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

"Ok?"

Qingshan's steps stopped.

He crouched down and moved closer to the area.

In the gap where the dead tree meets the ground, there is a mound about the size of a fist, its surface covered with fine holes. Dozens of black ants are going in and out of the holes. They are about one centimeter long, their bodies are jet black and shiny, with a dark reddish tinge at the end of their abdomens.

"Ant nest".

Qingshan's face lit up with joy. He gently used the blunt end of the steel bar to pry away the soil covering the mound. The soil was loose and it was easy to dig a hole in it.

Numerous milky-white eggs were exposed to the air, densely packed together, each about the size of half a grain of rice, gleaming with a moist sheen in the dappled light.

He stared at the ant eggs, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

To be honest, for any normal human being, eating ant eggs requires a great deal of mental preparation.

But Aoyama knew very well that after such intense physical exertion, he needed protein to maintain muscle and physical recovery.

A few wild fruits are far from enough to sustain an activity for a longer period of time.

Ant eggs are rich in protein and fat.

He picked up a few ant eggs with his fingers, brought them to his nose and sniffed them. There was no obvious odor, only a faint sour smell.

Ant eggs have a thin layer of mucus on their surface, which feels somewhat like caviar, but softer.

Qingshan closed his eyes and put the ant eggs into his mouth.

The first sensation on the tip of the tongue is a slight sourness, followed by the release of a juice that is almost tasteless.

He forced himself not to chew for too long and swallowed it directly.

"...It's alright."

I felt no nausea or any discomfort.

He picked up a small handful of ant eggs and put them in his mouth. This time he was much more used to them and could even faintly taste a flavor similar to nuts.

Just as the third ant egg slid down his esophagus, Aoyama suddenly felt a slight dizziness.

He subconsciously closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, a semi-transparent virtual panel appeared in the center of his field of vision, with a faint blue glow around its edges, hovering about twenty centimeters in front of him.

[Feeding Record: Ant Eggs × 28]

Current progress: 28/1000

[Ability unlock countdown: Requires consuming a total of 1000 ant (eggs)]

[Unlocking Ability: Hercules (Ant Trait - Can lift objects 50 times its own weight)]

[Note: This ability will continuously strengthen as you consume foods of the same origin.]

Qingshan was suddenly taken aback.

"...Could it be?"

He stared at the virtual panel floating in the air for a full five seconds.

Then he slowly raised his hand and waved it in front of the panel. His fingers passed right through the pale blue light and didn't touch anything.

He rubbed his eyes again, and when he opened them again, the panel was still floating there steadily.

"So that's how it is..." Aoyama muttered to himself, a slight smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips. "Is this my cheat code? Gaining abilities just by eating?"

He roughly counted the number of ant eggs.

There are about four or five hundred ant eggs left in the mound, and with the worker ants moving the nest chambers inside, it shouldn't be a problem to make up a thousand.

With this in mind, Qingshan no longer hesitated.

He knelt beside the dead tree, carefully widening the opening of the ant nest with steel bars, and each time he dug out dozens of ant eggs, he put them directly into his mouth.

The smooth texture continued to build in his mouth, and the sour taste gradually became numb, but he didn't care at all.

When it reached the 500th pill, the number on the virtual panel jumped.

[Feeding Record: Ant Eggs × 547]

Current progress: 547/1000

When he took the seven hundredth pill, Aoyama felt a faint warmth in his lower abdomen, as if something was being awakened.

As the final devouring was completed, his body began to emit faint sounds. His muscle fibers seemed to be smoothed by some unseen force, and a feeling of tension spread along his limbs.

[Feeding Record: Ant Eggs × 1001]

Current progress: 1000/1000 (Completed)

[Ability Unlocked: Strongman (Ant)]

[Effect: Muscle explosive power is increased to 47 times the normal level, and bone density is strengthened simultaneously, allowing it to safely withstand the reaction force brought by this power]

The virtual panel flashed suddenly, then disintegrated into countless tiny specks of light that seeped into Qingshan's body along his skin.

Like an electric shock!

A tingling sensation shot from the base of his spine to the top of his head, and Qingshan unconsciously arched his back, supporting himself with his hands on the dead tree.

He heard his bones making soft cracking sounds, as if the position of each joint was being recalibrated.

"Whoohoo~~"

Three seconds later, everything returned to calm.

Aoyama slowly straightened up and spread his hands.

His ten fingers were still long and strong, and his palms had calluses from the steel tendons, but at this moment, he could clearly feel that every muscle fiber was filled with some kind of... immense power!

He bent down and picked up the half-meter-long steel bar. It was very light, as light as holding a plastic straw.

With a casual pinch, he managed to create a deep dent on the steel surface of the rebar.

"...So powerful?"

Qingshan looked down at his palm; there wasn't even a trace of red mark left.

He tried to lift a rock about the size of a washbasin, and with a little effort, he easily lifted the rock, which weighed at least thirty or forty kilograms, over his head.

He even felt he could do a few more rounds.

"With my current level of strength, I should be more than capable of dealing with the things in this forest." Qingshan put down the stone, patted the dirt off his hands, and couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

He picked up the steel bar again, weighed it in his hand, and found it still felt as light as a feather.

