Chapter 55
[But isn't stealing a rabbit caught in someone else's trap shameless?]
Author: Rils Love Squad
Taking a rabbit caught in someone else's trap is kind of messed upㅋㅋ
I'm itching to say something harsh.
ㄴIt's a survival game.
ㄴI don't know.
ㄴFrom the Putty Party's standpoint, they just found it lying on the road.
ㄴBy that logic, is it okay to pick up a wallet lying on the street?
ㄴAre you living in la-la land? Most people would pick up a wallet if they saw one lying there.
ㄴFuck, it still is a fact that they have no conscience.
ㄴBoth sides seem to have a point.
[Rils stole HaeruTV's turban shells too]
Author: (123.77)
No hypocrisy here.
Stealing shells is okay, but stealing a rabbit isn't?
ㄴIn tidal foraging, whoever picks something up first owns it.
ㄴThat thing was caught in a trap, you idiot.
ㄴWhat's the difference?
ㄴThe trap was made by the Rils Party themselves.
ㄴYou fuckers, this is UFC Survival. There are no rules like that—if you see it, you pick it up.
ㄴFor real.
ㄴIt's ambiguous.
[But I can understand the Putty Party too]
Author: (118.77)
They found free meat on a deserted island.
If it were me, I'd take it too.
ㄴHonestly, fair.
ㄴI'd take it too.
ㄴBut they did know it was someone else's trap.
ㄴThey said they thought it was a trap left by someone who had been eliminated.
ㄴHmm…
ㄴThat's just self-defense. They took it knowing full well.
ㄴㅋㅋㅋㅋ Fuck, this gallery is a mess.
The gallery mod shook his head as he watched the state of the forum.
This topic had already been going on for more than ten hours.
A rising supernova like Rils had gotten into a conflict with a streamer who had a devoted fanbase.
In a way, that was only natural, but this was getting excessive.
Public opinion was roughly eight to two in Rils's favor.
It was further proof of just how popular Rils was.
Anyway, it was about time to change the subject.
They couldn't keep cursing each other out and fighting forever.
This was when his role as the moderator was needed.
Tap, tap, tap.
Along with the sound of the keyboard, a post went up in the gallery.
[Enough with this topic]
Author: The Mod
I know you're pissed, but it's been the same topic for over ten hours.
Fuck, stop fanning the flames so much.
You haven't forgotten this is a survival game, right?
This is content where they win even if they have to act like villains.
Don't shit up the gallery. Go rant in the chat instead.
From now on, fighting over this topic gets you a 30-day banㅇㅇ
ㄴI agree.
ㄴㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴYou're doing a great job staying neutralㅋㅋ
ㄴEven the gallery owner would've taken it.
ㄴHuh? I'd have said, 'Jackpot,' and grabbed it right away.
ㄴCan't argue with that;;
ㄴFor real.
@
Whiiir.
The sound of a drone replacing the alarm woke us up.
I rubbed my eyes and looked up at the ceiling. A familiar mechanical voice came from the drone.
[Day 9 on the deserted island.]
[Two participants have been eliminated.]
[There are currently eight participants remaining.]
[We wish all participants good luck.]
I already knew that.
We had watched HaeruTV get eliminated with our own eyes.
Then, perhaps wondering about what had happened yesterday, Yerin asked me,
“Rils.”
“Yep.”
“But yesterday, those eliminated people were shouting something about getting revenge on you as they ran toward the pool. Did something happen between you and them?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep.”
Even after hearing my answer, Yerin still looked at me suspiciously. My conscience pricked at me, but I really hadn't done anything.
All I did was pick up some shells that had fallen on the ground.
To avoid her uncomfortable stare, I lightly shrugged.
“More importantly.”
“Hm?”
“We're running out of time.”
“What is?”
I spread all five fingers on one hand.
“There are only five days left of our time on the deserted island.”
I had thought two weeks would be plenty, but once we arrived and started living so busily, it felt incredibly short.
There was still so much I hadn't done.
I hadn't caught an octopus, and I hadn't explored every corner of the island yet.
I also wanted to make a fish trap and a hammock.
“The time is too short.”
“There are still five days left.”
“I still have a mountain of things I want to do.”
Yerin looked at me as if she couldn't believe me.
“Rils. Don't people usually think about winning first in a situation like this?”
“Winning would be nice if we do, and a shame if we don't. First, let's eat.”
I pointed at the bamboo tube in which I had stored seawater yesterday.
Inside were the shellfish we had gathered while foraging at low tide.
Since they had been left in there overnight, they should have finished purging by now.
Even after shellfish have finished purging, it's best to wash off the sand and mud stuck to their shells.
And most importantly, there was the abalone we'd saved yesterday.
That precious wild-caught abalone was still there.
We had eaten grilled turban shells over charcoal, so I wanted to prepare the abalone in a different way today…
Perhaps in a soup, or steamed.
“Ms. Yerin, which do you prefer, soup or steamed?”
“I like both. As long as there aren't any larvae, I don't care.”
“Actually, I can only steam it. We don't have a pot.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“Just because.”
If we'd had a pot, we could have made shellfish soup.
I quickly finished organizing my thoughts.
Steaming was perfectly possible even without a steamer.
“Mr. Kim Woong.”
“Yes! Benefactor!”
Kim Woong, who had been adding firewood to the hearth, answered energetically.
“We need palm leaves, so please go tear some off for us.”
“Understood!”
Kim Woong immediately jumped to his feet and headed into the jungle.
He wasn't a robot, so how did he move within one second whenever I told him to do something?
I picked up the bamboo tube containing the abalone and shellfish and said,
“Then let's get moving too.”
We had to wash the shellfish.
