A fleet of four cars traveled along the highway, leaving Durban behind and heading
northwest .
After about a day, the highway disappeared, but they had to continue northwest .
After another twelve hours on the road, Li Du and his company were stunned by what
they saw . A piece of primal rainforest was before them . There was not even a dirt road,
let alone a highway . Entering the rainforest in their car was impossible .
Li Du said helplessly, "Musa, is your tribe so far away? How did you get to the Golden
Grass tribe?"
Musa replied, somewhat unintelligibly, "Some people stayed, or walking all the
way . "
"How much further is your tribe from where we are?"
Musa shook his head, "I hab not been through dis road, hmm, hab to got in for look . "
Chewing a piece of gum, Big Ivan said, "Boss, are we really going in? What about the
car?"
Li Du turned back to evaluate the situation . The place was deserted, and there was
nowhere they could safely leave the car . Given the level of security in South Africa,
there would not be so much as a trace of a tire when they returned .
However, there was no other way . They had to search for the diamond crater that might
be there .
After some hesitation, Li Du said decisively, "Let's try going in . Give it one day . If we go
in for a day and still can't find the pygmies' tribe, we will go back!"
"Leave someone behind to stand guard here?" Big Ivan suggested .
Shaking his head, Li Du said, "Forget it, just drive the car into the rainforest and
camouflage it somewhere . We will not leave someone behind . If someone wants to
steal the car, then let them steal it, we would only lose some money . We won't put
anyone in danger because of money . "
They drove the car into the rainforest . Brother Wolf, together with Big Ivan and Godzilla,
started to camouflage the vehicle .
Wolf Brother chopped some small trees and vines . Then he secured the vines onto the
net that they had brought along in the car, making what looked like an outer covering for
the vehicles to stay in disguise . After that was done, no one would be able to see the
cars unless they stood right next to them .
After tidying up, each of them brought out a large backpack and a huge duffel bag . The
contents were some daily necessities that would be their survival kit for their 24-hour
long trip into the rainforest .
As they went deeper inside from the borders of the lush rainforest, tall trees appeared
by their side . Some were about ten meters tall, others twenty or even thirty . That area
was isolated from the world outside and was primal and untouched .
There were birds constantly flying above the group, and from time to time, they would
startle some small animals . Brother Wolf and Ah Meow led the group up front while Big
Ivan and Ah Ow brought up the rear .
There were snakes and dangerous insects within the forest . Hence, every thirty minutes
to one hour, they had to stop to apply a fresh layer of insect repellent all over
themselves .
Lu Guan was big sized, and yet a mosquito left a bite that swelled as big as a dumpling
on his arm just because he had not applied the insect repellent in time .
The mosquito bite was initially bearable, but after some time, it became incredibly itchy .
Brother Wolf forbade him from scratching and sterilized his army knife before drawing
an X with it on Lu Guan's swelling . Some thick yellowish substance oozed out from the
bite .
"Malaricarrying mosquitoes . Everyone be careful, keep the repellent on, don't let the
mosquitoes near you," Brother Wolf said severely as he cleaned Lu Guan's wound .
It was challenging to trek through the primitive rainforest . Brother Wolf had to slash
away the shrubs and vines and to scare away the insects and venomous snakes . He
did it to the best of his ability to create an easier path for those walking behind him .
At noon, Brother Wolf suggested that they take a break . They found a flat barren space
in the rainforest . The land there was rather dry and there was a clear river running
beside it . It was a pretty good place to put up their tent .
Li Du and Sophie could no longer keep on their feet and sat down to rest at once .
Picking up a strand of grass, Big Ivan laughed and walked over . "Very tired? This path
is considered pretty smooth . The trek is tough, but at least there is a perfect site to set
up the tents . "
Lu Guan, who was drained from all the walking, said as he panted, "Oh God, please let
the rest of the road be better than this . "
Musa did not rest . Upon entering the rainforest, his demeanor had changed . He was no
longer fearful and timid, but had become confident and relaxed .
Short and skinny, he was as agile as a monkey, expending little effort as he walked
through the forest .
While everyone else was taking a break, he did not rest but said, "I go see see, little bit
familiar, I see before . "
Li Du nodded, handing him a short knife, "Be careful . "
Musa did not take the knife but looked at the Black Mamba crossbow that Li Du was
holding .
Li Du passed the bow to him and Musa took it cheerfully . He also took a couple of short
arrows before leaving in light steps .
Brother Wolf was in the midst of preparing food, combing through his backpack, when
he suddenly stopped, motionless .
"What's up?" Li Du saw that he did not look right .
Brother Wolf said, "I've made a huge mistake . "
Anxious, Li Du stood up immediately . "What happened?"
"I didn't take the tinder!"
Li Du was relieved . "I thought something really bad happened . Who has the tinder?"
The group glanced at each other . Nobody had brought any tinder .
Big Ivan said helplessly, "Brother Wolf, I see that you've led a comfortable life too long .
You didn't even bring the tinder?"
Brother Wolf's face darkened . Consoling him, Li Du said, "No biggie, at the very most,
we can stop going further . Besides, we brought dry rations, we will be okay even without
a fire . "
"I have another way to start a fire, it's just that I felt I shouldn't have made such a
mistake," Brother Wolf did not lighten up . To him, this was a lowly mistake .
Li Du had never considered the issue of tinder . There were diamonds, cash, pearls,
various goods, water, and medicine in the black hole, but there was no tinder .
Brother Wolf looked up at the sky, and then he went to gather some dead tree bark and
weed . After that, he started to grind the tree back using stone and dagger .
Li Du said, "You are going to use friction to start a fire?"
Shaking his head, Brother Wolf said, "No, there's a simpler way . "
After grinding the dead tree bark into powder, he took out a clean Ziploc bag and left to
collect some clean water .
Returning with the Ziploc bag, Brother Wolf found a suitable angle and rolled the Ziploc
into a flat round shape, placing it above the tree bark powder .
Seeing that, Sophie smiled . "You're making a magnifying glass? That's a good idea . "
"What about night time? You can't do that by moonlight," Lu Guan said .
Brother Wolf replied, "It's even easier at night . "
Not long after, the tree bark powder emitted some white steam . As the amount of white
steam increased, suddenly there was a small flame .
Upon seeing that, Brother Wolf quickly added some dried grass . Just like that, the small
flame turned into a fire .
Then they were able to use the fire for cooking . As they brought sufficient food, they did
not have to hunt . Brother Wolf had been concerned that the blood from fresh game
would attract predators .
However, Big Ivan managed to catch a small edible freshwater fish . They used the
seasoning that Li Du brought along to make a pot of soup with the fish .
The soup made with the fresh wild catch was very delicious . Eating dry cake with the
hot, steamy fish soup was even tastier than having canned meat .
However, from the time they started preparing dinner to the time they finished eating,
and even when they were prepared to go on, Musa never returned .
Chapter end
Report
|
Donate
Oh o, this user has not set a donation button.
|