After Xiao Weiwei finished introducing, Liu Danqing nodded and continued: "Okay, our equipment inventory is over, and next, we have to make a plan." ”

"We're in a swampy area in southwest Louisiana, and further south of here, there are a couple of big lakes, and because of the hurricane, the water level is skyrocketing, it's dangerous, it's hard to get rescue, so we have to go north, and as far as I know, there's a road north here, and if we find the road, we're back in human society. ”

"Now we don't have a compass, and the weather is not good, so we can't locate and orient ourselves through the sun, but we still have a way, which is the water below. ”

"The water looks still, but it's actually moving slowly, into the lakes and into the sea. Because the entire area is flooded, the water flows in a different direction than the streams, which flow into nearby rivers, but generally southward. ”

"I just need to pick a leaf now, throw it on the water between me and Xiao Weiwei, and wait a little while to know which direction to go. ”

Liu Danqing reached out and plucked a leaf, threw it between the two trees where he and Xiao Weiwei were, and waited for it to move some distance.

While waiting, he took off his shoes, poured out the water inside, and then tied the laces of the two shoes together and hung them on the branches.

Then he took off his socks again and explained, "Now, I want to free my feet, even if they are dry for a short time, so that we can recover them." ”

Similarly, in swampy areas, our feet are soaked in water for a long time, and we will also get this disease, so it is very necessary to take out our feet and blow dry them at every opportunity, even if we have to immerse them in water after ten minutes. ”

Xiao Weiwei on the other tree also did the same, freeing her feet, and did not forget to sigh softly: "Hmm! ”

After more than ten minutes, the leaf had silently moved nearly two meters, and it looked very obvious.

Liu Danqing put on his shoes and socks again, pointed to the leaves and said: "Look, the leaves have moved about two meters to the right rear of Weiwei, indicating that it is south over there, and we are going to move towards the left front of Weiwei." ”

"At this time, there is a point of attention, that is, we must not move forward blindly, otherwise, it will not be long before we will go astray, and we must find a reference at this time. ”

"Now, I'm going to find a tall tree, climb it, and see if there's anything in that direction that can be used as a reference. ”

After looking around, Liu Danqing jumped into the water, walked to a tree that was the thickness of an adult's waist and tall and straight, and climbed up, not forgetting to explain while climbing.

"To climb this kind of tree with a smooth skin, you can use a fork to clamp the trunk, then prop your body up, then move your hands, hold them, and then lift your feet up, and continue to repeat this action. It must be remembered that no matter what method you use to climb a tree, if you can use your feet to exert force, do not use your hands to exert force, the strength of your legs is much greater than that of your hands, and your arms can't twist your thighs. ”

"You see, there's a green patch on the northwest side, and it rises up, and it should be a hill, or a little dirt slope, and that's good news, and it's a little off the way, but it allows us to travel some distance off the water, and I can find a tree on top of it to climb up, so I can see farther. ”

"The most important thing is that we will not lose our way by going towards it, it doesn't matter if the planned crooked road is unconsciously crooked, but the unconsciously crooked road is very scary, in China, there is a word that is specifically to describe that kind of situation, called ghost hitting the wall. ”

"A scientist once did a test that when walking without a reference, there would be a slight difference in the length of the two feet, and then people would fall into a circle with a radius of about 3 km, that is, when people walked forward, they were actually walking in an arc. ”

While speaking, Liu Danqing slid down the tree.

Xiao Weiwei saw Liu Danqing start to come down from the tree, put on her shoes and socks, and returned to the water from the tree.

"Before I go, I'm going to make a tool. ”

Liu Danqing pulled out the mountain knife behind his back, found a small tree with the thickness of a small arm, cut it down, and said while chopping: "I am going to cut two wooden sticks now, and sharpen one end of the wooden stick to make a long spear." ”

"Weiwei, give, this one is for you, it has the bark on it, so it doesn't feel very good, so let's use it, now we don't have the time and energy to peel off the bark." ”

Cutting off all the branches on the small tree and sharpening the thin end, Liu Danqing handed over the spear, which was about two meters long, to Xiao Weiwei.

Then, he made himself a spear, slightly thicker and longer than Xiao Weiwei's, which was more suitable for his height and the size of his hands.

Turning the spear upside down, the tip facing up, and using the tail of the spear to probe into the water, Liu Danqing walked forward and explained: "Now, I feel much more comfortable, not as nervous as I was just now, Weiwei, what about you?"

Xiao Weiwei also nodded and replied, "Me too, I was completely scared just now, but now that I have a spear in my hand, my sense of security has skyrocketed." ”

"Yes, this spear is very useful, and the terrain here is generally flat, so there are probably ditches, mud pools, streams, and other dangers underwater, because the water is very muddy, and you can't see the bottom of the water at all, and with the spear to find the way, you can find out the situation under the water in advance. ”

"In addition, spears can also allow us to have weapons to resist and even hunt when we encounter alligators, which is why I like to make spears everywhere I go, long-handled weapons can often help us hunt some food without injury, and can also help us intimidate some fierce large animals. ”

At this time, Xiao Weiwei suddenly frowned and muttered, "Qingqing, it seems that the soil under your feet is getting worse and worse, and it is getting harder and harder to walk." ”

"Yes, I also found out, this is also normal, the area we were just in turned out to be grass, because of the grass, so the ground is soaked in water these days, it is still relatively solid, but in the woods, there is very little grass on the ground, and the soil is directly soaked and washed by water, so it will naturally become more and more muddy. ”

"This kind of road now will undoubtedly consume more of our physical strength, but this is the Louisiana swamp area of the United States after the hurricane, and it is difficult to walk an inch. ”

"This is also the reason why I have to hurry to the high ground over there, and I have no time to repair my spear, and if we can't get to that high ground before dark, we won't be able to make a fire, and we can only sleep on this water. ”

"Alligators and Burmese pythons are creatures that like to come out and hunt at night, and we don't want to walk in the dark at night in an area that is not at all human's home turf. ”

After saying this, Liu Danqing also stopped to understand that it was already very difficult to travel in the water alone, and he also had to save a little physical strength and improve his concentration at the same time.

After walking in silence for a while, Xiao Weiwei suddenly said: "This atmosphere is so weird, it is very quiet here, except for the sound of us walking, there is no other sound, no wind, and no bird calls, it may be that the birds have migrated north to avoid the hurricane." ”

(End of chapter)