Embrace the light

Chapter 63

After waking up the next day, Alva paid close attention to the actions of Ian and Heng. Their words and deeds were no different from those of the previous few days, and they did not cast their eyes on Alva and the other three.

As soon as they opened their eyes in the morning, Alva and the fat man felt so hungry that their chests were pressed against their backs, but when they took out the only food they had left for breakfast, they still had to resist the temptation to swallow it in one bite and only ate a portion of the food. small pieces.

The situation of Captain Zhou and Zhang Minglin was similar, the food in their hands together was not as big as an orange.

Yang Na and Xiao Ting each ate two pieces of potato chips, while Ian and Heng each had a piece of cookie and half a piece of peanut crisp.

After breakfast, we continue to set off.Today is still a sunny day, and the snow is melting faster, so when walking in the mountains, you must be more careful about the slippery mountain roads. Fortunately, everyone's snow boots and down jackets are made of waterproof fabrics, and the soles of the snow boots are quite high and non-slip.

Along the way, everyone observed while walking, and collected a lot of clean snow as drinking water reserves.

Walking to a higher rock, Ian carefully climbed up, and then stood on it to observe the distance with his mobile phone camera.

The front is still a vast expanse of whiteness mixed with jagged rocks, but...

Ian blinked, adjusted the zoom and focus, and carefully checked the horizon. It looked like a snowfield, but the color of the snow seemed to be light blue?

"Heng, there seems to be a snowfield beyond the horizon."

Heng put the two suitcases in his hand beside the rock, and went up to the rock with his backpack on his back.He took Ian's mobile phone and checked it carefully. Indeed, the horizon looked like a flat snowfield, but the snowfield looked blue.

"Isn't it, we have traveled all the way and returned to the snowy field?" Fatty wailed.

Captain Zhou also stood on the top of the rock, looking into the distance with his own mobile phone.

Zhang Minglin asked: "How is it, Captain? Did you see any houses or vegetation?"

Captain Zhou watched carefully for a few seconds before shaking his head, "No."

The six people under Shixia couldn't help being a little disappointed when they heard the words, but at this moment Heng said: "The snow field may be near the sea."

"Sea?" Yang Na was astonished, and jumped happily, "Sea!"

Alva was a little confused, "You like the sea so much?"

Xiao Ting replied: "If there are no living things on land, there may be in the ocean."

Countless seafood flashed through Alva's mind, and he smacked his mouth unconsciously.

The thin friend also climbed onto the rock, and looked at the possible sea with his mobile phone, "Yes, if there is a sea, there must be fish!"

This discovery undoubtedly inspired the "military spirit" a lot, and the pace of the group's progress became brisk.

At sunset and dusk, everyone was going to camp in a cave tonight.The location of the cave is very hidden, if the thin friend hadn't gone there to relieve himself, no one would have discovered it.

Although the entrance of this cave is small, it is very spacious after entering.Just be extra careful when entering the cave for ice within one meter of the inside of the cave.Walking about seven or eight meters inside, the cave becomes spacious and dry.

"This hole is very deep, so there won't be any beasts, right?" Zhang Minglin asked worriedly while walking forward with the light on his mobile phone.

No one can give him the answer to this question, after all, it is the first time for everyone to visit.

"Everyone take your weapons and continue to look inside." Captain Zhou said.

After all, he was going to stay in the cave tonight, so of course the potential safety hazards had to be ruled out first.

So everyone took out the armrests of their chairs, turned on the lights of their mobile phones, and explored the depths of the cave while it was still early.

Ian carefully sniffed the smell in the cave, the air was clean and fresh, not stuffy, and there was no fishy smell, urine smell or excrement smell from animals.

The depths of the cave were completely dark, and the road gradually became rugged and narrow. When it reached the end, the cave shrank to the size of only one person crawling forward.

"Go back, it seems that there is no danger." Captain Zhou took a photo of the narrow and long cave with his mobile phone, and it was pitch black with no end in sight.

Yang Na said: "Shall we block this cave with stones? I always feel that there will be a snake demon lurking inside."

Xiao Ting patted Yang Na's head, "What the hell. The temperature here is below zero, even if there are snakes hibernating."

Alva said: "It's better to block it, and prevent it from happening. In case there are lizards, scorpions, bats, etc., it is quite dangerous." He is very afraid of poisonous things like snakes and scorpions.

Zhang Minglin nodded in agreement.

Heng said, "I'll go in and have a look."

Ian stopped him, "I'll go, I'm smaller than you, so I can climb a little better."

Yang Na raised her hand, "I'll go. I'm the shortest and thinnest here. I should be able to come and go freely in this cave."

However, Heng did not accept their self-recommendations, he looked at Ian and said, "I'll go there, you stay here and wait for me obediently."

