Afternoon, four thirty. A breeze stirred on the sea.

Half an hour later, a massive dark cloud drifted over… large enough to cast a shadow over the entire island of Cannabis and the surrounding waters.

At five fifteen, the captain of the Dolphin cruise ship emerged from the bridge and glanced at the sky. Then, he decisively gave the order: head to shore and drop anchor.

Although the deaf director thought it was a bit of an overreaction, the captain was adamant. "I will never let this ship sit in the middle of the ocean in this weather."

So, the ship was brought to shore.

…

If the dark cloud was an old RV, then the lightning, torrential rain, and gale were undoubtedly the family of three living inside.

By five thirty, the sky was rumbling with thunder and howling with wind, but the rain had yet to fall.

And Feng Bujue's [Withdrawal Symptoms] were reaching another peak.

"Haa... haa..." He leaned against a tree, gasping for breath, muttering to himself, "This time... hoo... it doesn't seem like I can just... endure it..."

Several hours earlier, Feng Bujue had already figured out the pattern of the [Withdrawal Symptoms] debuff, so he had refrained from using the marijuana he had found earlier, choosing to endure it instead.

However, this wave of symptoms was particularly violent; not only was his Stamina Value dropping, but his Survival Value was also beginning to drain on its own...

"This isn't good... I was planning to wait until the 'mental interference' symptoms appeared before using it, but at this rate... my Survival Value will be depleted..." With that thought, Feng Bujue reached into his pocket.

"Hey! Stephen, we meet again."

Just as Brother Jue was about to use the marijuana, Bel's voice suddenly rang out beside him.

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Brother Jue's mind. He was like an efficient computer; when you input the question, the answer was already there.

And so…

"Give me ***-500!" This was the first thing Brother Jue said when he saw Bel.

Brother Jue's action was a full exploitation of the rules. Because the system had clearly stated: [Each time you encounter Bel, you can retrieve one item from your inventory through him]. Since that was the case, then there was no need to be polite... he'd just ask for it.

Bel was slightly taken aback by the words, but he quickly reacted. "Alright, no problem." As he spoke, he put down his backpack and handed Brother Jue what he wanted.

Seeing that the other party had actually produced the item, Brother Jue was overjoyed. Without another word, he took the capsule and swallowed it in one gulp.

The next second, he opened the game menu and saw that the [Withdrawal Symptoms] in the status bar had indeed disappeared completely.

"As expected of the divine medicine that can turn zombies back into living people..." Feng Bujue thought to himself, "...it can even cure addiction." But then he thought again, "Sigh... but, this is also my last universal remedy. I wonder if I'll be able to get my hands on similar divine objects in the future."

Brother Jue did indeed have plans in this regard... if he found ***-038 (the Myriad Manifestations Tree) in a certain scenario, or met a chemist who could analyze ***-500, then he could mass-produce this medicine.

If this plan could be realized, then everyone would no longer have to worry about Brother Jue not taking his medicine… oh no, not having medicine to take.

"How are you feeling?" Bel looked at Feng Bujue for a few seconds and asked, "You looked terrible just now."

"Hoo... well... I'm fine now." As Brother Jue spoke, he stood up.

The universal remedy was just that powerful; someone who was on the verge of death a few seconds ago was now radiant with vigor.

"Good, I would have been very troubled if you weren't in good condition," Bel replied. "Now that you're like this, I can confidently tell you about the 'challenge' mission."

"Challenge, huh..." When Feng Bujue heard these two words, what flashed through his mind was the second main mission [Complete at least six challenges given by the program team].

But at this moment, what he was concerned about was not the mission, but something else...

"Before you say that... there's something I'd like to clarify first..." Now that things had come to this, there was no need for Brother Jue to pretend any longer, so his attitude was completely different from when they were on the beach. "You must already know what I did earlier. I'll just be frank..." He paused for a moment. "Along the way, I deliberately avoided all the cameras, including the area where we're standing now, which is also a blind spot for the lenses..." He looked directly into Bel's eyes. "...I don't understand, how did you find me?"

"Ha... is that what it is?" Bel smiled heartily. "It's very simple... I started looking from the tree where you tied up Barack O'Karma and followed the trail all the way here."

Feng Bujue continued, "But I've covered up my footprints and other traces."

