As Senpai successfully awakened, a new day of Island survival officially began.
And the people who felt it most deeply were none other than Juju and Shoko.
At the bottom of the cliff.
The girls climbed the cliff one by one, preparing to go to the sea to wash up.
In the previous few days, it was usually Tsubame, Juju, and Shoko who stayed below, eagerly waiting for Natsuki to carry them up and down.
But this time.
Tsubame didn't need any help. She could even carry Aoi-chan and easily climb the cliff.
Watching Senpai easily climb the cliff by grabbing the rope, Juju and Shoko's feelings were quite subtle. It felt like the trio of stragglers had suddenly become a duo. They were afraid their sister was having a hard time, but also afraid their sister was driving a Land Rover.
"Juju, Shoko." Natsuki looked at the two girls. "Who's going up first today?"
Juju crossed her arms over her chest, furrowed her small brows, and couldn't help but ask:
"Stupid Natsuki, when can we awaken?"
Natsuki said, "Sorry, stupid people don't talk."
"Tsk." Juju pouted, a little aggrieved, "Why can everyone else awaken, but only Shoko and I are left behind… You wouldn't be deliberately leaving us for last just to take advantage of us, would you?"
Natsuki looked over in shock, "My plan was actually seen through by Juju?"
"Damn it!"
Juju clenched her small fists, so angry she almost hit him.
So you were doing it on purpose, after all!
Every time, he makes Shoko and her stay until the end, then makes Shoko and her choose between the two, not taking advantage of anyone else, only picking on Shoko and her, it's too much! Too much!
"The number of mushrooms is limited, only one per day, so of course there's a first-come, first-served order." Natsuki stroked Juju's little head and explained, "Besides, Hayasaka and Haruno haven't awakened either, it's not just you two who are last."
Juju bit her silver teeth lightly, her voice small and aggrieved, "Then why don't you go take advantage of them, and insist on taking advantage of Shoko and me?"
Natsuki said gently, "Of course, it's because I like Juju and Shoko."
Hearing Natsuki's 'confession,' Juju had no reaction, but Komi hurriedly lowered her head, her ear tips quickly turning crimson. There was no helping it; this the the timid girl truly had thin skin.
"You like us, so you take advantage of us every day?" Juju tilted her small face upwards, unable to resist retorting, "Are you a third-grade child?"
Most people would feel ashamed hearing Juju's retort, but unfortunately, Natsuki had no sense of shame at all. He simply gave a thumbs-up and smiled, "Juju-sama is indeed smart, seeing at a glance what grade I'm in now."
Juju: "…"
Shameless!
Super shameless!
"Not much time left, hurry up and choose who stays." Natsuki urged, "I'll give you ten seconds. If you don't choose, then you all stay."
"Huh?" Juju froze, her eyes widening warily, "All stay… What are you going to do?!"
Natsuki said as a matter of course, "I've been working hard carrying you up and down, isn't it too much to take advantage of both of you at once?"
"Pah!" Juju spat in shame and anger, "You shouldn't push your luck!"
Natsuki said, "Sorry, I just prefer to push my luck."
Juju: "Believe it or not, we'll call for help…"
Before Juju could finish speaking, Natsuki suddenly reached out, scooped Juju up, and whispered, "Ten seconds have passed."
"W-wait a minute!" Seeing Natsuki approaching, and in front of Shoko no less, Juju immediately panicked, her small face quickly flushed red, wanting to struggle, "Let go of me, or I'll call Kaguya… Mmph…"
Before she could finish, the rest of her words were directly muffled.
H-he actually dared to do it in front of Shoko… How could this guy dare!
Juju was both ashamed and angry, her sense of shame exploding, turning her into a rolling ball of fury.
Can't stand it anymore!
Can't endure it!
If this guy invades again, she'll bite him off in one go!
But after a while, Juju felt her brain spinning, and the resolve to bite him off in one go floated away, completely forgotten.
"…Shoko, wait for me obediently." Natsuki turned his head, looking at the the timid girl whose pretty face was flushed like fire, secretly peeking, "I'll take Juju up first."