Ian didn't refute anymore, and nodded, "Then be careful and be safe."

Ian took the suitcase, backpack and down jacket handed over by Heng, and took a seat armrest to prepare for departure.Before setting off, Heng looked at Alva and Fatty twice, his eyes full of warning.

Alva and Fatty received Heng's warning gaze and turned their heads unnaturally to look elsewhere.

"Be careful, Heng." Ian watched with concern as Heng crawled into the narrow cave.

"Hmm." Heng's muffled voice came from the cave.

He held the mobile phone light in one hand and moved forward carefully with the armrest of the seat in the other. Fortunately, there was no water, no dust, and no poisonous creatures.

The walls of the cave are rocky, dry and narrow.

After crawling forward for about 1000 meters, the cave needs to make a big turn, but fortunately, Heng's body is flexible.After entering the second stage, the cave became significantly wider. After crawling about 2000 meters again, Heng was able to stand up straight again in the cave, and gradually moved forward from leaning over to being able to stand upright.

Listening carefully, there are gradually sounds here.

And after reflecting the boundless darkness behind him, glowing dots began to appear on the stone wall here, like fireflies, but the light source did not flicker.It's like being in a firefly paradise, but the dots aren't living things, they look like they're chemicals.

The further you go, the denser the light spots become, and the greenish white light spots are all over the stone wall. After turning off the light of the mobile phone, you can clearly see the environment in the cave.

Continuing to walk along the glowing stone wall, Heng Neng could clearly hear the sound of running water, like a waterfall.

The real scene also proved Heng's judgment that there is indeed a hidden water flow in this underground cave.

As he moved forward, the overall terrain was getting lower and lower.Now looking up along the waterfall, the mountains are rugged, and the top of the head is covered by a closed stone wall, and the sky cannot be seen.

Heng came to the pool near the waterfall. The rocks here were still bare and not covered by vegetation, but there were some algae sporadically on the bottom of the water.The water quality in the pool and the small river is very clear, and the bottom can be seen clearly. A few thin small fish and shrimps can be vaguely seen swimming among the mottled algae in the lower reaches of the small river.

The temperature here should be two or three degrees, which is obviously much higher than the outside temperature in terms of body feeling.

He didn't have a detector like Captain Zhou, so he couldn't analyze whether the water was drinkable.After thinking about it, Heng decided to go back first and tell everyone about the water source.

And Ian at the other end of the cave is eagerly looking forward to Heng's return.He shines the light of his mobile phone into the narrow cave every 5 minutes and calls Heng's name once.

The rest of the people were squatting, standing, leaning, leaning, waiting boredly.

Hearing rustling sounds gradually approaching in the cave, Yi'an happily shouted into the cave, "Heng."

"Hmm." Heng responded from the dark cave this time.

The other seven people also gathered over and asked eagerly after Heng came out.

"How about it?"

"Have you found anything?"

"Is there a monster in there?"

After Ian patted the stone dust off Heng's body, he put on the down jacket and wrapped the scarf for him.

"There is water flowing in the innermost part of the cave, and there are some fish and shrimp in it," Heng said.

Alva's eyes were almost green, "Fish and shrimp!?"

Captain Zhou was also very excited, "Then what are we waiting for, hurry up and grab some for dinner! My stomach has been growling all day."

Ian was also very happy to find the food source, "I hope it is edible fish and shrimp, so we don't have to worry about food."

Heng stretched out his hand to caress Ian's cheek, and said, "Well, the water quality looks pretty good."

Zhang Minglin said: "Then let's not delay, shall we go?"

Heng said: "There is a section of the cave inside that is very narrow, the captain and him should not be able to get through." Hang pointed to the fat man.

Zhou Ji is about 1.7 meters [-] in height, but he is born with a broad frame and is relatively strong.The fat man is not only tall, but also has a large frame and is indeed fat and hypertrophic.

"Eh..." Captain Zhou was embarrassed, "Then I will give Minglin the food detector, backpack and water bottle, please help us bring some food back, we will stay here and take care of the luggage gone."

The thin friend saw the fat man's face blushing due to embarrassment, and laughed, seeing the fat man glared at him angrily, reached out and patted the fat man's shoulder, "Hey, give me your water bottle and backpack, and Alva and I will give it to you." You brought fish and shrimp back, so you can stay here."

Heng said: "There is no need to bring too many backpacks, the amount of fish and shrimps in them is not enough to fill everyone's backpacks."

In order not to scratch or fray the down jacket and get stuck in the cave, the seven people who set off took off their down jackets one after another.

Heng entered first, followed by Ian.

Crawling forward in the cave is far from being as simple as imagined. Not only do you have to exert your strength properly, but you also have to hold the mobile phone light, keep delivering the backpack forward, and prevent yourself from being bumped and scratched by the stone wall.

