Chapter 5: Misfortunes Never Come Alone

When he felt a prickling sensation in his hand, Gao Yang immediately dropped the branch and jumped back a considerable distance. Then he saw a large brown snake coiled on the ground. In relation to the length of its body, this snake appeared quite robust. The upper half of the snake's body rose in an S-shape towards Gao Yang, emitting a hissing sound.

Gao Yang's desire to come to Africa and play with guns has been realized, but the price he paid was rather painful. He originally just wanted to shoot at targets, but ended up killing four living people, and he himself might also perish on the African grasslands. The root of it all was merely for the sake of playing with a real gun

Gao Yang could no longer hold on, and he fell backward, looking up at the sky. Before losing consciousness, what Gao Yang thought was: "Anyway, I'm going to die, so let it be as it may."

Excruciating pain, excessive blood loss, compounded by the effects of snake venom, along with extreme fatigue and hunger, made Gao Yang feel increasingly dizzy, and he began to see stars before his eyes

Reflecting on whether there were any omissions in his measures, Gao Yang suddenly recalled a question: his hunting knife had recently been used to dismember a hyena, and hyenas are scavengers, which means they carry a significant amount of bacteria and viruses.

Gao Yang's first thought was that the pursuers had finally found him, which greatly surprised him. He couldn't help but stand up from the ground. After a moment of dizziness, Gao Yang looked closely and indeed saw four people running towards him

Looking at his left hand, which had swollen to the size of a steamed bun, Gao Yang suddenly remembered something. If he continued to bind his left hand with the umbrella rope, over time, the insufficient blood supply combined with the effects of the snake venom would quickly lead to the necrosis of his left hand. At that point, amputation would not be an option, and it would be a dead end.

Gao Yang did not know what species the snake that bit him was; he only knew it was not a cobra. Moreover, Gao Yang was uncertain whether his actions were right or wrong, but he could only employ all the methods he was aware of.

In this brief moment, Gao Yang felt an excruciating pain at the wound on his palm, and blood had already begun to seep out. Not daring to delay, he took the hunting knife, still stained with snake blood from the severed head, rubbed it vigorously against his body, gritted his teeth, and with the tip of the knife, he forcefully slashed at the bite mark on the edge of his palm.

However, soon, Gao Yang regained consciousness. Driven by anger, he raised his right hand with the cane and struck fiercely at a spot just below the snake's head. After knocking the snake to the ground, Gao Yang pressed the snake's head down with the stick, then stepped on it, drew out a knife, and with one swift motion, chopped off the snake's head.

While desperately trying to remember what to do in the event of a snakebite, Gao Yang fumbled and pulled a paracord out of his waist pouch. He then tightly wrapped the paracord around his left wrist, biting one end with his teeth, while using his other hand to tie a knot in the paracord.

At the moment when Gao Yang was stretching his neck, rolling his eyes, and forcefully swallowing the pills, his blurred vision seemed to catch sight of a few people running towards him

It is quite pitiful that this is the first time Gao Yang has used a condom. When he placed the condom-covered hand in his mouth, a rather absurd thought crossed his mind

For the first time, Gao Yang felt that a gun ban might not be such a bad thing. If given the choice now, he would definitely choose to live in a Huaxia where there are no guns to play with, yet he does not have to worry about being shot at any moment. It is only after losing something that one realizes how precious that which is lost truly is

After much effort, I finally arrived beneath the withered tree, only to find a large pile of firewood that could not be burned. Gao Yang felt a sense of frustration for a moment. However, fortunately, there is always a way out. On the ground, there were some branches that had fallen from the withered tree. Although the quantity was somewhat limited, if collected, they could allow Gao Yang to roast some meat to satisfy his hunger.

If the gums are bleeding, sucking the blood with the mouth will only hasten death. Unfortunately, Gao Yang has always had a problem with bleeding gums. In this moment of extreme pain, he did not lose his sanity; rather, it made his mind work faster than usual in this critical moment of life and death

Gao Yang is reluctant to think about the future when he will be old and unable to move. He regrets not experiencing more during his youth. However, at this moment, Gao Yang hopes that he is still at home, able to peacefully accompany his parents through the rest of their lives

Gao Yang looked at his bitten left hand, where the wound was on the edge of his palm, and he saw two large bite marks. For a moment, Gao Yang's mind went blank as he wallowed in self-pity. He recalled the warning not to carelessly turn over stones and decayed wood on the grassland, for there might be venomous snakes hidden beneath. How could he have made such a critical and fatal mistake so casually

When leaving, Gao Yang still took that AK47 with him. After walking a considerable distance, Gao Yang threw the gun into a grass hut.

Although filled with grief and indignation, Gao Yang still forcefully sucked the venomous blood. His efforts yielded some results, but soon, no more blood flowed from the wound.

When a person is pushed to the brink, they can do anything. Tying four bloody hyena legs, still emitting a foul odor, to their body with a rope, they also cut a branch to use as a cane, and limping along, they set off on their journey once again

Gao Yang tried hard to recall, but he did not remember any news about turmoil in Ethiopia before going abroad. Naturally, Gao Yang felt that he must have encountered tribal feuds. If that were the case, the situation would be somewhat better; as long as he could meet tourists or ordinary citizens, it would mean that he had been saved

Gao Yang had never imagined that one day he would be so excited just by seeing a broken tree branch. He eagerly reached out to pick up the branch, but just as he lifted it off the ground, he felt a sharp pain in his left hand that had gone to grab the branch.

