Desert Island Infrastructure: Claiming the System Brings Many Blessings

Chapter 3 Square Coconuts

Back on the beach, Qin Chuan surveyed the surrounding terrain.

The coastline extends southward for a long time, and at the end of the beach is a group of black reefs, splashed with white foam by the waves.

After walking a distance to the north, there was the edge of a mangrove forest, where the roots stretched into the shallow water like spider legs.

Fan Yubing sat under a tree not far away.

Qin Chuan initially ignored her, but upon closer inspection, he noticed that the tree she was leaning against was somewhat different.

The tree trunk is not tall, and the leaves are as broad as banana leaves, spreading out in layers. Several fruits hang from the gaps in the leaves, greenish in color, square in shape, like coconuts, but completely different from coconuts on Earth.

Fan Yubing stared up at the fruit, her throat bobbing up and down, clearly extremely thirsty. She tried to reach it, but was still more than a meter away from the lowest one. She then tried to climb up the tree trunk by pushing off with her feet, but her feet slipped, and she couldn't get any leverage.

Qin Chuan stood there for a few seconds when a system notification sounded in his mind.

[Otherworldly coconut discovered, Level 1 ingredient, rich in juice, edible.]

Coconuts from another world. Even the coconuts here are square; this is definitely not Earth.

Fan Yubing also noticed Qin Chuan approaching, her expression stiffened for a moment, then she looked away and stared at the fruit on the tree.

There was a silence of about five seconds.

"Hey, um...that friend."

Qin Chuan raised an eyebrow.

Friend? Just half an hour ago I was calling him a stinky security guard, a hooligan, and a pervert, and now I'm calling him a friend?

He felt a surge of joy in his heart, but didn't show it on his face.

"What do you want?"

Fan Yubing swallowed hard and pointed to the fruit above her head: "Look up there, there's fruit, it should be some kind of coconut. Could you pick a few for me to drink?"

The tone of his last sentence, "Give me some to drink," was noticeably softer, a stark contrast to his imperious manner on the boat.

Qin Chuan thought to himself, "They're so thirsty, aren't they? They only know to beg for help when they're really thirsty."

"Excuse me, I just drank some water, I'm not thirsty. You can pick them yourself."

After saying that, Qin Chuan whistled and turned to walk towards the beach. He planned to go to the shallow water to see if there were any shellfish or crabs.

From behind came Fan Yubing's furious voice: "You!"

Qin Chuan did not turn around.

After walking about ten steps, I heard the sound of fabric tearing behind me, followed by Fan Yubing's short scream.

"ah!"

Qin Chuan turned around and saw Fan Yubing squatting under the tree, her hands covering her chest, her face flushed red to the roots of her neck.

She had just tried to climb the tree herself. As soon as she grabbed the trunk and pushed off, her bikini top gave way and the fabric slipped down.

Qin Chuan only saw a rough outline, but Fan Yubing reacted quickly and picked up the strip of cloth to cover it up again.

"Heh heh, serves him right," Qin Chuan thought to himself, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

Fan Yubing was so ashamed she wanted to bury her head in the sand, but she had no other clothes to change into. She bit her lip, her pride crushed by reality.

Qin Chuan continued walking towards the beach, whistling.

Upon reaching the shallow water, he activated his pupil technique for scanning.

Several labels immediately popped up in the field of view:

[15 meters directly in front, on the beach surface, 3 mantis shrimp]

[28 meters directly in front, on the surface of the reef, 3 scallops]

[124 meters directly ahead, shallow water area, 3 sea snails]

Qin Chuan narrowed his eyes. He discovered that his LV1 pupil technique could only detect things that were exposed to the outside; it couldn't detect anything underwater or hidden in crevices between rocks.

But something is better than nothing, so let's pick it up first.

The mantis shrimp, which were found in a small puddle left by the receding tide, were quite large, about the length of an adult's palm.

Qin Chuan grabbed it and pinned it down. The shrimp tail thrashed twice before Qin Chuan caught it. The scallop was stuck to a rock, but he pried it off with a forceful pull.

The conch was in the shallow water some distance away. Qin Chuan waded over and searched for a long time before finally managing to catch it.

Holding the three items in his hands, Qin Chuan walked back.

When Fan Yubing passed by the otherworldly coconut tree, she was still sitting under it. Seeing the seafood in Qin Chuan's hand, her stomach rumbled loudly.

Fan Yubing turned her face away, pretending not to hear.

Qin Chuan pretended not to hear, but slowed his pace a little.

He looked up and examined the tree again. The trunk was about twenty centimeters in diameter, with horizontal lines on its surface, making it a bit rougher than a regular coconut tree, just enough to give it a foothold. The lowest fruit was about three meters from the ground, too high for one person to reach, but two people stacked together could just touch it.

Qin Chuan did some mental calculations. This otherworldly coconut was a level 1 ingredient, so eating it would definitely provide a system boost. He was also quite thirsty; the water he had just drunk had relieved his immediate thirst, but his stomach was empty, and he needed to replenish his energy.

Qin Chuan stopped.

Fan Yubing sensed that he hadn't left, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "That handsome guy, thank you... thank you for saving me just now."

Her voice was hoarse and very low. After she finished speaking, she didn't dare to look at Qin Chuan's face.

Qin Chuan noticed that her address had changed from "stinky security guard" to "friend," and now it had been upgraded to "handsome guy." The change was a bit rapid, but it was normal. When you're in dire straits, face is worthless; only survival matters.

"Yes, you're welcome."

Fan Yubing mustered her courage again: "Um... could you pick a coconut for me? I'm really thirsty."

Qin Chuan looked up at the fruit on the tree, and to be honest, he wanted to pick one and try it himself.

"Okay. But this tree is a bit tall; I can't reach it by myself, and I don't know how to climb trees."

