Both veteran and new members nodded in agreement.
"Let's go in when we're ready." Ignoring Tian Yang's silent gaze, Ke Xun turned and, together with Mu Yiran, stepped into the gloomy, deep forest. Ke Xun unlocked his
phone, tapped the compass function, and found it was no longer working. He said to Mu Yiran, "This function is disabled. I think we need to be careful in the forest. It's clearly a checkpoint; if we get lost, we might meet the death conditions." Mu Yiran nodded
, offering no further explanation.
Ke Xun had grown remarkably perceptive and thoughtful, almost completely eliminating the need for his guidance. The two of them now supported each other, complemented each other's strengths, fought side-by-side, and shared the burden.
"Comrades, pay attention! Don't fall behind," Ke Xun reminded everyone, turning back.
"Since the phone's compass function isn't working, we'd better determine a direction first," Shao Ling said from the middle of the group.
"It's simple… the denser the branches and leaves, the south is where it is. We learned that in elementary school…" Xiao Kai said weakly.
"Then please help me see which direction the branches and leaves are denser among these trees," Wei Dong said.
Xiao Kai looked up for a while, but all he could see was a dense canopy of trees and branches overhead, making it impossible to tell which side had denser foliage.
"Cough…" Xiao Kai scratched the back of his neck, "Then, let's find a tree stump, the side with the sparser growth rings is south…"
"By the time we find a tree stump, we'll probably be lost," Wei Dong said.
"Besides, the density of the growth rings on trees in the south and north indicates different directions," Shao Ling said.
"Unfortunately, it's noon now, so we probably can't determine direction by the shadows cast by the sun," Wu You said, looking up to try and find the sun through the gaps in the branches.
"It probably won't work if it's not noon either," He Tang shook his head beside him, "The whole sky is gray, we can't see the sun at all."
"Well… in broad daylight, we can't use the Big Dipper to determine direction either," Wei Dong said.
"Look at the anthills," Luo Yu suddenly said, "the entrances to anthills all face south."
"Is that accurate?" Wei Dong said, "All the anthills I've seen face upwards."
"Uh… well, ants love sunlight, so if they had a choice, their entrances would probably all face south," Luo Yu said hesitantly.
"Luo Yu is right," Shao Ling said, "We can try looking for ant nests nearby, but it's best to have several ways to determine the direction in case unexpected situations interfere with our judgment. I'll offer another method: we can look at some rocks; the dry or grassy side is south, and the side prone to moss is north."
"Or observe the bark of some sturdy trees," Mu Yiran added, "Generally, the smooth side of the bark is south, and the rougher side is north."
"Um… if there are pine trees, the side that secretes more resin is also south…" a girl named Gu Qingqing added weakly.
After observing over a dozen thick trees, ant nests, and a few scattered rocks, the group finally determined a general direction: they had come from the north, and continuing forward was south.
Ke Xun made a directional mark on the trunk of a relatively conspicuous tree, then turned to the others and said, "Remember this tree. If we accidentally get separated, try to find this tree. Finding this tree will help us find our way back to the residential area. Now let's continue forward. Everyone, pay attention. Besides looking for water, also look for any clues about the painting that might appear here."
The group responded and continued forward.
Ke Xun strode ahead, waving a branch, while Mu Yiran followed slightly behind, keeping watch for their surroundings.
The forest was extremely dense with vegetation, some of the unidentified plants even reaching a person's height. The towering trees already shrouded the forest in a sinister atmosphere, and the human-sized grass added an even more eerie and unsettling layer to this already gloomy environment.
As Ke Xun cleared a path with tree branches, rustling sounds frequently came from the undergrowth. It was unclear whether snakes, beasts, or some other "thing" that had been lurking nearby had been scared away. They
continued their relentless journey through the forest for over an hour, the dense woods still almost completely obscured by sunlight.
"Stop...stop for a moment," a girl named Gu Qingqing suddenly called out. "He seems very unwell."
Everyone turned to look, seeing her pointing worriedly at Xiao Kai.
Xiao Kai looked terrible; his lips were dry and pale, his steps were unsteady, and his breathing was heavy.
Qin Ci stepped forward and touched Xiao Kai's forehead, checking his temperature. He asked, "Where do you feel unwell?"
Xiao Kai replied, "My head hurts, my eyes hurt, my throat hurts, my muscles hurt, and I feel weak all over."
"Your temperature is a bit high. Judging from the symptoms, it's a fever caused by a cold," Qin Ci said, then looked at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran. "He shouldn't continue. If he pushes himself any further, he might suffer from dehydration or heatstroke."
"Everyone, stop and rest," Ke Xun decisively said. "But don't let your guard down. Keep an eye on your surroundings. I'll climb a tree and look around."
