Lin Shuo and his party continued to walk deep into the underground river.
The temperature here is lower than near the entrance of the cave.
The water vapor brought out by the breath condensed, and frost formed on everyone's eyebrows.
The chill went straight to the bone marrow, and soon, everyone's feet and hands were numb.
And this seemingly endless underground river, except for getting colder and colder, has no other changes, and it is not known when it will finish.
Uneasiness is gradually spreading in the team.
"How far have you traveled?" He Zihong asked panting.
"It's almost ten kilometers." Anne said.
"At present, the temperature here has dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius." Liu Qing followed behind Anne, and said worriedly, "If the temperature drops like this, our lighting batteries will be overwhelmed."
"The compass has already turned around in my hand." Yang Tuo said at this time, "This shows that the trend of this underground river is very strange, it is actually spiral."
"The first circle of the spiral downward river has a circumference of ten kilometers." He Zihong said with emotion, "Nature is really amazing."
"Teacher, I know you are very tired, but you can't rest yet." Yang Tuo reminded, "It is dangerous to rest at this temperature."
"I know." He Zihong said, "It's okay, let's move on."
"If the temperature drops further, I suggest not to go any further." Wei Xingshan, who was in charge of the back break, rushed up and said, "The current insulation measures we have prepared are not enough to cope with the severe cold below minus 20 degrees."
After Wei Xingshan finished speaking, the marching team fell silent for a while.
Walking down the ten-kilometer river, the increasingly harsh environment is a cruel torture for everyone's original intention to come here.
"It should be hot down here." Lin Shuo said.
"Why?" Wei Xingshan asked.
"The Black Water Dragon King is a snake." Lin Shuo added, and didn't bother to explain.
"That's right." He Zihong was reminded at this time, and said loudly, "It's a snake!"
"Can you guys explain it a little bit more clearly?" Wei Xingshan still didn't understand.
"Snakes are temperature-changing animals." Anne explained, "There is no mechanism for regulating body temperature in the body, and it can only absorb heat from the outside world. Therefore, its old nest must be a very warm place, otherwise once it crawls in, it will freeze. .”
Wei Xingshan finally understood: "Oh, so that's the reason."
"Snakes are very sensitive to heat sources." Yang Tuo also said at this time, "In fact, the outer Xing'an Mountains are so cold in winter that they are not suitable for large snakes to survive. This is one of the places where my teacher and I were confused before. The only explanation is, It’s that it can find a place that’s still warm in winter.”
Everyone walked forward while talking, Liu Qing kept staring at the electronic watch in his hand, and said at this time: "The temperature has indeed risen, and it is currently minus fifteen degrees."
"Get ready to take off your clothes later." Lin Shuo said.
A group of people continued to walk forward, and it really got warmer as they walked.
There was originally a thin layer of frost on the surrounding cave walls, but gradually, the frost disappeared.
Everyone began to hear the sound of water dripping.
As if reminded by this voice, the originally closed pores on everyone's bodies opened suddenly, and sweat seeped out.
I can't wear that military overcoat anymore.
Although the river has not yet ended, everyone's hearts are completely relieved because of the low temperature.
The temperature has risen to three degrees Celsius.
Everyone took off their anti-cold equipment one after another and threw them on the edge of the river. These things are actually quite bulky and inconvenient to carry. It is better to throw them here and wear them on the return trip.
Lin Shuo also took off his military coat and scarf and threw it aside. He didn't throw away the mask on his face, but folded it up and put it in his coat pocket.
After taking off their clothes, everyone felt a burst of relief, so they stopped resting and continued to move forward.
Before they knew it, everyone had already walked twenty kilometers on this river, a total of five hours.
After entering this underground river for ten kilometers, everyone found that the feeling of spiral descent became more and more obvious, and the light of flashlights and headlamps could already shine on the opposite rock wall.
After resting for a while, everyone set off again.
At this time, the temperature has been maintained at around five or six degrees. Although it is still a bit cold, it is completely acceptable.
"Mr. Lin, there is a question that has always puzzled me." He Zihong asked at this time, "Please advise."
"Speaking."
"Snakes don't have the habit of migrating." He Zihong said, "If the Ba snake came here because it was controlled by the shepherd, then why did the hook snake come here?"
"Ba Snake can be controlled by people, so can Hook Snake," Lin Shuo said.
"Then Mr. Lin thinks, who is controlling this hooked snake?" He Zihong asked again, "It suddenly attacked our camp before, and why?"
"I don't know about that." Lin Shuo shook his head, "But there's one thing I've noticed."
"Oh? What is it?"
"When Ms. Anne met me for the first time and put the hooked snake scale in front of me, I knew it might be a game." Lin Shuo said slowly, "That feeling is different from that of Mrs. Like it. It was an earring of my mother at the time, which finally made my father make up his mind to go to Kunlun Mountain."
"Then since you are aware of this, why did you accept this deal?" Anne asked.
