Тhе sаndstorm struck, аnd еvеn thоugh thе tent was firmly аnсhored tо the ground with sаnd stаkеs, it still fеlt аs if it сould be blоwn away at any mоmеnt. Alоng with the wind саmе sаnd, like а dеlinquеnt hurling hаndfuls аt yоur head and bоdу. It was hаrd to imagine whаt would beсome оf оnе’s fасе if thеy walkеd dirеctlу intо thе sandstоrm without а mаsk or prоtеctivе clothing.
Thе three of thеm lау inside thе tent, eaсh lоst in thеir own thоughts.
Хiао Аi fеlt terriblу unwеll, cоnstantlу on the vеrge оf vоmiting. Нer mind wаs tоо muddlеd to think cleаrly, and she only wishеd to find the freshwаter lakе and еsсaрe the desert as soon as possible. Now, she no longer cared about crossing the desert; survival was all that mattered. Zheming, on the other hand, was thinking that they still had 30 kilometers to go before reaching freshwater. At their previous pace, it would take two days. But perhaps, for Xiao Ai’s sake, Tianen might share some water. At this thought, a cold sweat broke out on his back. What if Tianen had designs on Xiao Ai? Would he then become Tianen’s greatest enemy? Would Tianen still be willing to help him?
Zhang Tianen clutched the last remaining bottle of water tightly, his mind racing with countless conflicting thoughts, more turbulent than the sandstorm outside.
If he shared some water with the other two, would they be able to hold out until they reached the freshwater lake? If he were alone, he might make it. But now, divided by three, would his own chances of survival also be reduced by two-thirds?
What if he only shared water with Xiao Ai? Would she compromise, or would she look down on him? If she were willing to abandon Zheming, she might not be a good person after all. But if she insisted on sharing life and death with Zheming, wouldn’t he be committing murder?
Ah, this bottle of water wasn’t about love or affection—it was about life and death!
The sandstorm raged for most of the day before finally subsiding, leaving a scene of devastation in its wake. Plastic bags, broken ropes, and even used sanitary pads—blown in from who knows where—littered the ground. Though these traces of human presence were disgusting, their appearance in the desolate Uninhabited Area offered a small measure of comfort.
Xiao Ai’s condition was dire, and it seemed unlikely she could travel tonight. After drinking a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui, she vomited up bile, worsening her dehydration. Without water, no amount of heatstroke medicine would help. Zheming used essential balm to perform gua sha on her, scraping three deep purple lines across her chest and back—a clear sign of how severe her heatstroke was.
“We’re not going any further,” Zheming said through gritted teeth, resolved to abandon their “grand feat” of crossing the desert.
Zhang Tianen remained expressionless, squatting nearby without a word.
“I mean it,” Zheming insisted, thinking Tianen didn’t believe him. “If you still have water and want to keep going, go ahead. Don’t worry about us. We’ll stay here and wait for someone to find us.”
If Zheming had said this a couple of days ago, Zhang Tianen would have gladly agreed. But now… he slumped to the ground, burying his hands in his dirty hair, filled with frustration and irritation. After a long pause, he said, “How many days would it take for someone to find the two of you? Without water, how long could you last?”
“If we stay here without moving, they should find us soon,” Zheming replied, his throat so dry it felt as if his tongue were glued to the roof of his mouth, making it difficult to speak.Zhang Tianen dug his fingers into the sand on the ground. "Actually, a few days ago, I hoped you would stay put and wait for rescue. Because at first, the direction we were heading in still had traces of tourists passing through, and it wasn’t too far from Gurinai. As long as people drove in, they could reach us in half a day. But the prerequisite was that those outside confirmed we were missing and immediately started searching. At the time, I thought if you stayed where you were, you wouldn’t drink water so quickly. You could hold out for six or seven days without a problem, and someone would definitely come looking within a week. So, waiting there would have been timely."
Zheming sensed something off. "And now?"