Yang Na wailed after being hit by a raised stone on her elbow again: "Surviving in the wild is too difficult! After I go back this time, I will definitely keep exercising and exercise my body to improve my strength and sensitivity."

Xiao Ting broke the stage and said, "I've heard you shouting the slogan of the movement thousands of times."

Although Ian insisted on running, his physical fitness was a little better, but he still had to climb more strenuously.The cave is too narrow, and as soon as the arm supports the head, it will touch the top of the stone. When pushing forward, it is easy to hit the head.

Zhang Minglin said: "My friends have been inviting me to explore caves, and I have repeatedly refused. In the end... well, it is a fate that cannot be escaped."

Alva asked the thin friend behind him, "How are you? Can you persevere?"

To Alva's surprise, the thin friend not only didn't complain of pain or tiredness, but was very excited, "I think it's quite fun, this is my first 'cave exploration'."

After passing through the most difficult and narrow area, the cave became more and more spacious. Seeing the victory in sight, everyone climbed vigorously.

Everyone was surprised when they saw the green and shiny stone walls.The mobile phone lighting was turned off, but the cave was still bright.

Heng held Ian's hand and walked forward, and Ian said to Heng: "This place is beautiful, like the base camp of fireflies."

Heng said, "Well, you can take some pictures when you come back."

The first task now is of course to grab some fish and shrimp while the body is warm, provided that the water, fish, shrimp, etc. here are within the edible range.

When he came to the pool in front of the waterfall, Zhang Minglin put one end of the measuring instrument into the water. After 1 minute, the measuring instrument showed green, which means it is ready to drink.Zhang Minglin measured the water quality in the creek section by section, and the measuring instruments all turned green.

"Great!" Yang Na happily took out the pure water bottle from her backpack, filling two large bottles.

The rest of the people also took out water bottles from their backpacks and filled them with all the drinking utensils they could use.

Yang Na asked Zhang Minglin, "Is the measuring instrument a standard equipment for your star flight attendants?"

Zhang Minglin shook his head, "This is a gift the captain bought for his little daughter. His little daughter is still young, and she wants to stuff everything into her mouth and taste it. The captain was afraid that she would be poisoned by mistake, so he bought her a gift." Edible Analysis Measuring Instrument."

Alva asked: "The accuracy should be guaranteed, right?"

Zhang Minglin replied: "Of course, this is an upgraded version. Don't look at the small one as expensive. The captain originally planned to take it back as a New Year's gift for his daughter after the completion of this trip, but now it has become our life-saving baby."

"Tonight is New Year's Eve." Ian said.

Only then did everyone realize that today is a festive day, and they took out their mobile phones to confirm the date on it. Tonight is indeed the last night of the year.

"Then hurry up and catch fish and prawns, and we'll have dinner together later, and we'll treat it as a New Year's Eve dinner." Zhang Minglin clapped his palms lightly and cheered.

But fish and shrimp are not easy to catch, because the water in this small river is not shallow, and the fish and shrimp in it are small in size. If you lie on the bank and stretch your hands into the water to catch, the fish and shrimp can easily dodge.

Alva climbed up from the shore, took the backpack on the open space behind him, took out the items behind the backpack, and prepared to use the empty backpack to catch fish.

The thin friend stopped and said: "The backpack is so thick and wet for a few days, it won't be able to dry."

Alva said indifferently: "Now catching fish is the most important thing, whether the backpack is wet or dry is not so important."

Zhang Minglin echoed, "Yes, hurry up and catch the fish so we can go back and gather for dinner."

Ian looked at the small fish and shrimps swimming briskly at the bottom of the water, and asked Heng: "Shall we catch them with backpacks too?"

He also tried lying on the bank and catching fish and shrimps in the river with his hands, but it was really difficult to catch, and the water was very cold and deep, and he would feel frozen if he stretched his hands in a few times, let alone being naked. / Go down naked.

Heng took out a scarf from his backpack. This scarf is a thin cashmere scarf, which is very wide and long when unfolded.Untie the seagrass wristband on the left wrist, and keep using seaweed to tie the scarf into four knots, and then gather the remaining thread ends into a knot and tie it to one end of the armrest, thus making a simple open fishing net.

Heng took Ian for a walk far away, away from the other five people who made a lot of noise.

Ian took out a milk stick from his backpack and crushed it. When Heng put the fishing net into the water, he sprinkled some biscuit crumbs on top to attract fish and shrimp.

While waiting for the fish and shrimp to enter the net, Ian asked Heng in a low voice, "Did you catch any fish and shrimp and put them in my bag?"

Heng said, "Just put it on the ground behind you."

Fortunately, the biscuit bait lure is effective, and the fish and shrimp gradually gather in the center of the fishing net.