Wei Dong exclaimed, "Damn, be careful! Forests this size are teeming with poisonous insects. Who knows what might be up in that tree?"
"I'll add some extra protection." Ke Xun said, taking off the bag of clothes from his back, putting on a down jacket, pulling a sweater over his head, and covering his face with underpants, leaving only his eyes showing. Thinking he was missing a piece of clothing, he took Wei Dong's long johns, tore them in half, and used the two legs to wrap his hands more tightly.
"…Damn it, my Arctic man!" Wei Dong said, "You'll have to buy me a good pair when we get out!"
"You didn't say your long johns were already ripped in the crotch, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to tear them so easily," Ke Xun said, stretching his limbs. "I've never seen anyone use long johns to stage an accident."
He then greeted Mu Yiran and nimbly climbed the tree trunk, quickly ascending.
Mu Yiran looked up to watch for him, while the others kept an eye on the surroundings in case of any unexpected situations.
Ke Xun climbed to the highest point he could reach, looked around, and then climbed down from the tree. He was covered in spider silk, so he used Wei Dong's long underwear to wipe the silk off himself and threw it aside. Only then did he take off his clothes, which were already covered in sweat.
"There's no water source as far as I can see," Ke Xun frowned slightly. "I'm afraid we might walk through the forest until dark and still not find any running water. We need to think of another way."
"This kind of forest, which is similar to a tropical rainforest, certainly won't lack water," Shao Ling said. "The problem is that it's too vast, and the source of running water is uncertain. At least we don't have time to search for it today, unless we can survive tonight and head into the forest first thing tomorrow morning to search for water throughout the day."
"But we must solve the most basic problem of drinking water now," Zhu Haowen glanced at Xiao Kai. "It would be quite dangerous if he became dehydrated."
"Um…" Gu Qingqing raised her hand, like an honest student wanting to answer a question in class. "If there's no running water, we can look for some plants with high water content…"
"The key is how do we distinguish which plants are poisonous, which are not, and which have high water content?" Wei Dong asked.
"Most moss isn't poisonous," Gu Qingqing said. "And it's very juicy; you can drink the juice directly."
"Are you sure, sis?" Wei Dong asked. "This painting is full of traps; we could lose our lives if we're not careful."
Gu Qingqing hesitated. "Unless the forces behind the painting deliberately made the moss go against nature and become poisonous, ordinary moss really isn't poisonous."
"I know a vine that's also very juicy; you can drink the juice after cutting it down," Luo Cheng mimicked Gu Qingqing, raising his hand. "I don't know what it's called, but I'll recognize it if I see it."
"Are you sure, Radish? You've drunk it before?" Wei Dong asked.
"Yes, I have," Luo Cheng said confidently. "My friends and I often mess around in the wild; I've drunk it several times. And if all else fails, we just drink our own urine."
"Shut up, I believe you, okay?" Wei Dong tapped him on the head.
"In that case," Shao Ling said, "we shouldn't waste any more time. It would be best to split up and search for moss and the water-rich vines that Luo Jin mentioned, using this place as a center. Of course, it would be even better if we could find running water."
So Xiao Kai was left behind, along with Qin Ci, who was responsible for taking care of him, and He Tang, whose physical strength was also nearing its limit. The rest of the group split into three groups and went in different directions to search for moss and vines.
More than an hour later, the groups returned one after another. They had not only dug up moss and found the long vines that Luo Jin had mentioned, but Ke Xun had also brought back several nests of bird eggs.
However, Xiao Kai's cold and fever symptoms seemed to have worsened. He sat weakly under a large tree, and Qin Ci's expression also became somewhat grave: "I don't know if it's because of the power within the painting, but Xiao Kai's illness came on so quickly and violently. His condition is not good right now, and he needs medication." "
Isn't there a clinic in that residential area?" Luo Yi asked. "Would they have any medicine there?"
"We can't be sure about the production date of those medicines," Qin Ci shook his head slightly. "Medicine is different from food; there can't be any mistakes, and we can't use it haphazardly."
"Dr. Qin," it was Tian Yang, who had always been a man of few words, who spoke up. "Please try your best to think of a solution. Xiao Kai's constitution has always been good; he rarely becomes this weak from a cold and fever."
Qin Ci looked up into the depths of the dense forest and said, "There is an emergency method, but it might depend on luck. Did you see any willows or poplars in the forest just now?"
Everyone shook their heads. "We were only focused on finding moss and these long vines; we didn't even notice if we might have seen willows," Wei Dong said.
"Why are you looking for willow trees?" Ke Xun asked.
"Willow bark contains a component called salicin, which is equivalent to natural aspirin," Qin Ci said. "It can be used to treat fever, colds, headaches, and pain caused by inflammation. If we can find willow trees, it can slightly alleviate Xiao Kai's symptoms."