GBP Chapter 282 Collection 10
Chapter 282 Collection 10
However, it seemed that the realgar on the two of them had an effect, as most of the snakes adopted a defensive posture and did not rush up to attack Wang Hao and Ye Jingmo.
The light occasionally swept across the surroundings, and Ye Jingmo and Wang Hao carefully examined them before heading towards the spot where they had previously seen the vanilla flowers.
White vanilla flowers swayed in the wind, surrounded by a hazy mist, pure and beautiful, seemingly tempting people to come closer.
But hidden beneath this beauty are swarms of snakes, their bodies intertwined and twisted into a tangled mess.
Wang Hao took a step forward and met a pair of vertical pupils as bright as light bulbs.
A giant snake, as large as an adult man's arm, straightened up, its eyes fixed on Wang Hao and Ye Jingmo, its long, thin tongue flicking out from its mouth.
Its entire body is covered in silvery-white scales with a metallic sheen.
Wang Hao's pupils dilated, a chill ran down his spine, and he seemed to smell a foul stench coming from the giant snake's open mouth.
The giant snake slowly crawled towards them, its massive body scraping against the ground with a distinct sound. The small snake, unable to dodge in time, was directly pinned down and, after struggling for a few moments, fell silent.
Ye Jingmo pulled the stunned Wang Hao aside and slowly backed away, maintaining a certain distance between the human and the snake.
"Let's get out of here first."
They already had a general understanding of the terrain, so there was no need to confront the giant snake directly and engage in a pointless battle.
Ye Jingmo spoke to Wang Hao, his eyes still coldly fixed on the slowly moving giant snake.
With its scales and enormous body, a pistol would likely be unlikely to inflict any fatal damage on the giant snake.
Ye Jingmo took a bag out of his pocket. Before Wang Hao could see what was inside, Ye Jingmo took out a lighter, quickly lit the bag, and threw it at the giant snake.
The bag fell beside the giant snake, and flames suddenly surged up. The yellow flames seemed to have a hint of pale blue, like a dreamlike ring of fire, and a foul stench wafted out.
The giant snake stopped moving forward, twisting its body and causing the ground to tremble. It seemed to hate the smell and hurriedly crawled back the way it came, while the surrounding snakes also quickly scattered.
Soon, a vacuum zone was left around the burning flames.
When Wang Hao turned his head, he saw this scene and his eyes were filled with disbelief. The giant snake had retreated so easily.
"That was just now..."
"The sulfur powder was mixed with some sawdust."
Ye Jingmo also saw that scene, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. It seems that sulfur is quite effective at repelling snakes, but it's a pity that the burning time is too short.
He could see that the fierce flames had gradually diminished, and the scattered sparks seemed about to be extinguished at any moment in the thick fog.
"sulfur?!"
Wang Hao was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, but then his face lit up with joy. He hadn't expected sulfur to be so effective at repelling snakes.
He was initially worried that the sulfur wouldn't be enough to drive away the snakes, but now it seems that's no big deal.
After leaving the place where the vanilla flowers grew, Wang Hao and Ye Jingmo turned back and headed south, wanting to see if there were any vanilla flowers in the opposite direction.
Unfortunately, the south side is mostly rocks, piled up into a small hill, with no sign of any herbs or flowers.
Wang Hao knew they couldn't be greedy; having a patch of vanilla flowers in the north was already a good result, but he still couldn't help feeling frustrated.
If there are herbs on both sides, they can end their mission early and return to base.
After being away for a few days, Wang Hao has already started to miss the days at the base.
Having memorized the general layout of the entire ravine, the two returned to their starting point and began climbing up, gripping the climbing ropes.
It was already afternoon, and sunlight shone through the mist onto the mountains and forests.
Zhang Tianmeng, Liang Zi, and Wang Tang, who were on the mountain, looked around warily and checked the condition of the climbing ropes from time to time.
Seeing that there was still no movement downstairs after so long, Wang Tang said with some concern, "It's almost afternoon, why haven't Captain Wang and Brother Ye come up yet? Could something have happened down there?"
Zhang Tianmeng slapped Wang Tang on the back of the head, "What nonsense are you talking about? Pui pui pui, Captain Wang and the other two will definitely be able to successfully investigate the situation down there."
Liangzi sat on a rock to the side, his legs half-bent across his chest, his hands on his knees, and spoke in a low voice, "The fog below the ravine is thick, which may have affected visibility, preventing them from coming up so quickly."
"Besides, we didn't hear any gunshots, so don't overthink it."
