Time Travel: The Survival of Li Zhi

Chapter 382 The Reason for Excessive Consumption

This is where Qiongqiying stores supplies and water.

Li Zhi and others surrounded a carriage loaded with wooden barrels.

"Sir, please look!"

A soldier from the Qiongqi Camp, with a nervous and serious expression, stretched out a slightly trembling finger and pointed at the slightly worn wooden barrel on the carriage.

The wooden barrel was eroded by wind and sand, and its surface was extremely rough. There were several deep horizontal lines engraved on it, which were particularly eye-catching in the dim light.

The soldier swallowed, his Adam's apple rolling up and down, and pointed to the top horizontal line. His voice trembled slightly as he said, "I carved this here with my own hands when I discovered the abnormal amount of water. At that time, the amount of water in the bucket was exactly at this position. I remember it clearly."

His eyes revealed a hint of panic and uneasiness. He knew how terrifying his discovery was.

In a place like this, once the water they have stored is exhausted, death will await them.

Then he moved his finger to a horizontal line below. He continued: "When I checked again the next day, the water level had dropped to this point."

Then, he walked quickly to the other side of the barrel, pointed at the two horizontal lines at the bottom, and spoke quickly, saying: "I carved these two lines yesterday and today. Look, the distance between the lines is getting wider day by day!"

His face was full of anxiety and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, sparkling in the sunlight.

Li Zhi's eyes were fixed on the four horizontal lines, and his brows were twisted into the shape of the Chinese character "川".

Judging from the four horizontal lines drawn by the soldier, the distance between the four horizontal lines is getting wider day by day, which is obviously extremely abnormal.

Under normal circumstances, water consumption should be relatively fixed. Their team did not suddenly increase the number of personnel, nor did any special water usage circumstances arise. How could consumption suddenly increase significantly?

"Could it be that we've been moving faster recently, so we've been drinking more water?" Zhang Wenchu frowned and asked in confusion. There was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, as if he was trying to find a reasonable explanation.

Upon hearing this, Chen Hua quickly nodded and said, "Yes, it's been so hot these days, maybe it's because we drank too much..."

Li Zhi looked solemn, slowly looked at the soldier, and asked, "Has the amount of water we consumed in the past few days been the same as usual?"

Unexpectedly, the soldier nodded with a firm expression. He said seriously, "In order to ensure that there is enough water to support us out of the desert, there is a strict quota for water every day. There are clear regulations on how much water each person can use. If it is used up in advance, even if your throat is smoking with thirst, we will never give you another drop."

His answer made Zhang Wenchu and Chen Hua's faces freeze instantly. They looked at each other, and then turned their gazes to Li Zhi at the same time, their eyes full of helplessness and confusion, as if they were waiting for Li Zhi to come up with a solution to the problem.

Li Zhi looked at the wooden barrel with horizontal lines carved on it, and doubts surged in his heart.

He knew that in this desert, water was a matter of life and death, and the current abnormality was by no means a trivial matter.

"The matter of the water source must not be made public, so as not to cause panic."

Li Zhi lowered his voice and looked at Captain Yang, Duan Heng and the others with a stern expression, "From now on, you are not allowed to reveal this to anyone other than us. Violators will be punished by military law!"

Everyone nodded, their expressions solemn.

 …

After everyone dispersed one after another, Li Zhi had no intention of leaving.

With a solemn expression, he reached out and grabbed the soldier who first discovered the abnormal water source. He lowered his voice and said, "Let's go and carefully check the other wooden barrels and water bags that store water."

The soldier nodded hurriedly, with the same worry and uneasiness in his eyes, and the two of them quickly walked towards the place where the reserved water was stored.

Under the blazing sun, they bent down and examined them carefully one by one.

After a busy period, Li Zhi discovered that except for the bucket of water where the problem was first discovered, the consumption of other reserve water sources was within the normal range.

In order to prevent the water source from being polluted, they always take the water bucket by bucket in order, and the unused water sources are also strictly sealed.

But even so, in this desert with the sun high in the sky and the heat unbearable, some water will inevitably evaporate naturally.

However, the current inspection results show that the evaporation consumption of other well-sealed reserve water sources is normal.

Why is it that this is the only opened bucket of water reserve and why is it being consumed so quickly?

Li Zhi pondered in his heart, and the more he thought about it, the more strange it seemed.

He turned his head, looked at the soldier beside him, and asked, "Is there any leakage in that barrel?"

The soldier heard this and hurriedly shook his head, saying firmly, "Sir, that's not the case. Since I found out the water volume was not right, I have checked it carefully inside and out, and there is absolutely no leakage."

Li Zhi did not respond to him, but went to the suspicious bucket again.

He leaned over, his eyes sharp as a torch, examining every part of the bucket inch by inch, from the barrel body to the bottom, from the joints of the wooden boards to the connections of the barrel hoops, not missing any details.

But after looking at it for a long time, I couldn't see any signs of water seepage or leakage in the bucket.

"Could it be a water problem?" Li Zhi murmured to himself softly.

He thought for a moment, bent down, and nimbly jumped onto the carriage carrying wooden barrels of reserved water.

"Give me a scoop."

Li Zhi reached out to the soldier and asked for tools.

After taking the scooping utensil, he reached into the bucket and scooped up some water.

The water was clear and transparent in the sunlight, without any impurities. Li Zhi brought the water close to his nose and sniffed it carefully, but apart from the faint smell of the water itself, he did not smell any strange smell.

Li Zhi frowned and fell into deep thought.

After a moment, he seemed to have made up his mind. He raised his head and poured the scooped water into his mouth.

The water flowed down his throat, bringing a cool and sweet feeling, but Li Zhi's brows furrowed even deeper because he still didn't notice anything wrong with the water.

He sat in the carriage for a long time, with all kinds of thoughts and things he had encountered along the way flashing through his mind like a kaleidoscope. He tried to find out the reason for the abnormal water consumption, but no matter how hard he racked his brains, he still had no clue.

Just when he was filled with frustration and was about to jump off the carriage before making any plans, suddenly, a flash of inspiration came to Li Zhi's mind.

Li Zhi stood up suddenly and turned to look at the bucket.

No, look at the water in the bucket.

Li Zhi opened his mouth, revealing a smile without any smile. His face was a little gloomy, and he slowly said: "I was wondering why you were willing to let us go so readily. It turns out that you were planning to follow us and be a good supervisor!"