CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 39: DECISION

"Where did he go?"

Chen Wen’s face was heavy, his eyes constantly darting to the spot where the Black Panther’s skin and head were placed.

Could there be other large beasts on the island?

Or is it...

Someone!

Chen Wen’s expression tightened as he fixed his gaze on a spot by the riverbank.

There were chaotic footprints there!

And they were completely different from his own shoe prints!

Who could it be?

Chen Wen stepped forward, staring intently at the footprints by the riverbank.

The possibility that there were people on the island had crossed his mind before.

But he quickly dismissed that thought.

The reason was simple: who would stay on such a desolate island?

According to his memory, he and the fleet had arrived in the eastern Pacific area of Southeast Asia.

The islands here lie in the mid-west Pacific Ocean, rarely visited by people.

Unless...

Their intentions were malicious!

Chen Wen’s expression became solemn as he recalled something.

In Southeast Asia, drug trafficking is rampant.

There are numerous drug processing factories!

Could it be... this is the lair of a drug lord?!

Chen Wen was startled by his own speculation.

"But that’s not necessarily the case, the helicopter I saw earlier might have been a private helicopter, and this could also be a private island owned by some wealthy person?"

Chen Wen’s imagination ran wild as he continued to speculate.

Based on these footprints, Chen Wen made another discovery.

It seemed that the shoes worn by the other party were identical.

Standard uniform?

A wealthy person’s security team?

Chen Wen frowned, unwilling to linger by the stream any longer.

He quickly returned to the jungle and headed toward the northern shore.

...

The Men’s Team.

The three of them returned at a much faster pace.

"How about it? Damn! What’s this!"

Upon seeing the Black Panther’s head, Wang Zhi, who was half-lying on the ground, flipped like a salted fish...

He didn’t manage to flip up.

"The Black Panther’s head and skin."

Yan Bian chuckled and tossed the Black Panther’s head, aiming the dead panther’s empty gaze at Du Feng: "Mr. Du, does it look familiar?"

Du Feng shivered slightly, holding back his fear to identify it.

"It looks a bit like the one that bit me, with yellow teeth!"

Du Feng said uncertainly.

After all, it’s a dead object, far different from a live Black Panther.

"This is..."

Lu Heng came over and asked, "Did you encounter primitives?"

"Not primitives."

Gan Tieshan shook his head and explained, "It should be fishermen who came to the island to fetch water. They might have encountered a Black Panther while fetching water last night. By the time we arrived, they had already dealt with the Black Panther and took the meat, leaving behind the head, skin, and innards."

Hearing that they weren’t primitives, Lu Heng was somewhat disappointed.

But upon hearing that the Black Panther had been killed, he grew a bit excited.

"Does that mean the island is completely safe now?"

"How is that possible? There’s just no large beasts now; there are still snakes on the island, so it can’t be considered safe."

Yan Bian said as he got in touch with the show crew.

The show crew had already heard about the Black Panther being killed.

"The show crew said they would try to find that group of fishermen to see if they got injured because of the Black Panther. If so, they would provide some compensation."

The contestants and audience were reasonably satisfied with the show’s response.

As to whether the show crew would actually look for the fishermen,

no one could really say.

...

Back at the shelter.

Chen Wen used a Swiss Army knife to cut the Black Panther.

But soon, Chen Wen noticed something was off.

"This knife is dull now!"

Frequent use of the Swiss Army knife had significantly dulled the blade.

Chen Wen also discovered that the connection of the small knife had completely failed.

Many small parts were now uncontrollable.

"Looks like I’ll have to use the flint knife as the regular knife from now on."

Chen Wen shook his head, took out the flint knife, and continued cutting.

Chen Wen cut the Black Panther meat into long strips and roasted them over tree branches.

After the meat was cooked, Chen Wen ate some and stored the rest.

At present, his food reserves had reached a new peak.

Even though he was happy, Chen Wen still had concerns.

The person who took the Black Panther’s head and skin, are they good or bad?

If they’re good, finding them would surely lead to rescue.

But what if they’re bad?

What if they’re drug lords or organ traffickers...

