Upon hearing this, David took out a map, compared it with the map, and said, "Let's go, this is the road the map points to. If we don't run into that gorilla, fine, but if we do, I'll use its head as a drinking bowl..."
The traces left by King Kong were so clear that Markram believed he had a good chance of hunting King Kong from a distance as long as they remained. His submachine gun and grenade launcher weren't just for show.
"Brother Zhuang, let's take a break. We can't even see the road anymore. There are poisonous snakes around at night, so it's still very dangerous..."
After a day of exploring the forest, it gradually grew dark. King Kong and Zhuang Rui didn't mind. One of them, driven by instinct, ventured deeper into the forest, while the other saw the darkness as if it were daytime.
But Peng Fei couldn't take it anymore. He was only human, and if it weren't for his strong will, he probably would have collapsed long ago after a day of forced marching.
"Okay, King Kong, come back..."
Zhuang Rui called out to Jin Gang, who was running ahead, and looked around.
This place is deep inside the forest. Thanks to the nutrients generated by the various animal carcasses and decaying branches, the trees are much taller than those at the edge of the forest. Each tree is as thick as a person's waist, and you have to look up more than ten meters to see the forked branches.
Zhuang Rui dared not rest on the ground covered with leaves and twigs, and immediately said, "Peng Fei, climb the tree. You rest first, I'll wake you up in the middle of the night..."
"Okay, Brother Zhuang, make sure to wake me up in the middle of the night..."
I've spent several years with Peng Fei, and we've been through thick and thin together many times. The tacit understanding between us goes without saying.
Peng Fei didn't stand on ceremony. He climbed up a big tree using both his hands and feet, lay down in a branch, took out some compressed biscuits, ate a few bites, drank some water, and then fell asleep.
Zhuang Rui pointed to a tree next to Peng Fei and said to the reluctant Jin Gang, "Jin Gang, go up that tree, and don't wander off at night..."
"Ouch..."
Although King Kong wanted to continue, it heard Zhuang Rui's serious voice and obediently climbed up the tree. However, it scratched its ears and cheeks and refused to fall asleep, as if some voice from the depths of the forest was calling to it.
After settling Jin Gang and Peng Fei, Zhuang Rui climbed a tree and closed his eyes to rest. He could eliminate physical fatigue with spiritual energy, but the bloody killings Jin Gang had committed during the day had greatly stimulated Zhuang Rui's nerves.
However, in this perilous primeval forest, Zhuang Rui didn't dare to sleep soundly like Peng Fei. Although he no longer used his spiritual energy to cover an area of more than ten miles, he was still monitoring every move within a kilometer radius.
Zhuang Rui did not wake Peng Fei that night. Around four or five in the morning, Zhuang Rui finally succumbed to sleepiness and closed his eyes to fall asleep.
"Hmm? It's past ten o'clock?"
When Zhuang Rui opened his eyes the next morning, he found that the sunlight was shining on him through the dense forest.
Chapter 1255 The Lingering Ghost
After glancing at his watch, Zhuang Rui broke out in a cold sweat. He had actually slept for four or five hours, and during that time, neither he nor Peng Fei had been harmed by any animals.
"Ouch..."
Just as Zhuang Rui was trying to confirm whether he had been bitten by a snake or stung by a scorpion, a low growl came from under the tree. It turned out that this guy had also seen that Zhuang Rui had woken up.
"Brother Zhuang, why didn't you wake me up..."
King Kong's roar startled Peng Fei, who was in another tree. This guy was indeed exhausted yesterday, having slept for even longer than Zhuang Rui.
"Well, you're sleeping so soundly, I'll let you sleep a little longer..."
Zhuang Rui blushed, too embarrassed to admit that he had also fallen asleep. After running his spiritual energy over his body and finding no problems, Zhuang Rui climbed down from the tree.
"Brother Zhuang, we can't rush things today. You were so exhausted yesterday, if anything happens, I won't be able to handle it..."
After a night's rest, Peng Fei was full of energy, but he was still a little scared when he thought about yesterday's forced march. He was so tired yesterday that he almost didn't even have the strength to climb a tree.
"Ouch..."
Upon hearing Peng Fei's words, Jin Gang immediately pounded his chest in anger. If it weren't for his friendship with Zhuang Rui, Jin Gang would have quietly slipped away early in the morning, and wouldn't have waited until now.
"Eat something first, King Kong. There's no rush. Can't you be a little more patient, kid?"
