About 40 meters across from the cave entrance appeared a middle-aged man wearing a robe, carrying a bundle of firewood on his back, waving a tree branch in his hand, beating the grass ahead of him and humming an unknown tune.
Song Heping sighed with relief.
This man seemed to pose no threat.
Moreover, he didn't even notice that just a few dozen meters away, inside a concealed cave entrance, a pair of eyes were staring intently at him; if he turned his head and spotted the cave entrance, he might have been greeted with a bullet.
"There's a village nearby."
Back inside the cave, Song Heping whispered to Willie, "It looks like we will have to go to the village tonight to find some water."
He grabbed his tactical bag and rummaged through it.
There was still food, enough to last three days.
This was within the plan, maintaining physical strength wasn't an issue.
The biggest problem was water.
This place is different from a regular jungle.
The tribal autonomous regions in Ba Country are predominantly highland and mountainous areas, lacking in water sources, and villages are scarce.
Villages generally exist where there are stable water sources, as people settle in areas where they can access water.
This is the necessary condition for the settlement of all human tribes and groups since ancient times, and it is the foundation of civilization.
Willie nodded, carefully opened his mouth, and said: "OK."
He now did not want to say even a single additional letter.
The severe lack of water and drought were extremely uncomfortable.
The water in their water bags had run out two days ago.
For the past two days, both relied on their wilderness survival skills to obtain some limited water to prevent dying of thirst.
Finding water sounds simple.
But it is difficult to do.
Their biggest problem was finding water sources while concealing their tracks.
If they disregarded covering their tracks, then finding water would be simple.
They could always find streams, or even wild fruits.
But during the day, both of them had to hide and avoid any sunlight, making it impossible to go out to find water.
They relied on setting up a water collection pit during their sleeping hours in the day to gather limited drinking water.
Such pits could collect a few hundred milliliters a day, which was far from enough for two highly active adults.
By today, the fourth day, Song Heping felt his tongue and upper palate sticking together in his dry mouth.
The most uncomfortable feeling was his lips.
Like sun-dried bacon, all his lips had cracked open, and talking with even a slightly larger movement would cause them to bleed.
There were still two more days to go.
And they had to cross a mountain area over three thousand meters high.
Before entering, they must prepare enough water.
No one knew whether they would be able to find a single drop of water after entering the mountain areas.
An important principle of wilderness survival is to be prepared for the worst-case scenario at all times, to make the most thorough preparations.
The presence of someone here indicates that there is a village nearby.
There must be water where there is a village.
Willie was already tormented by thirst to the point of losing the courage to disagree.
Normally, going to a village for water is a major taboo.
Once their tracks are exposed, all the previous days' efforts would be in vain.
They would find themselves back in a situation of being hunted by elite special forces.
But now, they couldn't care about that.
They couldn't care about anything.
If they continued like this, if there was no water to be squeezed out even from a stone when they entered the mountain area tomorrow, there would be no chance for regrets.
"You rest for a bit, I'll keep watch."
Willie nodded, still saying nothing.
Nobody wanted to talk.
He squeezed into a corner inside the cave, curling up against the wall, cradling his gun and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Song Heping sat at the edge of the cave entrance, his assault rifle on his thigh, the M24 leaning against the cave wall beside him.
Several times, he thought about throwing away the sniper rifle.