Chapter Ninety-Two: Midnight Horror 9
The sky grew darker and darker.
Bright light shines into every corner.
Lu Cen sensed the information asymmetry; if he continued, he would definitely give himself away.
He changed the subject to distract them, and the two chatted casually, just like the night before. In the early hours of the morning, Lu Cen couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep with his head tilted to the side.
He woke up to his alarm the next day, and as expected, Jiang Zhao was not in bed. It was nine o'clock in the morning, an hour before the meeting at the school gate. He packed his things, washed up, ate breakfast downstairs, and headed to the school gate.
He arrived earlier this time, but he was still the last one to arrive.
Yang Jiali complained as usual. After getting into the car, Lu Cen looked through his chat history with Hu Si. He looked at it carefully but was afraid that the person next to him would peek, so he turned the screen brightness down very low. The content of the chat box was very short, like ordinary friends who were not very familiar with each other but knew each other.
Lu Cen rubbed his temples and closed his eyes to rest.
Soon, they arrived at the scene of the two previous accidents, and nothing happened.
Following the national highway, this time Yang Jiali and the two girls in the back seat died. After several such experiences, eight out of the nine people died once. Just when Lu Cen thought he would die once too, they set off for the sixth time and arrived safely at the edge of the desert.
The area was packed with tourists, so crowded that it was impossible to move.
Jiang Zhao booked only four rooms in the hotel, which meant they would have to stay together.
Lu Cen, Jiang Zhao, and Hu Si shared a room, while the rest shared rooms in pairs. They arrived very late and were exhausted, with no energy left to do anything else. They all went back to their rooms, with Lu Cen occupying a bed by himself. He fell asleep quickly. The next day, after everyone had breakfast, before dawn, they took their equipment and headed to the desert. The road was full of people, so there was no need to hire a guide.
Yellow sand swirled, and not a single green plant could be seen.
Breathing filled the air as they struggled to climb to a higher point. A white light appeared on the horizon, but it was a grayish light, and the group had a bad feeling. Sure enough, by 6:30, it was already bright, but the sun had not appeared. It was a wasted trip.
Although they didn't see the sun, the desert scenery still amazed them. Even Lu Cen was overwhelmed with admiration. He used to be sick and never had the chance to go out and see these beautiful sights in person. He mostly saw them online, but that couldn't compare to being there in person.
The wind carried yellow sand that stung my face.
Lu Cen had no choice but to endure it. He decided that he would wear a scarf to cover his face the next day. After wandering around the desert for half a day, his legs were weak and his back ached. He had also been trampled by tourists several times. It was comparable to the Spring Festival travel rush. They returned to the hotel and did not join the crowd in the afternoon. Instead, they rested at the hotel. The next day, at the same time, the sky was gray. The group headed into the desert. As soon as they stepped out, the soft scarf around Lu Cen's neck was blown open, and sand flew into his eyes, making his eyes water.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Zhao asked.
“I got sand in my eyes,” he replied.
"Let me see."
Jiang Zhao pushed his hand away, held his upper and lower eyelids in place with two fingers, and blew air into his eyes. After a while, Lu Cen called for a stop and said it was done.
Jiang Zhao pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his bag and put them on Lu Cen's nose. The sunglasses were a bit big and almost fell off. Lu Cen adjusted them with his hand and found that they were indeed more practical than a scarf. "Thank you."
"Let's go."
Lu Cen could clearly feel that the sandstorm was stronger and the weather was worse than yesterday, but the number of people did not decrease at all. It was not so crowded that people were packed together, but there was a group of people every three or five steps. It seemed that they were not the only ones who were obsessed with the sunrise.
Upon arriving in the desert, many people were looking for spots to film. Several cameras were set up on tripods. Lu Cen glanced at one of them and noticed that it was a live streamer with quite a few fans. The streamer was a boy who was occasionally talking to his fans.
"It's still early."
"It will probably take another half hour."
"The weather is terrible today, it's uncertain whether we'll even be able to wait."
"There are relatively few people today."
"The sandstorms are getting worse."
Who knows...
As Lu Cen walked further and further away, the anchor's voice became increasingly indistinct until it could no longer be heard.
They walked up the slope, and the fewer people they saw, the wider their view became.
With one stomp, the sand buried most of his shoe. Lu Cen was panting heavily; this kind of physical activity was still a bit too much for him.
He plopped down on the desert sand, took off his shoes and turned them upside down. Fine sand poured out. Lu Cen shook his head, but when he couldn't shake it out, he switched to the other shoe. He had no experience and didn't know he should wear boots. He was wearing sneakers, and the yellow sand had been very kind to him the whole way, and he couldn't shake it all out. He wanted to go barefoot, but he was afraid of small animals biting him. What if it was a scorpion? He would be done for. He didn't dare to take that risk.
From a distance, Lu Cen saw the streamer from before seemingly pointing at them and saying something. The distance was too great for him to be sure, but the streamer seemed familiar, as if he'd seen him somewhere before. He racked his brains but couldn't place him. Jiang Zhao urged him from above, so Lu Cen suppressed his thoughts, reluctantly got up, and fell far behind the group. After walking for about twenty minutes, they were still a quarter of the way from the highest point. Everyone, as if injected with adrenaline, charged straight up, and a faint light began to appear on the horizon.