Wang Tang nodded, reached out and touched his slightly hungry stomach, took out half a tube of nutrient solution and drank two mouthfuls. The indescribable taste spread in his mouth, making him feel more energetic.
This is another use for the nutrient solution that Wang Tang discovered: it can be used as a stimulant, and its effects are much stronger than coffee.
Zhang Tianmeng glanced at the climbing rope from time to time. Suddenly, he noticed that the climbing rope seemed to be moving. Worried that he was seeing things, he took a few steps closer.
Liangzi also noticed the movement of the climbing rope, climbed down from the rock, and quickly walked over.
Wang Tang, who was struggling to swallow the nutrient solution in his mouth, saw their actions and immediately followed suit. His face bulged out like a goldfish's gills because he hadn't swallowed the nutrient solution yet.
"It's moving! Pull it up!"
After Zhang Tianmeng approached, he confirmed that the climbing rope was swaying, and immediately grabbed the climbing rope and pulled it upwards.
A few minutes later, Wang Hao and Ye Jingmo climbed up the ditch.
Wang Tang approached and carefully examined the two men. Only after confirming that they had no wounds did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Ye Jingmo brushed the dust off his clothes and said in a clear voice, "We'll talk about everything when we get back."
Wang Tang and his two companions could only swallow their questions and hurried toward the cave.
Inside the cave, Jiang Li looked at the half-full bag of sulfur stones, a smile spreading across her face covered in yellow powder.
With just half a bag left, they could grind all the sulfur stones into powder, and then their work would be done.
Jiang Li carefully moved her legs, which had gone numb from sitting for so long without moving, reached into her bag, took out a sulfur stone, and began to smash it down.
To ensure that the sulfur stone could be completely ground into powder, Jiang Li and the other three did not cook. Instead, they ate half a tube of nutrient solution and continued working.
Suddenly, the barrier at the cave entrance was opened, and Ye Jingmo and the other four jumped down.
Jiang Li's idea of continuing to smash the sulfur stones vanished instantly. She immediately stood up and, like a fledgling swallow rushing into the arms of a long swallow, pounced towards Ye Jingmo.
She glanced at Ye Jingmo with a worried look, then took his arm and rubbed it to make sure he wasn't hurt before she breathed a sigh of relief.
Ye Jingmo took Jiang Li's hand and walked forward until they reached the spot where she had just been hitting the stone. There, she sat down leisurely, picked up a stone, and began to smash the sulfur stone.
Jiang Li blinked, somewhat surprised by Ye Jingmo's action, as this was clearly her job.
Jiang Li scratched her face, a little embarrassed, and whispered in Ye Jingmo's ear, "Brother Mo, you just got back, rest a bit more. I can handle smashing the sulfur stones."
Ye Jingmo continued what he was doing, "You've been smashing sulfur stones for so long, your arms must be sore. I'm your husband, no one will say anything if I help you with something."
Jiang Li blushed at Ye Jingmo's words. She quickly glanced around to make sure no one had heard before she felt relieved.
Wait, what is this?!
What does this have to do with being husband and wife? She just doesn't want Ye Jingmo to take her job.
When Jiang Li saw what Wang Hao and the other three were doing, she immediately stopped feeling awkward.
Wang Hao and the other three sat down around the cloth, picked up the stones beside them, and began to help smash the sulfur stones.
Everyone else has started making their moves, so Ye Jingmo is no longer as conspicuous among them.
"In addition to sulfur powder, we also need to add some ignition materials such as sawdust to make it easier to ignite."
Ye Jingmo suddenly thought of something, stopped what he was doing, and looked at Wang Hao on the other side.
He had discovered this problem when he ignited sulfur powder in the deep trench; plain sulfur was not particularly easy to ignite, but adding some accelerants made it much easier.
Wang Hao pondered for a while and realized that since they were in a bamboo forest, dried bamboo shavings and withered grass would be excellent fuel for combustion.
"Zhang Tianmeng and Wang Tang, go up there and cut down two dry bamboo stalks. Use a knife to shred them into bamboo shavings."
Zhang Tianmeng and Wang Tang nodded in unison, and immediately used their tools to find the entrance to the hole.
Soon, they dragged two dry bamboo poles, each as tall as a person, into the cave, and carried some dry wild grass in their hands.
Zhang Tianmeng used a sickle to chop the bamboo into small pieces, while Wang Tang used a dagger to shave the bamboo pieces into small pieces of bamboo floss.
Once the others have finished smashing their sulfur stones, they will help whittle bamboo fibers together.
After an unknown amount of time, they finally crushed all two large bags of sulfur stones into powder, and also collected a small bag of bamboo fibers.
