"Yes, I feel very lucky to have found this cave as a refuge, but the problem here is, there's no food and water is quite far away. I have to manufacture tools to try hunting, or else I'll starve to death."
Arthur's gaze fell on the bow beside him, and he said, "Did you make this? It's not bad."
Oliver sighed and said, "I merely mimicked the general shape of a bow and arrow. The string of the bow is made from palm leaf fibers, which lack elasticity. As a result, the arrow doesn't fly far, and due to the lack of tail feathers for balance, the accuracy is pretty poor."
"Yet, in the second month, I succeeded in hunting an injured cormorant with this bow, and I had a satisfying meal."
"It was that meal that helped me survive till now. After that, I could only eat small lizards, or occasional shells and hermit crabs I found. There aren't many large animals with rich meat on this island, but if there were, I might have been the one to die."
"Have you considered fishing?" asked Shearer.
Oliver showed an embarrassed expression saying, "I know how to fish, and I have participated in sea fishing, but..."
"Oh, I understand," Arthur made an enlightened expression, saying: "It's normal. Tourists visiting us often behave like that. They are unfamiliar with different brands of fishing rods, different types of fishing lines, and use whatever bait they have. They spend an entire day there, and if they don't catch anything, they buy them from others."
"Of course, I don't deny that there are people who genuinely enjoy fishing. I get along well with them, but these wealthy folks often underestimate sea fishing. They never consider the brand of fishing rods, types of fishing lines, and types of bait they use which are all based on other people's experience."
"If I were to abandon them on a deserted island, they wouldn't even be able to make a fishing rod, let alone make fishing lines, catch bait, find a suitable place to cast, and adjust the timing of lifting the rod based on different types of fishing rods and lines."
Oliver nodded and agreed, "I did try making a fishing rod. Everyone knows that the fish near the shore is the best source of food…"
"However, there are no flexible woods suitable for making fishing rods here, and the fiber used to make lines is also very ineffective. I used small fish from the stream as bait, but there were no bites…" Oliver sighed, revealing his unsuccessful attempts and said,
"What's more crucial is that fishing from the deck of a cruise ship is completely different from fishing on the beach or rocks. Sometimes, it's hard for me to tell if a fish is hooked. I can't feel it at all by hand."
Mentioning this, Arthur seemed excited, saying: "I think you used the same material as your arrow shaft to make the fishing rod. That stuff must be some kind of plant stem, which is too hard and too brittle. It works for making arrow shafts, but it's likely to easily break halfway when used as a fishing rod."
"Also, it's fine to use fiber for fishing line. Fishing near the shore doesn't require a high-quality line. However, if you want to fish with a line that lacks tension, your technique is crucial; you must lift the rod in time."
"As for bait, using the small fish you mentioned could work, but their innards might be a better option…"
"Then why not give it a try?" Shearer turned his head and said, "The storm has stopped. It's time we ventured outside."
The group walked out of the cave to find that the island's vegetation had been completely destroyed by the storm. Arthur turned around and told Oliver, "Wait here. Professor Shearer, could you watch him for a bit? I'll get some materials."
Since there were indeed no large predators on the island and, although resources were scarce, it wasn't particularly dangerous, they let Arthur go out alone. Not half an hour later, Arthur returned with a pile of stuff.
He used the same material as his hat-cattail strips-to weave a net. It looked like a fishing net, but if you grabbed the four corners, it could be used as a bag to carry things.
Inside was a large stone, a heap of random leaves, and some plant roots. Over his shoulder, he carried a slender piece of wood.
Arthur placed these items on the ground, and then pointed at them saying to the two, "Professor Shearer, could you please help process this stone? Make half of it into a pot, or bowl is fine too. Sharpen the other half. We'll use it to cut fibers and wood later."
Based on Shearer's ability to carve such a large rock wall, Arthur knew he could handle the stone. Hence, he specifically brought back a big stone. The stone was quite flat, wide on all sides, but not very deep, making it suitable for a shallow pot. The edge could serve as a hatchet.
"Let's separate these leaves, tear them into strips, fetch some water from the creek, heat it to a boil, and cook these fibers," said Arthur.
"Cooked fibers will be more resilient and solid, not fragile like the original leaves," Arthur was quite knowledgeable on this topic. He added, "See this net? Although I use it to carry things, it's actually a small fishing net, made out of cooked fibers by fishermen, and it can be used for casting nets to catch fish."
Arthur sat down and started sorting out the leaves. "I noticed, there's a lot of fish in the nearby waters. Compared to a fishing rod, net fishing is much faster."
"The storm knocked down many large trees, we can go and find some wood to make a small boat. Venturing a bit further from the coast to cast the net, we can catch enough fish to last us quite some time," he suggested.
Shiller looked at him, making Arthur feel a bit uncomfortable. After a while, Shiller, while processing the stone, somewhat reluctantly admitted, "I take back what I said earlier, you don't necessarily have to try life in a big city."
With a sigh, Shiller thought, perhaps he was arrogant enough to feel as if the city was all there was in the human world. But in reality, there's much of the Earth untouched by man, filled with such wilderness and isolated islands.
In the city, he could relax while sipping coffee, standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling window watching the rain. Even the chilling rain of Gotham at night served as his lullaby.
However, upon arriving on a desolate island where human footprints are scarce, the determining factors for survival are no longer complicated knowledge of civilized societies, but these rudimentary fishing skills Arthur has.
Among the three of them, it is Arthur, the youngest, least educated, and least experienced in city living, who holds the advantage in survival.
Suddenly, the sun broke through the thick clouds, and the plants laden with dew stood upright again.
Shiller thought, in a comic primarily portraying cities and city people, few pay attention that these cities and people also reside on this blue planet, with boundless skies and vast lands.
In just dozens of minutes, the forest again teemed with life. Compared to such scenes, the stories that happen in the Dark City are like small interludes in a grand performance.
Perhaps, a bat living in a cave, spent over a decade traveling everywhere, without having the patience to commit to wilderness.
It could only listen to the interlude, attempting to find artistic elements in already simple tunes, until it finds itself struggling to make a difference, with high notes yet scant companionship.
At the thought of this, Shiller smiled and said to Arthur, "You guys go ahead, I'm gonna get some fresh air." He then left the cave.
Twenty minutes later, Shiller was in the cockpit of Batplane hovering over the isolated island, asking, "Which button is for shutting down the engine?"
Next to him, Hal swallowed nervously and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this? If this thing crashed, I can't afford to pay for it."
"That's fine, some can afford it," said Shiller before he lifted a transparent plastic cover and hit the red button inside forcefully.
Dozens of seconds later, an intense vibration shook the cave. Arthur and Oliver turned around abruptly. The explosion lit up their faces, leaving them wide open in shock.
Meanwhile, at Wayne Manor, a puzzled voice echoed,
"How did it crash?????"