Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen Into the Jungle

After nightfall that day, the heavy rain that had lasted for three days finally stopped.This is undoubtedly good news for Luo Fei and others. In order to reserve enough energy for the upcoming arduous journey, they packed up early and went to bed to rest. Lao Wang knew that the three of them were going to leave, so he boiled more eggs the next day and prepared a hearty breakfast.When paying the room fee, Old Wang couldn't help but reminded him repeatedly. It could be seen that even with the village owner himself accompanying him, this kind man was still full of worries about Luo Fei and others' trip to the "Valley of Terror".

The mood of Luo Fei and the others was naturally even more restless.From Kunming to Longzhou, and then from Longzhou to Mihong Village, a series of strange events happened one after another, but the truth is still hidden in the fog, and it is difficult to find clues.Phobia—prophecy—demon—blood bottle—curse, these elements in the event are like a whirlwind, and you have only approached its periphery, and you can already feel the mysterious power full of terror in the whirlwind. Now, everyone is finally heading towards the center of the whirlwind - "Uncanny Valley". In the depths of the almost isolated jungle, what happened in the past, what happened recently, and what will happen in the future?

Does anyone know the answer to all this? On the way to the Dragon King Temple, the three of them were silent, as if they had their own thoughts. Luo Fei thought of the man who mysteriously appeared and then disappeared mysteriously.Who is he?where is he from?Where did you go now?Is he just an ordinary tourist? He seemed to want to get in touch with him, but why did he avoid seeing him in the end?Will he also go to the uncanny valley?If so, in such a heavy rain, he has to set off overnight, is it just to be ahead of him? He didn't ask for a guide. Does this mean that he knows the path to the uncanny valley?

There are too many questions that cannot be answered now. Yue Dongbei, who has always been talkative, became uncharacteristically quiet today.This fat man who firmly believes in his academics should be in the most excited and eager mood at the moment.Why doesn't he speak?Maybe it was because my heart was so turbulent that I even forgot to speak? What about Zhou Liwei?This professor, who is famous in the academic world, unexpectedly appeared in such a remote and almost barbaric border area.Is it worth it for him?Is he chasing down the root of his phobia?Or is it to refute Yue Dongbei's academics and defend the dignity of science?

Could it be that he still harbors other unknown secrets? Bai Jian'e and two of his men were already waiting in the square in front of the Dragon King Temple.Seeing the arrival of Luo Fei and the other three, he first stepped forward to say hello to Zhou Liwei, then pointed to the sky and said, "Look at the weather, it won't rain in the past two days. The sky is as one wishes, I hope that we will travel together this time." It’s always going to be as smooth as it is today.” Apparently, Bai Jian'e was actively resolving the dispute between the two of them yesterday over the departure time.Zhou Liwei smiled slightly, gladly accepted the other party's overture, and at the same time said politely: "Then I have to rely on Lord Baizhai to take care of me!"

"I will definitely do my best. As soon as we step into the jungle, our fate will be tied together." Bai Jian said seriously, and then he told Wu Qun beside him: "Share the food, and we will set off immediately." "One serving of these jerky and noodles is enough for four days. It has just rained heavily in the past two days, and the water source on the mountain is sufficient, so I don't bring fresh water. After drinking the water in your kettle, I will I will find a place to fill it up for you." Wu Qun explained the matter while distributing the cloth bags containing food to the three of Luo Fei.

"There are a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains. Leeches, poisonous ants, etc. can get in everywhere. You have to tie your collars and cuffs tightly." Bai Jianxi reminded a few words from the side, and after a quick glance, he found that the jackets of Luo Fei and others were hoops. The cuffs were tight, and the hem of the trousers was already tied into the shoes and socks, so he smiled knowingly and said to Zhao Liwen: "Give them some garlic juice." Zhao Liwen agreed, took out a small bag made of gauze, knelt down and wiped the joints of Luo Fei and the others' pantyhose one by one, the pungent garlic smell immediately came out, presumably the bag should be filled with Full of mashed garlic.

