The reason why the Kuomintang always lost battles in the past was largely due to this. That bald Chiang Kai-shek often did this: he would sit in the operations room, pointing at the map and making his troops run around in circles.
However, Chiang Kai-shek was unaware that the straight-line distance on the map might represent mountains or rivers in reality, all of which would hinder the rapid advance of the troops.
Even during the Huaihai Campaign, if Chiang Kai-shek hadn't blown up Huayuankou, causing the Yellow River to change course and creating a flood zone, it wouldn't have been so easy for the People's Liberation Army to encircle and annihilate the fully mechanized Huang Baitao and Huang Wei's army. And these are things that obviously cannot be shown on the map.
Zhuang Rui was also a little stunned by Peng Fei's words. He was not afraid of physical exertion because he could replenish it with spiritual energy. However, walking five kilometers in an hour was a bit too slow. In that case, even without any other complications, it would take eight hours to go back and forth.
If he really had disappeared in the Savage Mountain for eight hours, Hu Rong would probably have organized a search party. Thinking of this, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but scratch his head.
"Brother Zhuang, we're heading into the mountains now. You two stay close, don't load your guns, keep them pointed downwards. If we encounter any prey, I'll take care of you..."
Looking back, Zhang Guojun saw that Zhuang Rui and the other man were already twenty or thirty meters behind. He shook his head. "These city people just can't keep up. They've only walked a few kilometers and they're already exhausted."
"Brother Zhang, I understand..."
Zhuang Rui responded from afar.
"If I go now, I should be back tonight. I'm sorry, Brother Hu..."
Zhuang Rui glanced at his watch; it wasn't even 8 o'clock yet. He made up his mind and whispered to Peng Fei, "Let's leave now and try to get back before dark..."
Although Peng Fei didn't want to take Zhuang Rui along, seeing that Zhuang Rui was determined, he had no choice but to nod and say, "Brother Zhuang, let's be clear from the start. If you can't keep up with me, then we'll turn back, and I'll go alone tonight..."
"Okay, let's do it this way!"
Zhuang Rui nodded in agreement and then quickly caught up with Zhang Guojun and the others.
By this time, the six people had entered the forest. The dense tropical jungle broad-leaved trees blocked most of the sunlight from the sky, with only sparse sunlight filtering through the branches and dappling the ground.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves and decaying branches, which felt soft and yielding underfoot, making a rustling sound.
The forest was very quiet. Apart from the footsteps and conversations of the group, there was no other sound. Zhang Guojun was very familiar with the place. The path he was leading Zhuang Rui and the others to was actually a small path, or rather, a path they had been walking on frequently lately.
After walking for more than half an hour through the towering forest, Zhang Guojun stopped and said, "Let's head northwest. There's a ravine ahead; there are probably some animals inside. That wild boar we caught yesterday was from there..."
"Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang, you go ahead, I really can't hold on any longer, I need to sit down and rest for a while..."
Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei pretended to be panting heavily, looking like they were about to run out of breath. Zhang Guojun glanced back and frowned. They had only walked a short distance, and they were already like this.
However, Zhang Guojun knew that he was only there to accompany Zhuang Rui, so he said, "Why don't we rest for a while and go over later? It's a pity that the animals are a bit slow to react in the morning; if we go too late, they'll probably all run away..."
"Brother Zhang... we're fine, we're just... a little tired. We'll just sit here and rest for a bit. Don't worry about us, go and guard the pass first. What if all the animals run away...?"
Zhuang Rui leaned against a large tree, panting as he spoke, while impatiently waving his hand to signal Zhang Guojun to go ahead first, as if he was afraid of missing out on the prey.
"This...this isn't good, is it? If anything happens, Brother Hu won't let me off the hook..."
Zhang Guojun was a straightforward man, and he could never have guessed what Zhuang Rui was thinking. Although he had already been persuaded by Zhuang Rui, he had not forgotten the mission of this trip. After thinking for a while, he decided to wait for Zhuang Rui to go together.
“Brother Zhang, what are we two grown men with guns afraid of? Besides, it’s not far from outside, and there aren’t any animals around. You guys hurry up and go, otherwise if all the animals run away, we’ll have come all this way for nothing…”
Zhuang Rui was really anxious when he saw that Zhang Guojun was unwilling to leave. It was already 8 o'clock, and if he didn't get them to leave soon, today's treasure hunt would probably be ruined.
"Well... alright then, it's less than two miles northwest from here, and you'll see that mountain valley..."
Zhang Guojun also wanted to ambush a few big guys so he could improve his brothers' meals for the night. They didn't dare to go deep into the Savage Mountain; they usually went to the mountain gully to ambush prey. There was a water source there, and it was usually a gathering place for animals.
