Reborn in 72, I hunt to support my family and spoil my younger sister rotten.

Chapter 321 Waiting for a Thunderstorm

The group sat down wearily, each with a different expression.

Shen Chengye's gaze kept shifting between Li Xiangyang and Shen Xiangyang, his eyes filled with suspicion and unease.

If we can't even find the way out of the mountains, then the hidden gold will become a complete joke.

"Xiangyang," Wang Ergou leaned closer to Li Xiangyang and lowered his voice, "Do you think we can still find a way out?"

Li Xiangyang did not answer immediately; his gaze drifted into the distance.

If there's one place in this area that stands out the most, it's undoubtedly the Black Mountain.

Although Li Xiangyang did not want to get close to that place, it became the only reliable reference point when he was lost.

"Ergou," Li Xiangyang suddenly asked, "do you remember which direction we first saw that black mountain from?"

Wang Ergou frowned and pondered for a moment, then pointed in a direction: "It should be over there. I remember the shape of the mountain peak looked like a crouching wild beast."

Li Xiangyang nodded: "Yes, from this angle, the shape of the mountain peak has indeed changed. This means our current location is different from when we came."

He stood up, looked around, and made a decision: "Listen, everyone, we are in a dangerous situation, but we are not without options."

All eyes were on him, waiting for his next words.

“The only reliable landmark right now is that black mountain,” Li Xiangyang pointed to the barren peak in the distance. “We need to use it to determine our direction.”

He took out a small notebook and pencil from his backpack, spread a fallen leaf on the ground, and began to draw.

“When we first arrived in this area, we saw the Black Mountain from this direction,” he drew a simple diagram. “Now we are in this position, and from this angle, the shape of the mountain has changed.”

The crowd gathered around, staring at the simple blueprint.

“If I remember correctly, we entered this area roughly from the east of Montenegro,” Li Xiangyang continued, “and now we’re in a slightly southeasterly position. This means we need to head northeast to return to the route we came by.”

Shen Chengye frowned: "But without a compass, how do we determine the northeast direction?"

Li Xiangyang pondered for a moment, then looked up at the sky: "It's morning now. The sun rises in the east, and by following its path, we can roughly determine east, west, north, and south."

“But,” one team member said worriedly, “even our sense of direction will be off under this kind of magnetic interference. Will relying solely on the sun be accurate enough?”

Li Xiangyang did not answer directly. Instead, he walked to a tall pine tree, took out a small knife from his backpack, and cut a slit in the trunk.

“Look at the texture of this bark,” he pointed to the fresh wound, “the bark on the north side is thicker and coarser than on the south side. This is a natural adaptation of the tree to the climate, and no amount of magnetic interference can change that.”

Everyone looked at him in surprise, not expecting that he could come up with this method under such circumstances.

"Also," Li Xiangyang looked up at the pine tree branches, "most pine branches grow southward because the south receives more sunlight."

He crouched down, brushed aside the fallen leaves, and pointed to some small plants: "Most of these plants have leaves facing south, which is to get more sunlight."

Through these clues from nature, Li Xiangyang gradually determined his direction.

“Alright,” he straightened up, his gaze resolute, “I have a general direction now. We need to go that way.”

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing, but they were all completely bewildered.

Among these seemingly identical trees, who can discern the correct direction?

But no one objected. In this situation, Li Xiangyang was their only hope.

Everyone packed their belongings and followed Li Xiangyang on their way.

During the journey, Li Xiangyang constantly observed the surrounding environment, using the activity traces of trees, plants, and even animals to correct his direction.

Nevertheless, the journey was not smooth. After walking for about two hours, Li Xiangyang suddenly stopped, his expression grave.

"What's wrong, Xiangyang?" Wang Ergou asked.

Li Xiangyang pointed to a rock in front of him: "Look at that rock, it has scratches on it, marks we left when we came."

Everyone looked at each other, their faces grim.

"You mean we're back to square one?" Shen Chengye's voice trembled.

Li Xiangyang did not answer; he was pondering deeper questions.

Why do they always end up back where they started? Are they simply lost, or does this mountain possess some special power?

A bold idea formed in Li Xiangyang's mind.

"Could it be..." he murmured to himself, "that magnetic interference has created some kind of force field."

"Then what should we do?" Shen Chengye asked anxiously.

Li Xiangyang was silent for a moment, then his eyes suddenly became firm.

“I have a guess,” his voice was low and calm, “that we’ve been stuck because of a shift in our positions, which makes Montenegro constantly draw us in.”

"Attract?" Shen Chengye frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Just like a magnet attracts iron," Li Xiangyang explained, "no matter which direction we go, we'll eventually be pulled back."

The crowd looked at each other, their eyes filled with fear.

"Then does that mean we'll never get out?" a team member asked, his voice trembling.

Li Xiangyang did not answer immediately; he was pondering a more peculiar question.

The survey team originally had nine people, so why did only two of them eventually emerge from the mountains?

Moreover, the two people were so frightened that they lost their minds.

"Captain Shen," Li Xiangyang suddenly turned to Shen Chengye, "your team initially had nine people, right?"

Shen Chengye nodded, his expression somewhat complicated.

“Very well. I'm telling you clearly, those two have gone back, and they've gone mad with fear. Now, regardless of whether you were separated due to danger or some other reason, I only want to know when they left? What was the weather like?”

"It seemed to have been a rainy night," a bespectacled team member recalled. "There was thunder and lightning that day, it was quite frightening. The two stole the gold and ran away quietly..."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou exchanged a glance, and the ancient sacrificial scene they had witnessed on that rainy night flashed through their minds simultaneously.

"Rainy night, lightning and thunder, ghostly figures..." Li Xiangyang muttered to himself, his thoughts racing.

A bold idea formed in his mind.

The two team members were able to escape because they saw a similar phantom in the rainy night, which terrified them so much that they fled desperately until they could no longer see the phantom.

“I think I know how to get out,” Li Xiangyang suddenly said, a wry smile on his face, “but you probably won’t like this method.”

"What method?" Shen Chengye asked eagerly.

“Wait,” Li Xiangyang replied briefly, “wait for a thunderstorm.”

The crowd was momentarily stunned and looked at each other in bewilderment.