Chapter 57 (1/2)
Chapter 57 Skinnier
It was a thick forest that seemed impenetrable. Although none of them were able to get full view, from the appearance of the st.u.r.dy tree in front of them and the countless vines wrapped on the trunk, as well as the unique scent in the air, there must have been a huge jungle ahead of them.
The tinges of the jungle were stronger than any of the jungles on this planet prior to the red fog, and the vast vitality of this ma.s.sive forest made everyone feel the urge to explore.
As the one who had the best vision of the troop, Chang could see the furthest. It was a grand feast interwoven by numerous lives—
The towering trees were tightened by a variety of vines; below the trees and vines, there were shrubs that no one had seen before. If the fungi and moss were to be counted, the plethora of life consisted of three layers with clear boundaries.
“A hymn of life, isn’t it? This world isn’t contained in concrete and steel.” Qing shui plucked some gra.s.s from the ground and put them under his nose.
“Is is possible for us to get through the jungle?” The fog was fused with the freshness of the suns.h.i.+ne in the early morning, and the croak from inside of the jungle raised one after another, as if the hosts were inviting them to step into the great feast. The jungle was so dangerously tempting that even Ming Yi, the strongest one in the troop, had raised doubt.
“I…I don’t see a path at all!” The soldiers at the front was searching around, but failed to locate where Zhengkai Avenue should be.
“There should be traces; try to look for broken concrete blocks; those remnants will be our guide to Zheng zhou.” The leader Zhao hunkered down and spread apart the gra.s.s with caution. Sure enough, he found some concrete pieces with obvious traces of artifacts.
Zhao raised his hand and shouted to the troop behind his back, “The Zhengkai Avenue has been shattered by these plants and their roots; what we have now are the remnants. But fortunately, it hasn’t been too long and we can still follow these concrete sediments to Zhengzhou.”
“Look at the plants around! There are places that have less plants growing; that must be where the Zhengkai Avenue was.” Qing shui stepped forward to the front of the troop; he carefully examined the way these plants were growing. “Therefore, this is a method for us to find our way back as well.”
“He’s right.” Zhao was stunned by Qing shui that he was able to sort out a second way to locate the avenue. Zhao had known that Qing shui was an EM, so he recovered from his shock quite soon.
“Captain Zhao…” staring at the dense jungle ahead, Qing shui asked with his brows tightened together. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“How many times have we had contact with Zhengzhou since the red fog?”
“Three times,” Zhao answered. “At least, from what I know it’s been three times.”
“How did the base get in contact with Zhengzhou?”
“They set up an emergency communication troop that was dedicated to sending out doc.u.ments and orders from central to the cities around,” Zhao said. “Its seems like there were quite a lot of these troops; they were probably from reconnaissance or the field army. Each of them consisted of 100 people, and their one and only mission was to deliver doc.u.ments and orders. We have to use this primitive method, as the radio and cable communication have been cut off.”
“Three times…” Qing shui rubbed his jaw and asked, “what about the casualties?”
“The first troop came in 10 days ago and there were more than 10 deaths; the second one had more than 20 deaths, and the third time happened 6 days ago, only a day later than the second one that happened 7 days ago. More than 30 died in the third troop.” Zhao recalled and he frowned, “many soldiers died.”
“No…that’s not high at all; can 100 ordinary people really make it through this jungle?” Qing shui stepped forward and pressed on the trunk of a tree; he seemed scared.