Zhang Tianen was still digging at the sand, clearly struggling internally.
"Speak up!"
"The route I planned is one no one else has ever taken!"
Zheming was horrified. "What... what do you mean?"
"The shortest distance between two points is a straight line." Zhang Tianen looked up at him. "From Gurinai to Bilutu Peak, taking the straight line—no one has ever walked it this way. Even those driving across the desert wouldn’t take this route."
Zheming was filled with terror and pressed on, "Why hasn’t anyone taken this shortest route?"
"There are no water supply points along the entire way. The second half requires climbing one great sand mountain after another, which is extremely draining, and we wouldn’t encounter any tourists either."
Zheming was dumbfounded. "After all that, what you’re saying is even if we wait here, no one will fucking come to rescue us because they’d never imagine we’d take this route!"
Zhang Tianen nodded.
"You motherfucker!!" Zheming exploded in rage, shoving him hard. Zhang Tianen wasn’t about to back down and threw a punch back. "You’re the ones who insisted on coming! And you’re dragging me down!"
"Stop fighting..." Xiao Ai murmured.
Neither of them had much strength left for a fight, so they suppressed their anger and resentment, sitting opposite each other in a daze.
"If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have come..." Zheming muttered softly.
Xiao Ai began to cry, but not a single tear fell. She could only sob dryly. This was the first time she felt such despair, as if she had been pushed to the edge of a cliff, ready to fall at any moment.
"There’s only one way now: abandon the original route and first look for a freshwater lake." Zhang Tianen said. "Rather than staying here waiting to die, searching for fresh water might give us a chance to get out. The two of you decide for yourselves."
"But Xiao Ai can’t walk. What do we do?" Zheming was also at a loss, then brought up the old issue again. "And... can you share some water with us? We’re really dying of thirst."
"Alright, Xiao Ai drinks three sips first, and each of us takes one sip. From tomorrow morning onward, no one drinks anymore." Zhang Tianen relented.
"Great!!" Zheming was overjoyed and quickly helped Xiao Ai up.
When it was his turn to drink, he gulped down a large mouthful, more than Xiao Ai’s three sips combined. Zhang Tianen’s face darkened. He snatched the water bottle, glared at Zheming fiercely, then carefully took a small sip.
Xiao Ai struggled to stand, swaying unsteadily as the two of them supported her.
"Zheming, will we... die here?"
A sudden thought flashed through Zheming’s mind: Maybe you’ll die, but I absolutely won’t die here.
After this thought surfaced, he couldn’t believe he had even thought it.
He had put in all his effort and lowered his pride to pursue Meng Xiao Ai, serving her like a eunuch attending to an empress day in and day out. On one hand, it was because she was truly beautiful and worthy of love. On the other hand, it gave him a sense of accomplishment."No way." Zheming answered, feeling a pang of guilt.
"No way." Zhang Tianen also replied, his tone far more resolute than Zheming's. Perhaps he had resented Zheming, but he had never once thought of abandoning Xiao Ai. If only two people could make it out of the desert in the end, he hoped it would be him and her, even if she hated him for it.
They walked for an unknown length of time when suddenly the pitch-black night sky lit up, as if something had torn through the darkness, illuminating half the sky with a white glow.
"What's that!" Zheming exclaimed, both shocked and overjoyed. "Is someone coming to rescue us?"
No one knew what it was. They all stopped and looked up, but the light lasted only a moment before everything plunged back into darkness. The darkness after the light was even more torturous than the constant gloom.
Hippo had just finished relieving himself when he saw the sky light up. He froze for a moment, then snapped back to reality and quickly pulled out his phone to take a picture.
"Just pee, why take pictures?" Brother Long appeared out of nowhere, suddenly behind Hippo, and pushed his hand down.
"Who knows what it was, but it was so bright. If I post it on Douyin, it'll definitely get a lot of views," Hippo said, clueless about the situation, raising his hand to try again.
