Luo Zheng and his team were unaware of the events unfolding behind them. The group of five, wearing night vision devices, marched hastily and swiftly without daring to stop. By dawn, they had arrived near a sand dune on the outskirts of a small town where the terrorist organization was located. They were not strangers to this place as it wasn't their first visit; the tranquil town seed extraordinarily serene under the first rays of sunlight, almost like a utopian refuge, a peculiar feeling indeed.
Everyone dismissed this odd sensation, found cover, and gasped for air to relax their bodies. The overnight march had nearly depleted everyone's energy. They quickly ate so dry food and, a few minutes later, started to check their weapons. Luo Zheng carefully maintained his weapons, ensuring they were free of issues, and then did the sa with a captured SVD sniper rifle. On the battlefield, a weapon is akin to a second life. Regarding life, no one dared take it lightly.
Ten minutes later, everyone felt sowhat revitalized. Luo Zheng coolly watched the town below, his gaze filled with murderous intent. If it weren't for the urgency of the rescue mission, Luo Zheng wouldn't mind secretly infiltrating and causing a major disturbance in this small town. After a while, as everyone felt considerably better, Luo Zheng looked up at the sky—it was about to be daylight, and there was no better ti to move.
The team continued their march at a slower pace, not minding the formation much anymore, to avoid suspicion from satellite monitoring. The further they went, the more desolate it beca as desertification intensified, which heightened Luo Zheng's vigilance, prompting everyone to control their water intake to conserve as much as possible just in case.
By noon, the scorching heat was like a furnace, making everyone's heads swim and their steps as heavy as if lead-filled, each step consuming a great deal of energy. Luo Zheng looked at the rolling heatwaves ahead, which seed like boiling oil, causing a numbing sensation on the scalp.
"With such hot weather, it must be over fifty degrees. We can't go any further; everyone will suffer from heatstroke," Lan Xue murmured, shaking her sowhat dizzy head. The overnight journey had already overdrawn their physical strength, and the continuously rising temperature in the desert depleted their last bit of energy.
Luo Zheng glanced at Lan Xue with concern, then at the others who were also dizzy and seed to be severely dehydrated and suffering from heat stroke, barely hanging on by sheer willpower. But they wouldn't last much longer; finding a way to cool down was essential. Luo Zheng looked around at the vast expanse of scorching sand, which caused a headache. The surroundings were just hot sand for miles, even the air seed to burn—there was nowhere to take refuge from the heat. What to do?
The group trudged forward with heavy legs, staggering along. Luo Zheng saw that everyone was about to collapse, he himself feeling weak in the knees and his head swelling, nearly fainting several tis from the extre temperatures. Reluctantly, he spoke through the headset with a breathless voice, "Let's stop here, everyone."
All stopped, curiously looking at Luo Zheng, their lips cracked and speechless, their breaths seeming to spit fire. In such harsh conditions, everyone had reached their limits. Luo Zheng, benefiting from a superior physical condition and family-inherited "Breathing Skill" to control his breath, wasn't as severely affected as the others, but it wasn't much better.
"Put up knives and guns vertically in the ground, and lift the black robes to block the sun. Let's hide underneath them. If we keep out in the sun, we'll dry out," Ghost Hand said arduously, his eyes sowhat unfocused.
"No, the sand is too hot on the ground, lying on it would just bake us," Luo Zheng objected, looking around, he suddenly noticed so cal grass under a nearby sand dune. The Cal Grass, a low-lying plant with thorny main branches and round leaves, blossod in pink in June and flourished in August, each flower lasting over twenty days, producing pod fruits because cals liked to eat it.
Luo Zheng knew that this plant's roots could extend up to 20 ters, absorbing water and nutrients from deep within the desert and barren land, making it a naturally drought-resistant plant. With its roots' strong water storage capability, once water was stored sufficiently in spring, it wouldn't wither for a year. Because of the sufficient water content, the soil beneath this plant's roots was moist.
"Brothers, we have a way out." Luo Zheng exclaid in joy, sprinting ahead and pulling out his entrenching tool. The others, initially stunned, quickly noticed the cal grass and ca to the sa realization. Jubilant, they howled and charged forward, each drawing their entrenching tools as if injected with adrenaline.
In the face of hope, everyone unleashed an inspiring potential. They waved their entrenching tools, scraping away the cal grass on the surface, then continued to dig through the sand below. A few minutes later, they reached moist sand and mud, and elated, they exerted more strength, flinging the sand and mud around.
A few minutes later, a large pit appeared. They planted Japan knives around, using backpacks and entrenching tools, and propped up their cloaks to cover the top. Sitting in the pit, they relished the moist air beneath and breathed sighs of relief, each one overjoyed.
After a short rest, they took turns digging further, removing soil to pile up outside, making reinforcents, and slowly sealed the entrance of the pit, leaving just a small vent. Lying in the pit two ters deep, they touched the damp soil and all breathed sighs of relief, knowing the pit was enough to save their lives.
"Let's dig a bit more to see if we can collect so water. We don't have much left," Luo Zheng suggested.
Without the scorching heat of the sun, their bodies had sowhat recovered, their lips not so cracked anymore, and their sun-stunned minds had regained clear thinking. Everyone agreed with the idea and continued digging in shifts. The soft earth was not difficult to excavate; idle anyway, they dug a deep pit one and a half ters wide but about three ters deep an hour later. They did not find water, but the soil was moist, showing signs of seeping water, which made everyone extrely happy, and they stopped.
By this ti, it was noon, and the desert temperatures had soared much higher, making it impossible to walk in such heat. However, for safety, they took turns keeping watch at the entrance, while others hid below to cool off and ate so of their scant food supplies.
"We can't travel in this heat. It seems we can only wait until tonight, though I wonder if we'll be discovered," Lan Xue said, sowhat distressed.
"Even if we're discovered, there's nothing we can do. We can't bear this desert heat, and I believe others can't either. As long as we're careful, there should be no big problem. On the other hand, the intelligence we've obtained indicates that the destination is not simple. A frontal assault probably won't work; we must find a way to infiltrate. However, I'm worried that even after infiltrating, we might still not be able to find our way. Natural caves are like mazes and hard to navigate," Ghost Hand said worriedly.
"Everyone, let's discuss how we should approach this battle," Lan Xue suggested.
ps: Recomnded fantasy book from Chuangshi Literary Website: "Domineering Heavenly War," boasting a fierce deanor and an unbending war spirit, all for the sake of survival, refusing to be tornted by these Heavenly Gods and God Demons. It's novel in its concept, skillfully crafted, and worth a read. Fans of fantasy might want to check it out.
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