Chapter 11
As the night grew deeper, the forest air turned cold fast.
'Heh. I don't know who made it, but they did a pretty good job.'
The temporary shelter I was lying in had a huge rock behind it blocking a good bit of the wind, and the leaf roof kept out the chill well enough too.
In other words, it was doing its job as a shelter perfectly.
There was just one problem.
"Ugh..."
Yerin was shivering beside me.
She was a streamer—more specifically, one of those girl-streamers. What kind of life do you think she usually lived?
Wearing luxury-brand clothes, lazing around in a comfortable home, and falling asleep on a soft bed, probably.
And now someone like that was sleeping on leaves in the middle of a damp jungle.
I'd watched so many documentaries that a situation like this felt familiar enough for me to handle.
For Yerin, though, this probably felt like hell.
On top of that, bugs she hated kept crawling out from between the leaves.
'But she's holding up surprisingly well.'
She whines, sure, but she doesn't hesitate to pitch in.
Anything I tell her to do, she does right away.
She dug through dirt, hauled branches, and even helped dig up yams.
I was impressed enough that I decided to award her one praise sticker.
As if this were no time for dumb little jokes, Yerin kept groaning and tossing around.
"Ugh..."
At first, I thought she was just uncomfortable because of the environment.
But no matter how I looked at it, the way she was now... looked like the early signs of hypothermia.
Once your body temperature starts dropping, your breathing gets rough, and if it gets any worse, you can lose consciousness and collapse.
I was probably going to have to take some drastic measures.
Looking at Yerin, whose shoulders were trembling, I said,
"Yerin."
"Mmm..."
Her voice sounded practically half-gone.
She could barely even open her eyes. It was serious.
After hesitating for a moment, I spread my arms toward Yerin.
"If you're cold, hug me."
"...Huh?"
Yerin blinked slowly.
Embarrassed for no reason, I turned my eyes away and muttered,
"If we're going to keep your body temperature up, it can't be helped. This is the only way."
Yerin stared blankly at me for a moment, then immediately burrowed into my arms.
No, maybe it was more accurate to say that, with how small I'd become, I was the one buried in Yerin's arms.
Whump.
"...!"
She hugged me way more naturally than I'd expected.
I felt like a teddy bear.
Clutching my hoodie tightly, Yerin mumbled,
"Warm...."
"That's a relief."
"Rils."
"Yeah."
"You're a good kid...."
Her voice was heavy with sleep. For a girl streamer, today must have been unbelievably exhausting.
The warmth of our bodies touching made my chest feel strangely ticklish, so I shut my eyes tight.
Rustle rustle.
Even Baby came wriggling in between us.
Flick.
"...Baby, you must've been cold too."
Inside the cramped shelter.
One lizard.
One girl streamer.
And me.
With all three of us pressed together, the first night on the deserted island came to an end.
@
The Streamer Gallery was still as rowdy as ever, even late into the night.
The reason was simple.
One regular had managed to stir up a proper shitstorm earlier.
[I'll bet 50 hambugis that that little punk Rils gets eliminated on day one]
Author: GirlCamLover
The post had already been immortalized in the featured posts.
Upvotes: 1,320.
The gallery regulars quietly started picking up stones one by one.
[GirlCamLover, you little shit, where are the hambugis?]
Author: (124.55)
You said you'd hand out burgers if Rils made it through day oneㅇㅇ
You know what happens when a man goes back on his word, right?
ㄴLMAO
ㄴNo running now
ㄴPinned forever
ㄴRils is doing just fine, though?
ㄴHe even found water and food
ㄴAnd built a shelter too lol
ㄴSurvival GOAT
ㄴGirlCamLover getting ready to run
ㄴLaunch the hambugi seizure raid
ㄴI knew he was no ordinary case from the moment he started messing with shit
ㄴThat just made him look like a crazy bitch
ㄴHe definitely is crazy
ㄴBut he's competent
ㄴNongnongnongnongnong
[Live update: GirlCamLover now]
Author: (211.90)
Ignoring all the comment alerts and pretending to be offline lol
Pathetic, you bastard
ㄴNo way that asshole actually ran?
ㄴIf a grown man goes back on his word like that, they oughta cut his dick offㅇㅇ
ㄴHag-squad behavior lol
ㄴServes him right for looking down on Rils
ㄴIsn't that bastard actually the one watching hardest out of anyone?
