Song Heping's Salomon hiking shoes had just stepped onto the gravel beach at the edge of the Alish Desert when the soles started to feel a burning sting.
Although the quality of this brand's hiking shoes was quite good, many rcenaries also liked to purchase them as military boots, in extre desert conditions, they seed as if they were about to lt.
He raised his hand to look at his wristwatch. It was 3:27 PM, and the thermoter needle had already jumped to the red area of 47°C.
This was just the temperature detected by the wristwatch; the actual ground temperature had long exceeded sixty degrees.
Five hours ago, a few people left the woods by the sea and headed south, entering the "Diamond Corridor," attempting to reach the Suez Canal Basin from here and then find a way into North Africa.
Very few people dare to traverse the desert under such extre and harsh conditions.
If there were, they would be seen as madn.
But Song Heping had no choice.
Besides heading south, all other directions were a death wish.
Even if the Mossad knew they were taking the "Diamond Corridor," they would probably have to consider the cost of pursuing them.
Even if they dispatched aerial assault teams for interception, they couldn't risk entering the Alish Desert because it was already under the radar surveillance of the Egyptian military. Once exposed, it would trigger an international incident tantamount to an invasion.
Of course.
To the Mossad, there's nothing they dare not do.
Since the world-renowned intelligence organization was founded decades ago, it had shocked the world with various incredible assault operations, consistently using ruthless, cold-blooded, and fearless thods to warn others.
Even after the "Black September" incident, they preferred to risk being sanctioned and condemned by Western countries to carry out assassinations worldwide against the perpetrators, revealing their modus operandi.
Therefore, before reaching North Africa, there was a high probability of being pursued by the Mossad's special attack team along the way.
"It looks like a sandstorm is coming..."
Antonov took off his sunglasses, revealing eyes burnt by ultraviolet rays, and stared at the slightly golden horizon in the distance.
Song Heping stopped walking. He sniffed the air and felt a hint of inexplicable stuffiness.
Before a sandstorm hits the desert, there are often a series of subtle but apparent signs.
First is the change in the air. The originally dry air would suddenly beco oppressive, making it difficult to breathe.
The sudden drop in air pressure makes the chest feel stuffy, and the eardrums might feel a slight pressure due to the change in air pressure.
Then the color of the sky begins to change bizarrely. The originally blue sky gradually gets enveloped in a yellowish-brown haze. The sun becos blurred, like a glowing copper disk hanging on the horizon. That's why the sky looks golden, as if flashing with a layer of gold.
Song Heping grabbed a handful of fine sand, letting it slip through his fingers.
The sand didn't fly in one direction but swirled left and right, appearing very erratic.
"Yes, probably a sandstorm is coming..."
He couldn't help but feel so worry.
Sandstorms vary in intensity. Severe sandstorms can even lift cars into the air, let alone these few people.
Everything matched the characteristics of an incoming sandstorm—wind direction suddenly becoming chaotic, previously stable airflow starting to swirl, fine sand particles being lifted, forming miniature sand columns in the air.
Fine ripples appear on the sand, as if gently brushed by invisible fingers. Temperature anomalies might also occur, possibly dropping several degrees suddenly.
Back then, Song Heping's unit would throw them into the harshest regions for survival training, including desert survival.
So he was not unfamiliar with this phenonon.
"We need to find a place to hide!"
"Suka! We don't even have a map! We don't know where we're going, relying only on direction. It's God's blessing we didn't go the wrong way, and you're talking about finding a place to hide? Everywhere is desert here, where can we hide?!"
Antonov cursed roughly, and as soon as he opened his mouth, his cracked lips began to bleed.
"Damn it! My lips!"
He started cursing uncontrollably again, but the more he cursed, the more his lips cracked, bleeding more, hurting more—a vicious cycle.
"You'll be fine if you stop cursing..."
Song Heping tried his best to suppress his laughter looking at this Russian.
He feared that if he laughed, he might end up like this guy.
"Ahead... there's a village..."
Sara, lying on a makeshift tent, suddenly struggled to sit up, excitedly pointing to the distance.
Song Heping had tied a tent with ropes, making it a shaded stretcher, letting Sara lie on it while they took turns pulling her forward.
Along the way, most of the pitiful amount of fresh water collected at the seaside earlier was given to Sara. After all, as a woman and an injured person, she was more fragile than anyone else.
Everyone hurriedly looked toward the direction Sara pointed.
They were very disappointed.
Because they found nothing.
Except the golden horizon, there was no village, no oasis.
"Sara..."
Song Heping returned to the stretcher and squatted down to comfort the injured woman.
"It's an illusion."
When a sandstorm is approaching, distant objects start to distort and deform, and the horizon seems to pulsate, sotis creating mirage-like scenes—a visual illusion caused by the violent mixing of hot and cold air.
