Week 3: Desert Test Center (Part 2)
As Lin Bai ventured deeper into the desert, the sand beneath her feet gradually grew softer, so fine that it seemed to slip easily through her fingers. With each step, the soles of her shoes sank deeply into the sand, pulling as if invisible hands were trying to drag her deeper into the earth.
She suddenly stopped and realized that something was wrong. She had stepped into quicksand!
Lin Bai quickly adjusted her posture, trying to stabilize her center of gravity. However, the quicksand was swallowing her faster than she had anticipated. In just a few seconds, the fine sand had climbed up her calves, then engulfed her knees, and even her waist began to sink.
She frowned and looked around, trying to find something to leverage on. However, there was nothing in the desert except the golden sand that was surging slightly under the scorching sun, like a silent ocean.
Lin Bai took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She knew the worst thing about being stuck in quicksand was struggling violently; doing so would only accelerate her sinking. She tried to adjust her posture, distributing her weight as much as possible across the sand to slow her sinking. However, even so, she continued to sink slowly, the sand around her like a living thing, greedily nibbling at her freedom.
Just as she was thinking about how to save herself, she heard hurried footsteps in the distance, followed by a hoarse and anxious voice.
"Lin Bai! Don't move!"
It’s Chen Wen!
The next second, a long rope was swung and landed precisely beside her hand.
"Hold on!" Chen Wen stood firmly on the relatively solid sand, holding the rope tightly with both hands, and tied the end around his waist to prevent it from slipping.
Lin Bai reached out and grabbed the rope without hesitation, quickly wrapping it around himself and clasping it tightly with both hands. Seeing this, Chen Wen immediately began to pull back, adjusting his center of gravity to prevent being thrown off balance by the pull of the quicksand.
He pulled slowly and steadily, so as not to trigger the non-Newtonian effect of the quicksand and make it harder. At the same time, his cat claws extended their sharp nails and dug deep into the sand, increasing friction and ensuring his position would not be dragged away.
The quicksand was still swallowing him, but with Chen Wen's skillful rescue, Lin Bai's body finally moved upwards little by little, gradually getting out of the danger range.
After a lengthy struggle, Lin Bai was finally dragged back to solid ground. She collapsed onto the sand, gasping for breath, beads of sweat oozing from her forehead, her heart pounding.
Chen Wen stood aside, panting heavily, his face full of the afterglow of nervousness. He glared at Lin Bai fiercely, his tone filled with undisguised anger: "You were so careful during the challenge, but you're so careless during the weekly exam? If you make a fool of yourself, let's see what you'll do!"
Lin Bai blushed slightly, and at the same time, a frivolous smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "I am conducting a field investigation and experiencing the power of quicksand myself."
Chen Wen was so angry at her nonchalant attitude that he almost suffocated and wanted to punch her on the spot.
"If you were a few minutes later, or if I hadn't come, you would be inspecting your own grave!" He said unhappily. Although his tone was fierce, he couldn't hide the concern in his words.
Lin Bai stretched, brushed off the dust on his body, and said with a smile: "Thank you, thank you, you saved me again."
Chen Wen rolled his eyes, but still couldn't help but smile slightly: "Alright, stop talking nonsense, we need to find an oasis as soon as possible. Our water won't last much longer. I was exhausted just helping you."
Lin Bai chuckled and nodded. The two of them gathered themselves and continued on their way towards the oasis.
Behind them, the quicksand area slowly followed them.
——
They encountered a few cacti on the road from time to time. They used a dagger to cut a circular cut on the upper part of the cactus skin and took out the spongy water storage tissue inside.
Chen Wen's claws had evolved so much that he gripped the cactus with both claws, twisting and squeezing. Emerald green juice oozed from the tissues and slid down his fingertips. The cactus had stored a lifetime of water, which was now squeezed out and flowed out into the container they had prepared in advance.
However, there were few cacti in this desert, and drinkable water was also very limited. Fortunately, both of them were blessed by the gods and were more resistant to thirst than ordinary people. Even if they only got a small amount of water, it was enough to keep them going.
They would drink a few drops of the bitter juice every two hours and feel the slight coolness in their throats. Although this little moisture could not really quench their thirst, it was enough to relieve the dryness between their lips and teeth.
Chen Wen raised his eyes and gazed towards the distant horizon. Across the vast expanse of sky and earth, the wind whistled, carrying yellow sand. The distant sand dunes rose and fell like floating waves, swallowing up all traces of travelers.
After they finished dealing with the cactus in front of them, they tightened their backpack straps and stepped forward. The scorching sun hung high in the sky, and the shadows were compressed to a very short distance.
The wind and sand gradually rose, leaving only their footprints between heaven and earth, and they were buried silently by the wind and sand.
The long journey made the two of them mechanical and aimless.
Suddenly a hint of green appeared not far away.
"Is it an oasis?"
Chen Wen's excited but hoarse voice came.
Lin Bai looked up against the sunlight, and the oasis in front of him swayed in the distortion of the air, like a vibrant oasis dotted with gurgling water.
Lin Bai also became excited, and the two of them quickened their pace and rushed over quickly.
The two walked into the oasis and felt a lot cooler. Although there was little shade from the trees, it was better than nothing.