ㄴfr, he trashes Rils nonstop but always makes sure to watch Rils's party screen
ㄴAt this point he's basically a stalker fan
ㄴYou've totally fallen under the Rils spell lol
And at that very moment.
The regular in question, GirlCamLover, was.
Grinding his teeth as he glared at Rils on his screen.
"...Fuck."
At first, he'd only meant to stir up some attention by dogpiling an easy small-time streamer.
But.
Who knew he'd hold out this well?
He wasn't just holding out, either.
On the first day alone, he'd found water, built a shelter, and secured food.
He even knew how to judge what was dangerous.
He might be tiny, but the way he acts is enough to put survival experts to shame.
GirlCamLover stared blankly at Rils on the screen.
A face caked in dirt.
A little kid sleeping with a lizard in his arms.
"...What the hell is that kid's deal?"
Could it be that...
Bear Grylls is actually his buddy or something?
Even absurd thoughts like that were starting to cross his mind.
GirlCamLover opened his gallery log.
20,000 posts.
30,000 comments.
50,000 total.
It was an account he'd carefully nurtured over years of living in the Streamer Gallery.
Honestly.
It was way too precious to abandon over 50 hambugis.
And with how the gallery idiots were, they were obviously going to keep bringing it up for months until he paid out.
'Ah, fuck....'
With trembling hands, GirlCamLover opened the payment page.
It felt like tears of blood were streaming from his eyes.
A little later.
A new post went up in the gallery.
[Giving away 50 hambugis]
Author: GirlCamLover
(Proof shot of 50 hambugi coupons)
Happy now, you bastards?
Fuck me, looks like I'm living on ramen from today on.
ㄴDamn, he really did it
ㄴㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴUpvoted
ㄴWhat a man
ㄴThank you, Rils. Thank you, Rils. Thank you, Rils. Thank you, Rils.
ㄴGirlCamLover's cooler than I expected lol
ㄴThanks for the hambugi
ㄴHe actually handed them out
ㄴIf he'd run, he'd have gotten clowned on for a year
ㄴThanks for the free hambugi, Rils!
ㄴOm nom nom nom nom nom
ㄴGirlCamLover, you're a Rils fan now, right?
ㄴ(GirlCamLover): Shut up, you Nongnong idiots;; that'll never happen over my dead body
Thanks to the free hambugi giveaway, public opinion on Rils rose even more in the Streamer Gallery.
@
Lick.
I jolted awake at the damp sensation.
"...Ugh."
Familiar yellow eyes were right in front of me.
Baby was perched on my stomach, flicking its tongue.
Morning sunlight filtered into the shelter in thin strands through the gaps between the leaves.
"Hup!"
I stretched and sat up.
My body felt stiff.
Sleeping on the hard ground had made my back ache. On the other side, Yerin was still squirming around, hugging leaves instead of a blanket.
"...Ugh...."
"Wake up. It's morning."
"...Five more minutes."
I let out a small laugh and crawled out of the shelter.
"Ahh! The air feels great!"
The morning air was more refreshing than I'd expected.
It carried a mix of overnight dew and the smell of earth.
First, I needed to wake myself up properly.
I walked over to the puddle in the crack between the rocks, skimmed the junk off the top, and splashed water onto my face.
Splash.
"Khh!"
The water was freezing.
My sleepy mind snapped awake instantly.
At this rate, even a hibernating bear would wake right up.
Yerin came out a moment later and crouched beside me with a sleepy face. Then she only dipped her fingertips lightly into the puddle.
"The water... is way too cold."
"Wash up."
"What if I go into cardiac arrest washing with cold water?"
"You smell."
"...?!"
Yerin looked shocked, sniffed her own arm, and then hurriedly started splashing water over herself.
Splash.
"Eek! This is seriously way too cold!"
She must've slept pretty well, because she was noisy first thing in the morning.
Shaking the water off my face, I said,
"Today I'm going to look for a better place to set up camp."
"Mm."
"We need to make a fire too. It gets colder at night than I expected."
"So we're finally getting hot food?"
"Probably."
"There you go again with probably...."
We headed deeper into the jungle again, looking for a better spot.
And after walking for a while.
Rustle.
The view ahead suddenly opened up.
"...Oh."
Dense green pillars rose high into the sky.
It was a bamboo grove.
Whenever the wind blew, the long bamboo stalks knocked against each other with a dry scraping sound.