Seeing Zhuang Rui waving his gun, Zhang Guojun figured nothing bad would happen. Tigers and bears were practically nonexistent at the edge of the forest. He immediately called out to one of the men behind him, "Ma Liu, you stay here. You know that place. Bring Brother Zhuang and the others over later..."
"Brother Jun, it's not far, less than an hour's journey, do we really need to keep someone here?"
After hearing Zhang Guojun's words, Ma Liu said somewhat reluctantly, "Men always have an extraordinary interest in hunting, and Ma Liu is no exception."
Zhang Guojun glared at Ma Liu and said irritably, "You're not going to listen to me, are you? You're not going to listen to me either?"
"No...no, how could that be? Brother Jun, you guys go ahead..."
Upon hearing Zhang Guojun's words, Ma Liu quickly waved his hand, though he still looked somewhat unwilling.
"Brother Zhuang, come over as soon as you've rested..."
Zhang Guojun greeted Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei, then excitedly led the other three men toward the hunting ravine. In his view, with a gun in hand, there would be almost no danger in the jungle, as there weren't many snakes in this remote area.
"Brother Ma Liu, what kind of animals live in that mountain valley?"
Zhuang Rui was breathing less heavily now, so he took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one for Ma Liu.
"That's hard to say. Last time we encountered two wild boars, but one escaped. Black bears also sometimes come over there to drink water. Oh, and we even saw a tiger once, but by the time we got there, it had vanished. What a pity..."
Ma Liu and his men have been stationed here for almost half a year. They often hunt on the edge of the Savage Mountain and have been to the mountain valley many times. Now they can talk about it as if it were their own home.
When Ma Liu talked about the tiger, he still had a regretful look on his face. You know, if a tiger skin were sold on the China-Myanmar border, it would be worth tens of thousands of RMB. Of course, that was just the price offered to them by Chinese businessmen.
"Sigh, it's all our fault for being physically weak. We're out of breath after running this short distance. How about this, Brother Ma Liu, you come along too. We'll rest a bit more and then we'll be over..."
Zhuang Rui was now in a hurry to get this person away.
"That won't do. If you get lost, Brother Jun will skin me alive..."
Ma Liu shook his head repeatedly. Zhang Guojun still held considerable prestige among this group of Chinese mine protection workers.
"Brother Ma Liu, are you looking down on us? We both have guns, how could we get lost? Here's what we'll do: every four or five trees, you mark a spot on the tree with your bayonet, that way we'll know..."
Zhuang Rui quickly racked his brains, trying to find an excuse for Ma Liu. As for whether Brother Jun would skin him alive, he couldn't worry about that now. However, once the two of them ran away, Ma Liu would inevitably get a scolding.
"That's true..."
Ma Liu's eyes lit up. He picked up his military dagger and chopped at a tree, revealing a mark and white sap on the trunk. He turned to Zhuang Rui and said, "Mr. Zhuang, just follow this mark to find our way here. Actually, it's fine even if you don't mark it; it's in the northwest direction..."
Ma Liu is a bit of a simpleton. Once you enter this forest full of towering trees, unless you're an experienced guide or someone who's received special training, who knows which direction is northwest? Even if you want to use the sun to determine your direction, you need to find a sparsely wooded hillside.
"Mr. Zhuang, please hurry..."
As Ma Liu chased after Zhang Guojun and the others, he turned back and shouted to Zhuang Rui. His hands were also busy; he used his military dagger to chop a tree along the way.
"Okay, don't worry, I'll shoot if anything happens..."
Zhuang Rui shouted back, already standing up, while Peng Fei beside him had already taken out his small knife and was using the compass on the handle to determine the direction.
"Brother Zhuang, we're heading due north, this way..."
Once Peng Fei recognized the direction, he sprinted forward, running over twenty meters in an instant, like a nimble ape.
"Hey, slow down a bit..."
Zhuang Rui, unaware that Peng Fei intended for him to give up before he could keep up, quickly followed after him. ...
"Ma Liu, what brings you here? Where are Brother Zhuang and the other two?"
Ma Liu chased after them for nearly 20 minutes before catching up with Zhang Guojun and the others.
Chapter 499 Savage Mountain (3)
"Brother Jun...they're still behind. It's alright, I marked the way..."
Ma Liu took a deep breath, picked up his military dagger and scratched it against a tree, but dared not look Zhang Guojun in the eye.
"You little brat, you won't listen to me?"
Zhang Guojun glared and slapped Ma Liu hard across the head. Ma Liu didn't dare to dodge and staggered from the blow. After regaining his balance, he lowered his head and didn't dare to say a word.
"No, if something happens, we brothers can't afford the consequences. Let's go, let's turn back..."