Jiang Li stood up, twisted her stiff waist, and went with Fu Qian to the supply box to take out plastic bags.
These plastic bags were put into the supply boxes by the base. Actually, Jiang Li didn't quite understand why the base put plastic bags in there, but now she realized it was a wise move, as they really came in handy.
After mixing the sulfur powder and bamboo velvet, Jiang Li used plastic bags to package the mixed powder into smaller portions.
Wang Hao, along with Liang Zi and Ye Jingmo, took advantage of the others packaging sulfur powder to leave the cave and hunt around the bamboo forest.
Jiang Li tied the bag in her hand, looked up and glanced at the ground, where all kinds of plastic bags had been piled up into a small mountain.
At this moment, Ye Jingmo and his two companions entered the cave with two prepared bamboo rats and three fish.
Tomorrow they're going to the deep ravine to make a big splash, and Wang Hao doesn't want the team members to miss out on a decent meal tonight and end up only drinking unpalatable nutrient solutions.
Two bamboo rats were secured with bamboo skewers and hung on the campfire. Three fish were pan-fried until golden brown on both sides and then boiled in water.
While waiting for dinner, Wang Hao took out the topographical map and route map he had drawn during his exploration of the deep ravine that day and circulated them among everyone.
"Tomorrow we're going down to the deep ditch to pick herbs. We need to familiarize ourselves with the terrain of the ditch first."
Liu Yu, still recovering from his concussion, stayed in the cave. Zhao Mingkai and Wang Tang would remain at the pass tomorrow to guard the climbing ropes and provide backup. The others would go down into the ravine and gather the herbs as quickly as possible.
Wang Hao used a stick to draw the terrain of a deep ditch on the ground. "We'll go down from here. It's about 300 meters from here to the vanilla field."
"When we were about fifty meters away from the vanilla flowers, we threw sulfur powder at them and set it on fire, and then we ran in the opposite direction."
"Remember to run in the opposite direction. Snakes hate that smell and will mostly avoid it."
Wang Hao paused for a moment, then looked at Fu Qian, "There should be medical masks in the first-aid kit. Everyone going down should wear them."
Inhaling large amounts of sulfur gas into the lungs can easily lead to poisoning or oxygen deprivation. To be on the safe side, it's best to have everyone wear masks.
"The main danger when picking these herbs is snakes. Today we even encountered a giant snake down below that was the size of an adult's arm and nearly three meters long."
"Everyone should be careful when we go down into the ditch tomorrow, so as not to get entangled by it. Otherwise, if it uses strangulation, it will crush our bones."
Other small venomous snakes usually retreat on their own after smelling the pungent sulfur odor, but you should still be careful not to get close to them, as there is currently no antidote available.
After speaking, Wang Hao's gaze swept over Ye Jingmo, "Captain Ye, is there anything else you'd like to add?"
Ye Jingmo didn't expect Wang Hao to ask him. He paused in his playful gesture of holding Jiang Li's hand. "I think everyone can fumigate their clothes with sulfur before setting off. That would be a safer approach."
Since we don't have realgar anymore, we can fumigate with sulfur before going down into the water; it will have the same effect of repelling snakes.
Wang Hao nodded affirmatively, thinking it was a good suggestion. He then scanned the crowd. "Does anyone have any other suggestions?"
Jiang Li rubbed her temples. Her mind was a little dizzy and blank, without any thoughts.
Seeing that everyone remained silent, Wang Hao was not angry. "We need to check the equipment tonight and set off first thing tomorrow morning."
After Wang Hao finished speaking, the bamboo rats and fish soup on the campfire were already emitting a fragrant aroma.
Everyone gathered around, and the dinner was eaten in a slightly somber atmosphere.
Everyone went to bed very early tonight. After putting the items they needed to bring tomorrow into their backpacks, everyone lay down on their beds.
Jiang Li lay on the bed, her eyes wide open, showing no sign of sleepiness.
Although her body was exhausted, strangely, her mind remained clear.
Ye Jingmo placed his long, slender fingers on Jiang Li's waist. "Can't sleep?"
Jiang Li nestled against Ye Jingmo's chest and nodded gently. She felt that there must be something wrong with her; whenever there was an event, even though she didn't feel nervous, she still couldn't fall asleep.
Ye Jingmo reached out and covered Jiang Li's eyes, whispering in her ear, "Close your eyes, clear your mind, and don't think about anything."
Jiang Li obediently listened, her originally clear mind became hazy, sleepiness slowly crept in, and she gradually drifted off to sleep.