Since there was no suitable hammer for forging, Li Younan used a hard object, chiseled a groove on it with a screwdriver that matched the protrusion of a stone hammer, embedded the stone inside, and tightened it with vine fibers to serve as a substitute hammer.
Initially, shaping was quite troublesome.
Because the stone hammer was not particularly sturdy, Li Younan couldn’t use too much force for forging. Fortunately, with the addition of top-notch Sword Forging skills, Li Younan still managed to fuse and shape several bolt steel blanks little by little. After a few rounds of heating, he gradually hammered it into the rudimentary shape of an axe.
This was a very time-consuming process, and even with Li Younan’s outstanding skills, it was only before the sun was about to set that he finished crafting the rudimentary shape of the axe.
Li Younan didn’t immediately proceed with quenching but left it to cool naturally, allowing the internal stresses of the axe to release.
At this moment, it began to rain again. Fortunately, Li Younan had previously woven a rain shelter, so the rain did not affect him.
Before going to sleep, Li Younan dug a pit beside the furnace and lined it with fan leaves, ensuring that by morning, there would be a water storage pit here.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, when Li Younan got up, sure enough, the pit he dug yesterday had accumulated enough water.
The water wasn’t meant for drinking, but for quenching.
Without quenching oil or motor oil, quenching with water is actually feasible.
Breakfast was still breadfruit. Although this breadfruit tasted alright, eating it every day was indeed somewhat frustrating.
However, as there were no tools currently available, once an axe was crafted, more tools could be made, and meals could then be improved.
After breakfast, Li Younan continued with his forging work.
He reignited the leftover firewood from yesterday and proceeded in the same manner, reheating the axe blank that was almost completed the day before. This time, he did not perform any forging treatment, quietly adjusting the temperature. Li Younan took a deep breath.
Even with his top-tier forging skills, he felt a bit nervous this time.
After all, the forging conditions were limited, and this axe was crucial for survival, so there was no room for error.
Li Younan waited patiently. Finally, when he felt the temperature of the steel blank a few centimeters away from his hand, he suddenly sensed the right moment without hesitation. He quickly submerged the steel blank into the water pit.
He heard the sound of "sizzle," as steam and mist arose from the water.
Li Younan took the axe out, felt it, and breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the axe was successfully crafted without any defects.
The axe had a very neat form. Despite lacking proper tools, Li Younan still forged it tidily; one end served as a hammer face, and the other was the axe blade yet to be sharpened.
Over the next hour or so, Li Younan used a stone to sharpen the axe blade, inserted it into the prepared axe handle, and tightened it. Thus, a proper axe was completed.
Although the axe’s forging certainly didn’t reach perfection, its strength didn’t reach the material’s limit, but it’s quite easy to split wood with it.
With this axe, Li Younan could achieve many tasks.
First was the wood he had been struggling to process before, which could now be chopped with the axe.
And the significance of chopping wood wasn’t just to build a shelter; he could use the chopped wood to craft a simple raft.
Of course, Li Younan wasn’t intending to use the raft for ocean voyages, which would be suicidal.
The most important thing for him now is to search the airplane wreckage for useful items. However, swimming only allowed him to bring back limited items at a time, but with a raft, he could transport much more.
No time to waste, filled with vigor, Li Younan ate a bit more breadfruit to replenish his energy and began logging.
This time, however, Li Younan didn’t choose to log near the shelter but went to the beach nearby.
It was the same fan-leaved pandan tree.
This tree perfectly suited Li Younan’s current needs; its fan leaves can be woven into mats and rain shelters, while its trunk is excellent float material for crafting rafts, having good toughness, containing natural resin, and being highly resistant to seawater corrosion. Importantly, the trees line the coast, making logging effort minimal, with a distinct segmentation of the trunk.
Li Younan selected some standing deadwood, spent the morning chopping 6 logs, and calculated silently that these 6 logs could provide at least 120 kilograms of net buoyancy. Li Younan weighed around 150 pounds, thus, if successful, he could retrieve up to 50 kilograms of supplies from the cabin at one go.
For the rest of the afternoon, Li Younan devoted himself to crafting the raft, removing the bark from the logs, using mortise and tenon joinery while constructing it, chiseling grooves to fit the logs together, and securing them with vine fibers.
He undertook this work at the seaside, continuing until evening approached, and finally, a usable raft was crafted.
After completing this, Li Younan returned to the shelter to rest.
The next day, Li Younan headed to the beach early, dragging the raft crafted yesterday into the sea, paddled effortlessly with a simple wooden oar he made the previous night, and glided above the airplane wreckage.
This time, Li Younan was prepared to collect plenty of supplies in one go.
He brought a screwdriver and a wrench with him.
Although he roughly knew the location, there were no reference points at sea, so after immersing himself in the water and searching momentarily, he found the airplane wreckage.
Taking advantage of having plenty of oxygen, Li Younan hurriedly initiated the search.
This time, his target was to enter the cockpit.
The cockpit and the passenger cabin of this airplane were connected, with only a simple partition in between, and it wasn’t even locked.
Upon entering, due to the dim light, and without the means for specific dismantling, Li Younan collected electronic components from the already damaged equipment.
After several trips, the raft was filled with valuable supplies, and by afternoon, when there was no more space to accommodate more items, Li Younan returned to shore.
On the beach, Li Younan counted today’s harvest and felt cheerful.
It must be said that this raft was indeed useful, unlike the first day when he could only retrieve simple tools like a wrench and screwdriver. This time, he dismantled many electronic components from the cockpit, most importantly found and brought back two emergency survival kits provided by the airplane.
The emergency survival kits contained a rich array of equipment, including a life jacket, a signal flare, a first aid kit, a multifunctional tool knife, and water purification tablets.
Additionally, there was an escape slide, which could be used to build a shelter.
For the next few days, Li Younan would go to sea each day to gather aircraft supplies.
Leave nothing that could be carried or dismantled.
After a few days, apart from the aircraft’s body wreckage, Li Younan had collected everything whether useful or not.
Starting with tools, aside from the previously found escape slide and first aid kit, he discovered a usable waterproof flashlight.
The flashlight wasn’t crucial; the important part was the lithium batteries inside. With batteries and some electronic components, although Li Younan hadn’t inspected whether those components were functional, as long as there were copper wires, it indicated he could craft a radio station.
Besides, among daily items, Li Younan found a complete set of metal cutlery. He also dismantled and hauled the seats onto the beach, consisting of foam, leather, fabric, and even the carpet from the cabin, these items could be used to build a shelter. He didn’t even overlook the landing gear tires.
On his last dive, he found a sealed barrel of aviation fuel at the tail of the airplane.
With these supplies, the upcoming days would be far better.
He transported all these supplies near the shelter, contemplating first to enhance his living condition before beginning to research hand-assembled radio stations.
Hand-assembled radio stations and previous mineral radios aren’t comparable in difficulty level, just that it would take a lot more time.
But before that, he aimed to improve his living standard slightly.

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