"That's right, I noticed it, but you didn't do it thoroughly enough," Bel said with a smile. "It's more than enough to deceive the eyes of ordinary people, but I'm an expert."

"Alright, that's very convincing," Feng Bujue replied.

"Also..." Bel added, "Because you always chose to act in the blind spots of the cameras, your route was greatly restricted, which actually reduced the difficulty of my tracking."

"That's right..." Feng Bujue continued, "Only acting in 'places where the cameras can't see' is the same as narrowing the search range..."

"Heh... of course, you can't be blamed for this," Bel said. "This isn't an equal contest to begin with. After all, 90% of this island is covered by camera lenses. It's already amazing that you can move a long distance while avoiding the cameras." He paused for two seconds. "If you're interested, we can have a real 'hunting game' in the wilderness without cameras in the future."

"Uh... we'll see..." For some reason, Feng Bujue instantly recalled his experience of being hunted by Reignsford in "Hunter Island", and he had a feeling that... if the hunter was Bel, the situation would become even more serious... and the result would most likely be being eaten.

"So, are you ready to hear your challenge now, Stephen?" Bel put on the airs of a host again, glancing at the hovering camera that was always following him.

"Mm... go ahead," Feng Bujue replied casually.

At this moment, Brother Jue couldn't help but imagine a scene in his mind: Bel was following Stephen Carbon's footprints, explaining to the camera lens: "Look, those are human footprints. Although he has tried to cover them up, he still left traces. I think he just left not long ago, we'll catch up with him soon.

There are many ways to capture humans, the most effective is to pounce and then strike the back of the head. We can also quickly cut their necks with a sharp weapon, which will be less painful.

Most of the meat on humans can be eaten, they are rich in protein, fat, minerals, and trace elements. One pound of human meat can provide you with all the calories you need for a whole day..."

"Listen carefully, your first challenge is..." Bel's words pulled Brother Jue back from his fantasies, "...to hunt an alligator."

[Side Mission Triggered]

Before the words were even finished, the system notification came, and Brother Jue took the opportunity to open the game menu and saw a side mission in the task bar: [Find and kill a Gara Alligator in the swamp].

"Oh?" Feng Bujue thought to himself, "This is the kind of rhythm where you can do a side mission while doing the main mission..."

"Considering the danger of this challenge, I will personally give you a demonstration," Bel's words were still unfinished on the other side, "You have to carefully watch my every action, remember every point I make, understand?"

"Mm... okay," Feng Bujue replied.

"Good, follow me." With those words, Bel turned around and started jogging, waving his hand to signal Brother Jue to follow.

Feng Bujue didn't say much and started running.

Having taken the universal remedy, Feng Bujue was in excellent physical condition, and the load on his body was only a 0.85 kg military shovel, two joints of marijuana, and a pair of handcuffs. In this state, it would be too much to say if he couldn't catch up with Bel, who was carrying a giant backpack.

And so, under Bel's lead, Feng Bujue dashed through the forest.

Five minutes later, they arrived at the edge of a swamp.

"This is the place," Bel stopped and put down his backpack. "There are many alligators in this swamp..." He wasn't talking to Brother Jue, but explaining to the camera, "In the United States, alligator attacks on humans are increasing dramatically. The number of people killed by alligators in the past decade is more than in the previous thirty years. Of course, this shouldn't happen on this small island far from human civilization..." As he said this, he was already stepping on the aquatic plants and muddy stones, walking into the swamp. "But alligators are alligators, they are dangerous, deadly..."

Feng Bujue didn't want to interrupt Bel. In fact, he quite liked listening to this kind of explanation... so, Brother Jue just gripped his military shovel and silently followed behind the other party.

"Once you encounter one, how do you deal with it?" Bel looked at the camera and casually picked up a piece of driftwood from the swamp that was more than a meter long and as thick as a human arm. "Now, let me demonstrate." He turned his head and looked to the side in front of him. "Look, there's one over there... it's already seen us, we have to walk over slowly." As he said this, he bent down, tiptoed, and moved forward at a measured pace.

Seeing this scene, Feng Bujue couldn't help but complain in his heart: "Although I don't know if this guy is teaching me or teaching the audience... but I just want to say... alligator, you still have time to run away..."