Day Eighty, New Opportunities (Night)

Xiao Hei and Lightning had long since fallen asleep. Although I was exhausted, I sat by the fire, holding the notebook in my hands to study it.

I had initially assumed there would be a pen inside, but I found none. It wasn't until I reached the end of the book that I realized the ink had likely run out; the final entries were fragmented and shaky, clearly indicating the pen was failing.

The book had been water-damaged several times. Although it was dry now, the text along many of the edges was blurred and illegible, forcing me to rely on guesswork. This was especially true for the opening pages, where the ink had bled so severely that only faint traces of characters remained, making their meaning impossible to discern.

It was a real shame. The first page seemed to record the life of Xiao Hei’s former owner, the reason for his arrival, and the specific circumstances surrounding it. I could make out fragments like "a doctor..." "arrived at..." and "name..." but that was all.

Because of the extensive missing information, I couldn't glean anything useful. I felt incredibly frustrated; if I had found this sooner, perhaps I could have gathered more intelligence.

How exactly did he get here? Why did he come? What caused his death? A string of questions arose as the text vanished, leaving me with no answers. I had expected this to be a diary, but upon opening it, I discovered it was more of a field journal. The content was highly eclectic, but precisely because of that, it was all the more valuable to me.

The notebook recorded many of the island’s plants, food sources, and even the names of animals. While it lacked detailed instructions on preparation or consumption, it at least provided names and warnings about toxicity.

I recognized several familiar plants. There was one that looked like a palm tree, which yielded water when cut; it was labeled as a "traveler's palm," non-toxic and drinkable, with a note that small incisions would heal on their own. There was even a sketch alongside it, which was the only reason I had been able to identify it at a glance.

However, the next illustration made me break out in a cold sweat. It was a plant called an alocasia. I had seen it as soon as I arrived on the island and had even drunk dew from its leaves, wondering at the time if its roots were like taro and thinking about digging some up to boil. Now, beneath the sketch, it was clearly written: "Toxic! Do not consume!" Below that were the words "Water Plantain Lily." That might be its alias; I had never heard of it, but thank goodness I had found this notebook.

Otherwise, if I had accidentally eaten it one day, I would have died without ever knowing why. Soon, another entry further along surprised me even more: "Arrowroot can be used as a staple food; rich in starch, versatile, and already cultivated in large patches."

I wasn't surprised by the existence of arrowroot, but rather by the phrase "already cultivated in large patches." When I had dug up arrowroot last time, I had wondered why there was such a large, concentrated growth. It was highly likely that he had planted them. How long had he been here? I became even more curious about his arrival and his reasons for staying.

Following that, many edible or useful plants were recorded. Unfortunately, some lacked illustrations, containing only descriptive text—perhaps notes meant only for his own reference.

Turning further, I found a page with only two words: "Danger." These two words filled the entire page. It was clear that what followed likely recorded something extremely hazardous. The notebook seemed to have a magnetic pull, constantly drawing me to turn the page.

"Snakes: Twenty-one species discovered so far. Fourteen pose some level of threat to humans, four of which are particularly dangerous." This was the first line of the entry. He listed the names of the snakes, but for me, the names were meaningless—what I needed was to know what they looked like. Sadly, he hadn't drawn them.

Knowing a name without knowing the appearance was useless; I couldn't tell them apart. The most terrifying part was the final sentence of the snake description: "One species, the viper, is particularly venomous. If bitten, a human will die in a very short time. Furthermore, the venom liquefies muscles and internal organs, causing extreme agony. Proceed with caution."

"Phew!" Reading that chilled me to the bone. I had encountered snakes many times; I would have to be much more careful from now on. I couldn't be so reckless anymore; I would need to carry a stick to probe the path ahead when I went out. However, the next sentence brought me a small sense of relief: "This snake is mostly nocturnal, rarely seen during the day. It prefers sunlight and is found on rocks, tree branches, and near cave entrances. It generally does not hide in tall grass."

That was a relief. My greatest fear was a venomous snake suddenly darting out from the grass, which would be easy to fall victim to. It seemed carrying a stick for path-finding was a necessity. Caution and prudence were the foundations of survival.

The next page mentioned wild boars. He had only written a few words: "Four wild boars spotted; must take precautions!" That was it. It seemed he hadn't been as unlucky as me; he hadn't had a direct confrontation with them.

The name of the next entry was blurry. It should have been three characters long, but because it was near the edge of the page and had been soaked by water, the ink had bled, making the last two characters illegible. I could only make out the first character, "Poison." It was a real pity. The notes were sparse: "Common in forests and near water pits; aggressive; keep away."

Having such critical information blurred away felt like swallowing a dead mouse. If I could even see the last two characters, I might have been able to deduce what it was. But with only "Poison," I was at a complete loss. It was incredibly unlucky, and a sense of gloom settled in my heart. An unknown enemy is the most terrifying kind. To know a creature is highly venomous and aggressive but have no idea what it is—that was a nightmare.

I took a few breaths to calm myself before reading on. The next entry was about Lightning! "Honey badger: white or partially white hair on the top of the head, long dark gray or grayish-black fur. Aggressive, tenacious, and unrelenting when angered. Very difficult to deal with; avoid if encountered!"

It was clearly referring to Lightning. I hadn't realized it was also considered a dangerous animal!

There were several more, and the final one had even killed his companion, "Li." The lines were filled with grief and agony. He had spent three whole pages describing that creature—its habits, its habitat, and even several methods for hunting it. None were very promising; he estimated the highest success rate was twenty-five percent, and the lowest was five percent.

It was evident that he had desperately wanted to avenge his companion, but he had found no effective way to do so.