Their gazes met.
Komi lowered her head in a start, as if electrocuted.
Although she knew Juju was being taken advantage of, she never knew what kind of taking advantage of it was. Only today did she witness it firsthand… For a pure girl like a blank sheet of paper, the visual impact was quite strong.
If she stayed at the bottom of the cliff, would she be treated the same way?
Should she sneak up before he came down?
Juju said that everyone actually had a lot of strength; as long as they overcame their fear, they could climb the cliff with their bare hands…
Komi's thoughts were a tangled mess. With great difficulty, she mustered her courage and cautiously took half a step towards where the rope hung.
The next second.
Bang!
Natsuki descended from the sky, landing beside Shoko.
"Good, you really waited for me obediently and didn't try to sneak away." Natsuki nodded in satisfaction, reaching out to rub Shoko's little head, "Since Shoko is so well-behaved, I won't take advantage of you today."
Shoko: "…"
Carrying Shoko back to the top of the cliff, everyone went to the beach together. After breakfast, they began today's planned arrangements.
The cave no longer needed to be dug; it was already a simple shelter, just enough to live in.
As for food, the crabs in the Red Mangrove Forest tidal flats would last them three years.
As for fresh water, a clean fresh water source had been found the day before yesterday. Although it couldn't be drunk directly, it didn't stump a group of high school and college students. They simply made a fresh water distiller with plastic bottles, and the fresh water produced was already enough for drinking, so they no longer had to endure thirst.
Natsuki summarized, "So, next, we can consider breaking through the nightmare and eliminating the anomaly."
"I know." Chika raised her right hand, "The President said yesterday that the anomaly's true form is likely within the nightmare."
Kaguya nodded slightly, "That's very likely. This nightmare scene far exceeds ordinary nightmares; it's clearly not normal."
"That's true…" Chika raised her hand to fiddle with the jet-black bow on her forehead, a little troubled, "But what would the anomaly's true form look like? What if it's an inconspicuous rock?"
"The possibility of it being a rock is minuscule." Yukino crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head, "Kaidan seem to have a special fondness for human emotions and desires, and the anomaly in the hotel likes fear. Its true form will most likely be related to fear."
"The most terrifying things on the Island are probably various monster Bosses." Natsuki said, "So, today's main goal is to explore the various boss monsters on the Island."
"…"
The discussion concluded.
Everyone quickly sprang into action.
This time, with Tsubame awakening, Kaguya could finally shed her heavy burden and join the action.
"I'll take care of everyone." Tsubame took over the task, "You all be careful."
After discovering sharks in the water, no one planned to go into the sea again. There wasn't much to do on the beach, just picking up some driftwood, collecting firewood, and so on, with not much danger.
Natsuki nodded, "We'll be back."
Bidding farewell to the girls, Natsuki took Kaguya, Yukino, and Chika, and began the second exploration of the Island.
"Kaguya, you don't know, yesterday when we were catching crabs, the hail was super big, each one as big as a fist." Chika excitedly made a fist gesture, chattering about what she saw yesterday, "At that time, let alone a cave, there wasn't even a big tree, so we could only use a frying pan to block our heads. In the end, I became a leg attachment, clinging to Yukino-chan…"
As Chika recounted, a lingering blush quickly appeared on Yukino's pretty face, clearly recalling the humiliation she suffered in the tree hole yesterday.
Those images had just barely been forgotten, but now they surged back up again.
Should she tell Chika to stop talking?
No, she couldn't.
Yukino quickly rejected the idea in her heart.
That would be like protesting too much, and Kaguya would definitely become suspicious.
There was no other way.
Yukino could only bite her silver teeth, silently enduring the shame and humiliation, while simultaneously looking at Natsuki with a stern gaze, signaling him to commit seppuku as soon as possible.
"Sorry, I was wrong." Natsuki's tone was sincere, and he lowered his voice, "If I could do it again… I still wouldn't be able to resist."
