In the forest in the morning, the mist had not yet dissipated. The sunlight diffused through the mist and fell on the red, yellow and green leaves, which gave me a fairyland feeling. Because it was early autumn, there was a crunching sound when stepping on the dead branches and leaves. Sometimes the birds would be startled, adding a few crisp and bright cries to the quiet forest.
Ye Zi was walking in the woods wearing a fiery red jacket. She held a red tasseled spear in her hand, leaning it against her shoulder. The spear was half a body taller than her, very impressive, but it was hard to bear a closer look. It turned out that the spearhead was made of a dagger tied to a wooden pole, and the red tassel was just a T-shirt sleeve cut into strips. But she sometimes used it to beat the grass, and sometimes used it as a walking stick, which was very convenient.
She excitedly led the way for the team, climbing up a small slope first. She looked back at where she came from. The school at the foot of the mountain had become a somewhat blurred shadow due to the fog. She looked at the path behind her again, and saw the other seven people slowly trudging up.
"Hey, Teacher Zhang, I can hardly see the school from here. How far have we walked?" Ye Zi put his hand to his mouth and asked loudly to the person behind him.
Zhang Sicheng is a tall man in his thirties. He has been away from home for many years, which makes his skin a little dark, but his eyes and eyebrows still have the literary air of a scholar. He wears a blue jacket with a vest on the outside. I don't know what is in the pockets above and below. He has a dog-leg knife hanging on his waist, a pair of heavy hiking shoes on his feet, and a big bag higher than his head. The most noticeable thing is that he also carries a modern American hunting bow. He is a teacher of geology and the leader of this field exploration team.
Zhang Sicheng looked at some schools in the distance, then took out a few small stones from his pocket and pointed them out: "From a straight-line distance, it's about four or five kilometers, but we walked about nine and a half kilometers."
"Why do we have to count stones?" Ye Zi asked curiously.
Zhang Sicheng said: "I usually walk 800 steps for one kilometer. Every time I walk one kilometer, I put a small stone from one pocket into the other so that I won't forget it."
"We feel much more at ease following an expert like Teacher Zhang." Xiao Chen also came up from behind. He was wearing a jacket and carrying a bag, and walked briskly.
"Now there is no electricity, no satellite, pedometers and mobile phones are useless, we can only think of other ways." Zhang Sicheng smiled, "Xiao Xiao, Xiao Ye, you are in really good spirits and good physical fitness, which makes me look at you with new eyes."
"I'm a martial artist, so a short hike is not a problem for me. But I didn't expect Senior Xiao, who is so thin, to have such good endurance that he walked such a long mountain road without even getting out of breath. Senior, how far does the guide say we have to go?" Ye Zi asked Xiao Chen, standing on a rock with his gun in hand.
"Awad said we are less than halfway there." Awad was the local guide walking next to Xiao Chen. He was a thin middle-aged man who made a living by hunting in the woods.
A few days ago, the school took out the mineral specimens collected by the Geology Department and collected similar stones from the surrounding villagers. Awad brought a lot of stones picked up from the mountains. One of the red stones was identified as hematite by the teachers and students of the Geology Department, and hematite is one of the iron ores with the highest mining value. According to Awad, he found a lot of such stones by the river in a valley behind the mountain. The committee attached great importance to it. A shallow vein near the school is of self-evident value to industrial development. So Xiao Chen and his team had this expedition.
While Xiao Chen and the others were talking, the people behind them also caught up. One of them was Professor Lin Youping of the Department of Biology who studied plants. He brought his student Zhao Rui with them into the mountains to collect plant specimens. Following at the end were two soldiers, Shi Hao and Li Tianrui, who were both wearing combat uniforms and equipped with guns.
Shi Hao walked up to the group and said to them seriously, "You guys are walking too fast. You should let me lead the way. Otherwise, what if we run into danger?"
Ye Zi raised the gun in his hand carelessly and said, "Your gun may not be as good as mine. It's not like we haven't fought before. You won't forget it so quickly, right?"
Shi Hao's face turned red, and he said, "From a public perspective, I am a soldier and you are a civilian. The regiment commander has repeatedly told me to take care of your safety, so naturally I should go in front. From a private perspective, I am a man and you are a woman, so it is the man who should lead the charge."
"Oh, you have a lot of principles, but in the deep mountains and old forests, principles don't work. Fists are the most effective. Do you want to try again?" Ye Zi shook his little fist and said proudly.
"You..." Shi Hao was so frustrated that he didn't know what to say.
"Okay. Stop arguing. If you still recognize me as the captain, just listen to me. Lao Shi will go in front and Ye Zi will follow me. Everyone, be careful." Zhang Sicheng spoke decisively and stopped Ye Zi from making a fuss.
