Chapter 194: Deserted Island Survival 18

Inside the box were a ballistic helmet, a bulletproof vest, and an army-green backpack containing some food, water, a pistol, and some bullets.

Moira Lynch’s knowledge of firearms was second only to her knowledge of cars. It wasn’t that she knew nothing at all, but her understanding was patchy at best.

So when she saw the pistol, Moira Lynch didn’t recognize the model at first glance, and she didn’t recognize it at second glance either.

But that didn’t matter. Regardless of the model, a gun that worked was a good gun.

She had previously acquired quite a few weapons from the base, and Moira Lynch had once had someone on Shane Rhodes’s team teach her how to use them.

This pistol wasn’t a model she had used before, but it should be similar enough.

After packing everything away, Moira Lynch decided to cut through the rainforest to reach the coast.

On the way to the rainforest, Moira Lynch looked at the ubiquitous Black Fire Stones and couldn’t help but find it strange.

’These stones seem to be multiplying.’

She had been collecting Black Fire Stones intermittently for days. Just yesterday, she had cleared an area, only for more to appear the next day without a single trace or sign of how.

Her intuition told her something was wrong, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

So, Moira Lynch decided to ask Patience.

"Patience, scan the surrounding environment, especially underground."

[Understood.]

Five minutes later.

[Scan complete. At a depth of one thousand meters, tectonic activity is extremely high. Two powerful forces are colliding, squeezing out the Black Fire Stones that were originally hidden underground. Furthermore, the Intelligent Brain has detected signs of an active volcano. It is highly probable that this tectonic activity is caused by said volcano, with a likelihood of 73.51%.]

Moira Lynch was speechless.

She had only been trying to ease her mind by finding the reason for the sudden appearance of the Black Fire Stones, but instead, she had uncovered a ticking time bomb.

"What is the volcano’s current status?"

[The volcano is currently extremely active. It has met all the prerequisite conditions for an eruption and could erupt at any moment.]

It wasn’t the worst-case scenario, but it wasn’t much better.

’An eruption could happen at any moment, but that doesn’t mean it will happen *this* moment. I still have time.’

As Moira Lynch thought this, she felt the urgency pressing down on her.

’Since there’s a volcano beneath this deserted island, my best bet is to build a boat and leave, lest I get caught up in the eruption.’

She touched the mask on her face. ’Good thing I have a habit of wearing a mask into the game.’

Entering the rainforest was like stepping from a dry hall into a steam-filled bathroom.

Moira Lynch wasted no time, searching for materials to build a boat as she made her way through the jungle.

Back where she had encountered Black Wolf, the traps laid by those people had been set with bamboo spikes, which meant there had to be a bamboo forest somewhere on this deserted island.

Suddenly, Moira Lynch slapped herself on the head. ’How stupid of me. With a local like Black Wolf around, I don’t have to wander around aimlessly.’

Besides, after so many days of rest, Black Wolf’s injuries had mostly healed. The only reason it was still lazing about in her storage space was purely for the sake of comfort and enjoyment.

She released Black Wolf, and its enormous body instantly flattened the surrounding vegetation.

Black Wolf shot Moira Lynch a reproachful look and let out a cry. "Awoo."

_What do you want?_

"You know this area better than I do. Take me to the bamboo forest."

"Awoo."

Black Wolf signaled that it was no problem, but for dinner, it wanted beggar’s chicken and roasted mushrooms.

"Roasted mushrooms are no problem, but we’re all out of chicken. If you want to eat some, you’ll have to catch it yourself."

"Awoo."

Black Wolf raised its head, signaling that it was no problem and that she could leave it to him.

With that, Black Wolf crouched down slightly, gesturing for Moira Lynch to climb on.

Moira Lynch didn’t stand on ceremony, leaping onto its back in a single bound.

Feeling the soft fur beneath her, she thought to herself, ’This fur is a little slippery. Maybe I should get a custom saddle made when we get back.’

With her Black Wolf-brand mount, their speed increased significantly.

However, the journey to the bamboo forest wasn’t entirely smooth. It wasn’t that they ran into any danger, but rather that Black Wolf would stop occasionally.

With Black Wolf’s superb tracking and hunting skills, no prey could escape its notice.

Moira Lynch watched as Black Wolf hunted down more than a dozen pheasants and a couple of deer in less than half an hour. "That should be enough, right?" she said.

Black Wolf shook its head, signaling it wasn’t enough.

"Awoo."

_We should store up more. It won’t go bad in your space anyway._

Due to the game’s rules, Moira Lynch hadn’t allowed Black Wolf to touch anything in her storage space for the past few days. Although it couldn’t touch things, that didn’t stop it from exploring.

"Awoo."

_Besides, if I catch a lot now, I might not be able to eat them again for a long time._

Hearing Black Wolf’s casual remark, Moira Lynch’s heart skipped a beat.

"What do you mean, ’might not be able to eat them again’?"

"Awoo."

_Didn’t you say you were taking me with you when you leave?_

Black Wolf led Moira Lynch to a patch of ground covered in mushrooms. Each one was vibrantly colored, looking both beautiful and extremely poisonous.

[Crumble-in-Your-Mouth Shroom: A mushroom so delicious it falls to pieces. Even the pickiest of eaters cannot refuse such a delicacy.]

"Awoo."

_You pick mushrooms here. There’s a deer herd nearby. I’ll be right back._

"Hey—"

Moira Lynch’s hand froze in midair as she watched Black Wolf’s disappearing form.

She looked down at the plump, round Crumble-in-Your-Mouth Shrooms on the ground. ’Honestly,’ she thought, ’it’s rare to see such perfectly formed, beautiful mushrooms in the wild.’

Moira Lynch first scanned the mushroom patch to determine its size. Once she had a rough idea of the area, she collected all the mushrooms, along with the topsoil they were growing in, into her storage space.

Then she began transplanting the topsoil where the Crumble-in-Your-Mouth Shrooms grew directly into her space. This method was far more efficient and had a higher success rate than trying to cultivate them from mycelium.

Not much time had passed since Black Wolf had left, so Moira Lynch started searching the area to see if she had missed any.

She didn’t find any more mushrooms, but she did find something else.

[Soul Resurrection Grass: Can pull even those on the brink of death back from the afterlife.

PS: Soul Resurrection Grass must be excavated with extreme care. Breaking even a single rootlet will greatly diminish its quality.]

Moira Lynch looked at the black seeds atop the Soul Resurrection Grass. ’This thing looks kind of familiar,’ she thought.

’Wait, isn’t this ginseng?!’

’It’s huge!’

Moira Lynch stared, dumbfounded, at the plant in front of her—it was taller than she was.

It could practically be called a small tree.

Patience had said the rootlets of the Soul Resurrection Grass couldn’t be broken during excavation, but for Moira Lynch, that was a piece of cake.

’I can just use my spiritual power to collect the Soul Resurrection Grass along with the surrounding soil.’

After a careful inspection, Moira Lynch discovered that not only was the above-ground portion of the Soul Resurrection Grass shockingly large, but its underground part was also astonishing.

Its root system was so well-developed that it spread out over a two-meter radius.