While others seek survival, I engage in flirtation Chapter 45: The Empty Camp

I kinda remembered that Assad had a buddy who got nabbed by those weirdos. Could it be the same bunch?

The camp was a bust. After that huge fire, the scarce supplies were nearly all destroyed.

Lilian and I had to head back empty-handed. We didn't see Dennis, and we had no clue what went down at the camp.

As soon as we got back, Nora rushed over, asking about the camp.

I had to tell her the truth.

"You mean... they're all gone?" Nora looked shocked. She wasn't ready for this, and she just crumpled to the ground.

"Nora, I don't think anything bad happened to them." I quickly helped her sit on a rock, squatting in front of her to comfort her. "The camp was a mess, but there were no bodies. Maybe they just took off in a hurry, and nothing really happened!"

Even though I knew my words were weak, it was better than saying nothing.

The concern from us, her campmates, was obviously more comforting.

Other girls in the camp came over to console her. We surrounded her, trying to make her feel a bit better.

Nora, unsurprisingly, shed a few tears, but that was better than keeping it all inside.

I gently patted her back, helping her calm down.

For us, this was far from over. The chaos at Abbott's camp meant tougher times ahead.

These freaks attacked people, stole supplies, and even killed. They were scarier than wolves to us.

And we had no idea where they might pop up next.

I had been in that underground dark room, where the passages led everywhere. It was easy to get anywhere from that dark room.

After calming Nora down, I set out with Charlie early the next morning.

To prepare for the tough times ahead and counter these freaks, we needed to find some goats and start raising them.

I had talked about this with the folks at Abbott's camp. They said raising goats wasn't hard. Just keep them penned for a few days, and when they got really hungry, fed them a bit, and they'd calm down.

I often saw my uncle carefully tending to livestock, but I didn't realize taming these animals could be so simple!

I've been planning to find some goats for days, but I never had the right tools to help Charlie find the herd.

Yesterday, when I went to the camp, I didn't get any useful info, but I found the sheepskin I had personally skinned.

The sheepskin had been cut into pieces, with other fabrics sewn onto the back, making a thin little blanket.

Judging by the size, it was probably for a baby in the camp.

I also found other sheepskin scraps in a small cloth bag.

I let Charlie sniff these sheepskin scraps, and he immediately took off like a radar.

I quickly followed Charlie.

Soon, he stopped behind a tree, waiting obediently for me. When I reached him, I found that he had indeed found the goats I was looking for using those sheepskin scraps.

The spot where these goats showed up wasn't too far from the camp, and there weren't many of them. They were probably young ones that had wandered off from the herd.

If we could get these goats back to camp, we wouldn't have to worry about running out of meat.

But with my current skills, catching these goats barehanded was nearly impossible. I had to use vines from the nearby trees to make a loop, then quietly snag one.

The goats weren't too close to each other, so as long as I was careful, I wouldn't spook the others.

I quickly pulled down some vines from the trees, tied them into a loop, and then aimed at a goat's head and threw it.

These goats were actually pretty chill. As long as I didn't yank too hard, they'd almost move along with the rope.

After looping a few goats, I slowly led them back to camp.

Catching the goats went smoother than I thought. I even figured if one of the goats struggled too much, I'd just kill it.

After all, we were raising goats for meat, and worst-case scenario, we'd just have roast goat a bit earlier.

When I brought the goats back, the girls in the camp weren't surprised. We had seen the goats at Abbott's camp and even watched them milk the goats!

I put the goats in our pen and then started prepping other supplies.

The only downside to this life was that everything had to be done by hand, and the daily workload was huge.

I couldn't bear to let the girls in the camp do any dirty or heavy work, so the burden fell on me.

Besides the daily chores, I also wanted to reinforce the current fence. The fence we originally made could keep out wolves and bears, but we were helpless against those freaks. We needed to hurry and fortify our defenses.

The last time I saw Dennis, I asked him for the blueprints of the fence at Abbott's camp.

Their fence could not only keep out wild animals but also defend against those freaks.

Although I didn't know why, when we arrived at Abbott's camp, there was a big hole in the fence. But undoubtedly, the design of the fence itself was solid.

And considering they only had wood to work with, creating such a mechanism was already pretty impressive.

After discussing the fence situation with the other members of the camp, we decided to start working on it right away.

"We want to help too," several girls said in unison like they had planned it, all eyes on me.

"We can't always rely on you," Ivy suddenly came closer and patted my shoulder.

Although I didn't understand why they felt this way, since they were willing, I wouldn't refuse.

I started teaching them how to use an axe to chop trees and how to move a heavy log.

Watching them work hard, I felt proud, but I didn't want them to work like this. I didn't want their delicate hands to become rough and calloused.

But on this deserted island, we had no choice. They didn't want to be helpless.

I understood and respected their decision.