Chapter 182: The Jungle

A student walking at the front glanced back at the man trailing behind the group, carrying a young girl in his arms, and said to the student leading them, “I didn’t expect that guy to come along. I thought he’d stay on the beach and refuse to leave.”

“Hmph, you think he’s not afraid of death?”

After collecting enough shellfish on the beach to fill their stomachs, the students decided to look for other people on the island. Surprisingly, the “human weapon” decided to join them.

They trudged through the sweltering subtropical jungle for about an hour, the heat causing them to sweat profusely. With each passing moment, their throats felt as if they were burning. Although they had solved their food problem, they hadn’t had a drop of water since abandoning their ship and landing on the island two nights ago. They now realized that extreme thirst was far worse than simple hunger.

After walking for another ten minutes, they encountered three paths separated by large trees at a fork in the trail.

“Murai-san, which path should we take?” a student asked the group leader.

Murai stopped and surveyed the area before replying, “Let’s take the left path. It seems much easier to walk along.”

The other students agreed. None of them wanted to continue pushing through the taller-than-human grass that left painful, itchy scratches on their skin.

They had only walked a few dozen meters down the left path when they noticed that many students were no longer following them. Looking back, they saw that a group had instead taken the right path.

“What are those idiots doing?” Murai cursed loudly in frustration.

He ran to catch up to the last student in that group and grabbed their arm. “Why aren’t you following us? If you get lost, I’m not coming to save you.”

“I was just following the others.”

Looking ahead, they saw that the man was leading the group down the right path, followed by all the female students and a few male students who had been influenced by groupthink(herd mentality).

Seeing that so many students trusted that man instead of him, Murai felt a surge of intense anger.

“Murai-san, what should we do now?”

“Maybe we should follow them. It feels risky to go alone with just a few of us.”

Murai sneered. “Go ahead if you want. Run and cozy up to that guy.”

“Murai-san, that’s too much. It doesn’t matter who leads, as long as we can get out of this hellish place.”

“And how do you know that guy can lead you out?”

“That’s why we should follow and find out. I’m done talking to you. Catch up if you want.” Seeing the other group moving farther away, the student ended the conversation and ran to join them.

The remaining students glanced at Murai’s livid face before deciding to follow as well.

Left alone on the empty path, Murai hesitated. The thought of walking alone made him uneasy—what if he encountered a wild animal? After a moment of internal struggle, he decided his life was more important than his pride. Gritting his teeth, he ran after the others, cursing the man in his mind as he did.

Meanwhile, seeing the growing group trailing behind him, Lei Yin frowned.

He stopped and turned to the students closest to him. “Don’t follow me. I’m not planning to look for people.”

The students looked at him in surprise. “Then where are you going?”

Lei Yin glanced at them briefly. “I’m looking for a water source.”

In a subtropical forest, finding water isn’t particularly difficult. By locating areas where ants, snails, mosquitoes, and other moisture-loving insects gathered, one could usually find shallow groundwater nearby.

Lei Yin had found similar shallow groundwater near the jungle bordering the beach. However, the water there had a greenish hue and a bitter taste. He deduced that it contained copper salts, which could damage vocal cords and cause muteness if consumed. Thus, he ventured deeper into the jungle to search for other sources.

“Aren’t you going to look for people living on the island?”

“Not until I’ve solved the water and food issues.”

“Gennai-san, can we come with you?” a female student asked timidly.

“Suit yourself.” Lei Yin wasn’t the type to chase away people who hadn’t wronged him, so he ignored them and continued walking with Amy in his arms.

The other students quickly followed him. After everything that had happened recently, they knew that Lei Yin was the only one truly skilled in wilderness survival. They instinctively gravitated toward him.

Noticing Lei Yin marking trees as he walked, Mitsuaki, who was walking beside him, asked, “Gennai-san, do you think there are people living on this island?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that so far, I haven’t seen any lights or man-made objects.”

“Could it really be that this island is a completely deserted place?”

“I can only say it’s possible.”

After walking for another half an hour or so, several girls’ screams suddenly came from behind.

“Gennai, let’s go check out what’s happening,” Mitsuaki said urgently.

Lei Yin shook his head helplessly. It was proving to be as much trouble as he’d expected to stay with these kids.

When they arrived, one of the girls immediately grabbed his arm and cried out, “Gennai, do something! There are some disgusting bugs crawling on their feet, and they can’t get them off no matter how hard they try.”

Lei Yin glanced at the panicked girls, who were crying and shouting as they tried to shake off the bugs. It didn’t take him long to figure out the problem.

He walked up to one girl who was jumping wildly, trying to fling the creatures off her feet. Grabbing her by the arm, he said, “Stop screaming. These are leeches. They’re not poisonous; they just suck blood.”

“Please, just get them off! I’m begging you!” The girl clung tightly to his shirt, sobbing hysterically.

Lei Yin felt like his T-shirt might be torn apart. “Stand still.”

“I won’t move! Just hurry, please!” The girl froze in place immediately.

Setting the little girl he was carrying down on the ground, Lei Yin pulled out a lighter from his pocket. He picked up some dry grass from the ground and lit it. Once it caught fire, he quickly extinguished the flames, allowing the smoldering smoke to rise. He brought the smoking grass close to the leech on the girl’s foot and smoked it out. In just a few seconds, the leech fell to the ground, curling up into a ball.

“There, it’s off now.”

Seeing the disgusting bug finally gone, the girl quickly stopped crying. She looked up at him with immense gratitude. “Thank you, Gennai!”

Lei Yin noticed several other students with the same problem. He turned to the male students and said, “Go help them. Remember, don’t pull the leeches off forcefully. Use smoke, or their heads will stay embedded in the skin and keep sucking.”