Fan Yubing's eyes lit up: "It's okay, we can form a human ladder. I'll stand on your shoulders, and we can get there."

"A human ladder?" Qin Chuan glanced at her from head to toe. "Fine. I'll be on the bottom, you can be on top."

"Mm." Fan Yubing nodded, then looked down at the tattered clothes on her body and bit her lip.

Qin Chuan put the seafood in his hand on the ground, walked to the tree trunk, squatted down, and supported himself on his knees with his hands.

Fan Yubing walked over, one hand still clutching her chest, and stood hesitantly behind him.

"Go ahead and step on it."

"I...I stepped on it." Fan Yubing took a deep breath and placed her foot on Qin Chuan's shoulder.

Qin Chuan felt a bare foot land on his right shoulder; the sole was cool and the skin was smooth. Then another foot stepped on top of him, and his entire weight pressed down on him.

It wasn't heavy. Qin Chuan estimated in his mind that it weighed at most 110 pounds. For him, carrying that weight wouldn't be difficult.

"Hold on tight, I'm getting up."

Qin Chuan used the strength in his legs to slowly stand up straight.

Fan Yubing was lifted up, and she quickly grabbed the tree trunk with one hand and reached up with the other to reach the nearest square coconut.

"Is that enough?"

"Almost... Could it be a little higher?"

Qin Chuan tiptoed.

"It's still a little short. Let me try pulling." Fan Yubing gripped the fruit stem and pulled hard, but the stem was very tough and she couldn't pull it off.

Qin Chuan stood below, with Fan Yubing's legs right above him. Her bodycon skirt was already torn to shreds, and from this angle, the view was quite different.

Qin Chuan quickly looked away and stared at the distant sea.

"Hurry up, my shoulder hurts."

"Wait, wait, it'll be done soon." Fan Yubing twisted and pulled at it for almost a minute.

Qin Chuan couldn't resist any longer and looked up to see what she was doing. As he looked up, he caught a glimpse of white skin beneath her pencil skirt.

My mind went blank for a moment.

Just then, Fan Yubing finally managed to pull the coconut off.

A square fruit weighing over two pounds slammed straight down on Qin Chuan's head.

"Bang!"

Qin Chuan's vision went black, his knees buckled, and he collapsed.

"ah!"

Fan Yubing lost her support instantly, screamed, and fell down, landing on Qin Chuan.

The two men fell onto the sand, one on top of the other, raising a cloud of dust.

Fan Yubing's upper body was covered in tattered fabric again. Her first instinct was to pick up the strips of cloth to cover herself up, and then she remembered that there was still someone lying underneath her.

"Qin Chuan? Qin Chuan, what's wrong?" Fan Yubing turned to the side and saw that Qin Chuan had a bump on his head and was rubbing it while grimacing.

Qin Chuan sat up, shook his head to make sure he didn't have a concussion, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luckily, my brother is sturdy, otherwise I'd be hard tonight."

Fan Yubing was taken aback at first, then realized the double meaning of the sentence and covered her mouth to laugh.

"What are you thinking!" she said with a laugh, but the hostility in her tone had faded considerably.

Qin Chuan picked up the square coconut from the ground and patted it off the sand. This thing had a much harder shell than a regular coconut; he'd need a sharp rock to crack it open.

"Let's pick a few more." Qin Chuan looked up. "And while you're at it, I'll pluck a few banana leaves to make you a coat. I can't talk to you properly like this."

Fan Yubing looked down at herself, and her face turned red again.

"good."

The two formed a human ladder again. With the experience from the first time, their cooperation was much smoother this time. Fan Yubing stood on Qin Chuan's shoulders, and Qin Chuan would occasionally look up to "direct" her, telling her which fruit was closer and which leaf was easier to pick.

Of course, every time you look up, your gaze inevitably wanders over places you shouldn't.

Qin Chuan remained calm and composed, shouting "The one on the left," "That leaf is bigger," while silently repeating "I'm a professional" eight times in his mind.

After picking for about ten minutes, eight square coconuts and six or seven large banana leaves were piled on the ground.

Fan Yubing climbed off Qin Chuan's shoulder and squatted down to start fiddling with the banana leaves. She tore off a few relatively intact strips of cloth from her clothes to use as rope, cut and folded the banana leaves, and quickly wrapped them into a simple "clothes".

Although it's ugly, at least it covers up what needs to be covered.

"You're quite skillful with your hands," Qin Chuan said truthfully.

Fan Yubing tied the last strip of cloth, stood up and stretched a couple of times to make sure it wouldn't fall off: "For yoga practitioners, dexterity is a fundamental skill."

When he said this, there was a hint of his former pride in his tone, but he quickly withdrew it.

Qin Chuan picked up a coconut and tapped it twice on the nearby rocks. The shell cracked open, revealing a pale green liquid inside that smelled sweet.

He took a sip first.

The moment it touched my lips, a system notification popped up:

[Consuming Level 1 Ingredient: Otherworldly Coconut. First consumption grants +1 Strength and +1 Health.]

Qin Chuan's lips curled slightly. Sure enough, there was an extra bonus for the first use.

Fan Yubing watched him drink, and a gurgling sound came from her throat.

Qin Chuan handed it over: "Drink it, no problem."

I almost let slip the system information.

Fan Yubing didn't stand on ceremony, took the coconut jelly, and started drinking. She drank too quickly, and the juice dripped down her chin and onto her banana leaf clothes.

One pill wasn't enough, so I opened another one.

The two of them each drank two coconuts, leaving four. Qin Chuan wrapped the remaining coconuts in banana leaves and set them aside.

After drinking the water, Fan Yubing clearly felt better; her complexion wasn't so pale, and she had more energy to speak.