With food to eat, everyone stopped dozing off. They chewed voraciously, as if they had a grudge against sugarcane.

At this time, because the sugarcane season was almost over, a lot of the sugarcane had already begun to turn black and spoil.

The blackened sugarcane is inedible, but the section of sugarcane closest to the ground is usually still intact. You can still eat it by cutting off more of the top half.

These naturally ripened sugarcane were very sweet. After eating more than ten stalks, we felt that our throats were filled with sugarcane juice and we couldn't eat anymore. We stopped with a burp.

I cut some more sugarcane, chopped them into short sections, and put them into my basket. After filling it with about ten kilograms, I put the basket back on my back and got up again.

With our bodies greatly replenished, we feel our strength gradually returning, and the feeling of fatigue has lessened considerably.

I know that our condition is not due to any special physical strength. If we were outside, we would certainly die in this state, and even drinking sugarcane juice would not save us.

Because the body's rate of decomposition and absorption is simply not fast enough, the main factor here is the high concentration of oxygen.

As I mentioned before, we're currently in a state where it's like we've been given a cheat code, constantly wearing an invisible oxygen mask.

This greatly helps the body to extract every drop of energy, which is the same principle as a critically ill patient needing oxygen.

This helps the body's cells get enough oxygen to continue functioning; otherwise, I might not even have the strength to cut that sugarcane.

Another point, which is also related to the Yin-Yang concept mentioned earlier,

Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.

High oxygen levels can increase energy consumption, giving us speed in a short time, but also causing our bodies to become depleted more quickly.

However, after we eat food, the high oxygen content can act as a catalyst, accelerating the oxidation and decomposition of food, making the body function one or two times faster than usual.

This is the current state of my body, and also the state of all the animals in the sinkhole.

Their bodies burn energy faster than other animals, and they eat more frequently.

If we stay here any longer, we'll be a feast for the animals here. The sinkhole is only so big; we'll likely encounter them sooner or later.

I checked the ammunition and found that I had almost used up all the gold-grab shotgun shells, and a large pile of spent shell casings were stored in the adjacent compartment.

Five gold-grain shotgun shells remain, and twelve slugs remain.

I felt a pang of pain when I read this; this trip has almost wiped out my life savings.

Looking at Pat again, it now had an innocent look on its face, obediently being held by the young native like an old hen without struggling.

I gave a wry smile. Oh well, as long as everyone is safe and sound.

Although we have now replenished our strength, this place is fraught with danger, and getting out of here as soon as possible is our top priority.

Just as I was about to continue on my way, I suddenly realized a major problem.

Damn it! Did we encounter this sugarcane field on our way here? I quickly looked around and found that all the trees were the same. We were so confused and focused on getting on our way that we didn't know how far we had strayed from our original location.

I have no idea where I am right now; to put it simply, we're lost!

Damn it!

I cursed under my breath, "It's true what they say, 'A rope always breaks at its weakest point, and misfortune always befalls the unfortunate.' What you fear most is what's most likely to happen."

There's no sun here to let me use the three-point method to determine my direction, let alone a compass, unless I make a compass beforehand and mark the north and south.

Otherwise, using this magnetic needle alone would be of no reference value at all.

Now I can only try to recall the direction in which the canopies of those trees grew when we arrived.

Growing trees receive more sunlight on their south side, resulting in more vigorous growth and sparser annual rings, while the opposite is true for their north side.

In addition, the branches and leaves on the south side of the tree are denser and the bark is smoother, while the branches and leaves on the north side are relatively sparse and the bark is rougher.

I remember touching a few trees on the way down the slope, and the rough bark rubbed my arm red.

Moreover, when I saw the path leading down, I noticed that the tree canopy was denser towards the sinkhole, while it was much sparser on the opposite side.

The sinkhole I'm in now is located to the south of the path we came down from, so if we want to go back, we have to head north.

I quickly found my general north-facing location by the density of the bark and canopy.

Since I don't know how far we've strayed from the path, all I can conclude is that the road we came from is to the north, but we'll have to get there first to find out exactly where it is on the northern cliff face.

Fearing I would get lost again, this time I made a mark on the bark of a tree facing north every so often.

As long as we walk in a straight line along this marked line, we will not go around in circles.

To ensure a more precise route, I always choose trees of similar size and point them towards the center of the bark on the north side.

This makes the northward-bound line straighter, which can largely prevent us from taking detours and reduce energy loss. A straight line is the shortest distance to reach the destination.

I was holding a shotgun, and the young local was holding the machete I had handed him.

Because I felt that if a close-quarters battle really broke out, my machete might be more lethal than his wooden spear.

These natives are physically very strong. If given the right weapons, I feel they could fight ordinary wild beasts head-on.

Top continued to lead the way, but this time we dared not let Top stray too far.

This place is far too dangerous; one wrong step and we could get lost. I told Top to keep two meters away from me, and the two of us and the monkey continued on our way cautiously.

The journey was relatively smooth. Perhaps the continuous gunfire had scared away the wild animals in the vicinity, because now even the birdsong in our area has become much sparse.

However, this is exactly what we hope for. As long as we can leave this place safely, we can live out our lives without ever interacting with the animals here again.

After walking for about half an hour, we finally arrived at the foot of that towering, steep cliff, which was the edge of the sinkhole.

But I wasn't very excited because we hadn't found the path up yet. We were still birds trapped in a cage, and only when we found the cage door could we truly escape danger.