Hua Mu understood that no matter how much she hoped, it would do nothing to hasten their rescue. The only thing they could do was strive to survive, live well, and check the signal fire and distress symbols every day, ensuring that if any ship or plane passed by, they would be immediately discovered.

Building the bamboo bed had given Hua Mu a taste of success. The process not only temporarily distracted her from her worries but also genuinely solved many problems, making life on the deserted island considerably more comfortable.

Hua Mu officially decided to start improving their living conditions in earnest.

With a place to sleep secured, the next thing to improve was, of course, the toilet situation. To be honest, she had been putting up with it for a long time.

Surviving on a tropical island wasn’t difficult. Even an ordinary person wouldn’t starve, let alone with a nearly omnipotent Sentinel by her side. The suitable temperature, abundant water, and plentiful food meant they didn’t have to worry too much about warmth or sustenance. Once they settled down, they naturally had a lot of free time. It would be a shame to spend that time daydreaming or hoping for rescue while living a makeshift, miserable life.

Hua Mu expressed her thoughts to Bai Zhen, who naturally supported her wholeheartedly. As long as it made the Young Lady happy, she was willing to do anything.

“Let’s make a toilet first, something like a chair. Squatting is killing me.”

In the tropical jungle, ecological succession was extremely rapid, and microbial decomposition was swift, so they didn’t have to worry too much about waste disposal. It would soon return to the earth as nutrients. But having to bring plant ash every time, changing locations every few days, baring her bottom in broad daylight, and often squatting until her legs went numb was hardly convenient.

Hua Mu had long wanted to build a proper toilet—one with a roof, walls, and a seat.

“Hmm… where do you think would be a good place to build it?”

Building a toilet wasn’t as simple as making a bamboo bed. The main difficulty wasn’t the toilet itself, but the location and waste management.

The toilet couldn’t be too close to or too far from the shelter, nor could it be too close to the jungle.

Hua Mu had already been considering this. “How about on that slope to the left? Near that banyan tree. It’s well-ventilated, but the wind isn’t too strong, and there are fewer insects. We can use bamboo for pipes to… ahem, discharge it into that low pit in the jungle nearby. I’ve calculated the distance; one bamboo stalk should be about right.”

“We can use iron plates or bamboo for the walls and roof. Oh, and the roof should ideally collect rainwater, and we can install a water tank on the toilet—I think bamboo would work well for that. Then we wouldn’t have to carry water ourselves!”

Hua Mu showed an unprecedented level of enthusiasm, and Bai Zhen couldn’t help but feel motivated as well.

“Young Lady, your idea is excellent. Let’s do it! After we finish the toilet, we can add a similar roof to our shelter.”

“Yes, yes, but that’s a huge project. We might be rescued by then.”

Bai Zhen smiled. “That would be even better, of course.”

The two of them got to work immediately. Bai Zhen was in charge of gathering materials, while Hua Mu first selected the best location.

From their camp, heading inland and turning right up the slope would lead them toward the west side of the island. As part of the mountain, the terrain here was generally higher. If they wanted to explore the mountain, this route was undoubtedly better.

Although Bai Zhen had no immediate plans to explore the jungle in detail, she had done a rough search to the west and had been fortunate enough to find several breadfruit trees about five or six kilometers away. Harvesting from there would save a lot of time compared to crossing half the island.

Hua Mu chose a spot, marked out the area with a branch, and then returned to the beach to select usable materials. Bai Zhen had warned her repeatedly not to get too close to the jungle, and she wasn’t foolish enough to risk her life, so she was always very cautious. The parts salvaged from the shipwrecks were of various styles, from many different types of vessels spanning a wide range of eras. Some metal plates were over ten centimeters thick, while others were little more than sheet metal.

They decided on bamboo and wood as the main materials for the toilet. The roof would be sloped and lined with sheet metal so that rainwater would naturally flow down the eaves. By fixing a split bamboo stalk under the eaves, a simple water collection system would be complete.

The water storage container could be made directly from bamboo. Given the current frequency of rain, if they used half the volume of one wall for water storage, they generally wouldn’t face the awkward situation of needing to fetch water.

Hua Mu had planned it well. After she picked out a few usable iron sheets, Bai Zhen had also transported the materials to the designated spot.

After adding breadfruit as a staple food, the Sentinel’s energy and stamina had noticeably improved. In the early days on the island, when their only food was some seafood—most of which went into Hua Mu’s stomach—Bai Zhen’s muscular frame had become gaunt, her cheeks sunken. Although it made her look leaner and more dangerous, it still made Hua Mu feel guilty.

Even after Hua Mu expressed her wishes, Bai Zhen never took the initiative to hunt any animal other than fish. Of course, the Sentinel might have had other considerations, but Hua Mu still felt she was being considerate of her.

