Early in the morning, when the sky was still bright, Luo Yuan walked towards the stream with a big basin in his hand.
The basin was made of iron, about half a meter in diameter. It was made from the armor of a transport plane. Although it had been made as thin as possible, it still weighed more than 10 kilograms. It could almost be used as a shield.
It was still early in the morning, but the temperature was already quite high. It was more than 30 degrees Celsius, but compared to noon, it was undoubtedly the coolest time of the day.
The thunderstorm had disappeared for five days, and the quiet forest had become lively again. There were traces of mutated beasts and the chirping of insects in the forest. It was much noisier than it had been a few days ago.
Luo Yuan walked slowly, his face serious and his eyebrows furrowed. He held the Zhanmadao in his right hand and chopped the branches on both sides of the path. The branches were green and tender, and they were slightly curled up. Obviously, they had just grown last night.
The soft ground covered by layers of dead leaves was slightly moist. It was the result of a night of dew. Apart from the surface layer, the inside was completely dry, dead leaves and powdered soil.
It had not rained for more than 10 days.
It was a normal phenomenon in the western region, but it was fatal in this high temperature.
The plants were growing more and more vigorously. Perhaps it was because their roots were deep in the ground, so they were not affected at all. However, the mutated beasts were not having a good time. Due to the high temperature, a large amount of water had evaporated, and the water level of the stream had been dropping day by day. From what he had seen the day before, the water supply would be cut off in the next two days if the weather was still as good as it was now.
However, from the looks of it, it was another sunny day.
With a heavy heart, Luo Yuan walked to the stream not long after, but the situation in front of him was worse than he had expected.
After a day, the stream was almost bottomless. It had been more than a foot deep the day before, but now there was only a shallow layer of about 10 centimeters. There were dead fish and prawns everywhere in the stream. Most of the fish had died less than two days ago, but the high temperature had accelerated the decay of the dead fish.
In a short time, the fish had been covered with maggots, and some of the dead fish had been bitten by nearby mutated beasts, dying the stream a rotten brown. In addition, there were maggots and mutated flies everywhere, and there was a strong stench in the air. People could not help but turn around and run away.
However, this only made Luo Yuan frown and his face turn gloomy.
Xiao Chen withdrew and released his horrifying aura. Countless mutated flies the size of fists rustled down, quickly covering the ground.
Then, Luo Yuan walked upstream, trying to find a cleaner water source.
This stream was the only source of water in the vicinity, and there were many mutated lifeforms around. Along the way, many mutated lifeforms that were drinking water by the stream shuddered and quickly fled the area. Luo Yuan's face was gloomy, and his whole body was emitting a terrifying aura. He was like a terrifying beast that was about to devour its prey. Before he even got close, the mutated beasts had already begun to flee.
Of course, there were also some who were rebellious and bared their fangs, but they were soon killed by Luo Yuan's saber. Luo Yuan picked them up and carried them on his back.
After walking for about half an hour, just as he was about to lose his patience, Luo Yuan finally found a shallow pool.
The stream here had been completely cut off, leaving only this slightly deep pit with some water. However, it was only a meter deep, and the water was very turbid, like a muddy pond. However, at this time, it was already too much to ask for. At least it was much better than the rotten and smelly sewage.
Luo Yuan took a basin, filled it up, and quickly left the place. With the current situation of water shortage, this place would soon become a gathering place for animals to drink water. Although he was strong, he was not confident that he could do whatever he wanted in this primeval forest.
His speed of returning was much faster. The basin that was filled with water was like flat ground as he ran up and down. Very little water could spill out.
In just 10 minutes, Luo Yuan had returned to the campsite.
The campsite had undergone a huge change. In order to prevent a similar incident from happening again, the forest within a 30-meter radius around the transport aircraft had been chopped clean. The weeds had all been cleared. Even the soft ground had been pushed down by a few people with heavy wooden stakes, tightly compacting it.
But even so, the next morning, a patch of green shoots could be seen growing out of the soil.
At that moment, everyone was taking advantage of the rare coolness of the morning to practice their knife skills. Many of the men were bare-chested, and their bodies were covered in greasy sweat. They practiced tirelessly over and over again. Every time the blade sliced through the air, it made a whistling sound.
For the past few days, Luo Yuan had taught them some basic knife skills and related muscle movements. Next, they could only rely on their own repeated practice to form muscle memory and instinct. In fact, under the suffocating pressure, these people were far more hardworking than Luo Yuan had imagined. Whenever they had free time, they would practice with high intensity.
Compared to 10 days ago, these people had more or less improved. At least they were not as miserable as before.
Perhaps it was due to the correct way of exerting their strength, but many people's physiques had changed. Their originally hard, knotted muscles began to soften and fade away, replaced by lines of muscles that resembled a network. From their appearance, everyone seemed to have lost a lot of weight, but their explosive power and speed had become stronger.
However, Luo Yuan was most optimistic about the two kids, Deng Chao and Zhong Chuqiang. Perhaps it was because of a strong sense of insecurity, but the two of them practiced like crazy. Even when they were eating or sleeping, they would still gesticulate from time to time to experience the movement of their muscles. Although they were still far from being comparable to Huo Dong, Wang Xiaguang, and the others, with their enthusiasm and pure mentality, they might be able to practice knife skills in the future and even comprehend the imposing aura.
Seeing that Luo Yuan had returned, Huang Jiahui put down her knife and wiped her sweat. She took Luo Yuan's basin and looked at the water in it. Her body trembled slightly and she asked anxiously, "Is there no water there?"
"Maybe in a day or two. The water there is almost dry." Luo Yuan shook his head and said, "We can't rely on the stream anymore. I'll go to the forest in the afternoon to see if I can find a new water source."
The two of them did not deliberately lower their voices.
Many people put down their knives and walked over worriedly. When they saw the basin of muddy water, their expressions changed immediately.
The lack of water was a fatal problem, especially in such weather. Everyone had to drink a lot of water every day. If they did not have water, they might not even last a day. Even with Luo Yuan's physique, he would not be much better off.
"Don't worry even if we can't find a new water source!" Luo Yuan thought about it and comforted her. "Many plants contain a lot of water. As long as we look carefully, we will definitely be able to find it."
"It would be great if we could find the tree sap that we used to drink," Huo Dong said.
Wang Shishi subconsciously swallowed her saliva. That wonderful taste was still fresh in her memory.
"That requires luck. I think we should dig a well," Commander Xia said with some doubts.
"I'm afraid that won't work, Commander. This is the western region, so there's always a shortage of water. Many wells need to be dozens of meters or even more than a hundred meters deep before water can come out. Moreover, this is the mountainside, so the terrain is higher and there are rocks below. Unless we're lucky enough to find an underground river, we won't be able to get any water unless we dig a hundred meters deep!" a soldier said.
"Why don't we collect dew? I remember it was written in an Amazon Crusoe book!" Cao Lin said.
"It's Robinson Crusoe, right?" Lin Xiaoji interrupted.
Cao Lin blushed and ignored him. She then said, "I found that the transpiration in the forest is very strong. There's a lot of dew every morning. We can use leaves to collect dew!"
Luo Yuan's eyes lit up. "I think it's possible. As long as we collect dew in a large area, we can definitely get enough water. After breakfast, everyone will go to the forest to collect leaves."
"We're going too?" Zhao Yali said subconsciously.
"This time, everyone will go. These days, everyone has been practicing their knife skills. It's time to test it out. After all, we have to leave this place eventually, and I can't protect you all every time," Luo Yuan said calmly.
Before he could finish, the atmosphere became tense. Everyone had a different expression.
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