Brother Long looked serious and pushed his hand down once more. "It's probably the weapons test they mentioned before we came in. They don't even allow drones to fly here. Only a weapons test could light up the sky so recklessly."
"Taking a picture won't hurt, right? I won't post it," Hippo said with a cheeky grin.
"Now you won't even get the chance to take one, haha." The sky had turned pitch black again. Brother Long unbuckled his belt, spread his legs, and started peeing, letting out a loud fart in the process.
"Ugh, boring." Hippo covered his nose and walked away.
Brother Long's smile faded as he glanced back at Hippo's retreating figure, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
In the vast night sky, the sound of thunder echoed from afar, seeming to reverberate endlessly—it was likely the singing sands again.
By the time Hippo returned, five boxes of self-heating rice were ready. Bayunye, slouching casually, bit down on a plastic spoon and roughly lifted the lid. Seeing a bright red layer of spicy sauce inside, she realized she had mistakenly taken Brother Long's meal. Coughing a few times from the spiciness, she quickly swapped it for another box. This Brother Long really couldn't live without chili—even in the desert, he brought his own chili sauce.
They had brought plenty of water, so being able to eat a few meals like this, which required water to cook, felt like a luxury. If they were trekking across the desert, to conserve water, travelers would only bring dry rations. When thirsty, swallowing dry food felt as difficult as swallowing dirt.
"What worries me most is that they might not have enough water," Bayunye muttered to herself. "Without food, you can survive on water alone for seven or eight days. But without water, someone in weaker condition might only last two days."
"I'd die of thirst if I went a day without water," Hippo said, scooping up his rice and eating like a starving ghost. "Because I'm a hippo."
"Your joke is so cold it almost gave me a chill," Bayunye said disdainfully.
"If your jokes were hot, wouldn't Diao Zhuo get heatstroke?"
At the mention of Diao Zhuo, Bayunye's eyes lit up. "Not heatstroke—he'd be under my spell."
"Such a smug attitude." Hippo simply couldn't deal with her.Diao Zhuo and Old Wang finished their cigarettes and began walking down the sand dune ridge with flashlights in hand. A thunderous rumbling echoed from the distance, accompanied by an eerie vibration that pierced through the air. Diao Zhuo’s foot slipped, nearly sending him tumbling. As he steadied himself, the sand dune shuddered again, the ground beneath his feet feeling as slippery as butter.
An earthquake? It didn’t quite seem like one…
Shining his flashlight downward, he saw the sand beneath his feet flowing slowly downhill like water.
As a geologist, Diao Zhuo instantly realized what was happening—the sand dune was undergoing "liquefaction," a phenomenon that rarely occurred unless there was an underground river deep below. Liquefaction often built up over days, making the surface sand appear solid while actually being as soft as cream. The differing densities between the upper and lower layers meant that even slight pressure could trigger liquefaction, causing the upper sand to flow like water. The passing sandstorm and the weight of their three vehicles had undoubtedly acted as catalysts.
In any case, the best course of action was to flee.
"Run!" he shouted. Old Wang let out a yell and dashed downhill.
Diao Zhuo sprinted down the slope, kicking up a cloud of sand behind him as more sand flowed like water downhill. The three people below hadn’t yet noticed the dune’s transformation. Bayunye and Hippo were still bickering when they suddenly heard someone shout, "Run!" Startled, they jumped to their feet, dropped everything, and raced toward the vehicles.
Brother Long, despite his bulky frame, charged forward with surprising speed. Don’t let his size fool you—he kept pace with the others, diving into the car and starting the engine within three seconds. With a honk of the horn and the click of the turn signal, he was ready to hit the gas.
Bayunye was also fast, nearly reaching the car door when she heard a cry behind her. Hippo had slipped and fallen, as if something were dragging him backward, sliding and sinking into the sand.
"Hippo!!" she roared, lunging forward to grab his hand.
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