“Young Lady, do you think it’s better to make the toilet seat first or build the frame of the structure?”

This was a difficult choice between baring her bottom and squatting until she was tired.

“Let’s lay the pipes first.”

Since she had chosen to do it, Hua Mu was exceptionally meticulous. The main body of the toilet could, of course, only be made of bamboo or wood, but to facilitate flushing, the lower part needed to be metal or ceramic. Bai Zhen had once found a ceramic washbasin, which was perfect for this. In recent days, Hua Mu had been wandering around the pile of scrap metal, looking for anything useful. The idea of building a toilet had come to her in a flash of inspiration when she saw this washbasin.

“Let’s lay the pipes following the slope of the hill. We’ll use this washbasin for the toilet part.”

As long as she wasn’t affected by her emotions, Hua Mu was generally very methodical. Of course, she could only provide a rough concept and idea; turning it into reality relied on the Sentinel’s practical experience.

“I understand.”

Bai Zhen was a woman of action and immediately got to work.

The location Hua Mu chose was indeed not far from the low-lying pit, but the pipeline couldn’t be solved with a single bamboo stalk. In a tropical rainforest environment, a bamboo pipe would definitely not last long. Especially since this bamboo hadn’t been treated, it would last a month at most.

Although Bai Zhen desperately hoped they would return to civilization before the pipe failed, her cautious nature forced her to consider the possibility of having to replace it.

Therefore, the pipe couldn’t be a single piece of bamboo. It had to be divided into one- to two-meter sections, connected with bamboo wedges and wrapped with sheet metal.

As for the washbasin, the drain hole needed to be enlarged to some extent, otherwise there was a high risk of clogging.

Hua Mu didn’t understand why Bai Zhen was cutting the bamboo and asked with great curiosity. The answer she received gave her a profound appreciation for the Sentinel’s foresight.

Bai Zhen was certainly not the type to be brave but reckless. It was just that during missions, she often encountered unexpected situations, so in addition to pre-made plans, she needed the ability to adapt on the fly. This led her to trust her instincts more than detailed deliberation, as some dangers were so imminent they left no time for thought.

But this didn’t mean she made decisions without thinking. Rather, her experience and instincts helped her speed up the thought process, allowing her to react in the blink of an eye.

Coupled with Bai Zhen’s cautious nature, she never took risks unless the potential reward was significantly greater.

Of course, Hua Mu had never thought Bai Zhen was some kind of airhead. It was just that the other woman was so dense in certain aspects that she couldn’t help but classify her as “stupid.”

The bamboo was cut with a multi-functional military knife. As one of the most useful items Bai Zhen had, the knife had helped them a great deal. However, neither a dagger nor a military knife was particularly suitable for cutting wood. Even though Bai Zhen was fast, Hua Mu felt exhausted just watching her.

“Isn’t there a bigger tool? Like an axe or a saw? Have you found anything like that?”

Without looking up, Bai Zhen replied, “I found a few fire axes, but the wooden handles are gone, and the heads are badly rusted. It’s alright, Young Lady, I’ll be done soon.”

“We can make new handles, and the rust can be ground off, right?”

“I suppose so…”

“So why didn’t you do it?”

“Uh, be-because I didn’t think it was necessary.”

Bai Zhen stopped her work and looked at Hua Mu anxiously.

Right, of course a Sentinel wouldn’t think it was necessary. After all, she was someone who could cut bamboo with a short knife. But if they had a proper tool like an axe, she could help too! As someone with an estate, Hua Mu not only knew how to chop firewood but had even learned to saw wood.

Though she couldn’t do it for very long, that is.

“Stop what you’re doing right now. Let’s go see if we can make some proper tools first!”

Sharpening the axe doesn’t delay the work of cutting firewood. Why couldn’t this Sentinel understand such a simple principle? She took back her previous thought. Bai Zhen wasn’t clever at all. People who didn’t know how to “be lazy” weren’t clever. They were just plain stupid!

“Yes…”

At Hua Mu’s command, Bai Zhen didn’t dare to disobey. She rummaged through the pile of scrap metal and pulled out several iron lumps, bars, and sheets, leaving Hua Mu dumbfounded.

“What’s this?” Two nearly rectangular iron lumps, their original shape unrecognizable, looked like a museum of marine shellfish.

“They’re fire axes.”

“And this?”

“Should be saw blades and such.”

“So you had everything all along?”

“Mm…”

“Can you sharpen them?”

“I should be able to.”

“How long will it take?”

“A day or two.”

“Then why didn’t you make the tools first? It’s only a day or two!” If they had these, she could have started helping earlier!

Bai Zhen lowered her head and said nothing more. Hua Mu, who had previously thought she was just stupid, suddenly understood.

This was Bai Zhen’s goal. Without proper tools, even if she wanted to help, she could only do light physical labor.