Zhuang Rui tapped King Kong on the head, and Peng Fei, who was watching from the side, felt a sudden tremor in his heart. After experiencing King Kong's frenzied killing yesterday, Peng Fei could no longer associate King Kong with his previous harmless and honest appearance.
"Waaah..."
King Kong sobbed, clutching his head, and gestured wildly at Zhuang Rui before darting into the nearby bushes.
"Brother Zhuang, what is it going to do?"
Peng Fei simply couldn't understand King Kong's body language.
"It went hunting, and said it wants me to barbecue it later..."
Zhuang Rui smiled and got up to pick up some dry branches from the ground, preparing to light a bonfire.
In this tropical rainforest, there is no fear of starting a fire. Due to the climate, the ground is covered with damp, decaying matter beneath the dead leaves, making it very difficult to ignite.
About ten minutes later, Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei simultaneously heard animal roars and cries from afar. After waiting a few more minutes, Jin Gang ran back carrying a leopard in one hand.
This is a jungle leopard, its body covered with brownish-yellow and white stripes, and its fur is very beautiful. What is remarkable is that there is not a single wound on the leopard's body, except for a dent in its skull, which means it was obviously killed by King Kong's punch.
"Hey, I've never had leopard meat before, Peng Fei. It's yours now. But make sure the leopard skin is intact. Take it back and tan it; it'll be quite a good thing..."
Zhuang Rui tossed the dead leopard to Peng Fei, but he wasn't as skilled at skinning it as Peng Fei.
"What's so good about this stuff? The meat is all sour..."
Peng Fei pursed his lips and continued, "Let's find a water source, otherwise we won't be able to wash ourselves..."
Upon hearing Peng Fei's words, King Kong grabbed the leopard's forelimb and ran towards a part of the forest.
"Come on, keep up..."
Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei followed Jin Gang for about a kilometer when a pool of water, about twenty or thirty meters in size, appeared in front of them. Several small animals that were drinking water were frightened away by Zhuang Rui's group and scattered.
Having witnessed King Kong's prowess yesterday, Zhuang Rui's fear of the forest lessened considerably. Apart from releasing his spiritual energy within a dozen meters around him to guard against venomous snakes, he wasn't as nervous as he had been yesterday.
After Peng Fei skinned the leopard, Zhuang Rui found a large tree branch, strung it up, and hung it over the campfire. After roasting it, he cut off a piece of meat and tasted it. Sure enough, it was a bit sour, so he threw the rest to King Kong to eat.
This guy didn't care about the sourness; he quickly devoured a leopard weighing several dozen kilograms and then casually tossed the leopard's carcass into the pond.
After the guy had eaten and drunk his fill, Zhuang Rui asked, "King Kong, how much further?"
He and Peng Fei had trespassed into the forest without permission, and the people outside must be very anxious. Zhuang Rui also wanted to find the gorilla population as soon as possible and then return to the company's base. Calculating the time, there were not many two months left, and Song Jun and Fatty Ma should be coming to take over.
"Ouch..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Jin Gang stood up, pointed in a direction, and then waved his arms, looking very excited.
"Let's go, there are still dozens of kilometers to go. Let's try to get there by night..."
Zhuang Rui stood up as he spoke, but his expression suddenly changed as soon as he shouldered the huge supply package.
"Brother Zhuang, what's wrong?"
"It seems like someone has entered this forest. I have a very bad feeling. Peng Fei, is there any way to erase all traces of us being here?"
Zhuang Rui's expression was grim, because when he habitually released his spiritual energy, he discovered that there were more than a dozen humanoid creatures on the path that King Kong had cleared for them.
Zhuang Rui certainly didn't think that the group was gorillas having a picnic, and judging from the weapons they were carrying, these people weren't scientists from the African jungle. After ruling out that possibility, then this group was either anti-government forces or terrorists.
"Is anyone there?"
Upon hearing this, Peng Fei's expression also turned serious. Following King Kong into the forest, those so-called pythons and ferocious beasts were no longer a threat. Now, the only thing that could pose a threat to him and Zhuang Rui was humans.
Peng Fei had long since become deeply convinced of Zhuang Rui's "feelings," and if Zhuang Rui said he felt unwell, then there must be danger at play.
"Brother Zhuang, the traces of the two of us can be erased, but King Kong's..."
As Peng Fei finished speaking, he glanced at King Kong with some difficulty. The guy was too big. When he passed through the forest, it was like a road roller passing by. The marks left by the vehicle could not be erased.
