Thinking of how Professor Pei had always looked after him, Huang Jinghe left a pen beside Professor Pei when he carried Professor Pei out, as a kind of quiet company. The pen was still in the same spot. They had not mistaken the place.
In other words, after walking for over an hour, they had returned to the exact same spot.
Pei Xin said, "Maybe someone moved my grandfather's bones. Maybe this cabin isn't the one we stayed in before."
Lao Shi frowned. "I'll go in and check."
Lao Shi walked to the wooden cabin and pushed the door open. After taking a good look inside, he could confirm this was indeed the first cabin they had used. The bugs that Ling Jiang had frozen with her ability were still sealed in ice, exactly where they had been.
The frozen mass was obvious. Even without entering, everyone could see it clearly from outside.
That only made things stranger. They had kept a straight line the entire way forward. There were no turns and no forks. If they had walked in a straight line, how had they ended up back at the start?
Getting lost seemed almost impossible.
Could it be…
A looping maze?
But that did not make sense either. It was the apocalypse. If there really was a trick like that, they could blow it to pieces.
Maybe the dense forest held some poisonous substance that numbed the nerves without anyone noticing, so while walking, they had passed a fork and felt nothing at all.
It was only a guess.
Captain Zhang said, "Experiment brings truth. If we want to know whether we're stuck in a loop, we can test it. Have people walk the route again and see."
Zhou Zhiye said, "You mean…"
"Exactly." Captain Zhang told everyone to take the ropes from their packs. Captain Zhang first estimated everyone's walking speed, then tied the ropes together accordingly. He left a few people at the starting point and had another group take the rope and walk straight ahead. That way, the team would not split for real, and they could verify whether they were trapped in a loop.
Zhou Zhiye hesitated. "We only have fourteen people. Even if we tie every rope together, with our pace, there's no way the line will be long enough to still be in hand after an hour."
"But without a line, who dares walk off like this? We can't sit here and wait to die."
The rope would not be long enough. In the end, Captain Zhang led the scouting party himself, taking Huang Jinghe, who might already be infected, along with Zhou Zhiye and Pei Xin, to walk the entire route once more.
If anyone else replaced Huang Jinghe, no one would object to this four person team. But with Huang Jinghe there…
Lan Jin's small squad objected first.
After another round of discussion, Lao Gao, Shen Zhiyu, and one ability user from the H City base joined the team.
Before they left, Lan Jin said, "If anything happens, send a signal."
Captain Zhang had not prepared flares, but Lao Gao had an ability. Lao Gao gathered a tight orb of power in his palm and threw it into the sky. After a set time, it would detonate on its own. That way, those waiting at the starting point could immediately know their position and their status.
Lan Jin did not recommend using abilities unless it was truly urgent. If the explosion drew other dangerous creatures here, what then?
Lao Gao said, "Don't worry. I won't do anything reckless unless it's life or death."
After final checks and brief reminders, Captain Zhang's team set out again.
For those waiting in place, the anxiety was even worse than for those who had gone to "explore."
Because of Captain Zhang's earlier decisions, there was not much trust left among the team. Even though everyone stayed together on the open ground before the cabin, no one spoke. They each found a patch of shade and rested where they were.
The heat was brutal. Even with the insulated suit on, Lan Jin felt dizzy from the temperature.
Lan Jin moved her thought, took a small piece of ice from her space, and slipped it into her mouth. After a while, she finally felt much better.
Sitting beside Lan Jin, Ling Jiang suffered. If Ling Jiang could not remove the insulated suit, Ling Jiang could not drink water or eat. Even if Lan Jin wanted to feed ice to Ling Jiang, Lan Jin could not put it in Ling Jiang's mouth.
Lan Jin whispered in Ling Jiang's ear. "Hold on. If we take the suits off and turn into bones alive, what then?"
Ling Jiang said, speechless, "I can endure. It is just uncomfortable."
Lan Jin was never stingy. If Lan Jin had a share, Lan Jin would share with the three companions too. But the situation would not allow it now.
Then Ling Jiang paused. Something was off. She herself had ice powers. If they can't move, why not just make ice to cool everyone down?
Once the thought formed, Ling Jiang pressed her hand to the ground and released her power. Large chunks of ice rose beside each person who was resting. In an instant, everyone felt the air around them cool, and their body temperature ease.
Relief spread at once. People thanked Ling Jiang one after another.
Shen Zhiyan said, "Abilities really are convenient. Hey, did you use this trick to cool off on the ship too?"
The Shen siblings and Lan Jin's group had been on the same ship, but they lived in alternating shifts. They usually met only during danger or when changing watch. The Shen siblings did not know whether Lan Jin's group had cooled themselves like this during their shifts.
Ling Jiang said, "No. I just thought of it now. But it feels like we haven't been in the forest that long, and time already crawls."
Lan Jin agreed. "Right. It is the heat. The last time we entered the forest, it was during an extreme cold snap. Time did not drag like this."
Shen Zhiyan asked, "You have been in the forest once before? Captain Zhang mentioned it."
Ling Jiang said, "Yes. That was when we first reached the H City base. The missions were different, and last time far fewer things happened."
One of the team members Captain Zhang had left behind said, "Last time was dangerous too. But the moment danger showed up, you told us to get down the mountain quickly. So even if it was bad, the casualties weren't as heavy. It looked much better."