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At noon, Zhang Sicheng asked the guide to take them to an open space with sparse trees to eat and rest.
The logistics team gave them some biscuits, sausages and mineral water as a priority. Many people were too lazy to eat these things before, but now everyone enjoys them.
Ye Zi took a few bites of the sausage, then looked up and saw his guide Awad carefully putting the sausage and biscuits given to him into his backpack. Then he took out a piece of black cake and a piece of bacon that was equally black and hard from his arms, and squatted in the corner to eat.
She came close to Xiao Chen and asked softly, "Senior, why doesn't he eat it? Did he save it for his family?" Xiao Chen was also curious, so he walked over to ask a few questions, then came back and shook his head and said to Ye Zi, "Our food looks good, so he left it to offer to the gods."
Ye Zi frowned and said, "He eats such disgusting things himself, but leaves the good things for the illusory gods. This is too stupid."
Xiao Chen shook his head and said, "For him, God is not illusory. I just heard him praying before dinner. The God he worships is 'the source of all things, the protector of nature, the master of the sky, the earth and the sea, and the observer of the stars'"
"What a tacky name! Are these multiple gods?"
"It seems to be one. It seems that this god likes to give himself nicknames."
Ye Zi laughed and suddenly patted Xiao Chen on the shoulder: "By the way, speaking of weird things, I have something to ask you. You have to tell me everything."
"What is it?"
"What happened in the library that day? I was patrolling from a distance and saw the library on fire. When we went to fetch water, the fire was out. The whole library looked like it had been soaked by a flood. For two days afterwards, they organized us to sort out and dry books. That's when I heard that you and Teacher Luo came out after the flood. You must know something, right?"
Seeing her face full of curiosity, Xiao Chen thought for a moment and said, "Since you are at the scene, you must know that Principal Guo has issued a gag order, right?"
"Hey, we are friends! You and Li Jia are buddies, and Li Jia and I are very familiar with each other, so we are naturally family members." Ye Zi used his ultimate move to deal with Li Jia, pulling Xiao Chen's sleeve and tugging, "Senior, tell me. We just can't figure it out."
Xiao Chen stood up with a smile and said, "I am a good comrade who obeys orders and commands. I have to listen to Principal Guo."
"Stop pretending to be serious." Ye Zi spat.
"In this world, there are many things that are not necessarily good to know. Just like when you go to bed at night after watching a horror movie, you may regret it."
"I'm not afraid of any horror movies!" Ye Zi retorted, but his tone was not very strong.
"Stop it, let me rest for a while." Xiao Chen ignored Ye Zi and walked to a rock, leaned down like taking a nap, and closed his eyes. Slowly, the sound of waves and storms rang in his ears, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw the huge waves in the sea...
Xiao Chen once again faced the scouring of the storm on the boat. The book spirit that first appeared as the captain had long disappeared, leaving him alone to face the violent and lonely world. However, since Xiao Chen burst into full force to control the scroll in the library, he found an obvious change. His will seemed to be able to influence the world more. This ability is still very weak now, and can only slightly change the direction of the rain on his cheeks, so that it flows away from his eyes, but he knows that he is on the right path.
Before leaving, the book spirit said to him: "If you want to be strong, learn to control this world." He didn't understand what control was at the time, but when a drop of water changed its sliding direction because of his thoughts, he understood the method of cultivation. What he saw and felt here were actually things in his mind. In this case, control means changing them with consciousness.
He could feel that this control was improving day by day, insignificant, but never stopping. Does this mean that one day he would be able to calm the storm and the raging sea, and be able to completely control his mental power
Xiao Chen didn't know how long he had been in the meditation space until a scream woke him up. He opened his eyes and saw Ye Zi shouting loudly, forcing a humanoid creature about one meter tall with her gun, trapping it in a corner. The others were also looking at it nervously and shocked. Zhang Sicheng picked up a dog-leg knife, and Shi Hao and the other man picked up rifles. The little man seemed to be confused, trembling as he looked at the people surrounding him.
Xiao Chen looked closely and found that his skin was a strange yellow-green color. His head was a little too big for his body, with a pair of copper bell-like eyes and thin and long ears. His mouth was also very big, baring his fangs and roaring at Ye Zi. The only clothing on his body was a tattered grass skirt. In one hand he held a short spear made of a sharpened wooden stick, and in the other hand he held Ye Zi's backpack.
Thief
"It's a goblin! How could there be a goblin here?!" the guide Awad shouted. Xiao Chen saw confusion and worry in his eyes.