"Since we are in a game, we have to put the bait. And the bait put by the other party must be something I can't refuse, otherwise I won't bite the bait." Lin Shuo said lightly, "And I don't know if you are aware that the other party treats us We understand the movement very well. Just now there was an argument in the team that the hooked snake might not be here, and the hooked snake came the next day. As soon as we were about to start the operation, the sniper opened fire. Every step of ours was counted by the other party This situation was not reversed until the envoys of the Dragon King took action, because they turned their focus to deal with the Black Water Dragon King."
"Mr. Lin." Hearing these words, Anne became subconsciously alert, "You mean we have their people here?"
"I also suspected it before, so I observed you guys for a while, and there was no problem. In this way, there is only one possibility left." Lin Shuo paused, and asked, "Our place, How many satellite phones are there?"
"Three parts." Yang Tuo replied, "I, teacher, Miss Anne."
"Well. Among them, one path leads to the top of China, and two paths lead to the top of the International Biological Research Association." Lin Shuo said, "The problem lies in these two high-level."
Yang Tuo's tone became serious: "Mr. Lin, you have to understand what you are talking about."
"Mr. Lin, you can't talk nonsense." He Zihong also said.
"Of course I know what I'm talking about, and I hope you all know what I'm talking about." Lin Shuo said, "But it doesn't matter to us now. The penetration of satellite signals is very poor. We are currently in Underground, satellite phones won’t work.”
He Zihong was stunned for a moment, and said, "Mr. Lin, since you have this suspicion, you should have told us earlier!"
"I told you earlier, you will report again?" Lin Shuo asked, "Can you guarantee that the person who contacts you is reliable?"
"this… "
"Of course, I may be too careful." Lin Shuo said, "But there is nothing wrong with being careful. Six years ago, my father and I had a similar lesson."
After saying these words, Lin Shuo stopped talking and walked forward quietly.
He Zihong and Yang Tuo suddenly became preoccupied, and their pace naturally slowed down.
Anne followed closely behind Lin Shuo, and asked anxiously, "Mr. Lin, since this might be a game against you, wouldn't I be their accomplice?"
"You can understand it this way." Lin Shuo said, "However, for them, this is a game against me, but for me, it is an opportunity to find out the truth of the year? So if you change the angle If you look at it, you are also the provider of this opportunity."
Anne was a little surprised. She suddenly discovered that Lin Shuo actually had a bit of emotional intelligence.
"Anyway, let's see the result." Lin Shuo said again, "If I die here, then you are an accomplice, and I will definitely drag you before I die. If I get out alive and find clues to the Kunlun Mountain incident, then I will I will credit you with credit."
Anne was a little dazed, she didn't understand what Lin Shuo meant by saying this.
If you die, you will die together, if you live, you will remember her well.
It seems... a love story
wrong!
Anne quickly shook her head, dispelling this absurd thought from her mind.
After getting rid of these thoughts, Anne also became preoccupied.
Who is it that betrayed the information about the team
In China, it is unlikely. Because they only care about missing Chinese citizens.
Her sense of hearing is sharper than that of ordinary people, and she has actually heard all the details of Yang Tuo's report to her superiors from a distance.
Regarding hook snake and Ba snake, Yang Tuo reported very little. Moreover, his report was concise and concise, and he would not list all kinds of possibilities, but only said things that had been confirmed so far.
If there is a problem with the International Biological Association, which elder is it
He Zihong should not be. He is actually a very pure person who devotes himself to biological research.
Her own mentor, that's even more impossible, after all, she knows this man very well after getting along for more than 20 years.
He is too strong and too noble. This kind of person disdains to play tricks.
And when the mentor recommended candidates to me, Zhang Lianhai and Lin Shuo were recommended. Zhang Lianhai died in Kunlun Mountain six years ago, which proves that he didn't know about Kunlun Mountain.
It must be so.
While Anne was thinking about something, she walked faster and faster.
Unlike He Zihong and Yang Tuo, these two are trying to keep up with the rhythm of the team, so once something is on their minds, they will unconsciously slow down. And Anne, just like Lin Shuo, was keeping her speed down to prevent others from being unable to keep up, so once she lost her mind, she walked even faster.
Slowly, she walked into the darkness.
When she woke up, she realized that her flashlight was out of power and turned off. Before, it was because Liu Qing's headlamp was shining behind her, so she didn't pay much attention to the power of the flashlight.
There was darkness in front of her eyes, and she subconsciously looked back at the situation behind her.
Then she only felt a shadow flicker in front of her eyes, and she lost her balance.
"Get out of the way!"
It turned out that it was Lin Shuo who slid over and swept her calf with his foot.
Anne was swept down by Lin Shuo like a tree.
Of course, this was not because Lin Shuo suddenly wanted to beat Anne up, but to save her.
This way of falling down with one foot is the fastest.
With a "whoosh", Anne heard something, and passed by herself!