"Ah, can I go back to sleep and continue this dream? Even if it's fake, I should at least enjoy it..."
With a sigh, Chen Zhou voiced his thoughts aloud.
His voice echoed gently in the pitch-black cave, adding a slightly eerie tone to the midnight air.
Striking the flint, he fumbled to light the oil lamp. Chen Zhou felt that he was no longer cold, although his body was still weak and lacked strength.
"A disease strikes like a landslide, but leaves like spinning silk.
Fortunately, my condition didn't worsen; it seems my immunity is quite strong. I've managed to get through this."
He held the oil lamp up, warming his cold hands by its fla.
Having just woken up, Chen Zhou wasn't tired at all, nor did he feel hungry or thirsty.
Usually, when awake, he would find things to do, either chopping wood or continuing to carve wheels.
Now that his condition had slightly improved, he didn't want to engage in heavy labor; he just wanted to warm himself up and rest well.
So he draped himself in seal skin, grabbed the oil lamp, lit the bonfire in the kitchen, and fed Xiao Huihui and Raisin, and gave Lai Fu a few pieces of dried at.
The fire's red glow shone brightly. Sitting on a low stool, Chen Zhou realized it was past midnight; it was now February 26th.
If the mysterious reward appeared at precisely 00:00 today on the beach, it should have already arrived and the reward was fixed.
As he predicted yesterday, this reward would likely be sothing large and heavy that needed transportation.
He got up and walked outside. The sky was dark, without any stars, showing signs that it might rain.
After hesitating for a mont, Chen Zhou decided to check out the beach anyway.
However, just recovering from a cold, he didn't want to do physical labor.
If the reward was sothing small, easily portable, he would take it away with him.
If the reward was as he expected, he couldn't leave it on the beach to avoid damage; he needed to devise a plan in advance.
"I'll make a rain cover to wrap the reward. Close both the top and bottom, and even if the rain shield fails, it'll last until I recover."
Chen Zhou quickly thought of a thod and put it into action.
He brought so fish swim bladder glue and placed it by the fire to heat.
Then he took out the plastic outer packaging bags and the nylon bags from the vacuum packaging of edible earth provided in previous rewards, gluing them together to create a large waterproof tarp for future use.
The whole process was very simple and quick. Fish swim bladder glue, as a natural adhesive, was highly viscous when cooled, binding all the unfolded plastic and nylon bags together.
Spreading the tarp on the kitchen floor, he let the glue cool completely.
Chen Zhou cooked a pot of flour porridge.
While waiting for the porridge to cook, he listened to the crackle of burning wood and watched the sharp contrasts of light and shadow in the kitchen, suddenly feeling an urge to sketch the scene.
So, Chen Zhou returned to the bedroom to retrieve a notebook and so pen and ink, moving a chair over.
Crossing his legs and leaning against the chair back, in the flickering firelight, he dipped into the pineapple ink, squinting at the silhouette of Lai Fu lying on the floor, and drew a straight line on the paper.
The sound of the quill's tip on the paper was pleasing to the ear.
Hearing this unordinary sound, Lai Fu lifted his head in confusion, staring at the notebook on his master's knee with a puzzled face.
Chen Zhou imrsed himself in the sensation of drawing.
He tried hard to change the habits he'd developed while drafting blueprints, making his strokes appear soft and casual, occasionally dabbing more ink to add details to the page.
The faint outline of the stone cave walls, the support beams hidden in darkness;
The rack drying seal skins in the distance, a fish jerky falling from the drying rack faintly showing its shape, along with the hanging dried at;
Each shelf plank on the food rack was straight, and the jars and bottles neatly arranged;
Raisin curled into a ball, lying close to the bonfire, breathing steadily;
Lai Fu's fur glistening in the firelight, soft drooping ears, shining eyes, a thick mane around his neck...
The pink-purple ink seed inappropriate and overly monotonous.
Yet under Chen Zhou's hand, everything rigid and dull was suffused with firelight under this ambiguous hue.
The details between light and darkness, orderly lines lding with the whimsical casualness of fur, gradually filled up the entire page.
He couldn't rember how long it had been since he last drew.
In this quiet otherworldly cave, beside a burning bonfire, Chen Zhou found the artistic state of his youth, focusing intently on describing the world he felt with quill and ink.
Before he knew it, the eastern sky was tinged with a pale gray-white.
The fire was about to burn out, and the pot of porridge was starting to emit a slight burnt sll.
After dipping his quill in ink once more, he looked at the worn-down quill tip and the densely packed lines on the paper. Chen Zhou laid down the last stroke, raising his head to rub his aching neck.
...
Dawn had arrived.
It was ti to set out.
After eating the burnt porridge, he picked up the tightly glued "advanced waterproof tarp," rolling it into a huge cylinder, and as usual, took the Long-handled Axe for protection, leaving the cave.
The weather on the morning of the 26th seed decent.
Though cloudy, the sky still had gaps allowing plenty of sunlight through, not looking like it was about to rain.
Chen Zhou moved faster than when he went downhill for dicine the previous day, quickly reaching the beach.
From a distance, he noticed his makeshift rain shelter seed to have sunk, and the ropes tied around it were hanging down to the sand, giving him an ominous feeling.
Approaching, he froze upon seeing the covered reward.
Standing still for more than ten seconds, a complex smile spread across Chen Zhou's face.
The reward this ti was indeed as he anticipated—sothing both crucial and exceptionally heavy.
Moreover, it was water-sensitive—more than sixty bags of cent.
Uncovering the tarp and seeing the brand on the cent bags, Chen Zhou's expression grew even more complicated.
These bags of cent were unbelievably familiar, coming from the cent factory where he'd worked before joining the challenge.
Looking closely at the type of cent, he burst into laughter, unable to resist a quip.
"P.O 52.5 portland cent, each bag weighing 40kg.
For heaven's sake, it's the premium stuff."
Cent with such high compressive strength is usually used in constructing bridges, tall buildings, and large factories.
According to their factory's retail price, loose P.O 52.5 cent costs more than 560 yuan per ton.
Packaged goods of this premium quality are priced even higher.
"Good thing I knew you had sothing up your sleeves and prepared in advance.
Otherwise, hauling over sixty bags of cent would have worn out."
He set down the waterproof tarp, spreading it on the beach, picking up the Stone beneath the rain cover to secure the tarp's edges to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.
Instead of rushing to move the cent, Chen Zhou circled the rain shelter, inspecting the wooden stakes and long ropes embedded in the sand.
Despite being ntally prepared for the unexpected reward, a question lingered without an answer.
Over the past few days, there had been no strong winds, rain, tsunamis, earthquakes, nor any natives causing trouble, so why had the intact rain shelter collapsed?
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