Day 91, The Trap

Early this morning, when they got up, they woke me up as well. They said we were going together to dig a trap for catching wild boars. I didn't even think about it and immediately scrambled up, because our smoked meat was all gone, most of the dried fish had gone bad, and only a few strips remained. We urgently needed to replenish our meat supply.

Brother Qian had mentioned that the sea tide would not recede anytime soon, so our only remaining source of seafood might be the mangrove forest where we previously set up nets to catch fish. When they dragged the lifeboat over, they had also passed by that mangrove forest, and they thoroughly approved of my suggestion.

We decided that after digging this trap, we could split up to forage for some food to use as reserves. I offered them some suggestions regarding these matters, since I was much more familiar with this area than they were.

Having so many people dig a pit would actually be rather wasteful, so Brother Qian arranged for Ye Qingchen and "One-Thirty" to gather some tree branches to serve as a makeshift cover for the pit once it was dug. The two of them acknowledged the order and set off.

The knives and the axe were in their possession. The pit was mainly being dug by Brother Qian and Midakang, while Ying Yuefeng and I were primarily responsible for moving the dirt—shoveling away the excavated soil and hauling it to the side so it wouldn't interfere with their digging.

To be honest, I was still somewhat nervous. For no particular reason! I was just a bit worried that they might suddenly turn on me and launch an attack. That wasn't entirely impossible; compared to them, I was merely an unarmed person, and if they chose to subdue me at this moment, it wouldn't be very difficult.

Of course, as far as I was concerned, I didn't hope for such a thing to happen. After all, as long as the six of us stuck together in unity, our lives would soon stabilize, and we would have time to figure out a way to leave. After all, nobody wanted to spend the rest of their lives in this place, and everyone longed to return to civilized society... Therefore, if they were sensible, it was unlikely they would come into conflict with me. But if a conflict truly arose, they would have no one to blame but themselves.

Subconsciously touching the handgun concealed beneath my clothes, I began hauling the dirt. I must admit, the sharp rear angle of the firefighter's axe was extremely useful for digging, offering high efficiency and a much faster speed than using a knife. They intended to dig this pit into a square measuring about nine square meters. For a wild boar trap, a pit of this size was more than sufficient; making it any larger would simply be a waste of effort.

As for the depth, a little over two meters would be enough. When the time came, we would plant some sharpened tree trunks at the bottom of the pit. As long as a wild boar fell in, even if it wasn't killed instantly, it would lose half its life and be completely unable to escape. Once trapped at the bottom of the pit with no way out, wouldn't the wild boar be as easy to catch as taking candy from a baby?

After half an hour of continuous digging, Brother Qian and Midakang both stopped. Their foreheads and hair were drenched with sweat, and they must have paused to take a break.

"Whew, I'm exhausted! Brother Luo, why don't you and Ying Yuefeng help us dig for a while? You can dig for ten minutes and then switch back with us. Let us catch our breath, will you?" Brother Qian looked at me and asked.

"No problem." I knew very well how difficult it was to dig such a large pit, and this request was entirely reasonable. Ying Yuefeng had no objections either; he walked straight over to Midakang, took the knife directly from his hand, hopped right into the pit, and started digging.

Normally he seemed a bit slow-witted, but I hadn't expected this kid to work so efficiently. Of course, it wasn't that I was intentionally stalling or trying to avoid digging, but rather that I was being cautious. After all, if Brother Qian and the others wanted to make a move against me, this handover of the tools would be the moment. In my view, this was the absolute best opportunity.

Yet he made no move! Instead, he inverted the axe, holding it by the blade end, and handed the handle over to me. "Could all this be the result of my own petty suspicions and groundless guesswork? Am I being too sensitive? Is this all just chasing shadows in my own mind?" I began to mutter inwardly as I hopped down into the pit and started digging.

In half an hour, they had dug down less than a meter—around sixty centimeters or so, which was already considered quite fast. However, the upper layer of soil was relatively easy to dig, consisting mainly of rotten leaves and damp earth that could be easily scraped away in large chunks. The deeper we went, however, the harder the soil became, because the lower strata contained gravel and occasionally large pebbles and boulders. Naturally, our efficiency wouldn't match theirs.

The sun hadn't risen yet, and the sky was only beginning to grow pale, but after wielding the tool for just a few minutes, I broke into a heavy sweat that soaked all my clothes. I felt that at this pace, I could hold out for twenty minutes at most—at most, and perhaps only fifteen minutes before collapsing. It was simply too hot. No wonder Brother Qian and the others had arranged to finish the work before sunrise; once the sun came out, it would be all too easy to become dehydrated from excessive sweating or even suffer from heatstroke.

"All right, you guys take a break. Take turns moving the dirt, and let us swap in," Brother Qian called a halt when he noticed that our digging speed had noticeably slowed down.

Those words sounded like divine music ringing in my ears, giving me a sudden surge of spirit. We could finally rest; I was truly exhausted. While the two of them had dug down nearly sixty centimeters, the two of us had managed twenty at most. Among this group, Ying Yuefeng and I had relatively the slimmest builds. Even if the others were shorter than us, they all looked much sturdier than the two of us.

Although I had been on the island for several months and my physical fitness had undoubtedly improved compared to before, my baseline physique had been far too poor. Back home, my busy job had involved staying up late every night, socializing, and drafting proposals, completely lacking even the most basic exercise, leaving my body hollowed out. There was simply no way I could compare with someone like Brother Qian, who was used to doing heavy physical labor on construction sites every day.

The two of them dug much faster than we did. Before long, it was time to switch back. Looking into the pit, the depth had already exceeded a meter. With just a little more effort, the pit should be finished. Human nature is such that once one can see hope, a surge of boundless motivation takes over. My drive to dig was now much stronger than before. Even though sweat continued to stream down, I persisted for well over twenty minutes. Interestingly, Ying Yuefeng surprised me; even though I hadn't stopped, he didn't stop either.

Even though Brother Qian had already called out several times telling us we could come out and trade places, we kept going until we reached a depth of nearly one meter eighty before finally stopping, coming very close to our target depth.

Climbing out of the pit, I immediately collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. I was simply too tired. Still, lying down after physical exhaustion felt wonderfully comfortable. Following my example, Ying Yuefeng also collapsed not far away.

The sun had risen. Although it was still the early morning sun, its rays felt scorching hot upon the skin. Not long afterward, Brother Qian and the others finally climbed out of the pit. The pit was finally finished.

"How come those two haven't come back yet with the branches?" Brother Qian frowned and muttered casually.

"Yeah, it is rather strange. Theoretically, it's been nearly two hours!"

Right at that moment, Ye Qingchen's voice rang out from the distance: "Guys! Come over here! Come over here!" His tone was extremely urgent!