At this, Chuck almost laughed out loud.
What a scare, I thought we actually crashed.
Chuck raised his hand and gently stroked Gu Yitong's warm shoulder, various thoughts flashing through his mind.
He would naturally not reveal anything about the cheat system to anyone, but Gu Yitong was not stupid, and trying to fool her with a simple excuse was unrealistic.
After much thought, he decided to use a scientific explanation to reassure her.
"Don't panic yet. Having milk doesn't necessarily mean pregnancy; it could also be due to hormones or external stimuli. Besides…"
Chuck racked his brain, using his limited knowledge on the subject to comfort Gu Yitong. After a long explanation, he gently patted her shoulder and concluded seriously.
"Don't worry, even if you are truly pregnant, I will definitely take full responsibility. Whether you want to keep the baby or terminate the pregnancy, I will respect your decision and support you unconditionally."
Having said that, Chuck slowly leaned forward and kissed her beautiful, soft lips.
This kiss instantly left Gu Yitong stunned. The sorrow in her eyes vanished, replaced by a hint of moisture.
Only at this moment did she belatedly realize that even though she was over thirty and had been sexually used by Chuck in countless ways, that kiss just now…
It seemed to be her first kiss.
Fortunately, this first kiss was given to the man in front of her.
Her cheeks gradually flushed, and a reassuring smile curved her rosy lips. She gently nodded.
"M-hm."
Then, she lowered her head and resumed the work in her hands.
A sudden tug on his arm, and Julia's slightly annoyed voice sounded by his ear.
"Darling, you should have just said that earlier. Let's go! It'll be dark soon."
Over the past two days, his feelings for both Gu mother and daughter had rapidly warmed up. Fortunately, Julia's personality remained open and generous, so she only occasionally complained sourly or made small suggestive moves to tease Chuck, like she did this morning.
In fact, through his observation, Chuck was also surprised to find that, for some reason, Julia's attitude toward Gu Yitong was noticeably better than before. She was no longer constantly cold and even offered smiles occasionally.
Although he didn't know the reason, a harmonious relationship among the women around him was better than anything else. Chuck was naturally happy to enjoy it.
However, Chuck had patiently endured the crime of the bombshell teasing him and running off in the morning until the evening, so he naturally had to punish her severely.
And so…
"I'm sorry! Darling! I was wrong! I won't dare to do it again!!!"
Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!
The dense sounds of impact echoed across the beach under the setting sun, and finally…
"Ooh-ooh-oh-oh-oh—"
Accompanying the bombshell's female roar, Chuck finished his load. The bombshell, who had playfully teased him that morning, instantly transformed into a human fountain. Tossing her two jade rabbits while arching her snow-white neck, she convulsed her rosy feet and long legs, rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue in Chuck's arms, once again collapsing into semi-consciousness from exhaustion. Her flat, exquisite lower belly received another ten-plus grams of vital energy essence.
It was worth noting that perhaps because her body was now able to absorb the vital energy essence, Julia's physical endurance had greatly improved recently. Consequently, the intensity of Chuck's battles with her now even surpassed those with the mature woman Gu Yitong. Reinforced by a yellow potion, his long spear moved freely, hitting the bottom every time without mercy, making it truly gratifying.
The sunset gradually sank into the sea. Chuck carried the limp bombshell over one shoulder, covered his mouth with the other hand to stifle a yawn, and walked barefoot leisurely toward the stone slope platform.
"Ouch, hot!"
Inside the cave on the southwest bay, a small hand with painted nails was skewering a roasted fish when it was suddenly brushed by the oil-ignited flame. It immediately dropped the fish into the fire, reflexively pulling the hand back.
Then, the owner began blowing on it with a miserable face.
"Are you alright? Did you get burned?"
Tang Yu-Mo, who was across the fire, quickly put down her half-eaten roasted fish and stepped forward to check Kaoru Kawano's hand.
"Luckily, you're not hurt… let the teacher help you, Kaoru."
Tang Yu-Mo smiled, picking up the roasted fish from the fire.
"Thank you, Teacher Tang."
Kaoru Kawano nodded, replying softly.
But the smile on her face was forced, and her eyes were full of fatigue.
