Shao Qingge was helpless. He always felt that the Guardian was deliberately going against him. The first time he teleported his teammates to the oasis, it turned out that the oasis was just an illusion. It was actually the nest of desert scorpions.
The second time, we brought everyone to a sand dune with a wide view, but as soon as our teammates arrived, a large area of quicksand appeared!
Shao Qingge had no idea how quicksand was formed. However, seeing Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang instantly swallowed up by the sand beneath their feet, Shao Qingge realized the danger. He hurriedly shouted to his teammates, "Watch your step, everyone! I'll find another place to teleport!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Long Sen and Qu Wanyue disappeared from sight.
Following closely behind were Gui Yuanzhang and Chu Huaying. The two of them felt as if they had stepped into a mud pit and sank in instantly. The surrounding sand quickly surrounded them, and by the time Shao Qingge tried to rescue them, Gui Yuanzhang and Chu Huaying's heads were already completely buried by the sandstorm.
Only Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci managed to escape in time.
Lu and Tang arrived last and had just been teleported when they saw Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang trapped in the desert. Lu Jiuchuan immediately realized that the situation on the ground was not good, so he summoned the Vermilion Bird, leaped onto its back, and at the same time, grabbed Tang Ci's waist with one hand, bringing Tang Ci into the sky as well.
Within seconds, six teammates were swallowed by quicksand.
Shao Qingge's face was grim, and Ye Qi stared intently at his feet. The desert in front of them had returned to calm on the surface. Who would have thought that this vast desert was like a monster that would devour people? Xiao Lou, Yu Hanjiang, Longqu Couple, Senior Gui, and Sister Ying had all been completely swallowed up by the desert!
"What should we do? Will they be able to climb out?" Ye Qi became more and more worried as he thought about it, clenching his fists and saying, "I've heard of quicksand. It's like throwing a person into a warehouse full of sand. No matter how you struggle, the sand around you will keep moving and tightly surrounding you. Without the help of outsiders, it's impossible to survive in quicksand."
Shao Qingge replied decisively, "I'll go find them. I'm not afraid of sand."
After he finished speaking, he was about to burrow into the desert beneath his feet, but Tang Ci stopped him in a low voice: " CEO Shao, don't rush. The quicksand is formed because the foundation at the bottom of the desert is unstable, causing this desert to become like a 'hollow sphere.' It looks normal on the surface, but the sand inside is actually constantly moving. Xiao Lou and the others were swallowed up from this spot. If you go down from here, you may not be able to find them."
Shao Qingge paused, then frowned and said, "So, they may have been washed away to another place by the shifting sands?"
Tang Ci nodded: "Yes, the best way is to find a safe place as soon as possible and activate the teleportation marker."
Lu Jiuchuan, riding the Vermilion Bird, stretched out his hand and said, " CEO Shao, give me Li Qingzhao's card. Xiao Tang and I will go find a place; the Vermilion Bird flies faster. You and Ye Qi stay here to observe, so you can provide timely assistance if any teammates call for help."
Shao Qingge nodded and tossed the card to Lu Jiuchuan.
Lu Jiuchuan took it steadily, then rode the Vermilion Bird, carrying Tang Ci, and flew into the high sky.
The fiery red bird spread its wings and disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye. Shao Qingge pressed the microphone and asked in a low voice, " Xiao Lou, can you hear me?"
There was no response from the headphones.
He was about to ask another question when, suddenly, a familiar figure darted out from the ground beside him—
It's Chu Huaying!
Her black clothes and hair were covered in sand, her face was pale and indifferent, and she was holding something in her hand... Shao Qingge looked closely and saw that it was a small mouse that was very similar in color to the sand.
Ye Qi hurriedly asked, " Sister Ying, are you alright?"
Chu Huaying shook her head, holding the rat by its tail, and said, "I suddenly fell into a pit, and sand poured in from all directions, burying me instantly. The sand down there keeps moving, making it hard to climb out, and there are many gerbils down there too."
