290: Chapter 290 Know Yourself and Your Enemy, and You Will Survive

That gaze lingered on Song Ya for no more than two seconds.

But in those exact two seconds, she saw everything that was wrong with Song Ya.

The misbuttoned collar, the reddened eye rims, and the fresh blades of grass on her trouser legs that had no business being there.

Xu Zhixia said nothing, turning to walk deeper into the Karst Cave to look after Su Qingxue.

Song Ya stood in place, her hands and feet ice-cold.

The reckless courage she had mustered on the hillside earlier was blown away completely by the sea breeze and swept clean under Xu Zhixia's single glance.

She instinctively looked down, only to discover that all the buttons on her shirt from the second one down were buttoned wrong, her lapels were crooked, and her collar was uneven, looking both wretched and ridiculous.

Lin Fan didn't look at her, nor did he look at Xu Zhixia.

He walked to the cave entrance, picked up a half-burned piece of wood from beside the campfire, and poked it back into the fire. Sparks burst out, casting flickering shadows across half of his face.

The cave was terrifyingly quiet.

Yang Ningcong shrank into the corner, his entire body still trembling.

He had seen that entire scene from beginning to end just now.

The speed of that monster and its bizarre posture were identical to what he had described earlier.

He wasn't dreaming, nor was he lying.

A mixture of post-disaster fear and morbid excitement made him unable to stop himself from crawling over.

"Lin Fan... Brother Fan..."

"Look... I wasn't lying to you, right?"

He pointed at the pitch-black beach outside, "That thing... it really exists... it really eats people..."

Lin Fan didn't even turn his head, merely staring at the leaping flames.

Yang Ningcong's appearance happened to snap the taut string inside the cave that was about to break.

But Lin Fan was in no mood to listen to him claim credit right now.

"Shut up."

Two words, completely devoid of warmth.

The second half of Yang Ningcong's sentence got stuck right in his throat.

Lin Fan turned around, "Tonight, you take the night watch."

"Ah?" Yang Ningcong was stunned, "Me?"

"Otherwise?" Lin Fan glanced at him, "You'll sleep right at that spot by the cave entrance."

Yang Ningcong's face instantly fell.

Make him take the night watch? Wouldn't that mean if that thing crept up, he would be the first one to suffer?

"Brother Fan... I... I'm scared..."

"If you're scared, keep your eyes wide open." Lin Fan walked up to him, looking down at him from above, "If you fall asleep or neglect your duty and that thing gets in, the first person to die will be you, who is closest to the entrance."

"Bro... Brother Fan..."

Yang Ningcong still wanted to beg for mercy, but Lin Fan directly interrupted him, "Either sleep at the entrance or get lost down there, pick one yourself."

"I... I'll sleep at the entrance." Yang Ningcong lowered his head, resigning to his fate.

That night, no one could sleep soundly.

Less than an hour after Su Qingxue fell asleep, she started having nightmares.

Incoherent murmurs came from her mouth, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Xu Zhixia went over to check.

She didn't wake Su Qingxue up, but simply crushed another new type of medicinal herb, letting that richer calming scent envelop her.

"The dosage has been increased." Xu Zhixia said softly to Lin Fan, who was guarding nearby, "Tomorrow she might wake up a bit later, but sleeping through like this is better than struggling repeatedly in nightmares."

Lin Fan nodded.

The Karst Cave returned to silence once again, leaving only the crackling sound of the campfire and the sound of Yang Ningcong drawing in cold breaths at the entrance from time to time.

The next day, daylight broke brightly.

Lin Fan opened his eyes. In the partition, Su Qingxue was still deeply asleep, her breathing steady. It seemed Xu Zhixia's medicine had worked.

He walked out of the partition. Yang Ningcong was still there, fast asleep while hugging a wooden stick.

Two hours later, Su Qingxue finally woke up. She sat up and cast her gaze into mid-air.

There were still three things there.

Su Qingxue took them all out.

A small bag of rice, two packs of brown sugar wrapped in plastic bags, containing probably a dozen pieces or so.

And...

A knife.

The kind of firewood-chopping knife most common in rural areas, with a thick back, a wide blade, a wooden handle worn somewhat smooth, and a dark, oily sheen gleaming on the edge.

The knife had some weight to it. Su Qingxue took it out and handed it to Lin Fan.

Lin Fan took the firewood knife, and the worried look on his face relaxed a bit.

With this knife, there was at least a bit more hope of survival.

"Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Lin Fan asked Su Qingxue.

Su Qingxue didn't speak, only shaking her head.

"Song Ya, cook something for Qingxue." Lin Fan didn't dare let Liu Feifei be in charge of Qingxue's meals, so he still had to trouble Song Ya.

"Mhm, okay!"

Although yesterday afternoon she hadn't completed the final step with Lin Fan.

But all the depression in her heart was completely gone; isn't an attitude all a woman wants?

Lin Fan's attitude made Song Ya understand that he didn't look down on her.

An hour later, the fire had gone out, and everyone was sitting around together.

That chopping knife was placed right on the stone slab in the middle, becoming the visual center of the entire Karst Cave.

"That thing last night ran fast, but it didn't seem to dare fight Brother Fan head-on," Zhou Kai analyzed, "It grabbed President Su, but the moment Brother Fan chased after it, it threw her away. What does this mean?"

"It means it's cowardly!"

"It just has speed; when it comes to strength and aggressiveness, I feel it might not be that strong. Otherwise, it could have charged straight up yesterday to fight Brother Fan instead of running."

"I think we should set up defenses around the Karst Cave."

"Then put someone down below as bait to lure that monster out, and Brother Fan can wipe it out directly."

"I object."

Xu Zhixia glanced at Zhou Kai, then shifted her gaze to Lin Fan.

"First, we know nothing about this creature. Its strength, habits, and intelligence level are all unknowns. If you put bait down below and it doesn't fall for it, what if it comes to attack the people up here?"

"I object too, I object too." Liu Feifei and Yang Ningcong spoke at the same time.

Speaking of everyone inside this Karst Cave, the two of them had the lowest status. If someone had to be bait, it would definitely be one of them.

Their inner thoughts were different. Yang Ningcong thought that since he joined the group the latest, if anyone had to be bait, it would bound to be him.

As for Liu Feifei, back in the residential area, that monster only wanted women. Among the women here, wasn't she the only one who could be sacrificed?

Xu Zhixia glanced at the two of them and continued speaking, "There isn't just that thing on this island."

"Don't forget, there is also a giant python, and those mutated lizards you saw before. Why have they suddenly disappeared for this period of time?"

"If those things all come out at the same time, Lin Fan will be in danger, and we will be in danger too."

Zhou Kai's face flushed red, left speechless by Xu Zhixia's string of questions.

Xu Zhixia didn't look at him anymore. Her gaze finally fell on Yang Ningcong, who was curled up in the corner hugging his knees and staying silent.

"Right now, we shouldn't rush to counterattack. Instead, we need to figure out who our enemy really is and how dangerous the environment we are in actually is."

"Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you survive."

Xu Zhixia stood up and walked step by step in front of Yang Ningcong.

"Yang Ningcong."

Yang Ningcong's body trembled as he raised his head.

"What you said before about the secrets of this island only mentioned a floating island and a sealed report."

Xu Zhixia squatted down, looking him squarely in the eye, "If you don't reveal all the secrets of this island and we don't understand the situation of this island, Lin Fan won't be able to protect you for half a year either..."