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

Izumi Sagiri tilted her head and looked at her for a while, then softly called out, "...Utaha-neechan?"

There was no response.

Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't even flinch.

Izumi Sagiri looked at her wrinkled clothes and how soundly she was sleeping.

Thinking back to yesterday's walk from the beach to the shelter, which was indeed a long way, he nodded in understanding.

"Sister Shiyu must be exhausted...she walked such a long way yesterday."

Izumi Sagiri muttered to herself, then looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha's obviously wrinkled top and frowned in confusion, "But why are the clothes so wrinkled? Is it because she sleeps very restlessly?"

As she was pondering this, she heard footsteps outside the cave.

Izumi Sagiri immediately raised her head alertly and shrank back, but quickly recognized the rhythm of the footsteps.

Steady and powerful, each step firm and solid, is like the green hills.

Sure enough, Qingshan's figure appeared at the cave entrance.

Sunlight shone from behind him, outlining a sharply defined silhouette.

He carried a composite bow in his hand, an empty backpack on his back, and a machete hanging at his waist.

He looked to be in excellent spirits, with bright eyes and a light step, not at all like someone struggling to survive on a deserted island.

There were still traces of morning dew on her cheeks, so she must have washed her face outside.

Aoyama saw that Izumi Sagiri was awake and nodded to her: "Awake? Did you sleep well?"

Izumi Sagiri sat there, her silver-white hair slightly curled at the ends, and chuckled softly, "Hmm, it's fine... Brother Aoyama, you're up so early."

"I'm used to it."

Qingshan walked into the cave, placed the composite bow against the wall, squatted down, rummaged through the supplies, and took out two bags of compressed biscuits, stuffing them into his backpack.

The movements were swift and skillful, as if they had done it many times before.

Izumi Sagiri's gaze followed him, landing on Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was still fast asleep beside her, before turning back: "Brother Aoyama, is Utaha alright? She's sleeping so soundly."

Following her gaze, Aoyama glanced at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was lying on her side.

He said without changing his expression, "It's nothing, she's just tired."

"I walked a long way yesterday and lost a lot of water, so I need to rest more."

Is it because you're really too tired?

Izumi Sagiri nodded and said seriously, "No wonder..."

She tilted her head and looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha's wrinkled clothes, "But why are her clothes so wrinkled...?"

Aoyama coughed and looked away for a moment: "You're a restless sleeper, and you get wrinkles easily when you toss and turn."

"Oh."

Izumi Sagiri nodded, believing it to be true, and didn't ask any more questions.

She stood up, her long, silvery-white hair swaying gently with her movements, and knelt down beside Qingshan, watching him organize the supplies in his backpack.

Aoyama stood up and glanced at her, his gaze softening slightly compared to yesterday, carrying a natural protective instinct.

Of course, he is not a lolicon.

He picked up the crossbow and handed it to her: "Shawu, take this for self-defense. You stay here and watch the entrance to the shelter for me."

"If anything gets close to the cave entrance, aim at it and shoot."

"But don't be too nervous, I'm nearby, I won't go far."

Izumi Sagiri took the fish crossbow; it was heavier than she had imagined. She held it in both hands and carefully lifted it up to examine it.

Although the crossbow arm is short, it is extremely lethal to carbon-based creatures.

She looked up at the green mountains, her light blue eyes showing a hint of tension, but mostly seriousness.

"...I...I will keep an eye on the entrance."

"Brother Qingshan, are you going out?"

"Let's wander around the neighborhood and see what we can eat."

Aoyama slung the composite bow over his shoulder, picked up the machete and tucked it into his waistband, then checked the straps of his backpack. "The rabbits finished eating yesterday, so we need to replenish some fresh food."

"While you're at it, see if there's anything else we can use."

Actually, he wanted to see what other insects or animals could enhance his strength.

I also wanted to try my luck with the 'Velociraptor'.

"I can't sleep until I get rid of it."

Well, the reason I can't sleep is definitely not because of Kasumigaoka.

Izumi Sagiri stood at the cave entrance, holding a crossbow, her long, silvery-white hair fluttering gently in the morning breeze.

She watched Qingshan's figure preparing to depart, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but then she swallowed it back.

Qingshan noticed her hesitation and turned to look at her: "What's wrong?"

Izumi Sagiri's voice was soft: "Brother Aoyama...you'll be back soon, right?"

Those light blue eyes stared straight at him, with a cautious anticipation.

That expression was like that of a stray cat that had just been adopted, afraid that its owner would leave and never come back.

Aoyama nodded: "I'll be back soon, before noon."

"Hmm..." Izumi Sagiri responded softly, her lips curving slightly upwards before she closed them again.

Qingshan turned and walked towards the woods outside. After a few steps, he turned back and added, "If Shiyu wakes up, tell her I've gone to find something to eat."

“Okay, Aoyama-nii.” Izumi Sagiri nodded vigorously.

She stood there, watching the silhouette of the green hills disappear into the morning mist.

Only when the swaying bushes came to a complete stop did she look away, glance down at the fish crossbow in her hand, and then look back at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was still asleep in the cave.