Being tightly surrounded by shifting sands and gnawed by rats, Ye Qi felt that there was no way to survive in this desert! Chu Huaying was able to get out immediately because her physical attributes had been enhanced by card attributes. She had a speed faster than lightning and a body more agile and flexible than the wind.
No one else could do this.
Even if Professor Xiao and Captain Yu could hold their breath for half a minute, being bitten by an invisible rat would be extremely dangerous. Ye Qi couldn't help and could only anxiously wait for Ninth Brother to activate the teleportation.
Fortunately, Lu Jiuchuan was riding the Vermilion Bird and was very fast. In less than half a minute, he sent a team teleportation invitation.
Ye Qi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly pressed the "agree" button.
A moment later, several familiar faces appeared at the teleportation point— Xiao Lou, Yu Hanjiang, Old Gui, Hua Ying, Shao Qingge, Ye Qi, and Lu Tang.
Tang Ci quickly realized that Long Sen and Qu Wanyue were missing, and he immediately went up to them and asked, "Have you seen Long Sen and Qu Wanyue?"
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a glance and shook their heads simultaneously.
Gui Yuanzhang also said, "After I was buried by quicksand, there was sand all around me, and I couldn't see anything."
Chu Huaying frowned and looked around: "They didn't accept the teleportation?"
Lu Jiuchuan said, "I activated the team teleportation, but Longqu Couple didn't accept it, nor did Liu Qiao and Lao Mo, who went missing before. It seems that the four of them either lost consciousness and didn't receive the invitation; or..."
Xiao Lou
He hurriedly flipped open the contract book: "Their names are still there; they're still alive."
However, Long Sen was bitten by a scorpion and lost feeling in one leg. Qu Wanyue's card has little offensive capability. Although the two of them are alive now, it is still unknown whether they will survive...
Xiao Lou looked at his teammates around him, his face turning slightly pale.
Twelve people entered the final challenge, and less than an hour later, only eight remained.
He was extremely anxious because he couldn't find his missing teammates.
But how can we find it in the vast desert?
Yu Hanjiang gently patted Xiao Lou's shoulder and said, "The key right now is to find a safe place to stay, and then figure out a way to summon them. As long as they regain consciousness, they can respond to Li Qingzhao's marker to teleport, as well as Tao Yuanming's team summoning."
Sending people to search for them could easily result in them getting lost in the vast desert, so Yu Hanjiang's method was indeed the most rational.
Xiao Lou said helplessly, "Okay, that's all we can do for now. Hopefully, they can get through this crisis."
He turned to look at Yu Hanjiang and suddenly noticed a glaring bloodstain on the other's arm. Xiao Lou's expression changed, and he hurriedly grabbed Yu Hanjiang's arm, his voice trembling slightly with anxiety: "Are you injured?"
Yu Hanjiang remained calm: "It's nothing, just a superficial wound. I was bitten by a rat."
Xiao Lou's eyes were filled with complex emotions. Yu Hanjiang had instinctively tried to save him, grabbing his hand at the first moment. As a result, both of them were swallowed by quicksand. Sand kept pouring in, and their bodies were falling rapidly as if they were sinking into a quagmire. No matter how much they struggled, it was useless. They couldn't see anything clearly, and even breathing became difficult...
That suffocating feeling of "death is just around the corner" evokes an instinctive sense of panic.
However, at the critical moment of life and death, a pair of strong arms suddenly hugged him tightly. The familiar strength and body temperature from Yu Hanjiang made Xiao Lou feel inexplicably at ease in the darkness.
Their hands intertwined, and Xiao Lou gradually stopped struggling.
He sensed some animals darting around him. In the darkness, the furry bodies of small animals brushed against his skin, sending chills down his spine. Because Yu Hanjiang was holding him, the animals didn't bite Xiao Lou.
Unexpectedly, the little animal I just encountered was a gerbil.
