Paintings of Terror

Gu Qingqing looked up from below and saw Ke Xun breaking off and throwing down several thick and long branches from the tree.

Ke Xun jumped down from the tree, removed the twigs from these branches, and then one by one, he tightly bound them together with torn pieces of cloth, connecting them into a long branch that stretched several tens of meters. Finally, he secured his phone to the very top of it. 4LuaQg

“I’ll climb as high as possible, and then you hand me the branch,” Ke Xun said as he began to ascend the tree again.

Gu Qingqing understood his intention and quickly asked, “But will the phone camera capture it clearly? Everything is green here, it might be hard to distinguish with their colors blending together.”

“My phone has a 40-megapixel camera, equivalent to a five-fold zoom. The clarity should be fine,” Ke Xun replied as he climbed to the highest point possible. Gu Qingqing handed him the long branch and Ke Xun turned on the camera mode. He raised the phone-equipped end as high as he could to extend above the entire canopy, slowly and steadily rotating 360 degrees.

Withdrawing his hand, Ke Xun brought down the end with the phone and had Gu Qingqing unfasten it. “Check the photos we just took, see if you can see any kapok tree.” YNBO 2

Following his instructions, Gu Qingqing carefully reviewed the images, pausing frequently, then shook her head. “No.”

Ke Xun climbed down from the tree and pointed towards the direction they were heading. “We don’t need to scrutinize this section anymore. Let’s head straight to the farthest point shown in the picture and take another round of photos there. This’ll save more time.”

Gu Qingqing looked at him in surprise, finding his idea quite flexible and amazing.

The two continued their method of running, stopping, swiftly climbing trees for photo-taking, and checking the photos below. This indeed was saving a significant amount of time. hOXQat

However, time waited for no one.

The sky gradually darkened, casting a gloomy shadow overhead. The once serene and quiet trees turned into dark silhouettes under the dim light. There was no breeze; the branches and leaves remained unmoving. Only occasionally did melancholic cries of birds and beasts echo from deep within the dark and dense forest.

“It’s already the time we agreed upon…” Gu Qingqing reminded Ke Xun in a low voice. Everyone had agreed to return to where Qin Ci and Wu You were before it got completely dark, and then go back to the residential area together.

The sweat on Ke Xun’s face was like water rushing out of a floodgate, incessantly dripping down. 4ulWIn

Gu Qingqing had lost count of how many trees he had climbed. He had long reached his physical limit, but he continued searching desperately without a moment’s rest.

Gu Qingqing was somewhat afraid—afraid that he wouldn’t want to go back, afraid of the determination in his eyes that had never wavered from beginning to end.

Ke Xun wiped his face. Using his phone to shoot scenes in the distance was no longer possible; the sky had darkened, making it difficult to distinguish the shapes of leaves on the screen. He also saw the concern in Gu Qingqing’s eyes, not just for herself, but for Qin Ci and for him as well.

Ke Xun closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 4sFvli

If facing a companion’s death was also a kind of courage, then he… must summon that courage now.

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