While others seek survival, I engage in flirtation Chapter 31: After the Calamity

"Am I... still alive?" She couldn't believe it, a tear still clinging to the corner of her eye.

When the waves pulled her under, she must've felt completely hopeless.

Without thinking, I hugged her. At that moment when she almost vanished, I had never been so scared of losing someone.

Maybe I felt the same way about all these girls. I couldn't quite put it into words, but I knew I genuinely wanted them to make it.

"What about the boxes?" Lilian was more worried about the boxes than the fact that she survived.

It hit me then how insignificant our lives seemed, especially on this lawless deserted island.

When I was dragging Lilian ashore, I had already grabbed the last two boxes.

Even though the boxes looked big, they weren't heavy for me. I could easily carry them back to shore.

After getting ashore, my first thought was Lilian's safety, not the boxes.

Now that Lilian was safe, I started to focus on the boxes.

Besides the stuff we packed ourselves, we found a few well-sealed boxes.

The locks on them were rusted, making it easy to open the lids, but I didn't rush to open them. I just set them aside.

The reason was simple. Judging by the rust on the boxes, it was clear they had been in the seawater for a long time. If the lock holes were rusted, the hinges were probably rusted too.

If I forced them open now, the boxes might fall apart, making it impossible to bring the contents back to the camp.

I found some ropes in the unlocked boxes Lilian and I had sorted, then tied the boxes together and carried them on my back.

I had no more room to carry anything else, so I handed the water container and other items to Lilian, while I carried the boxes back to the camp with her.

"Did we only bring back seven boxes?" At the camp, Lilian looked at the neatly arranged boxes on the ground and frowned.

In the rush, I hadn't counted how many boxes I brought ashore, but from Lilian's reaction, it seemed there was a problem with the number of boxes.

"What's wrong? Aren't there seven boxes?" I was about to open all the boxes when Lilian suddenly stopped me.

"I counted on the boat; there were eight boxes." She counted on her fingers, "Two unlocked boxes and two locked boxes."

"And four smaller boxes that looked more like suitcases." She pointed at the boxes in front of us, "One suitcase is missing."

If Lilian was so sure, then one box must be missing. She always had a good memory.

If our box was missing, the first person I would suspect was Matt. Their camp was close to that beach, and it wasn't the first time Matt had stolen things from others.

"Could it be Matt?" I immediately shared my suspicion with the other girls.

"We can't be sure yet... but I don't think anyone else would take our box." Margaret thought seriously for a moment before speaking, "But why would they only take one box?"

This was the part that really had me scratching my head.

Even though the other "suitcases" we brought back were unlocked and easy to open, it still didn't explain why they only took one box.

"Could it be they needed something specific inside? Maybe they were so focused on those supplies that they only took that one box," Aimee suggested, her hand on her chin as she thought it over.

"Why don't we just go to their camp and check?" Lilian said, weighing the weapon in her hand, "We'll know if they took our supplies and how much they took."

So, Lilian and I set off for Matt's camp.

This time, the other girls didn't insist on coming with me, which was unusual.

They had all been harassed by Matt to some extent, and just hearing his name made them visibly angry.

From my perspective, I didn't want them there either. They weren't good at fighting, and if Matt or his followers took advantage of that, we would be at a disadvantage.

If that happened, no matter how much they took from us, we would have to give it up.

Lilian and I ran to their camp and slowed down as we approached.

The camp looked much the same as the last time I was there. They still had many traps set around the cave, and even the trap locations hadn't changed.

I carefully avoided the traps on the ground and signaled Lilian to follow.

We quietly made our way to the center of their camp, where Matt was sitting at the entrance of their cave.

I silently moved behind him and pressed an axe to his neck.

"Hand over the stuff." I was close enough to grab his wrist with my other hand.

"I didn't take your stuff..." he exclaimed, clearly not happy with the way I was holding him down. However, he seemed too weak to struggle or resist, leaving him at my mercy.

Meanwhile, Lilian had already subdued Landon and another of Matt's followers.

Matt's body was slumped, seemingly injured, but he was still struggling, clearly holding a grudge against me.

"Who else could it be? You took our box and won't admit it?" I pressed the axe closer to his neck, leaving a shallow cut.

"I really didn't take your stuff! I haven't even seen any box!" He looked angry, sitting on the ground, "You might as well kill me!"

Was this something Matt would say? This wasn't like him at all!

"What's wrong with you?" I was surprised by his reaction, "This isn't like you."

I kept the axe pressed to his neck, giving him no chance to relax.

When he heard my question, his eyes filled with fear. He looked around before lowering his voice and leaning close to my ear.

"I think I know who stole your stuff." He seemed displeased with those people too, showing some disgust as he spoke about them.

"Their camp is not far ahead, and there are many of them." He pointed to the other side of the woods, "They have a lot of good stuff in their camp. If you have extra supplies, share some with us."

He added, "Consider it a reward for giving you this valuable info."