"In this way, poisonous insects won't get into the seams of your shoes." Bai Jianxi explained the purpose of this move, raised his hand, and handed over three pairs of light-colored sunglasses: "Here, each of you takes a pair." Luo Fei and the others took it, feeling a little surprised in their hearts.Yue Dongbei asked even more strangely: "What do you want this for? Is there still sunshine in the jungle?" Bai Jian gave a "hey" smile: "It's inevitable to go through thorns and thorns along the way. Wear it to prevent your eyes from being pricked."

Luo Fei was stunned, and secretly sighed in his heart: Traveling through the jungle is indeed a lot of knowledge. If there is no experienced guide to accompany him, he will inevitably encounter countless difficulties and troubles along the way. Under Bai Jian'e's order, Wu Qun and Zhao Liwen shared the tents and sleeping bags that Luo Fei and the others had brought, this action greatly lightened the burden on the latter. Everything seems to be in place.Bai Jian raised his head with his hands behind his back, and looked towards the east. The crowd also looked over, and not far away, there were towering mountains and dense forests, lying in the direction they were about to go.

"Mopan Mountain..." After a long time, Bai Jian'e let out a long breath, and faintly uttered these three words from his mouth.Then he straightened up and put on a firm tone: "Let's go!" After all, he took the lead and strode towards the forest behind the Dragon King Temple. Luo Fei and the others followed closely, and the crowd gradually drifted away. After more than 20 minutes, their figures were finally swallowed up by the majestic mountains. As soon as he entered the mountain, Luo Fei felt that he had entered another world.The tall trees and dense leaves above the head almost covered the entire sky. Although it was daytime, the atmosphere was very gloomy.Closer to the ground, the low trees grow more vigorously, and they are densely packed one by one without leaving any gaps.

