Before jumping down, no one expected that the area beneath the sand would be as cold as an ice cave. In just a few short minutes, if they hadn't been drinking recovery potions, they would likely have been frozen into ice sculptures by now.

Mo Shuwan exhaled cold air and fed herself a recovery potion. Seeing that Hope was still lively and seemingly unaffected, she gave up on giving it the recovery potion.

The little guy is a fire element creature, and he's a mutated dinosaur, so this level of cold shouldn't affect him.

Although the stratosphere next to it cannot spew fire, it is, after all, a cub of a mutated Crimson Flame Beast, and was not affected in the slightest.

"Wait...wait...that kind of sandstorm...if we go up there...we'll be blown away...and if we split up, it'll be a real hassle."

Mo Shuwan's voice was intermittent, and the volume was barely audible to the few people. However, because it was too cold, they were not very willing to talk. After she analyzed the danger of going up, Chen Jiaxu, who had just suggested going up, also fell silent. He was more afraid of being separated from the captain and the others than of freezing here.

The effects of Wen Zuo's last voice-restoring drug had worn off, and he was unable to speak. His fingers were so frozen that he couldn't type at all, so he remained quiet.

A few minutes later, the group activated another defensive talisman to block the yellow sand overhead.

Mo Shuwan said, "Everyone, hold on... hold on... please don't... faint..."

Putting aside the possibility that they might freeze themselves out of their minds if they faint, if they do faint and the defensive talisman's effect is exhausted, they are very likely to be buried by the yellow sand above their heads and eventually suffocate to death miserably.

To prevent anyone from accidentally fainting, a number would be called out every one or two minutes, starting with Mo Shuwan, while Wen Zuo would touch Mo Shuwan's arm with his finger to count off.

After trying for half an hour without being able to breathe fire again, it nestled dejectedly in Mo Shuwan's arms. After being quiet for more than a minute, it chirped and tried to breathe fire again.

Gradually, Mo Shuwan sensed something was wrong. She didn't know if she had become numb from the cold, but she felt that her hands, chest, and stomach were very warm, and in her arms, Hope was still trying to breathe fire.

When it was time to count off again, Mo Shuwan, who felt that her neck could turn normally again, looked down at Hope. She raised her hand and found that her hand was red and hot, not frozen. Afraid that she was hallucinating, she put her hot hand on the back of Wen's left hand.

Wen Zuo stiffly turned his neck to look at Mo Shuwan beside him, his dark pupils filled with surprise.

Although he couldn't speak, his eyes conveyed his meaning; he was surprised that Mo Shuwan's hands were so warm.

Mo Shuwan withdrew her hand, looked down at Hope in shock, then picked her up and held her against her face for a while. When she spoke again, her words were finally clear and articulate, "Hope, you're amazing!"

After praising Hope highly, Mo Shuwan tucked Hope into Wen Zuo's arms. Before she was chilled to the bone, she quickly said, "Once you feel warmer, pass it on to Liu Dongcheng and the others. With Hope here, we should be able to hold on a little longer."

Wen Zuo held onto Hope and Stratosphere, feeling the warmth emanating from Hope. He couldn't help but look at Stratosphere, but Stratosphere was also comfortably rubbing against its warm brother, completely unaware of his expectant gaze.

After Wen Zuo's fingers were no longer stiff, he passed his hopes to Liu Dongcheng next to him, and then reached out and squeezed Mo Shuwan's hand, which had become stiff again from the cold.

His hands were still warm. When his hands were held, Mo Shuwan couldn't help but shiver and leaned closer to Wen Zuo. Wen Zuo simply reached out and pulled Mo Shuwan into his arms, placing the Stratosphere into her embrace.

The stratosphere isn't afraid of the cold. Although it won't warm you up like we hope and help you dispel the chill, the cold won't bother it. Holding it in your arms for a long time will at least warm you up a bit.

Liu Dongcheng, who received the message, was also surprised. Although he had guessed something from Mo Shuwan's words, he never expected that Hope would be so warm.

Liu Dongcheng didn't hold onto his hopes for long before passing them on to Yang Zhou.

After clinging to hope for more than a minute, Yang Zhou finally felt a little warmer in his arms. Holding onto that hope, he thought of the little dinosaur he had handed over to the bus, and under these circumstances, he felt a little regretful.

Two or three minutes later, he passed on his hope to Chen Jiaxu.

Then it spread from Chen Jiaxu's side to Wen Zuo's side.

Wen Zuo placed his hopes between himself and Mo Shuwan, allowing both of them to feel the warmth of hope. The bone-chilling cold finally subsided considerably under the warmth of hope.

Feeling that she could speak normally again, Mo Shuwan said softly, "Replenish everyone with some recovery potions, and activate another defensive talisman."

Yang Zhou and the others slowly replenished their defensive talismans and drank recovery potions.

The five of them endured the terrible cold for two whole hours, clinging to hope. Hope returned to Mo Shuwan's arms, and once her arms and fingers were warm, she took out her silver bow and shot an arrow at the sand above.

The sand flew out like a shower of flowers, and sunlight shone into the newly reappeared pit, but the terrible howling wind continued, and what was even more despairing was that they heard the roars of beasts rising and falling.

The desert is indeed not peaceful!

The others stayed in the pit for the time being. Wen Zuo climbed up and sensed the wind for a moment, finding that although the wind was still terrifying, it couldn't blow them away, but...

Wen Zuo looked to his right, his expression extremely solemn. He saw a continuous mass of monsters, which were still moving in their direction.

The monsters' astonishing jumping ability made Wen Zuo's gaze grow heavier. He slowly retreated back into the pit and shook his head at the group of people who were looking up expectantly.

The yellow sand engulfed them once again.

When it was Chen Jiaxu's turn to hold onto hope, he spoke much more fluently, saying with a mournful face, "I was just glad that we weren't too far from the oasis, but now it seems that this damn game is never kind. Even if it's kind now, it'll take it out on us somewhere else the next moment."

Chen Jiaxu's words were very apt, and the group wholeheartedly agreed. At that moment, however, they were too exhausted to speak their agreement verbally, so they all remained silent.

About half a minute later, a chorus of roars reached everyone's ears. Wen Zuo's heart sank immediately. The roars of the beasts were so close that they seemed to be right next to his ears, while when he went up to check a little over a minute ago, they were at least several thousand meters away!

In just over a minute, they've already gotten so close?

Wen Zuo felt somewhat incredulous.

Soon, trampled marks appeared on the yellow sand overhead, and everyone shut their mouths, quietly waiting for the monsters to leave.