While others seek survival, I engage in flirtation Chapter 68: Investigation Before Moving

Ivy stopped dead in her tracks, raising her hand with a mysterious look on her face.

I had a feeling she had more to say, but with Moon already awake, she decided against it.

Soon, the other girls were up, and I rolled over, getting up from the grass mat.

Today was the day Dennis and I had agreed to return to the small building. I had already discussed it with the girls, asking them to organize the camp supplies and wait for my signal.

Then, Moon and I set off towards the building. This time, we brought Charlie along. With his keen sense of smell, scouting the surroundings should be easier.

The three of us, with just light packs, headed towards the building.

I left Matt at the camp, with Lilian keeping an eye on him—both to keep us moving and to ensure the safety of other girls at the camp.

After all, Matt was a man, and his combat skills were better than any of the girls except Lilian.

Charlie was as fast as ever, and my body was more than capable of keeping up in the forest.

Sometimes, I could swing on vines and cover a good ten feet. I started to wonder if I was meant to survive in this environment.

But Moon surprised me. I had seen her strength and fighting skills, but I never imagined she was faster than me.

She easily kept pace with me, even looking relaxed.

At one point, she got ahead of me and waited for a few minutes. When I caught up, she started moving again.

Moon had many secrets, but since she didn't want to share, I couldn't just ask her.

We moved quickly and reached the building before noon.

But as soon as we arrived, something felt off.

It was too quiet, and there were no signs of anyone staying here.

"Dennis is gone," Moon said as soon as she saw the building.

I didn't want to believe it. Dennis was skilled in wilderness survival, and we had just driven off those crazed baboons.

He should have been able to survive here for a night.

"Maybe he went exploring somewhere else?" I held onto a sliver of hope, looking for any signs or clues he might have left.

But to my disappointment, I found nothing, not even remnants of a campfire.

"No, we left when it was already dark. He would have stayed here for at least one night," Moon said, poking around the bushes and grass with a stick. "But it doesn't look like anyone stayed here."

It was hard to accept. Had I lost another person after just one day? If I had forced him to come back, he wouldn't have disappeared.

For some reason, I felt guilty. I started to think that their survival was my responsibility.

With great power came great responsibility, I guessed.

But no matter what, we had to keep moving forward. I patted Moon on the shoulder and pointed towards the deeper part of the forest.

Charlie was already facing that direction, sniffing the air.

I hadn't told him to search for anything, but he seemed to have picked up a scent that didn't belong, looking alert.

Moon glanced at me, then at Charlie, and became cautious. I gently patted Charlie's head, and he immediately followed the scent.

Sometimes, I thought Charlie was too smart. He understood my words and even guessed my intentions.

Charlie sniffed the ground for a while, then carefully moved forward. Moon and I followed closely behind.

Suddenly, a foul smell hit the air, and familiar sounds reached our ears.

The baboons!

I quickly called Charlie back. Moon seemed to have noticed too, tying her hair back.

She usually wore her hair down, but she would tie it up during work and combat. The previous battles had been so sudden that she hadn't had time to tie her hair, and although it hadn't gotten stained with blood, she washed it several times upon returning to camp.

Now, with her hair up, she looked calm and all business.

Just as she finished tying her hair, the baboons started screeching again. A group of them charged at us.

They were faster than before. Before I could react, they were already upon me.

I didn't have time to think about why they were here, only to swing my short knife at them.

There weren't as many baboons as the other night, but they were more frenzied and stronger.

This time, Moon wasn't using my short knife but a sharp fruit knife I had given to Lilian.

In the two months we had been on this island, we had gathered quite a few supplies, including some decent weapons.

Besides my short knife, there was the fruit knife Moon held, a short-handled axe, and several spears.

Moon and I quickly dealt with the baboons, finding tags on their bodies.

As expected, these baboons were also "Red Nightingale" experiments. But beyond that, we found nothing useful.

As we moved past the bodies and headed deeper into the forest, I suddenly heard the sound of running water nearby.

It sounded like a large stream, and it wasn't far.

"Do you hear water?" I asked Moon, who nodded affirmatively.

I sprinted towards the sound, with Moon right behind me. Along the way, we encountered a few more crazed baboons, which I quickly dispatched.

When we reached the source, I was stunned. It was hard to believe such a sight existed on this desolate island.

There was a sizable waterfall, and beneath it, something was being washed by the water.

"Moon! Come here!" I couldn't help but shout.

Under the waterfall was a hydroelectric generator!

And it looked like it still worked. I tried removing its battery, and sure enough, it had a port for charging mobile devices.