And we had to clean the abalone.
So I hoisted Baby up and walked toward the water source with Yerin.
@
When we arrived near the water source, we heard voices.
“Going back and forth is a lot of work.”
“It certainly is.”
“It would've been better if the water source were closer.”
We stopped at the unfamiliar voices coming from ahead.
“It seems like there are people here.”
“Who could it be…?”
Yerin lowered her voice as well and surveyed the area.
I cautiously hid behind the brush, then poked my head out to look around.
Three people.
They were squatting near the water source, washing their faces and filling plastic bottles with water.
One of them looked familiar.
“Oh.”
Putty.
He was the man I'd traded a jungle knife for information about the water source with.
It seemed he had joined a party.
He must have been the one who told his group where the water source was.
Well, it wasn't particularly surprising.
I had never expected him to keep the secret forever, and I had received a knife in exchange for it.
I'd been using the jungle knife well, so the deal had worked out just fine.
If anything, I might have benefited more.
I naturally examined the other two people.
The man looked quite tall.
He seemed easily over 180 centimeters tall and had an appearance reminiscent of a male idol.
His skin was fair, and his face was clean-cut and handsome.
The woman standing beside him had strikingly fair skin.
She was standing in the sunlight, but her skin looked as though it were reflecting the light.
Her features were distinct too, and, well…
She had the kind of looks that would make you turn around at least once if you passed her on the street.
Of course, she didn't have a figure as eye-catching as Yerin's.
The difference in the bust was a little…
Yerin, who had been secretly watching them, clicked her tongue softly.
“Tsk.”
“Why?”
“Why is she there? I thought she'd been eliminated ages ago.”
Yerin glared at the woman with an expression of open displeasure.
“Do you know each other?”
“We do know each other. But we're not close.”
Whatever happened over there was their business.
We just had to do what we needed to do.
We weren't criminals hiding from the police after committing a crime, so there was no reason for us to stay like this.
“There's nothing for us to worry about. Let's go.”
“Yeah.”
Just as we were about to move.
‘Huh?’
I noticed a strange movement among them and quickly gestured to Yerin.
It was a gesture telling her to wait a little longer.
The skinny man casually walked toward the direction where the trap had been set.
‘What?’
A prickling sensation shot through my mind.
The knot had been untied far too neatly when I checked the trap.
And there had been that inexplicable feeling of unease.
All the clues connected, and one possibility formed in my mind.
These people might be the ones who untied the knot.
“What are you doing?”
“…!”
Startled by the sudden voice, all three of them turned their heads at once.
I pushed through the brush and stepped outside. Then I pointed at the trap.
“That's our trap.”
Their expressions froze for a moment, like animals caught in a trap. Putty in particular visibly flinched.
But that lasted only a moment. The three of them quickly composed themselves.
I suppose that's what you expect from streamers.
They hid every sign of panic in an instant.
Putty was the first to wave his hands from side to side and speak.
“It seems there's been a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Yes.”
Putty put on a friendly smile.
“Mr. Rils. We just thought it was interesting that there was a trap here, so we took a look. We were wondering whether it had been made by participants who had been eliminated, that's all.”
“Ah.”
“Surely you don't think we'd touch a trap someone else made.”
“I see.”
I nodded.
It was a perfectly plausible explanation, but it was still suspicious.
Yerin seemed to be thinking the same thing and immediately challenged them.
“Then why were you so startled?”
“Excuse me?”
“The moment we came out, all of you had exactly the expression of thieves caught in the act.”
“Haha.”
Putty laughed awkwardly.
“That's because someone suddenly appeared. It's not easy to meet people on a deserted island, is it?”
The woman standing beside Putty immediately joined in.
“Sister Yerin, anyone would be startled if someone suddenly appeared in a place like this. We didn't do anything.”
“Oh, is that so? Then why were you checking out someone else's trap like a rat?”
“Th-that was because it was interesting! And isn't calling someone a rat a bit much? Have some class.”
Yerin still looked suspicious, but she didn't press them any further.
To be honest, we had no clear evidence.
The trap that had been untied yesterday and these people's actions felt connected somehow, but we couldn't just call them the culprits without definite proof.
The skinny man, who had been watching the situation, lightly bowed his head and greeted us.
“I'm Jay. It's nice to meet people again after so long. This is Baek Seol-ah, and since you and Mr. Putty seem to know each other, there's no need for a separate introduction. We really did just look because the trap was interesting.”
Baek Seol-ah's gaze turned toward my arms.
More precisely, toward Baby, who was quietly nestled there.
“Ugh… It's gross.”
Then she took a step back.
This b*tch?
How could anyone think Baby wasn't adorable?
I gently stroked Baby's head, which must have been hurt by that, and Baby narrowed its eyes happily.
An awkward standoff continued.
I took the shellfish that had finished purging out of the bamboo tube and began washing them in the running water.
I didn't particularly have anything to say to them, and we had come here to wash the shellfish in the first place.
“……”
In the uncomfortable silence, Yerin spoke first.
“Aren't you all busy?”
Yerin was smiling sweetly, but her words seemed to have thorns on them.
Sensing the atmosphere, Putty cleared his throat and spoke.
“Ahem… Then, we'll be going.”
They picked up their plastic bottles full of water and left.
Their behavior was suspicious, but there was no point arguing in a situation like this.
Even if they were the ones who had tampered with the trap, now that they knew we'd noticed, they wouldn't dare touch it carelessly anymore.
If they did, it would mean war.
We had Kim Woong, so even if we fought them head-on, we'd have a zero percent chance of losing.
If you're confident, bring it on.
If you want to be folded like a flip phone by a monster who can total 600 kilograms across the three big lifts.