Surе еnоugh, аs soon аs thе рrоvisiоns were handеd оver, theу sent Li Hаоzhаng tо stаnd guаrd with a gun aimеd at Diao Zhuo and the оthеrs, while thе rest оf thеm wоlfеd down thе fооd withоut аny rеgard for aррeаrances. It sеemed thеy werе trulу stаrving.
Вауunуe cоuldn’t hеlp but rесаll the twо strangе individuаls they hаd еncоuntered the рrevious night. Hаd thеir frеnzied biting bеen driven not bу mаdnеss but by hungеr?
With thеir рrоvisiоns tаken аwаy, thе grouр had no сhoiсе but tо forаgе fоr wild fruits аnd mushrooms alоng the way to stavе off hunger. Bаyunyе and thе mеmbers оf the mountaineering association put their Yunnan heritage of mushroom identification to good use, gathering quite a few along the path. Liu Ming brought some cured meat, which they fried until the oil rendered out, then tossed in the mushrooms. The aroma wafted far and wide, smelling absolutely delightful—if one could ignore the dry land leeches that occasionally latched onto them.
All the bandits could do was point their guns at the group, watching them chop bamboo for water, slice cured meat, and gather mushrooms, their expressions a mix of disdain and fear.
Bayunye held a bamboo tube filled with wild mushroom soup, thinking to herself that while these men weren’t entirely lacking in wilderness survival skills, their refusal to touch the abundant mushrooms around them clearly marked them as “outsiders.”
Li Haozhang hesitated before finally asking, “Is that stuff… edible?”
“Want to try some?” Bayunye said, though she made no move to offer any.
The bandits began murmuring among themselves. Though their English accents were thick, Diao Zhuo listened carefully and managed to catch about half of what they were saying—the two frenzied individuals had been unable to endure their hunger, so they had picked some dull-looking mushrooms, roasted them, and claimed they tasted good. But not long after, they descended into madness, as if bitten by zombies.
If that was the case, the strange behavior of the two individuals wasn’t due to possession or fright from ghosts and monsters but rather mushroom poisoning. It was likely that the villagers Kong Gan had mentioned, who had managed to return to the village after entering the mountains, had also gone mad due to getting lost and consuming poisonous mushrooms.
Seeing that Bayunye had drunk so much soup without going mad, the bandits finished off the remaining mushroom soup. Red Beard declared that from then on, whenever food was cooked, someone had to taste it first before they would eat. Listening to Red Beard’s heavily accented English, Diao Zhuo thought his pronunciation was even worse than his own, which was only good enough to pass the English proficiency test, though his vocabulary was surprisingly extensive—likely a necessity for his “line of work.”
Bayunye’s eyes were fixed on the gun at Red Beard’s waist. She thought to herself that while it might be easy to seize a gun and take someone hostage, given the precedent of the Qiangtang poachers, she suspected that losing one or two men would mean nothing more to these bandits than having fewer people to split the money with. It wouldn’t pose a threat to them but could instead invite fatal consequences.
Diao Zhuo saw the look in Bayunye’s eyes and knew exactly what she was thinking. He moved his fingers slightly, and Bayunye, sharp-eyed, focused on them, her brow relaxing—he knew Morse code!
“Don’t take risks,” he conveyed his thoughts.
Bayunye scratched her ear as if itching, but in reality, she was responding in Morse code as well—Understood.
After walking for a long time, they found themselves back at the starting point.
Bayunye stared grimly at the tree trunk marked with Brother Long’s and her own symbols, then glanced at her phone screen displaying “December 22, 2012.” Her mood grew increasingly frustrated. With this aimless circling, not only would they fail to find Brother Long, but even returning safely seemed doubtful.
As Diao Zhuo walked over, Camouflage Headscarf, who was guarding him, immediately grew alert and followed closely, positioning himself between Diao Zhuo and Bayunye to prevent them from getting too close to talk."This forest is strange," Bayunye said. "I don't know how Brother Long managed not to go in circles."
Diao Zhuo asked, "How many times have we circled?"
"Four times. We've been circling since this morning, and after most of the day, we're still in the same spot," she replied. "I haven't always walked in the same direction; I deliberately turned in the opposite direction from the previous lap. For example, I went east just now, and now I'm going west, but we still end up back here. Something feels off... as if everything looks the same, every tree identical to the next."
