Chapter 260 Dead End
The howling continued for nearly three hours. When visibility through the windshield began to clear, all that could be seen was a vast expanse of yellow sand.
The investigators first checked the surrounding area and found no danger, then the men got out of the car.
The moment the car door opened, yellow sand poured in, piling up to half the height of the car.
"Fortunately, it wasn't too bad; I wasn't buried."
The problem is that the vehicles had been driving erratically in the desert to avoid bombers, and after the sandstorm, the ground was covered in yellow sand, so they had no idea where they were.
The military GPS system can see nearby roads, including the one that might be flooded.
So the people present split into two teams: one team went to check the road conditions, and the other team cleared the sand burying the vehicles.
Digging sand is physically demanding, but not particularly difficult.
A moment later, the scouts brought back bad news—
Four years after the zombie outbreak, that road had been abandoned for a long time. The sand and dust left by the sandstorms over the years had not been cleaned up, and the road surface was already covered up quite a bit. The sandstorm just now buried the road even deeper.
Lu Wei and the communications officer worked together to send a contact signal, but did not receive a response from the relevant departments immediately.
The map shows that the nearest city is 140 kilometers away.
They have little food and water left, and if they don't get a response from the relevant departments, they will starve to death in the car sooner or later.
Sitting idly by and waiting for death is not the solution.
Upon arriving in the city, there might be checkpoints guarded by the enemy. It's all a matter of luck; there are checkpoints there, and they won't kill everyone.
This decision means that everyone will lose the protection and operational capability of trucks.
The desert stretches as far as the eye can see, and there are no zombies to be seen; the main danger comes from the weather.
The 140-kilometer journey can be covered in half a day by car, but it would take several days to walk through the desert, and their food and water supply may not be enough to sustain such a large consumption.
Li Shuyi swallowed hard, terrified. But she had already followed them here, and being left alone meant certain death. So she could only help carry some important items off the bus to prepare for departure.
Lin Xi glanced around at the layout of her truck. There were many supplies she had brought from Nanhua, as well as a lot of items for the four of them.
Her familiar old friend had protected her all the way here, and now they had to part ways.
Of all the things and people brought from Nanhua, only Lu Wei remains.
Since Lin Xi couldn't take the car with her, she could only cut out the four-person group photo with the hot-blooded manga version drawn on the back of the seat and stuff it into the inner layer of her clothes.
Guided by a compass and a scout, the nine men made their way through the desert, following the compass and the less-than-accurate location signals.
We covered 20 kilometers on the first day.
To ensure a sufficient supply of food and water later on, everyone planned their limited food intake, which meant reducing consumption and extending the time available.
Traveling through the desert on an empty stomach is inefficient, and during the day you have to contend with the scorching sun, but the nights are the hardest to endure.
The desert temperature is extremely low at night in March. Not only is Lin Xi, who is used to the constant temperature at the base, not used to it, but even the people at the Iron Wolf Base are having a hard time coping with such nights.
It was as if once a person fell asleep, they would sleep forever in that cold night.
However, hunger and cold do not make people walk faster.
On the third day, when Li Shuyi forced herself to keep up with the group, she discovered that she wasn't the last one; there was someone else walking at the very back.
It's Yang Yicheng.
He had lost too much blood to recover in time, and his injuries worsened due to the high-intensity march and the harsh desert weather.
In this situation, his physical strength would be weaker than everyone else's.
The team rested for a while, and Li Shuyi slowly arrived. Yang Yicheng, who returned to the team later, was pale and had bloodstains all over the place.
Everyone sat on the ground, sharing food and water.
Yang Yicheng instinctively covered his chest with his left hand; no one understood his situation better than him.
He can't keep up.
Without supplies or medicine to treat his right hand, blood was dripping uncontrollably from it.
Li Shuyi brought over the medicine box, and Lin Xi brought over food and water.
However, the next moment, a member of the Iron Wolf base suddenly looked at Yang Yicheng and said, "Team Leader Yang."
The man's expression remained completely unchanged: "You once said that we shouldn't hold the team back during the apocalypse."
Yang Yicheng listened calmly.
The man continued, “We’re running out of food. 140 kilometers is just the straight-line distance; without a clear location, the actual distance we need to travel is far more than 140 kilometers.”
With one less person sharing the food, everyone can go further.
Li Shuyi had just gulped down a large mouthful of water and was munching on a quarter of a compressed biscuit, her stomach practically sticking to her back, when she heard the words of the Iron Wolf base team members and froze.
Lin Xi didn't know what to say.
Their team was led by Yang Yicheng, and their thinking habits were consistent with Yang Yicheng's.
The other members of the Iron Wolf Base did not speak up for Captain Yang, but the man persisted, saying, "Three years ago, my younger brother went on a mission with you and was injured in the leg by an explosion. You were afraid that he would be a burden and you wouldn't be able to take care of him, and you were also afraid that he would be infected by zombies, so you suggested that he commit suicide."
He tossed a gun to him.
Yang Yicheng's gaze was fixed on the gun; he remained silent and expressionless.
Just as Lin Xi was about to speak, Yang Yicheng said to her, "I will not commit suicide, nor will I share any more food. I will continue to escort you forward until I can no longer keep up."
He has always been a person who insists on his own opinions.
Lin Xi saw a resolute look in those eyes.
Yang Yicheng disappeared the day after he said that. It was time for everyone to get back on their way.
Normal people are almost unable to go on, so no one is distracted by feeling sentimental for others; they can only bury their heads and move forward.
Lu Wei is in the best condition; his body has been modified by the virus, so his need for food and water is lower than that of a normal person.
By the sixth day, everyone had only a sip of food and water left, and the more serious problem was that everyone was nearing dehydration and their strength was almost exhausted.
Li Shuyi collapsed to the ground, even regretting coming here with Lin Xi.
She was the weakest physically and the least determined, and in despair, she said, "You guys... don't worry about me... let me follow along like Captain Yang..."
The people at the Iron Wolf base naturally wouldn't bother with her.
Lin Xi was so thirsty she couldn't speak, and tried to pull her twice in vain, but she didn't budge.
Finally, Lu Wei carried her on his back.
During the next rest stop, Li Shuyi refused Lu Wei's help: "Lin Xi, Brother Lu, you should go... I really can't hold on any longer... Let me die peacefully..."
Her throat was dry and hoarse, and she had difficulty breathing.
She didn't want to continue on this difficult and hopeless path to survival; she even wanted to end her suffering quickly with a bullet.
Lin Xi was also almost at her limit; her lips were cracked, her limbs were weak, and she couldn't speak at all.
She couldn't pull the person on the ground, nor could she speak.
Instead, while Lu was receiving the antitoxin injection, he took a clean syringe, crawled to Li Shuyi's side, and injected the needle into the most painful spot.
"Ah!" Li Shuyi moved slightly and let out a dry cry.
Lin Xi inserted another needle into another sensitive spot, silently saying: If you don't get up, I'll keep inserting it.
Li Shuyi's eyes widened as if she were experiencing a final burst of energy before death.
When the fifth needle was inserted, she was already struggling to get up.
Someone else has fallen behind.
Lin Xi couldn't turn back; her gaze was blank as she gritted her teeth and moved forward.
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