Lu Fan stopped what he was doing and looked at An Lan with a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong?"

An Lan grabbed his hand and pressed him down onto the bamboo chair.

Seeing An Lan's serious expression, Lu Fan seemed a little at a loss.

"W-what's wrong?"

Seeing Lu Fan's nervous expression, An Lan's gaze softened, and she gently shook her head: "It's nothing important, I just wanted you to rest."

Seeing An Lan's gentle gaze, Lu Fan suddenly found himself speechless.

“You’re too tired. I’ve never seen you rest properly. Every day when I open my eyes, I see you busy with all sorts of things, and you always have a sense of anxiety. You wish you could finish everything at once.”

Hearing An Lan's words, Lu Fan couldn't help but say, "No, I just can't sit still and want to do more things."

“I know you’re anxious. You must feel that if you don’t do well, others will have a bad opinion of you and think you shouldn’t be here. But what I want to say is that you’ve already done very well. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself.” An Lan ignored Lu Fan’s explanation.

Lu Fan opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

How should I refute this?

But she was right. Ever since she was chosen to represent China, she has become less and less like herself and more and more anxious.

He's clearly just a loser, lazy, and prone to bragging, and he can't help but feel inferior when he sees outstanding people.

He felt smug because he thought he had learned some wilderness survival skills from a team in his past life.

In the end, he still died, leaving his parents to bury their child. What is there to be proud of?

Without the prompting of Heaven, what am I?

There are plenty of geniuses in the world, so why do you think you're the best?

On one hand, I tell myself that I can do it, but on the other hand, I think, I am nothing, so why was I chosen?

So I felt lost.

The whole world is watching. I can't be lazy, I can't be cowardly. I'll try to do as much as possible and trigger the 10,000x return a few more times. If I take a break, they'll scold me.

But I'm just an ordinary person.

Seeing Lu Fan's condition, An Lan couldn't help but touch his face: "Take a rest, okay?"

Looking at An Lan, Lu Fan suddenly felt that she was so good. So good it was unreal: strong, brave, understanding, able to endure loneliness, and not anxious.

I really want to hug her...

Lu Fan suddenly laughed, a laugh that almost made him cry for the first time: "Let's eat first!"

An Lan and Lu Fan made lunch, and after lunch, Lu Fan decided to take a break.

He brewed a cup of tea and quietly watched Anlan dry the herbs.

Sunlight filtered through the dappled leaves, casting soft shadows on An Lan and giving her a unique, serene beauty.

"Anlan, do you think our lives will always be like this?" Lu Fan took a sip of tea, breaking the silence.

An Lan stopped what she was doing, looked up at Lu Fan, and her eyes flashed with a thoughtful light: "Who knows? But it's already quite rare to have such a peaceful little place in this wilderness."

Her tone carried a mix of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing regret, emotion, and uncertainty) and 茫然 (mángrán, uncertainty, a feeling of being lost or confused about the future).

Lu Fan nodded thoughtfully, his gaze drifting to the distant, rolling mountains: "I always felt that we couldn't stay confined here forever. Having gunpowder is just another means to protect ourselves."

His eyes sparkled with anticipation, as if he could already see all the possibilities of the future.

An Lan smiled and lowered her head again to arrange the herbs: "You always have so many ideas. But whatever you want to do, I will support you. Just be careful wherever you go."

Her voice was soft, yet full of concern.

Lu Fan felt a warmth in his heart. He put down his teacup, walked to An Lan's side, and squatted down to help her sort the herbs: "Don't worry, with you by my side, I will definitely be careful."

Live broadcast room.

"What's going on? Why are you suddenly talking so ambiguously!"

"What happened? I saw An Lan touch Lu Fan's face, and then the way he looked at An Lan changed."

"It's so cute to ship them."

An Lan smiled and then sorted out the herbs, crushing them.

Lu Fan asked curiously, "What are you planning to do?"

"You're making mosquito coils, haven't you noticed there are more and more mosquitoes lately?"

Lu Fan asked curiously, "How do you do it? Teach me."

Anlan smiled and explained to him, "These are mugwort, mint, and cloves. They all have mosquito-repelling properties. First, crush them..."

Next, Anlan mixed the crushed plant debris with an appropriate amount of soil in a 3:1 ratio.

Slowly add water while stirring with a twig or other tool until the mixture reaches a dough-like consistency, with a certain stickiness and not loose.

"Roll it into a long strip and stick it onto a bamboo skewer." An Lan handed the mixture to Lu Fan.

Lu Fan immediately took them, rolled them into strips with his hands, and stuck them onto bamboo skewers.

Then place them in a well-ventilated area to air dry.

After helping An Lan make mosquito coils, Lu Fan started tinkering with his gunpowder. He decided to use bamboo tubes to make some firecrackers to test their effects.

He found several bamboo tubes of uniform thickness and suitable length, first washed the inside and outside of the bamboo tubes with clean water, and then set them aside to dry.

After processing the herbs, An Lan came to Lu Fan's side and watched him fiddling with the bamboo tubes, her eyes full of curiosity: "How are you planning to make firecrackers?"

Lu Fan picked up a bamboo tube and explained with great interest: "I plan to put gunpowder into the bamboo tube, then seal one end with mud, leaving a small hole for the fuse."

Once the fuse is lit, the gases produced by the burning gunpowder expand, causing the bamboo tube to explode, much like the principle behind firecrackers.

Without further ado, Lu Fan carefully packed the dried gunpowder pellets into the bamboo tube.

Each time a little gunpowder was added, it was gently shaken to ensure it was packed more tightly. Anlan helped by handing him tools, her eyes full of trust and expectation.

After loading the gunpowder, Lu Fan used the prepared soil to seal one end of the bamboo tube little by little, leaving only a very small hole.

He picked up a simple fuse made of a mixture of dry grass and gunpowder and slowly inserted it into the small hole.

Then they sealed the area around the fuse with mud to ensure that no gunpowder would leak.

"Alright, the first firecracker is finished!" Lu Fan excitedly held up the bamboo tube in his hand, a proud smile on his face.

An Lan looked at him, her eyes full of laughter: "It looks pretty convincing, but wouldn't it be dangerous if it exploded?"

Lu Fan looked at An Lan, his eyes full of confidence: "Don't worry, I've calculated everything. As long as we test it in an open space, there won't be any problems."

To ensure their safety, Lu Fan and An Lan went to a vacant meadow some distance from the shelter.