A new idea seemed to form in Diao Zhuo's mind. "Let's walk again!"
"Again?"
"Yes," he said firmly.
Bayunye nodded and signaled everyone to continue.
Because the criminals were following closely, no one spoke easily. The atmosphere was dull and tedious, and they simply trudged forward with their heads down. Bayunye seized an opportunity to signal Diao Zhuo using Morse code: "Do you have a plan?"
"No," he replied silently.
Bayunye sighed.
When they reached a certain spot, Diao Zhuo suddenly called for a stop. Surprisingly, he turned to Camouflage Headscarf, who was pointing a gun at him, and said with an unusually pleasant expression, "Shoot that tree."
"Why?" Camouflage Headscarf asked incredulously.
Diao Zhuo didn't explain, only pointed at a distant tree and repeated the direction.
Skeptical but perhaps because ammunition was plentiful, Camouflage Headscarf aimed and fired as instructed.
"Bang!" The gunshot echoed.
"Did you see it?" Diao Zhuo turned to ask Bayunye.
"Missed," Bayunye shrugged.
Feeling embarrassed, Camouflage Headscarf fired another shot.
"Let me," Bayunye said, itching to try, and reached for the gun.
He wouldn't give it to her, waving her off and telling her to get lost.
After two more shots, Camouflage Headscarf sensed something was wrong. He grabbed Diao Zhuo by the collar, glaring angrily. "What trick are you playing?"
"Let go," Diao Zhuo said coldly.
Enraged, Camouflage Headscarf pressed the gun hard against Diao Zhuo's forehead.
Red Beard cleared his throat softly, and Camouflage Headscarf reluctantly lowered the gun. Red Beard whispered something to him, and Camouflage Headscarf looked shocked but ultimately complied—handing the gun to Bayunye.
Without hesitation, Bayunye took it, while three guns were immediately pointed at her head.
Red Beard looked at Bayunye, his gray eyes emitting a chilling coldness. "Just one shot. Don't waste bullets."
She didn't understand the English and looked at Diao Zhuo in confusion.
"Hitting that tree should be easy for you, but they're only giving you one chance to do it," he explained, though he didn't seem particularly concerned about whether she would succeed.
Bayunye gripped the gun, suppressing the overwhelming urge to engage the criminals in a firefight. She aimed at the tree trunk Diao Zhuo had pointed to and fired in one smooth motion.
The tree remained completely still, not even a leaf rustling.
As she handed the gun back, Bayunye muttered dejectedly, "It's impossible to miss..."
"Of course you missed," Diao Zhuo said. "It's fake."
Everyone was stunned and turned to look at him.
"If that illusion appeared in an open area, it would never fool anyone. It's like walking into a space filled with mirrors—you can't tell where the real path is and where it's just a reflection."
"...What do you mean?" Li Haozhang asked again, casually brushing off two dry land leeches clinging to his ankles.Da Qin and the others, who had been forced to remain silent, finally seized the opportunity to speak, all chiming in with questions: "People would feel something if they bumped into a mirror." "How could there be a mirror in the forest? Besides, mirrors reflect images too." "Even if they're illusions, they can't be everywhere, right?"
"The fact that all our electronic devices have malfunctioned shows that the magnetic field in this area is abnormal. Combined with the microclimate and air humidity, it's possible for mirage-like illusions to appear on the ground. Before the rain, we didn't encounter any illusions. I think, aside from the magnetic field, the appearance of these illusions is also related to moisture. Since the surroundings are filled with trees and grass, and the illusions also depict trees and grass, it's highly deceptive. We unknowingly pass through an illusion, the moisture dissipates, and the illusion is broken, only to encounter the next one immediately. As a result, we keep circling within layers of illusions whose locations are unknown. What we see is a mix of real and false, and we can't even be sure whether a tree ten steps away is real or not. Where there are no trees, we think there are, causing us to deviate slightly from our intended direction. Without any navigation devices, we end up back where we started."
With a hint of unease, everyone looked around. The seemingly lush bald cypresses and occasional bamboo appeared so real, showing no signs of being false.
Diao Zhuo's sense of unease didn't lessen after uncovering the nature of these illusions. Instead, he felt increasingly that something was off. Illusions caused by magnetic fields or moisture weren't uncommon, but what was strange was how they kept appearing repeatedly in different locations. This defied both physical principles and logic. However, there was no time to dwell on it now. The priority was to escape these criminals and find a way out.