The two of them were not greedy for too many, and when they lured in about ten, they collected the nets.The fish and shrimp here are thin and small, but they are very agile and flexible. If you wait too much in one net, some marginal members will jump away.

After being busy for about four to ten minutes, seven people can be considered a bumper harvest.

"So, how do we scrape, disembowel, and clean? Do you have any sharp tools?" Zhang Minglin asked with a slender spotted fish in his hand.

Several people looked at each other in blank dismay, and then looked at Ian in unison.

"Eh..." Ian flipped through the bag, but there was no sharp instrument in it.

Heng thought for a while, took Ian's backpack, and took out a biscuit jar from it. The jar was a transparent plastic box.Heng opened the jar, put the biscuits inside into another jar, and then took the lid of the jar to a rough rock and started grinding.

Although the rubbing sound was harsh, at least everyone had two sharp instruments.

Hengzi is not good at cooking fish and shrimp.Therefore, Ian was responsible for removing the scales and cutting them open, and Heng was responsible for cleaning and retracting them.The two cooperated tacitly and quickly cleaned up their pile of fish and shrimp.

The cleaned fish and shrimp were always packed in the vacated biscuit box, and then put into his backpack.As for the wet scarf, it was not discarded either. After wringing out the water, Heng Heng put it in a fresh-keeping bag and put it in his backpack.

The others were still busy, and Ian was going to help, but Heng led him to the waterfall.

"Help me get the backpack." Heng handed the backpack to Ian, "I will climb up the stone wall to see if there is another exit.

"I'll go." Ian said, "I'm good at climbing trees, and I should be able to climb rocks."

Heng tapped his cheek with his fingers, "Wait here for me, don't go away."

Ian nodded, and said again: "Be careful, Heng."

He didn't have the mind to pay attention to whether other people's fish had been dissected and cleaned, and all his attention was shifted to Heng who was climbing up.

Heng climbed and pedaled along the rock wall. The closer to the waterfall the rock became wet and slippery, and the climbing became more difficult.

"What are you guys doing?" Yang Na asked curiously as she walked up to Ian with Xiao Ting after disposing of the fish and shrimp in her hand.

This time, Ian could answer the male ticket without any guilt, "He will go up to see if there is another exit."

Xiao Ting raised her head and praised: "The arm strength is really good. The strength of the teammates is the peace of mind."

After climbing to the height of the waterfall, Heng walked straight along the stone road in the direction of the water flow, and waited for almost 10 minutes before Heng appeared in everyone's sight again.

Heng returned to Ian's side again, and Ian checked his hands carefully. Fortunately, there were no wounds except for stone chips.

Heng grabbed Ian's hand and said to him: "There is no exit over there, the end is a closed stone wall, and if you look forward, you need to enter the water."

Yi Anhui held Heng's hand, "Then let's go back, Uncle Zhou and the others are probably waiting impatiently."

The seven people took their loot and started the return journey. With food as motivation, the time it took for everyone to return was a little shorter than when they went.

Taking his own water bottle from the thin friend and Alva, and seeing the fish and shrimps displayed in Alva's backpack, the fat man almost burst into tears of joy.

However, he asked weakly, "Do you really want to eat it raw?"

The three of them are people who don't like eating raw seafood very much, and they rarely go to restaurants when they eat out.

Captain Zhou was very satisfied, "It's good to eat some, you guys bear with it, now the taste and texture are not important, the most important thing is to fill your stomach."

Contrary to everyone's expectations, these fish and shrimp are not fishy, ​​and there is a hint of sweetness in the cool taste.

"It's not bad." Ian and Heng shared their impressions after eating. He also belongs to the group of people who don't eat raw fish and raw seafood.

Yi'an and Heng stopped after eating one fish and two shrimps each, and Yang Na and Xiao Ting didn't eat much either. The five men who ate the most and enjoyed it most were the remaining five men.They saved again and again before, and it was rare for them to have a moment to eat, so they naturally wanted to eat six or seven percent full.Moreover, tonight is New Year's Eve.

"This year's New Year's Eve is the most unique in my 31 years of life." Zhang Minglin said in his speech.

Yang Na said: "Hey, who is not? It is a blessing in misfortune to survive until the next year."

Xiao Ting nodded, "Yes! Survivors will be blessed! I hope that those who have separated from us will find food and live in peace and health."

Captain Zhou raised the water bottle, "Let's have a toast, and pray for us and them! Of course, it is also a festive celebration for saying goodbye to the old and ushering in the new. Meeting is fate, and now we are still in trouble, that is fate adding fate !"

The other eight people raised the bottles in response, and they touched each other lightly, conveying the joy brought by the New Year, the joy of getting food, the desire for life and the hope for the future.