Chapter 111
The sky was hazy, and the desert seemed still asleep, even the wind had become gentle. A rustling sound echoed from the tent where they were camping in the desert. A moment later, Xia Entang emerged from inside, dressed in his coat. He checked the temperature on his watch: -1°C.
Slowly climbing the dune on the soft sand, Xia Entang scanned the area with his binoculars, but could see nothing. Frowning, he took out his map and pondered for a moment. He was thinking about finding the next food stop. What would they do if they ran out of food and water?
After a while of cooling breeze, Xia Entang put away the map and climbed down the sand dune. As soon as he returned to the camp, he saw the little monk and Lin Zhinan whispering in front of his tent.
"What are you looking at?" Xia Enbal pushed aside the two people who were blocking his view and saw Chu Huaiqin sitting at the entrance of the tent wrapped in a water bag. He looked dazed and it was obvious that he had not woken up yet.
Xia En walked over and squatted down. Seeing Chu Huaiqin still staring at the ground, motionless, the chirping bird above his head swaying in the wind, he couldn't help but reach out and rub it. He asked softly, "What are you looking at?"
"I'm thinking." Chu Huaiqin turned his head. His clear and bright eyes made Xia En's heart move. He resisted the urge to kiss him and said in a hoarse voice, "Thinking about what?"
"Is there a snail girl, a snail boy or something like that here?"
"Snail Girl, Snail Boy?"
"Mm, water."
Chu Huaiqin yawned, held the water bag in front of him, and shook it, making a clanging sound. It was obvious that there was a lot of water, which made people happy.
"Yes, there is!" Xia En took back his hands rubbing Jiujiu, his eyes flashing.
"You guys are really perseverant. You can even get up in the middle of the night." Chu Huaiqin turned his gaze to the little monk and Lin Zhinan standing together outside.
The little monk was confused, and Lin Zhinan smiled embarrassedly.
Chu Huaiqin waved his hand, "Bring the water bag over here!"
Lin Zhinan took a step back and shook his head.
Chu Huaiqin smiled helplessly, "I didn't want to give it back to you. If you give it to me, it's mine. I just wanted to see how much you have left."
"There are some more." Lin Zhinan murmured in reply. He wanted to be vague, but seeing Chu Huaiqin's determined eyes, he hesitated for a moment and could only go back to get his water bag and hand it to Chu Huaiqin.
Chu Huaiqin shook his head, barely accepting it, and said with a smile: "When you finish drinking, remember to ask me for more."
Lin Zhinan smiled and nodded repeatedly.
After this happened, Chu Huaiqin checked everyone's water bags before setting off. Only after confirming it did he start setting off.
Without eating breakfast and just drinking some water, they started on their journey. More than two hours later, they arrived at the food point. Looking at the fallen cacti on the ground, Lin Zhinan's eyes turned red.
"They're just awful. So infuriating." The little monk was so angry that he was jumping up and down. When the livestreamer thought he was scolding the production team, he started talking again, "Food is so scarce right now, and they actually pushed down the cactus. Assholes, they must be wasteful at home too."
The little monk clenched his fists and stamped his feet.
Live broadcast room: Don’t worry, God has punished them, and many of them are covered with thorns!
The production crew wouldn't treat such a minor wound, so they had to remove it themselves. Fortunately, there were some smart people who brought medical kits, but even so, it was still a disaster.
"It seems that the food point is not necessarily placed by the director team, it may also be a primitive creature." Xia Entang checked the map again and again, and it was indeed here.
"Well," Chu Huaiqin nodded, "Let's see how much is left to eat. Remember, try to find shorter varieties."
A few people agreed, put down their backpacks, and went up with their knives to start picking up the leftovers. Apart from the ones that had fallen and been crushed, there were also some small ones that the team ahead of them had not looked down on, and there were still quite a few left.
Chu Huaiqin and his friends picked and chose, removed the skins, and filled two pots.
Put one pot aside and eat the other pot directly.
The unwashed cactus flesh, with its slime, felt a bit strange in the mouth, but it was actually more refreshing than cooked cactus, and the inside was tender and juicy. The five people gathered together, biting into the raw flesh, and the sound of the crunch was so loud that the live broadcast room was drooling.