When Lu Cen arrived, the other eight people had already found their spots and set up their cameras.
Lu Cen sat on the ground, panting, his back soaked with sweat.
The view here is indeed excellent; as far as the eye can see, hills of all sizes are scattered across this expanse of yellow desert, stretching endlessly.
In the far distance, the sky merged with the yellow sand. At that moment, a glimmer of blue light appeared there, a sign that the sun was about to rise. Everyone's spirits lifted, feeling that they had a chance today. However, the sandstorm was getting stronger and stronger, and Lu Cen was almost blown away. He had to hold onto his scarf with one hand and Jiang Zhao's backpack strap with the other.
Two girls were lighter than him. When the wind blew, they were thrown to the ground and rolled around a few times. They only managed to stay afloat because they were holding onto other boys.
The hazy light turned into a deep blue, and the brightness was further enhanced.
A touch of orange-red mixed in, with yellow sand underneath, created a breathtaking scene, and for a moment no one spoke.
The yellow sand grew thicker and thicker, as if a soft veil had been draped over the horizon, making it appear and disappear until the yellow sand formed a heavy curtain, blocking out most of the sky.
Their mood suddenly soured. At that moment, Lu Cen noticed a long and tall cloud of yellow sand appearing to their left, blotting out the sky and coming on menacingly.
He was stunned. "What is this?"
Hu Si followed the gaze and his expression changed.
He hurriedly packed his things and shouted, "Quick, let's go! Sandstorm!!"
Everyone was taken aback and hurriedly tidied up their things. Two tripods were left behind and collapsed in the desert, quickly being buried. Hu Si pulled Lu Cen down the slope, exhausting Lu Cen. It was difficult for them to come up, and it was equally difficult to go down. Not long ago, there were many people broadcasting live from the hillside, but now there was no one left.
There are a few houses on the edge of the desert, which are used by local residents to sell various foods and take temporary rest. Once they get there, they are safe.
But how could their feet compare to the wind and sand? In just a few minutes, the yellow sand was close to them again.
The group was terrified and scrambled to their feet. Soon, the sandstorm caught up with them and swallowed them up in an instant. It then sped off into the distance, covering the entire sky with a layer of sand, a truly shocking sight.
Lu Cen was swept away by the sandstorm, staggered and fell to the ground. The thick sand made it impossible for him to see his surroundings within fifty meters. Hu Si, who had been next to him just moments before, was nowhere to be seen. Only Jiang Zhao held his hand tightly. A minute later, only the two of them remained. The others had been taken away by the sandstorm.
Lu Cen was a poor guy who never went out, let alone a disaster of this magnitude. His mind went blank, and he had no way to deal with it at all.
"what to do?"
His voice disappeared in the fierce wind. Jiang Zhao could barely hear it. There was yellow sand all around, so they couldn't tell which way to go. When they came down, they were already very close to the edge of the building. As long as they braved the sandstorm, they would definitely be able to reach it. But they didn't know which way to go.
Jiang Zhao hesitated. If they chose a direction and ended up deep in the desert, it would be a terrifying thing. But if they didn't choose, the yellow sand would gradually cover their feet. In just a few minutes, it had covered their calves to their knees. In another ten minutes or so, they would definitely be buried by the sandstorm and wouldn't be able to leave.
When Jiang Zhao came down, he roughly noted the directions. Lu Cen didn't move after being covered by the sandstorm. He gritted his teeth, chose a direction, and moved forward with Lu Cen supporting each other. He shouted from time to time, hoping to get a response from his comrades, but unfortunately there was only the sound of the strong wind.
Lu Cen: "Stop shouting, it's too noisy, the wind is so strong, they can't hear you."
The two walked for about half an hour, and the visibility became increasingly lower.
Jiang Zhao dared not go any further, because at this time, if they were in the right direction, they should be able to see the shadows of buildings. The fact that they were surrounded by yellow sand meant that they had already deviated from their course.
"Why did you stop?" Lu Cen asked, puzzled.
"If we keep walking, we'll get lost."
"What can we do then? Just wait to be buried by the yellow sand?"
Jiang Zhao took out his phone to try and determine the direction, but unfortunately there was no signal and the battery was almost dead. He held Lu Cen's hand, afraid that he would also be swept away.
"Walk for another ten minutes. If it still doesn't work, you'll have to wait where you are."
They walked with difficulty. In this kind of environment, they should be able to walk no more than two kilometers in half an hour. But after walking for a while, they found a slope ahead that could reduce the impact of the sandstorm. The two of them hid behind it, their bodies close together. The sandstorm was reduced by half, and they breathed a sigh of relief.
Lu Cen's face, hands, and neck were all red.
They were all blown away by the wind and sand.
I stayed there for almost two hours before the sandstorm gradually subsided.
The two took a breath and climbed to the top of the slope. Looking around, there was no sign of any building. They didn't even know where they were.
They were so off-track that they could no longer tell which way was north, south, east, or west.
Lu Cen's heart skipped a beat. He took out his phone to make a call, but found there was no signal. He tried calling the emergency number, but couldn't get through.
He turned off his phone and wanted to check the time, but when he looked up, Lu Cen discovered something even more unsettling, and his body began to tremble.
It says on the screen.
Today's date is May 3rd.
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