130. Striking Wood to Ignite Fire! (Please Bookmark)

"Yunjin, are we really spending the night here?"

"How is this place any different from where we were just a moment ago?"

Deep in the forest, Guan Tongyue and the others followed Su Yunjin to their resting spot for the night, but their faces fell the moment they saw the environment. It wasn't that they were angry, but despite having low expectations, the reality still left them disheartened.

It was an unclean patch of land, dark and damp, covered in a thick layer of leaves that looked as if they had been accumulating for years. To sleep here... the very thought was unthinkable.

"This is a natural concealed area, and there are several shorter trees nearby. If any predators emerge, we can climb up immediately," Su Yunjin said, well aware of what Guan Tongyue was thinking.

There was no other choice. This was the safest area they could find, and there were no signs of wild animals in the vicinity, which suggested it would be safe for the night.

"Then where are we supposed to sleep?" Zhang Chuchu asked, her face a mask of misery.

Su Yunjin pointed to the pile of dead branches and rotting leaves beneath the trees. "We sleep there. We’ll go gather some firewood nearby so we can keep a fire burning all night; it won't be too unbearable."

"Exactly. Yunjin and I tested it earlier; it’s not that cold when you sleep on the leaves," Zheng E added, trying to support her. But his words lacked conviction and served more as a consolation than a fact.

Guan Tongyue, Zhang Xiaoxiao, and Zhang Chuchu remained hesitant. Finally, Zhang Xiaoxiao stepped forward. "We all have sleeping bags, so we shouldn't be afraid. Let me test it out for everyone first."

With that, he actually took out his sleeping bag, crawled inside, and lay down on the pile of leaves.

Guan Tongyue was stunned. Zhang Chuchu was stunned. Even Su Yunjin was stunned.

Yes, Su Yunjin was genuinely taken aback. In her eyes, Zhang Xiaoxiao was not a particularly impressive person. His personality was difficult, his temperament poor, and—most importantly—he lacked any semblance of masculinity. Despite his position, he always acted as if everyone owed him something. Combined with his previous attempts to provoke her, Su Yunjin would have never bothered with him if they weren't stranded in the forest.

Yet now, she had to admit, Zhang Xiaoxiao had truly surprised her. Even Zheng E had needed a long period of mental preparation before he could bring himself to lie down on those wretched leaves. But Zhang Xiaoxiao had just done it without a hint of hesitation.

Huh... that was actually quite manly!

Secretly, Su Yunjin pinched her own hand. Only after feeling a sharp sting did she confirm she wasn't seeing things or hallucinating from poisoning.

At this moment, not only was Su Yunjin bewildered, but the viewers in the livestream were also left speechless.

"Whoa, has Zhang Xiaoxiao been possessed?"

"Is this fake? Zhang Xiaoxiao was actually the one to lie down so decisively?"

"Good grief, I can't believe it. Is that really Zhang Xiaoxiao lying there??"

"Exactly! How could this guy be the first one to lie down? I thought he would be fussing about for ages."

"Damn, they say military camps really train people. Look at that—even someone as effeminate as him can be this bold."

The comment section exploded. Behind the scenes, Xu Zhang and the rest of the staff watched in utter shock.

Zhang Xiaoxiao, unaware that his actions had caused so many to gasp in surprise, stood back up after demonstrating. He smiled at Zhang Chuchu and said, "It’s not that uncomfortable. With the sleeping bag, you can't feel the dampness at all; it’s just a bit chilly."

"You can pile more leaves underneath if it's too cold," Su Yunjin suggested. Zhang Xiaoxiao nodded obediently.

Even though the scene was surreal, with Zhang Xiaoxiao having set the example, Zhang Chuchu and Guan Tongyue reluctantly accepted that they would be spending the night here.

For the next while, Su Yunjin had everyone gather leaves and branches. The branches were necessary to keep a fire going through the night; they needed a good supply, or it would easily die out in the early hours. As for the leaves, they were for concealment and insulation. Fortunately, they had plenty of food, so there was no need to worry about provisions for now.

As they worked, night began to fall over the forest. Creatures that stayed hidden during the day started to emerge. The calls of birds and the sounds of other animals blended together, making the already gloomy forest feel terrifyingly eerie.

