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墨書 Inktalez
Unable to replenish calories, we stopped to rest and warm up more and more frequently, and I gradually stopped running to the river to observe the Pavement situation, and lost the strength to climb over the Wood Chip Dam. Of course it's not that I can't get over it, but I just don't have the mood or energy to do it. We once again lit a bonfire among a few Stalactite pillars. Jack leaned on a stone pillar, his long legs almost stretched into the fire. He raised his wrist and looked at his watch: "We only walked three hours this time. If this continues, we may only be able to walk two hours next time." It’s time to take a rest.” I sat next to him, leaning against a Stalactite as well. Long-term hunger and low temperature have made my body very weak. I looked at the five people around the campfire. They were all on the thin side, and the two Lao People were even more like ribs. Such people would be the first to collapse in the face of hunger. Down. Of course, the little fat on my body won’t last long. I didn't respond to Jack's words, and he seemed to be talking to himself, not caring whether I responded or not. But I thought of the scene underground and in the passage. We are also hungry, but fortunately we have water now. Hunger makes people lose interest in talking. I looked at the fire in front of me, but my eyelids drooped uncontrollably. Let's sleep for a while, it will save energy, I comforted myself. While giving up the effort to open his eyes. Although I closed my eyes, facing the bonfire, my eyes were still filled with beating red. It's warm and I think I'll fall asleep quickly. Suddenly my eyes darkened, as if a black shadow flashed across my eyes. Here, my spirit is always under high tension. Even in the sleeping state, I will wake up instantly at the slightest disturbance. I immediately opened my eyes and saw it was Jack, right in front of me. Between me and the bonfire. Looking at me. I don't care about making eye contact with a man, and sometimes it gets me fired up. But Jack's gaze made me feel uncomfortable and even repelled, because there was desire and desire in his eyes. I suddenly lost all sleep. There is nothing wrong with my orientation. She couldn't stand such a passionate look from a grown man. I made an exaggerated vomiting motion. Just as I was about to give him a heads-up, I suddenly realized that his eyes were fixed behind me. My body suddenly stiffened, and an inexplicable sense of fear made it difficult for me to breathe. I rather hope Jack is hallucinating. If not, then anything that makes him lust and covet would be intolerable and extremely abnormal to me. My throat made a dry coughing sound due to nervousness, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on my back, instantly transmitting the Stalactite chill on my back to my body. My stiff body couldn't react at all. With a passionate expression on his face, Jack gently stretched out a hand, as if facing the girl he loved, to touch her cheek. This hand passed through my ear with a gentle movement, like the most considerate lover.
As the hand withdrew, it held a worm over a foot long. Dark brown and as thick as a finger, the worm was dragged past my cheek by Jack, twisting its body and emitting an unpleasant, pungent odor. I noticed Jack lick his lips.
My stiff body suddenly went limp, completely drained of the little strength I had left from hunger. A single worm had created such a panic; if I had any extra energy, I would have shouted at him, but I didn't want to waste the last bit of my strength and merely gave him a disdainful look.
Jack's return to his seat with the worm immediately attracted Lao People and Vietnamese, three of them surrounding Jack with eager eyes.
I knew exactly what they were after. The Archaeology team had survival training and experience in the wild, knowing how to source food from nature—what was edible and what wasn't. However, I was repulsed by this. I had tried eating a wild worm once; it had a strange taste that I found unbearable. After eating that worm, I couldn't keep anything down for days.
Jack straightened the worm on the ground and cut it into five pieces with his knife. He looked up at the three eager pairs of eyes and said, "One piece for each." Then he grabbed a wriggling segment and tossed it into his mouth.
The worm emitted an even stronger odor when disturbed, and even from outside the circle formed by four heads, I could sense its foul smell. I saw Jack swallow the piece without chewing; it seemed he didn't enjoy the taste either.
In no time, only one segment of the worm remained on the ground. Jack gestured to me, "Open."
I rubbed my stomach and replied, "I'm not hungry."
No sooner had I finished speaking than Jack tossed that segment into his mouth. My expression was complicated as I watched Jack's throat move rhythmically; I couldn't help but swallow.
"Where did this worm come from?" I thought this wasn't just my question.
Aside from Fumi, who couldn't move freely, everyone else searched around Stalactite behind me because that worm was spotted by Jack on Stalactite.
Whether we were moving or resting, we kept a certain distance from the wood chip dam, which meant we were walking along the riverbank. My position faced away from the Underground River; not far behind me was that wood chip dam. The firewood we used was gathered from there.
Two glow sticks circled around Stalactite without finding another worm. Unwilling to give up, Jack expanded the search area and had A San hold one of the glow sticks while they fanned out to search. Soon, an excited shout came from A San's direction; I saw A San returning with another worm in hand.
It was from that wood chip dam. Even without participating in the search, I could deduce where these worms were coming from. An American, a Vietnamese, and a Lao person simultaneously lunged toward that pile of wood chips forming the dam. Before long, I saw Jack stuffing a whole worm into his mouth.
I did not leave the campfire, turning my back to it as I watched the three of them searching for worms among the splintered wood. It seemed there were quite a few around here; Buasong even had time to catch some and bring them back for Fumi to eat.
The distance between the fire and the Wood Chip Dam was not far, and Jack could see my expression. After tossing a worm into his mouth, he shouted at me, "Zhang, if you want to survive, you need to adapt to this environment. This stuff may taste terrible, but it's rich in protein and will give you strength and energy."
It was quiet enough that I could hear their conversation without them needing to raise their voices.
I kept my arms crossed over my chest and shook my head. "I've eaten this before; it's really hard to swallow."
"Better than starving to death here, right? The key point is that it's non-toxic; you don't have to worry about being poisoned by it."
"I don't think I'll starve. If there are worms here, there should be a food chain. You don't really think they're at the top of the food chain like some kind of T-Rex, do you?"
I saw Jack suddenly stop what he was doing and throw something he was holding harshly onto the ground. He let out a sigh and walked back. "Shit, I'm almost full, and you're still hesitating!"
(To Be Continued...)
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