"Besides being edible, Mulberry Tree leaves can also act as a cleaning agent. You can boil them in water to wash your hair and body, which helps control oil and relieve an itchy scalp."

"They grow extremely fast and spread aggressively, so you can find them anywhere with a relatively warm climate."

"The Mulberry Tree belongs to the Moraceae family. During its fruiting season around June or July, its fruit turns bright red. They’re called Fake Yang Mei, are rich in nutrients, and can even be used to make juice..."

While explaining to the audience just how useful the Mulberry Tree was, he reached out, grabbed a branch, and forcefully snapped it.

"SNAP"

With a crisp sound, the finger-thick branch broke in two, but the bark merely split into two strips, showing no signs of tearing completely.

"See that? This is the toughness of Mulberry Tree bark, which is why it was chosen for papermaking in ancient times. A rope made from this bark is incredibly strong and can easily hold dozens of kilograms."

After spending a dozen minutes or so stripping all the bark from the Mulberry Tree, he twisted it tightly on itself, quickly fashioning six ropes, each over a meter long.

’It’s only February, which is a bit early. Even in the tropics, the Mulberry Trees won’t bloom until spring arrives in March or April. That’s when you get the tender new leaves. These older leaves are better suited for animals, so I won’t bother collecting any for myself.’

He tied the ropes around his waist. Far from feeling tired, he felt a renewed sense of energy, his eyes alight with anticipation for the unknown.

’I’ve already got a plan,’ he thought. ’To build a sturdy, permanent shelter, rope is an absolute necessity, and I’m going to need a lot of it.’

’Besides rope, an axe is also essential. I have to figure out a way to make one.’

’With only a combat knife, the only way to make an axe is to use the most primitive method.’

’A ground stone axe.’

’But not all stones are suitable for toolmaking. I have to choose a hard type of rock. Otherwise, I could work on it for hours, only for the axe to shatter after a few swings at a tree. That would be a real joke.’

’Quartzite or basalt would be ideal, if I can find them.’

’Whether I’ll actually find any is pure luck.’

He spent nearly the next four hours on the move. Along the way, he found two mountain streams, but with no animal tracks nearby, he didn’t dare risk drinking the water.

As the sun began to sink in the west, he held up his hand, measuring the distance to the horizon with his fingers.

"This isn’t good. It’ll be dark in about an hour. I can’t go on."

He hadn’t slacked on his training over the past month. He’d been going to the gym about four times a week, focusing mainly on long-duration, low-intensity cardio.

As a result, the past few hours of hiking hadn’t drained his stamina too much. The real killer was the lack of water.

The air in the tropical forest was humid and suffocating, and he was sweating more than he’d expected. He looked as if he’d just been pulled out of a river.

’No, I have to get some water, or I won’t make it through tomorrow.’

He stopped walking and began to search the area around him, using a stick to poke through the undergrowth.

He had already noticed from the helicopter that the area near the coast of the Caribbean Sea was a long, unbroken mountain range.

According to his prior research, this area should be the Dalian Mountain Range, which connects on its eastern side to the notorious Darien Rift.

The name "Darien Rift" might not be widely known internationally, but it marks the only spot where the world’s longest road—the Pan-American Highway, connecting the continents of North and South America—is broken.

The region is covered in dense, primeval forest, boasts the most complex ecosystem in North America, and averages over fifty venomous snakes per square kilometer.

It is perennially humid, with rainfall 1.5 times that of the Amazon Forest, leading to frequent mudslides and flash floods. In this environment, reinforced concrete lasts less than 15 years, and steel structures don’t even survive for three.

Furthermore, the dramatic changes in elevation are a major issue. The terrain leaps from 60-meter hills to a continuous mountain range over 1,800 meters high, making road construction nearly impossible.

And beyond the natural factors, there are human ones, too.

The complex and dangerous environment makes the area impossible for the government to control, turning it into a lawless zone occupied by criminals and armed groups. Every year, hundreds of thousands of South American migrants also attempt to cross through this region in search of a better future.

This combination of a complex natural environment, human factors, and the Government of Panama’s wildlife and resource protection laws has made the Darien Rift one of the most mysterious and dangerous regions in the world.

’The show’s producers definitely wouldn’t drop us in a place like that,’ he reasoned. ’You can’t guarantee some of those criminals aren’t watching the broadcast. If a kidnapping happened, that would be the end of the show.’

’So, the area we’re in must be a good distance from the Darien Rift, probably closer to the Lake Lagobaiano region to the north.’ 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

And the culprit behind this dramatic change in elevation was the Dalian Mountain Range.

Its presence not only dramatically increased the rainfall in this forest but also blocked all access to the Caribbean coast.

’If I want to reach the coast, the first thing I have to do is cross this mountain range.’

A wall of mountains, nearly two thousand meters high, loomed over the coastline, completely separating the forest from the sea.

’This is a primeval forest, not some developed mountain in a national park.’