Chapter 24: Bad Snake
With the large snake helping to collect firewood, it was much faster than Yu Chujin’s painstaking efforts.
In just half a day, the large snake had helped collect a large pile of firewood, enough to burn for three or four days without any problem.
Although Yu Chujin hadn’t made a fire starter, she had figured out a practical method.
She didn’t need an open flame all day. She could bury the unburned charcoal in the ashes to preserve it. When she needed it, she could just rake away the ashes, put some flammable tinder on it, and blow on it to reignite it.
This method greatly saved the use of firewood. Yu Chujin, from an idiot in outdoor survival, had slowly summarized a set of practical methods that suited her.
After having enough firewood, Yu Chujin put the task of expanding the shelter on her agenda.
Cutting down wood was very easy. The sharpness of the large snake’s claws was comparable to a chainsaw. One swipe, and a tree was down. Another swipe, and another tree was down. It was ridiculously sharp.
Yu Chujin forcibly conscripted its claws to cut down trees. In fact, it couldn’t be called forced conscription; it was quite willing.
As long as she praised it, it was willing to do anything.
Yu Chujin transformed into a ruthless capitalist, madly enslaving the large snake, with only a simple compliment as its wage.
Yet the large snake didn’t feel enslaved at all. It was happy every day, accompanying Yu Chujin in all her endeavors.
No matter what Yu Chujin wanted to do, the large snake was by her side. Except for the time it went out to hunt, it almost never left Yu Chujin’s line of sight.
In less than half a day, the wood for building the shelter had been cut. A large pile of wood was stacked on the side, just waiting to be built.
Yu Chujin had no intention of changing the structure of the shelter. The appearance was still a triangular tent.
The triangular structure was the most stable. The most basic was the best. There was no need to make it too fancy and impractical.
The main purpose of this expansion was to expand the space so that she wouldn’t hit her head when she sat up.
The construction process was very smooth. During this period, Yu Chujin went to the seaside to collect a lot of garbage woven bags for the roof. There were plenty of ropes left from the paraglider, enough for her to use.
After three days, the shelter was completed!
Looking at the completed shelter, Yu Chujin put her hands on her hips, full of a sense of accomplishment.
She excitedly circled the shelter, and the large snake also excitedly circled the shelter.
One person and one snake, giggling, running and jumping, it was very lively.
Yu Chujin crawled in, lay down, and rolled around inside.
The large snake couldn’t get in, but it copied Yu Chujin’s movements and rolled around outside.
It rolled up a cloud of dust.
Yu Chujin was choked and coughed. She waved her hand and stopped it, “Stop rolling! Look at the mess you’ve made. There’s dust everywhere. Still rolling? If you keep rolling, you’re a bad snake!”
The large snake stopped moving. Its head and body were covered in mud and sand. The dirty it grinned, showing its large white teeth, blinked its eyes, looking silly and cute.
Yu Chujin sighed speechlessly.
“I was originally thinking of leaving a little space for you in the shelter. After all, you helped with the work, so it’s reasonable to leave a room for you.”
“But the problem is, you’re too big. I can’t build such a big house. So, it’s not that I don’t care about you, but my ability is really limited. Do you understand?”
Of course, the large snake didn’t understand. It would only come over to ask for pats, nudging her with its large head.
During this period, Yu Chujin kept arranging work for herself, and her life was quite fulfilling. She was busy and had no free time. Even if she had a moment of free time, she would chat with the large snake.
But when the shelter was expanded and she lay inside, a sense of emptiness inexplicably welled up in her heart.
Most of the tasks were completed. The sense of accomplishment faded, and she felt a little idle.
What should she do next?
She remembered. There was still one last task: to find a water source in the forest.
It had rained several times during this period, and she had collected a lot of rainwater again. The filtration equipment was also considered complete, so she had no sense of urgency about water.
Not only was there no sense of urgency, but she also had coconuts as a backup water source. This matter was not urgent at all, and she had almost forgotten about it.
It was only noon now, and it was still early. Why not pack up and go look in the forest?
Yu Chujin was a person who did what she thought of. She would go as soon as she said so.
Before setting off for the forest, Yu Chujin remembered something.
Every day, she would make a mark on the tree trunk to record the time. She had forgotten to record it today.
She often forgot, so the number of days recorded on the tree trunk was not accurate. She often missed or forgot to record.
But even with many missed and forgotten records, the tally marks on the tree trunk were already a long string.
Yu Chujin counted. There were a total of six tally marks, representing a whole month.
Yu Chujin was in a daze for a moment.
She had been trapped on this deserted island for a month. Strictly speaking, it should be more than a month, plus the part she had missed.
Time passed so quickly.
Yu Chujin had originally been in high spirits, wanting to go to the forest to find a water source. But after she finished counting the tally marks and realized that she had been trapped for a month, she suddenly had no energy left and collapsed in an instant.
She suddenly felt so tired and didn’t want to do anything.
Thirty days… meant that the rescue team had probably given up on rescuing her long ago.
A paragliding accident and disappearance would most likely be judged as a death. Who would waste their energy constantly looking for a person who was most likely dead?
