From Robinson Crusoe

When Chen Zhou followed the plan, took a long detour, and once again ventured into the Black Forest from the bottom of the cliff, and finally arrived at Paul's location, it was already noon the next day.

The arduous journey of over 54 hours left Chen Zhou with a profound sense of exhaustion.

His once light steps became sluggish, his bright eyes were bloodshot, and he needed to constantly force himself to concentrate in order to maintain clear thinking.

……

At the edge of the Black Forest, a campfire burned quietly. Paul, leaning on his cane, saw Chen Zhou returning and hurried to greet him.

Although Chen Zhou had no physical injuries, his near-limit mental state silently testified to the dangers and exhaustion of his two-day journey, the hardships of which were beyond words.

Tiger Cub One and Tiger Cub Two, who had been playing around five or six meters away from the campfire, smelled the familiar scent and ran over, jumping and leaping around Chen Zhou. Tiger Cub Two, in particular, who was less steady, repeatedly tried to hug Chen Zhou's legs with his large, broad paws.

In the minds of young sawtooth tigers, the group always needs a leader, and the presence of the leader provides them with a sense of security.

Seeing the two little ones so lively and energetic, Chen Zhou estimated that their injuries should be mostly healed, and couldn't help but marvel at the tenacity of wild animals.

He put down the black box in his hand, touched Tiger Big Brother and Tiger Second Brother, and after calming them down a bit, he went straight to Tiger Third Brother, who was still lying in the black robe.

How are your bowel movements?

Seeing that Tiger Three was still breathing, although his eyes were slightly closed and his body was noticeably thinner, but there were no signs of organ failure, Chen Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and asked Paul while observing Tiger Three's condition.

"Not too optimistic."

Paul was deeply worried.

"Now I need assistance to defecate... My appetite is also poor, and I only eat a little bit when I'm fed."

As he spoke, Paul glanced at the black box that Chen Zhou had placed on the ground, his gaze drawn to its unique crystal-like texture, but he didn't linger for long before quickly looking away.

"See, it's alright."

Noticing Paul's restraint, Chen Zhouqiang perked up and took the black box next to Tiger Three.

"Is there anything left to eat?"

Feeling extremely hungry, Chen Zhou stroked the edge of the black box, searching for the mechanism to open it, while asking Paul.

"Have."

Paul then realized that Chen Zhou had not eaten for a long time, and hurriedly took out a piece of roasted venison and handed it to Chen Zhou.

Chen Zhou took the venison and stuffed it into his mouth. He was so hungry that he didn't even taste it. He chewed it twice and then bit it into several pieces, swallowing it whole.

"A few more pieces, please."

Continuing to demand more, his finger slid across the middle of the side of the black box and suddenly touched a round button, which Chen Zhou pressed instinctively.

……

After the switch was activated, the black box slowly opened its lid like a suitcase with hydraulic pressure, revealing the object inside to Chen Zhou and Paul.

Having received numerous rewards from the Time and Space Administration, and even a black box that could reliably produce anthracite coal, Chen Zhou had never seen a reward as easy to open as this supply.

He could hardly believe it—

It was truly unexpected that the Time and Space Administration would deliver the supplies to them without setting any difficult challenges.

Desperate to heal Paul and Tiger Three, Chen Zhou suppressed his surprise and examined the items in the box.

……

Despite its heavy appearance, once you open the box, you'll find that most of its weight actually comes from the black shock-absorbing padding inside; the actual "supplies" don't take up much space.

From left to right, the box contains six syringes, two small blue bottles, and an exquisite long wooden box.

All the items fit perfectly into the grooves inside the box, with nothing around them except for the packing material.

Upon opening, two small blue bottles immediately caught Chen Zhou's eye.

The familiar color reminded him of the vial of the so-called "weak regeneration capsules" that had been seized from the man in the black robe.

Feeling a vague sense that this might be the medicine, Chen Zhou quickly took out one of the blue bottles and skillfully used the light to observe the patterns inside the bottle.

Soon, the pattern was simplified and transformed into familiar bold Chinese characters—

"Weak-potency detox capsules".

"..."

Chen Zhou's heart sank; this was not what he desperately wanted at the moment.

He shook the bottle, counted the four capsules inside, and reluctantly put the blue bottle back in the groove. Then, full of anticipation, he picked up another small blue bottle.

This time, he was much more skilled at finding the right angle. As the sunlight pierced through the bottle, the words that appeared behind it only gave Chen Zhou a headache—

It turned out to be two identical bottles of medicine, both of which were weak detoxification capsules.