For weak people, it's easier to hallucinate.
Song Heping extended his hand toward Antonov: "Give your dagger."
Antonov was startled: "How did you know I had a dagger."
"I saw it." Song Heping said: "Hurry up and give it to ."
Antonov pulled out a dagger from his waist and handed it over.
Song Heping took it and looked at it once. This was a tactical dagger used by forr GRU agents, very high quality, suitable for combat.
He held the dagger and drew contour lines and a rough map on the sand.
"I rember there is a dry riverbed ten kiloters southwest of here. We can avoid the first heatwave there..."
"How do you know?" Antonov was very surprised: "Have you been here before?"
"I have a habit of looking at maps when there's nothing to do. Before going to a place, I will look at the maps of the surrounding areas." He pointed at his head.
"I have a very strong mory for maps. Once I see them, I won't forget."
"How do you know our current position?" Antonov felt that his jaw couldn't close.
"Calculating direction, steps, speed, and deriving distance can roughly determine the position, although not precise, but close nine tis out of ten." Song Heping said, "Of course, the premise is we didn't go wrong."
As the two were talking, Jiang Feng suddenly fell to his knees behind them.
This startled both Song Heping and Antonov.
He hurried over to support Jiang Feng, touching him, finding his back clothes covered with a layer of hard salt, and the blood from his cracked lips instantly evaporated.
"Water..." Jiang Feng's hoarse voice sounded like sandpaper.
Song Heping hurriedly took out the last half bag of saline water from the two ergency packs.
But he couldn't care about that now.
He precisely punctured the water bag with the tip of a dagger, letting the saline water flow into Jiang Feng's mouth along the blade.
"Song, if this continues, we all will die..."
Antonov licked his lips.
At tis like this, seeing water makes people feel obsessed, unable to control and might collapse anyti, desperately grabbing water.
"I know."
Song Heping said, "Although the riverbed is dry, it once had water, maybe we can find so..."
Even he didn't believe his words.
But what else could they do?
As the team's leader, he couldn't say stuff like we're dood, we're dead.
Even at the last mont, he must make his teammates face death with a smile, rather than letting them ntally collapse when there's still a chance for survival.
"Jiang Feng, follow us, don't need to pull anyone. Antonov and I will handle this."
He then turned to Antonov: "What do you think of my proposal?"
Antonov shrugged: "Listening to you."
Everyone started moving forward again.
It was 3:45 PM.
The heat refraction in the shifting dunes distorted the horizon into waves.
The oppressive stifling feeling in the air grew heavier. The temperature beca bizarre, with gusts of hot and cold wind.
Song Heping was no longer sweating.
Because his body no longer had much water.
Antonov joked: "Song... do you have any pee... I feel like I do... if you do, we can swap..."
Song Heping laughed: "Swap? No, forget it. I prefer to drink my own..."
Antonov chuckled: "I have a high output, you won't suffer losses…"
"Get lost..." Song Heping pointed ahead: "There are cal thorns, follow them."
The gravel beneath their military boots gave off a popcorn-like crunch.
In the distance, so strange landscapes erged—stacked sand dunes resembling slopes, and various ravines with sothing between them.
"Does that look like a house?"
Antonov beca excited.
Song Heping looked in that direction and indeed felt it looked like a house, typically in the eastern style of architecture.
He rubbed his eyes, looking around to make sure it wasn't a mirage.
"Why would there be a house here?"
"Perhaps smugglers built it here for easy lodging." Antonov's eyes lit up.
"If it's their lodging point, then there must be a water source!"
Nobody knew the "Diamond Corridor" better than the smugglers.
Their lodging points likely had water.
This reminded Song Heping of the northwest desert area of Illiguo.
There were also many dilapidated stone and mud buildings with similar uses.
"Quickly! That's not a mirage!"
The feeling of finding hope in despair was terrific. Song Heping couldn't help but get excited, feeling a burst of strength within him.
Everyone quickened their pace, heading towards the dry riverbed and the building.
Suddenly, a massive, thick "sand wall" appeared on the horizon, covering the sky.
"Damn! Sandstorm!"
Song Heping touched his dry mouth.
"Run fast!"
At this mont, the sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air suddenly drifted from behind.
Song Heping didn't need to turn around to know it was helicopters.
Indeed, when he turned his head, he saw two black dots on the sky behind.
Those were two "Black Hawk" helicopters.
"Mossad!"
Song Heping was shocked.
These guys actually dared to penetrate the Sinai Peninsula, risking international disputes just to eliminate themselves!
Seriously...
Was it worth it?
"Run fast!"
He yelled, exerting his legs, and started running across the sand, dragging Sara along.
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