue puzzle for him. This is the best news Chen Zhou has received today.

……

After putting all the puzzle pieces into his backpack, Chen Zhou carefully checked the sky again to avoid missing pieces floating in the sky due to poor eyesight or miscounting the total number of puzzle pieces.

After making sure that there were no omissions, he dismantled the platform under his feet and moved it to a pile of other building materials.

Thinking about the reward after completing the puzzle, Chen Zhou wanted to go home directly, but when he saw Lai Fu squatting under the tree, looking pitiful, he couldn't help but feel soft-hearted and played with him on the beach for more than an hour.

A simple game of fetch can put a puppy in a good mood, even if the sky is gray and drizzling.

Lai Fu's hair was soaked and he exuded a unique fishy smell of dogs. His legs were stained with a lot of sand and gravel. He looked very embarrassed, but his eyes were filled with excitement.

Accustomed to freedom, being suddenly locked in the house is a torture for it.

……

The time of joy is always short.

Lai Fu had been running at a high intensity, which consumed a lot of his physical energy. After seeing it panting with its tongue sticking out, Chen Zhou took the initiative to end the game, even though this guy had not had enough fun.

The road was slippery due to the rain, and considering Lai Fu's tired body, Chen Zhou walked very slowly.

When encountering a particularly slippery road, he would actively slow down his pace, letting Lai Fu cross the mossy rocks or tree roots first, and then he would catch up. …

It was almost completely dark when I got home.

Fortunately, the rain did not intensify in the afternoon and even stopped for a while on the way home.

Otherwise, Lai Fu would be forced to take a "rain bath", although it is now covered with sand and really needs a bath.

……

After building the outer walls and installing doors and windows, the cave dwelling remains dry no matter how heavy the rain is. Walking into the room amid the sound of the drizzling rain and closing the door, there is always a reassuring feeling.

And the wind and rain are stronger outside, the stronger the sense of security and comfort will be when you return home.

After tying the wet Lai Fu to the kitchen door and telling it not to move, Chen Zhou first took off his backpack and put away his hatchet, then took off his hat and raincoat and hung them on the clothesline.

When we start a fire, the wall of fire will dry them out quickly.

The oil lamp was lit, and a soft, warm, dim light filled the cave.

Lai Fu lay tiredly at the door, his eyes fixed on the food shelf in the kitchen. It was obvious that he was so tired and hungry that he could hardly open his eyes, but he was still thinking about eating.

I hastily lit a fire and poured half a can of water into a large iron can.

Chen Zhou wanted to give Lai Fu a warm bath, otherwise when he untied the ropes, this guy would scatter sand everywhere while wandering around the house.

……

Before the water boiled, he prepared to cook a few dishes. When he turned around, he saw Ti Zi and Hu Tou, a mother and daughter, walking home in the rain, one after the other, on the platform outside the window.

They were unable to escape the subsequent rainfall, and their fur was completely soaked, revealing their true body shapes.

Hutou inherited Xiaohuihui's good genes. He has been able to eat since he was a child and has strong athletic ability.

Now it is more than six months old, and as a male cat, Tiger Head's size advantage has gradually been revealed.

Walking behind Grape, from a distance I could see that it was actually a size bigger than Grape.

It spends the whole day in the forest practicing its hunting skills. Although it has a large frame, its body is not covered with fat like Xiao Huihui.

After its fur was wet, its protruding and strong muscles could be clearly seen while it walked. Combined with its yellow and black stripes, it really lived up to its name, looking like a little tiger.

Looking back, I praised Tiger Head in my heart for his extraordinary appearance. At such a young age, he had the demeanor of a top predator.

While processing the ingredients on the chopping board, Chen Zhou even forgot to open the door for the mother and son.

……

There are three doors in the cave, and none of them has a cat door.

This is not because Chen Zhou deliberately sealed the room, or worried that the cat door would reduce the cave's defense capabilities against external enemies.

If someone wants to come in, they don’t need to open the door. The bright big window is the most convenient entrance.

The reason why there was no cat door was mainly because he was busy with work and had no time to saw a hole in the door and then make and install a small door.

He stays at home most of the time during the rainy season, so he can open the door for the cat in time.

In the dry season, in order to avoid the room being too hot, the windows are opened all day long, and the cats can just climb in through the windows when they come home.