When Ye Qi saw Yu Hanjiang's wound, he asked with concern, "Could it be poisonous? Should we ask CEO Shao to treat it?"
Shao Qingge placed his fingers on Yu Hanjiang's wound and said, "This little injury will heal quickly."
Sure enough, Yu Hanjiang's arm wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even his skin returned to normal. Xiao Lou breathed a sigh of relief and asked in a low voice, "Is everyone alright?"
Chu Huaying was also bitten by a rat earlier, and has a small wound on the back of her hand.
Shao Qingge smiled and said, "Does the heroine need treatment?"
I thought she would say no, but Chu Huaying said calmly, "Okay, it's free anyway, might as well get it done."
Shao Qingge: "..."
The Bug King Card, which costs no money, has truly top-notch healing abilities. With only 18 hours left before the Bug King's transformation, Shao Qingge has to make the most of it.
After treating Chu Huaying's injuries, Xiao Lou walked up to Lu Jiuchuan and asked, "Brother Jiu, did you find this place? Have you checked the surroundings? Don't let us accidentally wander into an animal's den."
Lu Jiuchuan patted his chest and assured, "Don't worry, I rode the Vermilion Bird and scouted the area for several kilometers. Xiao Tang even sent a drone to take pictures of the surrounding landscape. We didn't find any desert animals."
Tang Ci also said, "This is a flat area, very barren, with no animals and no plants suitable for growing in the desert. We can stay here for the time being."
Lu Jiuchuan looked up at the sky and said, "It's getting dark. Why don't we set up camp here and get through the night?"
The group had encountered sandstorms, scorpions, quicksand, and rats along the way. They were exhausted and the desert climate was too dry. They hadn't had a drop of water and their lips were cracked.
It's time for a makeover.
Yu Hanjiang began allocating resources, saying, "Each person's supply pack contains a bottle of water, a bottle of milk, a piece of chocolate, and a pack of instant noodles. Tonight, we'll work in pairs. We'll eat one person's chocolate first, drink half a bottle of water, and put the rest in our backpacks to carry with us. We'll eat more when we run out of energy."
With limited resources and the need to survive in the desert for three days, we must be frugal with our food and drink.
Meanwhile, everyone used the reward cards they received at the Weekly Secret Chamber to set up five tents. Chu Huaying and Old Gui each slept in a single tent, while the rest were divided into pairs to sleep in double tents. The five tents were set up together so that they could look after each other.
After setting up the tents, everyone took out their supply cards as Yu Hanjiang had instructed, preparing for a simple dinner.
It was called dinner, but in reality, each person only got a quarter of a bottle of water and half a chocolate bar.
As darkness fell, a huge, bright moon appeared in the sky. The moon in the desert seemed exceptionally large and round. The vast desert and the bright moon reflected each other, creating a magnificent scene that silenced everyone for a moment.
If it weren't for survival mode, but instead a trip with friends, camping in the desert, having a barbecue and a lively party around the campfire, how wonderful would that be?
Unfortunately, at this moment, they had no barbecue, no bonfire party, and no warm camping facilities...
All they had were a rudimentary plastic tent that offered no insulation and a half-empty bottle of water.
And half a block of chocolate.
Xiao Lou ate half a piece of chocolate and handed the other half to Yu Hanjiang.
Just then, a gentle breeze blew by, and Ye Qi suddenly sneezed loudly, saying, "Why do I feel a little cold?"
Not only do you think so, we think so too.
The teammates silently complained in their hearts.
Tang Ci said seriously, "My drone monitors the temperature, which is dropping rapidly and is already close to 0 degrees Celsius. It looks like it will continue to drop, and the lowest temperature tonight will likely be below -20 degrees Celsius."
Xiao Lou said with a wry smile, "The temperature difference between day and night in the desert is huge. During the day, it can almost bake a person alive, but at night it can freeze a person to death."
The group exchanged glances, looking at each other in bewilderment.
The survival mode, which lasts only 3 days, is indeed full of pitfalls!