The director team found it interesting, so they cut over with the A1 camera, and suddenly, the scene of five people eating cactus appeared in front of tens of millions of viewers.
"Listen to the sounds and see their expressions. Is cactus really that delicious when eaten raw? Those people were clearly wailing about how unpalatable it was when they ate it yesterday."
"They are just too squeamish. Seeing Chu, who is called a squeamish person by his domestic audience, eating so happily, it must taste good."
"The sound sounded like someone eating fruit, a crunching sound. Oh no, I'm hungry. I never thought that one day I would get hungry just by watching someone eat a cactus."
"What a crisp sound, I want to eat it."
"Just by listening to the sound, I can imagine how firm this meat is. Oh no, my mouth is watering."
"Fuck, it's even stringy! Is this stuff really delicious? The last time I saw them cooking cactus, it wasn't this tempting! How can eating it raw have the same effect as ginseng fruit?"
"Come on, I'm going to go to my backyard and pull up that cactus. I'm going to have it for dinner tonight."
"Ah, I placed an order on the e-commerce platform. It's urgent. Please wait for me, brother. Let's eat cactus together."
The audience in the livestream were so visibly upset by Chu Huaiqin and his friends eating cactus that many said they were pulling out cacti from their own backyards and balconies. Some even placed urgent orders for delivery via e-commerce platforms. For a moment, those who entered later thought they had clicked on the wrong livestream and accidentally entered a food-eating livestream.
"Damn, I ate it, and it tasted like bitter melon and snot. I admire Chu for eating it like an apple."
"Liar, it tastes like chicken cutlet."
"Get lost, it tastes like Wagyu steak."
"No, no, you're all wrong. It's the taste of cumin lamb chops."
The audience who didn’t eat it said: You guys are kidding! If you don’t believe me, I’ll go place an order and buy some to try.
For a time, orders for cacti from e-commerce platforms around the world soared, and even many residents shouted angrily in their yards: What era is it now? Are you still stealing cacti? Are you the reincarnation of a starving ghost?
The five of them finished a pot of cactus, drank some water to clear their bodies, and then revived on the spot with full health and set off again.
The sun gradually rose into the sky and the temperature began to reach its highest point. Chu Huaiqin began to wilt again. He persisted until about twelve o'clock, and then several people began to set up camp. The weather was too stuffy today, so they set up two tents, each with a small fan, while chewing on cactus.
Xia Entang walked out of the tent, cactus in his mouth, climbed to the highest dune, and took out his binoculars. He could see the advancing troops ahead, the rising plains, the steep and rugged Gobi Desert, and even a few small trees swaying faintly on the Gobi Desert.
Xia Entang put away his binoculars and slid down the sand dune. He quickly ran back and told a few people the news.
"The presence of trees means the environment is better than here." Chu Huaiqin looked at the vast desert and couldn't wait to rush over.
"Is there water?" Lin Zhinan almost cried while wearing this set of clothes. Since she had no clothes to change, she not only felt that she smelled bad, but the clothes also began to harden due to sweat.
"I don't know. Although the environment in the Gobi Desert is better than that in the desert, it's not much better. It's also a place with a lack of vegetation and water resources." Xia Entropy ruthlessly shattered Lin Zhinan's dream.
"It's okay, it's okay, don't worry, sister. Trees need water to survive. We will definitely find water." Seeing that Lin Zhinan was disappointed, the little monk quickly replied.
"Yes, yes, don't worry! There is water." Su Huaichen also said repeatedly, and then glared at Xia En, this straight man. Doesn't he know that after he said this, even he is in despair?
Xia En was bewildered by the stare. He glanced at Su Huaichen coldly and walked back to Chu Huaiqin, feeling aggrieved.
Chu Huaiqin smiled and handed Xia Entang a piece of cactus.
The five people set off quickly after eating the cactus. The first thing they did when they set off was to rush to see the small tree shaking in Xia En's mouth.
"It's really a tree. It's a tree."
Even if there was only one tree, the little monk and Lin Zhinan jumped for joy.
