Xu Wei shook her head only after I pressed her for details.

"No, but I don't want to go in. I just want to stay with you."

Xu Wei's voice was very low, and the rain was pattering down; it took several listens to make it clear.

"No, it's so cold outside right now, and you're not very healthy. If you get wet and catch a cold with a high fever, it will be troublesome. Just go inside and hide, and I'll stay outside and watch over you. Don't worry."

After several attempts to persuade her, Xu Wei cautiously led several female colleagues into the treehouse.

The treehouse wasn't very big to begin with, and with so many people crammed in at once, it felt even more crowded.

Chen Jian's leg is injured, and if it gets infected, he may have to have it amputated.

I pulled Chen Jian over and blocked him at the entrance of the treehouse. Although the treehouse leaked, it was still much better than being battered by the wind and rain outside.

I then placed the shattered suitcase over Chen Jian's injured leg to protect him from the rain.

Chen Jian looked at me gratefully, his lips twitching for a long time before he finally managed to say a trembling "thank you."

I waved my hand and leaned against a tree root.

The heavy rain continued until noon before gradually stopping.

The air outside was thick with the smell of mud and damp rain, and the leaves on the trees looked even greener.

Bai Wei climbed out, stretched, and wiped the rain off his face.

"This treehouse is really useless. If it keeps raining like this, I'm afraid my body won't be able to take it."

One of Bai Wei's lackeys immediately stepped forward: "Mr. Bai is right. I think the sky has cleared up now. Why don't we build a bigger treehouse? It can provide shelter from the rain and a place to rest."

The person who spoke was Wang Ping, a team leader in the company, and usually the same type of person as Lin Xubo.

Saying this implies that he's dragging himself into it, since his boss, Mr. Bai, didn't care about their lives when it was raining heavily earlier.

Lin Xubo was also soaked after I kicked him away.

Hearing Wang Ping's words, he immediately nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I also think that now that we have enough fresh water and food, we need to pay more attention to our accommodation. We are tough and not afraid, but President Bai is the backbone of us. If he gets sick, it will be terrible."

Bai Wei took off his clothes and hung them on a tree branch. Lin Xubo quickly and obsequiously took off his own shirt and draped it over Bai Wei's shoulders.

After the heavy rain, the already subdued crowd became even more silent.

Although no one agreed with Lin Xubo and Wang Ping, they were in dire need of a place to shelter from the wind and rain.

"Since everyone has said so, let's get started. I see the sky is unpredictable, so I'll try to set up the camp before dark so we can get a good night's sleep."

With Bai Wei's approval, Lin Xubo immediately became enthusiastic and directed his male colleagues around like crazy.

They went to collect twigs, then to pluck leaves, and then sent several people apart to find food and fruit.

Wang Ping then pried open the small seashells I brought back and gave them to Bai Wei to eat.

Lin Xubo, his eyes gleaming with mischief, leaned close to Bai Wei and whispered in his ear, seemingly plotting something.

I went into the treehouse to see Wang Xiaoxiao.

She was pale and her body was wet, but thankfully she did not develop a high fever again.

But being wet isn't a good thing.

Xiao Qiang noticed that I hesitated several times before finally saying anything.

But this time I really thanked her.

If it weren't for her speaking up for her, Wang Xiaoxiao would probably be in an even more difficult situation now.

While they were busy rebuilding the camp, I pulled Xu Wei out.

"What exactly happened? Weren't you inside with Wang Xiaoxiao? How did you get out?"

Xu Wei's eyes reddened when she heard my question.

She said that when it started raining, Lin Xubo pulled her and Wang Xiaoxiao outside.

Bai Wei needed to go inside to take shelter from the rain.

However, Wang Xiaoxiao was unconscious and unable to move on her own. Just as Lin Xubo was about to drag Wang Xiaoxiao out, Xiao Qiang walked over.

After saying a few kind words, they finally managed to keep Wang Xiaoxiao there.

"Lin Xubo's eyes were darting around, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I came out on my own..."

Xu Wei's account was pretty much what I had guessed.

Fortunately, the rain has stopped, and the matter is finally over.

However, this time I was more careful. Next time, no matter what, I must take them with me. Otherwise, if I leave, these girls will always find fault with me and bully me.

"You go back and stay with Wang Xiaoxiao. I'll go find some dry branches. If we can start a campfire, we can dry your wet clothes."

Xu Wei shook her head, clutching my clothes tightly.

“Brother Zhao, Sister Xiao Qiang can stay inside and keep an eye on things. I’ll go with you; I can find some branches too.”

I know Xu Wei is scared.

Lin Xubo and Bai Wei are definitely not good people. I was indeed a little worried about leaving such a delicate young girl here, so I nodded.

Xu Wei followed them towards the back of the mountain.

Finally, they found some relatively dry dead branches under a large rock.

We carried the dry branch back and made a bow, intending to start a fire by rubbing sticks together.

But this time it took a lot of effort.

Although these branches were drier than the others that were already soaked, they were still somewhat damp.

No matter how hard I try, I can't ignite even the slightest spark.

While busy directing his other colleagues, Lin Xubo stood next to me and couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks.

"Zhao Si, weren't you supposed to be pretty good? Didn't you succeed in starting a fire by rubbing sticks together before? Why can't you do it now? Hurry up, Boss Bai is still cold."

I frowned and glanced at Lin Xubo, who immediately turned his head away and stopped gossiping.

Then they shifted all their attention to other people.

Xu Wei, squatting beside me, also looked rather grim: "Brother Zhao, is it because you can't light it? What are we going to do tonight if we don't have a fire?"

I was so tired I was panting heavily, and my arms ached terribly.

The lack of fire is indeed a problem. Even if not for them, I will get this fire going for the sake of these women.

I looked around but there was nothing of any use. Just as I was wondering what to do, Chen Jian, who had been half asleep against the tree roots, suddenly called out to me.

I leaned closer to him and asked what was wrong. Chen Jian struggled to get close to me and whispered in my ear that he had a lighter!

I was taken aback. Chen Jian had already taken out the lighter and handed it to me, whispering, "This lighter still works, so you don't have to go through all this trouble."

I took the lighter and pressed it twice; it really wasn't broken.

This is really like getting jealous after eating crab!

I was just about to thank Chen Jian when a hand suddenly reached out from behind and snatched the lighter away.

Before I could even turn around to see who it was, I was kicked solidly in the back...