While others seek survival, I engage in flirtation Chapter 26: Oysters

"I know these things are edible, but I'm not exactly a master chef," I said, eyeing the oysters. They smelled fresh and delicious, so they should taste amazing.

But I'd only ever had oysters at restaurants, so I wasn't sure if just cooking them would make them safe to eat.

"These are really delicious!" Lilian's eyes went wide with surprise, and she turned to me, "Since you don't know how to cook them, let me handle it!"

She took over dinner with a rare smile on her face.

After we gathered some oysters, we got ready to put new seaweed on the rocks.

I wanted to pick some seaweed myself, but Lilian stopped me.

"I'll get the seaweed, you clean off the dry stuff from the rocks... it'll save us a lot of time." With that, she dove into the sea.

I was surprised to see that Lilian was a great swimmer and could even dive.

She disappeared into the water and didn't come back up until I had almost turned over all the rocks. She emerged with a big handful of seaweed.

"Didn't you just take a bath?" I looked at the sparkling water droplets on her head and felt a bit concerned, "The seawater is really dirty."

Lilian seemed to have never thought about that. When she heard me, she looked at me like I was crazy.

"If I get dirty, I'll just wash again." She shook off the seawater from her pants, "Finding rescue is the priority."

Once we finished, we put the rocks back and headed back to camp with the oyster meat. Even though the oysters were big and good, we only took a small portion so we could enjoy them regularly without hurting the ecosystem.

This was an unexpected treat, and the other girls would be thrilled to see it!

There was still some time before sunset, and we had planned to explore the woods to see if we could find any survivors.

But the oysters in my pocket had such a strong smell that, even in the bag, their scent was overpowering.

Such a scent in the woods would likely attract animals.

Even though I was pretty strong now, dealing with a bunch of animals would be impossible. Even if we hurried back to camp, we would have to avoid the woods.

And these oysters wouldn't last long out of their shells. If we walked too slowly, they might rot before we got back to camp.

Lilian and I walked quickly, covering in half an hour which usually took nearly an hour.

Though walking fast didn't bother me, Lilian was feeling a bit tired.

"You okay, Lilian?" I patted her back to show some concern, but she just took the bag of oysters from me, and headed to the campfire, smiling. "Aren't you hungry?"

Our campfire never went out; we took turns watching it and adding dry grass and branches.

She grabbed a few large cans from beside the fire and poured the oysters into them. The soft oyster meat looked really appetizing.

To my surprise, she didn't add water to the cans but sprinkled some salt on the oysters.

Wouldn't that burn the oysters?

"Lilian... are you sure this is gonna taste good?" Even Aimee, who usually knew her stuff about food, looked doubtful.

Lilian just gave me a mysterious smile and tossed in a few plants that looked like some kind of seasoning into the boiling cans.

Soon enough, a rich, fragrant broth started bubbling up from the cans filled with oysters!

The bubbling broth made the oyster meat quiver gently, and my mouth started watering just looking at it!

Lilian finished cooking and poured the oysters into a large wooden bowl I had carved out with an axe during my downtime.

We didn't have many containers at camp, and the cans were pretty much all we had for holding food.

"Grilled oysters are delicious." She handed me the bowl.

The thick, rich broth covered the tender oyster meat, making it look super tempting. I picked up a piece and popped it into my mouth, feeling an unprecedented satisfaction!

To be honest, the oyster meat didn't taste as good as it smelled; it was almost flavorless.

Without much seasoning, it still had a bit of a fishy taste.

But we couldn't afford to be picky now; just having a full meal was a luxury.

Plus, it was a nutritious meal.

Seeing me take a bite, the other girls tried some too. Soon, the whole bowl of oysters was gone.

Even at night, the cave was still filled with the delicious aroma. After eating and drinking, we sat around the campfire, and the girls started chatting.

This seemed like the first time we sat together and just talked like this.

Since arriving on this deserted island, we had been working non-stop for survival, with almost no time to relax.

"By the way, what are you planning to do with that open space outside the camp?" Ivy suddenly asked me in the middle of the conversation.

"I'm planning to raise some animals there to ensure a steady supply of meat. Since there are carnivorous wolves and bears here, there must be herbivorous animals too."

I explained my idea to them, and they immediately agreed. Aimee even said she wanted to help me track down some animals.

Just talking about the possibility of having meat made our mouths water.

But it was easier said than done; we had no idea where to find such animals, and even if we did, we might not be able to catch them, let alone keep them.

"By the way, didn't Assad catch some animals before?" Ivy thought for a moment, then suddenly stood up, grabbing my arm with a look of realization, "Should we ask him what animals they were and where he found them?"

This was great! I was worried about where to find these animals!

I immediately packed up and prepared to find Assad and his group.

Although they didn't have a camp now, their activity range should still be the same.

Early the next morning, I left the camp to look for Assad and his group.

I wandered in the woods for a while but didn't find any trace of Assad, only some hoofprints in the mud.

There were sheep in these woods?

Following the tracks, I saw a goat leisurely grazing not far away.

Wasn't this exactly the kind of animal I was looking to raise?