Chapter 4

The situation was not optimistic; Cloudy had never been poisoned before. This was different from eating cheap takeout or hot pot cooked in recycled oil... It seemed like a problem that couldn't be solved just by going to the restroom a few times.

Would this poison be similar to the poison in the mushroom pot? Although Cloudy experienced hallucinations, she didn't feel any discomfort in her body, no stomachaches, dizziness, or the urge to vomit; she just saw a lot of things... things she wanted to eat or have.

For example, the rustic wooden cottage in front of her, which was exactly as she had imagined it, with a roof securely tied together with large tree leaves and sturdy vines, and walls constructed from thick wooden sticks.

Cloudy knew it was a hallucination, but she couldn't resist walking towards it. She stood in front of the reassuring brown wooden door and tentatively pushed it... although there was no sensation, the wooden door did open.

Inside, there were torches burning on the ground, filling the space with warm yellow light. There was a large wooden bed against the wall, covered in furry animal skins. Even though she knew it was fake, Cloudy couldn't help but keep staring at the bed, imagining how comfortable it would be to sleep or rest on it...

Inside the cottage, there was also a small earthen fireplace burning continuously, with grilled fish and meat slices hanging above it. Next to it, there was a steaming pot of tea.

"Ugh..." If only all of this were real. Cloudy wandered around the cottage, constantly touching and feeling with her hands, trying to find some sense of reality in the hallucination. The illusion of the cottage didn't last long; as Cloudy kept trying to touch the grilled fish, the entire cottage disappeared.

In front of Cloudy appeared a large shrub: "..." Unfortunately, she couldn't even tell if the plant in front of her was real or fake now.

She needed to pull herself together; Cloudy slapped her own face, seeing a flash of golden light before her eyes.

There was a very simple way to deal with this in her mind, just keep drinking water and going to the restroom, but here's the problem... after eating the poisoned fruit, all the water had been consumed, and Titus hadn't brought back any extra water. The place to fetch water was very far, and if Cloudy started now, she would arrive at night, not to mention she was experiencing hallucinations and couldn't distinguish directions.

The sun hadn't set yet; Cloudy estimated it was around 6 o'clock based on the color of the sky. Night fell late in this place, probably around 10 o'clock.

A four-hour round trip for water would be manageable under normal circumstances... Cloudy leaned on a long stick and started walking downhill. She felt a sudden... baseless confidence; four hours were doable, she was sure of it. As long as she started running now, she would definitely make it to the other side of the river without any issues.

Thinking this, she started running, feeling happy. In the corner of her eye, she saw a stray dog running alongside her: "Good dog! Good dog!" Clou
Dy was happily shouting, but after a few shouts, Cloudy fell down. She rolled down the slope five or six times, with her elbows and shins scratched by small stones in the grass, leaving bloodstains.

However, Cloudy didn't feel a thing. She got up unsteadily from the ground and began searching for the dog that didn't actually exist. After searching for a while, Cloudy suddenly realized - what was she just doing? Why was she so excited? It felt like she had been drinking...

At this point, due to her recent chaotic running around, Cloudy was already quite close to the cave, just about an hour's walk away.

But because of the intense exercise earlier, Cloudy felt very tired. She stood still for a moment. At this point, she felt her body starting to get warm, her hands, feet, and the tip of her nose tingling, as if she were allergic or as if a group of insects were crawling over her.

And the hallucinations seemed to have slowed down. She looked around... all familiar scenes, just ordinary grass and ordinary dirt and rocks. She had to go back to the cave; at least there was a spare bowl of water there.

The return journey was not easy. From the initial hallucinations to the excitement and now the tingling sensation in her body, Cloudy felt like she had gone through a seizure. Her steps became heavier, and drowsiness suddenly hit her.

She couldn't sleep; she had to crawl back.

What was originally an hour's journey took Cloudy three hours because she had to crawl on the ground for the latter part of the way back.

Her legs, hands, and even her chin were scraped, it was really exhausting. Exhausted, Cloudy finally, before the sun set, let out a howl similar to a monkey fighting for food when she saw her little cave. Cloudy crawled into the cave like a turtle, hastily drank all the water stored in a small fruit shell inside.

Then she lay down on the grass mat, curled up, and fell into a deep, restless sleep.

This sleep was very uneasy. Cloudy had many very vivid dreams. Most of them were about her normal life before, and even many movies she had watched before.

In the dream, Cloudy became the protagonist of a desert island survival story, with her "Wilson" being a bug shell with a smiley face drawn on it. They spent countless days and nights on the island together... until her family came in a kayak to find her and told her that if she wanted to leave the island, she had to leave behind her bug shell friend, Wilson.