The previous climbers made a path in the dense forest for future generations.To say it is a "road" is actually very reluctant, it is just a trace that someone has walked.After entering the mountain, Wu Qun walked at the forefront. He held a machete and groped along the trail, chopping off the branches and vines in front of him constantly with the knife along the way.He did this not only to create convenience for the walking of the companions behind, but also to scare the poisonous insects and beasts lurking in the dark and drive them away early to avoid unexpected "conflicts". Bai Jian'e followed Wu Qun closely, and he would be responsible for making some decisions when the traces of the path ahead were unclear.At other times, most of his energy was used to take care of Yue Dongbei behind him. Yue Dongbei was undoubtedly the most strenuous one in this team.His obese body became more clumsy on the wet mountain after the rain, and he was already out of breath after walking a long distance.However, despite the difficulty, he did not flinch or complain, but gritted his teeth and persisted, and sometimes he said some encouraging or self-deprecating words.Obviously, there is a powerful spiritual force in his body supporting him. Behind Yue Dongbei is Luo Fei, his walking is much easier than the previous one.This is due to his arduous physical training in the police academy in his early years and his many years of working experience in Nanming Mountains.Climbing mountain roads is no stranger to him, but it is the first time to walk through such a dense rainforest.In the process of moving forward, from time to time, he would support Yue Dongbei in front, or pull Zhou Liwei behind him. Zhou Liwei always followed the team at a constant speed.His stride frequency is not fast, and his stride length is not too large, but his kicks are solid and powerful, showing excellent physical fitness.When some novel plant species appeared on the side of the road, he still had time to stop and take one or two samples of branches and leaves to study on the spot. Zhao Liwen was at the end of the line.He is not tall and doesn't like to talk, but his eyes are not dull, and there is even a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes.His arms were thick, and the veins at the wrists were erect. Such hands held a bright and sharp machete, so that everyone could rest assured that the safety behind them was entrusted to him alone. The higher you go, the lower the temperature becomes, and the gloomy feeling of summer has completely disappeared.However, due to the huge physical exertion, everyone was still sweating, so they had to drink water constantly to supplement it.Bai Jian'e paid attention to the physical conditions of the three people behind him (mainly Yue Dongbei, of course), and would order Wu Qun, the leader, to slow down at an appropriate time, so that those who were exhausted would have a chance to adjust and breathe.Once Luo Fei saw that Yue Dongbei couldn't hold on anymore, and suggested that everyone rest in place, but Bai Jian'e vetoed it: "Unless you plan to rest for a long time, try not to stop. Sitting for a while will only make you feel more tired." "This is because frequent stop and go will disrupt the movement rhythm of the human body and accelerate the onset of fatigue." Zhou Liwei supplemented Bai Jian'e's words from the perspective of physiology and medicine. Fortunately, although the mountain road is wet and slippery, it is not steep. Someone opened the way ahead, and the difficulty of the latter has been greatly reduced, so there is no need to worry about the danger of slipping and falling. In this way, it was not until noon that Bai Jian'e stopped Wu Qun, then turned his head and said to the people behind him: "Okay, everyone, let's have a rest and eat something." Yue Dongbei had been looking forward to this sentence for a long time. Before Bai Jian'e could finish speaking, he had already found a relatively flat and dry place, and sat down on his buttocks: "Oh my mother, I'm so exhausted, I can finally rest." Looking at his distress, Luo Fei couldn't help but smile: "This is just the beginning, you have to hold on." Yue Dongbei didn't care to talk to him, so he took out the water bottle and poured it "gudong gudong". The others also found a nearby place to sit down and rest.After breathing for a while, Bai Jian'e called everyone to take out their food bags and start eating. Luo Fei tore a small piece of jerky and put it in his mouth, chewing it carefully.The jerky is made from marinated pork, which has a slightly spicy taste, but it is also spicy and delicious.In contrast, noodle cakes are dry and hard, and tasteless, and can only satisfy one's hunger. Everyone else ate a lot, but Yue Dongbei had a bitter face and said unhappily, "Why do you all have such a good appetite? I'm so tired that I don't want to eat anything." Zhou Liwei said with a smile: "You drank too much water just now, and your stomach was full for a while, just wait for a while." Sure enough, after a while, Yue Dongbei regained his strength and began to eat more than anyone else. "Master Bai, how far have we traveled?" Luo Fei took advantage of his spare time to ask, because the forest was too dense and everyone's vision was very limited, it was impossible to judge the current position through observation. Bai Jian'e had already calculated in his mind: "It should have passed halfway up the mountain. Let's work hard in the afternoon and try to get to the east slope of Mopan Mountain to spend the night in Anza." After lunch, everyone rested for a while, then got up and moved on. Yue Dongbei's physical disadvantage became more and more obvious in the afternoon. The team was affected by him, and the speed could only get slower and slower.But finally persisted without stopping, so at around 6:00 pm, I finally climbed to the top of Mopan Mountain. Luo Fei climbed to a rock on the top of the mountain and looked down the mountain. There were many green