"Uh? Cough cough!" Lan Xue slowly ca to, opened her eyes, weakly gazing at the anxious-looking Luo Zheng with his hands pressing on her chest. The area being too sensitive, her face imdiately flushed with embarrassnt, but when she saw the worried look in Luo Zheng's eyes, her heart was instantly filled with happiness, and she smiled.
"You're awake?" Luo Zheng, hearing the cough, shouted in surprise. Seeing Lan Xue nod with a flushed face, he imdiately realized sothing and awkwardly tried to explain, but then he heard Lan Xue weakly ask for water. He quickly opened the water bottle, lifted Lan Xue's head a bit higher, fed her a few sips, and anxiously asked, "How do you feel?"
"I'm fine, just need to rest a bit, go save the others," Lan Xue said softly.
Luo Zheng handed the water bottle to Lan Xue, agreed, and started to provide first aid to the others, pinching their acupuncture points, compressing their hearts, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. At such a life-and-death mont, all matters of propriety were secondary. Fortunately, everyone gradually awoke, none the worse for wear, had so water, and their complexions slowly returned to normal. The sand was too hot; everyone slowly stood up, looking at each other, dirty and disheveled, sharing bitter smiles. Finally, they all looked at Luo Zheng, surprised that he had such a strong constitution, waking up first and even having the strength to rescue everyone.
All seasoned outdoor survival experts, they understood the difference it made, and they were clear that if it weren't for Luo Zheng waking up and pulling them out of the sand, they would have suffocated. They looked at Luo Zheng with gratitude, and Luo Zheng, with a look of concern, asked, "Is everyone all right?"
Everyone shook their heads to indicate they were fine. Luo Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and only then felt dizzy and nauseous. In his anxiousness to save the others, he had forgotten about himself. He quickly drank so water to alleviate his condition and rested for a mont, then chuckled, "I didn't expect us to encounter such a huge sandstorm, but luckily we're all okay. Look, the hummingbirds are gone, too."
Everyone looked up and indeed, the hummingbirds that were flying high above had disappeared, probably swept away by the sandstorm. With the strong winds that unsettled even people, the hummingbirds surely couldn't have escaped. This was good news, and everyone laughed, patting the yellow sand off their bodies. After a mont of thought, Luo Zheng said, "Regardless of who owns the hummingbirds, we're temporarily free from surveillance. Let's check our equipnt and maintain our weapons."
Sandstorms bring penetrating dust that can enter the crevices of weapons. If not cleaned properly, it could affect shooting accuracy. Everyone understood this and began to check their gear, cleaning their guns, and applying oil. Half an hour later, they had finished their maintenance, and their strength had mostly recovered.
Luo Zheng, looking ahead and after consulting the GPS to compare with the map, saw that the landscape had completely changed following the sandstorm. The previous landmarks were no longer useful. After determining the direction, Luo Zheng, with a determined look on his face, said, "Brothers, after great disasters co great blessings. The sandstorm couldn't do anything to us. It seems we're one step closer to success. Let's hurry and aim to reach our destination before it gets dark."
"Let's go." Everyone, reinvigorated, quickly started moving forward.
Luo Zheng led the way, watching the surroundings with caution, occasionally using the sniper scope to scan the area just in case. Two hours later, they once again saw a hummingbird in the sky. Luo Zheng's face grew solemn; he tried to take aim, but the hummingbird rapidly changed its flight path and speed, making it hard to capture. This detail made Luo Zheng realize that soone was deliberately tracking them, and he said with caution, "Brothers, it looks like soone has got their eyes on us. Can anyone tell who it might be?"
"Difficult, the hummingbird is a military product developed by Sam Country. But the country's situation is special; military products are affiliated with military enterprises, and the state doesn't have absolute control. For profit, the military companies will certainly sell to other countries or organizations. We can't determine whose hummingbird is above us, but one thing is for sure, it's bad for us," Ghost Hand spoke while looking up at the sky, his expression grim.
"It's indeed disadvantageous. If it's the Wolf King's, our movents are exposed and there's danger ahead. We might still have a chance if we hurry over, but if we take too long and the Wolf King has ti to deploy and arrange his forces properly, we're just heading to our deaths. If it's one of the race teams', they won't be able to find the Wolf King and will definitely catch up to us. For us, the top priority is to quickly reach the Wolf King's base, kill the Wolf King, and notify the organizing committee. Once they determine we've won, it won't matter if the other teams catch up," said Lan Xue.
"Makes sense. Let's pick up the pace," Luo Zheng agreed and quickened their speed.
The team pressed on in silence, conserving their energy for the journey and not wasting it on unnecessary conversation. As darkness fell, they ca across an oasis ahead. The oasis wasn't large, covering about a thousand acres, with a lake and a castle built on it out of compacted mud, about two ters high, with only one door for entry and exit. Ard personnel patrolled outside and on top of the city walls.
Luo Zheng and the others watched this scene from behind a sand dune, astonished. After consulting the map and studying it for a while, they were overjoyed to confirm that this was the destination, the Wild Wolf rcenary Group's base. Luo Zheng looked up at the night sky, where stars twinkled and the bright moon shone, illuminating the surroundings.
The temperature in the desert started to drop at night. Luo Zheng felt the chill and knew it would get even colder after a while. Last ti, they had hidden in a cave with a bonfire for warmth, but here, amid the vast expanse of sand, there was no way to dig a hiding cave. They had to attack, or else everyone would freeze to death among the endless sands.
"Do you have a plan?" Lan Xue whispered.
"We must attack tonight, and do it quickly. Once the temperature drops, we'll be at a significant disadvantage," Luo Zheng declared calmly, his gaze twinkling like a sage under the moonlight as he looked at the castle made of compacted earth and began to ponder, "The castle is quite large and could probably accommodate nearly a thousand people. We can't see inside, so a rash attack is out of the question, and doing nothing is even worse. What should we do?"
"How about we sneak in under cover of night? Since we don't know the enemy situation, any plan is useless," suggested Ghost Hand.
"Yeah, the city walls block our view of the inside. The best course of action is to infiltrate first and adapt according to the situation. If it cos to it, we'll just fight our way through," Snow Leopard said fiercely.
Luo Zheng had no doubt about the team's determination or their capabilities. Sneaking into the castle wouldn't be difficult, but with the enemy situation unclear, it would be no different from suicide, especially with Hummingbird's presence making Luo Zheng wary. After so thought, he said, "If Hummingbird is with the Wolf King, then the Wolf King knows we're coming. He might have set up defenses inside, just waiting for us to walk into the trap. Going in recklessly is not wise."
"Do you already have a plan?" Lan Xue suddenly asked in a low voice, looking at Luo Zheng. Everyone turned their attention to Luo Zheng, who often had brilliant and creative ideas, hoping he would work another miracle.
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