Chapter 70
Chapter 70
Egbert Reed grabbed the biscuits and water, starting to munch in silence.
His appetite wasn’t much; he only had three biscuits and a small sip of water.
Seeing that the food consumption wasn’t much, Eileen Lopez relaxed a bit. She put the remaining food back into her bag, then asked him, “Got a sleeping bag?”
Egbert replied, “Nope.”
Eileen looked at him, all empty-handed and all, a bit disdainful, but she still dug out Elaine Lopez’s sleeping bag from her backpack and threw it at him, saying, “You’ll sleep in here,” and referring to the twig tent.
Egbert took the sleeping bag and looked at her.
Seeing him standing there, not moving, Eileen frowned, “Sleep when I tell you to sleep! What if you get sick again? Don’t you know you’re weak? How long were you ill last time? Have you forgotten? A whole twelve hours! Wasn’t it me taking care of you?”
Egbert thought back to that time and said helplessly, “That was an accident…”
“I don’t care if it was an accident; go in and sleep!” Eileen ordered.
Egbert just grinned and went into the twig tent with the sleeping bag.
Eileen took out her own sleeping bag, crawled in, and sat near the fire. She asked while warming herself, “What’s your plan for tomorrow?”
Egbert paused, then said, “Since we’re both team-less, why don’t we stick together?”
Eileen looked at the sky and snorted, “You want me to protect you?”
Egbert couldn’t help but laugh, then said softly, “If you say so.”
Eileen turned her head to him suddenly and said, “Then say something nice to make me feel good.”
Egbert was startled, then said in a coquettish manner, “You’re the best. Please promise to protect me.”
Eileen laughed, “Alright, since you said so, I’ll do you this favor.”
She then crawled into her sleeping bag, laid down, and said, “It’s bedtime now.”
Egbert sat in the twig tent, watching the lonely girl by the fire. The smile in his eyes never faded.
The next day, dawn was breaking.
The sound of footsteps woke Eileen up.
She sat up and saw Egbert coming towards her with a bunch of wild berries in his leafy hands.
Eileen frowned. She didn’t have a watch, so she had no idea what time it was.
Egbert sat next to her, placed the fruits and his water bag on the ground, and said, “Time to get up.”
In the bag, besides two bottles of drinking water for each team, there were also two empty water bags.
Eileen looked at the water bag and asked, “Did you touch my bag?”
Egbert answered nonchalantly, “Just the water bag.”
Eileen frowned, took her bag, and checked it. Indeed, only one water bag was missing. She said unhappily, “Don’t touch my stuff in the future.”
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As she picked up the water bag, she noticed it was heavy, “There’s water in it?”
“Yep,” the man replied.
Eileen suspiciously opened the cap and sniffed it. The water had a fishy smell; she asked, “What kind of water is this?”
“Sap from a tree.”
Eileen was surprised. She didn’t expect Egbert, who had always lived in a privileged environment, to have such broad knowledge, even knowing about a tree that produces sap.
The sap tree is a type of tree that can store water. If you puncture the trunk of this tree, water will flow out.
The Amazon rainforest also has its own unique water storage trees.
Eileen didn’t immediately drink the water. She stood up and asked, “Where did you see that tree?”
Egbert realized she was skeptical and pointed in a direction.
Eileen walked over, and from a distance, she saw a tree.
After confirming that the tree was indeed non-toxic, she finally took a big gulp of water, feeling instantly refreshed!
She also washed her face and brushed her teeth there. When she returned, she saw Egbert eating berries.
That was not the Ink Berry from the previous day, but something he had found somewhere.
Seeing her return, Egbert patted the ground next to him, indicating for her to sit.
So, Eileen did.
Egbert handed her a cleaned fruit.
Eileen had a look; it was a mutated fruit, non-toxic, and shaped a bit like a pear.
She took a bite. It was very sweet, much tastier than the Ink Berry.
Sugary foods can replenish the sugar in the body.
Athletes consume a large amount of sugar before exercising because sugar, when broken down in the body, forms water and carbon dioxide, which are excellent sources of energy during exercise.
Now that they were living in the wild, having sugary food was a great supplement for their bodies.
Eileen ate three fruits, looked at Egbert contentedly, and said, “You’re really good at finding stuff, being able to find that tree and these fruits.”
Egbert didn’t respond. After eating two fruits, he felt a bit thirsty and casually picked up the water bag next to Eileen, opened it, and took a sip.
Eileen watched him drink and paused.
She had drunk from that water bag before.
Although he didn’t know she had drunk from it, she indeed had.
Eileen touched her face and silently took out another empty water bag from the supply bag, planning to fetch water later.
That water bag would be for Egbert to use.
After resting for a bit, Eileen casually stuck a branch into the ground, determined the time by the direction of the light, and said, “It’s past nine. Let’s get moving.”
Egbert had no objections. He got up, put out the fire to make sure there were no safety hazards, and set off with Eileen.
They headed northwest.
Eileen led the way with her backpack, and Egbert followed behind.
After a while, she remembered Elaine’s condition from the previous day.
Elaine was not physically strong, needing a break after an hour’s walk.
If Elaine needed to rest after more than an hour of walking, wouldn’t Egbert, who had lived in a privileged environment since childhood, needed to rest every half hour?
So, Eileen calculated the time, and half an hour later, she turned to Egbert and asked, “Need a break?”
Egbert stood tall and relaxed, hands jammed in his pockets, not a drop of sweat on his forehead. He looked at her, asking, “What’s up?” Eileen seemed puzzled. “Aren’t you tired?”
Egbert looked at her, softly saying, “If you’re tired, take a break.” This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
Eileen frowned, “I’m fine.” She glanced at Egbert again and said, “Let’s keep going.”
Egbert had no objections.
They walked non-stop for three hours and finally found a small stream.
“Wow!” Eileen rushed to the stream, squatted down, and splashed her face with the cool water, instantly feeling refreshed.
Egbert stood next to her, his eyes scanning the edges of the creek and the clear stream bed.
Places like that usually crawled with alligators.
Luckily, there were no alligators near that stream.
Suddenly, Eileen looked up and asked, “Fancy some fish?”
As Egbert looked down, he could see the faint outline of her chest under her wet clothing.
He frowned, shot a cool glance at the drone in the sky, then took off his jacket and wrapped it around the girl, covering her chest. He said in a low voice, “I’ll catch the fish.”