The scorpions darting through the rotting leaves on the ground seed to sense soone around, and rather than hiding, they crawled up, giving everyone a start. Luo Zheng noticed that these scorpions had several colors, looking quite pretty. In the prival forest, the more beautiful the creature, the more venomous it is, and scorpions were no exception. Not daring to be careless, he looked at Lan Xue. Feeling her scalp tingle at the sight of so many poisonous scorpions, Lan Xue quickly made a decision and whispered sharply, "Let's go around."
"No hurry, back off first," Luo Zheng suddenly said in a low voice, his serene face, with eyes bright with a gleam of intelligence, calmly watched the approaching poisonous scorpions without a hint of worry. After everyone backed off a few ters, he saw the scorpions trying to move up turn and move back as well.
"What's wrong?" Lan Xue voiced everyone's confusion. Faced with a large number of scorpions, what else could be done besides bypassing them? Normally they would just march quickly past ordinary scorpions, unafraid, but the scorpions here looked strange, vivid in color, and more importantly, there were many, they were large, and they seed aggressively aware. The few that had tried to attack were evidence enough. Curious, everyone looked at Luo Zheng.
"Ghost, do you have a plan?" Ghost Hand asked, his eyes on Luo Zheng filled with anticipation.
"Look at both sides, they are all mountains. Going around would increase our journey, and in this unfamiliar prival forest, who can guarantee that taking a detour won't lead into other dangers? Would we detour again then?" Luo Zheng said, looking around at everyone, his profound gaze flickering with brilliance, his face, however, tinted with a trace of concern.
"Makes sense, do you have a way to get across?" Lan Xue glanced at the sides where the mountains stretched rugged and continuous and the trees were dense. The path around did not necessarily seem safe, and she pressed for an answer.
"There's no way around it," Luo Zheng stated bluntly. Seeing everyone's somber faces looking ahead and then at the sides, he continued, "Taking a detour involves too much that's unknown, it might not be suitable. A forceful push is definitely not possible. I suggest a fire attack — let's burn a path through."
"Fire attack could work, but it might give us away," Mountain Eagle worriedly reminded.
"It's the middle of the night now, everything around is pitch-black, nothing can be seen. The trees here are densely packed; as long as we control the fire well, even if there's satellite surveillance, it's not easy to spot the flas. Besides, our presence here is bound to be detected sooner or later, and an early exposure might actually be a good thing," Luo Zheng analyzed.
"Huh?" Everyone looked at Luo Zheng in surprise. The mission was supposed to be carried out quietly; why would exposure be a good thing? They were montarily unable to react.
Luo Zheng knew what everyone was thinking and explained, "Think about it; once exposed, won't the enemy send troops to check? At that ti, we can set up an ambush, or capture a few live ones, and we might be able to extract so information from them, crafting targeted plans for subsequent actions. If we sneak into the base and catch the enemy off guard, that's good, but if the enemy situation is unclear, the ones caught off guard might be us."
"There's so truth in that. Risks and opportunities coexist. Stepping into the jungle, there is no absolute safety or certainty. Everything is in flux. It's better to deal with the imdiate concerns first. If we actually draw so of the enemies out, it might not be a bad thing. Besides, it's pitch black; we might not expose ourselves. Let's proceed," Lan Xue said coldly, affirming the course of action.
The natural enemies of scorpions include geckos, rats, ants, and others that consu scorpions. Luo Zheng couldn't possibly search for these creatures to break the deadlock. His suggestion to use fire had a reason—scorpions breathe through book lungs located underneath their abdon, and contact with water can block these, leading to death. High humidity and poor ventilation can also cause their joints to turn black and rot, potentially resulting in death as well. There was no water here, but they could use fire. Using smoke to affect the scorpions' breathing, coupled with the heat from the fire, should drive them away. Luo Zheng looked around and imdiately took out a lighter.
The lighter was specially made by the Equipnt Team, which used compressed fuel, releasing a blue fla hot enough to lt wire. It was unaffected by wind and rain, making it perfect for starting fires. Setting fires was easy for everyone; each person quickly started three small fires. Guided by flammable materials, the flas spread forward.
The dried leaves on the ground were already dry. Although the fire was small, it continued to spread. Soon, everyone saw the scorpions scrambling frantically ahead, and they all laughed. They continued to fuel the fire with flammable materials. The slower scorpions were caught by the fire, emitting a foul odor. Concerned about the possibilities, everyone took out anti-poison masks and put them on.
About half an hour later, the surrounding dried leaves had all burned away, and wisps of blue smoke continuously erged from the ground. The scorpions had been driven far away, nowhere to be seen, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief and quickly passed through the area.
After crossing through a dense valley forest, a towering mountain peak appeared ahead, with towering trees that blocked the path. The valley was a dead end, so they had no choice but to climb over the mountain. Everyone briefly discussed and, without hesitation, plunged into the forest. The dense leaves blocked out the sun, and the ground was sowhat wet and slippery. The temperature was noticeably lower, and they all felt a bit chilly.
As they moved, the calls of birds and beasts intermittently sounded around them, adding a bit of vitality to the forest. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves and fell on the ground, spotted here and there. Occasionally, a few dried leaves slowly drifted down, creating a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere. Luo Zheng watched his surroundings calmly, yet a feeling of unease began to stir within him, unprovoked.
After a while, Luo Zheng noticed the footprints of a large fierce beast on the ground and paused for a mont. He crouched down to examine them, resembling those of a wolf, but he couldn't be sure. A voice ca from ahead—it was Luo Zheng's turn to lead. Leading was a physically and ntally demanding task, so they took turns to maintain their ntal alertness.
"Coming," Luo Zheng replied, trotting forward, taking the Dragon Tooth Blade handed over by Snow Leopard. The blade was long enough to be used as a machete. Luo Zheng contributed it for whoever was leading. He looked ahead and realized that the group had unwittingly climbed to the mountain top. Ahead was a long ridge, which was much safer to follow.
The team continued to move. After about ten minutes, Luo Zheng suddenly heard a noise ahead, startling him. He quickly raised his arm over his head and crouched in place, cautiously searching around with a grave expression. The team stopped, and Lan Xue asked from the middle, "What's going on?"
"Not sure, there seems to be so noise," Luo Zheng whispered into his headset, his eyes sharply scouring the surroundings. Seeing nothing unusual, he grew suspicious but did not move, patiently waiting. In the jungle, no detail could be taken lightly, or it could cost everyone their lives.
"Rustling!" Luo Zheng's ears, sharply attuned, picked up the sound again, clearer this ti. He was startled suddenly, aid his gun toward the direction of the noise. Through the scope, a beast lept down from a tree, casually swinging its tail and coldly looking over, its eyes filled with ferocity.
ps: Could I get a recomndation, please?
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