6: Chapter 6 Starting a Fire
The internal organs fell into the water, stirring up a small circle of ripples.
He gripped the fish gills and cleaned them out completely.
After handling all of this, Yang Hang carried the fish to the side of the boat.
Holding it by the tail, he dipped it into the seawater and shook it back and forth.
The bloodstains were washed away by the seawater, disappearing into the deep blue waves.
Looking at the tender white fish meat, Yang Hang carried it back to the center of the deck.
A problem soon followed.
There was no lighter in the houseboat.
Yang Hang tore a piece of dry cotton cloth from the bedding and crumpled it into a ball. He then tore some wood from the walls of the house.
Imitating the bow-drill method for making fire he found on the Fate Platform, he directly rubbed his clothes to create a cotton thread and began trying to drill wood for fire bit by bit.
He crouched down, holding a sharpened stick with both hands, pressing it into a groove in the dry wooden board.
His hands rapidly alternated, rubbing the stick.
The friction between the stick and the board generated heat.
Yang Hang's movements were very fast, and the pain from the friction between his palms and the stick gradually became clear.
One minute passed.
Two minutes passed.
Only a layer of light brown powder appeared in the groove; no smoke rose.
Yang Hang stopped his movements and looked down at his bright red palms.
This primitive method was too inefficient.
He looked up at the sky.
Then he looked at the surrounding turbulent, boundless, and desolate deep black ocean.
He thought for a moment, crouched down again, and pressed the stick into the groove of the wooden board once more.
He closed his eyes, his consciousness connecting to the Cause and Effect Fate Platform.
The golden light in the energy pool began to boil.
He reached out his right hand and plucked a shimmering Karma thread from the Void Realm.
This thread connected the microscopic world between the stick and the board, the thermal energy generated by friction, and the ignition point of the wood chips.
Yang Hang muttered silently in his heart.
Burn.
In an instant, at the point where the stick touched the board, the temperature rose sharply.
A wisp of blue smoke rose from the groove.
Immediately after, dark red sparks lit up within the wood chips.
Yang Hang immediately stopped rubbing and leaned over to blow gently.
The sparks grew brighter, and with a 'whoosh,' a flame leaped up.
He quickly and carefully took the burning scrap of cloth and placed it into the pile of dry wood chips he had prepared beforehand.
An orange-red firelight rose within the houseboat.
Yang Hang felt the heat radiating from the flames.
In fact, it seemed he could have directly used Karma to make the wood spontaneously combust.
Although it would consume a bit more energy, it would be faster and require less thought.
It was just that he quite liked this complex feeling of controlling microscopic Karma and mobilizing the connections between multiple things; it was quite wonderful.
The energy pool of the Cause and Effect Fate Platform was still vast and full.
The current number of connected people had already broken through the 1.2 billion mark.
Almost all survivors in the Yanhuang Civilization region had already connected.
The karma points generated every second were an astronomical figure.
Less than half of the massive energy consumed by that previous peek had already been replenished.
The energy Yang Hang controlled that could drive Karma was equivalent to the sum of the spirit and soul energy of hundreds of millions of people erupting simultaneously.
Directly violating physical laws to make wood spontaneously combust was something that probably wouldn't even use one ten-millionth of the pool's energy.
But this did not mean he could mindlessly charge into this Magic Sea region.
Karma and energy were just tools; the level his abilities could eventually reach depended on his application and development.
He still had a bit of ambition.
Stopping his thoughts, Yang Hang felt the thirst in his throat growing stronger.
He looked at the fish by the fire, then at the boundless sea.
There was no fresh water.
Seawater was obviously not directly drinkable.
But this did not defeat him.
He plucked the Karma threads once more.
Three images appeared in his mind.
The first: a rainstorm ten minutes later.
The second: a dust-covered wooden bucket in the corner of the houseboat.
The third: a blue plastic bucket floating on the sea surface.
Yang Hang chose the first option.
He got up, walked to the back of the houseboat, and brought out a dusty, worn-out wooden basin.
He used a little seawater to wash away the Impurities in the basin.
Then, he tore a large piece of clean lining fabric from his clothes and draped it over the mouth of the basin.
This was to filter out the Impurities in the rainwater.
After doing this, Yang Hang did not stop.
Looking at the dark horizon in the distance and the fierce sea wind,
He manipulated the Karma threads, as if laying down an invisible barrier around the houseboat.
Afterwards, even if the storm reached him, the wind, rain, thunder, and fierce sea beasts would all go around him!
Of course, he didn't forget to make the same arrangements for his parents and younger sister.
This would ensure that in the natural crises they might encounter next, their safety and survival capabilities would be guaranteed.
Theoretically, as long as there was no strike exceeding his energy limit, the area where his family was located would be an absolute safe zone.
Splash.
The first drop of rain hit the sea surface a few meters in front of his houseboat, creating a loud pitter-patter sound; the raindrops were very large and fierce.
Immediately after, a dense curtain of rain enveloped the entire world.
The gale swept through, swirling with rainwater.
Yang Hang stood inside the houseboat, watching the torrential rain outside.
Yet not a single drop drifted into his houseboat.
Yang Hang sat by the fire.
He found a hard wooden stick, sharpened one end, and skewered the Silver-Scaled Flying Fish.
He propped the fish over the fire, and while watching the pouring rain, the dark clouds pressing down on the sea, and the towering waves, he began to roast the fish for himself.
As the storm grew larger and water vapor blurred the view of the sea, ten minutes later, as if the apocalypse had arrived,
His fish was also cooked; the fat seeped out after being heated, dripping onto the charcoal and making a sizzling sound.
A rich meaty aroma diffused within the small space.
Yang Hang picked out some coarse salt crystals that had precipitated from the cracks of the houseboat and sprinkled them evenly over the fish.
The fish skin became charred yellow and curled under the high temperature.
Yang Hang tore off a piece of fish meat and stuffed it into his mouth.
Hot.
That was the first sensation.
Immediately followed by extreme deliciousness.
The fish meat was firm, without any muddy smell, only the salty freshness of the sea.
Yang Hang chewed in large mouthfuls.
The feeling of hunger was quickly suppressed.
He opened the Fate Platform and entered the communication section.
He clicked on the reply box under that Survival Guide Post.
He casually took a photo of the grilled fish and uploaded it.
Caption: Thanks for the guide, the Silver-Scaled Flying Fish tastes pretty good.
In the photo, the charred yellow fish meat was steaming, with dancing firelight in the background.
The comment section below immediately exploded.
“Holy crap? I'm still gnawing on tree bark, and the guy upstairs is already eating grilled fish?”
“This fish looks like it's at least two pounds; how did the big shot catch it?”
“Guy above, the point is the fire! I've been drilling wood for fire until my hands are smoking and I haven't seen a single spark!”
“Does the big shot need a sidekick? The kind that can shout ‘666’.”
“Begging for the fire-making Secret Manual, waiting online, it's pretty urgent.”
Yang Hang closed the interface without replying.
He continued to deal with the remaining fish meat.
Soon, only a complete skeleton of the flying fish remained.
He drank the last bit of rainwater and leaned against the wooden wall of the houseboat.
Separated from the intensifying sea storm, the peace brought by the fullness in his stomach made him feel unexpectedly at ease.