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墨書 Inktalez
I have to admit that I couldn't come up with a way to escape, despite racking my brain. Facing the trusting and dependent gazes of the two Lao People directed at me, I averted my eyes and looked towards the eastern horizon, which was gradually turning red.
I am not a savior; in this desperate situation, I too need a savior to rescue me. Although the Red Waterway had not yet appeared in our line of sight, I knew that when the smoke cleared, those Crimson Snakes would emerge before us in droves.
The light came quickly. At the moment when the dawn painted the sky red, the thick fog enveloping the Valley seemed to evaporate, disappearing at a visible speed. Similarly, the smoke that could have lingered for a while vanished instantly without the fog's obstruction. The sun rose as usual, and the three of us stared at the Pavement, waiting for death to arrive.
We stood like three statues in the middle of this dry land. After a long time, surprisingly, we were not met with the terrifying scene we expected. The two Lao People embraced each other in excitement, tears of joy streaming down their faces. I was equally happy but felt a sense of exhaustion from surviving a disaster.
To confirm that the Snake Swarm had truly retreated and to find out where they had gone, I and the two Lao People once again formed a human pyramid. I had already decided to withdraw from this operation; I hadn't anticipated how difficult it would be, and thus my preparations were inadequate. However, the Vietnamese were no better prepared than I was; it seemed they also had no idea what dangers lay ahead. I had no intention of continuing this reckless endeavor. Of course, I needed to find Jack first; I wasn't one to abandon my teammates.
This time, I stepped on the shoulders of both individuals to gain a steadier vantage point and observe for a longer duration.
Under the sunlight, I could see the marshland clearly and far into the distance. No matter which direction I looked in, the Red Waterway formed by the gathering of numerous Crimson Snakes had vanished; all that filled my vision was deep green grass, occasionally interrupted by glimmers of emerald waves peeking through the grass. Consulting my compass, I confirmed our location and quickly determined where we had descended into this marshland. If we wanted to leave here and return to our original position, it would be the easiest route. There lay our abandoned ropes.
This marshland resembled a vast gorge with significant elevation differences compared to the surrounding mountains. If we sought another way out, it would require greater effort. For the two Lao Mountain People, it might just add some difficulty to their climbing; for me, it felt nearly insurmountable. Taking our descent point as an example, from the valley floor to the ridge was almost a sheer cliff—its height daunting enough that without ropes, I had no confidence in my ability to climb to the ridge.
Of course, from my current position, I couldn't see where we entered the marsh; at least two hills obstructed my view. All I could see was the ridge leading into this gorge—a low point in that mountain range that appeared like a pot bottom from afar.
The hill where we rested did not appear within my sight; that detail was no longer important. To return to our original position, all we needed was to identify that slightly sunken ridge. On that hill where we landed lurked a terrifying Giant Scorpion; even though I had already planned to abandon this operation, even if I were to continue on, I wouldn't risk climbing up for equipment left on that mountain.
However, to find Jack, it was essential for me to locate where we had separated—the spot marked by an orange glow that drove Jack into a frenzy as he ran away. For this stretch of road, I had no recollection; back then, in my desperate attempt to catch up with Jack, there was no time to discern directions. Later on, when encountering Buasong and following him blindly led us here to this dry land. Thus, we still needed to return to where Ah Xiang and A San rested among the bushes; only from there could we sort out our thoughts and directions in hopes of finding that location.
I jumped down onto the Ground and first conveyed an easily understandable message to the Lao People: if we find Jack, we can go home.
My performance skills had become increasingly refined, and the two Lao People immediately understood my meaning. They seemed unaware of the difficulty in finding Jack, but upon hearing that finding him would mean going home, they displayed an unusual excitement. It appeared they had also had enough of this cursed place.
I couldn't express a specific action plan to them, only indicating that we should fill our stomachs first before setting off. The dry land had been stripped of anything burnable, so we could only drink water and nibble on some dry rations.
I quickly filled my stomach, tucked my pant legs into my Boots, and began to tie up my legs. At that moment, I suddenly heard Buasong let out a startled cry. I looked up to see Buasong jumping up while staring at the distant ridge.
The three of us were sitting around the Rain Cover; I had my back to the ridge, and another Lao Person, who had just eaten, was also facing away from it while tying his shoes. Only Buasong was facing the ridge. When I saw Buasong's expression, I quickly turned to look behind me, and a blinding light nearly blinded me.
I didn't react with fear like Buasong did, but the light was too glaring for me to keep my eyes open. This light came from the distant ridge, very close to where we had entered the valley. Someone was using a Mirror-like surface to reflect sunlight towards us. Even with my eyes closed, I could still feel the intense movement of the light between my eyes, as if it were conveying some message.
To prevent being blinded by this light, I had no choice but to extend one hand slightly to shield my eyes before opening them again. The moment I faced the ridge, that light locked onto me; initially shining on Buasong merely to grab my attention. The person emitting this light was undoubtedly Fatty; only he would think of such a rotten idea to express his dissatisfaction with me not calling him. However, at that moment, this blinding light filled me with immense comfort and longing. I hoped Fatty could help me find Jack; if he could find me, he should be able to find Jack as well.
But to placate Fatty and prevent him from doing something more extreme, I quickly pulled out my Satellite Phone from my backpack and gestured towards the source of the light as if indicating that the phone was broken. Clearly, this explanation did not satisfy Fatty; the light intensified and danced more vigorously in front of my eyes.
I cursed under my breath but suddenly remembered that Fatty had a scope; he should be able to read my lips. So I slowly mouthed a message: "Jack and I are lost. Can you find him?"
The chaotic flickering of light suddenly stopped; it seemed Fatty understood my lip movements and accepted my explanation. I lowered my hand from in front of my face, but at that moment, the light suddenly found its way back onto my face and flashed rapidly several times.
I angrily shouted, "Fat Man..."
But my voice cut off abruptly as I suddenly realized that those flashes seemed to convey some information. Sure enough, the light began flashing rapidly again; this time I focused closely and saw clearly: three flashes, three long flashes, three more flashes. It was repeating a message: Danger. Run!
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