Slowly walking to the base of the dead tree, Xingyang felt excited yet somewhat dumbfounded. From a distance, the tree did not appear very large, but upon approaching, Xingyang was disheartened to discover that although this dead tree was only about 7 to 8 meters tall, its crown was elevated high above, with the lowest branches nearly 6 meters off the ground, resembling an open umbrella. The trunk was as thick as Xingyang's waist.

Gao Yang had no time to think further, as the sky gradually brightened. He dared not linger in place any longer, fearing that the gunfire would attract the pursuers behind him

In order for Gaoyang to obtain a branch, he would have to fell the entire tree, but Gaoyang cannot be foolish enough to use a hunting knife to cut down a tree

When the blood began to spurt from the palm of his left hand, Gao Yang trembled all over in pain, but as he watched the wound slowly swell and the blood ceased to flow, he knew he had to suck the blood out with his mouth

At this moment, the condom in the waist bag came in handy. The reason he had prepared the condom in the psk was originally just to hold water, but now, the condom had a greater purpose.

Having been so hungry that he felt faint, Gao Yang was certainly unwilling to waste the most readily available food. Although hyenas are scavengers and have a foul odor, Gao Yang thought that if he could thoroughly cook the hyena's meat, it should be edible.

When the sun leaped over the horizon and the sky brightened, Gao Yang felt that he had probably walked only about two or three kilometers. This distance was not considered safe. Gao Yang wanted to walk a bit further, but feeling both thirsty and hungry, and with injuries on his legs, managing to walk this far was already a testament to his strong will.

Gao Yang helplessly used his cane to clear the weeds while searching for and collecting branches. After only a few steps, he was suddenly struck by a bright sight; a branch, as thick as his arm, appeared before him in the grass.

Not having been killed by a venomous snake, he was instead doomed by a hunting knife contaminated with bacteria from a hyena. Thinking of such a consequence sent a chill down Gao Yang's spine. Fortunately, while his medical kit might lack various items, it would never be without antibiotics

Gao Yang could not take the entire hyena with him, nor did he dare to stay in place to start a fire. In a state of helplessness, Gao Yang severed the four legs of the hyena with a knife. This task was not easy for him; the mere act of getting his hands covered in blood was something Gao Yang found hard to bear

However, he originally did not dare to kill even a chicken, yet this time he killed several living people, especially one who was killed with a knife while facing Gao Yang. Although he did not feel much at the time, now that he has calmed down, Gao Yang feels very disgusted and fearful. Nevertheless, Gao Yang is quite relieved that it was others who died and not him

Gao Yang decided not to leave; he would not take a single step until he had eaten something and had some water to drink, for he feared that he might collapse to the ground and lose the chance to stand up again forever

After calming down, Gao Yang felt it necessary to clarify where he was, as he believed that the environment in Ethiopia was relatively stable and that such a scene of both parties firing guns at each other should not occur.

Gao Yang tore open a condom and then put it on his hand. Following this, Gao Yang placed his hand near his mouth, preparing to suck blood through the condom, so that the toxic blood would not enter his mouth

Killing is merely for self-defense; regarding the consequences of having killed four people, Gao Yang does not feel remorse. A Western proverb aptly states, it is better to face eight jurors sitting in a courtroom than to lie in a coffin being carried away by eight people

Upon seeing a dead, withered tree from a distance, Gao Yang felt as if he had discovered a treasure. It is now July, the peak of the rainy season in Africa, and finding firewood on the grasslands is not an easy task. However, the presence of a dead tree will undoubtedly save Gao Yang a great deal of trouble.

Gao Yang felt that he could not possibly go on living. He killed the snake merely to vent his anger, but after severing the head of the venomous snake, he suddenly realized that he should not give up so easily

Fearing that he might faint and be unable to promptly release the tied-up umbrella rope, Gao Yang untied the rope and then tore open a condom, tying it around his wrist. The condom was elastic, which helped to prevent the snake venom from spreading to the heart and throughout the body while also allowing the left hand to maintain blood supply

Gao Yang took out all the antibiotics stored in the waterproof small bottle, unwrapped each one, totaling sixteen tablets of various types. Without considering the consequences, he tilted his head back and stuffed all the medicine into his mouth, then swallowed hard. Although he knew this was not a good idea, indeed very, very unwise, Gao Yang was more worried that he might miss the chance to take the medicine altogether

Gao Yang's self-inflicted wound was rather severe, the blade tip grazed the bone, causing him to howl in agony while he made two vertical cuts across the bite marks.

The medical kit is very small, yet it contains a considerable amount, including antibiotics, antimalarial medication, and medication for treating diarrhea, as well as mosquito repellent. However, due to space limitations, all the medications are very limited in quantity. This time, his antibiotics also proved to be useful.

After thinking of his parents, Gao Yang found the motivation to live, no longer wallowing in self-pity, but instead began to contemplate how he could survive and return home

In a state of helplessness, Gao Yang released the umbrella cord that was tied around his wrist. Once his palm regained blood circulation, he forcefully sucked out the poisoned blood. After a period of time, he would bind his wrist again with the umbrella cord, and then repeat this process continuously.

Now, Gao Yang truly understands a principle: a gun is not a toy, it is a weapon. The purpose of a gun is not for play, but for killing

Damn it, people use condoms for pleasure, but my first time using one was to stay alive. Others use condoms on women, but here I am, experiencing the taste of a condom myself. I can't believe it, I might as well be dead.

However, Gao Yang deeply regrets coming to Africa; he now only hopes to return home, to be by his parents' side.

A gun without bullets serves no purpose other than to add burden and danger, and the reason Gao Yang threw the gun after carrying it for a distance was to prevent the pursuers behind him from knowing that he was unarmed