Chapter 159
The temperature did not drop below ten degrees until 11 o'clock in the evening, and suddenly dropped to zero degrees after midnight. This weird weather made several teams of contestants curse in their hearts.
Chu Huaiqin was both heat-sensitive and cold-sensitive. When the temperature reached ten degrees Celsius, he'd automatically rolled into Xia En's arms and fallen asleep. The movement was fluid and effortless. After being startled awake, Xia En's body stiffened politely for a moment before quickly relaxing. His face couldn't be seen clearly in the darkness, but his breathing was audible. Perhaps because of Chen Zigao, Xia En's thoughts were suddenly drawn back to the past.
His past encounter with Chu Huaiqin flashed through his mind, a wave of grievance, longing, and heartbeat. He watched him through the darkness, his gentle breathing like a small hook, drawing Xia Entang closer. He pressed his dry lips with precise, gentle pressure. Before he could confirm the feeling, the man in his arms suddenly muttered in his sleep. Xia Entang recoiled in fear, his face flushing red and hot. Even through the darkness, Xia Entang felt he couldn't face Chu Huaiqin. He suddenly turned over, his back to Chu Huaiqin, clutching his pounding heart and grinning foolishly.
The next day, everyone was awakened by the heat. It was only five in the morning, and the temperature had already reached 26 degrees Celsius. After a tiring day, everyone had only slept for about six hours. Each contestant emerged bleary-eyed, looking like a ghost.
Yesterday, the food in one box was just enough for a five-person team to eat. The first thing everyone did when they woke up was run to the bottom of the rock where they had found the food the night before, turn on their watch lights, and look for the box. This time, the production team didn't make it difficult for them; they laid out the boxes on the ground, one row at a time.
Everyone was delighted and rushed over to take it, praising the production team in their hearts for finally being human.
This time, the Rolling Team took two boxes again, and the British Empire was unable to obtain any boxes because they were one step behind. Arnold was immediately furious and rushed to Xia Entang, intending to attack him. When he turned around, he saw Chu Huaiqin standing behind Xia Entang, with a half-smile on his face.
"Wait." Chen Zigao held Arnold's shoulder and shook his head.
"Chen, if you don't mind, let's eat together!" David from the Kangaroo team came over with a box and said with a friendly smile.
"Thank you!" Chen Zigao turned around and said, "You treat me as a friend. If you have any problems in the future, you can come to me."
Chen Zigao made a promise, and David smiled so hard that his teeth were showing.
Everyone in the live broadcast room was dumbfounded. It is indeed a country that is internationally famous for being a fence-sitter. It seems that David has learned the true skills.
"Why do I have so little bread?"
Suddenly someone said this. When the others heard it, they were shocked and hurried to open the box. The bread was the same size and tasted the same as yesterday, but the number was completely different. Some had more than ten, some had six or seven, and the least had only three.
David took seven and his face changed.
"The bread is enough for two meals, please eat with caution."
Before anyone could protest, Anthony's voice came over the drone. Everyone was instantly furious. It was fine if there was more bread, but the less bread had to be shared among five people for two meals. Wasn't that too much?
"If you don't have enough to eat, find the rest of the food yourself."
Anthony's voice appeared again on the drone.
Agata and Valeri from the Russian team, one from the Malian team, two from the Double Eagles team, and Fili from the United States were all furious. They immediately rushed to the director's office, demanding an explanation, shouting in several languages simultaneously, leaving the program's translators struggling to keep up. While the impulsive demanded an explanation, the calmer ones pondered other matters. Chu Huaiqin and his team could carry two boxes, so why couldn't they? Yes.
Currently, Team Maozi and Team Ali are both formidable, boasting a full five members and the strongest strength. Team Shuangying also has a full five members, but their combat effectiveness is slightly lower, making them a suitable target. Sam Country only has three members left, but two of them are world-class boxing champions, so it's best to avoid them if possible. Team Kangaroos have one star and one amateur, and judging by their gait and physical fitness, they're very likely mercenaries. Chen Zigao of the British Empire hasn't fought since the start of the competition, so his strength is likely very low. Arnold, like Dejo from the Kangaroos, is also likely a mercenary. Despite this, they're still relatively weak compared to the other teams.
For a moment, the two teams at the back felt like thorns in their sides.
Only one team remained: the Rolling Team. Chu Huaiqin's strength was evident to all, but he had a weakness: his physical fitness dropped drastically in the heat. If he had attacked before noon or 4 p.m., he might have succeeded. Xia Entang was also quite capable, but not at Chu Huaiqin's level of transcendence, but they were a match. The young monk was a bit weaker than Xia Entang, but he also came from a martial family. With two trekking poles in his hands, he wielded them with such force that no one dared approach. Lin Zhinan was a natural.
In general, the strength of the Gun Gun team lies in Chu Huaiqin. Excluding him, the team's strength is similar to that of other teams, or even a little weaker. But with Chu Huaiqin, they can defeat three teams at once and crush all the teams in an instant.
After thinking about it, everyone decided to watch the Rolling Team first.
"Are they looking at us?" David asked Chen Zigao.
"Is that so?" Chen Zigao felt a little uneasy, even a little scared, and all this was caused by Chu Huaiqin.
The shadowy gaze reappeared. Xia Entropy turned his head and saw Chen Zigao with his head bowed. With a snort, Xia Entropy unpacked the boxes. There were two boxes, one with three loaves and the other with six, which was pretty good.
The two boxes of bread were put together, and yesterday's bread was taken out and eaten. This box has a fresh-keeping function, so after opening it, it looks almost the same as when I ate it yesterday, and it hasn't gone bad when I eat it. It seems that they will also take a box with them when they leave today.
