Chapter Ninety-Three: Midnight Horror 10
Lu Cen's whole body stiffened, and goosebumps stood on end.
He put it down and picked it up again, repeating this several times, until May 3rd when he remained glued to the screen without any change.
A vine wrapped around his heart, making him feel suffocated and in pain.
How could that be?
How could he have gone from October to May 3rd?
Time travel?
Or is it time travel?
On what day did it change?
From the day he set off, or the day he arrived in the desert, or just now?
This matter was too bizarre, making Lu Cen, who was already confused, even more confused. Perhaps because his complexion was too bad, Jiang Zhao tugged at his hand, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Lu Cen looked at his face and suddenly realized.
No wonder Jiang Zhao's attitude towards him has been different these past two days. He's clearly very attentive to him, treating him so well and naturally. It's because Jiang Zhao doesn't have any memories of what happened after that. At this point in time, he probably hasn't confessed to Jiang Zhao yet, and this person still considers him a good friend. He was quite puzzled during the day about why Jiang Zhao had changed his personality. So that's why.
Why are you looking at me like that?
Lu Cen recalled the previous reports that said their group of nine had disappeared in the desert without a trace, while Jiang Zhao said they had successfully made it out of the desert and returned to school. Lu Cen didn't know who was telling the truth, but he knew that the answer would come in a few days.
What do we do?
They didn't bring much food or water when they came out, because they thought they would finish filming in the morning and go back in the afternoon. They only brought equipment. They never expected that something like this would happen. After listening to him, Jiang Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Let's try to contact someone else here first."
Recalling Jiang Zhao's earlier statement that he was dehydrated and had to be carried back by Jiang Zhao, it means they had been in the desert for quite some time; otherwise, he wouldn't have become dehydrated. After all, due to his previous dungeon run, he had packed a lot of food in his bag as a precaution, ensuring he wouldn't have to worry about survival for at least a few days.
The key is how to go global.
My phone had no signal, and I couldn't get in touch with them after trying for ages.
Jiang Zhao turned on the compass and found it was working, but his battery was very low. After carefully recalling the direction he came from, he could only roughly determine that it was south. After confirming the location, he turned his phone to the lowest mode and pulled Lu Cen southward. Lu Cen had been walking for a while and had just experienced a sandstorm, so he was almost exhausted.
He forced himself to stay upright and followed Jiang Zhao for an unknown amount of time. The scenery on the horizon remained unchanged, with nearly 99% of the sand dunes of different sizes being similar. A series of footprints appeared from afar, but soon they were covered by the wind and sand, as if they had never been there.
Jiang Zhao's face grew increasingly grim. He had a bad feeling that they had gone astray again.
So, when he passed a place that was sunken in the middle, he decided not to go any further.
Lu Cen breathed a sigh of relief; if he had continued, he would have been crippled.
The two lay in the desert, with a clear blue sky overhead, the sun blazing, and yellow sand all around them.
After resting, Lu Cen took out some food from his bag, handed a portion to Jiang Zhao, and slowly began to eat. He was so tired that he fell asleep not long after finishing his meal.
When he woke up, it was already dark, the stars were hanging in the sky, and the temperature was so low that Lu Cen felt a little cold. He shivered and his lips turned white.
Why is it so cold?
"The temperature difference between day and night in the desert is huge, come over here."
Lu Cen slowly moved over and, at his prompting, sat in his lap. Only when her back was pressed against his warm chest did Lu Cen finally feel better.
Jiang Zhao spread his coat on the sofa, and the two embraced, absorbing each other's body heat, but it still wasn't enough. Lu Cen woke up several times during the night because of the cold. When he woke up the next day, Lu Cen felt dizzy and lightheaded, which was a sign of catching a cold and having a fever. That day, Jiang Zhao changed direction and set off in a southeast direction, but he stopped after only half a day. He didn't dare to wander around, as half a day was already his limit.
He was afraid they would venture deeper into the desert and get further and further away from the edge.
In the afternoon, the two found the highest sand dune and looked around to see if anyone else appeared. By the afternoon, there wasn't a single ghost in sight. Just as they were about to give up, Lu Cen saw two black dots to his left, like the eyes of pins. He wasn't sure if he was seeing things.
"assistant."
"Hello, player."
"Can you take a look? Is that a person over there?"
"Yes."
Lu Cen was overjoyed and tugged at Jiang Zhao's clothes, "Look there, there's someone there!"
"The person? Where?" Jiang Zhao narrowed his eyes, his eyesight even worse than Lu Cen's. "How come I didn't see them?"
After a while, the two black dots got closer and closer, and the figures could be barely made out. The two men were invigorated. No matter who the people were, at least they could get some information and eventually determine the correct location.
Before nightfall, the two people in the distance came closer. Lu Cen recognized them at a glance as Xiao Wei and Chen Yiqing. The two looked haggard, with dark circles under their eyes, and were out of breath. When they saw Lu Cen and Chen Yiqing, they were even happier than the two of them, as if they had seen relatives.
Chen Yiqing hugged Jiang Zhao tightly, too excited to speak.
Why are you all in such a sorry state?
