The weather in the border region is very hot. Even in the forest, the temperature at noon is over 30 degrees Celsius, making it stuffy and difficult to breathe.

On the banks of a flowing river, the monkey and I spread out a sheet, rolled a stick around each end, and then laid it across the river.

After waiting for about half an hour, when we tucked the sheet into the bed, there were already dozens of colorful tropical fish inside.

The monkey blinked and asked me, "Young Master Duan, these fish look almost exactly like the ones sold in aquariums. Are you sure they're really edible?"

"Most tropical fish are not poisonous; the poisonous ones are mostly saltwater fish. As long as the internal organs of tropical fish are cleaned, they are edible. The water here is clear and unpolluted, much cleaner than the farmed fish you usually eat."

I dragged the fish ashore with a bed sheet, and while instructing Lin Que and Man Jing to start a fire, I began to kill the fish with a blade made from a piece of iron.

Just as we were preparing to grill the fish, we suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the nearby woods.

"Someone's there!"

Upon hearing the sound, Jiang Man's bodyguard, Xue Dong, immediately shielded her behind him and picked up his spear.

We make these spears from tree branches. After splitting the tip, we insert a sharpened piece of iron into it, and then wrap it with strips of cloth, thus creating a sharp weapon.

As bodyguard Xue Dong shouted, we all stood up, weapons in hand, and looked toward the source of the sound.

Then, the bushes were parted.

When the group of people inside came out and saw us, they were all startled.

The middle-aged man leading the group raised his hand to indicate that he posed no threat and said loudly, "Gentlemen, we just got lost and came here by accident. We mean no harm, so please don't be nervous!"

Jiang Man's bodyguard, Xue Dong, still wore a look of extreme alarm: "Enough nonsense! This is a competition, a fight to the death! What's there to explain!"

"That's right, that's how the competition is set out, but what we need to do right now is find the token. Fighting for our lives without getting the token is a completely pointless waste of time!"

The middle-aged man calmed us down and continued, "Although we are competitors, it's always better to have one more friend than one more enemy, don't you agree?"

We've been walking in the woods all morning, and we haven't even caught a glimpse of the dragon vein, which means the area of ​​this forest is indeed larger than I imagined.

In order not to delay the rest of the trip, I nodded to the middle-aged man: "You're right, we really don't want to be your enemy, but this territory has already been occupied by us, so you may leave on your own!"

"Young man, perhaps we can have a chat."

The middle-aged man licked his lips: "As you know, all fourteen teams are currently roaming this jungle. Only the strongest will emerge victorious. My team has four members who are all martial arts school graduates. Perhaps we could cooperate! We've all learned the principle of strength in numbers since we were kids, haven't we?"

The monkey sneered, "What a joke! You just said you were lost. You people don't even understand feng shui. Why should I cooperate with you?"

The middle-aged man patiently persuaded, "I've already said, in this competition, feng shui knowledge isn't the key to victory; martial prowess is also a significant factor! If we cooperate, I can provide you with strong security! I guarantee that if you're willing to accept me, the first token we find will be yours, and then you can lead us to find the second token. How about that?"

"No need, I have no interest in cooperation."

Upon hearing the middle-aged man's words, I rejected him without hesitation.

According to him, this team is full of experts, and if a conflict breaks out between the two sides, we may not be able to gain the upper hand.

Although he said that we could find the token together, what if they betray me after getting the item? Wouldn't I be asking for trouble?

In the past six months, although I have made a lot of money, my biggest takeaway is that I cannot easily trust human nature.

The middle-aged man sensed my aloof attitude and smiled nonchalantly: "That's true. In this situation, it's indeed difficult for teams that are already in competition to build trust. To be honest, before coming to participate in this competition, I really didn't expect there to be a feng shui element involved. Fortunately, the organizers left a way out for teams like mine, allowing us to compete for prizes."

"But we have almost no wilderness survival experience, and we dare not eat those wild fruits. Could you sell us some of your fish? I'm willing to buy them for ten thousand yuan each, and regardless of whether we win or lose, the money will definitely be paid after the competition ends."

"I can share the supplies with you, but I don't want the money... Lin Que, give each of them two fish."

I instructed Lin Que to distribute some supplies to them, and then added, "I have already given you the supplies. In the upcoming competition, I hope that both sides can try to avoid conflict unless absolutely necessary."

"Of course, I understand the principle of gratitude."

The middle-aged man waited for his subordinates to take the fish that Lin Que had brought, then clasped his hands in thanks to me and said, "Thank you all for your generous help. We'll be leaving now and won't disturb you any longer."

The monkey climbed up the tree and looked out to make sure the people had really left before it breathed a sigh of relief: "I thought that seeing the other contestants would be a bloody battle, but I didn't expect this scene to be so harmonious."

"This is because everyone hasn't seen any hope yet and doesn't want to start a conflict too early, causing unnecessary casualties. When we get closer to our destination, things will probably be a completely different story."

I waved to the others: "Everyone, let's get moving. This afternoon, we'll do nothing but fish here, then dry them and carry them with us, so that the firelight and smoke won't cause any unnecessary trouble when we get close to our destination."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Man questioned me: "Isn't this taking too long? An afternoon is enough time for other teams to travel a long distance."

"None of the teams participating this time have any supplies, and jungle trekking is a high-intensity physical activity, which means that wilderness survival is one of our challenges. Other teams also need to find food to replenish their energy! True wilderness survival experts will not exhaust themselves on the first day and continue in a state of fatigue, so they will not leave us too far behind. On the contrary, those who make sufficient preparations now will have an advantage in the following journey!"

After making the decision, I called to Monkey to get up and walk towards the river: "Let's not delay, everyone get moving. Jiang Man and Xue Dong will be in charge of killing the fish, Monkey and I will be in charge of catching them, and Lin Que and Man Jing will be in charge of cooking them. Once we have enough food for five days, we'll set off!"