Comic strip: Survival on a deserted island, surrounded by heroines

"So...the things you ate had special effects?"

Aoyama did not deny it.

After all, this is not a secret worth hiding.

As long as the two are together, Kasumigaoka Utaha will sooner or later discover his inhuman abilities.

"Yes, we've all been transported to this unknown world. It sounds absurd, but it actually makes sense..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha stared at him for a long time, her expression extremely complicated.

She let out a soft breath, leaned against a tree trunk, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Aoyama-kun, you're becoming less and less like a normal high school student."

"Maybe."

Qingshan continued to uncover a large rock, revealing a sizable colony of beetles hidden beneath it, densely packed with more than a dozen beetles.

He nimbly picked them up one by one and put them in his mouth.

The fifth one.

The tenth one.

The fifteenth.

Just as he finished eating the eighteenth one, the long-lost virtual panel reappeared before his eyes.

A pale blue light curtain floated in the air, its edges shimmering slightly, visible only to him.

[Feeding Record: Adult Ground Beetles x20]

Current progress: 20/20 (Completed)

[Ability Unlocked: Environmental Adaptation]

[Effects: The immune system is significantly strengthened, the body temperature regulation ability is improved, and the tolerance to extreme climates such as high temperature, low temperature, humidity, and dryness is greatly enhanced.]

(Optimized basal metabolic efficiency allows for more efficient energy extraction from food.)

Aoyama stared at the panel, a slight smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips.

"It's done!"

Chapter 14: You were never alone.

Aoyama stared at the virtual panel in front of him, his eyes quickly scanning the information that appeared on it.

Name: Qingshan

[Unlocked Abilities: Hercules (Ant), Environmental Adaptation (Ground Beetle)]

[Ability Details]

[Hercules (Ant): Muscle explosiveness is increased to 47 times its normal level, and bone density is simultaneously strengthened, allowing it to safely withstand the reaction force brought by this power.]

[Environmental adaptation (in ground beetles): The immune system is significantly strengthened, the body temperature regulation ability is improved, and the tolerance to extreme climates such as high temperature, low temperature, humidity, and dryness is greatly enhanced.]

(Optimized basal metabolic efficiency allows for more efficient energy extraction from food.)

The slight curve at the corner of his mouth was impossible to suppress.

Now that we have strength and resistance, let's go check out the shipwreck.

"Aoyama-kun."

Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice came from the side, with a hint of teasing laughter: "What have you been grinning at the air for?"

"Your expression tells me that what just happened was a success, a great success, right?"

Qingshan came to his senses, and the virtual panel disappeared.

He turned his head and saw Kasumigaoka Utaha leaning against a tree trunk beside him, her arms crossed over her chest, tilting her head to look at him.

Sunlight streamed through the leaves and fell upon her, creating dappled patterns of light on her black hair.

"It was indeed a great success."

Aoyama patted the dirt off his hands and stood up. "My body's ability to adapt to the environment will be greatly enhanced now."

"Even if there are several more storms, I won't easily get sick."

Kasumigaoka Utaha straightened up and walked to his side.

"That's wonderful!"

"That way I won't have to worry about you collapsing."

“After all…” she tilted her head slightly, her red pupils gleaming, “the thought of surviving alone on this island is terrifying.”

"You are never alone."

After saying this, Aoyama turned around and continued walking forward without waiting for Kasumigaoka Utaha's response.

"Ok?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha stood still for half a second, watching his back, blinked softly, and then followed him.

The two continued walking south along the mountain.

Aoyama deliberately slowed down his pace, no longer focusing solely on turning over stones to find insects, but instead began to pay attention to the plants along the way.

The rainforest has more edible resources than he imagined; all he needs is a keen eye to discover them.

"This is edible."

He crouched down, parted a clump of low shrubs, and revealed several lush green plants with thick leaves underneath.

The leaves are smooth with a ring of fine serrations along the edge, and they gleam with a glossy sheen in the sunlight.

"What is this?" Kasumigaoka Utaha also squatted down and leaned over to take a look.

Wild amaranth.

"The tender leaves can be stir-fried. When cooked, they taste similar to spinach." Qingshan reached out and plucked a few tender leaves, smelled them, and after confirming that they were right, put them into the spare leaf pack in his backpack.

Kasumigaoka Utaha followed suit and plucked a few leaves as well. She held the wild amaranth leaf over and over, examining it closely, and then muttered to herself:

"In the supermarket on the island, a bunch of amaranth costs 300 yen... Now you can just pick it anywhere?"

