Desert Island Survival: A Hundredfold Improvement After Having a Baby?

Yang Ningcong fell silent.

He buried his head even deeper, his knees almost touching his chin, curling himself up into a ball.

He had memorized those details years ago when he secretly peeked into his father's study safe, relying on fragmented memories. He wasn't even sure if it was this island.

But this little thing was his last talisman.

Once it's cleaned up, he's completely useless.

"I told you, I'm definitely not going to live," Yang Ningcong's muffled voice came from between his knees. "Since I'm going to die anyway, why should I tell you?"

Xu Zhixia didn't press her for answers.

She stood up, dusted off her hands, walked to the supply area, and rummaged through a pile of plants she had collected.

"The herbs on this island are very interesting."

"Some have the effects of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, while others have the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying."

She picked up a leaf, rubbed it between her fingers, and spoke in a slow, deliberate voice.

"But some can also cause nerve paralysis."

Xu Zhixia raised her face and looked at Yang Ningcong.

"Of course, there are even more interesting things."

Her gaze suddenly shifted to Zhou Kai.

"Zhou Kai, roll up your trouser legs."

Zhou Kai was stunned for a moment, not understanding what was going on, but he still subconsciously did as he was told.

The right pant leg was rolled up, revealing the lower part of the calf.

A scar the size of a palm.

The skin was an unhealthy dark purple, sunken in the middle, with the surrounding flesh and tissue contracting inward, forming ugly rings of wrinkles. It looked as if something had hollowed out the flesh from within.

Yang Ningcong's scalp tingled after just one glance.

"What is this...?"

"It was from an insect bite," Xu Zhixia replied casually. "Its venom is quite unique, but it's not an instant kill."

She walked over to Yang Ningcong and squatted down again.

"But it will dissolve your muscle and fat tissue."

"It starts from the bite site and rots out little by little. First the skin, then the flesh, and finally the bone."

"You were fully conscious throughout the entire process."

"I could clearly feel my body turning into rotten flesh and pus inch by inch."

Xu Zhixia's voice was completely flat, and the calmer it was, the more frightened Yang Ningcong became.

"Fortunately, Zhou Kai was not bitten deeply, and he received effective treatment in the early stages. He was also given antibiotics, which saved his leg and his life."

She paused for a moment.

"Unfortunately, I know where else I can find those bugs."

Yang Ningcong's body began to tremble uncontrollably. "You...you don't dare!"

"You're a doctor! Your professional ethics forbid you from doing this!"

"If you dare touch me, wait until I get back, my dad won't let the Xu family off the hook! I'll bankrupt your entire family!"

Xu Zhixia smiled.

The threat from the civilized world is as insignificant as a speck of dust on this island.

She ignored Yang Ningcong.

She stood up and looked directly at the silent man leaning against the stone wall by the cave entrance.

"Lin Fan".

Lin Fan raised his face.

"What are you standing there for?"

Xu Zhixia tilted her chin outwards.

"Go find the bugs."

Lin Fan was taken aback for a moment.

This woman has become too independent; after sleeping with him once, she's started ordering him around.

But she is indeed smart, and ruthless enough.

She knew that simple threats wouldn't work on someone like Yang Ningcong; she had to bring in the island's highest military force and turn abstract intimidation into an imminent action.

Lin Fan twitched the corner of his mouth.

"it is good."

A single word, lightly floating to the ground.

The color drained completely from Yang Ningcong's face in an instant.

If Xu Zhixia's threat was like a slow, agonizing cut, then Lin Fan's "okay" was like a guillotine already placed against his neck.

"Don't!"

"Don't go!"

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"

He was in tears, completely broken down.

Xu Zhixia stood in front of him.

"explain."

Yang Ningcong's Adam's apple bobbed twice, and he raised his hand to wipe away his snot and tears.

"Let me make this clear first..."

"The report I saw may not be complete."

"Those were documents my dad hid in the safe in his study. I peeked at them, but I didn't dare look for too long."

"Some of the items are photographs, some are original English documents, and some are translations."

Zhou Kai took half a step forward.

"Are you starting to leave yourself an escape route again?"

"I'll leave your mother here!" Yang Ningcong shouted in a hurry, then immediately shrank back and secretly glanced at Lin Fan.

Seeing that Lin Fan didn't move, he continued.

"I'm telling the truth."

"That thing isn't a language textbook, it's not an instruction manual, so it's impossible for it to be written in perfect detail."

"Many parts are based on speculation."

Xu Zhixia crossed her arms.

"Speculation is also an option."

Yang Ningcong swallowed and nodded.

There's one sentence in the report that I remember very clearly.

"Everything on this island is no different in essence from the normal world."

Zhou Kai scoffed.

"Do you even need to tell me? A stone is a stone, a tree is a tree, and water is water."

Yang Ningcong turned his head and glared at him.

"Can you let me finish?"

"There's one more sentence at the end of the report."

He rubbed his fingers together, as if recalling the specific wording on that page.

"The difference lies in... the interiors of some of these plants and animals, which they speculate carry an unknown factor."

The people inside the cave stopped what they were doing.

Unknown factor, factor is factor, what does unknown mean?

"The original text in the report used an analogy."

Yang Ningcong paused for a moment, then painstakingly searched through his memories for those remaining fragments.

"It says this factor... is essentially similar to a virus."

"Virus?" Zhou Kai interjected.

Yang Ningcong ignored him and continued on his own.

"That group of scientists conducted comprehensive testing, examining everything from soil and rock strata to groundwater, vegetation, and animal specimens."

The conclusion is: not everything carries that factor.

"High concentrations of unknown factors were detected in some plants, and these plants mutated. Their size, color, and toxicity all deviated from the range of normal species."

"As for other plants and animals, no such substance can be detected in their bodies, and they are no different from the species in the outside world."

Yang Ningcong licked his lips.

"Therefore, the report gave a preliminary conclusion that the anomalies on the island were not widespread, but localized and random."

There is no pattern to which grass, tree, or snake contains that factor.

Lin Fan stood still, in a localized, random way.

This explains why some things on the island were perfectly normal: the fresh water in the cave, most of the herbs Xu Zhixia collected, and the wild fruits they ate—none of them had any problems.

But at the same time, that giant python, those mutated lizards, and that gray monster from last night all exceeded the limits of normal creatures.

It has factors, and it varies.

It's normal if that factor isn't present.

A simple and straightforward binary search.

"You're talking nonsense."

Zhou Kai finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He took a step forward, leaning on his wooden stick, and tilted his head to look at Yang Ningcong.

Yang Ningcong, now much bolder, countered Zhou Kai's question, "You smelled it?"

Zhou Kai's cheeks puffed out from being retorted, and he didn't know how to respond for a moment, so he could only change the subject, "I believe you when you say the plant mutated, but I also saw that giant snake with my own eyes."

"But you said this thing can be infectious like a virus, so let me ask you something."

Zhou Kai pointed to himself, then to Lin Fan and Xu Zhixia.

"We are grown people who have stayed on this island for so long, drinking the water here, eating the fruit here, and breathing the air here."

"How come I still have two legs, two arms, and a height of about 1.6 meters?"

"If it were up to you, we should have grown into three-meter-tall giants by now, right?"

After Zhou Kai finished speaking, he looked around and clearly felt that his rebuttal made a lot of sense.

Yang Ningcong raised his head, a hint of impatience appearing on his dirty face.

My deep-seated sense of superiority resurfaced...