Others try to survive on an island, I try to survive on a raft?

Chapter 24 Paddlewheel Paddle Boat

"Of course, no problem."

Su Jin smiled and replied, then reached out and pulled the girl onto the boat. He also wanted to see what changes had occurred on the boat.

First and foremost, the most obvious change is in size.

The hull expanded from a compact 8 square meters to 16 square meters, with significant increases in both length and width.

The deck became more open and flat, and the simple triangular cabin in the center no longer seemed so cramped, becoming a truly usable independent little room.

At this moment, Su Jin and Li Yuanyuan were both in the cabin and did not feel crowded; on the contrary, it felt exceptionally spacious.

Looking at the spacious cabin, the girl felt a sense of anticipation.

Maybe one day, the ship will grow bigger, she'll have her own room, she'll be able to sleep in a soft bed, and then...

Beautiful images kept popping into her mind, and Su Jin's figure inadvertently appeared in them.

No, no!

Li Yuanyuan shook her head violently, trying to banish the thought from her mind. Then, her gaze was drawn to the strange structures on both sides of the ship, and she asked Su Jin curiously:

"Brother Su, what is this?"

Su Jin was still observing the changes inside the cabin when he heard the girl's voice, so he looked in the direction she was pointing.

Slightly aft of the midship section, there is an additional intricately designed wooden paddle wheel on each side.

They were made of thick wooden planks, with wheel-like structures resembling large waterwheel blades, and were fixed to the side of the boat by sturdy bearings, with half of them submerged in water.

Each paddle wheel has a pair of pedal linkages extending from its inner side, which eventually connect to the hull.

Su Jin recognized him immediately and explained with a smile:

"This is a paddle wheel pedal. You've ridden a bicycle before, right? The principle is pretty much the same."

He then went to the rear of the cabin and, unsurprisingly, found a pair of wooden footboards standing side by side.

This thing can be powered by someone sitting on it and pedaling hard, which will drive the two side wheels to rotate through the connecting rod, providing continuous power. It is more stable and less strenuous than rowing.

Su Jin tried it out briefly and found that the speed was two or three times faster than rowing. If he were to push off with all his might, it would be like the tortoise and the hare race compared to rowing.

Of course, Su Jin did not intend to abandon the traditional oars, which were still kept at the stern and could be used as auxiliary steering and backup power.

Sitting on the boat, Li Yuanyuan looked at the beautiful green scenery of the Coral Sea, felt the cool sea breeze, and couldn't help but hum a little tune.

Her long pink hair, cascading over her shoulders, fluttered in the wind. Her long, slender legs, clad in white stockings, were casually crossed, their white skin glowing pink in the sunlight, making one want to rush up and hug her tightly.

The red and white striped Lolita dress on her body had somehow slipped down her shoulder strap without the girl even noticing, but Su Jin had seen it all.

He didn't offer any reminders, but simply watched the scene unfold quietly.

In reality, he was not at peace; he had a hidden urge to pull this adorable girl into his arms.

Of course, he wasn't lusting after her body; he just wanted to cuddle the girl like a kitten.

After all, who wouldn't love a soft, fluffy pink kitten?

Suddenly, he noticed that Li Yuanyuan sat up abruptly, leaning forward as if she were confirming something.

The next second, he heard the girl excitedly say:

"Hey, Brother Su, it seems we're almost at another island over there."

"Another island?" Su Jin paused for a moment, then slowly slowed down and walked to the girl's side.

He was instinctively worried that Li Yuanyuan would fall into the water because of the rocking of the boat, so he reached out and put his arm around her waist, letting the girl lean closer to him.

Li Yuanyuan stiffened for a moment, then relaxed, and pointed into the distance, saying:

"Brother Su, look."

Su Jin looked up and saw a grayish-white island with only a few green spots. He could vaguely make out that the few green spots were some trees, but they were not growing very well.

Those grayish-white things are probably stones, which explains why these trees grow like this.

Compared to Li Yuanyuan's Forest Island or Shen Ruying's Grassland Island, this island can only be described in two words.

Barren.

These rocky islands have few animals, so food sources are naturally scarce.

Although there is an ocean nearby, and the surrounding area is a coral reef, so food is not too scarce, this island is just too rubbish.

Even without Li Yuanyuan's explanation, he had already guessed that the island must belong to the dead man with the small mustache.

The fact that two islands are adjacent is not an isolated case; his island and Shen Ruying's island are adjacent is a case in point.

However, due to his talent, his island has been transformed into a raft, so in form, there is only one island, Shen Ruying.

Now, Li Yuanyuan's side does indeed have two adjacent islands, which seems to be intentional on the part of the system or the will of this world.

It's about putting two islands together and having the two people compete against each other, or cooperating like he and Shen Ruying did.

However, rather than cooperation, to put it bluntly, it was more like one side was conquered or even wiped out.

The bearded man probably had this idea from the beginning. His own island was barren, while the neighboring island was so rich. It was hard not to be greedy.

I don't know how that guy managed to sneak onto Li Yuanyuan's forest island, and then he bumped into him.

Looking back, Su Jin also made a mistake, which was not disposing of the other party's corpse properly, which caused the thing to die and attract monsters.

However, in the end, the crystal crab did a lot of work for him for free, so it wasn't bad.

"Let's go take a look."

This island is now unclaimed, or rather, Su Jin's spoils of war.

He felt that the system wouldn't be too biased under normal circumstances. This island might look barren on the surface, but it must have its own unique advantages.

Li Yuanyuan did not object to Su Jin's decision, but when she thought of that day, she still felt a lot of lingering shadows in her heart.

Even though that despicable bastard is dead, she doesn't want to touch anything related to him.

Because once she came into contact with him, she was reminded of that wicked guy's ugly face.

Without Su Jin, she would have suffered countless inhuman tortures.

With different feelings, the two people slowly brought the paddle steamer to shore.

Su Jin once again took out his homemade anchor, lowered it, secured the boat, and then led Li Yuanyuan to the island.

Perhaps it was because the island had been uninhabited for a long time, and the smog was severe, coupled with some psychological trauma, that the girl was somewhat afraid and unconsciously moved closer to Su Jin.

Looking at the pink-haired girl tugging at his clothes, Su Jin couldn't help but make a joke.

"What's wrong? Are you scared? Do you want me to hold you like before?"

To everyone's surprise, Li Yuanyuan hesitated for only a moment, a blush flashing across her face, before nodding and whispering:

"Hmm, is that okay...?"

Su Jin was a little speechless. He patted the girl's head and comforted her:

"Don't be afraid, I'm here. Just stay close to me."

As he spoke, he gripped the harpoon in his hand and led Li Yuanyuan toward the island.

To his surprise, before he had taken two steps with Li Yuanyuan, the girl suddenly screamed and pointed to her feet in terror.

"Yes, there is something!"