"The signature should be conspicuous. Even if we can't recognize it at a glance, or it doesn't attract much attention, it should still be conspicuous—" Mu Yiran repeated Ke Xun's initial guess. "The forest has a vast amount of vegetation. Whether it's flowers, grass, or trees, no matter how conspicuous they are on the outside, once they are submerged in this massive jungle, even the most conspicuous ones lose their specialness.
"So I think this 'conspicuousness' doesn't refer to color or shape, and it's unlikely to be a special species. After all, the forest is now a mixed bag of species, with plants from both the north and south. What kind of plant grows there is no longer special. "
Then there's another possibility: height. But the tallest houses here are only three stories high. Even if you stand on the roof, it's difficult to get a bird's-eye view of the entire forest and find the tallest tree.
"According to the basic rule that paintings don't give us dead ends, if this 'conspicuousness' is difficult to distinguish from the outside, then I think the signature is not far from us. Because 'difficult to distinguish' is already quite difficult. If the signature is also placed far away and difficult to reach, then it's not much different from a dead end."
"Based on the above, the signature should be located relatively close to the outer edge of the forest, not too deep inside. It's likely in an area we've already traversed, but because we're still missing that final spark of inspiration, even if the signature were right in front of us, we'd have a hard time spotting it.
"And this signature won't have any striking color or unusual shape, nor will it have any obvious thickness or height. It could be a tree, a flower, grass, moss, or a vine, but I think it must be very ancient, representing the long history of the entire earth, and it must also be very resilient, representing the tenacious vitality of all living things."
"Vitality..." Ke Xun rested his chin on the iron shovel handle, lowering his eyes in thought. "You said the name Abel means 'life' in Hebrew. So, if we had to choose from flowers, grass, trees, and vines, I think trees would be the most vital thing, right?" Its leaves can store water, its roots can hold the soil, its body can provide shelter for birds, beasts, and even humans, its fruit can sustain many creatures, it can produce oxygen for living beings to breathe… Isn't Abel also a word for breathing? So, could the form of a signature be a tree? A tree full of vitality?"
"—The Tree of Life." Mu Yiran's eyes flashed with sudden realization as he pondered and analyzed, "The concept of the Tree of Life exists in various countries and religions. In ancient Egypt, the Tree of Life was the London plane tree, which, according to legend, grew on a sacred mountain, separating the realms of life and death, symbolizing the beginning of creation… The Indus Valley religion believes that wood is the primordial substance that constitutes all things in the world, and the Bodhi tree is hailed as the Tree of Life…
"As for Hebrew, the Kamalist sect relies on Hebrew for secret oral transmission between teachers and students. This sect also has a Tree of Life, but it is not a real tree, but a diagram of a tree structure, used to analyze the different levels that constitute the universe and all things in the world…"
"And our peach trees, Egypt's Sikmo fig trees, Iran's apricot trees, and olive, palm, and pomegranate trees from other parts of the Middle East or Semitic traditions... These deciduous plants, bearing many fruits, were once called the Tree of Life, the embodiment of Mother Earth. Their abundance of fruits signifies the propagation of offspring, and their flowering, fruiting, and leaf-shedding attributes represent the changing seasons and the cycle of life..."
Ke Xun blinked, quietly watching him, feeling as if he could hear the buzzing of the search engine in his mind.
Mu Yiran had listed many options for himself, but which one to choose seemed to still be under analysis and judgment. Ke Xun didn't disturb his train of thought, and went aside to quickly remove the bloodstains from the wall, continuing to search for any relevant clues hidden beneath the blood.
The walls of this room, covered with European-style wallpaper, were now worn and peeling, revealing the painted walls underneath.
Ke Xun's mood was somewhat heavy. These old wallpapers reminded him of the home he had lived in as a child.
Back then, his parents were still alive, and the family wasn't very wealthy, but the couple lived a comfortable life. They were meticulous and refined, and even with limited income, they still managed to make their family live comfortably within their means.
At that time, they lived in a small two-bedroom apartment. His father wallpapered each room, and his mother chose a warm-toned rice paper color with a texture somewhat resembling vertical tree bark. Several of his classmates also had wallpaper, mostly geometric or floral patterns, but his family's was this tree-patterned design. He especially loved it, feeling his home was unique and that his parents had exceptional artistic taste.
Every time he thought of that home, his memory seemed to freeze on the day they moved in after the renovations were complete. He was so happy he felt like he could fly, running around the house excitedly, constantly stroking the textured wallpaper.
Yes, his childhood memories, every time he recalled them, would be frozen in that one day, that one scene.
Just like now.
Everyone here is frozen on this day of this year; their homes remain as they were before their deaths, their lives and memories frozen on this day.
...No, even if everyone was infected with Ebola, they wouldn't all die on the same day. So what's frozen isn't this day, but only this year.
This year is 2012, the year explicitly stated in the Hebrew paper that Tian Yang deciphered. Although its purpose was only to expand everyone's thinking and focus on the end of humanity, this year "2012" might not be without other indicative meaning.
2012, the end of the world. The end of the world is a Mayan prophecy, a prophecy originating from the Mayan civilization. Yi Ran said that many traditional civilizations have the concept of the Tree of Life.