"Damn it, the Time and Space Administration, you're just messing with me!"

This time, Chen Zhou understood. The syringes and medicines arranged symmetrically inside the box were likely two of the same type, intended for the same group of challengers. In other words, he only needed to look at half of them, since they were all the same.

Of course, that wooden box was an exception; there was only one.

However, judging from its utterly untechnical appearance, Chen Zhou figured it probably contained nothing more than useless souvenirs, so he decided to open it one last time.

……

While the mild detox capsules aren't exactly useless, they're completely unnecessary right now, making them practically useless.

After glancing at the items in the box, Chen Zhou pinned his hopes on the injections.

All the injections were contained in gleaming silver metal syringes with flat tops and no needles. Each syringe contained an equal 25ml of clear liquid, which at first glance looked no different from saline solution.

Having learned how to identify medicines by looking through light, Chen Zhou picked up one of the syringes, adjusted the angle as he had done, and looked at it for a while. Apart from the glaring sunlight, he couldn't see anything.

"What is this? A blind box of medicine?"
Without specifying the intended use, who would dare to administer it randomly? At least explain the usage instructions, whether it's for blood injection or intramuscular injection…

Chen Zhou was already cursing the Time and Space Administration in his mind when Paul suddenly tugged at his sleeve, gesturing for him to look into the box.

Looking down, he noticed a narrow slit under the injection site, through which lay a piece of paper about 5cm long.

Normally, he would never have missed this piece of paper, but now that he hadn't slept for a long time, his attention was hard to concentrate, his observation skills were greatly reduced, and his mindset was affected by the capsule he had just taken, so he ignored the piece of paper.

"Could it be the instruction manual?"

After putting down the injection, Chen Zhou took out a piece of paper.

The Time and Space Administration seemed to have a particular fondness for blue. This piece of paper, like the blue puzzle pieces and blue puzzle cubes he had seen on the island, was a pure blue, with dense instructions faintly visible on it.

After waiting a while until the symbols on the paper turned into Chinese characters, Chen Zhou was able to see the text clearly.

As he expected, this was a detailed description of the injection.

The injection is named "Cold-resistant Genetically Modified Injection".

The principle behind this treatment is to modify core human cold-resistance genes, including ACTN3, UCP1, ENPP7, and PRKG1, to enhance human cold tolerance. However, unlike in science fiction movies, this injection doesn't work immediately; it involves a painful and lengthy modification process, and produces various side effects.

After modifying human genes through injections, the specific enhancements in humans manifest in the following ways:
1. Fast-twitch muscle fibers are transformed into mixed fibers. Compared with the heat generation from tremors of ordinary fast-twitch muscle fibers and the heat generation from low-intensity contractions of slow-twitch muscle fibers, it has the advantages of both reducing energy consumption and preserving explosive power.

This means that with the same amount of fat reserves and calorie intake, the injector can endure longer in snow and ice, consume fewer calories, engage in physical labor for longer periods, and better maintain body temperature.

2. Enhanced UCP1 gene expression allows for the direct breakdown of fat to generate heat in extremely cold environments.

In extremely cold environments, this method of heat generation is faster and takes effect more quickly than fast and slow muscle heat generation, helping the recipient stabilize their body temperature. Of course, it also burns fat extremely rapidly.

3. Enhances lipid metabolism efficiency and rapidly provides heat-generating fuel.

4. Optimizes vasoconstriction and blood distribution, reducing heat loss from the body surface.

5. Regulates skin tone, reduces UV damage, and adapts to low temperatures.

After genetic modification, the injector's adipose system activity will be greatly enhanced, the circulatory system response speed will be significantly improved, and the basal metabolic rate will decrease to conserve energy and resist cold.

This is clearly a genetically modified injection specifically designed for the extremely cold weather after the onset of winter.

However, in addition to the numerous beneficial effects gained after injection, it also has some minor side effects.

For example, muscle explosive power may be slightly reduced, the risk of diabetes may increase, it may be difficult to adapt to tropical climates, and the risk of obesity may increase.

But compared to the extreme cold of minus 65 degrees Celsius, these side effects are acceptable. What's the use of adapting to tropical climates if you can't survive to the end? You might never be able to go to the tropics in your life anyway.

Besides the side effects, there is a modification period of up to half a month from the injection to the completion of the modification.

The instructions state that during the modification period, the human body will inevitably experience some abnormalities, such as skin swelling, abdominal pain and diarrhea, headache and fatigue, spasms, muscle soreness, decreased appetite and weakness in the limbs, but none of these symptoms are life-threatening.