Chen Wen clutched his side, feeling a bit afraid.

If this were Hua Country, he wouldn’t say a hundred percent, but at least he’d feel that eighty to ninety percent were good people.

But this is Southeast Asia!

Places like Northern Myanmar, Golden Triangle...

The names alone made Chen Wen fearful.

Now he had the possibility to escape alone.

Even though the risk was a bit greater, it was much better than encountering those unlawful people.

If the other party truly were criminals.

Then going over there would be like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den!

Chen Wen had heard plenty of stories about people who accidentally entered drug dens and were killed to silence them!

What to do? Should he go look for them?

Chen Wen wavered.

If he went to seek help from them.

The other could be good people or they could be bad people.

If they were good people, he’d be rescued directly.

If they were bad people, he’d have to start all over again.

If he didn’t look for them.

He could survive slowly, build a small boat.

Maybe in a few months, maybe half a year, he should be safely rescued.

But could he hold out for that half year?

Furthermore, he most likely had caught a cold.

If it dragged on, would a minor illness turn into a major one and directly take away his chance of survival?

These were all problems!

Chen Wen lay directly on the leaves in his shack.

"Such a difficult choice!"

After lying on the ground empty-minded for a while, Chen Wen sat up.

"No, I can’t just wait like this, I need to go and see!"

"With [Jungle Shadow] in hand, I can lurk in the shadows, observing them!"

"If they really are good people, then I’ll seek help from them! If they’re bad people, then I’ll continue struggling to survive!"

In his vacillation, Chen Wen decided to observe first before considering whether to seek help.

But now it was already the afternoon.

Chen Wen did not plan to take action today.

His wound hadn’t healed yet, and he had a cold.

Resting in the camp and drinking plenty of hot water was the right thing to do.

...

While Chen Wen was resting.

The men weren’t idle either.

They continually explored the island, searched for resources, went to the waters, and caught fish and shrimp.

They were so busy their feet barely touched the ground.

In the evening, the men’s group had a campfire meeting.

"Almost out of water, remember to fetch some tomorrow."

Wang Zhi assigned tasks based on the remaining supplies at the camp.

"Got it, water needs to be fetched, what about food?"

Yan Bian looked to Bai Yachuan and Lv Guocheng, who were in charge of food.

One was an experienced fisherman, and the other a seasoned angler.

For the past few days, the two had practically supported the entire team’s food resources.

"No worries about food, there’s plenty."

Being a fisherman, Bai Yachuan grinned widely: "You guys wouldn’t believe how many fish there are around this island! More than we can catch!"

"And they’re dumb!"

Lv Guocheng added with a laugh.

If not for the poor sleeping environment, he would even feel like he was in paradise!

A fisherman’s paradise!

"So, food isn’t a big problem, and as long as we’re diligent, water isn’t either."

Wang Zhi pondered for a long time and said: "I think we can enter a period of rapid development now!"

A period of rapid development?

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.

"That’s right."

Wang Zhi smiled and explained: "According to my thinking, once our food and water are stable, we can go into rapid development."

"First, we need to build a more suitable shelter."

"Now we’re all staying together in the cave, which is safe, but not comfortable. Everyone’s been sleeping poorly."

"In the long run, it will definitely drain our spirits, not to mention I’m more worried about falling ill."

"Second, we need to build a toilet to solve sanitation issues."

"Third, store food. Although we currently have enough to eat, we should store more to avoid starving during continuous rainfall when we can’t go out."

"If we solve these three issues, I believe we can enter a period of rapid development, with ample food and water, comfortable and safe living. We could even build boats to venture out to distant waters to catch bigger fish!"

Hearing Wang Zhi’s ideas, everyone nodded in agreement.

As a fisherman, Bai Yachuan’s eyes glowed.

Ocean fishing!

He had heard that fish out at sea were like fools, one net could overload it!

And construction worker Gan Tieshan and Zhang Hu, who came from rural areas, also had glowing eyes.

According to the contract, the final amount of money they could earn was linked to their contribution and popularity in this survival challenge.

Previously, the two didn’t have much room to perform, but now...

"We agree!"

Everyone said in unison.