Aoyama glanced at her, said nothing, but his lips twitched slightly.

After walking a while longer, Qingshan discovered a clump of wild wood ear mushrooms at the base of a large tree.

Dark brown caps peek out from the cracks in the decaying wood, clustered together with slightly curled edges, looking exceptionally fresh.

"This is edible too?" Kasumigaoka Utaha asked, crowding around like a curious child.

"It's edible."

"After washing and cooking, they have a smooth texture and are rich in nutrients." Qingshan carefully picked the flowers one by one and put them into his backpack.

He picked about twenty flowers, leaving some of the smaller ones to continue growing, thus maintaining a sustainable harvesting rhythm.

“Aoyama-kun knows so much.” Kasumigaoka Utaha stood beside him, her hands behind her back, tilting her head slightly as she watched his movements. “Just how many fields do the documentaries you watch cover?”

"It covers most fields, and I've probably watched tens of thousands of hours in total."

"...No wonder you can throw steel bars so accurately."

"That's a talent."

"Hmm." Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't refute, but just gave a soft hum, which was considered an acceptance of this statement.

The two walked for a while longer, when Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly pointed to a low shrub not far ahead:

"Aoyama-kun, look over there."

Aoyama looked in the direction she pointed.

The shrub was about the height of a person, and its branches were covered with dark purple fruits, about the size of grapes, with a thin layer of white frost on their surface.

The branches laden with fruit were bent low under their weight, indicating that there were quite a few of them.

"Wild grapes?" Kasumigaoka Utaha walked over and carefully examined the fruit.

Qingshan approached and observed for a while.

The fruit's shape and color do indeed resemble wild grapes. Its skin is smooth, and when you squeeze it slightly, you can feel the soft, juicy flesh inside.

He picked one, held it to his nose, and smelled it. It had a faint fruity fragrance with a hint of fermentation.

"It should be wild mountain grapes, you can eat them." He said, taking a bite. The sour taste exploded on his tongue, followed by a hint of sweetness.

Seeing that he was fine after eating it, Kasumigaoka Utaha also picked one and put it in her mouth.

Her brows furrowed instantly, and the corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily: "So sour..."

"It will be sweeter when it's ripe."

"If we pick them now and leave them for a couple of days, they should be much better." Qingshan picked the ripe fruit from the branches one by one and carefully put them into his backpack.

Although these wild grapes taste sour now, they are rich in vitamins and sugars, making them a good source of energy in the wild.

Kasumigaoka Utaha disliked the sourness, but still helped pick quite a few.

Her fingers deftly plucked off the dark purple fruits and tossed them into the leaves of the green hills, her movements more swift than expected.

Aoyama asked curiously, "How come you're so skilled?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't even look up: "I'm good with my hands; I typed out the novels on the keyboard."

"...Writing novels does improve finger dexterity."

"You're making it sound like you're mocking me."

"no."

"It's best if there isn't one."

The two picked most of the ripe fruit from the bushes, and their backpacks were now filled with a heavy bag of wild grapes.

Kasumigaoka Utaha straightened up and stretched her slightly sore shoulders, her black hair swaying gently with the movement, the ends brushing against the fair skin on the side of her neck.

"Aoyama-kun."

"Ok?"

"Your... ability, besides eating insects, you can eat other things too?"

Aoyama thought for a moment and said, "That's how it is in theory."

"As long as it is a living thing, it should have a corresponding effect."

[Please give me flowers, ratings, and monthly passes...please support me~~~]

Chapter 15: Yeah, what should we eat?

"If you eat fish, does that mean you don't need to breathe while in the water?"

"I don't know, but we can give it a try."

No sooner had Qingshan finished speaking than a rustling sound suddenly came from the dense forest ahead.

The two looked up at the same time.

A plump pheasant took flight in fright from the bushes.

Its brown feathers shimmered with a dark golden luster in the sunlight as it flapped its wings, trying to escape into the denser canopy of trees.

Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes widened suddenly: "Aoyama-kun, it's a pheasant!"

Aoyama's hand had already moved.

Without much thought, he drew the long sword from his waist with his right hand, his body slightly lowered, and with a flick of his wrist, the blade drew a silvery-white arc in the air.

The long sword flew out of his hand, spun half a circle in the air, and the back of the blade struck the low-flying pheasant with precision.

"boom--!"

The pheasant let out a startled cry, lost its balance, and fell erratically, flapping its wings a couple of times before collapsing into a pile of fallen leaves.

"???"

Kasumigaoka Utaha was completely stunned.