We didn't even bother to glance at that pool, and simply walked straight back the way we came, bypassing it.
After nearly half an hour of travel, the little food we had eaten earlier still didn't seem to be enough to keep our bodies going.
A painful spasm hit my stomach, and I burped, a gush of stomach acid shooting out of my nose. It felt like eating hot and sour rice noodles and having the noodles blown out of your nose – pungent and sour.
At this moment, our physical condition is very poor. We still feel very weak and have a feeling of wanting to vomit.
This is a sign of dehydration, and you need to replenish electrolytes promptly.
Fortunately, I still had some salt in my basket, and there happened to be a small stream flowing down the rock face near the cliff.
I don't have time to confirm the safety of these water streams right now, but spring water like this should be surface water that has been filtered through the mountain rocks and is considered flowing water, so drinking some temporarily should be fine.
The truth is, we have no choice but to drink; our physical condition doesn't allow us to be picky anymore. Even if it causes diarrhea later, we have to accept it, because the danger of dehydration is no less than that of hunger.
I filled a bamboo tube with water, then took out some salt and added it to make it into a slightly salty solution, like saline solution.
The young indigenous man next to me saw me put some powder into the water and stir it. I told him that drinking this would make him feel better.
As I spoke, I first gulped down a few mouthfuls of saline solution. Then the young native and Top also drank their fill, finishing off the rest of the saline solution.
After drinking the salt water, the nausea was relieved quite a bit.
The problem is that our bodies haven't replenished their energy yet. Every step we take feels like our feet are made of lead, barely obeying our commands.
Then came a wave of exhaustion, and we just wanted to lie down and sleep right away.
But I know that our bodies are still not out of danger, and there is a possibility that we might not wake up after this sleep.
Several times, the young indigenous man suggested that we rest before continuing our journey, as he was simply too tired.
I disagreed, saying we had to get out first. If we were tired, we could slow down. But now, even if we moved at a snail's pace, we couldn't stop.
Our current state is dangerous; if we stop, our bodily functions will unconsciously make us fall asleep.
After walking for a while in a daze, I seemed to see some dark purple bamboo stalks swaying in front of me.
My vision was blurry, so I blinked hard and patted my cheeks to clear my head and focus my attention on what was in front of me.
After some effort, the dizzying feeling in my vision finally subsided a bit. I opened my eyes wide and took a closer look, and I was overjoyed.
These purplish-black, teacup-sized things are not bamboo, but sugarcane, which I have been searching for ever since I came to the rainforest!
Because it's a tropical variety, and because of the fertile peat soil here, these dark purple sugarcane stalks are almost two or three times larger than the ones I've seen back in my hometown.
They're practically lifesavers right now because sugarcane is rich in sugar.
These valuable high-energy carbohydrates can be quickly converted into glucose in the body to directly and rapidly replenish the body's energy.
This is much faster than our stomachs slowly digesting meat to extract energy. At that moment, I was so moved that I knelt down in this sugarcane field.
"We're saved...we're saved!"
I was shouting incoherently, but my excited state of mind was pushing my body to exert as much strength as possible.
The machete, which he usually held with ease, now felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, making it difficult to lift with both hands.
But I need to cut a section of sugarcane first; we desperately need these precious sugars to replenish our bodies' deficiencies.
At that moment, I was like a madman, hacking at the sugarcane with the machete in my hand.
Because my vision had become somewhat blurry, I didn't make any cuts in the same spot.
Cutting this sugarcane is now as difficult as cutting down a towering tree.
But I haven't given up at all. Now I'm locked in a battle with this sugarcane in front of me. Either it falls or I fall!
After a flurry of chopping, I finally felled the sugarcane stalk with such skill that it was unrecognizable.
I don't have the strength to cut it into pieces anymore, because we need to save some energy to chew out the juice from the sugarcane and swallow it before we're done with the job.
We all knelt on the ground, like devout believers, and started gnawing on the sugarcane.
"Sizzle..."
"Sizzle..."
"Sizzle..."
Almost at the same time, the sound of three sugarcane peels being torn apart by teeth rang out.
The white, glistening, and juicy sugarcane flesh appeared before our eyes. We were now like starving beasts, no longer caring about the dirt on the sugarcane.
With a crunch, a large mouthful of sugarcane flesh stuffed his mouth full.
Smack smack...
The sounds of chewing continued as we chewed frantically. The sweet juice flowed down our throats into our already burning stomachs.
Immediately, we felt a warm current rising in our stomachs. This feeling was wonderful, like a bloodthirsty vampire getting a fresh blood boost. Every cell in our body made a joyful sound.
I know this is my body working at high speed, delivering this energy to all the vital organs in my body.
Now I feel that my vision has improved compared to before, and the unpleasant burning sensation in my stomach has also become much more comfortable, as if I had poured mint water into it.
The young natives and Top were in the same boat; their spirits were much higher now. The drowsy feeling they had been experiencing earlier had been greatly alleviated.
I'm still quite sleepy, but it's under control now.
The young indigenous man knelt on the ground, tears welling in his eyes. He mumbled something only he could understand, and then bent down to kiss the earth.
This is probably a heartfelt thank you to Mother Nature for saving our lives when our lives were at stake.
After eating the life-saving sugarcane, we rested on the spot for a while, and our strength returned somewhat.
I can feel that right now, when our health bar is down to a sliver, a health pack happens to spawn under the tower, and after we lick it, our green health bar keeps recovering.
After a while, we chopped some more sugarcane and ate it. This time, with some "health points," we were able to work much better than when we were at almost zero health.
This time I didn't stop everyone. Sugarcane juice is something you can just drink until you throw up, and it's easier to replenish your energy than food.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com