Yan Ning raised her head.
The glaring sunlight made her squint.
She saw a familiar figure stumbling and running towards her in the distance.
It's Xie Huaiye!
"Ningning! I've finally found you!"
Xie Huaiye ran up to her, panting.
His forehead was covered in sweat.
He hurriedly pulled a bottle of mineral water out of his backpack.
"Here, have some water."
He said, unscrewing the bottle cap, "Your lips are all dry."
Yan Ning took the water and drank a few sips.
The cool water immediately sobered her up considerably.
She looked around.
I couldn't see anything but endless sand dunes, and my heart tightened.
Where are they?
She asked, her voice trembling with unease.
Xie Huaiye remained silent for a moment, his gaze darting away.
"Don't tell me you got lost too!"
Xie Huaiye nodded helplessly and said in a hoarse voice:
"That's right, I was so focused on looking for you that I couldn't find them when I turned around..."
"Eh..."
Yan Ning was speechless for a moment and could only sigh as he looked at the boundless desert.
What's the difference between finding them and not finding them? Are we just sending more people to their deaths?
Don't worry too much.
Xie Huaiye suddenly remembered something and pulled a crumpled map from his pocket:
“Basha gave me this map before, we can go find the desert city.”
Yan Ning leaned over and looked at the map.
Looking again at the vast desert, he said dejectedly, "How are we supposed to find it in such a huge area?"
Xie Huaiye squatted down.
I grabbed a handful of sand and let it slip through my fingers.
"Look, there are two types of sand in this area."
He pointed to the sand on the ground and said, "Generally, the more red sand there is, the closer it is to the center."
"The desert city must be in the area with the most red sand. If we follow the direction of the red sand, we will definitely find it."
After saying that, he took Yan Ning's hand.
The two proceeded in the direction where the red sand was more abundant.
The desert sun grew increasingly scorching.
With each step, the sand would engulf your ankles.
Yan Ning was, after all, a girl, and she became exhausted after walking for less than an hour, her pace slowing down.
Xie Huaiye noticed her situation and squatted down in front of her without saying a word:
"Get on, I'll carry you."
“No, you’re tired too…” Yan Ning hesitated.
"Stop talking nonsense and get on here," Xie Huaiye insisted.
Yan Ning had no choice but to lie on his back.
Xie Huaiye gritted his teeth, stood up, and walked forward step by step with difficulty.
Yan Ning felt a pang of sorrow as she watched the beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
"Put me down, Xie Huaiye," she whispered. "You're too tired."
Xie Huaiye shook his head, panting heavily, and said, "No need, I can carry it."
At this moment.
Suddenly, a massive, yellowish-brown wall appeared on the distant horizon.
The wall kept rising higher and higher.
It came crashing down on them with a thunderous roar.
"Oh no, it's a sandstorm!" Xie Huaiye's pupils constricted sharply. "Hold on tight!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a gust of wind lashed out like a giant hand.
In an instant, the sky darkened.
Visibility dropped sharply to less than one meter.
The sand felt like countless fine needles lashing at my face and body.
Yan Ning clung tightly to Xie Huaiye's neck.
Xie Huaiye squinted and moved towards a sheltered spot based on his intuition.
Sand was pouring into their collars, ears, and nostrils.
Every breath carried the metallic smell of sand.
Yan Ning coughed violently, and the tears that had just flowed out were dried by the wind.
Xie Huaiye carried Yan Ning and hid behind a large rock.
The wind gradually subsided, and the two of them caught their breath.
Xie Huaiye walked out, but suddenly his foot slipped.
"ah!"
The two screamed at the same time and tumbled down the steep sand dune.
When it finally stopped.
Yan Ning noticed that Xie Huaiye's arm had been cut open and was bleeding.
Fresh blood mixed with sand congealed into a dark red scab.
Yan Ning asked with concern, "How are you? Does your arm hurt?"
Xie Huaiye shook his head, "It's nothing, it's nothing for a man to get hurt."
Yan Ning looked around and suddenly realized that something was missing.
"Oh no, the map is gone!"
She frantically groped around in the sand, only to grab handfuls of quicksand.
Xie Huaiye pressed his wound and calmly said:
"Don't panic. Look, there's more red sand here than before, which means we're closer to our destination."
At this moment, Yan Ning suddenly noticed a peculiar black stone not far away.
Something seemed to be reflecting light in the sunlight.
"Huaiye, look over there!"
The two walked closer, supporting each other.
They discovered it was the remains of a stone tablet half-buried in the sand.
Xie Huaiye wiped the sand off the surface with his hand.
A bronze object, about half the size of a palm, was revealed.
It is engraved with peculiar patterns.
"This is..."
Yan Ning carefully picked it up and blew away the fine sand. "It looks like a stone tablet?"
Xie Huaiye took it and examined it carefully, then his eyes suddenly lit up:
"The texture is very similar to the markings on the edges of a map!"
He excitedly pointed to the patterns on the stone tablet:
"This must be from a desert city! It was brought out by the sandstorm!"
Yan Ning also perked up: "That means... we've really found the right direction!"
A warm feeling and hope welled up in her heart.
The two helped each other to their feet, but hadn't taken more than a few steps.
Yan Ning suddenly felt her legs go weak.
"Huaiye!"
She only had time to scream before her entire right leg sank in.
It's quicksand!
Xie Huaiye reacted very quickly, lunging forward to grab her wrist.
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