No one would. No one would persist in looking for her for thirty days.
“When I was a child, I ran away from home in a fit of pique and hid in the stairwell for a day. No one looked for me the whole time. Now, why should I think that someone will look for me if I’m missing?”
“My existence has always been dispensable. No one will be happy because I’m alive, and no one will be sad because I’m dead…”
Yu Chujin leaned against the tree trunk, her spirits low.
The large snake tilted its head and observed her. Sensing her mood, its large head frantically nuzzled her face.
Yu Chujin didn’t push it away, but she didn’t respond either, her expression numb.
“Actually, there’s no one waiting for me to go back. I’ve been alone since I was a child. My father didn’t love me, and my mother didn’t love me. I have a bad temper, and I’m addicted to all kinds of extreme sports. Now, I’ve played it out. There’s no salvation. What’s the difference between living in this place and being dead…”
She muttered to herself, full of self-pity. As she spoke, she even started to pull her hair.
Her emotions gradually transitioned from dejection to irritability.
The large snake looked at the two-legged creature constantly pulling its hair, its eyes full of worry, and it let out an anxious “hiss.”
Yu Chujin turned a deaf ear, trapped in a quagmire of emotions.
A wet and slippery sensation suddenly came from her arm. Yu Chujin’s movements paused. It was the large snake biting her hand.
It bit very gently. The purpose was not to bite, but to stop her movements.
The large snake looked at her with sad eyes, as if it were even sadder than she was. Its snake’s nature licked her, comforting her.
Yu Chujin was silent. She stopped pulling her hair and, for the first time, did not feel disgusted by the large snake’s licking.
She hugged the large snake tightly and buried her face in its body. The soft and smooth touch was like burying her face in silk.
The touch was actually very comfortable, especially in this hot summer. It was very cool.
“It’s a good thing I have you,” Yu Chujin hugged the large snake and wiped her tears on its body.
This was the second time Yu Chujin had expressed such a sentiment. The last time was because the large snake had gone out to hunt and had been late in returning, and her emotions had been a little out of control.
And this time, it was looking at the tally marks on the tree trunk, and suddenly…
Perhaps it was because she had been alone on this deserted island for too long. Even if she deliberately kept herself busy every day and didn’t let herself stop, humans are ultimately social animals. After being alone for a long time, problems would inevitably arise.
Perhaps this situation would happen again in the future. A sudden emotional breakdown, a sudden fit of madness.
Yu Chujin: “Will you always be with me? When I’m going crazy.”
The large snake licked her cheek, “Hiss hiss.”
For some reason, Yu Chujin was very sure that the large snake’s hissing just now was saying, “Yes, I will always be with you.”
Yu Chujin had always known that the large snake’s feelings for humans were very pure, so pure that Yu Chujin sometimes didn’t understand why it would like to play with a two-legged creature that was not of its kind.
The atmosphere was originally quite warm. She was sad, and it was comforting her. But Yu Chujin’s mind was not quite right.
Suddenly… she wanted to taste what the large snake tasted like.
Then, she opened her mouth and bit it.
The large snake’s eyes widened.
Yu Chujin embarrassedly released her mouth, “The taste is quite average.”
The large snake still stared with its round eyes.
“Aiya, I just bit you. I didn’t use much force. It couldn’t have hurt you. I often bite my Da Huang too. Alright, don’t be so petty.”
The large snake looked at the place where it had been bitten, then at Yu Chujin, looking back and forth between the two places, constantly looking.
Its head turned back and forth, and its snake eyes were also particularly busy.
Yu Chujin felt uncomfortable being looked at and held out her hand, “If you’re not satisfied, you can bite me too.”
The large snake leaned over.
“No way, you’re really going to bite?” Yu Chujin quickly pulled her hand back.
She didn’t dare to let the large snake bite her. Yu Chujin biting it was child’s play, harmless. If it bit Yu Chujin, with its incomparably sharp teeth, Yu Chujin’s hand would be gone.
But fortunately, the large snake had no intention of biting back.
But unfortunately, the large snake had coiled its tail around her waist again.
As it coiled around her waist, the tip of its tail patted her, accompanied by an intimate “hiss.”
Yu Chujin really disliked this. Not only was it uncomfortable to be coiled around, but it was also very painful.
“Coiling and coiling again. I see you want to be beaten again!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she hit its tail twice.
The large snake’s expression froze for a moment. With a whoosh, it retracted its tail, hugged it, and whimpered.
Yu Chujin was unmoved and scolded it, “Have I told you that I don’t like you coiling your tail around me? You don’t listen, do you? You bad snake.”
The large snake hugged its tail, and a “wuwuwu” sound came from its throat.
Yu Chujin: “…”
Yu Chujin ignored it. No matter how pitiful it was, she wouldn’t coax it. She had to educate it seriously, lest it always coil its tail around her. She had to make it realize that this was a very wrong behavior.
Yu Chujin turned her back and didn’t look at it.
“Bad… snake.”
A muffled and stuttering voice came from behind.
Yu Chujin’s expression froze. She abruptly turned her head and looked at the large snake with surprise and uncertainty.
“Was that you talking just now??”
