Ahead of the Curve

A woman and a man, if not constrained by morals and decency, can happily engage in a soulful exchange when the attraction is mutual.

Luo Jun understood this well. During his time living in Europe and America, he wanted to experience something wonderful with a beautiful woman.

All you need is sufficient insight, emotional intelligence, and a decent appearance, and most Western women would not mind a night of mutual warmth.

But this has nothing to do with choosing a mate.

When it comes to developing a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, women are far more cautious than men.

If a woman gives the impression of being promiscuous, her value as a potential mate will be greatly diminished, which is why women do not take the initiative.

In fact, science has proven that the pleasure women experience is eight to nine times greater than what men feel.

Luo Jun thought that a few days ago, when he and Lona were warming each other, she must have been barely holding back, merely lacking the opportunity and excuse to be alone.

Facing Luo Jun's rebuke, Li Shi pouted her little mouth.

Which only made Luo Jun hold her tighter.

At the moment, Luo Jun did not have much energy to waste on women, considering an impending battle looming tomorrow or the day after.

Moreover, if he hurt Li Shi, it would make it even harder for her to walk.

"Stay here tomorrow and don't go anywhere. If I don't come back after a day and a night, leave early the next morning and return the way we came to the shelter. Don't travel at night."

Luo Jun instructed Li Shi.

"But... I don't remember the way," Li Shi said uncertainly, as they had traveled along desolate paths, and getting lost would make it impossible to find her way back.

"If you're not confident, wait here another day and night. But by then, your food and water will have run out, and if I don't return, you'll be in grave danger," Luo Jun said seriously.

"You will come back, nothing will happen to you," Li Shi said fearfully, hugging Luo Jun tightly.

"I hope so," Luo Jun replied.

"To remember the wilderness paths, focus mainly on recognizing the terrain, as terrain features are large-scale. Mark them in your mind, and you won't easily make mistakes. Once you know your location, just determine the direction, and your understanding of the terrain will help you find your way back to the area you were in." Luo Jun taught Li Shi the techniques for navigating the wilderness.

These mountain paths were still easy to remember because the terrain features were so distinct.

But getting lost in the Amazon rainforest plains would be far more difficult, and even Luo Jun was not entirely confident he could find his way out.

Luo Jun continued teaching Li Shi knowledge about identifying directions.

Li Shi listened attentively, preparing for any eventuality.

"If you unfortunately do get lost, finding a water source is the most important thing."

"We came over the southern slope, so from here, I should be able to find that river," Li Shi said.

"Yes, even if you leave the river, you can still find water sources elsewhere. If you hear birdsong nearby, follow the sounds and terrain to the birds' activity area, and you'll likely find water in the low-lying areas. It's the same principle with bees. If you don't see any animals but are extremely thirsty, you can dig up some absorbent soil, wrap it in cloth, and squeeze out the moisture to drink."

Luo Jun explained some basic methods for obtaining water.

This knowledge opened Li Shi's eyes, as she had never considered such issues before.

Suddenly exposed to this knowledge, her confidence in survival increased significantly.

"Alright, rest now," Luo Jun said, closing his eyes to sleep. But Li Shi's mind was restless, and she could not help but feel feverishly agitated as she held Luo Jun's body.

Luo Jun felt the tenderness of the young girl's body and was similarly aroused.

However, he had excellent self-control. This was a matter of life and death on the battlefield, and he would never let such base desires distract him.

Soon, Li Shi's movements calmed, and her body emitted a faint scent of hormone-induced pheromones.

Luo Jun also controlled his thoughts and quickly became peaceful.

Gradually, fatigue overtook him, and he soon fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, before dawn, Luo Jun rose. He gathered his belongings, left Li Shi a handgun and a knife, and then quietly slipped away from the rocky slope under the faint moonlight.

According to the route, Luo Jun still needed to travel another eight kilometers.

The path Luo Jun was taking now was the same one the mercenaries had taken, but the simple map alone was not enough to find the precise route.

So Luo Jun needed to scout the area for any traces or footprints.

The rain from two days ago had washed away most of the tracks in the forest, except for some particularly deep impressions.

With the keen tracking skills of a trained sniper, Luo Jun managed to find some clues among the plants.

He discovered a green cord caught on a bush.

He picked up the cord and immediately recognized it as having come from a ghillie suit.

While ghillie suits are convenient for camouflage, prolonged movement through forests inevitably causes strands and cords to be snagged on vegetation.

Luo Jun rolled the thin cord into a ball, lifted his shirt, and placed it against his dry abdomen.

After holding it there for a while, Luo Jun found no moisture had transferred from the cord to his dry skin.

"Damn it, they've gone ahead!"

Luo Jun had not expected them to travel through the night!

He had just done that to determine whether the cord was left by the previous group or the one from yesterday.

If it was from the previous group, this ghillie suit cord would have experienced that heavy rain. Even after hanging in the bush for a day, the high humidity in the forest would have prevented it from completely drying out. Using body heat, any moisture in the cord would have transferred to his dry skin.

Alternatively, he could have sealed the cord in a plastic bag and left it in the sun. If there were water droplets inside the bag, it would have indicated the cord had been soaked.

Luo Jun was familiar with these techniques, so he quickly realized those mercenaries had rushed ahead overnight!

This change forced Luo Jun to alter his plan, as he could no longer ambush them in advance.

And there was an even more serious problem - the mercenaries' decision to travel at night likely meant they had become aware of his presence, especially since the two snipers they had sent out never returned.

Among those mercenaries, there must be highly skilled snipers who realized this grave issue.

So they would undoubtedly be lying in ambush along Luo Jun's route!

This made every step extremely treacherous for Luo Jun.

Luo Jun took a deep breath to calm himself and cautiously moved through the forest, searching for any more tracks he could find.

Clearly, there were no other footprints along this route!

With so many of them rushing together, it was impossible for them not to leave tracks. This situation presented two possibilities.

One, the snipers had rushed ahead overnight to set up an ambush. Two, the snipers and other mercenaries, along with any survivors, had split into two separate routes and were advancing simultaneously!

If the former was true, then the snipers definitely knew the exact route Luo Jun would take.

If the latter, they were just on regular alert, in which case other tracks from the mercenaries and survivors should be found in the surrounding area!

"Damn it! I should definitely be able to find other people's tracks!"

Luo Jun feared the former scenario because if true, it meant his cooperation with Jones had been exposed, and the enemy likely had more than just two snipers!

That would put Luo Jun in a completely passive position!