On the Importance of Knowledge

A weakness?

Lai'en fell silent for a moment, his eyes flickering as though he were weighing something, suppressing some indescribable emotion. It was a rare display of feeling from him.

"Your choice... was dangerous, and very much in keeping with Group A's style." His voice was low and slow, carrying a barely perceptible hint of emotion, but also forceful affirmation. "Still, you are our weakness... but we are no saints! They won't get another chance like that!"

Hardcore sweet talk sure is satisfying!

Song Zhi hurriedly lowered her head, hiding the smile on her lips.

See? The tip of the iceberg is starting to melt. Even Iron Man would have to shed a couple of tears before leaving!

The island lay in the Indian Ocean, right on the Tropic of Capricorn at 23°26′ south latitude. It was the dividing line between the tropics and the southern temperate zone, with the tropics to its north and the southern temperate zone to its south.

It was the line of latitude reached at the southernmost point of the sun's direct rays as they moved back and forth over the year, and its latitude was equal to the angle between the ecliptic and the equator.

The Tropic of Capricorn passed through Africa, Oceania, and South America. In Africa, it passed through Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, and other countries; in Oceania, it crossed Australia; and in South America, it passed through Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and other countries.

Because of the direct sunlight they received, these regions generally had tropical climates, though their specific climate types varied with factors such as their position relative to land and sea and their terrain. Some areas had tropical savanna or tropical desert climates, among others.

The Tropic of Capricorn was an important line of latitude on the Earth's surface. It had a significant influence on the Earth's climate distribution, seasonal changes, and biological activity, and was also one of the key lines of latitude used to divide the Earth into five climatic zones.

Long-dead high school geography facts were once again mercilessly attacking Song Zhi's brain-on the importance of learning geography for surviving the apocalypse.

In ancient China, the Tropic of Capricorn was known as the "Outer Heng," a term derived from the Diagram of the Seven Heng and Six Intervals.

But what were the seven heng and six intervals?

They were a detailed description of the sun's annual motion in the ancient Chinese canopy-heaven theory, first appearing in the Zhou Bi Suan Jing, which was designated a textbook for the Imperial Academy's mathematics curriculum in the early Tang dynasty. The book imagined the sun's apparent daily paths as seven concentric circular tracks, called the first heng, second heng, third heng, and so on from the inside out, up to the seventh heng. The seventh heng was the Tropic of Capricorn.

So why bring up the Diagram of the Seven Heng and Six Intervals?

Because everyone who studied traditional Chinese medicine knew that the movements of the sun, moon, and stars formed China's twenty-four solar terms, which in turn corresponded to the five phases and six qi. The way of traditional Chinese medicine drew on yin and yang above and arose from water and earth below, and shared similarities with the Taoist art of feng shui and geomancy.

The "Water-Finding Formula" had been passed down through countless generations since ancient times. Combining the wisdom of the ancients with modern high-tech instruments, they could naturally find a water source quickly.

Song Zhi had spent a long time gathering these key points of knowledge, but when she looked at the blond, blue-eyed Germanic man, she suddenly fell silent.

She would have to be out of her mind to discuss the secret arts of yin, yang, and feng shui with a foreigner. Besides, he wouldn't understand the mysterious numerological arts from the great nation of the East!

Song Zhi sighed softly. At that moment, she missed Lu Yu more than usual, but then she thought of how he strutted around like a flirt and did nothing but act like a rogue. What the hell would he know!

Lu Yu, who was foraging along the shallows by the sea, suddenly let out a loud sneeze. Someone was thinking of him. It had to be his fellow countrywoman. Lu Yu grinned foolishly.

But he soon stopped smiling, because he sneezed twice more in succession.

One sneeze means someone's thinking of you, two means someone's cursing you, and three means you're sick!

Wait, what was his fellow countrywoman cursing him for now?

Beyond the dense grove of tall-canopied coconut palms was a low, gently sloping expanse of open ground. The vegetation was lush and short, indicating that the place received plenty of sunlight.

Such a fertile plot of land—it would be a shame not to grow vegetables and grain on it!

They should plant potatoes and sweet potatoes. They produce high yields, are rich in starch and quality protein, and store well. Dig a cellar and they can keep for as long as six months. They can serve as both vegetables and staples, making them the perfect choice for stockpiling food in the apocalypse.

Failing that, they could grow peas, another high-yield crop.

The peace-loving Chinese woman Song Zhi, who only wanted to farm, had already divided the fertile land before her into planting areas in her mind.

She turned to look at the tall, powerfully built Lai'en, and inspiration suddenly struck her. Weren't the five muscular soldiers in their prime a ready-made workforce? What a waste of all those muscles if they didn't use them to swing hoes!

Uh... men farming and hunting?

Wasn't that a damn primitive matriarchal society?

Song Zhi was speechless.

Sure enough, history goes in cycles!

But that was beside the point. Back to the matter at hand.

The two of them continued onward. The soil beneath their feet gradually grew damp, and a faint, earthy smell seemed to hang in the air. Their black tactical boots were also dampened by moisture from the vegetation.

Song Zhi crouched down and lightly touched the ground with her fingers. The topsoil was slightly moist, making her even more certain that their analysis was correct.

The island had to have abundant freshwater resources! It was most likely a surface river that, for some unknown reason, disappeared at the edge of the island and became an underground river instead.

Judging by the geological activity, this place should once have been a volcano. Volcanic activity had created cavities and faults in the underground rock strata, allowing the surface river to seep downward. When the rainy season arrived, the vanished surface river might reappear.

A breeze blew past, bringing waves of coolness and dispelling the heat and dampness clinging to them.

As the saying went, a mountain in sight could still be far enough away to exhaust a horse. The lush green valley they had marked earlier still lay at the same seeming distance before them, and they had only covered half the journey.

It was late. If they returned to camp now, they would likely have to travel the same route again tomorrow. Going back and forth would only add to their workload.

They had no choice but to camp in the wild that night.

"Let's go a little farther. We need to find somewhere to spend the night." Lai'en cleared the way with a kukri, stopping from time to time to check their direction. In truth, he was slowing his pace to match Song Zhi's.

Song Zhi followed close behind him, one hand at her waist so she could draw her gun at any moment to deal with an emergency.

As the saying went, with truth in hand, one could go anywhere in the world!

Beyond the open ground thick with ferns was another broadleaf forest. The trees were short but densely packed.

Rather than venture into the broadleaf forest, they set up camp at its edge, beneath the exposed roots of an old tree.

Lai'en gathered dry branches and made several simple traps to guard against anything attacking them during the night.

Along the way, they had found no living wild animals, nor any sign of birds. But they couldn't let their guard down!

It was simply unbelievable that a tropical rainforest on the Tropic of Capricorn had neither a single migratory bird nor an insect in sight.

After the nuclear blast, such things were no longer unusual. As the Earth purified and reset itself, many species had vanished and gone extinct, and humanity would eventually perish too.

Night fell, but they did not light a campfire. It would have been unwise to build a fire in this unfamiliar, dark, and complex rainforest. The light would attract unnecessary trouble, and who knew what unknown dangers might still be lurking on this deserted island!

A self-heating meal and a flask of coconut juice were placed beside Song Zhi. Lai'en had always been a man of few words. After putting the food and drink down, he took an insulated sleeping bag from his backpack and spread it beside the shelter they had just built.

Song Zhi ate the dry rice from the packet with her head down, but inwardly she was in a panic.

They had only brought one sleeping bag!

When they had set out on this exploration mission, they hadn't planned to spend the night outside. The sleeping bag was merely a standard necessity for a march.

But now there was one sleeping bag and two of them. How were they supposed to sleep?