Xi Xi's surf-walking rubber shoes sank into the black gravel, and every step felt like walking on a pile of rotting fish bones.

The island wasn't as big as she had imagined—it only took forty minutes to walk from the South Beach to the North Cliff, and she didn't see a single plant taller than a person along the way.

The low shrubs are twisted into a hunched shape, their leaves covered with salt frost, like pickled vegetables repeatedly preserved by the sea.

As she walked along the intertidal zone, the crashing waves revealed the skeletons of several animals entangled in fishing nets.

Aura, who was next to the backpack's side pocket, seemed to be frightened by the terrifying sight and immediately meowed loudly. Xi Xi whispered a "shh," then quickly looked around while signaling it to be quiet through her sensory chain ring.

With no sound or sign of anyone in sight, Xi Xi finally felt relieved and looked around.

A canine skull was wedged in a crevice in the reef, with half a car license plate embedded between its fangs. Just as she was about to get a closer look, a huge wave crashed in, instantly swallowing the eerie tombstone.

"Xiao Xi!" Chu Zhiqin called out in a low voice, her voice carried on the sea breeze. "Come here!" She was squatting in front of a severely weathered rock wall, clutching half a rusty iron chain in her hand.

Xi Xi was stunned for a moment. She walked closer to take a look, then took out her multi-bladed sickle and scraped off the barnacles on the surface of the chain.

Could this be... a shipwreck!?

A ship's buoy was attached to the end of the chain, its number blurred by seawater erosion. Chu Zhiqin tugged at the chain in surprise, and Xi Xi looked at everything in front of her thoughtfully.

With a "whoosh," the light-bladed scythe cleaved the iron chain, and as Xi Xi had expected, the chain quickly disintegrated into a metal fragment.

"No one has ever been here?" Chu Zhiqin was overjoyed. If this shipwreck was blown ashore by the waves and the chains were intact, wouldn't that mean no one had ever explored it? Then, when the tide goes out, they would definitely be able to scavenge a lot of useful supplies!

The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed, especially considering the huge waves last night. Wasn't there a scene in Robinson Crusoe where a sunken ship washed ashore?

“Not necessarily…” Xi Xi muttered as she observed the surrounding terrain and noted the location of the sunken ship. “Those barnacles showed signs of being pried open, so they don’t look like they were pushed ashore by the waves on the first day.”

"Perhaps... some people just don't realize that these items can also be turned into basic resources." If she hadn't pried open a train car while surviving in the tunnel, Xi Xi naturally wouldn't have thought of it in this way.

Waves surged and rippled beneath my feet, one after another, as if the entire earth was trembling slightly.

The force of the waves surged upwards from her feet, making her feel unsteady. Each impact felt like a heavy hammer blow, sending a jolt through Xi Xi's heart.

Chu Zhiqin was alright. After all, she had experienced the storms at sea and was now grounded. She seemed to have found her footing and was not afraid at all.

Xi Xi was in a terrible predicament. She was already wearing surfing rubber shoes, and now it was as if she was stepping on a clown's ring of fire. She swayed left and right without any rhythm and almost fell face-first to the ground.

Well, it seems these rubber boots are only suitable for calm weather... Xi Xi took a few steps inland with some embarrassment. She opened the light screen and casually checked the time, then whispered to her mother, "Time is running out, we need to get to higher ground as soon as possible."

Soon, the seven-day cycle depicted in "Tide Star" will begin. If the earthquake magnitude is higher than the last one, the giant waves caused by the tectonic movement will be enough to easily engulf everything.

To be on the safe side, they had to find a high and spacious place to take refuge.

Xi Xi turned off the light screen, imprinted the approximate location in the pixel map in her mind, and then looked up at the gentle slope in the center of the island.

The climb was more difficult than expected. Xi Xi found a spot that wasn't too steep and set up the Magic Rhythm telescopic ladder once again.

The ladder's legs were firmly planted in the beach, standing steadily to one side. However, the weathered shale continued to crumble, and during the climb, one's palms inevitably bore marks from the rubble.

By the time they finally managed to grab onto the large rock high above, the sun had already set, the clouds had turned a rusty color, and the sky was gradually darkening.

Xi Xi opened the light screen camera and scanned the entire island in the last rays of the sunset. The surrounding area was desolate and did not look spacious or stable.

Suddenly, the camera freezes on a spot—a naturally formed crescent-shaped bay hidden among the rocks on the shady side of the west.

The bay was small and filthy. On the beach at the edge of the bay, there seemed to be a dozen or so mineral water bottles scattered around, and a plastic shed had been erected around it.

The bottles were arranged in an orderly fashion, their openings carefully cut into funnel shapes, and then inserted upside down into the sand. Xi Xi pondered for a moment, adjusted the focus, and zoomed in to take a closer look. She then discovered that each bottle opening contained a small amount of fresh water; these were clearly devices for collecting fresh water!

"Indeed, there were people who arrived on the island earlier than us, and there was more than one person..." she muttered to herself, thinking to herself, and decided to contact Li Jinshao first.

"More than one person?" Chu Zhiqin, standing behind her, dusted off the corner of her clothes, put away the Magic Rhythm Retractable Ladder, and asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Hmm,” Xi Xi opened her private messages and first sent Li Jinshao a message saying “Arrived,” then gestured for her mother to look ahead through the light screen camera.

“Look, those funnels made of plastic bottles are cut in different ways. According to the cutting habits, these parts are obviously not made by the same person.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Zhiqin observed for a moment before nodding as if she suddenly understood. The camera continued to move, and she suddenly spotted a regular shadow on the rock wall.

It was a huge arrow drawn with charcoal, pointing to a cave hidden behind the bay by seaweed.

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