"Poisoned?"
Before Zhou Niannian could say anything, the voice of Dai Xiaomei next to her suddenly rose, her face turning ashen, filled with disbelief.
"What kind of poison? Will she die? What should we do, should we contact the competition organizers..."
Dai Xiaomei's mental state was extremely unstable at the moment. Just hearing about Mu Zi being poisoned sent her into a frenzy again.
Her anxious demeanor made Jiang Fan want to knock her out.
Especially since he had just expended a lot of mental energy searching for herbal knowledge in his mind, and his temples were throbbing incessantly.
Dai Xiaomei's voice in his ear only made him feel more irritable.
Seeing his dark expression, Zhou Niannian actually felt reassured that he was resting.
She placed a hand on Dai Xiaomei's shoulder and said gently,
"Don't panic. Look at him, he's resting now. He must have resolved it."
"Calm down, she's saved."
Facing her good sister, Zhou Niannian continuously comforted her, without any hint of impatience.
One sentence might not have much effect, but after saying it many times, it would eventually work.
Following Zhou Niannian's words, Dai Xiaomei gradually quieted down.
Her emotions began to stabilize.
Jiang Fan seemed to notice something, his eyebrows raising with interest. He suddenly said,
"Who said she's saved?"
This single sentence tightened Dai Xiaomei's nerves once more. She slowly looked up, trembling all over.
"Jiang Fan!!!"
Seeing that her words had no effect, Zhou Niannian glared at him, furious.
For the first time, she found Jiang Fan so annoying. Couldn't he just say less?
Did he really have to push Dai Xiaomei to the brink of a breakdown before he would stop?
Zhou Niannian wished she could seal Jiang Fan's mouth shut, preventing him from speaking.
But Jiang Fan had already recovered and it was impossible to stop him from talking.
"There's white powder near her wound. That's the dried sap of the Strychnine tree."
"When this milky white sap comes into contact with a wound and enters the bloodstream, it causes heart paralysis, blood coagulation, and ultimately death by suffocation."
"That's why it's also called the 'tree that seals the throat upon seeing blood'."
These few sentences made Dai Xiaomei's face turn even paler.
Jiang Fan's voice seemed to come from a distant place, but only the words 'seals the throat upon seeing blood' were heard clearly.
The rainforest was full of dangers, but she never expected a tree to possess such lethality.
Mu Zi was injured saving her, and now, she might die...
Why wasn't it her dying?
It was she who had suggested setting up camp along the trajectory of that falling tree.
It was she who had almost been crushed.
Why wasn't she the one who was poisoned?
Dai Xiaomei felt her heart ache, overcome with grief, her mind went blank. She choked, even feeling like she wanted to vomit.
The whole world seemed to be slipping away from her...
Her shoulders were held, her body leaning into a damp embrace, yet it felt incredibly warm.
Someone was healing her...
So warm...
"But it's not like there's no antidote."
From that distant world, a disembodied voice called back Dai Xiaomei's consciousness.
She instantly snapped back, looking up at Jiang Fan, like a drowning person clinging to the last straw.
"What did you say?!"
"This poison can be cured."
Jiang Fan's expression was calm, as if he hadn't been the one intentionally pushing Dai Xiaomei to the verge of a breakdown.
"The poison of the Strychnine tree is a cardiac glycoside. Besides injecting antibodies, it can also be detoxified with atropine, which is from the root and leaves of belladonna."
"Using poison to fight poison, controlling the dosage, can temporarily alleviate the toxicity of the Strychnine tree."
"However, even with belladonna, it's only a temporary measure. She needs to be sent away by tomorrow at the latest."
"She has more than one bone fracture. She needs treatment as soon as possible."
His words cast a layer of mist over the two women.
So, she hadn't been cured, her condition had only been slightly stabilized.
But at least it bought Mu Zi some time.
Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Dai Xiaomei, already exhausted, upon receiving the affirmative answer, could no longer hold on. She slumped backward and fainted.
Her face was ashen, but she finally felt at ease, her breathing even.
It was clear she was utterly worn out.
Zhou Niannian was still worried and tried to shake her awake, but heard Jiang Fan calmly say,
"She's been tense for too long. Let her rest."
"Okay."
Zhou Niannian relaxed, trusting Jiang Fan.
Since he said so, Zhou Niannian stopped thinking about it and helped her friend onto her own thatched bed.
Looking at her good friend sleeping soundly, she didn't know what to say.
In the end, she could only sigh and return to the campfire, sitting beside Jiang Fan.
The urgency of saving a life had finally subsided.
Thinking back to what Jiang Fan had just done, Zhou Niannian spoke with a hint of resentment, chiding him,
"You were too much just now. You should be gentler with an injured person."
Jiang Fan's expression was indifferent. He glanced at Zhou Niannian, looking somewhat puzzled.
"We're still in a competition. They aren't my teammates."
"And do you think attitude is more important than detoxification?"
Under the firelight, as Jiang Fan looked at her, the orange-red glow turned his eyes into mirrors, and Zhou Niannian could even see herself in them.
Her face inexplicably flushed, she subconsciously averted her gaze and replied in a small voice,
"I, I didn't mean that..."
The two sat side by side by the campfire, no longer communicating. The warm fire continuously dried their clothes.
Inside the small thatched hut, the atmosphere was serene.
The heavy rain outside did not affect the interior.
Mu Zi's condition was under control, and Dai Xiaomei had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
The situation was temporarily resolved.
Zhou Niannian hugged her legs, curling herself up.
After being so tense for so long, she was also feeling sleepy now...
Her small head nodded, and in moments, it would surely crash into the hole in the floor.
It was Jiang Fan again who reached out, lifting her collar to prevent her from leaning forward.
This sudden action finally brought Zhou Niannian to a slight state of wakefulness. She looked at Jiang Fan with drowsy eyes.
Jiang Fan didn't look at her, his tone as calm as ever.
"If you're sleepy, go sleep in my area."
"Mmm... What about you?"
"Someone needs to watch the campfire. I'll take the night watch."
Jiang Fan also seemed to be lacking energy. His physical condition wasn't good to begin with, and he was utterly exhausted.
But the mystery of the system gnawed at his mind, keeping him mentally alert, making it impossible to sleep.
Keeping watch was merely an added task.
But Zhou Niannian absolutely refused to go to sleep. She rubbed her eyes and mumbled,
"No, how can I let you keep watch alone? We should take turns, I..."
As she spoke, fatigue washed over her again, her consciousness unable to resist the sleepiness and falling into chaos.
Seeing that she was about to fall forward.
At the critical moment, Jiang Fan lifted her collar.
Seeing her breathing peacefully, having already fallen asleep, he felt a bit helpless.
He had noticed that whether it was collecting salt in the morning or urgently building a shelter in the afternoon, Zhou Niannian had been diligently helping.
The workload for both of them was immense, not to mention risking their lives in the pouring rain to save someone at night.
Also... when Zhou Niannian was comforting someone just now, he had a faint premonition of something.
Perhaps Zhou Niannian also harbored some secrets—
Related to this deserted island, or rather.
"About the secret of 'Hukaluo'?"