Li Haozhang remained skeptical. "Since this is everyone's first time here, how did you figure this out?"
Diao Zhuo replied calmly, "I kept seeing identical trees and grass."
"Aren't all the trees and grass here identical?" Li Haozhang frowned.
The Rescue Team and Bayunye found this laughable, thinking to themselves—don't compare your own limited perception to Diao Zhuo's.
"What do we do now?" Bayunye asked. "Split up to find a way out?"
Li Haozhang snorted coldly. "Wishful thinking. We must stick together."
Diao Zhuo extended his hand. "What the eyes see isn't necessarily real, but what the hands touch is tangible. As long as people keep their eyes open, they're inevitably deceived by illusions. In special circumstances, what a blind person feels may be partial, but it's real, whereas what people see may not be."
"Walk out with our eyes closed?" she asked, slightly surprised.
"Exactly."
"Don't try to fool us..." Li Haozhang sneered. "Everyone walking with their eyes closed? I think you're just trying to escape!"
His stubbornness made Diao Zhuo sigh inwardly. "Only the person leading needs to walk with their eyes closed."
Red Beard glanced at Li Haozhang, then turned to Diao Zhuo. "Fine. You lead the way this time."
Diao Zhuo silently agreed, turning to Liu Ming and the others. "Lend me your Trekking Pole."
Without hesitation, Liu Ming immediately handed over his Trekking Pole, showing great sincerity and trust. Diao Zhuo took it but didn't turn around, instead staring silently at the hiking enthusiasts.The silence made Liu Ming uneasy, and it also gave Red Beard and the others waiting for him to lead the way a strange feeling. Li Haozhang then shouted at Diao Zhuo to hurry back to his position, while Liu Ming patted his shoulder politely. "Whether we can get out depends on you. Don't be nervous, keep it up."
"Stay close, don’t fall behind," Diao Zhuo seemed to imply something with his words. With that, he turned and returned to the front of the group.
Liu Ming glanced back at his companions, a hint of worry in his eyes. He nodded, ready to set off again.
Diao Zhuo walked at the front with his eyes closed, his trekking pole acting like a blind man’s cane, probing ahead. On one hand, it helped determine the reality of the surroundings, and on the other, it served to ward off insects and snakes. Separated by several people, Bayunye kept craning her neck to look at him. The criminals were very mindful of the distance between her and Diao Zhuo, deliberately preventing them from having any chance to speak privately.
After everyone witnessed the "tree" ahead being passed through directly by Diao Zhuo, they fully believed his speculation. Without visual interference, once the illusion was broken, it vanished without a trace. When they looked back after walking past, the path behind them was completely different from before, with one or several layers of illusions appearing somewhere else. Upon careful thought, it was possible that there was an illusion every few steps, with no fixed direction. Without boldly breaking through, it was impossible to tell what was real or fake.
Bayunye followed the group, also feeling the surreal nature of the situation. This was the first time she had encountered such a phenomenon. Her mind was muddled by layer upon layer of illusions, as if she were trapped inside a transparent tent, always separated from the outside scenery by an airtight membrane.
After walking for a while, everyone’s mood relaxed. After several attempts, they heard from the criminals that they had followed Brother Long into this forest at night. Later, Brother Long had somehow escaped without a trace, leaving them stuck here. Bayunye thought that the famous "strong hiker" in the circle had probably discovered the secret of the forest illusions after a couple of rounds and simply closed his eyes to feel his way forward in the dark, successfully escaping. Brother Long was still safe, and this information made her very happy and motivated. However, she felt she was missing something more important.
Just as she was thinking this, a strange "hissing" sound suddenly came, followed by the "rustling" of fallen leaves. This sound...
"Stop!" Bayunye couldn’t care less and suddenly shouted.
At that moment, Diao Zhuo’s trekking pole sliced through another layer of illusion. The vegetation ahead flickered like static on a TV screen, blurring for a moment before clearing up. And at the moment it cleared, everyone discovered a massive blackish-brown snake, as thick as a man’s calf, coiled ahead.
At least half of the snake’s body was hidden in the fallen leaves, while the exposed half was strong and enormous. Its head was held high, the muscles on both sides of its neck compressed flat. With such size and posture, it was unmistakably a King Cobra—a creature that strikes fear into humans and other snakes alike!
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