……

On the other hand, among the five cats in the house, only Ti Zi and Hu Tou, mother and son, go out frequently after the rainy season.

Xiao Huihui and Huiqiu, father and daughter, stay at home all day long. They occasionally go out when the weather is cooler in the dry season. In the rainy season, they basically stay in the storage room, and the two of them sleep together in the hawksbill turtle shell.

Gangdang wanted to go hunting with Tizi, but because he was small and not as ferocious as Hutou, he was not valued by Tizi and was often left in the fields under the platform. He could only watch his mother leading his brother to the forest.

Over time, the beetle turned the farmland into its territory, where it would spend the entire day catching mice. Chen Zhou had even seen it swooping down on birds that had landed in the fields.

During the dry season, except for the period from morning to sunset when he stays in the cave to rest, he basically stands guard in the fields after dark. I don’t know how many rats that coveted rice and wheat he scared away. He is the "little crop security guard" of the family.

During the rainy season, if the rain is light, it will occasionally patrol the crops out of concern.

If the rain is too heavy, it will not want to go out, after all, cats hate water by nature.

As for Tizi and Tiger Head, they are outliers among cats. They are the pair that go out most frequently in the family and are always ready to go out, rain or shine.

……

Grape is a wild cat that has experienced the test of nature.

When it was young, it had no warm shelter and no food to obtain without labor.

If you want to survive, you have to hunt on your own even if it rains or hail, otherwise you will starve.

In the forest, hunger often means death.

Under the pressure of survival, it must overcome its natural aversion to water and hunt in wind and rain.

Following his tough mother, Hutou not only honed his hunting skills, but also improved his adaptability to the natural environment.

No wonder Chen Zhou regards it as the main force in catching mice in the future. He always shares any delicious food with it. It is really much better than its unreliable father.

……

However, even if Tiger Head roams the forest without any rivals and is a powerful figure outside, when he returns home, he will still be blocked by the ruthless wooden door.

I followed my mother to the door, sat side by side with her, and waited quietly at the door for a while.

During this time, rain water dripping from the top of the cave hit the tiger's head, making its ears flatten and a small puddle formed in the middle of its head.

Its eyes gradually became angry. It tried to maintain its patience for less than forty seconds. Seeing that the kitchen door was still not opened, it finally became impatient.

It suddenly stood up, leaped nimbly, and jumped onto the windowsill. The tiger-headed cat scratched the glass with its claws and made a delicate meow that was inconsistent with its appearance, expressing its eager desire to go into the house.

Chen Zhou had just finished cutting a plate of meat and was still holding the kitchen knife in his hand when he heard Hu Tou's cry before he reacted.

It turns out that I haven't let them and their mother into the house yet. No wonder I always feel like something is missing at home.

The kitchen door was opened, and Ti Zi and Hu Tou came in one after another.

Tizi was thinking about its other two children. It meowed briefly as if to say hello to Chen Zhou, then turned a corner and ran straight to the bedroom—and fell asleep next to the fireplace.

But Tiger Head was relentless and found him to question him, circling around him with his tail up and meowing, his eyes always glancing at the chopping board.

Puzzled, he bent down and touched the little guy's head. Seeing its shriveled belly, Chen Zhou finally understood why Hu Tou was so impatient today and even looked like he had suffered a great injustice.

It turned out that it didn't catch any prey when it went out today, so it returned home with an empty stomach.

I was already tired, hungry, and soaked. I finally got home, but was stopped at the door again. No one could stand this kind of humiliation, so it was understandable that I was so upset.

"Okay, okay, I know you've worked hard and made great contributions. I'll reward you with a glass of goat's milk."

There was raw meat on the chopping board. Worried that there might be parasites in it, Chen Zhou went to the "container refrigerator" to get a can of cooked and cooled goat's milk and poured a full bowl of it for Hutou.

Of course, this cold goat milk cannot be given directly to Hutou to drink, it has to be heated on the stove.

The poor tiger was already impatient after smelling the milk and meat, but he couldn't eat them in a short time.

Helplessly, it could only stare at the ceramic bowl on the stove, pulling at Chen Zhou's trouser legs while meowing, with tears almost welling up in its eyes. (End of this chapter)