Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 96 - 96 8 Tactics and First Victory Part 2

96: Chapter 8: Tactics and First Victory (Part 2) 96: Chapter 8: Tactics and First Victory (Part 2) “Despair set in?

Ha, sorry, but I bagged this round.” The young man laughed triumphantly, not stowing the bomb in his waist bag but ready to push the button and bomb Tang Zheng to death.

But when the LCD screen entered his field of vision, he suddenly felt the blood throughout his body freeze, an instant chill of death crawling up his spine.

The numbers on the screen were counting down, the brutal Arabic numeral 1 practically piercing the young man’s eyes.

“Damn, I thought I had found a coward, but it turned out I had messed with one tough cookie.” The young man wanted to throw the bomb away, but it was already too late.

His last sight before death was of his ‘prey’ standing up, gracefully dusting the sand off his clothes, and looking at him with a mocking smile.

“I’m like a clown.” With regret, the young man’s last thought dashed through his mind as his body was blown into fragments, “This guy, is seriously cunning.”

BOOM, as the metal cube exploded, the young man’s body was blown to bits, limbs and chunks of flesh flying everywhere, instantly painting the nearby golden beach blood red.

The smell of blood quickly dispersed in the sea breeze, but looking at the sight before him, Tang Zheng still frowned.

He picked up the severed left arm, pulled out his folding knife, and cut off the totem seal on the back of the victim’s hand.

Seeing the reflexive twitch of the fingers and the body temperature that hadn’t cooled down yet, Tang Zheng felt a bit queasy, managing to suppress his nausea.

Even with his newest spoils, Tang Zheng wasn’t happy.

He was concerned about Lin Weiguo and Qin Yan.

On this small island, one negligence could lead to a violent death.

“One must take things as they come, uh, truly disgusting,” Tang Zheng sighed, stood up, and put the totem seal into the white waist bag.

He had no desire to put this chunk of human-skin metal into his pockets.

The thought alone was nauseating.

The battlefield offered little value, the dead young man aside from the standard white waist bag was penniless, even the only half-pack of cigarettes he had Tang Zheng did not fancy.

“Only twelve bombs left, damn, what a wastrel.” Excluding his own nineteen bombs, Tang Zheng counted the amount in the young man’s waist bag, cursing out of anger, wondering where all the waste went.

Less than five hours on Death Island and eight bombs had been consumed, truly a peculiarity.

The whole fight lasted five minutes, most of which was spent running.

Tang Zheng felt his acting had been quite commendable, worthy of an Oscar for best actor.

Compared to physical confrontation, he much preferred this tactic.

On an island lacking medical supplies, an injury could be very troublesome.

As for using the Furious Queen’s ability to summon the musketeer, Tang Zheng saw her more as a trump card.

Against conceited jerks like this young man, Tang Zheng was confident he didn’t need the two heroes’ help.

Besides, using the abilities would leave him feeling weak, with physical strength dropping by at least 30%.

On this dangerous island, it was better to maintain the best condition possible, as a new enemy could attack within the hour.

After he tidied up, as Tang Zheng continued to look for a place to rest, he took a good look at the dead man’s handheld radar.

It was identical to his, so he could only suppress his doubts, hoping the next test would yield results.

By evening, Tang Zheng finally found a superb dwelling spot.

It was an indentation on the beach, about 300 meters in length, with tall cliffs on either side, perfect for blocking the wind.

Behind was a bamboo grove, sporadically dotted with coconut trees.

Further beyond lay a tropical jungle with intertwining vines spread out everywhere.

Despite having a tent prepared, the cautious Tang Zheng still felt insecure.

He ran out to chop some bamboo and built a simple shed.

He then covered it with some large unidentifiable leaves to block the wind and rain, only then did he nod in satisfaction.

“Let’s catch some sea fish.” Tang Zheng didn’t want to keep consuming his emergency food, so he planned to fish.

He picked a bamboo stick, as thick as his wrist and three meters long.

After removing the leaves and branches, he placed the folding knife vertically at the bottom of the bamboo stick.

He hit it with a stone a few times, successfully splitting a foot-long crevice.

Then he did the same thing horizontally.

His goal was to split the bottom of the bamboo into eight sections, whittled to points, and then insert some tree branches inside, securing it with a rope.

This would create a simple fish spear.

This multi-pronged fish spear was more effective than a pointed bamboo spear for catching fish on the move.

According to the proximity principle, Tang Zheng collected enough firewood for the night and returned to the beach.

Glancing at the darkening sky, he first prepared the tent and blanket, then found a fishing spot close to a large reef.

He made a simple triangular bracket with bamboo, the top covered with dry leaves and dead branches, then ignited it.

By the light of the fire, fish would swim to the area around the bracket.

Standing in seawater knee-high plus a palm’s length, Tang Zheng held the fish spear, adjusted his breathing, and quietly observed the swimming fish.

In less than four minutes, some fish that he couldn’t name swam up to him, occasionally touching his calves, and causing him to shiver in the chill.

With a splash, the fish spear entered the water.

His body, enhanced with strength and agility, made this attack swift as lightning.

When the fish spear was brought up, a nearly foot-long fish was speared onto it.

It flapped vigorously, sprinkling water on Tang Zheng’s face, which felt cool.

“Collection of a delicious dinner task, achieved!” Tang Zheng joked, humming a tune.

He continued fervently, driving away the school of fish only after catching five fish.

Once ashore, Tang Zheng piled up dry firewood and leaves outside his tent.

He then pulled out a magnesium rod and scraped some magnesium powder onto the tinder using his folding knife.

Then he rubbed the magnesium rod vigorously.

Sparks flew on the third try, eventually igniting the tinder – subsequently, the bonfire was lit successfully.

In the crackling sound of the burning fire, a section of the beach was illuminated.

During this tranquil night on an isolated island, the warmth was notably comforting.

Feeling the heat from the flames, Tang Zheng rubbed his hands together and took a deep sigh of relief.

He did carry a windproof lighter, but since he had the opportunity to experience outdoor survival, naturally, he had chosen to use a magnesium rod to make fire.

“A pity, a bowl of fresh soup would have made this perfect.” Tang Zheng skewered the cleaned fish with a tree branch and slowly grilled it.

He saw many mushrooms in the forest, but without proper knowledge, he dared not eat them carelessly.

After all, there was no 911 to call in case of food poisoning.

The radar on him showed no signs of activity, which reassured Tang Zheng.

His initial concern that the bonfire might attract strangers faded.

Little did he knew, a pair of eyes hidden in the dense forest were quietly observing him.

……..

Thank you, reader ‘ToesK’ for your generous reward!