"Dinner shouldn't be a big problem."

Qingshan continued searching upstream, following the direction of the stream.

He planned to first check for animal tracks in the surrounding area. If he could find small prey such as rabbits or pheasants, he would have meat for dinner.

After walking about two or three hundred meters, the terrain became even lower and damper. The stream made a bend here, carving out a patch of muddy silt.

A few withered leaves floated on the water, and the mud on both banks was trampled into a mess, leaving behind the footprints of various animals.

Qingshan crouched down to observe the footprints.

There were deer hoof prints, wild boar hoof prints, and several claw marks resembling those of canines.

But what truly attracted his attention were the traces left by the pile of Y.

"Ok?"

"What is this mark?"

A drag mark about one meter long looked like some kind of long, thin creature crawling out of the water onto the muddy bank and leaving clear abdominal scale marks on the mud surface.

Following the drag mark, Qingshan looked towards the center of the muddy pool. Beneath the murky surface, he could vaguely see a dark outline submerged in the mud.

Just as he was observing, a ripple suddenly appeared on the surface of the water.

The dark outline moved slightly.

Aoyama's pupils contracted slightly.

He saw a crocodile about a meter long slowly rise from the bottom of the mud pit. Its rough scales were covered in mud, and its two eyes protruded from the water, with the pupils narrowed into two vertical lines. It was looking at him slowly and deliberately.

It is a juvenile Siamese crocodile, about 1.2 meters long. It is not large, but it is still a very dangerous predator for unarmed humans.

"Wow, there are even crocodiles in this forest?"

Qingshan remained motionless, maintaining her half-squatting posture.

The little crocodile seemed to be assessing the uninvited guest that had invaded its territory. It slowly raised its head, its mouth slightly parted to reveal its crisscrossing sharp teeth, and a low, almost imperceptible hiss came from its throat.

"Perfect opportunity to test out new skills."

Aoyama slowly stood up, gripping the steel bar tightly with his right hand.

He was about eight to nine meters away from the crocodile, with muddy beaches and puddles in between.

The little crocodile seemed to sense the enemy's hostility. It suddenly raised its front half from the water's surface, paddled in the mud with its limbs, and quickly crawled towards the green hills.

Just as it burst out of the water, Qingshan suddenly swung his right hand out!

"Chaos!"

His movements were so fast that he couldn't even see them clearly.

He threw the half-meter-long steel bar with all his might, drawing a straight silver line as it cut through the air with a sharp, piercing sound.

The steel bar pierced through the crocodile's open mouth from above, diagonally penetrating its upper jaw and cranial cavity, finally emerging from a gap in the scales at the back of its neck, accompanied by a cloud of dark red blood mist, and then "plop" into the mud.

The little crocodile's body convulsed violently twice, its limbs thrashed wildly in the muddy water, and its tail slapped the surface of the water fiercely, splashing up turbid water.

But just seconds later, the struggle stopped, and the crocodile lay limply on the edge of the mud, blood gushing from its wounds, turning the surrounding muddy water a dark brown.

"The accuracy is acceptable."

Qingshan walked over, bent down, grabbed the crocodile's tail, and with a little effort, pulled it out of the mud.

The crocodile, which was over a meter long, felt as light as a perch in his hands; he couldn't even feel its weight.

He examined the wound; the force of the steel bar piercing through it was immense, almost completely destroying the skull cavity, resulting in immediate death.

He then examined the crocodile's teeth and claws, and only after confirming that it had no venom glands did he nod in satisfaction.

"A one-meter-long crocodile is enough to eat for several days."

He hoisted the crocodile onto his right shoulder; the rough surface of its scales pressed against his shoulder blade, but the weight was nothing to him.

He walked back the way he came, his steps much lighter than when he came, and he could even use his left hand to push aside the vines blocking his way.

Chapter 4: If Aoyama-kun wants tonight~

The sky was gradually darkening.

The sunlight filtering through the tree canopy changed from golden to orange-red, and the light deep in the forest began to fade rapidly, while the temperature in the forest slowly dropped.

Qingshan quickened his pace, the sound of the stream growing closer. After passing through a dense bamboo grove, he saw the stone shelter again.

From afar, he saw the glow of the campfire.

Orange-red flames danced beneath the stone eaves, casting a warm glow.

"I'm back."

Kasumigaoka Utaha was sitting by the fire, a blank notebook spread on her lap, a ballpoint pen in her hand, seemingly writing something.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up.

Then her expression froze.

His red pupils suddenly dilated, and his mouth opened slightly, shattering his languid and composed demeanor in an instant.

"...That's...a crocodile?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice rose a notch, filled with obvious disbelief.

She put down her notebook, stood up, stared at the rough-skinned, bloodstained reptile on Qingshan's shoulder, and swallowed hard.

"Hmm." Aoyama took the crocodile off his shoulder and casually tossed it onto the open ground next to the fire, making a dull thud.

"A tiny crocodile, barely a meter long, with a narrow, formidable jaw!"

"...Okay?"