400: Chapter 398 Self-Awareness 400: Chapter 398 Self-Awareness Before entering the rainforest, Gao Yang and his team had collectively crammed some knowledge about the rainforest and had taken ample protective measures.
However, locusts were quite unpredictable and ultimately, they still fell victim to an infestation.
In a flustered panic, they managed to scorch the locusts away from their bodies, but to Gao Yang’s surprise, he found that Lucica and her people did not make any movements, obviously unaffected by the locusts.
Moreover, although they too carried headlamps or flashlights, the mosquitoes hovering around them were significantly fewer.
Gao Yang’s team had brought a good amount of insect repellent, several kinds in fact, which according to the instructions, should have been effective against mosquitoes and locusts alike.
Yet, the result proved only somewhat effective, especially when copious sweat soaked through their clothes, rendering the sprayed repellent useless shortly after application.
The five guides didn’t use any kind of insect repellent, but they didn’t have to worry about the mosquitoes at all.
“Hey, Lucica, could you tell me what you used to not be afraid of mosquitoes?”
After hearing Gao Yang’s question, without a word, Lucica walked back and forth a few steps, then reached out and pulled a large leaf from a plant about half the height of a person.
She crumpled the leaf in her hand into a ball, squeezed out its juice, and rubbed the leaf over her hands and face a few times.
The leaves Lucica used were not ubiquitous, but they were extremely common.
Gao Yang went over, plucked a leaf, and copied Lucica’s method, rubbing it on his hands.
The juice from the leaves had a scent that wasn’t very strong—somewhat like garlic but not particularly overpowering or pungent.
After applying the juice on his hands, the skin soon turned brown, and besides that, there were no other sensations.
Gao Yang raised his hand towards Lucica and asked, “Is this okay?”
Lucica nodded her head and then said coldly, “Apply more.”
Gao Yang immediately shouted, “Guys, check this out.
Rub this on your body; it’s much more effective than the repellent.”
After gathering his people to inform them which plant had the mosquito-repelling properties, Gao Yang took the opportunity to quietly say, “This rainforest is too unfamiliar to us.
If the current situation continues, we’ll be in big trouble.
Our guides seem indifferent to everything.
I don’t trust them.
We’re already in trouble right now.”
Gao Yang had a profound distrust of their guides.
They clearly had some means of repelling insects, but they remained silent and indifferent to the tribulations suffered by Gao Yang and his people, as if none of it concerned them.
Such guides could hardly be deemed competent.
In the journey ahead, they couldn’t do without these guides, yet the guides were proving to be very unqualified.
So, Gao Yang felt they were already in trouble.
Li Jinfang sighed and said, “Ivan was right, everything here is filled with hostility, including the people.”
Grollov gave a bitter smile and said, “If the guides aren’t cooperative, there’s not much we can do.
We can’t exactly point our guns at them and demand that they talk more.”
Just then, Tommy suddenly said, “They’re all guerillas, in their lives, there are only comrades and enemies.
They’re wary of all outsiders.
It’s hard to become friends with them, but these men are all qualified warriors.
If we hand them the command, I mean, to follow their directions for everything on the road, then they will arrange everything properly.”
Gao Yang frowned and asked, “Are you sure?”
Tommy confidently nodded and said, “I understand their way of thinking.
Trust me, they won’t take the initiative to do anything, but as long as you put the responsibility on them, they’ll do what needs to be done.”
After pondering for a moment, Gao Yang finally nodded and said, “Alright, there’s no better option.
I’ll tell them that on the road, they call the shots from now on.”
Having made up his mind, Gao Yang returned to Lucica’s side, with a smile on his face, he said, “Thank you for teaching us your ways, they’re very effective.
You are the true masters of this place, so it’s only right that we listen to you.
We’ve decided to hand over the command on the road to you.
You say go, we go; you say stop, we stop; in short, we rely on you completely.”
After Gao Yang said this with a beaming smile, Lucica looked at him with surprise, sizing him up and down.
Then, suddenly turning on her heel, she walked away, leaving Gao Yang standing there, dumbfounded.
It wasn’t that Lucica didn’t want to engage with Gao Yang; she went over to Kamp, repeated what Gao Yang had said, and Kamp too looked at Gao Yang with surprise.
But after pondering for a moment, he still led Lucica back to Gao Yang’s side.
Kamp spoke with a serious face, and Lucica translated beside him, facilitating a brief but productive meeting between Gao Yang and Kamp.
“Are you sure you want me to make all the decisions on the road from now on?” Kamp asked.
“Yes,” Gao replied.
“In which aspects?”
“Everything except combat,” Gao answered.
After a brief exchange, the expression on Kamp’s face softened, and after a glance at Gao Yang, he nodded and said, “Alright, I will make arrangements for the journey ahead.
I hope that you will follow them.”
Gao Yang shrugged and replied, “You are the masters here, you know this place, and we have no reason to reject the advice of experts only to make things harder for ourselves.”
Kamp suddenly smiled and said gravely, “You are different from other outsiders; you possess self-awareness.”
Gao Yang wasn’t sure whether Kamp’s words were a compliment or sarcasm, but he decided to take them as the former.
Being unfamiliar was just that, nothing to be ashamed of.
Having self-awareness was an advantage.
If they were to pretend to be more than they were and cause further trouble, that would be nothing but asking for hardship.
“I have always believed that having self-awareness is a virtue,” Gao Yang said.
“From what you say, it seems you’ve had dealings with other outsiders?”
Pointing to the stuff behind Gao Yang, Kamp said, “You have a lot of equipment, but most of it is useless in the jungle.
However, people who carry a lot of gear like you usually are very proud, only they don’t understand that in the jungle, the proud die quickly.”
Not letting well-equipped gear give a false sense of confidence was one of Gao Yang’s principles.
Superior equipment did not equate to extensive experience, and in the jungle, experience definitely trumped equipment.
With a slight smile, Gao Yang said, “That’s why we’ll listen to you in everything except combat.”
Kamp extended his hand toward Gao Yang and said solemnly, “Pleased to collaborate.”
After shaking Kamp’s hand, Gao Yang smiled and replied, “The pleasure is ours.
Moreover, we will learn a lot from you.
I’d like to express our gratitude in advance.
Thank you.” (To be continued.
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