A day ago, she could still force a smile, but now, after truly experiencing a full day of life on the deserted island herself…
She couldn't even manage a smile anymore.
There was no internet here. She couldn't chat with friends in the Line group. She couldn't casually take a TikTok video and have strangers frantically like and comment. There were no piping hot, crispy korokke from street vendors. There were no malls, no beauty stores, no trendy brand shops, no cinemas, no matcha shops, no sushi restaurants…
Aside from the beach, the sun, and the sea, there was truly nothing.
So, once the initial excitement, like being on a vacation, wore off, it was replaced by an overwhelming sense of emptiness and boredom.
Food consisted mostly of wild fruits and roasted fish. Although drinking water was not an issue, washing her body could only be done with plain water and scrubbing. There wasn't even soap. At night, she could only lie on the hard cave floor, with only dry palm leaves serving as a mattress.
With every passing second, Kaoru Kawano missed her once-routine life more than the previous one.
"Teacher Tang, let me do it."
Aya Mamori, seeing this, proactively reached out and took the roasted fish. She dusted off the ashes, washed it with fresh water, and then put it back on the fire to continue roasting.
Tang Yu-Mo didn't insist further.
Compared to Kaoru Kawano, Aya Mamori was clearly adapting better.
As the captain of the school volleyball team, she had only recently retired from the club. Her life, besides classes, consisted of practice matches or fitness training. Weekends and holidays were either spent participating in tournaments or on training camps.
Other than volleyball, she genuinely didn't have any specific hobbies.
So, on this deserted island, except for some trouble sleeping at night, there was nothing else she found intolerable.
"Teacher Tang…"
Kaoru Kawano suddenly looked up at Tang Yu-Mo, hugging her knees. "You said yesterday that rescue would come very soon… so, when exactly will they arrive?"
Tang Yu-Mo blinked, momentarily unsure how to answer the question.
She pondered carefully before replying cautiously.
"The teacher wants to go back too, but right now, all we can do is try our best to persevere on this deserted island. If we hold on, we will definitely be rescued."
Hearing Tang Yu-Mo's words, Kaoru Kawano's expression remained calm, but her gaze gradually became more scrutinizing.
As a highly attractive, current gal high school student, Kaoru Kawano had been at the top of her class's social pyramid since middle school. The thing she was best at was judging whether a person was worth approaching.
This Teacher Tang, apart from offering some empty words of encouragement, genuinely lacked ability.
Kaoru Kawano couldn't deny that Teacher Tang was a kind person, but her words, such as, "The teacher will definitely take care of you," "The teacher will definitely protect you," and "We will definitely leave this place," lacked any foundation and were utterly unconvincing.
Frankly speaking, over the past day, even without Teacher Tang's presence, she and Aya Mamori would have survived in this bay just the same.
Since Teacher Tang was unreliable, and as two eighteen-year-old high school girls stranded on a deserted island, she and Aya Mamori… had to find someone reliable.
Kaoru Kawano remembered clearly that on the day they first met, Teacher Tang had repeatedly warned them not to leave this bay, because there were others on the island besides the three of them.
Why was Teacher Tang so wary of those people? Kaoru Kawano didn't know.
Perhaps those people were too dangerous, or perhaps they had clashed with Teacher Tang. Regardless, she wanted to see the truth about those people with her own eyes.
Only ever be friends with the right people—that was the gal's way of survival.
"Kaoru, here."
Aya Mamori, handing the roasted fish to her, looked sideways at Kaoru Kawano's expression. A hint of worry gradually appeared in her eyes beneath her short hair.
Since childhood, she could count on one hand the number of times she had seen Kaoru Kawano wear this expression.
One time was in middle school when the boys' volleyball club captain sexually harassed her. Kaoru had come to comfort her that night and had worn that expression.
The next day, that captain was cornered in the restroom by a group of older boys and beaten. He later apologized to her, bruised and swollen, crying like a child.
Another time was when they had just entered high school. Kaoru had casually rejected a boy's confession, and rumors started being spread about her. That evening, on the way home together, Kaoru Kawano wore that expression again.
