Night quietly descended, and the animals that favored nighttime activity in the tropical rainforest emerged from their nests. In the dense forest, many small, luminous insects could be seen flitting about.

The nighttime tropical rainforest lacked the daytime heat and humidity. A pasty substance was cooking in a small pot over the campfire – rehydrated military rations. It lacked color, aroma, and flavor, but provided plenty of nutrition. Derrick explained to Dodge and Fatty that cooking fragrant foods in the rainforest was ill-advised, as the scent would easily attract wild animals.

While collecting water earlier, Derrick had unexpectedly caught two capybaras. They looked like giant rats. Derrick said they were a common rodent in the Amazon rainforest, typically living near water and foraging in the rainforest during rainfall.

Derrick swiftly slaughtered the two capybaras with practiced ease. After skinning them and removing their innards, he roasted them directly over the fire.

The roasted capybaras smelled strange, somewhat like burning fur mixed with meat. After they were cooked, Derrick sprinkled them with a little salt and invited everyone to share.

Although Fatty had been forced to eat field mice and other animals to replenish energy during his time in the army, he couldn't bring himself to eat the capybaras. He refused. Joey and Jennifer felt even more disgusted.

Dodge also repeatedly declined. Two of Dodge's mercenaries were bolder. They took a capybara from Derrick and split it between themselves.

After dinner, Derrick pulled a handful of licorice-like herbs from his backpack, lit them on the fire, and then blew them out. The ends of the herbs smoldered with white smoke. Derrick carried the smoking herbs around the tent, saying that the smoke would repel insects and prevent poisonous bug bites during the night.

The others were choked and teary-eyed. Fatty complained, "We'll be smoked to death before the poisonous bugs are!"

…

Before resting, Dodge arranged for two of his mercenary队员 to keep watch by the campfire, one for the first half of the night and the other for the second half.

Although the smell of Derrick's burning herbs was unpleasant, it helped everyone fall asleep quickly.

The next morning, Fatty and Joey were awakened by a commotion. Jennifer was still fast asleep with her head covered. Fatty and Joey didn't wake her, deciding to let her sleep a little longer. Jennifer hadn't exercised in a long time, and the sudden strenuous march was proving difficult for her.

Fatty went outside to investigate. The sight that greeted him startled him. Except for Derrick, Dodge and his four mercenaries were covered in red rashes and scratching themselves in agony, some to the point of breaking their skin.

Derrick was trying to persuade them. "Don't scratch. The more you scratch, the more the rashes will spread."

Dodge looked miserable and asked Derrick what was happening.

Derrick said, "It probably rained last night, and the rainwater dripped the sap of some poisonous plants onto your bodies."

Dodge saw that Fatty was unharmed, without a single problem. He felt strange. Derrick, who was used to the rainforest, hadn't been affected, and now Fatty was fine too. This made Dodge feel unbalanced.

When Joey came out of the tent, she was also perfectly fine, which made Dodge feel even more unbalanced.

Seeing the dense red rashes on everyone else in the camp, Fatty realized that Jennifer, who was still in bed, might have been affected too.

Sure enough, Jennifer, whose health was poor due to her injury, had also developed red rashes and was running a fever, making her somewhat delirious.

The situation didn't allow for much thought. Derrick said, "I know of a plant in the rainforest that can relieve these rashes. Wait for me, I'll be right back."

Fatty felt that it might be dangerous for Derrick to venture into the dense forest alone, so he volunteered to accompany Derrick, while Joey stayed in the camp to take care of Jennifer.

There were indeed many poisonous creatures in the rainforest. During their journey, Derrick was bitten by some kind of poisonous insect, and a large boil formed on his arm. Derrick cut open the boil with his knife, drained the pus, disinfected it with an alcohol wipe, and then treated it simply.

Derrick's actions were very skillful, indicating that he often encountered such situations. Derrick looked at Fatty, who didn't have a single insect bite, and said enviously, "I've been active in the tropical rainforest for over twenty years, and this is the first time I've seen someone like you. I've never seen anyone who doesn't get bitten by insects."

Fatty scratched his head, pretending not to know, and responded with an awkward smile, "Oh, really? Maybe it has something to do with my blood type."

Derrick and Fatty, both chatterboxes, made small talk as they traveled through the dense forest for over half an hour before they found the plant Derrick had mentioned.

The plant grew in a swampy area, its roots embedded in foul-smelling mud. Its stems and leaves were dotted with small red and white flowers, making it stand out in the mud. It was easily recognizable.

Fatty was anxious and tried to pick it directly, but Derrick pulled him back.

"Don't rush. These swamps may seem like shallow puddles, but they're actually very deep."

Derrick picked up a tree branch more than a meter long and inserted it into a seemingly shallow puddle. The puddle swallowed the entire branch without reaching the bottom.

"Damn, it's that deep!" Fatty exclaimed.

"Yeah, this rainforest is full of natural traps. If you're not careful, you'll be swallowed by the rainforest."

Derrick picked up another branch and used it to probe the way as he led Fatty to pick the peculiar plant.