Chapter 26: Discovering a Cave (Please Add to Favorites)

Su Keke felt a bit disappointed when Xu Yi told her the snake skin wasn't edible. After all, there was so much of it; if it were edible, it could have lasted them for several days. As for the camera drone, Su Keke decided that pink looked much better.

"Little ball, I want a little pink ball."

With that, the camera drone turned pink. Xu Yi now realized that the drone's color was linked to Su Keke.

"Keke, pick up the water vines and help Daddy wash his hands."

If he didn't wash up, Xu Yi felt he wouldn't be able to peel the bird eggs. After washing his hands, Xu Yi moved the campfire aside and dug up the bird eggs buried in the dirt. He then broke off two branches to scoop the eggs into his basket.

"Keke, grab two water vines; I'm heading that way."

Su Keke nodded, removed her hand from her nose, and picked up two water vines. "Daddy, what about the snake skin? Are we not keeping it?"

Xu Yi started walking and explained, "We are. Daddy needs to process it to make it less smelly. That’s why we need to move further away, or we won’t be able to eat our lunch at all."

Su Keke nodded in firm agreement and followed close behind. After walking about twenty meters, they stopped at a spot where a large tree had fallen. Part of the bark was rotting, but the trunk itself was still sound. It would make a decent place to sleep at night, as the ground was too damp to sleep on directly without risking a cold.

"Alright, this will do. Let's have lunch first, then gather some firewood. We’ll build a fire on each side tonight to keep us safer."

Su Keke nodded and scanned their surroundings. "So, are we not traveling today?"

"No, we’ve been on the move for so many days and we’re both exhausted. Let’s just rest for a day."

Besides, they had seven or eight water vines left, so they could drink their fill today. Xu Yi handed the eggs to Su Keke, feeling that his hands were still too pungent to peel them. Su Keke immediately understood and said, "Daddy, let me feed you."

She peeled an egg and handed it to him. Xu Yi took it with his mouth and chewed. The egg tasted even better than a chicken egg and had no fishy odor. Just as he swallowed it, a notification chimed in his mind.

"Ding! Consumed White-Feathered Red-Headed Eagle egg. Vision improved."

Improved vision? Xu Yi looked around and found that the world seemed sharper and more vivid; he could see things in the distance with greater clarity. He was quite satisfied with this enhancement.

"Daddy, this bird egg is delicious, better than chicken eggs!" Su Keke said happily, taking another bite of her own egg.

"Yes, it’s truly tasty, though there aren't many. It would taste even better if we could fry it."

Although tree grubs had several times the protein of beef, Xu Yi only had six, and with the three bird eggs, he was only about seventy percent full. It was a pity about the giant snake; it had been dead for too long. Otherwise, he would have liked to have some snake meat. The system wouldn't grant rewards for eating carrion, and luckily, Xu Yi had no intention of eating that snake meat anyway, or he would have regretted it deeply.

After eating, they went to gather some dry wood.

"Daddy, why did you bring back such a thick log?" Su Keke asked curiously, seeing him haul a log as thick as a bucket. The thicker the wood, the harder it was to burn.

"Daddy plans to make a water bucket out of it. It will be much more convenient if we have one."

The log was less than a meter long, made of hard wood that was thoroughly dried and not yet rotting, making it perfect for a bucket. By burning part of it and using charcoal to hollow out the center, he could craft one.

"Does that mean we can take a bath?" Today was the fourth day, and Su Keke felt sticky and uncomfortable.

"Yes, once we have a bucket for water, we can bathe," Xu Yi said with a smile. He wanted to bathe just as much, but conditions hadn't allowed it until now.

Xu Yi built a fire and laid the log down, letting the flames lick the bottom. Since making a bucket took time, he had to start now.

"Keke, stay here and keep safe. Daddy is going over there to process the snake skin."

Su Keke nodded and picked up her spear. "Don't worry, Daddy, I can take care of myself."

Since they were so close, Xu Yi felt at ease. He grabbed his stone axe and spear and walked away, leaving their other belongings behind. Along the way, he collected dry grass and leaves. Processing such a long snake skin required a large amount of wood ash.

After nearly an hour, he had collected enough dry grass and leaves. He wrapped his head in his clothes, leaving only his eyes exposed, and began scraping the fat off the snake skin with his stone axe. It was a tedious and physically demanding task. He worked from the afternoon until dusk before he finally finished scraping the fat off.

Next came the tanning process using wood ash. After that, he would need to smoke the skin to soften it through a chemical reaction. For convenience, he cut the skin into four equal segments.

"It would be best to build a frame to stretch the skin so it doesn't shrink, but that’s too much work. We’re already going to be hungry tonight, and I don't have the energy for it."

He still needed an hour to continue tanning with the wood ash; he truly had nothing left in the tank. Su Keke visited several times since they were close enough to see each other. She had been a bit bored on her own, though she had managed to dig up some cogon grass roots and gather some branches.

"Daddy, I found a hole over there. I wonder if there are any field mice inside," she said, running over to share the good news.

"Where? Take me to see it."

Xu Yi had been worrying about what to eat for dinner, and he hadn't expected Su Keke to make such an important discovery. The soil was relatively easy to scan with his X-ray vision since the gaps were large, though the depth was limited to less than a meter. Even so, it was a huge help. Most animals didn't dig their burrows very deep. A quick look would be enough for Xu Yi to see if there was anything inside.