NOVEL WEB Chapter 160 - Training Exercise 8
Upon hearing Zhuang Huaiya mention the issue of drinking water, Mai Dongzi already had an idea in mind, but she didn’t say it directly.
“There’s a lake nearby the cave,” Mai Dongzi said.
“I know. There are organisms in that lake that could serve as a water source, but that lake water can’t be consumed directly. We don’t have any water purification tablets. At the very least, it needs to be boiled before it can be drunk, but we don’t have any containers to boil water over the volcanic fire,” Zhuang Huaiya clearly had thought about this problem carefully.
Seeing him troubled, Mai Dongzi offered him a hint: “Among the things we brought, there is one item that can be used to boil water.”
Considering what they had with them, it was obvious to Zhuang Huaiya what she was referring to.
He tugged at his shirt and felt the temperature had already dropped to around five or six degrees Celsius, complaining, “It’s so cold in this weather; it’s unbearable without clothes, but we can manage once we start a fire.”
As the cousin duo spoke, they quickened their pace, hoping to reach the cave before dark.
However, darkness fell earlier than they had estimated. By the time they were only halfway back, it was completely dark.
The transition from day to night on Liva Star is very quick, taking only about five minutes to go from dusk to complete darkness, leaving no time for preparation.
Once the sky darkened, the cousin duo dared not walk as quickly as before and instead moved forward step by step.
Mai Dongzi could use her mental energy to “clear the path,” so this level of darkness didn’t affect her “vision” at all.
However, since they were out here for training and not in a rush, she preferred that Zhuang Huaiya navigate on his own rather than rely on her.
The sky had almost no clouds, and this semi-abandoned planet had no light pollution, allowing countless stars to fill the night sky. Although they didn’t illuminate the planet, they still provided a sense of brightness.
Fortunately, this darkness was temporary. After about ten minutes, two moons—a large one and a small one—rose in the sky.
Mai Dongzi was pleasantly surprised to find that the light from the two moons was even brighter than that of Mercury’s moon.
In such light, both of them could see nearby objects clearly, and their climbing speed was similar to that during the day.
“The temperature is dropping quickly. I wonder how the others are doing and if they’ve caught any fish,” Zhuang Huaiya said as he mimicked his cousin and pulled the hood of his combat suit over his head.
After dark, the wind had died down considerably, and Zhuang Huaiya estimated that the wind was at most at level ten now. However, the gradually chilling breeze hit their faces; while it wasn’t cold enough to be uncomfortable, it still felt unpleasant.
“Yu Guangxi and Durant both have experience with wilderness survival training, and with so many of them, as long as they are careful, there shouldn’t be any problems,” Mai Dongzi said confidently.
Yu Guangxi had taken most of the Phantom Team members with him, so there was no way Mai Dongzi could completely let go.
Therefore, Mai Dongzi kept their actions within her “sight,” and she knew exactly what they had been doing over the past hour.
Without the ability to go into the water, catching fish wasn’t easy.
Yu Guangxi did think of using stones as projectiles to kill the mutated fish, but the fish they killed immediately became food for other mutated fish, so they couldn’t even retrieve them, and they had nothing to fish with.
After several failed attempts, Yu Guangxi instructed everyone to split into pairs and look for usable tools in the surrounding area.
Mai Dongzi didn’t know if they found any tools, but they did encounter mutated beasts that had come to the lake to drink water.
Needless to say, they didn’t catch any fish, but they did kill seven mutated beasts at levels three and four.
After hunting the mutated beasts, Yu Guangxi and his group turned back toward the cave.
At Mai Dongzi’s suggestion, they picked up all the large stones they could find along the way and piled them outside the cave entrance, leaving only an opening for people to enter and exit. This helped block some of the cold wind from blowing into the cave.
As Mai Dongzi and Zhuang Huaiya walked back to the cave, Yu Guangxi’s group had just managed to get a fire going.
Each of them had learned several primitive methods of making fire, and given the materials they had on hand, using a fire drill was the most practical method.
“Captain, we need to find a way to get water,” Yu Guangxi said.
“Do you have any ideas?” Mai Dongzi asked.
Yu Guangxi’s statement was not a question but rather a declaration, indicating that he already had a plan.
“We can use our jackets to bring back water from the lake to boil,” Yu Guangxi said without hesitation.
They definitely wouldn’t dare to drink untreated water.
Mai Dongzi looked at Yu Guangxi appreciatively; their combat suits were waterproof and fire-resistant, so wrapping water and placing it over the fire would be no problem.
Zhuang Huaiya needed her reminder to think of it, but Yu Guangxi had already come up with the idea.
“We can’t stay here indefinitely; at most, we have two days before we must set out for our destination. No one can guarantee that we’ll find another water source on the way. Have you all thought about how to store some water?” Mai Dongzi asked.
She directed this question to everyone.
They could take off their clothes to boil water, but they couldn’t use them to store water, as they needed to wear their combat suits to ensure their safety.
The members of the Phantom Squad fell silent; in such a barren place, they couldn’t find anything suitable to use as a container.
“We can go to the water’s edge to see if there’s any clay we can use to make pottery,” Zhuang Huaiya suggested.
He had carefully studied his cousin’s survival live-streaming game.
“Even if we find clay, we won’t have enough firewood to burn it,” Mai Dongzi replied.
Making pottery requires a lot of firewood. Although they had collected many dead branches in the basin between the hills, it was not enough to fire pottery.
And they also didn’t have the time for that.
“We can just make a few pieces,” Yu Guangxi also thought it was a good idea.
“Once it gets light, you can search for some, but I have a simpler method. We can go to the lakeside to handle the game and boil water. Grilling the game in front of the cave will easily attract the mutated beasts,” Mai Dongzi said, not keeping them in suspense anymore.
Upon hearing that their captain already had a solution, the members of the Phantom Squad perked up immediately.
They weren’t sure about the situation elsewhere, but the hilly area around them was desolate. If they hadn’t been dropped near the lake, they couldn’t imagine where they would find drinking water.
However, without tools or containers, the water issue was the biggest problem. Once they resolved the drinking water issue, they could set out for their destination.
Mai Dongzi was worried about the increased activity of mutated beasts at night and didn’t dare to leave part of the group in the cave. Moreover, having caught so many game, the more people they had to process it, the quicker they could get it done. Therefore, she took all the members of the Phantom Squad with her.