"Yi Ran," Ke Xun stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Mu Yi Ran, who was looking over at the sound of his voice, "Did the Mayan civilization have the concept of the Tree of Life?"
"The kapok tree," Mu Yi Ran's eyes brightened slightly, "It's the American kapok, a tropical tree species. In Mayan civilization, it symbolizes life and is located at the center of the universe, hence it is called the World Tree or the Tree of Life." But the Mayan World Tree isn't just one tree; it's composed of multiple trees. The central tree is seen as the pillar connecting heaven, earth, and the underworld, and around it, in four directions, there's another tree. "I think this is what we're looking for."
"—Indeed, it's both conspicuous and inconspicuous!" Ke Xun threw down his shovel. "These five trees, distributed in this way, are indeed inconspicuous in a vast forest, but once we break through the last layer of clues, they become quite conspicuous! —Let's all go find these five kapok trees immediately!" Calling
Wei Dong, Luo Yu, and Fang Fei from the other rooms, Ke Xun rushed out and found Qin Ci, who was in a semi-conscious state under the porch. Without a word, he carried him on his back.
Qin Ci woke up with a start and, enduring his headache and eye pain, pushed Ke Xun forcefully: "Xiao Ke, put me down quickly! Droplets in the painting could easily be contagious!" "
Then shut up and don't say anything," Ke Xun said unmoved, having Wei Dong find a mask for Qin Ci to wear. "Let's go find autographs now, Qin-ge, hang in there, we'll be fine, we'll definitely get out!"
Qin Ci, unaware of what had happened, thought Ke Xun was in a panic and was recklessly preparing to search the forest like a headless fly. He frantically yelled at him from behind the mask, "Ke Xun, calm down! You're not alone now, you can't keep taking your life for granted! If something happens to you, how will Xiao Mu bear it?! Let me go—"
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Mu, whom he was talking about, caught up from behind, grabbed him by the neck, and knocked him unconscious.
The group ran wildly towards the forest, while Shao Ling and the others did not stop searching during this time. They had already wandered off somewhere, and the group could only follow the marks they had left on the trees.
"Keep an eye out for kapok trees along the road, especially five kapok trees clustered together!" Ke Xun said to Wei Dong, Luo Jin, and Fang Fei.
"The key is—we northerners don't really recognize kapok trees!" Wei Dong wiped his sweat anxiously and turned to ask Fang Fei, "What about you, Fei-ge?"
Fang Fei shook her head: "I've only worked in the south for a short time, and I only know that kapok flowers are red, but I'm not sure what season it is now. Although the weather is hot, if it's a post-apocalyptic climate, it might be the dead of winter. Kapok trees seem to bloom in spring, so if there are no flowers, I won't recognize them."
"Kapok leaves are quite long..." Luo Jin said, then fell silent.
Because relying solely on the attribute of "length" wouldn't be enough to easily find kapok trees in a vast forest with many species.
"Just find five trees that look close together and are the same size," Ke Xun suggested.
"Big brother, open your eyes and look. There are many five trees that look close together and are the same size over there in the dense wooded area," Wei Dong pointed to Ke Xun.
"And we can't be sure how far apart the four trees growing in the four directions are," Fang Fei said. "If they are more than ten meters apart, and there are other tree species growing in between, it will be even harder to judge."
"…In short, we lack people who recognize kapok trees right now," Ke Xun said. "Anyway, let's observe first and find Shao Ling and the others."
The group followed the marks for several tens of minutes before finally catching up with Shao Ling and his group. After all, those people were also quite fast and were racing against time.
The two groups met up, and Mu Yiran quickly explained his deductions, concluding, "Since we've deduced that the location of the signatures won't be too deep, let's use this place as the center and divide into four groups to search in four directions. Does anyone recognize a kapok tree?"
"I recognize one," Shao Ling said.
Luo Jin and Gu Qingqing, who was panting heavily, also raised their hands.
"Then the four of us will each take one person and head in one of the four directions," Mu Yiran said. "We'll leave Lao Qin here, with one person watching over him."
Finally, Wu You and Qin Ci were left behind. Mu Yiran took Fang Fei, Shao Ling took Wei Dong, Luo Yi took Zhu Haowen, and Gu Qingqing took Ke Xun. Each of the four groups chose a direction and continued their relentless search for the kapok tree.
Gu Qingqing, being a girl, had already done an extraordinary job of persevering this far. Now, she was staggering through the woods, almost collapsing. Ke Xun stepped forward to support her. After walking for a while, seeing that Gu Qingqing was panting heavily, he said, "Why don't you get on my back?"
"You're tired too," Gu Qingqing was very observant. Although Ke Xun didn't show it, she still noticed. After thinking for a moment, she took out paper and pen from her bag. "How about I draw a rough outline of a kapok leaf for you, and then we can search separately so I don't slow you down?"
"No, the forest is too dangerous. I can't leave you alone," Ke Xun thought for a moment. "No need to draw. I'll find a way to take you up a tree to see. The higher you stand, the farther you can see."
Gu Qingqing trembled when she heard that she had to climb a tree too. She quickly said, "But... but... we can't possibly stand on the treetop. The branches and leaves will block our view if we stand on the trunk."
Ke Xun's eyes lit up with a new idea. "Don't worry, I have a way. You don't need to climb the tree." With that, he started climbing the tree.