"Brother, let's just have three for breakfast and save the other two," Xia En suggested. Thinking about Chu Huaiqin's physical condition later on, they might fall behind the others, and it was unclear whether the director team would leave any food for them.
"Yes, leave two." Lin Zhinan also nodded.
"Are you full?" Chu Huaiqin asked.
"Yes." Lin Zhinan and the little monk said in unison. The bread was big and solid, and it was easy to feel full after eating it.
Since everyone agreed, Chu Huaiqin kept two, so they had eight loaves of bread in reserve.
After a simple breakfast, everyone packed up and set off. At 5:35, the temperature reached 28 degrees, which was terrible.
Chu Huaiqin was sweating profusely. He had already gulped down a lot of water before even setting off. It seemed that his previous judgment that this amount of water would be enough for them to cross the Flaming Mountain was wrong. The idea of splitting up and leaving again came to his mind, but Chu Huaiqin quickly dismissed it. He didn't want the people in the team to go through what Lin Zhinan and Su Huaichen had gone through before.
From 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., everyone experienced unprecedented hardship. Chu Huaiqin, in particular, was overwhelmed by the heat. His energy was rapidly draining, so he quickly handed his backpack to Xia Entang and continued walking, leaning on his trekking pole. The gap between the group was rapidly widening. The previous prediction of a two-and-a-half-day crossing was wrong. At their current pace, the journey would take four or five days.
The heat was so intense that drinking water was the only way to counteract the rapid loss of fluids. By noon, the temperature had peaked at 40 degrees Celsius. The group ahead of them had disappeared, so the four of them, splitting into two teams, gathered together, fanning the air as they went. The young monk chanted prayers, "Amitabha," repeatedly, asking the fan to keep going. This alarmed Lin Zhinan, who couldn't help but kick him to shut him up. In between, Chu Huaiqin even had everyone drink Huoxiang oral liquid to prevent heatstroke.
"Let's take a break!" Even though the temperature was frighteningly high, Chu Huaiqin had to stop.
"Brother, look, have the soles of my shoes melted?" The little monk supported himself with two trekking poles. Even if Chu Huaiqin asked him to take a rest, he didn't want to sit down because it was too hot.
Chu Huaiqin took a glance and shook his head.
Xia En had already started setting up the tent. This time, they didn't camp, but simply connected trekking poles and placed a blanket on top to create a simple shelter. Then, they took out the tent, flattened it, and tied it tightly to cover the blanket. The tent fabric was sun-resistant, so it was more effective this way.
The four of them crawled into the shed and could feel the heat rising to their buttocks even when they were squatting. They were about to be roasted. So they put their backpacks underneath and sat on them with their backs bent.
Xia En opened the box, took out a piece of bread, tore it open, and held it in front of Chu Huaiqin, who was resting with his eyes closed. "Eat something."
"I don't want to eat." It was too hot, and it was just bread. Chu Huaiqin didn't want to eat it at all.
"No, you have to eat something, otherwise you won't have the energy to walk in the afternoon." Xia En saw Chu Huaiqin was suffering from the heat and was very anxious. He had to find a way to make him eat something. "How about I soak it in water?"
This was the only solution Xia Entang could think of.
"Give me a cactus to chew on!" Chu Huaiqin opened his eyes and smiled. He knew it was bad to travel without food, but when Xia Entang asked him, he felt like being willful.
Xia Entang gave in and quickly opened his backpack to look for cacti. They had picked a lot of them before entering the rocky mountains, and they just needed them.
"Cactus isn't filling, you need some bread too." Xia Entang pulled out a cactus and pricked it with a knife. To prevent water loss, they'd packed the cactus in the same order they'd picked it, and now the backpack was riddled with thorns.
"Yeah." Chu Huaiqin responded, half-closed his eyes and watched Xia En sharpen the thorns.
The little monk and Lin Zhinan didn't really want to eat bread either; it was too hot. They followed Chu Huaiqin's lead and ate cactus, which they had previously hated but now loved the most.
After the four of them finished eating, they lay down on their backpacks, feeling drowsy. No one mentioned setting off on their journey. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the temperature rose again to 42 degrees Celsius, and Chu Huaiqin was even less willing to leave.
Although the other teams had gone further than Chu Huaiqin and his team at this time, they were exhausted and not at all relaxed.
"Chen, let's discuss this."
The Malian team suddenly appeared in front of the two people from the British Empire, smiling obscenely despite being extremely tired.
"What's the matter?" Chen Zigao looked at the people who came with ill intentions and had a bad feeling in his heart.
"We only have four loaves of bread in our box today. We've eaten three, and we have one left. I'm borrowing one from you." Abadi from the Mali team was quite good at reading people's minds. This morning, after the Kangaroos and the British Empire split the bread, each pair got only one loaf. They kept the remaining two until now, but they didn't take all of them, only one. "Don't even think about it," Arnold said, his temper flaring.
"How about a fight?" Abadi of the Mali team gave a typical gangster smile.
"You have no food, you should have asked Chu Huaiqin for it this morning." Chen Zigao stood up angrily. Did these people think he was easy to bully? After the game, he would make sure these people pay.
"Oh, maybe next time!" Abadi said with a smile, "My teammate is hungry. Can you lend it to me?"
Chen Zigao was instantly driven to anger.
The livestream was abuzz, splitting into three groups: one group felt Chen Zigao deserved it, another group sided with him and argued with the audience who were saying he deserved it. The remaining group, fans of the team forced to be eliminated by the British Empire, cheered excitedly: "You deserve it, too."
The author has something to say:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