Similarly, the very next day, the social media alt account of that boy's ex-girlfriend, an upperclassman, was exposed. It contained a massive amount of nasty comments targeting schoolmates, including Kaoru Kawano. All of it was copied and posted on the school bulletin board and in the girls' restroom.
Consequently, from that day until graduation, that upperclassman was always alone, whether during lunch break or on her way home from school.
And yet another time…
In short, every instance meant her childhood friend was about to stir up trouble.
Was Teacher Tang the target this time??
A chill ran through Aya Mamori's heart when she thought of this. She instinctively glanced at Tang Yu-Mo across from her, then frowned and shook her head.
No, based on her understanding of Kaoru, while she sometimes did terrible things, her nature was still kind. Teacher Tang had been so caring toward them from the beginning. Kaoru Kawano might not show gratitude, but she definitely wouldn't secretly harm her.
But not harming her didn't mean not betraying her.
Is that truly the case…?
Almost simultaneously, Aya Mamori also recalled Tang Yu-Mo's warning from yesterday. And almost in the next second, she guessed what Kaoru Kawano intended to do.
Thus, Aya Mamori's own plan slowly began to form in her mind.
She was simple-minded. Her life had always revolved only around volleyball. She was very clumsy (bukiyō) in both academics and social interactions.
If it weren't for Kaoru always being by her side, her high school life would never have been so smooth.
Kaoru had always been the one quietly protecting her.
So, this time, it was her turn to protect Kaoru.
Looking at the flickering firelight, Aya Mamori gently clenched her fists, silently resolving her heart.
The next morning, Chuck woke up first, walked out of the wooden house, stretched his body in the fresh morning air, and then returned inside to add wood to the fire.
The women of the household woke up one after another.
Julia was responsible for gathering firewood outside, Gu Mòmo continued to add wood to the kiln burning lime, and Gu Yitong began preparing breakfast.
Everyone was busy with their assigned tasks, except Chuck, who sat idle on the bed, planning what he needed to do for the day.
The expansion of the bungalow was largely complete. All that remained was the foundation pouring, which still required ten full portions of lime mortar.
According to the Workbench's synthesis prompt, he needed to pour 20 portions of lime and 10 portions of gravel into a large container simultaneously, then mix them with water to obtain one portion of lime mortar.
This meant Chuck had to burn ten pieces of coral reef and collect a massive amount of gravel to gather the materials for the mortar synthesis!
However, since he was pouring the foundation for the entire wooden house, the need for so much material was not unexpected.
Fortunately, the enlarged Advanced Kiln had ample space and could fire two pieces of coral reef at once. Over the past day, under the alternating watch of Gu Mòmo and Chuck, the kiln had already produced 120 portions of lime, which should be completed by evening.
The last problem Chuck had to solve was the remaining 100 portions of gravel.
The gravel needed for the mortar was not the fine sand found on the beach but a coarser grit. It wasn't hard to find, as it was everywhere under the riverbed on the slope, but digging it out was laborious.
Chuck had no better choice but to make do with the few tools he had and his bare hands. Fortunately, the Workbench had unlocked the storage space, so transport was not an issue.
Today's goal was to synthesize the mortar, pour the foundation, and finally complete the Tier-4 upgrade blueprint for the bungalow!
But just as Chuck was brimming with motivation, a strong, strange scent suddenly wafted into his nostrils.
Gu Yitong's voice then sounded by his side.
"That…"
Chuck was stunned. He instinctively turned his head, his gaze frozen.
He saw Gu Yitong holding a clay bowl, her face completely red, offering it to him. Inside the bowl was a thick, white…
Milk?
No.
Chuck's brain short-circuited briefly, then instantly understood what it was.
The rich, milky scent was exactly the same as the liquid that had sprayed onto his fingertips yesterday.
Gu Yitong kept her eyes lowered, speaking softly in an embarrassed tone.
"I woke up this morning and felt uncomfortably engorged, so I… I expressed it myself. But it felt like a waste to just throw it away, so…"
As she spoke, she moved the clay bowl filled with milk closer to Chuck.
"Would you like some?"
Chuck's gaze shifted downward.
He clearly saw two patches of dampness spreading across the tight floral dress at the peaks of her two massive mounds…