Sunlight shattered through the leaves as it spilled down.
Yerin looked around too, her face full of awe.
"Wow... It looks like a scene from a movie."
I stared at the bamboo with shining eyes.
Bamboo is excellent material.
Bamboo shoots are edible, and there's water inside the stalks too, so you can drink from them.
More than anything, bamboo is ridiculously useful.
You can make water containers or bowls out of it.
You can sharpen the ends and turn them into spears.
You can use it as a frame and build a pretty decent shelter.
"If we can get some of this, life really gets easier."
I picked up a stone nearby and slammed it against a bamboo stalk.
Whack!
It was so hard it didn't budge.
I swung again with all my strength.
Whack! Whack!
It only left a few scratches on the surface, and a little of the water the bamboo was holding trickled out through them.
"Tsk...."
All I did was scrape up my palm for nothing. It stung.
This stuff...
was tougher than it looked, huh?
Yerin let out a small laugh beside me.
"No matter what, smashing bamboo with a rock is asking too much."
"Be quiet."
Blowing on my palm, I muttered,
"Looks like I need a knife after all."
As I looked around for any fallen bamboo, I heard voices nearby.
"Huh? There's someone over there!"
Three people emerged from beyond the brush.
One man and two women.
The man had a familiar face.
He was the big bear-like guy who'd given me candy at Mister Rich's building.
But.
Something felt off.
Only the man's hands were loaded down with gear.
In one hand was a big blade that looked like a machete.
In the other were several items he'd bought through the API.
Meanwhile, the two women behind him were empty-handed.
And to top it off.
"Oppa, water."
"Oh, here."
"Carry this too. It's heavy."
"Okay."
He was a complete sucker.
Is this what people mean when they say a guy is "sweet"? Or something like that?
Either way, he looked like a total idiot.
The bear-like man widened his eyes the moment he saw me.
"Oh? Lizard kid?"
"...It's Rils."
He waved with a friendly smile. Meanwhile, Yerin had already drifted over to the women and started chatting away like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Hello~"
"Oh my. You're Yerin, right?"
"Wow, you're even prettier in person. How did you do your makeup?"
"Oh, you're flattering me too much. With makeup, obviously."
Girl talk started immediately.
"Seriously, aren't there way too many bugs here?"
"Right? I seriously thought I was going to die in my sleep last night."
"Honestly, I kind of just want to give up."
"Exactly! This really isn't something people are meant to do."
I watched them from a distance.
I hated noisy crowds.
Should I just dump Yerin into this group and make a run for it?
While I was considering that, the bear-like man cautiously approached me.
"What are you doing?"
"Morning walk."
At my curt answer, the man awkwardly glanced around at the bamboo and lowered his voice.
"Have you seen any water nearby?"
"..."
I glanced toward Yerin, then gave the tiniest shake of my head.
A signal telling her not to say a word.
The moment she saw that, Yerin blinked once, then kept talking with a smile as if nothing had happened.
"Seriously, it got so cold last night~"
She's quick on the uptake, at least.
I wouldn't have minded sharing the location of the water source with them, but there was no way I was giving away for free information we'd busted our asses to get yesterday.
To begin with, I'm not actually that nice a person.
Out here, everyone's a competitor.
Cradling Baby again as it munched on a bug, I said to the bear-like man,
"I haven't seen any. Well then, I'm off."
Yerin must've had ridiculously sharp ears, because she immediately came trotting over to me.
Seeing that, the bear-like man said with a disappointed look,
"How about moving together? Survival would be easier if we teamed up."
I looked them over for a moment.
The women in his group were clearly against it. They were staring at Baby in my arms, happily crunching on a bug, with disgust written all over their faces.
"Oppa, isn't that a bit much? You should ask us what we think too."
Two women.
One sucker.
And a machete.
Honestly, the machete looked useful, but the downsides seemed bigger than the benefits.
The big guy looked usable as a porter or a meat shield, but those two freeloading women were the real problem.
A useless ally is scarier than a competent enemy.
I shook my head and said,
"It's fine. I'm more comfortable traveling alone."
The bear-like man scratched his head awkwardly.
"Ah. Then it can't be helped."
I turned around immediately.
Behind me, Yerin hurriedly came after me.
"Hey, let's go together! Don't ditch me...!"
I'd been about to quietly leave her there and go, but she caught me.