walked over just as Wang Yan was frantically drilling into the roots with a stick, trying to spark a fire.

"At this rate, you'll be lucky to get a flame in ten lifetimes," Jiang Dandan sneered contemptuously.

Wang Yan rubbed her already reddened palms and looked up. "Got a better idea?"

Jiang Dandan chewed her gum, watching the spectacle with amusement. She shrugged indifferently.

Then I saw Xia Lan approaching. She slipped off her stockings, clutching her high heels in one hand, her bare, snow-white feet stepping delicately across the sand. With each step, her slender waist swayed subtly—an intoxicating sight that stirred dangerous thoughts.

She looked exhausted. Seeing Wang Yan still struggling with the fire, she remarked, "Last night’s explosion set everything ablaze. We should’ve preserved some embers back then."

"Hindsight is twenty-twenty," Jiang Dandan shot back, flicking a dismissive glance at Xia Lan.

Ignoring her, Xia Lan gazed toward the crash site. "Let’s go back. We might find something useful." slapped my forehead, drawing a blank on alternative fire-starting methods.

Just then, Lin Xian’er and Zhang Xi’er returned, lugging firewood.

Lin Xian’er wore a blue dress, her long hair dancing in the wind, her delicate features breathtaking—especially those dangerously long legs that could make a man lose his mind. Beside her, Zhang Xi’er seemed almost plain, her round glasses giving her an endearingly clueless, girl-next-door vibe.

They dropped the firewood. I smiled at them, but Lin Xian’er acted as if I didn’t exist, practically erasing me from existence. Awkward. Only Zhang Xi’er beamed a sweet smile at me.

With everyone present, Xia Lan reiterated her suggestion to return to the wreckage.

Zhang Xi’er paled. "Can we not go?"

"If you cowards don’t want to, fine. But I’m not setting foot in that charnel house again," Jiang Dandan declared.

Zhang Xi’er’s face turned even whiter, and she suddenly doubled over, gagging.

"Fine. Xia Lan, Wang Yan, Lin Xian’er, and I will check the wreckage. You two stay here and keep gathering firewood," I proposed.

Jiang Dandan scoffed. "Who the hell do you think you are, ordering me around?"

With that, she stormed off toward the rocks. Zhang Xi’er gave me an apologetic smile, adjusting her glasses. "Brother Lu Yuan, I’ll gather some branches."

Back at the crash site, the ground was littered with severed limbs and debris, the air thick with the stench of burnt flesh.

Wang Yan pinched her nose. "Let’s check the cargo hold. Maybe the luggage survived."

We followed her to the plane’s cargo bay. The door creaked open to reveal a charred wasteland—most suitcases reduced to ashes. dragged each case out until only one remained—an olive-green military trunk, miraculously intact.

Prying it open with a broken plank, I found a uniform beneath which lay a bayonet. I strapped it to my waist, then rifled through the rest of the trunk. Nothing else.

"Let’s split up and search the area," Wang Yan suggested.

We fanned out. Wang Yan salvaged some wearable clothes, Xia Lan found nothing, I pocketed a pocket watch from a charred corpse, and Lin Xian’er uncovered a Zippo lighter and a pack of cigarettes from another body.

With the lighter secured, we returned to the rocks. Wang Yan ignited some dry grass, and soon a roaring fire blazed to life.

Soon, all three bonfires were lit, black smoke curling into the sky. Now, all we could do was wait.

The rocks offered no high ground. I walked along the beach, scanning the horizon. Far ahead, I spotted cliffs where white seagulls circled. No significant discoveries—just coconut trees heavy with fruit, their smooth bark and towering height (the shortest stood at least fifteen meters) making harvesting impossible.

Back at the rocks, I was starving and parched. It had been over twenty-four hours since I’d last eaten or drunk anything. Checking my pocket watch—1:10 PM. The morning had slipped by unnoticed.

"What’s on your mind?" Wang Yan’s voice broke my reverie.

She’d changed into casual clothes—tight jeans accentuating her curves, a semi-transparent white blouse with a crimson lace bra barely visible beneath. The effect was maddening. swallowed hard. With no experience with women, a primal urge stirred within me.

Gurgle...

Wang Yan’s stomach let out a loud growl. Flushing, she covered it with her hands and looked away. I chuckled.

"No telling when rescue will come. We need water and food," she said firmly. nodded. "The jungle should have both. I’m heading in."