Twenty minutes later, Li Changzhou went up to replace him. Li Qianxia was reluctant to leave and looked back at him several times in the desert.

Li Changzhou glanced at her: "What, you've come to like this place?"

Li Qianxia's gaze was still searching for something when she said, "Brother, do you think that snake will come back to attack us again?"

"May or may not, the ending of Shen Congwen's 'Border Town'."

"If I kill it, I might be able to buy the 'grow bigger and smaller' skill," Li Qianxia said, her voice filled with longing.

Do you want to grow bigger or smaller? And specifically, which parts of your body do you want to grow bigger, and which parts do you want to shrink?

"Anyway, I definitely know where you want to get bigger."

"Are you out of your mind? I'm insulting you." Li Changzhou looked speechless, then added, "Speaking of which, I really want the chameleon's skill."

"So that you can spy on the women's changing room?"

"Get out!"

Yang Qinglan glanced at the brother and sister who were like geckos on the cliff, then turned her gaze to both sides of the canyon, sensing every movement, while rubbing a handful of grass seeds in her hand.

The "Thorns" she redeemed required grass seeds as a casting material, which were not sold in the game and could not be brought in from reality.

I didn't take this to heart at first. In nature, grass absorbs water and converts sunlight, herbivores eat grass, and carnivores eat herbivores.

Where there is life, there is an absolute need for grass.

But I never expected it to be a desert this time.

Nevertheless, grass seeds have now been found.

If they really encounter a situation where they can't find grass seeds, their concern shouldn't be about the grass seeds themselves, but rather where to find water.

After Li Qianxia went down to rest, Li Changzhou looked up at the sky. The blue sky in the heat wave seemed to be swaying in the water.

He recalled that October in 2017 when he was also holding an AK series rifle, lying prone at a military base, surrounded by gunfire and the pungent smell of gunpowder. Bullets would occasionally hit the iron railings of the elevated structure, making a loud clanging sound.

He huddled on the overpass, afraid to show his head. His hands trembled, his heart pounded, and he felt the urge to urinate. He looked up at the sky, and the view was very similar to what he was seeing now.

That was back when the 'PUBG' terrorist training base first started recruiting.

Li Changzhou wiped the sweat from his temples, withdrew his gaze and thoughts, and cautiously looked around.

No one has come.

Perhaps some animals came by quietly, but they didn't notice, and the animals didn't attack.

Time is like water seeping from rocks, flowing away drop by drop.

As evening approached, the wind picked up, and sand and dust swirled, as if an invisible giant hand were scattering gold dust across the desert.

The rustling sound was incessant.

“Be careful,” Zheng Qing whispered from the bottom of the canyon, “Some animals use the sandstorm to cover their footsteps.”

"Understood!" Li Qianxia replied, and then it was her turn to keep watch.

Li Changzhou and Yang Qinglan collected tree branches and withered grass together in the canyon to prepare for nightfall.

At night, the desert temperature can drop to below zero. The four people, dressed in thin clothes, would definitely get sick even if they didn't freeze to death without a fire.

Falling ill in the game of value, even if not a death sentence, will at least result in a three-year prison term, leaving one living in constant fear.

Only by enduring these trials can one increase one's 'value'; this is probably the meaning of nature.

Starting a fire is very simple.

Zheng Qing borrowed Yang Qinglan's dagger and took a bullet from Li Changzhou's AK.

I don't know how she did it, but in the blink of an eye, the bullet head was pulled out. She poured out half of the gunpowder and then cut a piece of cloth from her military uniform and stuffed it in.

“Alright,” she handed the bullet to Li Changzhou, “Aim at the hay.”

"What was said in the elementary school textbook 'The Master of the Great Forest' was actually true," Li Changzhou said with great interest as he loaded a bullet.

"What 'The Master of the Great Forest'?" Zheng Qing asked, giving him a look of a poor student.

"It's nothing." Li Changzhou handed the AK to Yang Qinglan. "Do you want to try firing it? Maybe you'll be the only one who can shoot."

"Alright." Yang Qinglan took the gun.

"I'll teach you. Like this, raise the gun, look here, and brace the butt against this spot..."

"Tsk tsk tsk!" Li Qianxia's teasing voice came from above.

Yang Qinglan didn't move her head, but glanced at Li Changzhou with her beautiful eyes.

"Hmm." Li Changzhou took a few steps back.

“Very accurate, fire.” He pointed to the haystack.

"Someone can't even speak Mandarin properly; they're acting out of guilt."

"If you keep quiet, no one will think you have heatstroke," Li Changzhou warned Li Qianxia in a cold voice.

“Brother,” Li Qianxia would be different if she cared about his warning, “For a girl to let you get this close, it at least proves…”

"Bang!"

As the gunshot rang out, burning strips of cloth fell onto the dry grass, and Li Qianxia shuddered in fright.

She quickly looked away and continued to patrol with her eyes.

Li Changzhou added branches and shrubs little by little, and soon the campfire was blazing brightly.

The shadows of the crowd swayed on both sides of the canyon.

As the shadows deepened in color, the heat began to dissipate, and the cold began to set the stage.

At night, in addition to dealing with the cold, there is also the danger of enemies that may appear at any time in the darkness, making it more dangerous than during the day.

Li Changzhou sighed: "I wish it could always be daytime."

“Nighttime is dangerous, and it’s the same for the other participants.” Yang Qinglan said calmly as she placed a dry branch into the fire pit.

The flames painted her face with a goddess-like brilliance.

There's no such thing as keeping watch or not keeping watch; tonight, no one plans to sleep and everyone is ready for battle at any moment.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!