With motivation, the group did not feel so tired when walking. The small trees in the distance became clearer and clearer as they got closer and closer. Even though the water in the water bag was constantly decreasing during the process, their impatience was reduced a lot.
"Come on, we'll be there soon." Chu Huaiqin cheered everyone up in a hoarse voice.
"Well, come on, come on." Lin Zhinan panted, grabbed the trekking pole, and walked forward with the strength of the little monk pulling her, which saved her a lot of energy.
At this time, Chu Huaiqin's backpack was already on Xia En's back. He had his eyes half closed and was staggering with every step. Xia En wished he could carry him on his back.
I almost cried when I saw how hard the people in the live broadcast room worked. It wasn’t so bad in the past five years, so why did they choose the desert this year?
"Today's script is unprecedented! 'Star Wars,' the golden age of countless stars around the world."
"Exactly. So many celebrities are jealous. The Berlin Film Queen even called out to Director Anthony from afar, asking if he needed a replacement."
"Do you remember two years ago when Anthony said he wanted to play the male lead in 'Star Wars'?"
"What's the meaning?"
"Haha, you didn't mean to say that Anthony fell in love with Chu Huaiqin, did you?"
"Chu's fans? That's wishful thinking. Whether Chu Huaiqin can win the championship is one thing, but whether Anthony dares to take the role is still uncertain! Fans of the original novel have long said that anyone can be cast in the role of Star Wars. Anyone who dares to mess with the male lead's scenes will be offending their over one billion registered fans."
“Hahaha, I’ve been living on this joke this year. Allen Chu’s fans are so naive and shameless.”
"That's right. There are over a billion registered fans on the Star Wars official website. How many are not registered? Don't be ridiculous. No one would dare to touch them in my lifetime."
"Pfft, who knows who will end up losing the film and being scolded by fans of the original novel."
The live broadcast room started chatting about "Star Wars", and during the conversation, he did not forget to step on Chu Huaiqin, which made the Chinese audience so angry that they started cursing at each other.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the front team entered the Gobi area first. Their first reaction was to run down the rocky ridge. They wanted shade and rest.
The people from the United States are the most annoying. They just sat down and started to come up with bad ideas again.
The Chinese audience felt a headache watching this and realized that if the United States doesn't solve the problem, it will become a hidden danger.
Chu Huaiqin was unaware that he was being targeted. The group hurried on, finally reaching the Gobi Desert around 5:00 PM. The rolling hills, some large and some small, contrasted with the seemingly pure yellow sand of the desert. The Gobi soil had a dark yellow hue. The sounds of egrets, eagles, and other unidentified birds echoed in the air. At first glance, the hills undulated, but with no vegetation at all, the landscape seemed eerily desolate.
"Brother, it's strange. Over there," Lin Zhinan pointed to the Quansha area behind him, "the sun is very strong, but here, it's very dark."
The temperature hasn't dropped here, it just feels very dark.
Chu Huaiqin raised his head and saw a layer of dark clouds covering the sun. He pulled Lin Zhinan and asked her to look.
Lin Zhinan sighed, she was really scared.
"Brother, those people are over there." The young monk approached Chu Huaiqin and pointed at the Sam Kingdom resting under the rocky ridge. Logically, these people should have arrived at least three or four hours earlier than them, but they stayed there motionless. The look and breath of their eyes made the young monk uncomfortable.
"Be careful." Xia En whispered in Chu Huaiqin's ear.
This group of people were all from the Sam Nation faction. The other teams were gone, so they were probably either continuing on their way or going in search of water. No one had much water left at this point, so if they were to sit here for any length of time, it was definitely not a good thing.
"No need." Chu Huaiqin said lightly.
"Ah, why?" Su Huaichen looked at Chu Huaiqin in surprise, not understanding what he meant.
"It's the big cats we should be careful of, see."
After Chu Huaiqin finished speaking, several people followed his gaze and took a breath.
Dig the groove, on the uneven rock above the heads of these people, stood a desert lion.
They are thirsty and hungry. Desert lions are also thirsty and hungry!
The author has something to say:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
