That night, Lin Shuo didn't sleep.
Unlike the night watchman among the mercenaries, he was dressed in roe deer skins and sat in the shadows in the corner of the camp, away from the campfire.
Starling Bird didn't go wandering in the woods that night, but stood obediently on Lin Shuo's shoulder.
A huge recurve bow was leaning on the stone beside this person and bird.
This scene was seen by Anne who opened her eyes in the morning, and felt as if she saw a group of statues.
But she didn't say anything, but got up quickly, went to the river to fetch a jar of water, and handed it to Lin Shuo together with a towel:
"Mr. Lin, you have worked hard, let's freshen up."
Lin Shuo nodded, took the things and turned back into the woods.
"Brother Shuo, have you noticed?" Mynah's voice came from the forest, "This woman has a tacit understanding with you."
"..."
"Brother Shuo, you are the only one left in the three generations of the Lin family. Speaking of which, Brother Shuo, you are the oldest."
"..."
"Brother Shuo, the bird in this city, I think it's quite easy to hook up with, you can have it with just a nod."
"Xiaoba, do you want the bird below you?"
"Brother Shuo, I was wrong."
…
Today is another sunny day. As the sun comes out, the ground temperature gradually rises.
Everyone set off early and headed for the chain bridge.
Lin Shuo didn't choose to continue to open the way, but let Wei Xingshan lead three mercenaries to stand in front.
He himself, together with Xiao Ba, followed behind the main force, keeping a distance of more than 100 meters.
No one dared to have any objection to Lin Shuo's arrangement, and no one asked why.
About three kilometers away, Lin Shuo seemed relieved as he approached the Chain Bridge, and slowly followed.
The unknown strange creature stared at this group of people from a distance all night, as if observing something, and now it finally left.
Meeting with the large army, everyone was already thinking about how to cross the bridge.
The river surface here is the narrowest water area nearby, but it is also more than 50 meters wide.
The chain bridge across the two banks looks okay from a distance. When I walked closer, I found that the boards on the bridge deck were rotten and crisp, and there were holes in each foot.
The bridge is about ten meters away from the water surface. The river below is not only fast-flowing, but also has hidden reefs. The large and small eddies on the river surface are like opening mouths, looking at people seeping.
If it really falls, the fish may be fine, but the person will definitely not live.
Lin Shuo walked to the edge of the bridge and found that Wei Xingshan was shaking the iron cables on the bridge.
This man was so powerful that he shook the whole bridge twice with one hand.
Those long-corroded bridge slabs fell down as the chain bridge swayed from side to side.
Seeing this scene, Wei Xingshan simply grasped the big iron chain with both hands and shook it vigorously.
After a while, the bridge deck was shaken away, leaving only four bare iron cables. The lower two are juxtaposed, originally covered with bridge slabs, and there are two left and right ones, which were originally the handrails of the chain bridge.
"Okay." Wei Xingshan clapped his hands, "These chains are pretty strong, but the bridges are rotten, which is a bad thing."
After saying this, Wei Xingshan looked back at He Zihong again, and said, "Professor He, I will lead a few people to feel the iron rope first. Don't worry. After we go to find out the situation on the other side, we will make a zipline on both sides. You and Dr. Yang, Ms. Anne, use our zipline to get there, it's safer."
"Yes, Professor He." Vice-captain Liu Qing also smiled, "This kind of zipline is equivalent to allowing you to sit on a three-strand safety rope and slide over with a steel buckle. Don't worry, our technology is very mature. Hanging in the air is actually both safe and comfortable.”
"Then there will be Captain Laowei and Captain Liu." Professor He nodded with a smile.
Since the team entered the forest, the performance of Wei Xingshan and Liu Qing has gradually been recognized by two scholars, He Zihong and Yang Tuo.
Especially Wei Xingshan, the seemingly vulgar mercenary leader, is actually very careful and considers the safety of the team in everything.
After explaining this, Wei Xingshan put a tool bag with a zipline on his back, and was about to set off, but found Lin Shuo standing between himself and the chain bridge.
During the day yesterday, the two fingers Lin Shuo held in front of Wei Xingshan left an indelible impression on the mercenary leader.
At this moment, in Wei Xingshan's mind, Lin Shuo has changed from a magic stick pretending to be a ghost to a mysterious and unpredictable person, and he owes him his life.
So the giant man had a very good attitude and asked, "Mr. Lin, what can you do?"
I saw Lin Shuo bent down slightly, put his nose close to the iron chain, sniffed it carefully, and then slowly raised his head: "That's not right."
"Why not?"