However, the oasis under my feet was trembling slightly, and every blade of grass and tree seemed to be breathing. Moreover, the feeling under my feet was not like land, but rather too hard like steel.
Something is wrong!
The two of them quickly ran out of the oasis and turned around to look.
The next second, the earth trembled, and a dull air current surged up from the ground. The green creature rose into the air, revealing a hard, scaly body!
The oasis actually grew on the back of a giant lizard monster!
At this moment, the huge monster had already sensed their presence. Its pair of vertical pupils opened from the sand and dust, looking down at the two invaders coldly.
hiss--!
The monster let out a sharp roar, and swept its tail across, stirring up a cloud of yellow sand!
Lin Bai leaped to dodge, but the gust of wind still numbed her feet. Chen Wen reacted even faster. Almost as soon as the lizard's tail whipped out, he stabbed his claws into the sand, leveraging the force to leap onto the monster's back. With a flash of cold light, his sharp claws pierced the gaps in the moss-covered armor, ripping a scale off and causing blood to spurt out.
"roar--!"
The monitor lizard roared in pain, its massive body suddenly rising, sending dust and sand flying everywhere! It struggled violently, trying to throw Chen Wen off, but Chen Wen's claws gripped its carapace tightly, and the sharp blade sliced through the gaps between its scales, spilling blood mixed with mud and sand.
Seeing this, Lin Bai pulled out her dagger and, using the monster's raised body, she suddenly kicked the ground and leaped onto its head. Her eyes flashed, and without hesitation, she stabbed the dagger straight into the monster's eyes!
At the moment when the blade was about to pierce, the giant lizard suddenly shook its head in severe pain, and Lin Bai lost his balance and was thrown into the air!
In a flash, Chen Wen caught a glimpse of her figure, roared angrily, rushed forward with his claws, caught her wrist, and pulled her back steadily on the monster's back.
Lin Bai took a deep breath, steadied himself, looked at Chen Wen, and nodded in tacit understanding.
The next moment, they called out in unison—
"O high and mighty Montura, the blazing flame of the sun god Ra, god of war on the Nile, please grant us strength and descend into the world!"
"Oh, the God of War, one of the main gods, the great France, please grant me strength and descend upon my realm!"
The light between heaven and earth twisted in an instant, a scorching breath burst out from the void, and flames suddenly rose, illuminating their figures like gods.
Behind Lin Bai, Montula emerged, surrounded by flames, like the will of the sun scorching the earth. He was wearing armor, and his eagle eyes revealed a cold look.
Behind Chen Wen, France appeared, like a galloping black panther, his agile figure hidden in the air, the sharp dagger flipped in his palm, flashing a deep cold light.
However, summoning the gods without sufficient supplies was tantamount to sacrificing their flesh and blood. Both of them spurted out blood, the bright red liquid dripping onto the sand and quickly evaporated by the scorching air.
The pain in their chests was like a burning flame, but they had no time to care about it, their eyes were fixed on the violent giant lizard.
The monitor lizard felt the strong pressure and let out an angry roar. A hint of fear flashed in its vertical pupils, but it still instinctively swung its tail, stirring up a cloud of sand, trying to use the sandstorm to block the two people's vision.
Lin Bai pointed her toes, and flames ignited around her body. Montula turned into a ray of fire, leaped into the sky along the monster's tail, swooped down, and the spear in her hand burned with red flames, stabbing fiercely at the giant lizard's neck!
At the same time, France turned into a shadow and rushed forward as fast as lightning. His spear, wrapped in the power of thunder, pierced the monster's heart!
boom--!
The dagger and spear struck almost simultaneously, and the giant lizard monster let out an earth-shattering howl. Its massive body thrashed violently, its tail sweeping across. Lin Bai rolled in the air, avoiding the tail and half-knelt on the sand, panting. Chen Wen then leaped to the other side of the giant lizard and landed safely.
The monster twisted in pain, blood gushed out from its wounds, dyeing the desert beneath its feet red.
However, its vertical pupils burned with a desperate desire to survive. It suddenly opened its mouth wide, and a corrosive poisonous mist spewed out from the depths of its throat, heading straight for the two!
A fierce look flashed in Lin Bai's eyes, and he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Montula, the judgment of the scorching sun!"
In an instant, the sky seemed to be torn apart, and a golden sun sword fell from the sky, piercing through the poisonous fog and piercing the giant lizard's head!
With a loud bang, the yellow sand was stirred and the storm surged!
When the dust settled, the giant lizard's huge body trembled, then fell to the ground with a loud bang, completely losing its life.
[Congratulations to candidates Lin Bai and Chen Wen for defeating the unknown dark beast Oasis Giant Lizard.]
The two men stood in the wind and sand, their bodies covered with scars and blood.
Lin Bai was covered in blood.
They looked at each other, both looking exhausted.
"It seems that this trip to the desert is more exciting than I imagined." Chen Wen whispered, spitting out the blood foam in his mouth.
Lin Bai raised his hand to wipe the remaining blood from the corner of his mouth, wiped the blood from his combat uniform, and looked into the distance.
Where is the destination...
——
However, the teacher in the monitoring room was already terrified.
The giant lizard was obviously not arranged, but it appeared in the examination room. Fortunately, the two of them dared to fight, so they survived.
Chen Chen's eyes were heavy, "Go check who put it in there."
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