After thinking for a moment, Zhuang Rui said, "Let's do this: first, erase our traces. When King Kong walks down the tree, we can't let anyone hang behind us..."
Although he didn't know the identities of the people coming from behind, there were a total of eighteen of them. If they caught up and a conflict broke out, Zhuang Rui didn't believe that King Kong, who could fight against a hundred men, could deal with humans wielding modern weapons.
Fortunately, once they entered the depths of the forest, a place virtually untouched by humans for hundreds or even thousands of years, the trees grew extremely thick and tall. As King Kong traversed the trees, he didn't break any of them like he had before.
Zhuang Rui walked ahead on the ground, while Peng Fei followed behind to erase their footprints. However, this slowed their progress considerably.
However, the people behind seemed to have some concerns, and with the forest full of dangers, they did not travel very fast. It took them three or four hours to reach the place where Zhuang Rui and the others were having a barbecue.
Then another heavy rain fell in the forest, and the rainwater flowed from the tree trunks to the ground, washing away all the traces that Peng Fei hadn't cleaned up. ...
Beside the pool where Zhuang Rui and the others had been, a group of people wearing raincoats had gathered. There were sentries within fifty meters of the group. These people were all professionally trained.
“David, those two men and the gorilla have all disappeared. I think… they were probably researchers from some country. Besides them, I doubt anyone else could get that close to and film the gorilla…”
While tracking the gorilla from yesterday, Markram was surprised to find two human footprints behind the gorilla, which shocked them even more.
Along the way, they made many guesses, the most reliable of which was what Markram just mentioned. You know, in this birthplace and last paradise of gorillas, many scientists have stayed for more than ten or twenty years to track and study them.
Because these scientists are not involved in politics and have state backing, they are generally treated relatively well by tribes and anti-government armed groups in the Central African forests.
Kidnapping these "poor people" would only cause them a lot of trouble and bring them no benefit. Even terrorists wouldn't bother with them. So after analyzing the situation, Markram once considered giving up on tracking them.
However, the direction indicated on the map was the same as the direction the gorilla was traveling, so Markram's team kept moving in the same direction as the two people and one beast in front of them. However, after the rainstorm, the two people and one beast disappeared.
After hearing Markram's analysis, David said, "Ram, let's forget about it. Let's just go find the treasure. There's no need to mess with a wild beast..."
To be honest, the bloody scene yesterday terrified David, and he was on tenterhooks the whole way. Now that the wild beast has disappeared, David feels relieved.
After resting for more than an hour by the pool, the group of "explorers" continued their treasure hunt, following the map.
The day passed quickly, and night fell over the forest. Various animals that foraged for food at dusk or in the dead of night emerged from their dens. Compared to the quiet of the daytime, the forest was much more lively at night.
Whether it was Zhuang Rui and his group in front, or the adventurers behind, they all stopped at the same time. They didn't want to become targets of the jungle killers.
Peng Fei nimbly climbed up a tall tree, over ten meters high, and said to Zhuang Rui, who was dressed in camouflage and blended seamlessly into the tree, "Brother Zhuang, someone really is chasing us. I only saw scouts ahead, but there are probably no fewer than ten people behind..."
"Damn it, it's like a ghost that won't go away..."
Zhuang Rui was also somewhat annoyed. He didn't know how the other party had figured out their route; even a heavy rain hadn't made them lose their way.
Chapter 1256 Similar
Zhuang Rui was unaware that Markram and his group were only on their way to find the so-called "treasure" and were not intentionally following them. But coincidentally, the direction King Kong was heading was exactly the same as the direction marked on their map.
"Brother Zhuang, there are too many of them, and we don't know who they are. We'd better avoid them..."
Peng Fei's face showed worry. If it were those drug lords in Myanmar, even if there were twice as many of them, Peng Fei would not have said such a thing. They were all weaklings who could be easily defeated.
However, during the reconnaissance just now, Peng Fei discovered that the enemy's sentries were very vigilant. In addition to both visible and hidden sentries, they had also laid booby traps within a hundred meters of the campsite. He almost fell into one of their traps. From this point of view, the enemy was definitely not simple.
Moreover, since the other side dared to enter this primeval jungle, they must be familiar with jungle warfare. Even if Peng Fei was confident, he didn't dare to think that he could take on more than ten people on his own.
Of course, in Peng Fei's mind, Zhuang Rui had no fighting ability whatsoever. Perhaps Zhuang Rui was invincible in a one-on-one strength contest, but in this jungle, Zhuang Rui would only be beaten.