Chapter 144 Eternal Paradise 7

Lin Xia had just fastened her seatbelt and hadn't even taken her hand off when she noticed the car shake. She quietly felt it and realized the car seemed to be slowly sinking. She unbuckled her seatbelt, quickly opened the window, and climbed onto the roof.

Extending my mental energy downwards, I saw her car sinking slowly into quicksand!

Lin Xia scanned the surroundings with her mental energy and found that the quicksand area was quite large. After finding a safe spot, she pushed off with her feet and landed steadily on the ground.

The strong wind made her squint. With such a sandstorm, no warning signs would be of any use. Lin Xia walked a little further against the wind before she could exchange her money for another car and get inside.

After taking off her mask, Lin Xia flapped her mouth and nose for a long time before finally getting rid of the sand and dust. The system's [Special Mask] could only block harmful substances, but not dirt.

I rinsed my mouth several times before I felt no more of a gritty feeling. I wiped my face and nose with a wet wipe and drank a bottle of water before my mouth and nose stopped feeling so dry and painful.

Looking at the raging wind outside, with sand and stones flying everywhere, the stars and clouds in the sky were no longer visible, and even the moon seemed to be covered by a veil, its light hazy.

Looking out, the road had been completely buried, and most of the buildings had sunk under the yellow sand. It seemed that no trace of human beings could be seen. Lin Xia looked at the offline map, took the compass, and hurried on her way while she could still see some things.

Lin Xia didn't dare to go too fast. She tried to stay on the highway outside the city. In the middle of the night, she encountered three vehicles that were going even slower than her.

Seeing Lin Xia walk past them, the people in the car discussed it and sped up to follow behind her.

Lin Xia ignored them. Seeing the situation ahead, Lin Xia slowed down and took out a sandstorm mask to put on.

Ahead lay a vast, empty desert; the previous landscape was no longer visible. Lin Xia saw the vehicles behind her stop, and someone got out.

Lin Xia looked at her empty car, took out two buckets of water, three cans of gasoline, and a large bag of food and put them in the back. Then she took out a backpack full of supplies and threw it into the back seat.

She noticed that everyone outside was dressed warmly, so she paused, frowned, and realized that the temperature must be quite low. She put on a down jacket before getting out of the car.

"Lin Xia?" The voice was muffled, and it was impossible to tell who it was.

Lin Xia looked over in surprise and saw that it was Wang Jiarong, who looked at Lin Xia with delight.

"I never expected to run into you again. There's a field in front of this road. I often travel this route and I'm quite familiar with it."

She coughed a few times and continued, "You're going there too, right? Why don't we travel together?"

Seeing that Lin Xia didn't speak, Wang Jiarong continued, "I know the way! I walk this road often and I'm very familiar with it."

Hearing this, Lin Xia nodded. Without any landmarks, even with a compass, finding the way might not be easy for her.

She pointed to the car, led her inside, and as soon as the mask was removed, sand poured out onto the ground.

I'm suffocating!

"Lin Xia, the cars behind are all researchers' family members. They are all at the base. There's my mom and me, Jiang Ying and her brother Jiang Kai, and Huang Miao and her grandfather."

“Although Huang Miao’s grandfather is old, he was an archaeologist before he retired. He often went in and out of the desert and is very experienced in finding directions. Your safety will definitely be greatly improved if you come with us,” Wang Jiarong introduced as soon as she got on the bus, looking very happy.

After a pause, she said in a deep voice, "Those who cultivated their spiritual power to an excessive degree did not come out of that place. Some did come out, but their bodies were unable to withstand it and were torn to pieces."

Lin Xia paused for a moment. These results had been discussed by everyone at the time, so they weren't that unexpected.

"Is the server still running?"

Wang Jiarong paused, then nodded: "The situation outside has changed suddenly, and everyone is busy running around. The server can't be shut down, but there's still time to investigate. Most importantly, there are still people alive inside..."

"Lin Xia, I see you seem to have a way to travel at night. I'll give you directions, and you can lead the way. That way, we'll all benefit. What do you say? The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll be safe."

Lin Xia glanced at Wang Jiarong: "If you can't see outside, how can you give directions?"

Wang Jiarong pursed her lips, her expression shifting several times, but she still said, "We have satellite positioning, which can accurately locate the place, but getting there on the road is a problem."

So it's satellite positioning, then it's even more reliable. Lin Xia nodded in agreement.

Wang Jiarong put on a mask and got out of the car. She went to the back car and said something to it. She moved a small portion of the supplies from her car to Lin Xia's car and most of them to Huang Miao's car. She drained the gasoline, let her mother get into Huang Miao's car, and then came in with something that looked like a tablet and a walkie-talkie.

"Let's go." With satellite positioning, Lin Xia sped up. Wang Jiarong kept her lips tightly pressed together and didn't say a word. Although it was dangerous, at this point, it was better to go faster.

The sky gradually brightened, but everything outside was a dim yellow, like an old photograph, with sand and dust everywhere you looked.

"Stop! Stop!" came the voice from the walkie-talkie. Wang Jiarong looked at Lin Xia, who nodded and slowly slowed down the car.

Professor Huang's voice came through the walkie-talkie, sounding somewhat hurried but still relatively calm: "Judging from the outside, it looks like a sandstorm is coming. Don't panic. It doesn't look particularly strong, but it's not suitable for driving anymore. Everyone should take shelter under the vehicles now."

Wang Jiarong immediately got out of the car, her mother ran over, and the three of them crawled under the car together.

After a short while, the wind howled, and thick yellow sand swirled in from afar like billowing smoke. It was impossible to open your eyes, and you could feel the force of the blows hitting your body.

Even though I was wearing a mask to protect my nose from the wind and sand, a strong earthy smell still kept seeping into my lungs.

Wang Jiarong and her daughter hugged each other, burying their heads deep in their clothes. Lin Xia stared straight at the sandstorm outside. Where there were still many buildings visible just moments before, only the tips of the buildings remained after the sandstorm swept through.

Lin Xia glanced at the satellite signal receiver in the backup area and felt a little more at ease.

She watched as the sand in front of her rose higher and higher at a visible speed. In order not to be buried, they began to scoop up sand. After a full half hour, the sandstorm outside gradually subsided, and apart from the still dim yellow color, they could already see the distant scenery.

Just as Professor Huang had said, the sandstorm wasn't too big, but it brought a lot of sand. Lin Xia looked at the car, wondering if it would still be able to drive out.

“Dig this car out. Mine has been modified and can still run. Your car, even if you dig it out, probably won’t work.” Jiang Kai pointed to his car.

After a flurry of activity, everyone got into a car, and taking advantage of the still relatively high visibility, the car sped away.