Akai quickly took out his altimeter, the needle hovering around 950 meters. "It matches the environment in the photo." Chen Mo nodded. "At the third fork in the road, we chose the left path at Turtle Rock, right? And then we entered this thick fog."

"And then?" Xiaoya pressed. "Did you encounter any special trees or streams?"

Everyone was lost in memories. The forest was deep and the fog was heavy, blurring the sense of time, and every step felt like walking on cotton. Xiao Lin said he seemed to have passed through a bamboo forest, but couldn't remember if it was broadleaf bamboo or arrow bamboo; A-Kai said he had heard the sound of a woodpecker about half an hour ago; Lao Zhou remembered that there were fresh wild boar footprints on the ground, the hoofprints were inverted heart shapes with small cracks around the edges.

"Wild boar footprints?" Chen Mo frowned. "Which direction?"

"It seemed... to be heading in the direction we came from," Old Zhou recalled. "The fog was too thick at the time, so I didn't dare to look closely."

This was not good news. Wildlife tracks could sometimes point to water, but they could also signify potential danger. Chen Mo stood up, looked around, and tried to catch a glimpse of familiar scenery through the gaps in the mist. Suddenly, he pointed diagonally ahead: “Look at that tree, doesn’t the trunk look a little strange?”

Following his pointing finger, everyone looked and could vaguely see a tall beech tree in the mist, with what appeared to be some white marks on its trunk. Chen Mo led the way, using his trekking pole to clear away the bushes blocking the path, and the marks gradually became clearer—three parallel scratches, about 1.5 meters from the ground, as if carved with a sharp tool. The edges were already somewhat weathered, but they were still clearly visible on the grayish-white bark.

"What is this?" Kobayashi asked curiously, reaching out to touch it.

"Don't touch it!" Kai suddenly shouted. "Could it be scratches from a wild animal?"

Old Zhou shook his head: "It doesn't seem like it. Animal scratches are usually deeper and curved. These three are too straight, like they were carved by someone." He leaned closer and smelled it. There was no animal smell on the bark, only the smell of damp moss.

Chen Mo squatted down and examined the ground below the scratches: "The grass here has been trampled down, and it's freshly fallen, so someone must have passed by today." He looked up at everyone, a glint of light in his eyes, "Do you remember? Before we set off, the team leader said that to prevent getting lost, the veteran team members would mark the trees on key sections of the road, such as three vertical lines to represent going straight and a cross to represent a fork in the road."

"Yes! I remember now!" Xiaoya clapped her hands. "The team leader said that when making marks on a tree with a knife, the depth should not exceed the bark and the cambium layer should not be damaged, so the marks won't be too deep. But were these marks made by our own people?"

“Not necessarily,” Chen Mo stood up. “It could be left by previous hiking groups. But at least it shows that someone has walked this path before, so it’s not a dead end.”

This discovery was like a shot in the arm, lifting his spirits. Akai immediately pulled out a map, searching for any potentially marked sections of the road: "If there's a mark here, it means we're on another branch line, possibly leading to…" His finger paused at the edge of the map, "…to the ravine to the west?"

"Mountain stream!" Old Zhou's eyes lit up. "That's right! Water flows downhill. As long as we find a stream and follow it downstream, we'll eventually get out of the mountains!"

Chapter 3: Tracing the Stream and Marking

The sound of water had become clearer at some point, like a crumpled silver chain hidden deep in the mist. Chen Mo pointed to the beech tree where the marker was located: "The direction this marker points to should be the location of the stream. Everyone, pay attention, keep in formation, call out to each other, and don't stray too far apart."

The group reorganized, with Chen Mo leading the way, Akai bringing up the rear, and Lao Zhou and Xiao Ya protecting Xiao Lin in the middle. The fog was still thick, but the path beneath their feet felt more solid now that they had a direction. They stepped on decaying leaves and pebbles, and gradually heard the rushing sound of water hitting the rocks.

"We're here!" Xiaolin was the first to see the mountain stream. The stream wasn't wide, but it was crystal clear, and the pebbles at the bottom had been smoothed by the water. The current wasn't rapid, but it formed many small waterfalls among the rocks, and the splashing water was cool.

"What do we do now?" Kai asked. "Go downstream or upstream?"

“Generally speaking, downstream is more likely to lead to the foot of the mountain,” Lao Zhou said. “But it also depends on the direction of the stream.” He took out a map and tried to match the location of the stream, but the water system markings on the map were not detailed, and only the general direction of flow could be seen.

Chen Mo squatted by the stream, scooped up a handful of water, took a couple of sips, and then carefully observed the direction of the water flow: "Look, there are some pine needles and fallen leaves floating on the surface, which means there might be a pine forest upstream. Downstream, the water is wider and there are more aquatic plants." He pointed to a spot not far downstream, where the stream made a bend and disappeared behind a dense thicket of bushes.

“But the markers were in the direction we came from,” Xiaoya asked. “If the markers are for navigation, shouldn’t we go upstream?”

This was indeed a point of contention. Everyone fell into thought again. Chen Mo didn't rush to a conclusion. He walked back and forth along the stream bank for a few steps, his eyes searching the trees on both sides. Suddenly, he stopped on a maple tree downstream—on the bark, there were three parallel marks, shallower than those on the previous beech tree, but equally clear.

"Look here!" Chen Mo shouted, "There are also markings downstream, and the markings are in the direction of the water flow!"

The crowd gathered around and, sure enough, saw three vertical lines on the maple tree, pointing like arrows downstream. "This means the people who marked it went downstream," Akai analyzed. "They probably got lost, found the stream, and then followed it downstream to find their way out."

“Let’s go downstream!” Chen Mo decided. “Watch your step, the rocks are slippery, let’s look out for each other.”

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!