hills, green and lush, full of vitality.Bai Jian'e also followed, and without waiting for Luo Fei to ask questions, he pointed to a flat depression in the distance and said, "That's the Uncanny Valley." It looks like a rich, peaceful and beautiful place, but it has such a daunting name.Under that piece of green, what kind of secret is hidden? Luo Fei stared at it for a moment, then turned his head and looked down at the way he came from to the west.Of course, the field of vision here is very wide, and the mountains and ravines have a panoramic view.More than three hundred years ago, would Li Dinghui stand in the same position and command the tragic and tragic Battle of Mopan Mountain?Thinking that this quiet jungle was once a battlefield where tens of thousands of people fought bloody battles, Luo Fei couldn't help but feel a sense of vicissitudes and life. The sky was still bright, and everyone didn't stop for a long time. In one go, they walked eastward and down the mountain for more than half an hour. At this time, I just passed a small rocky hill, the terrain is almost level, and the shrubs close to the ground are also very sparse.Bai Jian'e stopped in his tracks: "It's dark in the mountains, so let's not go any further. Let's set up a camp here and prepare to spend the night." Everyone agreed in unison.Immediately, they unloaded their backpacks and got busy. Bai Jian'e cleaned up the mountain bag a bit, and then Luo Fei and the three set up the tent. Wu Qun searched around for a while, and found a pit nearby. There was a lot of rainwater in it, but it looked dirty and hard to drink.He used a machete to dig a cistern about 20 centimeters in diameter and half a meter deep not far from the puddle.After a while, the water in the earth pit slowly seeped into the reservoir. Although the speed was not fast, the water quality became much clearer. Zhao Liwen found broken tree branches, split them open, took the dry parts inside, and lit a bonfire on the hill.At this time, the sky was dark, and everyone sat around the campfire, finally able to relax. After a day of walking on the mountain road after the rain, my shoes, socks and trousers were already soaked.The first thing everyone does is to take off their shoes and roast them by the fire. While he was enjoying himself, he suddenly heard Yue Dongbei yelling, "Fuck, what is this?!" His tone was even panicked. Luo Fei hurried over and saw that he had just taken off the sock on his left foot, and there were two huge leeches lying on his chubby ankle! The leech was about the size of a thumb, and had already sucked enough blood. Its body was swollen and bursting, emitting a strange dark red light.When Yue Dongbei was at a loss what to do, the leeches were exposed to the air, and they automatically rolled down with two soft "puff" sounds. Bai Jian'e was not surprised, so he laughed and joked: "Mr. Yue, your trousers are still not tied tightly enough, and these two leeches have been fulfilled. They are in pairs, have food and drink, and live a happy life." It's really moisturizing!" "Damn it, dare to drink my blood." Yue Dongbei cursed, picked up a branch, and picked two chubby leeches into the campfire. A faint smell of blood. While inspecting his feet carefully, Yue Dongbei muttered with lingering fear: "Such a big one, how come I don't feel it at all when it's sucking blood?" "If you feel it, don't you notice it right away? Can you still be sucked blood?" Zhou Liwei said with a smile, "these suckers of these leeches have mucus similar to anesthetics. Not only do you feel nothing when they suck blood, After sucking blood, it can also secrete substances that can heal your wounds quickly. This is a self-protection function formed by species in the long-term evolution.” "I really can't find a wound." Yue Dongbei touched his ankle and said angrily, "That can't be in vain, how can there be such a good thing?" Everyone was amused for a while, and this little episode is over. The water that everyone brought with them when they set out was almost used up by this time.Wu Qun took the empty jugs, went to the cistern he had just made to fetch the percolated clean water, and then added a tablet to each jug. "What did you add?" Luo Fei couldn't help asking. "Disinfection tablets." Wu Qun answered calmly.As if he was afraid that the other party would have doubts, he purposely picked up his own water bottle first, and gulped down a big gulp. Luo Fei took a sip from the kettle, and sure enough, the water smelled like bleach. After dinner, it was dark.There is no bright color in the mountain forest, except around the bonfire, the surroundings seem to be painted with ink, and it is pitch black.There are occasional unknown insects and beasts near and far, which further exaggerates the lonely atmosphere of the deep forest and wilderness. Everyone chatted for a while, but they heard Bai Jian'e say: "Tomorrow we have to go on a journey, so let's rest early. You all huddle together in the tent, and the three of us can just find a place outside to lie down." Luo Fei knew that they were already used to this, so he didn't have too much politeness, he just said lightly: "That's really hard work for you." Bai Jian'e and the three of them each found a flat and comfortable place, and unfolded the bedding they carried with them.Before lying down, Zhao Liwen took out another bamboo tube, surrounded everyone's bedding, and sprinkled three circles of powder-ink-like things. Luo Fei smelled a pungent smell and guessed, "This is... sulfur?" Bai Jian'e nodded: "Sit in the open air, bonfire to scare beasts, sulfur to repel poisonous insects. We will also apply some anti-mosquito potions in a while." Luo Fei smiled slightly: "I hope these efforts are not in vain, and we can all have a good night's sleep." Bai Jian'e didn't answer. He looked towards the dark place outside the circle with a solemn expression, not knowing what he was thinking. Did he already expect that no one can sleep peacefully during this sleep.