After a night of rest, everyone woke up early the next day to pack their gear and prepare for today’s exploration task.
Perfikot also swapped into more suitable outdoor attire, a wool coat and canvas breeches that offered warmth and flexibility for movement. The durable fabric ensured that even in the wilderness, tangling on branches or falling wouldn’t be much of an issue.
With the addition of lightweight and comfortable boots, Perfikot’s movements in the wild wouldn’t be hindered, ensuring she wouldn’t be the one lagging behind.
The Northern Territory’s forests are completely undeveloped, designated as a no-man’s land, as even the indigenous people only operate in warmer southern areas and never venture this far north.
This results in these forests being entirely pristine and natural. Apart from the animal trails formed by wild beasts, there’s virtually no path that could be called a road. Follow current novels on novel✦fire.net
"Did the exploration company really send people here for surveying last time? It looks like no one has been here for hundreds of years." Walking through the forest, struggling with each step, Perfikot couldn’t help but complain.
The surroundings were full of overgrown weeds and shrubs, fallen rotting wood, and dried branches. Even around the giant trees lining the path, small twigs grew outwards, obstructing anyone attempting to pass. Advancing required clearing a path step by step.
Even though the team had experienced guides diligently clearing a path with machetes, it was barely passable. For the pampered Perfikot, it was still quite difficult to traverse.
The previous exploration points had already shown Perfikot the true nature of the wilderness, but undoubtedly, the Northern Territory’s wilds and forests proved to be more untamed than those previous locations.
After all, the previous exploration points either had colonists from the Empire or local indigenous activities, and even the desolate areas picked by Perfikot were somewhat better than the current environment.
Although "better" only meant that the vegetation wasn’t as dense, allowing them to walk along river banks rather than the extremely rugged paths found here.
"You can trust our colleagues in this regard; they wouldn’t fabricate an exploration record," the expedition leader replied to Perfikot while trying to maintain the company’s reputation: "The difficulty here stems partly from its isolation and partly because almost twenty years have passed since my colleagues last came here."
Even if they had cleared paths back then, twenty years was enough for nature to reclaim everything.
Perfikot thought it made sense, so she refrained from saying more, only expressing that she might need a rest.
Everyone was very accommodating of Perfikot’s request for a break.
Being the most distinguished member of the group and the initiator and financier of the entire project, she had the authority to make decisions.
Even if she wanted a rest, let alone camp and bathe, they’d obediently chop wood and boil water.
Moreover, Perfikot was still a fourteen-year-old girl, and no one expected her to endure like the men.
Thus, the team soon found a clearing in the forest to stop and take a brief rest.
Perfikot, while soothing her sore calves with complaints about the rugged paths, didn’t harbor any thoughts of giving up.
If such hardships would deter her, she might as well abandon aspirations of saving the world and simply wait for its decline.
Only by truly embarking on this journey did she realize the multitude of challenges awaiting anyone aiming to save the world.
Compared to these challenges, mere physical exhaustion was insignificant.
"Madam Prefect, at our current pace, we should reach Eagle’s Beak Cliff by nightfall, where we can rest for the night before proceeding to survey the coal mine tomorrow," the expedition leader reported to Perfikot about their current itinerary and progress, having already consulted with the guides that everything was still within expected parameters.
Perfikot expressed her satisfaction with this, nodding and saying, "Proceed according to your plan, don’t be overly concerned about me; if I can’t keep up, I’ll speak up."
She didn’t want to become a burden, although her lack of stamina was a fact, one she acknowledged.
This acknowledgement didn’t affect her focus on the exploration task, and while resting, she asked the expedition leader, "Approximately where are we now? If we were to build a railway from the fjord’s coast to the coal mine, along the path we’ve taken, would it be feasible?"
"It might be challenging; a direct path from the fjord to the coal mine would require tunneling through the mountain we’re currently traversing. If we diverted, we’d have to cross Eagle’s Beak Cliff, which, although slightly flatter, isn’t much better. Furthermore, it forms a large bend, increasing the construction workload," the expedition leader explained.
The main job of the Empire’s exploration company was to handle such tasks, so even without a dedicated survey, he could give Perfikot a rough idea of the proposal.
Perfikot merely nodded to indicate she noted it, and then asked again, "If you center on Eagle’s Beak Cliff, planning a railway network to connect the coal mine, iron mine, and fjord, can you find suitable routes?"
"This is our specialty; if you need it, we can definitely satisfy you," the expedition leader responded with confidence and assurance, but also informed Perfikot, "However, considering the surrounding environment and topography, we can probably only build narrow-gauge railways for small trains. Regular railway lines likely won’t work; the construction burden would be too great."
The term "narrow gauge" typically refers to tracks narrower than 1,000 millimeters.
With smaller track widths, both the construction difficulty and conditions would be considerably lower than standard railways, though similarly, the transport capacity would be significantly reduced.
Such railways are typically used in places like mines, primarily for transporting ores, as they offer ease of operation and cost savings.
In regions with high construction difficulty, using narrow-gauge railways is considered something of a compromise.
After all, the cost of railroad construction in certain areas can be staggering.
Perfikot wasn’t picky about this; she merely nodded slightly to show she understood, saying, "Once the survey is complete, provide me with a route plan."