Chapter 40 4. The palm prints of ape-man

The initial difficulty of the expedition team came from the "Numbilical Thread", whose source is the Wuming River in the Black Lake, and the cliffs on both sides are so high that they can't reach the top.It is said that this cliff is connected with the Andes Mountains. From the towering mountaintops to the bottomless embankment, the cliffs outline a beautiful straight line.Looking from a distance, it looks like a natural screen carved from a huge stone.The water of the Wuming River flows slowly under the huge cliff thousands of feet high. The canyon is so deep and dark that even birds dare not enter easily, let alone people who cannot fly.Fortunately, there are luxuriant vines in the canyon, otherwise there would be nowhere to set foot.Everyone worked hard to cross the canyon, only to get a glimpse of the shore of the sea of ​​trees at the origin of the Amazon.

If you look around, you can see nothing but trees.The dense green shade covered the sky, and people even began to wonder if they had an illusion, why everything turned green in an instant.Only the strange fog under the "poisonous sunset" showed a strange color behind the "impenetrable bush belt". "Mr. Zhezhu, it's up to you now, please tell us how to cross this natural barrier." Although Rodericks said it easily, it is not easy to cross this "impenetrable bush belt".In the damp field, a few rubber trees grow sparsely and wildly.Under the tree grows a thorny shrub called 'Crapp'.That shrub grows so densely that you can barely see the dirt.Rodericks screamed in pain as soon as he stretched out his leg.

In fact, the dark things under the bushes are not only soil, but also many withered thorns.Those thorns have not rotted yet, so they are extremely resilient. When people step on them, they feel shaky. Those who walk behind should pay attention to the thorns bouncing from the front.Shrubs not only blocked the sight of the expedition team, but also were extremely lethal.If a person encounters this kind of twig in an unprepared state, nine out of ten will see blood. "These thorns seem to be alive. Hey! Koja, get a bandage and wrap my shoulders." Koja was the cook in the team, about thirty years old, of mixed Peruvian and Indian descent.She is just doing odd jobs in the team and rarely speaks, but she is by no means a fuel-efficient lamp.

"The woman's gaze is like a lizard." Zhezhu once said to Bo'an. Everyone moved forward for a certain distance, and saw an ancient stone step in the bushes in front of them.From a structural point of view, this section of stone steps is a typical Inca architectural style, which should be the base of a building. "My good luck finally came. Is it the cornerstone of the temple or the steps of the palace? Maybe there is a dressing room of Padarakuta in it, hahaha. Anyway, let's breathe a sigh of relief." After discussion, it was decided to start excavation work tomorrow.That night, Zhezhu led a strong worker who was lighting a fire to a corner and said:

"Stop pretending, Frye, take the hood off." "Oh, it's revealed." Zhuang Gong smiled wryly and took off his turban.Bull Frye exerts his jelly-like stickiness, no matter where the target he is staring at, he will follow him to the end. "I'm quite confident in my disguise. Do you think it's so easy for me to get dirty? Oh, Mr. Zhezhu, you have good eyesight." "Oh, you can't get rid of this brown candy once it sticks. But let me tell you, Tonya is not what you imagined, she is not a bad woman. Through this period of understanding, I believe that she did not kill people .”

"Stop talking, I won't give up unless you throw me down with judo. You explore your magic realm, and I'll catch my prisoner. Everyone won't mess with each other." The sudden appearance of Frye made Tonya terrified.Even the kind-hearted Bo'an felt as if he was facing an enemy, but no matter what, his determination to protect Dongia remained unchanged. In this tense atmosphere, the expedition team began to dig for gold. At the beginning, their project was not smooth, and after searching for a long time, there was no trace of the black parrot. "If I can't find Laozi again, I have to go back home."

Rodericks is like a hungry tiger.He whipped the worker vigorously, and impatiently scratched the few stray hairs on the top of his head.But no matter how many slabs they removed, how many workers were stabbed by thorns, not even a shard of gold was found. Bo'an couldn't stand it anymore and said: "This is just the first relic we discovered. You can't say that the gold is buried here. Why don't you go a little further." No one noticed the strange joy in Bo'an's eyes.Because Rodericks was flogging someone he hated.Who is that man?It was Frye who was in hot pursuit.

