Chapter 107 — Water System Upgrade
S.C. 1511 — Early January
Hidden Island — Eastern Slope
The boat nudged against the sand with a quiet shff, and Zemo leaped out before Ren even finished tying the rope. The fox sprinted in circles, nose in the wind, tail wagging wildly.
Ren stepped onto shore, stretching stiff shoulders.
Cold breeze, soft waves, empty island.
Perfect conditions.
"Alright, Zemo," Ren said, patting him. "Today, we upgrade the water system. Again."
Zemo barked approvingly. To him, water systems meant puddles. Puddles meant fun.
Ren, however, had more practical plans.
Step 1 — Checking the Old System
Ren walked to the original rain-collection tarp they built weeks ago.
It still worked.
It still held.
But…
Ren tapped the wooden frame.
"Small… limited… inconsistent."
Zemo tilted his head.
Translation: Then make it big.
Ren nodded.
"That's exactly what we're doing."
He crouched and checked the jars beneath the tarp.
Two jars nearly full. One half-full.
The ground basin behind them had captured a little runoff, but not much after winter's light rains.
Ren scribbled in his notebook:
Problems:
Not enough surface area
No secondary filter
Wind moves tarp edges
Jars fill slowly
Yep. Time for an upgrade.
Step 2 — Expanding the Collection Surface
Ren unrolled a much larger tarp — one he'd stitched together with old cloth strips soaked in oil and dried.
Zemo sniffed it, then made a face.
Ren laughed.
"Yes, yes. It smells weird. That means it works."
He hammered new stakes into the ground:
THUD—THUD—THUD
A bigger frame appeared — rectangular instead of square.
Ren tied the tarp tightly, stretching it high at the back, low in the front.
A much steeper angle.
"Rain will slide faster," he said to Zemo. "More water, less pooling."
Zemo wagged his tail like Ren just invented electricity.
Step 3 — Funnel 2.0
Ren pulled out two wooden slats, each carved with deeper grooves than the first version.
He positioned them at the tarp's lowest point.
Then he tied the grooves together to form a V-shaped funnel, leading straight into a larger clay jar.
"Max efficiency," Ren proudly said.
Zemo barked.
Ren smirked.
"Yes, yes. You can call it Ren's Big Water Slide if you want."
Step 4 — A Better Filtration Setup
Ren grabbed two small wooden boxes he had prepared earlier:
One filled with sand.
One filled with charcoal pieces.
A cloth layer under both.
He stacked them:
Charcoal box on top
Sand box beneath
Cloth under everything
Water from the funnel would drip through this layered filter before reaching the jar.
Natural. Simple. Clean.
Ren nodded in satisfaction.
"Goodbye muddy water."
Zemo dipped a paw in the charcoal box, instantly making a mess.
Ren groaned.
"Hello… messy fox."
Zemo wagged his soot-black paw proudly.
Step 5 — The Overflow System
Ren dug a shallow trench in front of the jars.
Not deep.
Just enough to guide spilled water into the ground basin instead of wasting it.
He placed polished stones along the trench edges.
Zemo watched him work, then decided to "help" by dropping seashells into the trench.
Ren sighed.
"…Decoration, right?"
Zemo barked loudly, as if he were an interior designer.
Ren left the shells.
It looked nice.
Step 6 — Wind Protection
Ren placed wooden stakes around the tarp edges, tying a thin rope around them like a fence.
Then he added small stones along the back edge of the tarp.
This prevented the wind from lifting it and ruining the angle.
The tarp tightened perfectly.
"Storm-proof," Ren whispered.
Zemo barked twice — storm-proof approval.
Step 7 — First Water Test
Ren poured a bucket of water onto the upper tarp.
Zemo chased the falling stream happily.
The water slid smoothly…
Down the tarp
Into the V-shaped funnel
Through the filter
Into the jar
Perfect.
Ren smiled with pure satisfaction.
"It works better than expected."
Zemo, soaked, wagged his tail proudly as if he built the whole thing.
Step 8 — Labeling and Logging
Ren wrote in his notebook:
Water System v2.0
Surface area doubled
Faster slope
Better stability
Layered filtration
Overflow trench
Higher jar capacity
Fox-approved
He underlined "fox-approved" because Zemo nudged the notebook.
Step 9 — Watching the Sea
Ren sat on a flat rock, staring at the calm horizon.
The island was slowly transforming.
Room by room.
Tool by tool.
System by system.
A hidden base built by a boy with no power — only patience and planning.
Zemo curled beside him, warm and content.
Ren whispered:
"Someday… others will drink this water. People who need it."
Zemo nudged his shoulder gently.
Ren smiled.
"We'll be ready for them."
The upgraded water system glistened in the late afternoon sun — their newest achievement in a world that did not yet know they existed.
But it would.
One day.
End of Chapter 107