Chapter 9
In the cruise ship's studio.
Mister Rich stood with his arms crossed, looking at the massive wall of monitors.
The screens of all twenty participants were lined up there.
One person was roaming the shoreline in search of food.
Another was gathering branches and struggling to start a fire.
Another was fishing for donations while buying supplies through the API system.
Mister Rich laughed, sounding surprised.
“They’re all doing better than I expected. I guess people really are adaptable creatures.”
The survival expert seated beside him slowly nodded.
“It seems most of the streamers did at least some studying before coming on.”
That was true.
Maybe it was because the prize money was so high, but most of the contestants were taking this far more seriously than expected.
So far, not a single elimination had happened.
A few participants stood out in particular.
A woman who had already bought herself a tent with an overwhelming amount of donations.
A group that had already banded together.
And even Reels, calmly drinking water from a crack in the rocks with his face plastered in mud.
“But, Professor.”
Mister Rich asked with a smile.
“Which contestant looks the most ahead of the pack in your eyes?”
The survival expert thought for a moment.
His gaze slowly swept over the monitors, then stopped on the screen showing Reels.
“…If I had to pick just one.”
He slowly opened his mouth.
“Wouldn’t it be Reels?”
“Oh.”
Mister Rich’s eyebrows rose slightly at that answer.
The survival expert pointed at the streamers on the screens with an impassive face.
“Most of the contestants are still focused on securing shelter or food.”
“Right.”
“And for water, they’re relying on API donations.”
Then, after seeming to think for a moment, he continued.
“Honestly, at this stage, that’s the normal call to make.”
Water is essential for survival. But at the same time, it’s also the cheapest item.
In a system like this, that meant water was something money could solve. And most of the contestants were streamers with decent pull, too.
“But Reels is different.”
The expert’s gaze settled on Reels on the screen.
“He secured a water source first.”
“He definitely was the fastest out of all the contestants.”
“That’s enormous.”
The survival expert said it firmly.
“A person can’t last long without water. Especially not in a tropical environment like that.”
Sweat.
Dehydration.
Loss of stamina.
Deteriorating judgment.
In survival, water is your lifeline.
“Right now, they’re all hanging on with donations.”
He smiled meaningfully.
“But what if those donations slowly start to dry up?”
Mister Rich understood at once.
“…Then they’re finished.”
The survival expert nodded.
“Reels, on the other hand, has already secured water and received a full ten million won in donations.”
“Yes.”
“If he uses that to buy essential gear like a firesteel.”
Mister Rich picked up the thread.
“Then that means he secures fire too.”
“Exactly.”
Fire and water.
The two core pillars of survival.
He had essentially solved both in barely half a day.
And by a kid that small, no less.
The survival expert let out a faint chuckle.
“On top of that, his judgment is incredibly cool-headed.”
On the screen, Reels and Yerin had even planted branches near the rocks to mark the location.
So it would be easy to find the water source again.
And as if that weren’t enough, they had already started preparing to build a shelter a little ways away from it.
Mister Rich asked, sounding puzzled.
“But is there a reason to deliberately set up a shelter away from the water?”
The survival expert stroked his chin.
“As I said just now, water is essential for survival.”
“Yes.”
“That’s true for humans, but.”
He looked toward the dark jungle on the screen.
“It’s true for animals too.”
“Ah.”
“Especially at night, there’s a high chance animals will move around in search of water.”
In other words.
If you slept right beside the water source, it would be no different from lying down in the middle of an animal trail.
“I believe they’re keeping their distance on purpose.”
“That’s impressive. Really.”
Mister Rich gave a small laugh.
Then he looked at Reels, calmly moving branches around with a mud-caked face on the monitor.
“…That streamer, Reels.”
The corners of Mister Rich’s mouth slowly lifted.
“He gets more and more tempting by the minute.”
@
Yerin grumbled as she hugged an armful of branches.
“If we’re going to build one anyway, wouldn’t it be better to do it properly? What if we make it half-assed and it collapses in the middle of the night?”
After pulling the age card, Yerin had naturally started speaking to me casually.
Since she really was older than me, I didn’t particularly mind.
I shook my head as I gathered up the broad leaves scattered on the ground.
“Today, we’re just making something we can sleep in.”
“…Why?”
“I don’t like this building site.”
Yerin’s face filled with disbelief.
“What, you’re being picky about the house site on a deserted island?”
“It matters.”
I calmly looked around.
Damp soil.
Dense jungle.
And a water source nearby.
At a glance, it looked like a good place to set up camp, but the more closely I looked, the more drawbacks I saw.
“It’s too humid here, so we’ll get bitten by bugs.”
I nudged the squelchy mud with the tip of my foot.
“And if it rains, this place is going to turn into a total mud pit.”
“Aha.”
Chirrrrrrr.
As if agreeing with me, insects droned nearby.
Yerin’s face soured a little.
