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

Kasumigaoka Utaha turned her head to look at him, her gaze lingering between his slightly puffed cheeks and serious expression, before she chuckled softly:

"Is your ability to tell corny jokes with such a straight face something you learned from eating insects?"

"This is innate."

"uh-huh."

Qingshan didn't reply, and continued to process the small silver fish in his hands one after another.

He deftly cut open the fish's belly with a blade, washed it, sliced ​​it, and ate it, the whole process flowing smoothly.

The silvery-white fish meat, gleaming like pearls in the sunlight, was eaten piece by piece, chewed, and swallowed.

By the time I got to the tenth article, the warm feeling in my chest became more pronounced.

He could feel that something subtle was happening at the end of his lungs.

It's like countless tiny hairs gently spreading out on the inside of the alveolar walls.

With each breath, the inhaled air seems to be utilized more fully, and the oxygen exchange efficiency is improved by more than one level.

"Aoyama-kun, your breathing sounds different?" Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly spoke, her tone tinged with curiosity.

"Ok?"

Aoyama never expected that Kasumigaoka Utaha's observational skills were so strong.

She turned to look at him: "Your breathing is much softer now than before, almost inaudible."

"And the movement of your chest has decreased, but it doesn't look like you're holding your breath?"

"It's like your body is using air more efficiently?"

Aoyama himself realized this as well.

He took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, the whole process being less resistant than usual.

Once the air enters the body, it seems to be automatically distributed to every corner, allowing the whole body to receive sufficient oxygen without any deliberate effort.

"Because I am evolving, I have decided not to be human anymore."

"...The monster, Aoyama-kun?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha thought about it and realized that if it was Aoyama-kun, it wouldn't be unacceptable.

Article 13.

Article 14.

Article 15.

After swallowing the seventeenth small silver fish, Aoyama suddenly felt a jolt deep in his chest.

"Om-!"

The feeling was as if something had quietly opened a door deep inside his lungs.

The breathing rhythm that originally required conscious control became meaningless at this moment.

He could feel his alveolar walls undergoing subtle changes, becoming more aligned with the needs of gas exchange, and the oxygenation efficiency in his blood was increasing dramatically.

"How come breathing oxygen feels so good?!"

Aoyama sighed, but he didn't stop and continued to eat the remaining three small silver fish.

The moment he swallowed the last piece of fish, a virtual panel appeared before his eyes.

[Feeding Log: 20 small silver fish]

Current progress: 20/20 (Completed)

[Ability Unlocked: Underwater Breathing (Fish)]

[Effect: The lungs are adaptively enhanced, and the ability to regulate alveolar surface tension is improved, enabling the absorption of dissolved oxygen through the mouth and nose in underwater environments.]

(With breath-holding time extended to 25 minutes, underwater oxygen consumption decreased by 37%, and tolerance to seawater salinity was significantly enhanced.)

"Success."

As lines of light appeared on the panel, Aoyama could feel his body changing in sync.

"Click click click~~~"

A subtle tingling sensation spread through the depths of his chest, as if every bronchus was being reorganized, becoming more flexible and elastic.

Aoyama can clearly perceive the path the air travels with each breath.

Those details that you would never normally notice are now exceptionally clear.

He tried to take a deep breath and then hold it.

“…”

One second, two seconds, three seconds

Thirty seconds passed, and he felt no tightness in his lungs.

A minute passed, and my heartbeat remained steady.

After two minutes, he began to feel the oxygen stored in his lungs slowly being depleted, but the feeling was completely different from the suffocating sensation he usually experienced when holding his breath.

"It's more like the water in a kettle slowly decreasing, rather than someone choking you?"

He exhaled that breath, then inhaled again.

The whole process was smooth and natural, as if his body had learned how to use every breath of air more efficiently.

"Lord Aoyama, you succeeded?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice came from the side.

She observed him quietly, her gaze focused.

"Yes, it worked."

Aoyama turned his head and met those red pupils.

He nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Now I can hold my breath underwater for about twenty-five minutes."

Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes lit up: "Twenty minutes? That should be enough time for you to swim to that shipwreck, right?"

