The cottage was made of a mixture of brick and wood. Except for the fireplace, which was made of bricks, most of the other parts were made of wood. The walls were made of round logs fixed in place by mortises and tenons. Although it looked crude, it was quite strong and practical. Most importantly, it had good thermal insulation. It was warm in the winter and cool in the summer, even though the mahogany forest was not hot in the summer.

  The wooden house isolated the mist outside, and the fireplace dispelled the cold. Through the small window, the mist could be seen flowing slowly like white lava.

  The firewood burned, the kettle whistled, and the deep roar of the diesel generator outside the house could be heard clearly in the quiet forest.

  Sometimes, they could hear unknown sounds coming from outside the door. Even though they knew that it was some small animal tiptoeing past, it was still difficult to suppress the terrifying delusions that grew wildly in their minds.

  Without running water, they had to rely on themselves to generate electricity, and there was no WiFi. Living in such a place for a day or two might make them feel fresh, but after a long time, loneliness could kill them.

  It was conceivable that the person who lived here before must have been a rough middle-aged single man in his forties or fifties. He was a white man who had served in the Army and participated in local wars. He might have been diagnosed with PTSD, so he lived in seclusion and didn’t want to deal with anyone.

  As a middle-aged woman who was used to living in the city, she had to live alone here for more than ten days in order to find her daughter. She really needed to borrow some courage from Liang jingru. Perhaps only maternal love could drive her to overcome the fear in her heart and do this.

  Zhang Zian’s guess was confirmed by Mrs. Miller. The person living here was indeed a down-and-out middle-aged man who always wore camouflage clothes. His words and actions seemed to be that of a soldier, but she didn’t know more details.

  Said Mrs. Miller. Melgen had become very independent since she went to college. She made many decisions on her own, and she only informed her family after she started doing it, including the cycling and hiking trip through a series of mahogany forests on the West Coast. When Mrs. Miller got the news, melgen had already set off.

  At that time, although Mrs. Miller was a little worried, she didn’t take it too seriously. She and her daughter had driven to the West Coast more than once and knew that there were many tourists here. There were also some small towns scattered in the forest, and her daughter wasn’t purely trekking, so she didn’t try to persuade her again after a few words. She knew her daughter’s character. Once she decided to do something, she would definitely do it, and it was useless to persuade her. However, she asked her daughter to contact her once every morning and night and report her schedule. His daughter also agreed.

  At first, it was going well. Melgen tried to keep in touch with her every day. Even if she was interrupted for a day because of the bad signal, she would explain the situation to Mrs. Miller in time. Therefore, Mrs. Miller gradually felt relieved. Looking at the various fun pictures of the trip posted on her daughter’s social account, she also sincerely shared her daughter’s happiness.

  However, on the day melgen arrived near the mahogany forest Park, she sent a message in a hurry. Besides reporting her location, she also mentioned that she had discovered something interesting. It was not the first time she had mentioned something interesting during the journey. Usually, it was because she had seen some surprising animals, such as a Golden Banana slug that was longer than the palm of a hand. It was as thick as a banana. When she saw the picture melgen had sent, she said, Mrs. Miller almost vomited the breakfast she had eaten half-way …… So, Mrs. Miller smiled and did not take it to heart. But the next day, melgen did not send any more messages. On the third day, she did not send any more messages, and she could not get through to melgen’s phone either.

  Mrs. Miller couldn’t sit still anymore and called the police, but the local police’s attitude was more perfunctory and asked her to wait a little longer. They said that the signal in the forest was not good and that the families of the camping people often called the police. In the end, two days later, it turned out to be a false alarm. This kind of thing was too common.

  She hoped so too, but she was still very flustered. On the morning of the fourth day, melgen still did not contact her. She immediately drove from the city in Central America and personally appeared at the local police station to ask the police to take action.

  On the fifth day, melgen, who still had no news, finally attracted the attention of the police, and the search and rescue work began.

  The search and rescue work was not going well, mainly because the forest had been foggy recently, and sometimes it rained heavily. In addition, the police had limited manpower. Even with the use of helicopters and the help of tourists and local residents, hundreds of people had entered the forest without any success. However, several people had suffered bruises, sprains, and falls to varying degrees during the search and rescue work. There was even one time when they mistook their teammates for wild beasts and accidentally shot them.

  The search continued on and off for two weeks. The volunteers ‘enthusiasm was worn out, and so were the forest patrollers. However, their harvest was pitifully little. They only found some daily necessities that could not be confirmed if they were left behind by melgen. Other than that, they found nothing.

  The police announced the end of the search and rescue work because they thought melgen had never been there. Melgen’s phone was last turned on by the sea dozens of miles away.

  The public opinion was reversed. Melgen’s image changed from a healthy and cheerful outdoor sports expert to a runaway girl who was full of lies. She also hinted that it was the environment of a single-parent family that caused all this.

  Mrs. Miller could not explain why her daughter’s cell phone signal would appear on the beach, but she firmly believed that her daughter would not lie to her. Melgen must have encountered some danger in this forest.

  Without the help of the police and volunteers, Mrs. Miller could only find her daughter on her own. She didn’t want to leave this place unless she found her daughter. Fortunately, a veteran who lived in seclusion in the forest trusted her and lent her his house. He carried a Lafu gun into the forest and helped her find her daughter.

  Zhang Zian was the second person she had met who was willing to help her after the search and rescue work was over.

  “Another cup?”


  When Mrs. Miller finished telling what had happened, the teacups in her and Zhang Zian’s hands were empty.

  “Thank you! “That veteran ……” Zhang Zian handed the teacup to her.

  “His name is Mike. Although he doesn’t like to talk, he’s a good person.” She stood there and waited for the water to boil again.

  “How many days has Mike been in the forest?” He asked.

  please keep reading on

  Mrs. Miller thought for a moment.”Tomorrow is the fourth day.”


  “Did he say …… He’ll be back in a few days?” Zhang Zian asked tactfully.

  “He didn’t say, but he told me not to worry. He said he was very familiar with the forest …… To be honest, I’m a little worried about him now, but he doesn’t even have a cell phone ……” Mrs. Miller sighed heavily.”He seems to have no family. In the eyes of the patrollers, he’s always a troublemaker. No one cares about him.”


  After a moment of silence, Zhang Zian and she both knew that it was time to consider the possibility that Mike had also disappeared.