Yukino crossed her arms over her chest, biting her silver teeth and said, "…Don't talk to me!"
The four's objective this time was to focus on exploring the Island, searching for the anomaly's true form, which, simply put, was the monster boss on the desolate Island. And in each area, there was usually a boss.
When Natsuki and Yukino explored the Island the day before yesterday, they had already roughly explored the areas on the Island. Now, they just needed to choose an area and explore it carefully.
A moment later.
The four arrived in a coconut grove.
In the center of the grove was an open space. A giant creature, over three meters tall, looking like a giant goose but with a pair of curved, sharp antlers on its head, was pacing back and forth in the open space, swaying as it walked.
"It looks too strange." Chika widened her eyes, unable to resist complaining, "It's clearly a super big goose, why does it have antlers?"
That's right.
This thing was one of the most common Bosses in Don't Starve, the Deerclops.
Logically speaking, the Deerclops was actually a spring boss, but this was a nightmare of fear, not a strict game world, so it was not surprising to see any kind of stitched-up monster.
Natsuki whispered, "Steady, it's completely normal for stitched-up monsters to appear in the game."
"President, is it it?"
Kaguya asked softly.
By now, the girls all knew that Natsuki could often see strange prompts, allowing him to bypass puzzles and exploration, and see through the essence of the opponent.
Natsuki shook his head, "It's not the anomaly's true form."
As he gazed, a [Prompt] had already appeared before him. There was no doubt that the Deerclops was not the anomaly's true form; it was just an ordinary nightmare creation.
"Although it's not the anomaly's true form, we can use it to test some data." Natsuki whispered, "Let's see what's special about these nightmare creations."
Chika's eyes lit up, and she clenched her fists, saying, "I agree with the President!"
Kaguya: "…"
You've been exposed.
Your eyes are so full of anticipation; you're not trying to test and collect data at all, you just want to taste it, don't you!
"Then it's settled." Natsuki held out his hands and said, "Everyone, let's paste some skills first."
"…"
Five minutes later.
Preparations were complete.
Natsuki stepped directly out from behind the bushes where he was hiding, holding a shield in his hand, and strode over.
Seeing an unfamiliar human intrude into its territory, the previously lazy Deerclops instantly entered a combat stance, spreading its wings, lowering its head, and charging at Natsuki like a pouncing goose.
Natsuki raised his shield and met the charge head-on.
Bang!
A loud roar echoed.
Natsuki only felt a slight pain in his tiger's mouth, and he was directly knocked back several meters, his feet plowing two deep scratches on the ground.
At the same time, the Deerclops also staggered back several steps, then fell to the ground with a thud, only to shakily get back up.
"Tsk, its strength is indeed great."
Natsuki shook his wrist, made an OK gesture to Kaguya and the others behind him, and raised his shield again.
Combat was not the goal.
The true intention was to test the strength, speed, attack methods, special abilities, and so on of these Bosses.
After a brief skirmish, Natsuki had a rough idea of the Deerclops's abilities and attributes, so he waved to the people behind him.
"Don, the Outlaw, it's your turn!"
Chika stepped forward, pointed her finger, and used the Seize and Eliminate Evil combo skill.
Immediately after, Kaguya, in her shadow state, appeared out of thin air and pressed down on the Deerclops's right leg.
This behemoth seemed to have been turned off; its body suddenly stiffened, all its movements stopped simultaneously, leaving only its eyes and mouth able to move.
When carrying out Seize and Eliminate Evil, of course, the suspect must be given a chance to state their case and defend themselves, but unfortunately, this Deerclops could not speak, only honk endlessly.
After controlling the boss, Chika and Yukino followed and came out.
"It hasn't used any skills for so long, it seems this boss doesn't use skills," Chika poked the fallen Deerclops curiously.
Yukino said softly:
"Those who fall into the Nightmare are all ordinary people; these monsters don't need special abilities, they just charge head-on, and ordinary people would be injured and vomit blood."
Aside from Natsuki who could withstand it, if it were them, they would have been sent flying by the Deerclops's charge.