"There is a fishy smell." Lin Shuo said these three words, and then ordered, "Captain Wei, you take your brothers and cut down some trees in the nearby forest. The bigger the better. The others stay away from the river. to rest."
Wei Xingshan glanced at Lin Shuo with a puzzled look on his face, but instead of questioning Lin Shuo, he looked at Anne.
Anne didn't even look him in the eye: "Look at what I am doing? Mr. Lin does whatever he says."
Wei Xingshan had no choice but to turn around and order the mercenaries to do so. This group of soldiers was obedient, they put down their bags one after another, picked up axes and machetes and walked into the forest.
Among them, Wang Yong was the last one to go, before entering the forest, he said with a smile:
"Captain Wei, I didn't eat well last night. I didn't have enough nutrition. Since Mr. Lin ordered us to do such heavy work as cutting down trees, we will definitely do it. However, can we eat meat at night?"
"Get the hell out of me!" Wei Xingshan cursed, kicked Wang Yong's ass and kicked him into the woods. Taking a hatchet himself, he followed.
There is still some time before noon. According to the current route, the destination of this trip is five kilometers away after crossing the river.
So everyone was not in a hurry, the mercenaries went to the forest to cut trees, while the others sat and rested some distance away from the river.
"Mr. Lin, why do you ask everyone to cut down trees?" Liu Qing leaned over at this time and asked Lin Shuo.
"Just in case." Lin Shuo looked at Jiang and said calmly.
"Can you tell me more about it?" After asking this question, Liu Qing explained with a smile, "You see, this kind of experience of living in the wild is also very important to our business. If you don't hesitate to teach me, then It's like saving our lives."
Lin Shuo looked up at the woman.
Short hair, wheat-colored skin, far less bright and attractive than Anne, but this woman has delicate features, looks pleasing to the eye, and speaks pleasantly.
"There is something in the water." Lin Shuo lowered his head and said slowly.
When the few people present heard this sentence, their expressions changed slightly, and they looked at each other a few times.
"What?" Yang Tuo asked.
"I don't know yet." Lin Shuo shook his head, "But there is nothing wrong with being careful."
…
Everyone rested for more than two hours, and there was a sound in the forest, and the mercenaries came back from logging.
This group of men was not lazy, Lin Shuo said that the bigger the better, they were in groups of two, carrying seven red spruce trees. The branches of the tree have been cleaned up by these men, leaving only the trunk with a diameter of more than 30 centimeters.
Wei Xingshan took the lead. The whole body of this man was already soaked in sweat. He carried the largest red-skinned spruce by himself, and threw a pestle in front of Lin Shuo:
"Mr. Lin, how about it, is it big enough?"
"It's okay." Lin Shuo looked up.
"And then?" Wei Xingshan asked panting.
Liu Qing saw the clue, and asked softly, "Is Mr. Lin going to lay the bridge deck?"
"En." Lin Shuo nodded.
"What a waste of time." Liu Qing said puzzled.
Lin Shuo frowned slightly, and was about to say something when he heard Anne say, "Mr. Lin probably wants to cross the bridge, so let us have some space under our feet?"
Lin Shuo glanced at Anne with a slightly surprised look on his face, then nodded and said, "That's right, otherwise people would just pass by like this, no matter if they walked slowly by feeling the iron chain, or slid past while hanging on the sling, there would be no chance of dodging. , That’s a living target. I won’t be able to keep my feet steady, and I won’t be able to take care of you well.”
"Is it really so dangerous?" Liu Qing asked.
Lin Shuo slowly looked around the crowd and said:
"There is a village five kilometers away. It stands to reason that this is an important traffic road. This bridge should not be so deserted. But the bridge deck is rotten like this, and no one repairs it. Don't you think it's abnormal?"
"It makes sense." Wei Xingshan seemed to understand, "It's not because the bridge is broken, so no one walks. It's because no one dares to walk, so the bridge is broken."
Lin Shuo glanced at Wei Xingshan, "Why did your mind suddenly become clear?"
"Hey." Wei Xingshan laughed dryly and didn't answer.
"I agree with Mr. Lin's approach." The old man He Zihong said at this time, "No matter what, building the bridge and paving the road will be of great merit. Besides, we will not only walk this bridge once, but also return. Why don't we all do it together. Xiao Yang, help Mr. Lin measure and map the width of the bridge deck."
"Yes, teacher." Yang Tuo answered, and took out a measuring tape from his bag.
"Be careful!"
Just when Yang Tuo was approaching the chain bridge, Lin Shuo's expression tightened suddenly, and he dragged Yang Tuo back.