After seeing the condition of the gyrfalcon, the group of people was speechless.
The gyrfalcon's slender neck was slashed in half and blood gushed out like a fountain. Soon, it was weak from the loss of blood and could only flap its wings a little. It looked like it was about to die.
"Ocelots have such sharp claws?" Young Markelov shuddered.
Usually, he liked to tease Ah Meow. When Ah Meow got angry, it would scratch him, but at most, it would leave a few scratches on his skin. Ukrainian men had not fully evolved, and their body hair was thick. Most of the time, only some body hair was scratched, but in fact, there were no wounds.
Now he knew that it was not him who teased Ah Meow, but Ah Meow who teased him!
He looked at Ah Meow, who gave him a sidelong glance, his face full of disdain.
Young Markelov quickly put his palms together and bowed. "You're the best, Master Cat, you're the best!"
Li Du took out the ointment he had bought from the Blue Ridge Indians. Previously, he had used it on Ah Bai. This time, he was using it again. He had not used it on the other kids.
Ah Bai looked at the sticky ointment and almost cried. Why was it always me who got hurt?
This time, it was seriously injured too. One of its legs was broken and it would not be able to move for a few months.
Brother Wolf bandaged it up. Godzilla emptied a backpack and put Ah Bai inside. The backpack was like a small basket. Ah Bai would occasionally cry out in pain, but other than that, it was quite comfortable.
After packing, they set off. The gyrfalcon's carcass was also brought along. They could roast it for lunch.
Today was still the same problem as yesterday, which was that they felt dizzy after looking at too many folded stones. There was another problem today, which was that the sky was covered by dark clouds. Without the sun, it would be difficult to tell where they were when they lost their sense of direction.
After going one round, it seemed like they were back to square one. Li Du was furious and could not help but kick a rock. He cursed, "F * ck, what the hell is going on?"
Brother Wolf said, "This means that the island in the lake is shrinking. In the first half of the 19th century, a geologist proposed a theory of the earth's shrinking. It said that since the earth was formed, it has been slowly losing heat and cooling down, causing its volume to shrink, like a shriveled apple."
"These folds are the result of its contraction?" Big Markelov asked.
Brother Wolf nodded and said, "You could say that. However, to be specific, the large folds span hundreds of kilometers. They form mountains and valleys, while the small folds form this kind of terrain."
Li Du said, "Hmm, and then?"
Brother Wolf said, "Just like how it takes time for an apple to form its folds, the folds on the apple are not synchronized. Similarly, the folds on the earth are not synchronized. Where there is intense geological activity, there will be more folds."
"In other words, the geological activity on the Island of the Lost is very intense, right?" Li Du asked.
Brother Wolf said, "Yes."
Young Markelov took out two apples. He threw one to Godzilla and gnawed on the other. "Crunch, I just want to know, munch munch, how can we get out of this rotten apple wrinkle?"
Brother Wolf said, "Actually, it's very simple. We've all forgotten that we can rely on Ah Fei. Ah Fei can lead the way in the air. He can't see the folds on the mountain rocks, so he won't get lost, and he won't get tired …"
"D * mn, that's a good idea. Why did you only think of it now?" Li Du could not help but swear.
Brother Wolf sighed and said, "Because our minds are confused. The folds here have a hypnotic effect. The more we look at them, the longer we look, the less able our brains will work."
Li Du and the others first determined the direction and found the location of the target. Then he pointed to the target. Ah Fei rose into the air and led the way in the air.
Even so, with the valleys, rocks, and lush vegetation, it was still easy for them to get lost. Sometimes, after walking around a valley for a while, they realized that they had only gone one round and were back on the same path!
Walking on foot in the mountains was too slow. It took them another day to barely get close to the target location.
At night, the group found a leeward hillside and set up camp.
After two days of exploration and the information provided by Elson, there were no large beasts on the island. There was no danger in camping at night, as long as they avoided the small poisonous insects.
Big Markelov and his men sprayed insect repellent around the camp, and Li Du lay down comfortably. Just like the day before, when he closed his eyes and started to rest, he still felt dizzy.
With last night's lesson, they prepared an abundance of wood tonight. Madman saw some withered trees along the way. He cut them down and dragged them along the way, which would come in handy at this time.
This tree was as thick as an adult's calf and could be burned for a while.
Big Quinn took a few pieces and said, "Let me see if I can make charcoal. If it can be burned into charcoal, we can have a barbecue tomorrow … Hey, that's weird!"
"What's wrong?"
Big Quinn looked at the tree blankly and said, "Boss, this tree doesn't have tree rings?"
Li Du sneered. That was impossible. Every tree had growth rings. These were the annual changes in the cells and ducts of the tree. As long as the tree had experienced the passage of time, it would have a growth ring.
However, tree rings were rings of different colors and textures. Some were obvious, some were not.
Madman dragged a pine tree, which was the most common tree in the cold zone. The tree rings of pine trees were usually very clear and not difficult to see.
Big Quinn waved and said, "Boss, come and see. If you don't believe me, you can take a look. This tree really doesn't have tree rings."
Li Du went over to take a look and was stunned. Tree rings varied in width and were easy to see, but he did not see any tree rings.
There were also rings on the trunk, but they were not as wide as the tree rings. They were formed by rings, and the entire trunk seemed to be made up of layers of wood pieces glued together.
This was not a tree ring. Li Du was also puzzled and said, "What's going on? How can this tree not have tree rings? "
The others picked up other trunk segments and looked at them, with the same results.
Big Markelov thought for a moment. He picked up an axe and found a new tree to cut. Then he shone the fire on the cross-section of the trunk and shook his head. "Same, the trees here are really strange."
Everyone was amazed. Someone said casually, "This may be the tree ring, but because it grows fast and is less affected by the environment, the rings are very narrow."
"That's f * cking stupid. How can such a thing happen?" Young Markelov retorted. "It has nothing to do with the speed of its growth, only with time. Unless the years here pass very quickly, how can there be such a ring?"
They were just casually discussing it, and no one paid attention to it. But when Li Du heard it, he was stunned. He had a guess. Young Markelov might be right!
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