Day 85, Meeting (Part 1) - Extra dedicated to "Originally a Mediocre Person"

Along the way, we continued to chat, and I kept probing him with some important questions.

This Ye Qingchen seemed to have regained his energy, answering all my questions in great detail. For instance, just moments ago, I asked him what kind of food they usually ate, considering there were quite a few of them and their nutritional needs were relatively high. His answer was that in the very beginning, anything they could capture served as their food, including all sorts of small animals, even lizards, snakes, insects, and large spiders. All of those were edible to them. Later on, things gradually started to look up. They had sea fish, seabirds, fruit, and eventually, they even discovered rabbits...

Hearing him mention rabbits made me realize that the rabbit skin I saw last time must have been their handiwork. When I visited that day, they probably hadn't left very long ago, or perhaps they had spotted me nearby and thus sent this Ye Qingchen to scout the area. Had I not woken up early today specifically to tend to this earthen kiln, I might have let him slip away completely unaware... Thinking about it this way, this meeting was indeed rather perilous, and the possibility of a conflict breaking out was extremely high.

With this thought in mind, I discreetly readjusted the gun hidden on my person. A firearm could only serve as a last resort for survival; pulling it out prematurely would defeat its purpose. Once they saw I had a gun, even if they harbored ill intentions toward me, they would simply become more covert in their search for an opportunity. As for agreeing to meet them in the first place, my goal was to sound out their true intentions. Otherwise, even if I did not seek them out, sooner or later, they would come looking for me.

"Big brother, watch your step ahead! This area right here is extremely dangerous; two of our brothers died right here! Big brother!"

As I was lost in thought, Ye Qingchen's voice snapped me back to reality. "What? You said there's danger here? What kind of danger?" Even as I asked, I immediately made the connection to the notebook left behind by Little Black's former master, which recorded that a man named "Li" had perished in the woods near the beach. Could it be that creature?

Sure enough! Ye Qingchen's reply matched my thoughts precisely—it really was that beast! It seemed this particular region must be their habitat; fortunately, I had never ventured over to this side since the very beginning.

Those mere hundreds of meters took us nearly an hour to cross, which gives you an idea of how exceptionally cautious we were being. The reason it took so much time was that we even had to make a slight detour. Indeed, we had spotted the danger just five meters away from us, lurking right there in the tall grass. Thank goodness we discovered it in advance, for brushing past its side would have meant a slim chance of survival.

Once we reached the coastline, things became relatively safer. Of course, that did not mean there was zero danger; rather, the visibility on the beach was much wider, allowing any potential threats to be spotted from quite a distance away, unlike the dense forest where visibility was blocked by vines, bushes, and thickets.

Arriving at the sandy shore, Ye Qingchen spoke with a sorrowful tone, telling me that he previously had an older brother named Ye Shifan, who had come here with him. But just a month ago, while they had split up to catch two coconut crabs, his brother failed to notice the creature hiding in the grass and was brutally killed by it.

By the time Ye Shifan's agonizing screams reached him, Ye Qingchen had rushed over, but it was already too late. Although he eventually managed to snatch his brother back from the creature's jaws, tragically, there was no breath left in him...

Although we still did not know whether we would end up as friends or foes, I nevertheless offered words of comfort to Ye Qingchen regarding such a tragic event, urging him not to grieve too deeply, saying that at least he had survived, and when there was an opportunity to return in the future, he could still go home and fulfill his filial duties to his parents...

Perhaps touching upon the softest spot in his heart, he even wiped away the tears at the corner of his eye and said to me, "Thank you, big brother!"

To let him calm down, I stopped asking questions and simply followed him as we pressed on. It was already noon, and the scorching sun beat down relentlessly. Fortunately, I had eaten a bowl of porridge when I got up, otherwise, I surely would have been starving and on the verge of collapsing by now.

"Big brother, we'll be there in twenty minutes. Almost there, haha." Ye Qingchen also seemed to have emerged from his earlier sorrow. After all, a month had already passed; he must have simply been overcome by the sight of familiar scenery...

"Alright, do you guys have a leader?" Suddenly, a question popped into my mind. Since there were five of them, they surely looked up to someone as their leader; otherwise, it would be impossible for them to stick together, and they would have each gone their separate ways.

"Ah, yes we do. Brother Qian! Fortunately, Brother Qian knows a lot. Making fire, storing water, and building houses are all thanks to him. You know what, big brother? In the beginning, all of us were trying to figure out how to make fire, but not a single person in our group could succeed. Later on, Brother Qian came over, and in just a short moment, he managed to make some fallen wood shavings smoke, and after that, we had fire... Out of gratitude, we all jointly elected him as our leader. What's more, Brother Qian has never acted like a bossy leader; not only does he frequently come up with good ideas, but he also does more work every day than any of us..."

As soon as the topic turned to their leader, Ye Qingchen's floodgates of speech opened completely. For a full ten minutes, his mouth never stopped, endlessly praising and flattering his leader, the so-called Brother Qian.

To an outsider like me, this scenario left only a few possibilities. One was that the Brother Qian he spoke of truly was a good man—someone practical, capable, and sharp. If that were the case, it would be tremendous news for me. Another possibility was that Ye Qingchen had been completely brainwashed like a member of a pyramid scheme, attributing every good thing and their survival to Brother Qian. If that were true, I would have no desire to have anything to do with them. The final possibility was the most terrifying: Ye Qingchen was playing me, starting with the tale of his brother, step by step lulling my vigilance, only to strike once I lowered my guard entirely... If that truly turned out to be the case, a battle would be unavoidable.

The safety catch on my pistol had already been disengaged long ago; all it required was for my hand to reach behind my waist, grab the grip, and draw it. Of course, I would have to wait until we met face-to-face before knowing the outcome.

I also kept reminding myself not to drink their water or eat their food, while constantly scanning the surroundings for any traps or ambushes. This sensation even briefly brought to mind the historical tale of Guan Yu attending a single-sword banquet in enemy territory. Back in the day, Lord Guan went single-handedly into Jiangdong... whether my ending would match his remained to be seen.

"Brothers, a big brother has come to visit us! Everyone come on out..." As soon as we reached the courtyard entrance, Ye Qingchen shouted at the top of his lungs.

The dwelling they lived in was a circular thatched hut enclosed by a twig fence. Their fence, however, was plastered with mud, and numerous empty beverage cans hung from it. With the slightest brush against the fence, the cans would emit a crisp clattering sound, as small stones had been placed inside them... Quite an ingenious idea, all things considered.

"A newcomer is here?"
"What? Are there other people on this island?"
"Qingchen, who did you bring?"
...

One voice after another rang out, accompanied by figures emerging from the thatched hut...