After the necessary arrangements were made, they were ready to return to the country.
As the helicopter was destroyed, they could only walk through the dense forest.
However, there was a problem. The man who was killed in the explosion yesterday was the only person who knew how to navigate the way back.
In other words, no one else knew how to get back.
As this was a primeval forest, there were no reference points available. Even if there was a guide, there was still a possibility of getting lost, let alone the absence of a guide. It was an obstacle to get out of this forest.
Furthermore, if one were to get lost in a primitive jungle, there would be no way to backtrack and it was impossible to know which direction one was heading towards.
There were only two options left for them. One was to stay put and wait for people to come to their rescue, and the other way was to take the risk and enter the dense forest.
Everyone’s eyes were glued onto Nan Chen, waiting for him to decide.
Nan Chen was also trying to decide. This decision had to be done carefully as it meant putting a lot of lives in danger.
It was too hard of a decision for him to make.
It was impossible for him to get in touch with the outside world as there were no modes of communication at hand.
No one even knew if the Nan family has taken any actions for rescue operations.
The dried rations left were also limited and even if everyone were to consume a minimal amount, it could only support them for one day.
If no one came to their rescue in time and they ran out of food, they would have no energy left to get out of this place.
But if they chose to take the risk and try to walk through the forest without any guide, the chances of them successfully leaving this place were very slim too.
There would be some risks involved for any choice that was made.
“What do you think?” Nan Chen suddenly looked towards Ning Ran.
“Me?” Ning Ran did not expect for Nan Chen to question her.
“Do you not have any ideas?” Nan Chen frowned.
“I do not have, I have never had such an experience before, I will listen to what all of you say.” Ning Ran replied.
“How about this, we will leave the food ration for the rest of you here. Qiao Zhan and his team will stay here to protect the three of you, while I lead two of his members to try to navigate our way out of the forest. If we succeed, we will get the rescue team to save all of you.” Nan Chen said.
“What if you cannot manage to find your way out?” Ning Ran questioned.
There was dead silence.
Everyone knew that if they could not get out of the forest, it meant that they would not be able to get back either. The primitive forest was the place where everyone gets lost.
No one knew how long one could survive upon getting lost in the primitive forest.
But there was a high death risk else this land would not have been named as an empty land.
“If we do not manage to get out, all of you will continue to wait here and leave the dried ration for the children.” Nan Chen said.
“I disagree.” Ning Ran said emotionally.
“Didn’t you have no comments?” Nan Chen frowned and asked.
“I now have.” Ning Ran said.
“Your comments are not valid.” Nan Chen said.
“Why? This is not Flower City and not your office, why must you be the one who calls the shots? I disagree with your decision.” Ning Ran said emotionally.
“So what do you think we should do?”
“Don’t try to get out of here; the success rate is almost zero. Even a guide could lose his way, let alone someone who was never navigated through the forest before. By trying to get through this forest is no different from sending yourself to death, you should be clearer of this than anyone else.” Ning Ran said.
Erbao started wailing by the side, “I don’t want Third Uncle to die! I don’t want!”
Nan Chen immediately lifted Erbao up and said, “Don’t listen to mommy’s nonsense, Third Uncle will not die.”
“I disagree as well.” Dabao said.
Everyone’s attention was placed upon Dabao as his state of calmness was rather shocking for a child.
“Instead of taking risks, why not just wait here? If no one comes to our rescue, we continue to wait together.” Ning Ran said.
Dabao nodded as what mommy said was what he wanted to say.
Compared to separating and perishing in the forest, eaten by wild animals and insects, it would be better for everyone to stick by together and spend their last few hours together.
“The dried ration is limited but we will not starve to death anytime sooner. Adults will not die after a week, Erbao and I can sustain for one week, so we are not at our wits’ end yet.” Dabao gave an objective analysis which left everyone jaw dropped.
Such a cruel horrible truth came out from the mouth of a child. All these were making the team members tearing up.
However, Dabao remained as calm and continued his analysis.
“The most important resource that we need is water, so obtaining water is key. It would be better if there was a river as it could provide us with an unlimited source of water and there could be fishes in there so we will not have to starve to death. We could even possibly sustain for one more month.”
Everyone was still silent.
Everyone was not sad but rather, they were overwhelmed by his calm analysis.
This child’s state of calmness in analyzing things was really terrifying!
Even Nan Chen was shocked.
He only thought of sacrificing himself by taking risks in order to help the children stay alive.
However, he had never considered the condition of how one could sustain the possibility of staying alive.
As long as they could stay alive, they would definitely get rescued and everyone will not die.
Dabao’s way of thinking was right.
The best choice of course was for everyone to survive.
It was rare for Nan Chen to get emotional but this time, he hugged Dabao and gave him two kisses.
No one had ever seen Nan Chen acting like this. Was this even still the same ice cold Mr. Nan Chen?
“Dabao, you’re amazing!” Nan Chen said.
“Third Uncle is amazing too, just that what you had in mind was about sacrificing yourself and was a bit too extreme. I am a child, so I have no ability to sacrifice myself to protect all of you. Hence, I can only try to think of ways to not sacrifice anyone here.” Dabao said.
Ning Ran was shocked too. Although she knew that her son was a genius, she did not know that he would be so terrific to this extent.
“Young Master Dabao is right, we have to first maintain our abilities so Mr. Nan Chen will stay here, and I will bring a team member with me to search for water sources.” Qiao Zhan said.
“But what if you both lose your way back here?” Nan Chen ask.
“Our mission is to protect Mr. Nan Chen and Young Master Dabao’s family, so we have to give it a shot.” Qiao Zhan said.
“This deserted place should have rivers nearby, and they are not far.” Dabao said.
Everyone was taken aback once again.
Ning Ran look towards Dabao and said, “How did you know?”
“I have once read a book regarding a Chinese expeditionary force which talks about the presence of a river in a situation that is rather similar to our current one.” Dabao said.
“What’s next?” Qiao Zhan asked eagerly.
“The river is well hidden but it must be there. It is a small river and we will need to search all over the place in detail to find it.” Dabao said.
“So how exactly are we able to find it?” Qiao Zhan asked again.
“Rivers are mostly located at a low altitude as water flows downwards. Hence we should choose to search in low-lying areas. As we go along, we have to make some markings on the trees so that we can turn back anytime if we are unable to find any paths further ahead.” This time, Nan Chen was the one speaking.
Dabao nodded, indicating that he agreed with him. This adult and child are having a good rapport together.
“What’s next?”
“If this direction was wrong, we will have a change of direction the next day. We have to ensure the markings are clear so that we will not have to repeat the entire process again.” Nan Chen said.
Dabao nodded again. He had finally found an adult who has a similar way of perception as him and he felt contented and relieved.
“We cannot go far, as we have to ensure that we have the energy to make it back here.” Nan Chen reminded everyone.
He gave it a thought, and said, “Let me lead the people in the search for the river.”
“No, this is idea of yours is good enough but we will do the search. You will stay here to look after Young Master Dabao and Young Mistress Erbao here.” Qiao Zhan said.
“I will analyze the surroundings as I have read the book on the Chinese expeditionary force as well. I should go on the search personally to see if I can discover anything.” Nan Chen said.
Qiao Zhan was about to say something but Nan Chen waved his hand to stop him.