"Data collection is almost complete," Natsuki rubbed his wrist, looking at Chika and Yukino, "Who wants to do it, and put it out of its misery?"
"Let the President do it," Chika quickly shook her head, "I'm only responsible for eating."
Yukino said expressionlessly:
"Natsuki-kun should do it himself."
"Yes, yes."
Natsuki didn't insist, took out his weapon, and quickly finished off the Deerclops.
The Nightmare was not a real game.
After defeating the Deerclops, the giant beast did not break down into materials; it still lay quietly on the ground.
Natsuki looked at Chika and asked:
"Where do you want to eat from?"
"Hmm…" Chika hesitated for a moment, "How about we carry the whole Deerclops back?"
There's no refrigerator, it'll spoil if we carry it back!
Kaguya said speechlessly:
"Too greedy."
Natsuki nodded in agreement:
"Indeed, too greedy."
"I, I'm not!" Chika stammered in rebuttal, "It's a rare opportunity, isn't it? In reality, some people have roasted ostriches, such a big goose must be very delicious, right?"
"It won't be that delicious," Natsuki complained, "Wild animals of this size, their meat will most likely be like rubber, impossible to chew."
"…"
It was still early before dark, so it was impossible to carry the Deerclops back like that.
After a brief discussion, everyone decided to leave the Deerclops behind and continue exploring other Bosses.
When they returned, if the Deerclops was still in its original spot, they would carry it back directly.
The operation continued.
The four quickly found the second boss.
This was a Hound boss; it was called a wolf, but its appearance looked somewhat like a wild boar.
Natsuki said nothing, walked out with his axe, ready to collect another wave of data.
This Hound was much weaker but very fast, with a mouth full of sharp fangs.
Unlike the game settings, it couldn't summon small hounds out of thin air, so it was quickly defeated by everyone.
"We don't need to fight the next Bosses," Natsuki put away his axe, "Just observe them secretly."
"…"
The operation continued.
Next, the four traversed the island, finding various monster bosses.
Unfortunately, the prompt clearly showed that these things were just Nightmare monsters, not the anomaly itself.
"There's one area we haven't searched yet," Chika said softly, "That mosquito swamp that President and Yukino-chan mentioned.
Should we go there now?"
"That swamp…" Natsuki twitched his mouth slightly and shook his head, "It's getting dark soon, so we'll stop here for today and figure out a way to enter the swamp tomorrow."
Even with massive creatures like the Bush Bear, Natsuki showed no fear, but the mosquito army that blotted out the sky still made his scalp tingle.
"Then let's go back," Chika's eyes quickly lit up, "First, let's carry the Deerclops back!"
Natsuki suggested:
"It's better to catch some crabs first."
Kaguya agreed:
"The President makes sense."
The four went to the Red Mangrove Forest together.
On the way, they happened to pass the tree hollow where they had hidden from the hail.
"Kaguya-chan, look, look, it's that tree hollow," Chika pointed, "Yesterday, when the hail was so big, we hid inside."
Upon seeing the tree hollow, Yukino's pretty face involuntarily flushed crimson again.
Natsuki said nonchalantly:
"After running over yesterday, the tree hollow wasn't big enough, so we had to brave the hail and use an axe to expand it to barely fit.
However…"
Natsuki paused slightly, glanced at Yukino, and then continued:
"However, it felt really good.
First time stranded on a desert island, first time hiding from a hail disaster in a tree hollow, all are interesting memories worth collecting."
"…Shameless!"
Hearing this, Yukino's eyes flashed with anger and shame, almost biting through her silver teeth.
If Chika and Kaguya weren't nearby, she would have kicked him already!
They arrived at the Red Mangrove Forest area.
The group easily caught crabs, then headed back, carrying the Deerclops with them on the way.
This boss lay quietly on the ground and had not been stolen by other monsters.
Back in the cave.
New mushroom cooldown appeared.
So, while the girls were cleaning the ingredients, Natsuki called Hayasaka to a corner and planted a mushroom…