Symptoms gradually became apparent from the third day after the injection, and were greatly relieved after the 12th day.

Depending on each person's constitution, symptoms can be severe or mild, and can last for a long or short time, possibly up to 20 to 25 days, after which they will not reappear.

From this perspective, it is best to administer the modification injection in a safe environment with sufficient food supplies. If the challenger has a partner, it is best for the two to take turns injecting.

Otherwise, once the side effects take effect, the person receiving the injection will basically lose most of their fighting ability and will no longer be able to obtain food reliably. If they encounter a battle during this period, and the side effects are severe, they will basically be a cripple and will most likely die at the hands of other challengers.

……

"nice one."

Understanding that this was a "custom-made cheat" by the Time and Space Administration for the challengers, Chen Zhou carefully put the instruction manual and the injection back into the black box.

Compared to the benefits of the injections, the side effects are largely negligible.

There's no doubt that he and Paul will both need to receive the injection, but that will have to wait until they're out of the sight of the other challengers and back in the shelter.

The side effects such as weakness in his limbs and spasms would greatly reduce his combat effectiveness, so whether in the Black Forest or the Tundra, he dared not entrust his life to luck.

The beacon has already attracted too many challengers, and there might even be people blocking the way after climbing the cliff. Injecting the drug at this point would undoubtedly be suicidal.

But not injecting them immediately also means that if someone can kill them before they return to the shelter, they can intercept all the loot.

Risks and opportunities coexist, and the Time and Space Administration never offers challengers a perfect solution, something Chen Zhou is already used to.

……

"Look at this again."

After confirming that the two injections were identical, Chen Zhou felt a renewed sense of hope.

There are two types of small blue bottles, and each person receives the same one. However, there are six vials of injections. Logically, there should be three types, but there are two types left. It's impossible that there's an antidote among them, so surely one of them should be a treatment injection.

Thinking this, Chen Zhou picked up the second vial and immediately pulled out the instructions at the bottom.

Compared to the first potion's lengthy instructions, this potion's instructions are remarkably concise, yet exceptionally powerful.

"High-potency regenerative injection".

Nothing else is needed; just these seven words are enough to give people boundless strength.

If the black-robed man's weak regeneration capsules could save his life, then the effects of this strong regeneration injection might be such that as long as he has a breath left, he could be brought back to life.

It's no exaggeration to say that this drug is equivalent to a challenger's second life.

Given time to inject it, it will undoubtedly turn the tide of the battle.

Clutching the injection in his hand, Chen Zhou looked at Hu Sanwa beside him and hesitated.

From a rational perspective, injecting this medicine into Tiger Three was undoubtedly a waste, tantamount to exchanging one's own life for the life of the Sawtooth Tiger.

His own life was obviously irreversible, while the serrated tiger cubs were everywhere on the plains. This deal was clearly an extremely bad one, and probably no one but a fool would do it.

He had just been complaining that the Time and Space Administration wouldn't provide the healing potion, but now that he actually received it, he was at a loss.

……

Seeing Chen Zhou standing there stunned for a long time with the injection in his hand, Paul couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

He had already learned about the effects of the capsules and the first injection in the blue bottle from Chen Zhou, and was now hoping that there would be a treatment in the box. Seeing Chen Zhou's reaction, Paul thought it was another injection that wouldn't help, so he quickly asked.

"Isn't this a medical supply?"

Chen Zhou shook his head, said nothing, and handed the explanation in his hand to Paul.

Paul took the note, read it silently, and then, without hesitation, took out another vial of potent regeneration injection and knelt down beside Tiger Three.

"Have you made up your mind?"

Chen Zhou asked.

"I figured it out."

Paul nodded firmly, his answer resolute, without any sign of struggle on his face. He carefully measured the needle on Tiger Three's body, found the right spot, and pressed the flat needle against Tiger Three's skin and flesh.

"This is my portion. My leg doesn't need any medicine; it will recover soon."

It's different; without medicine... it's beyond saving.

It became like this to save me, and I can't just watch it die.

Paul's voice carried an undeniable resolve: "That one is yours."

In crucial moments, you have to survive... You're more useful than me.

The moment he finished speaking, he firmly pushed the putter all the way to the bottom.

The transparent, precious medicinal liquid was instantly injected into Tiger Three's body.

As the medicine flowed in, the originally silvery syringe seemed to be corroded by some force, and its color quickly became dull and lifeless.

But Tiger Three's slightly closed eyes visibly brightened and became increasingly vibrant. (End of Chapter)