"It's more than enough, even more than enough."

Aoyama stretched his chest, feeling the newfound control: "Moreover, my body's ability to adapt to seawater has also increased."

He believes that the ability to 'adapt to the environment' also plays a role in this.

"Do you want to give it a try?"

Qingshan looked at her, then at the vast blue sea in front of him.

He stood up, walked barefoot across the warm sand towards the sea, the waves washing over his ankles, knees, and waist.

He didn't stop, and continued walking until the seawater reached his chest.

"Hoo!" Qingshan

He took a deep breath and sank completely beneath the surface of the water, where the seawater enveloped him entirely.

When Qingshan opened her eyes, she had expected a stinging sensation, but the seawater was surprisingly gentle.

"This feeling..."

He looked down at his hands.

Underwater visibility is excellent; you can see the sandy bottom about ten meters away.

Schools of fish swam past him, their scales shimmering in the light.

He turned around and looked towards the shore through the clear seawater.

"Aoyama-kun...."

Kasumigaoka Utaha was standing in knee-deep water, cupping her hands to her mouth and shouting something, but her voice was muffled by the seawater.

Her shadow, stretched long by the sunlight, was projected onto the water's surface, swaying gently with the waves.

Green Mountain rose from the water, water droplets sliding down his black hair and cheeks.

He walked back to Kasumigaoka Utaha through the seawater, water gushing down his school uniform.

"How was it?" Kasumigaoka Utaha looked him up and down, her eyes filled with barely concealed anticipation.

Aoyama wiped the water droplets from his face and smiled slightly: "It feels... wonderful!"

Can you see things clearly underwater?

"Visibility is good, about ten meters."

"Did any fish bite you?"

"I think it's probably not."

"That's good."

Chapter 20: Of course... leave some evidence.

night.

The sea breeze, carrying a salty scent, swept across the beach, and the firelight of the campfire reflected on their faces.

Aoyama bit off the last piece of grilled fish from the skewer, chewed it twice, and swallowed it. He then picked up a split coconut shell next to him and took a sip of coconut juice.

The sweet liquid slid down my throat, bringing a cool sensation into my chest.

"That feels so good!"

He leaned against the rocks behind him, looking up at the night sky above.

Not long after the moon rose, its silvery light shone on the sea.

The distant sound of the tide came one after another, unhurried and gentle, as if keeping an ancient rhythm for this deserted island.

"Aoyama-kun."

Kasumigaoka Utaha sat not far from him, knees bent, arms wrapped around her calves.

The campfire cast a warm glow on her profile, and her long black hair was blown by the night wind, with a few strands clinging to her cheeks.

"Ok?"

She turned her head to look at him, her red pupils reflecting the flickering flames. "While we were eating fish, I was wondering, does your ability to breathe underwater also work when you breathe normally?"

Aoyama thought for a moment, then swallowed the coconut juice in his mouth: "It seems that some of the effects are still lasting."

"The lungs' ability to regulate tension has improved, so even during normal breathing, the oxygen exchange efficiency is higher than before."

No wonder.

"No wonder what?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha rested her chin on her knees, her gaze fixed on the campfire, her tone carrying a hint of amusement: "No wonder you've been staring at me since the beginning, but your heart hasn't been racing at all."

Aoyama was taken aback: "You can still hear my heartbeat?"

"Of course I can't hear it."

Kasumigaoka Utaha turned her head and raised one eyebrow: "You stared at me for about seven seconds. If a normal guy stares at a girl at this distance for seven seconds, his breathing rhythm will change a little."

"You, on the other hand, remained as still as a stagnant pool from beginning to end."

"...That must be the ability to adapt to the environment at work."

"Oh?"

"So, Aoyama-kun is getting used to me?"

"Or...do you want me to...adapt to Aoyama-kun?" she drawled, her lips curving into a smile as she leaned towards Aoyama.

And.

Caught completely off guard, Qingshan grabbed the pillar that held up the sky.

"..."

Aoyama paused for half a second, placed the coconut shell on the sand, and sighed: "Where did you learn this kind of trap-like question?"