Just as Cloudy was torn about leaving Wilson behind, everything around her changed. She smelled a very nostalgic aroma of home-cooked food - tofu and crucian carp soup, stir-fried ground pork with green beans... Cloudy heard familiar voices calling her to wash up and eat.

She hurriedly ran to the bathroom, but everything changed on the way there. And so, Cloudy found herself trapped in one dream after another.

In reality, she was huddled in a small cave, sweating profusely with a flushed face, clearly showing symptoms of a low fever. She kept murmuring the names of her family members, and how she wanted to have another bowl of crucian carp soup.

...

She woke up.

Cloudy struggled to open her eyes. She felt like her eyelids had been melted.
The nougat is stuck like glue, making it really hard to open. After touching it with her hands, she realized it was all dried secretions.

Her head felt like a bomb had just exploded in a trench, and her body was sore all over. But... she was still alive! Cloudy wanted to cry, but no tears came out. She could only cough for a while, then start to chuckle softly.

Although feeling very uncomfortable, she still needed to go out to fetch water today. Cloudy turned over, ate a few berries stored in the cave to moisten her throat and lips. Just these simple actions made Cloudy feel like she had used up almost half of her strength.

Maybe she couldn't go out today... There were still three or four berries left, enough to last until tomorrow, she thought, curling up again. But at this moment, she couldn't sleep either. It felt like having a fever, being very tired and sleepy, but unable to sleep due to the discomfort.

After what seemed like a long time in a daze, Cloudy began to feel a bit of strength returning to her body. Since she had spent the whole day in the cave and felt too stuffy, she gritted her teeth and crawled out of the cave.

She initially thought it would be late, but after a while of identifying the shadows of the sky and tree branches on the ground, she realized it was only around 1 or 2 in the afternoon.

She took a few deep breaths and then walked to the fire-making area to check the storage of raw meat. Even before getting closer, Cloudy smelled something unpleasant.

The raw meat had naturally gone bad, which was within Cloudy's tolerance. The temperature in this place felt around 30 degrees Celsius every day, and it could get even higher when the sun was directly shining at noon. The leaves covering the raw meat were roughly torn open, and it seemed not to be the work of insects but some kind of small to medium-sized omnivorous animal.

A few days ago, if a more ferocious small wild beast had appeared near her home, Cloudy wouldn't have been particularly worried. But now, with her health not good and lacking strength... what if something happened? With these thoughts, Cloudy decided to block the cave entrance with stones before going to sleep today.

As for the spoiled meat, Cloudy took it to a nearby white rock where she had a pit specifically for disposing of waste. After throwing the meat in, Cloudy dug a lot of soil to cover it, then threw many stones to press down the soil, completely concealing the foul smell.

After dealing with the spoiled meat, Cloudy was completely exhausted. She returned to the cave entrance and lay down on the soft green lawn to sunbathe.

This was also good in a way. Although very tired and uncomfortable, she didn't have to think about making a fire... In Cloudy's mind, the unfortunate events happening to her now were nothing compared to the horror of failing to start a fire.

Every time she tried to make a fire, Cloudy's hope would burn faster than tinder. The feeling of constantly hoping being shattered by her own incompetence was truly painful.

Cloudy yawned while lying on the grass. She wasn't feeling as bad as yesterday, so things should be a bit better tomorrow. By then, she would be able to...
Please bring back some more roots and wild fruits.

Maybe it was the warm sunlight at work, although Cloudy felt even thirstier, the soreness on her body had improved a lot.

"*&......%!!"

Cloudy opened her eyes and heard a familiar call not far away... It was Titus! Was that strange wild man coming to find her again?!

Not long after the voice came, Titus's face hovered in Cloudy's line of sight: "Huh huh...? Huh huh car?"

Unable to understand, but judging by Titus's somewhat worried expression, maybe he was concerned about her health: "Um..." Cloudy made a painful sound, then pointed to her throat and then to her mouth.

This was a possibility she hadn't considered before, which was great. Titus's arrival was truly a pleasant surprise... She smacked her lips a few times: "Water... Can you help me get some water?"

"Huh huh?" Titus seemed not to understand very well. He furrowed his brow and tried to lift Cloudy off the ground "&%&&......*#" He mumbled a long string of words that Cloudy didn't understand. She could only continue pointing to her mouth: "Water... Huh huh...? Water"

Whether it was her actions or the imitation of saying "huh huh" that worked, after putting her down, Titus ran off like the wind. Cloudy could even hear the sound of the grass being trampled as he ran hurriedly.