169: Chapter 169 What exactly happened?

Wang Lan knew that Lin Fan dared to kill.

She knew even better that Lin Fan wouldn't need to explain to anyone else if he killed her.

"I'll go…" Wang Lan forced two words out from between her teeth, her voice trembling, "I'll go right now."

The moment the blade moved away from her neck, her knees almost went soft.

But she didn't dare to fall; falling would make it look even worse.

Lin Fan loosened her collar, raised his hand, and wiped the dagger on her shoulder.

"Back basket."

Wang Lan bent down to pick it up.

Zhang Tao was still pressed against the stone wall, his eyeballs darting around wildly, but he simply didn't dare to move.

Lin Fan glanced at him.

"Do you still need me to invite you?"

Zhang Tao shuddered, hurriedly grabbed a few empty plastic bottles nearby, and put them into the back basket.

"Going, going, going, I'm going right now, Brother Fan, my legs just went numb a second ago, I really didn't mean not to move."

Wang Lan put the rattan basket on her back and paused when she reached the cave entrance.

She turned her head and glanced at Lin Fan.

That glance had no emotion, mostly just obedience forced out by the blade.

Lin Fan didn't look at her, only lowering his head to check the cloth strips on Zhou Kai's leg.

"You must make two trips today."

Wang Lan's lips moved, and in the end, she only spat out a single word.

"Okay."

Zhang Tao followed closely behind her, walking much more proactively than before.

Just as he stepped out of the cave entrance, his foot slipped, and he almost rolled down the slope.

After the two of them left, the cave quieted down.

Zhou Kai half-lay by the campfire, burning with a fever and in a hazy state, still muttering something under his breath.

Lin Fan divided the remaining herbs into several piles and tore the dry cloth into strips.

"Song Ya."

Song Ya was squatting next to Zhou Kai, and hearing him call, she raised her head.

"Hmm?"

"You stay at the cave entrance."

Lin Fan pointed at the slope outside, "Pile up the stones."

Song Ya was stunned for a moment.

"Why pile up stones?"

"To guard against people."

Liu Feifei was originally still rubbing her legs, but upon hearing those two words, her back tightened.

"Guard against who? Wang Lan and the others?"

Lin Fan didn't deny it.

Song Ya looked at the cave entrance, then looked at Zhou Kai.

"Didn't they go to fetch water?"

"Going to fetch water doesn't mean they'll still be water-fetchers when they come back."

Lin Fan kicked a few fist-sized stones to her feet, "Before Su Qingxue and I return, you are not allowed to let them come up."

Song Ya's face turned a bit pale.

"The three of you cannot beat Wang Lan and Zhang Tao."

Lin Fan continued, "So don't reason with them. When they reach the bottom of the slope, shout first. If they don't stop, smash them."

Song Ya was silent for two seconds, then nodded.

Then she carried the stones one by one to the side of the cave entrance, her movements much more agile than usual.

In the past, she had to close her eyes even when killing a fish, but now she was already preparing stones to hurl at people's heads.

On a Deserted Island like this, teaching people to grow up didn't charge tuition; it directly claimed lives.

"What about you guys?"

"We're going to the beach."

"Just you and President Su?"

Lin Fan gave a hum of acknowledgment.

Su Qingxue had already taken an empty back basket and stood by the partition.

When she heard the words "President Su", her brow twitched slightly.

On this island, this title increasingly felt like a relic of the old world.

It sounded nice, but was useless.

"Let's go."

The two of them came out of the Karst Cave.

The slope was damp and slippery, and last night's moisture had not yet dissipated.

The sea breeze blew up from below, carrying a salty, fishy smell.

The sky was an unclean gray.

The sea in the distance had receded a lot, exposing large patches of reefs that squatted darkly by the edge of the beach.

The tide line was lower than yesterday by more than just a notch.

Su Qingxue followed behind Lin Fan, and after taking a few steps, she couldn't help but speak up.

"You've been acting very strange these past two days."

Lin Fan didn't turn back.

"What's strange about it?"

"You've been hoarding water and meat all along. When Zhou Kai had an accident last night, you didn't investigate the centipede, and this morning you drove Wang Lan and Zhang Tao off to fetch water."

Su Qingxue stepped over a stone, her foot slipped, and she grabbed a nearby tree trunk to steady herself.

Then she quickened her pace, catching up to his side, "What on earth happened?"

Lin Fan stopped by a rock that afforded a view of the sea surface.

The beach below had been elongated significantly by the receding tide.

Those stranded seaweeds, wood fragments, and rags were left by the waves on the wet sand.

Further away, the seawater was low-lying and dark in color.

Lin Fan looked at that patch of sea.

"A tsunami is coming."

Su Qingxue stopped in her tracks.

"What?"

"Just like the one we encountered back then, perhaps even worse than that one."

After hearing this, Su Qingxue was stunned for a moment. During that tsunami back then, the cruise ship capsized, and people were swept away by the seawater.

Screams, crashing sounds, the low hum of the cabin taking in water—many images she later refused to think about again.

Now Lin Fan said it would happen again.

Su Qingxue's throat tightened.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah…"

Su Qingxue stared at him as Lin Fan continued walking downward.

"If the tsunami really comes, it won't just bring water and trash."

Su Qingxue followed, and Lin Fan continued speaking, "It will also bring other people."

"Huh?" Su Qingxue's face was full of question marks, "Just like us back then?"

"More or less. The people washed over by the waves will mostly be unconscious, exhausted, injured, and their minds will still be stuck in civilized society."

Lin Fan bent down to pick up a water-soaked nylon strap, gave it a tug—it didn't break—and threw it into the basket.

"Therefore, the first thing we need to do is control them."

Su Qingxue understood.

Lin Fan wanted ropes not to save people.

It was to tie people up. Looking at his back, her chest felt congested.

"What if they are just ordinary victims?"

"Ordinary victims will also drink water, eat meat, and occupy the cave."

Su Qingxue didn't speak.

These words were chillingly harsh, yet impossible to refute.

Their supplies right now were exchanged with their lives. If another batch of people came, they would definitely compete and snatch.

Lin Fan continued speaking, "Find ropes, cloth strips."

Su Qingxue nodded and began rummaging through the beach.

She rummaged out a broken travel bag stuffed with sand. The zipper was stuck; she gave it a couple of pulls and it wouldn't open.

Lin Fan walked over and popped the zipper open with his dagger.

Inside was half a tarp, a section of a data cable, two bottles of sunscreen filled with sand, and a pack of soggy tissues.

If Liu Feifei were here, she would most likely mourn the sunscreen for three seconds.

Su Qingxue pulled out the tarp.

"This is useful."

"Keep it."

The two walked along the tide line.

Lin Fan picked up things very quickly.

He didn't pick what looked good; he only picked what could be used.

Nylon ropes, plastic pieces, broken buckets, unrusted metal buckles, half a fishing net.

At first, Su Qingxue would still ask what each item was for, but later she simply stopped asking.

Asking too much made her look like a newly hired intern.

She didn't like that feeling.

Yet that was the reality.

Walking to the edge of a patch of reefs, Su Qingxue couldn't help speaking up again.

"How did you judge that a tsunami is coming?"