Xiao Wei's lips were chapped, and she waved her hand, saying, "Don't even mention it. We followed behind you, but then we got lost. We were blown away by the wind and ended up somewhere with nothing to eat or drink. We didn't know which way to go, and we wandered around for so long before we finally met you. If we hadn't seen anyone else, the two of us would have been stuck in the desert with these yellow sands for company."
Lu Cen's heart skipped a beat; all he heard was that there was no food or drink.
His things are barely enough for him to give Jiang Zhao a little bit. If two more people come, the things in your bag won't be enough for the four of them to eat for three days.
This is really bad news.
Lu Cen pursed her lips, lost in thought.
Jiang Zhao asked, "You have absolutely no memory of the road conditions?"
Xiao Wei: "I have no recollection of it at all, and I was swept away by the wind, so I couldn't tell which way was which. Chen Yiqing led the way, and I followed him."
Chen Yiqing said, "We came from the direction of the south, but we didn't know if it was southeast or southwest. I was facing due south when I came here in the morning, and that's when we met you. We didn't know the correct direction, and if we set off rashly, even a slight deviation could be fatal."
Jiang Zhao frowned; the scope he was referring to was even broader than his own.
As they talked, they found a place to settle down.
Let's at least get through tonight first.
Lu Cen struggled for a long time. He was about to take the food out of his bag, but Jiang Zhao gave him a look and took out two packs of biscuits and two bottles of water from his bag. The four of them took the food and swallowed it with water. The wind and sand continued to blow at night, and the sound of the wind was like a howling, which was very disturbing.
Before going to sleep, Lu Cen saw that Xiao Wei had taken off her coat, which was a gray windbreaker, with a white short-sleeved shirt underneath. He had sharp eyes and noticed that there was a small bloodstain on the hem of the coat, about the size of a potato, and it was already dry.
Lu Cen found it a bit strange. They had no wounds on their bodies, only mental exhaustion, so where did the blood come from?
The thought flashed through Lu Cen's mind. He fell down next to Jiang Zhao and looked at Chen Yiqing. The other man was also taking off his clothes. Unlike Xiao Wei, he was clean and there was no sense of incongruity. However, he seemed very tense and kept glancing around, as if he was afraid that something would rush out and attack him.
"Don't you think there's something a little off about those two?"
He spoke in a low voice, almost like a whisper.
Jiang Zhao turned him around, so that he was facing the other two. He glanced at them a few times and then looked away. "Something's not right?"
"I don't know, it's just a gut feeling, I always feel like they're weird."
Jiang Zhao stroked his head, his thoughts slowly recalling their meeting. Suddenly, he thought of something, his eyes snapped open, then quickly regained their composure. He saw the two lying not far away, seemingly fast asleep. He said, "Xiao Wei said they had no food or water. It's been thirty-six hours since yesterday morning. They haven't eaten or drunk anything, and they've walked for so long. Even the strongest body couldn't take it."
"you mean?"
"They either lied to us and said they actually had food, or they encountered something and obtained supplies but didn't want to tell us. Judging from their appearance, they didn't seem to have been dehydrated in the desert for so long."
Lu Cen was a little uneasy. "Should we just ask?"
Jiang Zhao denied it, saying, "Since they don't want to tell us, it means they don't want to bring this up. Once we break the ice, nobody knows what will happen."
Lu Cen thought what he said made sense, but he was also worried that the other two might do something dangerous. "Then shall we take turns keeping watch?"
"No need. They dare not make any moves for the time being. After all, they have been walking all day, and it is unknown whether they can get up in the middle of the night."
Perhaps because he remembered this, Lu Cen didn't sleep well again that night. Before he could say anything to Jiang Zhao, Xiao Wei walked over with a sad face. "Actually, there was something we didn't tell you yesterday because we were afraid you would feel bad. But after thinking about it carefully overnight, I still think you should know."
Lu Cen and Jiang Zhao exchanged a glance.
Xiao Wei said, "Actually, yesterday it wasn't just Chen Yiqing and me, but also Hu Si. The three of us walked together. Yesterday afternoon, we were walking too fast and came to a place that was sunken on all sides without warning. We stepped into it, not knowing that there was quicksand inside. We sank in immediately, like falling into a swamp. The more we moved, the faster we sank. In the end, Hu Si pushed us out, and we got out, but he couldn't get up..."
Lu Cen was stunned.
He never expected things to turn out this way.
"You mean, Hu Si is dead?"
“Yes.” Xiao Wei’s eyes were a little red, and her voice was hoarse. “I really regret it. If I hadn’t wanted to take the shortcut, we wouldn’t have ended up in the pit, and he wouldn’t have gotten stuck trying to save us.”
Jiang Zhao patted her on the shoulder, "Don't think too much about it. In that situation, no one could guarantee that they would survive. Hu Si did that, and he certainly didn't want you to feel too guilty."
"Yes, we must find a way out as soon as possible so as not to let Hu Si down."
"You're right." Xiao Wei sniffed, her eyes red-rimmed, yet sparkling with emotion.
After everyone left.
Jiang Zhao said, "Do you believe it?"
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