Seizing the opportunity to play heroes, the male students immediately rushed to assist the prettier girls, while the others—both less attractive girls and neglected boys—had to borrow lighters to remove the leeches themselves.

For those who’ve never been to a tropical jungle, it’s hard to comprehend the dangers lurking there.

The jungle is filled with countless hazards, the most common being venomous snakes, mosquitoes carrying malaria, fleas that can cause typhus, poisonous spiders, and fierce predators. Beyond these creatures, there are also poisonous plants and bottomless swamps that can claim lives.

While it’s relatively easy to deal with larger animals, the real danger lies in threats that are difficult to detect. This was why Lei Yin had initially insisted that Amy stay on the beach instead of following him into the jungle.

But with prior incidents as lessons learned, Lei Yin now had no choice but to bring her along while searching for potable water. Meanwhile, the foreign couple they had met were tasked with staying on the beach to send smoke signals for help.

As the group ventured deeper into the jungle, the number of insects and plants increased, some harmless, but others intolerable. As a result, it seemed like someone in the group was screaming every few steps.

Lei Yin ignored the constant cacophony of cries, pressing on without a pause.

Eventually, the utterly exhausted Mitsuaki could no longer hold back. “Gennai, can we rest for a bit?”

“No,” Lei Yin replied without looking back. “We need to find clean water today and get back before it gets dark. There’s no extra time to waste.”

Realizing it was futile to argue, Mitsuaki could only grit his teeth and keep walking.

The other students, who had been hoping for a break, now wore dejected expressions. Yet, none dared to fall behind.

At the back of the group, Murai intentionally raised his voice. “How much longer do we have to follow this guy? Why are we even listening to him? He’s just wandering aimlessly!”

After a while, Murai, expecting someone to agree with him, was filled with resentment when he realized no one had paid him any attention. Left with no choice, he begrudgingly trailed the group, muttering curses under his breath. As much as he loathed following them, he didn’t dare stay alone in the wild jungle either.

After some more walking, Lei Yin suddenly stopped and stood still.

“What’s wrong, Gennai?” Mitsuaki asked as he came up beside him.

Lei Yin suddenly motioned for him to stop talking.

Mitsuaki looked at him, puzzled.

After a while, Lei Yin placed the little girl on the ground and pressed his ear to the earth. Listening carefully for a moment, he picked Amy up again and headed to the left.

Seeing him move again, the others quickly followed.

“Lei Yin, what’s going on?” Mitsuaki asked when he noticed a slight change in Lei Yin’s expression.

Lei Yin continued walking and replied, “If I didn’t mishear, we might have found a water source.”

“Are you serious?” Mitsuaki’s face lit up with joy.

Without answering, Lei Yin quickened his pace, moving decisively in a single direction.

After walking for about ten more minutes, the group noticed the terrain becoming slightly elevated, resembling a mountainous area.

When Lei Yin pushed aside a cluster of wild grass taller than a person, he finally saw the source of the water sound—a hot spring about ten meters across, steaming continuously. The bubbling sound he had heard earlier came from the boiling water rising from the spring’s depths.

Lei Yin quickly went to the spring, scooped up some water, and tasted it. Thankfully, while it had a faint sulfuric taste, it seemed safe to drink.

The students who had caught up stared in disbelief at the hot spring. Once they confirmed it wasn’t a dream, they burst out cheering or hugged one another, resembling a group of refugees who had just been rescued.

“Lei Yin, is this water drinkable?” Mitsuaki anxiously asked after Lei Yin finished testing it.

“It should be.”

“That’s amazing!” Mitsuaki shouted in excitement.

Lei Yin removed the large leaves he had used to shield Amy from insects and scooped some of the hot spring water to clean the little girl’s dirt-streaked face.

“Lei, it feels like I’m dreaming,” Amy said innocently.

Lei Yin couldn’t help but laugh. “It does seem a bit surreal. This journey went from a shipwreck survival story to a deserted island adventure, and now it’s turned into a hot spring retreat with unlimited seafood. Looks like this trip is an absolute bargain.”

The little girl didn’t fully understand his words and just stared at him with her big, round eyes.

A hot spring in one location usually indicates the presence of other hot springs nearby. After quenching their thirst, Lei Yin took the little girl with him to search for a spring with a suitable temperature for bathing. Having gone so many days without a proper wash, even someone like Lei Yin, who wasn’t overly fussy, felt uncomfortable. For Amy, with her delicate skin, it must have been even worse. Yet, the little girl had been remarkably obedient and hadn’t complained once.

After exploring the area, he found a spring suitable for bathing. He noticed it because a group of monkeys was soaking comfortably in it.

In Japan, a country famous for its abundance of hot springs, not only people but even local monkeys have a penchant for enjoying them—a quirky feature of the country.

Although chasing away the native residents enjoying their warm soak seemed a bit heartless, Lei Yin decided to do so anyway to avoid scaring Amy. He drove off the monkeys with minimal commotion.

While some girls at eleven or twelve years old might show significant physical development, Amy was not among them. Because of this, Lei Yin had no qualms about sharing the bath with her.

As Lei Yin washed the little girl’s hair, she happily splashed and played in the water.

Seeing two small, reddened scrapes on her arm from brushing against wild grass, Lei Yin felt a pang of guilt. For Amy, this might be the first time in her life she’d endured such hardship—not only going without food and drink but also risking her life navigating the jungle and almost being trampled by scavenging animals. She might not have realized the danger, but Lei Yin understood all too well how perilous it had been.

Gently stroking her small face, Lei Yin felt a wave of remorse.

The little girl looked back at him, her eyes wide and unblinking.