...What is this? Are they seeing things, or is it real?
Lan Yu and the others almost couldn’t believe their eyes until Lu Sheng called them over, at which point they walked forward in a daze.
However, when they stood firmly in front of the small house made entirely of plastic wrap.
Lan Yu ran her hand across the plastic wrap, feeling its tangible texture, and couldn’t help but swallow hard. "Shengsheng... Did you build this house?"
Lu Sheng’s expression was calm, giving off an air of reassurance, clearly not seeing herself as particularly impressive.
"Yes, while you all were surveying the forest, I built the house, made a few beds and a dining table, then set up a boiler to cook noodles."
Upon hearing this, even You Ye couldn’t help but swallow hard, looking around in disbelief.
The time they spent away surveying the forest was at most two and a half hours.
In just two and a half hours, she managed to build a house, make four beds and a dining table, and set up a boiler to cook noodles—how was this even possible!
You Ye had always known his sister was brilliant, but at this moment, he truly felt his sister’s abilities bordered on superhuman.
His sister was not only the cutest person in the world but also the most impressive!
By then, Lu Sheng had already pulled the pot off the fire and said, "Hurry inside, everyone. Let’s eat first, and we can talk while we eat."
At this point, all of them, including Lu Sheng, were already starving. However, the food they had obtained was too scarce, and despite their hunger, none of the five felt comfortable voicing their desire to eat—they all just relied on enduring it quietly.
As soon as Lan Yu and the others entered the house, they immediately felt the warm ambience. The thick plastic wrap surrounding the house effectively blocked the wind and retained heat, and the space was large and spacious.
On the island, the temperature difference between day and night was significant, and they were all wearing short-sleeved shirts. During their time surveying the forest, Lan Yu felt as though she was freezing solid.
Now, walking into this house felt like coming back to life—it was genuinely so warm!
Lu Sheng handed the pot over to You Ming. "Fourth Brother, could you divide the noodles into portions? I’ll go use the straw Han Jing and the others brought back to prepare the beds."
With that, Lu Sheng walked over and picked up two large duffel bags that Han Jing and Lan Yu had carried back. Opening them up, she saw they were packed full with straw.
Lu Sheng tried touching the straw and was pleased that, as per her earlier instructions, the collected straw was soft and dry. Although they didn’t have sleeping bags, using dry straw to make beds would still be quite comfortable.
Lu Sheng evenly and neatly arranged the straw across five beds positioned side by side, creating a layer about ten centimeters thick. Then, she placed their single moisture-proof mat on top of the straw layer.
Although there was only one moisture-proof mat, fortunately, it was large enough, and the bed frames were relatively narrow. The mat covered all five bed frames perfectly.
After spreading the moisture-proof mat, Lu Sheng brought out the two duvets that Lan Yu had retrieved.
She spread one duvet across the two beds on the left—which would be hers and Lan Yu’s—and placed the other duvet across the three beds on the right for Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, and Han Jing.
Finally, she rolled up the duffel bags from the day’s supply run to use as pillows.
Lan Yu glanced over and felt that the beds Lu Sheng had prepared resembled those warm tatami setups—extremely inviting and cozy.
She had never imagined that they could live in the wilderness.
After tidying up the beds, Lu Sheng sorted all their supplies and food into two separate duffel bags and placed them in the corner of the house before returning to the dining table.
Lan Yu couldn’t hold back her amazement any longer and asked, "Shengsheng, how did you manage to do all this? It’s incredible!"
Lu Sheng, while using her chopsticks to stir the noodles, replied, "Before coming to Jiang City, I sometimes spent summers helping my mentor gather medicinal herbs. That often involved venturing deep into the mountains and wilderness."
"Sometimes I couldn’t find the specific herbs I was looking for in a day, meaning I had to camp in the forest and sleep overnight to continue searching the next day. Over time, I gained substantial wilderness survival experience."
So it turned out Lu Sheng really did have survival skills!
The viewers watching the livestream now had their prior suspicions answered, though these answers also sparked new questions.
...Mentor? Medicinal herb gathering?
Lu Sheng, a high schooler, actually had a mentor? Who was her mentor? Why did she gather medicinal herbs?
The online audience found themselves baffled.
However, Lu Sheng and the others were completely unaware that every move they made and every word they spoke were being watched by online viewers.
After all, as MR.S had explained earlier, cameras had been pre-installed on the island to capture their activities. They had indeed seen cameras near the shore.
Still, since these cameras were pre-installed, there wouldn’t be any located inside the forest. Lu Sheng had already surveyed their surroundings and confirmed there were no cameras near their house.
By now, You Ming and Lan Yu had divided the noodles into portions and distributed bowls and chopsticks. Everyone gathered around the dining table and began discussing their situation.
"I went with You Ye," You Ming said. "Regarding water sources, there’s a stream about one kilometer into the forest, and the water quality looks relatively clean. However, we didn’t bring any containers to carry water back, so we decided to return for now."
"Today we’ll drink these bottles of mineral water. Tomorrow, I’ll use this large iron pot to fetch water, then make a filter with cloth, activated carbon, and water bottles. After filtering the water and boiling it, it’ll be safe to drink, so we don’t need to worry about water anymore."
"As for wildlife, we saw some rabbits and other small animals, but based on the tracks and marks on the vegetation and soil in the areas we walked through, there shouldn’t be any large, aggressive predators nearby."
A genius is truly a genius.
While You Ming may lack wilderness survival experience, his theoretical knowledge seemed as solid as his ability to apply it.
Xu Xinya arrived with her entourage in tow, surrounded by a group of people echoing her sentiments.
"Oh, Xinya, you’re just too kind. Despite Lu Sheng and her group being so ungrateful, you still came to check on their situation."
"What situation could there be? They’re probably freezing, starving, have nowhere to sleep, and can’t even eat properly."
"Exactly! Given the pathetic amount of stuff they managed to get, it must be miserable just thinking about it."
Xu Xinya smirked inwardly but maintained a worried facade. "If they’re truly in such a pitiful state, I’ll have to give them some supplies. Otherwise..."
As she spoke, her eyes fell on the house in the clearing not far away.
And then she froze completely in place.
The others followed her gaze and similarly widened their eyes one by one.
—A nearly white, spacious house with the warm, golden glow of a firelight visible inside, giving off an inviting air of coziness.
Through the rolled-up curtain that served as a door, they saw five neatly made beds inside. Around the fire, Lu Sheng and the others sat at a dining table, eating steaming bowls of noodles in a scene that was both tranquil and comforting.
Everyone stared with their mouths agape. Someone even stammered, their hand trembling as they pointed toward the sight. "This...this..."