The meal is ready.
The hour hand has pointed to half past five, and Professor Ye Rongguang's group has not returned yet.
Professor Wen was a little anxious and began to call frequently using the walkie-talkie. But Professor Ye Rongguang's group never responded. Professor Wen said anxiously: "Comrade Xiao Wang, Professor Ye and his group may have lost their way."
In autumn in the forest, it gets dark as soon as it is dark.
"No!" After Professor Wen said this, he took out the flare gun, walked out of the cave, and pulled the trigger against the dark night sky.
With a "bang" gunshot, a red signal flare pierced the night sky, slowly drew a circle high in the sky, and fell. According to the agreement, after the red flare is fired, the opponent should fire a shot at the same time to determine the opponent's position.
The three people stood in front of the cave door, facing the southwest, north and northeast directions, observing for three minutes, but there was no response.
"Oops." Professor Wen started to get worried. So far, no large and harmful animals have been found in this wilderness, and the three grown men disappeared silently. They must have encountered trouble or an accident.
"What should I do?" Professor Wen asked Wang Ke.
"Did you not see it and we fired another shot?" Wang Ke said to Professor Wen.
"Okay!" Professor Wen filled up the flare and fired another shot into the sky. The flare slowly drew another circle in the sky, lighting up the entire mountain forest, but there was still no response.
"We can't wait any longer. Comrade Xiao Wang."
"yes!"
"We must take action immediately. You have a simple bite first and then go out to find them immediately." Professor Wen gave the order.
"No, we still have dry food." Wang Ke could already see that Ye Qianqian's eyes were full of worry and anxiety.
"That's fine, but you stay here. Go to the second floor. No animals will hurt you. We, Comrade Xiao Wang, will go find them."
"No, I'll go too."
"Don't go. If you go, it will affect our speed. Besides, if you stay here, your task is not easy. If we can't come back at twelve o'clock, you can use this radio to send out a distress signal."
During this inspection into the mountains, they specifically applied to the relevant departments for a radio station that uses dry batteries to generate electricity, so that they can maintain contact with the relevant departments behind them at four times every day. And twelve o'clock at night is a time period that is only used in emergencies.
"Yeah!" Ye Zaizhan watched the two people leave, then hung the lantern at the door of the cave, climbed up to the cave on the second floor through the rope ladder, and put the rope ladder back up.
Follow the road to the west by south. Wang Ke has walked on this road many times, so he can walk a long way without closing his eyes. Soon, Wang Ke and Professor Wen walked to the willow forest with flashlights in the dark night. Turn right through the willow forest and you will reach the reed bush. Rubbing the edge of the reeds, and a little further to the west and north, there is the river bend. We walked all the way to the bend of the river and didn't see anyone.
The two shouted while walking, and kept flashing flashlights in the night sky, hoping to attract attention.
In the willow forest, the tree shelter built by the command platoon is still there. Woven reed mats are found in shacks in the trees and on the ground. A gust of wind blew past, making a rustling sound. I walked to the bend of the river and shined my flashlight into the water. The water was completely silent, with occasional ripples caused by the wind. Other than that, nothing happened.
Wang Ke also felt that something was wrong. Following this direction, using the Big Dipper and the compass he carried with him, the two of them walked all the way. It took two hours to complete the entire journey. Not to mention meeting people on the way, not even a bird started.
Along the way, I could only hear the rustling of their footsteps and their calls. Wang Ke put the whistle in his mouth and kept blowing it.
Silent night, dark road.
At nine o'clock in the evening, they rushed back to Roe Deer Cave.
Looking from a distance, the lantern at the entrance of the cave is silently waiting for the members of the joint inspection and archaeological team in the dark forest.
When he walked to the entrance of the cave, Wang Ke felt a chill coming over him and couldn't help but shudder.
"Teacher Wen, something is wrong. Haven't they come back yet?"
"Ye Pian Pian, Ye Pian Pian!" Wang Ke called loudly into the cave.
"I'm here, is it you? Brother Bing, have you found my father or the others?" Ye Xian put down the rope ladder and came down from the cave on the second floor. But when she saw Professor Wen was followed by Wang Ke, she immediately became nervous.
"Didn't you find my father and the others?" Ye Xianqian's words were filled with tears, and his uneasiness was more worried.
Wang Ke stepped forward and gently patted her shoulder.
"What should I do, Teacher Wen?" Wang Ke asked again.
At this time, Professor Wen was also at a loss as to where Professor Ye Rongguang and two comrades from his group had gone.
calm down. Wang Ke reminded himself. The more we are at this time, the less we can get into trouble.
Wang Ke closed his eyes. He wondered if a scene could appear at this time, even as a reminder.
Strangely enough, as soon as he closed his eyes, a scene appeared in front of him. I saw three people, Professor Ye Rongguang, all wet. One of the comrades was hugging the other comrade, standing in a sinkhole the size of a basketball court. Surrounded by a curtain of pouring water, white waves splashed in the sinkhole, roared together, and flowed in the other direction. The three of them were unable to move in the water, and the comrade who was being hugged had his eyes closed.