Kasumigaoka Utaha remained in that side-lying position, her breathing even and long, showing no sign of waking up.

The morning light fell on her face, giving her slightly flushed cheeks a warm hue.

On her snow-white arm, there were faint red marks, like marks left after being grabbed and pressed.

"Is it entangled in vines?"

Izumi Sagiri tilted her head and stared at it for a while, feeling that something was a little strange.

Although she went to bed early yesterday, she remembered that Sister Shiyu slept quite properly, with her hands and feet neatly tucked in. How come her clothes were in such a mess after just one night?

However, she quickly shook her head, dismissing the doubt.

"Maybe I was too tired after walking all day and couldn't fall asleep no matter how much I tossed and turned."

She held the crossbow in her arms, sat down on a nearby rock, and faced the cave entrance.

The morning breeze, carrying the fresh scents of grass and trees, wafted in from outside.

Her gaze fell on the dappled light and shadow in the woods outside the cave, her ears perked up, listening intently to the sounds around her.

Behind.

Kasumigaoka Utaha gently turned over in her sleep, mumbled something indistinctly, and then fell back into a deep sleep.

Izumi Sagiri glanced back to confirm that she was just talking in her sleep, then turned back to continue staring at the cave entrance.

She gripped the handle of the crossbow tightly, her eyes appearing exceptionally clear and bright in the morning light.

"Brother Qingshan said he will be back soon."

She repeated the sentence softly, as if to encourage herself.

Chapter 30: Sevenfold Healing, External Wound Regeneration.

The morning mist drifted slowly through the forest, like a thin veil hanging between the treetops.

After walking about two or three hundred meters, Qingshan slowed down and scanned the surrounding bushes and tree canopies.

He first saw a pheasant.

The fellow was perched on a horizontal branch of a low tree, pecking at the berries on the branch with his head bobbing up and down, completely unaware of the danger approaching.

"I'll start by treating you."

Qingshan stopped twenty meters away, took the composite bow off his back, and drew an arrow from the quiver, nocking it on the bowstring.

The moment he drew back the bowstring, the arrow flew out in the blink of an eye.

"call out--!"

The sound of an arrow leaving the bowstring rang out, and the pheasant twenty meters away, before it could even flap its wings, was pierced through the neck and fell from the tree branch. It fluttered around in the pile of fallen leaves a couple of times and then lay still.

Qingshan walked over, picked up the pheasant, and weighed it; it was probably a little over two pounds.

He pulled out the arrow, wiped the blood off on a blade of grass, put it back in the quiver, and then tied the pheasant's leg with vines and hung it on the side of his backpack.

"Breakfast is ready."

He continued deeper into the dense forest, paying attention to the traces on the ground as he went.

Rabbit holes aren't hard to find; the soft soil often bears fresh paw prints and droppings.

Following a trail of paw prints, Qingshan arrived at a place where tree roots were intertwined.

He crouched down and looked at the hole hidden under the tree roots, when suddenly an idea struck him!

He took some wild grapes out of his backpack, placed them on the ground, stepped back a few paces, found a secluded spot to the side of the cave entrance, and drew his bowstring again.

"Let's try waiting for the rabbit to run into the tree stump."

After waiting quietly for about 5 minutes, a grayish-brown hare poked its head out of the hole, pricked up its ears to listen to the surrounding noise, and then cautiously jumped out.

It hopped a couple of steps and stopped to eat grapes. Just as it lowered its head, an arrow pierced the air and precisely pierced the back of its neck.

The gray rabbit didn't even struggle; it simply collapsed into the grass.

With a smile on his face, Qingshan walked over and picked up the prey.

Pull the second arrow out of the rabbit, wipe it clean, and put it back in the quiver.

He squatted down and examined the rabbit. Although it wasn't as fat as the previous one, it wasn't much smaller either.

"The meat looks good."

Aoyama hung the rabbit on the side of his backpack as well. The pheasant and the rabbit swayed on either side, making him look like a hunter returning with a full load.

He straightened up and stretched his shoulders, his gaze falling on a relatively open clearing in the woods not far away.

The humus layer on the ground is very thick, but some areas have been disturbed, as if something frequently moves around in this area.

He walked over, squatted down, and brushed aside the surface of dead leaves, revealing a dense mass of dark brown insects crawling beneath.

It was larger than the ground beetle he had encountered before, with its carapace covered in fine downy hairs and its antennae long and flexible.

"Completely unknown."

Aoyama picked one up and examined it in his palm. The insect wiggled its limbs a few times between his fingers, trying to escape.

He examined it closely and found that the insect's shell was thicker than that of ordinary beetles, and there was a dark red ring of lines around the end of its abdomen, making it look quite resilient.

"Give it a try."

He put the worm in his mouth and chewed it twice.

The shell is harder than the previous beetle, but after chewing it, it has a roasted nut-like aroma, a very mild fishy smell, and a surprisingly good taste.

[Feeding Record: Adult ground beetles x1]

Current progress: 1/30

[Effect Preview: External Wound Regeneration (Ground Beetle) - Requires continued consumption of similar ingredients to complete activation.]

"Looks like I need to eat some more."

"Let's go, brothers!"