So she wasn’t scared of lizards, but she hated bugs.
She’d acted tough in front of me when she got that shot, too.
A scared dog always barks louder.
“And the water’s too close.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“It is, but.”
I jerked my chin toward the puddle in the crack between the rocks.
“Bugs and animals go crazy for water too.”
“…Ah.”
Only then did Yerin nod like she finally understood.
“So for today, we’re only building a temporary shelter. At least until we find a better place.”
I leaned branches of a suitable length against a rock of decent size.
“Just enough to hide in and get some sleep.”
“Then what about tomorrow?”
“We’ll keep exploring the island and find a proper spot.”
Somewhere far enough from the water source, easy to find food near, and not too humid.
If possible, a place with good airflow would be best.
A natural breeze helps keep bugs away.
Yerin stared at me for a long time like I was some strange creature, then asked in a small voice.
“…Have you actually lived on a deserted island before? Or were your parents some kind of off-grid survivalists?”
“My parents? They passed away.”
“Huh?”
The sudden emotional uppercut made Yerin’s pupils shake. Her grumbling expression froze on the spot.
“…S-sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
I answered casually while weaving together the branches I needed for the shelter.
“They died when I was little, so I don’t really remember them. I heard they were both sick.”
“Th-then how did you live all this time without parents…?”
“I grew up in an orphanage, then after graduating high school, I moved out and got by doing part-time jobs.”
....
Yerin parted her lips, but in the end, she lost her words.
Usually, saying something like that made the mood turn heavy.
People would comfort me, or start watching their words around me.
But I wasn’t really used to those kinds of reactions.
Because it was just an ordinary story, the kind you could hear anywhere.
I laid the large palm leaves over the woven branches one by one as I spoke.
“There are plenty of people out there who’ve had it harder than me.”
“…Why do you say something like that so calmly? You’re making this awkward.”
“It’s a common story.”
“That’s what makes it even weirder….”
Yerin looked conflicted.
Instead of answering, I focused on finishing the shelter.
The structure itself was simple.
I set long branches leaning diagonally against a large rock that would block the wind, then layered palm leaves over them.
For the ground, I roughly spread dry leaves to block the chill rising from the earth.
As long as it could keep out the rain and wind to some extent, that was enough.
The first night wasn’t about enduring for the long haul anyway.
We just had to make it through safely.
I placed the last leaf on top and stepped back.
“Hmm.”
It was better than I expected.
Small, but big enough for one adult to curl up inside.
But that wasn’t too big a problem. I was small, and Yerin was pretty slender too.
Yerin’s eyes widened as she looked at the finished temporary shelter.
“Oh. It’s not bad. But doesn’t it look way too cramped for two people?”
“Three.”
“…Huh?”
I pointed with my chin toward the top of the rock. Baby was up there, slowly wagging its tail while crunching away on something.
“Baby, that’s low. What are you eating all by yourself?”
Flick.
Somehow, it had a huge bug clamped in its mouth.
“Eugh!”
Yerin winced at the sight of the bug dangling from its mouth.
Baby, on the other hand, was perfectly at ease.
Maybe because it was a lizard, but it almost seemed naturally suited to deserted-island life.
I let out a snort, pleased I wouldn’t have to worry about its food costs.
“Baby needs a spot too.”
“…True.”
Yerin gave a laugh like she couldn’t believe it, then looked up at the sky.
The sky, which had been glowing red, was steadily growing darker.
“…So what do we do now? We found water, and we built a shelter.”
“Now we find food.”
“Right now?”
“Once night falls, finding food gets even harder.”
It was dangerous once visibility dropped.
It became easy to get lost, and there was always the risk of being attacked by nocturnal animals that could see well in the dark.
It also got harder to tell poisonous plants apart.
I slowly looked around.
My body was exhausted from all the walking we’d done today.
Hunting was out of the question. We didn’t have any proper tools for it, either.
The sun was already almost down.
“For today, we’ll look mainly for roots or fruit.”
“How do you know what’s safe to eat?”
“We’ll have to test it first.”
Yerin and I started combing through the surrounding brush together.
“Hmm. This is bad.”
Finding food was harder than I’d expected.
I couldn’t find many fruits that looked edible.
If I messed with some unfamiliar brightly colored fruit and got an upset stomach for no reason, that would be the worst.
Mushrooms were even more dangerous.
For today, I was just planning to get by on anything that could take the edge off our hunger.
Rustle.
It was then, while I was parting the brush and scanning the area.
“Reels.”
Yerin pointed upward.
“Would it be okay to pull down vines like that? Feels like they could come in handy later.”
“…Huh?”
I looked in the direction she was pointing.
One giant tree. And a thick vine coiled all the way around it.
“Huh?”
“What?”
“That’s something my big brother used to eat.”
“Who’s your big brother?”
“Bear Grylls.”
“…?”