Thankfully, the group managed to collect enough wood and leaves quickly. Zheng E arranged the branches into a structure suitable for a fire. He reached out his hand toward Su Yunjin and said, "Yunjin, give me the lighter."

"Where is it?" Su Yunjin countered.

Zheng E looked back, his expression one of pure panic. "You didn't bring a lighter?"

"The production team only let us bring three items. I brought a watch, a compass, and a dagger—no lighter," Su Yunjin said, looking at him with a deadpan expression. "Don't tell me you didn't bring one either."

In truth, Su Yunjin rarely thought to carry a lighter. She didn't smoke, and she only ever used one for burning incense or meditation. Besides, in the wild, relying too heavily on a lighter wasn't ideal. But she hadn't expected that neither of the two men, Zheng E and Zhang Xiaoxiao, would be smokers or think to bring one.

The air grew deathly silent. Zheng E stood frozen as if struck by lightning, his voice trembling. "I don't smoke."

Everyone then looked at Zhang Xiaoxiao, who said with a terrified expression, "I don't smoke either."

"Did none of you bring one?" Zheng E’s voice grew thin and uncontrollable as he turned to look at Zhang Chuchu and Guan Tongyue, looking as though he might collapse.

Zhang Chuchu and Guan Tongyue shook their heads in unison. Guan Tongyue’s voice was laced with tears. "We didn't know we were supposed to bring a lighter! What are we going to do?"

"Yeah, can we survive the night without a fire?" Zhang Chuchu whispered.

Su Yunjin spoke up. "Certainly not. If there are wild beasts or snakes, and we have no fire, we will become the prey."

"Then... what do we do?" Guan Tongyue was on the verge of tears, her voice weak as she grabbed Zhang Chuchu’s arm. Zhang Chuchu, who usually disliked being touched, had no such reservations now and grabbed Guan Tongyue back. Two people who hadn't gotten along well were now clinging to each other like sisters.

Zheng E gritted his teeth. "How about I take the first watch?"

Zhang Xiaoxiao added, his tone resolute, "I can too. We'll take turns."

"That won't work. Without a fire, your watches are useless; you’d just be an appetizer for the predators," Su Yunjin dismissed their heroic efforts.

She walked over to Zheng E by the dim moonlight, pulled her dagger from her pack, and began searching for dry sticks among the pile.

"What are you doing?" Zheng E asked, confused.

"Friction fire starting. We must have a fire tonight. There are snakes along this path, and without fire, nowhere is safe."

As she spoke, she found two dry sticks. She whittled one into a point, carved a small depression into the other, and notched a small hole at the end and in the middle. Finally, she removed her shoelaces and, nearly working in the dark, began to rub the two sticks together.

The area fell into absolute silence.

In the livestream, viewers who watched her series of actions were stunned.

"Whoa, is she really going to start a fire with friction?"

"Good lord, Su Yunjin actually knows how to do that? That skill is practically extinct!"

"Ugh, this is a waste of time. Friction fire is something only our ancestors used; in reality, it's incredibly difficult!"

Some were shocked, others were skeptical, but most were pessimistic. It wasn't for any other reason than the fact that while "friction fire" sounds simple, anyone who has actually tried it knows it is extremely hard! Even if the principle of generating heat through friction to ignite wood shavings is sound, it requires perfect execution and the right kind of material. Otherwise, it is all in vain.

Even on TV, they had seen grown men fail repeatedly at this. Did she really think just anyone could pull it off?

Yet, just as the skeptical viewers finished their comments, a tiny spark suddenly flickered in the dark shadow visible on the night-vision camera.

Then, the sparks grew, forming a small glow. The camera zoomed in, and the lens brightened. Su Yunjin was holding a tuft of synthetic fiber against the shavings she had created. With the shavings, the small glow quickly turned into a tiny flame, and in a few brief moments, it grew into a roaring fire.

Su Yunjin added a few more wood chips. The large flame dipped, and a puff of smoke rose. She leaned down and blew gently on the smoke. A brilliant, blinding light erupted, and a small, orange glow illuminated the surrounding darkness.