"Damn it! After walking so much, I thought it was the end, but I still have to go forward. That fat man had better find the ghost gold board quickly, I'm still waiting to arrest Dongia and bring her to justice!" The next day, the wounded remained where they were, while the rest continued to march into the heart of the Amazon.The further you go, the stronger the smell of virgin forest. They came to the "Carnivorous Lotus Wetland". This ghost place is actually called "wetland"?The swamp in front of him was dark red as if it had been burned by wildfire.If it weren't for the big water snake spitting out a forked letter and swimming past the feet of everyone, they still couldn't believe that there would be water in this place.But the huge carnivorous lotus is very eye-catching.Along the way they had lost two oxen and four porters, all dragged into the water by water snakes and swallowed.

This is just the gate of the Amazon, but what they saw today has opened the eyes of the expedition team.The dense thorns make people get goosebumps, and what is even more frightening is that there are poisonous Amazon black spiders crawling among the thorns.As the day passed, the giant tree trunks began to replace the dwarf shrubs along the way, and the characteristics of the tropics became stronger and stronger step by step.Besides the dangerous flora and fauna, fatigue and infectious diseases ravaged them. "Mr. Zhezhu, where are we going?" Even Bull Frye couldn't take it anymore.

"Where are you going? Of course, I'm going to find the gold plate in the Inca ruins, and then I'll go to the shore of the Pacific Ocean, so don't worry, it will always end." "Don't be joking. I know that you are invulnerable to all kinds of poisons, and you have been immune to infectious diseases long ago. But I am not made of iron. If I continue like this, I am afraid that Tonya will die in this wilderness before she catches me. It's wild." "Don't worry, I can't die. Those two people are like glue, even if they are eaten up by wild dogs, they will die together. As for you, you can serve as bait for South American tigers. Hahahaha, I'm joking. Bull."

The expedition team was on the road to hell, and the porters fell one by one, and the Amazon became their burial place.Even Rodericks, who is extremely obsessed with gold, couldn't bear it any longer. One night he said to Bo'an: "Mr. Bo'an, I believe in you very much, but we have not found even a feather of the black parrot so far. I am really worried. But I believe in your reputation and your personality. It's just that the reality makes you I'm beginning to doubt that legend." "I understand your feelings, but whether it's archeology or expedition, it won't work without relying on legends. If you don't have the awareness to lose huge amounts of money, then your investment in this expedition is simply a mistake." "Well, it sounds reasonable, but..." Rodericks was full of suspicion. "The policeman named Fry just now told me about Tonya. You let the team keep moving forward to save that woman, right? I think you are fascinated by women..." Bernie was speechless.Rodericks was right, he led the team forward just to let Frye, a follower, die on the road. Bo'an is a person who will not hide his thoughts, he admits it without speaking.Rodericks said proudly: "I see. I'll take care of this tomorrow. I'll turn Tonya over to the police. It's her own fault." So Rodericks and Flemmy talked for hours.There were strange roars around the campsite, and it sounded neither like a tiger nor a leopard.In short, it was an animal roar that had never been heard before.The unknown animal had a low roar, as if it was locking on its target.Only then did everyone realize that this was the great wasteland called "Hell's Rib". I don't know what disaster happened. All the cacti and agaves withered, leaving only bone-like wreckage covering the whole wasteland.At night, the surrounding temperature suddenly rises.After measurement, it exceeded more than one hundred degrees Fahrenheit.Everyone felt as sweltering as if they were locked in a steamer.The humidity and the terrifying screams kept everyone sleepless all night.In the early morning of the next day, a porter rushed into the tent and shouted: "No! Mr. Rodericks is dead!" Everyone rushed to check and found that Rodericks' death looked strange.He held his neck with his hands, and there was a muddy palm print on the neck between the neck and the throat.As soon as Zhezhu saw this palm print, he felt a chill running up his spine.Those are the unique oval palm prints of Huamuren. The fifth great ape?In this way, the weird cry last night was indeed made by this monster.