Sinkhole? Wang Ke quickly climbed up to the second floor of the cave.
Standing in the patio on the second floor of the cave, looking up at the stars, Professor Wen and Ye Xianqian, who were unaware of what was going on, followed closely.
"What's going on? Comrade Xiao Wang, what did you find?"
"Waterfall sinkhole!" Wang Ke muttered to himself, wondering where there were waterfall sinkholes around here. If a person is trapped in this waterfall sinkhole, how can he get up?
"Comrade Xiao Wang, Comrade Xiao Wang, what is the waterfall and sinkhole?" Professor Wen asked.
Wang Ke woke up from the illusion and looked at Professor Wen. "They were trapped in the waterfall sinkhole."
"What a waterfall and sinkhole, do you know what you are talking about?" Ye Qianqian stepped forward and pulled Wang Ke.
"Teacher Wen, I guess they are trapped in the waterfall sinkhole."
"At this time, you are still making random guesses. Besides, where are the waterfalls around here?" Ye Xian was so angry that he stepped forward and tried to pinch Wang Ke.
"Wait a minute!" Professor Wen raised his right hand, "What are we looking for here? What we are looking for is the source of the underground river, and the source must be inseparable from water. And wherever we go today, according to the agreement, there is nothing more than Four kilometers, where is there water within four kilometers? Only the river bend and the reed pond, the only thing that can trap people is the reed bush."
Having said this, Professor Wen immediately turned around and said to Wang Ke, "Comrade Xiao Wang."
"arrive!"
"We must go back to that patch of reeds right away!"
"yes!"
"Let's go, let's bring the radio, dry food, equipment, and ropes and set off immediately." Professor Wen quickly packed his bags and got off the rope ladder.
Wang Ke realized that this trip was not an ordinary hardship, so he took all the equipment and dry food with him. He turned around and carried the radio on his back, and hung a roll of thick hemp rope on one shoulder.
A group of three people left the Roe Deer Cave and immediately walked toward the southwest.
Wang Ke was walking in front with a lantern, and he was very anxious now. As I walked, I silently thought about the reeds. During the field survival training, they were catching bullfrogs in the reeds, but they had never gone deep. Because there were already enough bullfrogs and asparagus on the side, even when the artillery platoon lived next to the reeds later, they did not go deeper because the depths of the reeds were more difficult to walk and the water was getting deeper and deeper. .
But in that patch of reeds, they never found a waterfall.
The journey is short in a hurry.
After a while, the three of them arrived at the reeds. From this angle, they could see that the reeds were turning yellow and rustling in the autumn wind. Just a corner, no edges visible.
"Comrade Xiao Wang, you said at that time that there was still water on this bend of the river. The water came from upstream, made a bend here, and then flowed downstream. Is that true?"
"Yes."
"Then you take us to the river bend first to have a look."
"good."
Everyone turned around and walked northwest along the reeds. After walking for another two or three kilometers, I finally heard the sound of rushing water. In the upper reaches of this river bend, there is indeed a river with a wide water surface. Although the water is not deep, it is obviously many times larger than the water in the downstream river channel.
"The water from the upper reaches should have flowed into this bay." The professor seemed to be saying to himself, and also to the two young people in front of him.
"Let's go upstream and have a look." Professor Wen seemed to have some doubts and strode upstream. Observing as I walked.
Two young men followed him. Ye Pianqian stretched out an arm to hold Wang Ke and asked quietly: "Brother Bing, what does Uncle Wen mean? Aren't you looking for the reeds? Why did you go upstream after you found it?"
Professor Wen looked back at the two young men, turned back without saying a word, and continued walking forward with his flashlight on.
After walking a few kilometers, the river in front of us disappeared. Wherever the flashlight shined, all he could see was a huge swamp. There are many grasses and small trees growing on it, and countless springs are bubbling out with water, and then they gather here from all directions, slowly forming several small streams. Then flow into the river behind you and run downstream.
"It should be here. This is the upper source of our river." Professor Wen said to the two young people.
There was no way out here. Wang Ke tried his feet. The bottom was very soft and could not stand at all.
"Uncle Wen, my father and the others won't get stuck in this swamp, right?"
"That's not true. Your father is not that stupid, but they must have been here before."
"However, this place has exceeded the scope of our agreement." Wang Ke looked around. Under the moonlight, there was no place to hide.
"Yes, Comrade Xiao Wang, your observation is correct, but why did Lao Ye and the others come here? Because they discovered a strange phenomenon, and I also discovered it."
"What's happening?" the two young people asked in unison.
"During your journey along the way, haven't you noticed that the water in the upper reaches is still abundant? The flow rate is even and the river channel is wide. But why is the water flowing slowly and sparsely in the lower reaches, and even stagnant in some places?"
"It's autumn now!" Ye Xian replied casually. She was so anxious that she couldn't think anymore.
"Yes, Uncle Ye and the others discovered that after the water reached the river bend, not much continued to flow out. This river, no, there is something strange in this reed!" Wang Ke suddenly figured it out.
"Yes, I just want to confirm it!"