Zhang Guojun understood Zhuang Rui's importance to Hu Rong; if anything happened to him, his entire family would be too ashamed to continue living in Chinatown.
A man standing next to Zhang Guojun hesitated and said, "Brother Jun, we've been here for almost half a year. This outskirts is so remote you can't even spot a rabbit. Nothing bad will happen. They might catch up soon..."
These mine protection team members, although living on the edge of the forest, didn't have time to go hunting every day. Besides, they had a limited supply of bullets. It was rare for Boss Hu to be so lenient and let them come out to play, so none of them wanted to waste any time.
"Second brother, is that what you mean too?"
After hearing what the man said, Zhang Guojun clearly hesitated. He also thought that nothing would happen on this short distance, otherwise he wouldn't have left only one person behind and led the others to the ravine first.
"Brother, let's block the mountain pass and leave them some supplies to fight. Otherwise, if we arrive late, there won't be anything left, which would spoil the guests' fun."
The second brother was the smarter one and came up with a reason that Zhang Guojun couldn't refuse: Hu Rong wanted them to accompany Zhuang Rui and the others so they could have a good time. If they just went on a trip and climbed mountains without getting anything, what was the point?
"Alright then, let's head to the mountain pass first. You guys, make some more markings on the trees..."
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Guojun felt that there wouldn't be any problems at this edge, so he decided to go to the ravine to wait for Zhuang Rui and the other person.
"Big brother, then I..."
Ma Liu looked at Zhang Guojun with his head bowed and eyes lowered.
"Damn it, you go first. You little brat, if you disobey again, I'll send you up the mountain to dig a hole..."
Zhang Guojun kicked Ma Liu in annoyance, then casually removed the bayonet from his submachine gun and marked the spot where he and his men had just stood. ...
"Brother Zhuang, we agreed beforehand that if we couldn't keep up today, we wouldn't go. Let's go hunting with them later..."
Peng Fei, who had already run more than 20 meters, stopped after hearing Zhuang Rui's words and looked at Zhuang Rui who was following behind him.
"Hey, you really think I can't outrun you? You underestimate me, Brother Zhuang. Let's go..."
Zhuang Rui tightened his grip on the gun slung over his shoulder and waved for Peng Fei to walk ahead.
"Okay, if you can't hold on, just say so, and we can always turn back..."
Seeing Zhuang Rui's insistence, Peng Fei reluctantly turned and headed north. He was very fast, and he could even run in the dense forest full of towering trees. Otherwise, Peng Fei would not have dared to boast that he could travel 40 kilometers of mountain road in four or five hours.
Zhuang Rui followed suit, not to be outdone. He ran a lot, expending more energy than Peng Fei, but Zhuang Rui wasn't afraid of that. When his legs felt weak, he would lower his head and inject a wisp of spiritual energy into them, and he would recover immediately.
However, he sometimes couldn't stop himself and would often bump into trees in front of him. Before long, Zhuang Rui's camouflage uniform was torn in several places, and his face was scratched by tree branches.
As Peng Fei ran, he occasionally made marks on the trees along the way with his military dagger. However, the marks he made were extremely subtle. These were the marks used by their special forces for communication. Even if an ordinary person noticed them, they would just think that the bark had naturally peeled off.
After running continuously for more than 40 minutes, the trees in the forest became denser, and the originally flat ground became sloping. However, this did not affect Peng Fei's speed at all. Apart from his breathing becoming slightly louder, Peng Fei was like a tireless machine, his legs swinging incessantly, moving through the dense forest like an ape.
After crashing into trees several times, Zhuang Rui learned his lesson and started to conserve energy while running. Although he wasn't as fast as Peng Fei, he could keep up, and the two maintained a distance of about ten meters between them. He was never left behind by Peng Fei.
"stop……"
After running down a slope, Peng Fei suddenly stopped, and Zhuang Rui, caught off guard, ran a few more steps forward.
Zhuang Rui thought Peng Fei couldn't hold on any longer and wanted to rest, so he panted heavily and said smugly, "Wh...what's wrong? Can't...can't outrun me, huh?"
Although he didn't feel physically tired, Zhuang Rui's heart couldn't withstand such a high-intensity march. So after he stopped, he was panting heavily, and his camouflage uniform was completely soaked with sweat.
Peng Fei's appearance wasn't much better than Zhuang Rui's. His hair was wet and clumps of it hung down his forehead. After stopping, Peng Fei took out his small knife and shaved off the hair that was about to cover his eyes. Zhuang Rui found the sight quite amusing.
However, Peng Fei's breathing was not as rapid as Zhuang Rui's, and his expression did not seem to change much. After tidying his hair, his eyes remained fixed on the trees in front of him.
"Why have you stopped?"