Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 77 The Primeval Forest Amidst Four Dangers

The group crossed the land cleared by the natives along the edge of the jungle and finally entered the jungle.

Logan seemed very excited about this new environment, running around constantly.

In the initial area, human activity was relatively frequent, with felled trees and scattered abandoned fields everywhere.

As they ventured deeper, the surrounding vegetation became increasingly dense, the sky above them was gradually obscured by tall trees, and the surrounding light dimmed considerably.

The air was filled with the chirping of insects and birds, and the moist, warm air quickly soaked their bodies with sweat.

The high humidity and lack of wind in the forest prevented sweat from evaporating, making it feel extremely stuffy and hot.

The mules, carrying heavy loads, moved slowly and needed to stop and rest every so often.

Otherwise, the two mules would probably collapse from exhaustion before they even reach their destination.

Traces of human activity can still be seen around, such as makeshift shelters or burnt-out fires.

There were no traces of water nearby, and Zhou Xin did not smell any gold.

It seems we must venture deeper into the jungle to find any trace of gold.

In order to allow the mules to move smoothly, they had to clear away the vines and branches blocking the way, and when they encountered places that were really difficult to step on, they even had to make simple repairs to the ground.

This makes the travel speed even slower.

At noon, the three found a relatively flat and open ground and unloaded the cargo from the mules' backs so that they could get a good rest.

Then, Edward took out a few compressed biscuits from his bag and shared them with the two of them.

The journey ahead was still long, and Zhou Xin didn't want to waste time on meals, so he planned to start a fire and cook after officially setting up camp that night.

"It's so hot in here!" Edward said, munching on a dry, compressed biscuit while fanning himself with a large leaf.

"That's how it is in the forest. As long as you stay in the forest, the sweat on your body will never dry." Alo ate some biscuits while feeding the mule water and hay.

"I should have brought two electric fans. This is so uncomfortable," Edward sighed.

Zhou Xin took a sip of water and swallowed the biscuit, saying, "So we must find a river as soon as possible. The area around the river is more open and cooler."

Edward looked at Alo: "Alo, can you lead us to the river?"

Alo looked apologetic: "I've only ever been to the edge of the forest before, never this deep, so I'm not very clear about the situation here."

"Shin, which way should we go next?" Edward asked.

Once you enter the depths of the forest, everything around you looks exactly the same. If you wander around aimlessly, you're likely to get lost.

However, Zhou Xin was prepared; he had already downloaded the satellite map of the area from the Aowei Map software.

Although the signal disappeared once we went deeper into the forest, the GPS positioning function did not rely on the mobile network and could still be used normally.

He took out his phone and began to check his current location and the surrounding rivers.

But soon he started to feel a headache.

Because the trees in the rainforest are so dense, many small streams and rivers are hidden by the canopy along the banks and cannot be seen on satellite maps.

Only a few wider rivers are visible on the map, with some sections still barely discernible.

To increase his chances of finding gold, he must explore every stream and river in the area as much as possible.

This would inevitably require extensive exploration in the forest, and it is clearly unrealistic to have the entire team wander around aimlessly with you.

He decided to head to the nearest river he could see on the map, set up camp on the riverbank, and then explore on his own or with someone else.

Once we find a river rich in gold, we will return and lead the team there.

In this way, the team wouldn't have to drag heavy goods around, and he could travel light and quicken his pace.

After telling the two about the plan, Alo asked to go with him to look for gold, while Edward preferred to stay and look after the goods.

Although the two have gradually accepted Alo, they do not yet fully trust him.

Let him stay and look after the goods; if he runs away with them, those two will be devastated.

After making up their minds, they followed the location on their phones and headed towards the nearest river.

However, even the nearest river is more than ten kilometers away from their current location.

At the current pace of travel, it is clearly impossible to arrive before dark.

In the forest, darkness falls quickly; by five in the afternoon, it was already dark all around.

Once night falls, all sorts of dangerous creatures in the forest become active, and it becomes a truly perilous place.

Therefore, Zhou Xin immediately decided to stop advancing and set up camp on the spot.

Flat ground is scarce in the rainforest, and they could only barely find a relatively flat spot where they could at least sleep without rolling around.

After tying up the mules and unloading the cargo, the three began to clean up the surrounding ground.

Low vegetation and dead leaves need to be cleared away as much as possible, because no one knows what might be hiding inside.

Fortunately, there is strength in numbers, and their tools were fairly complete. The three of them worked for about half an hour and cleared a relatively clean area of ​​ground.

Next, Alo led the two mules around looking for food for the animals.

Because of the trees, there isn't much grass in the rainforest, but there are still some low-lying plants that mules can eat.

Clearly, mules possess animal instincts; they know exactly which plants are edible, so there's no need to worry about them eating poisonous things.

Under Zhou Xin's instructions, Logan followed the mule not far away, monitoring the surrounding situation.

Edward was assigned by Zhou Xin to collect firewood in the surrounding area.

Zhou Xin picked up a few stones and built a simple stove, then began preparing dinner.

Due to limited resources, he only made the simplest noodles.

The water quickly boiled, and Zhou Xin added the noodles, then seasoned them simply with salt, animal fat, and soy sauce.

Soon, a large pot of noodles was cooked.

He instructed Alo to tie up the mule, and the three of them then sat around the pot to eat.

Although the seasoning was simple, the three of them, who had been traveling all day, still enjoyed the meal.

"We need one person to stay on watch tonight. The three of us will take turns. I'll go first. You guys go to bed and rest after you finish eating," Zhou Xin arranged.

This was the first night after entering the primeval forest, and Zhou Xin wanted to be as cautious as possible.

After entering the forest, he had been carefully observing the surroundings and had Logan run around scouting to confirm that no one else was following them.

But since they were going to find gold, and the goods they were carrying were worth a lot of money, he thought it was necessary to take precautions.

If they were ambushed at night by someone with ill intentions and were caught completely off guard, they might be wiped out.

Although Logan can help with early warnings, it's still much more reassuring to have someone watching over things.

The dangers from outsiders may be more terrifying than those in the jungle.

A Luo asked to keep watch by himself, but Zhou Xin refused.

This is not because Zhou Xin does not trust him.

With Logan around, even if he wanted to take advantage of the two while they were asleep, Logan would have enough strength to deal with them.