Chapter 171
Those who arrived here first had no idea how big this area was or how long it would take to walk there. Just looking at the gas masks and protective suits, their psychological pressure increased.
But I withdrew from the competition, but I didn't know what was ahead.
"I heard that some places in the desert emit sulfuric acid-like poisonous gases. I hope the production team won't let us go to these places!" Valeri from the Russian team yelled angrily. He wanted to run to the director team and curse them. Anyway, they had been cursing a lot since the competition started.
"Gas masks and protective suits can be used. I think the possibility is very high." Shane from the Double Eagles replied.
The teams were all within easy reach, and everyone could clearly hear their conversation, which only made them even more nervous. The gas masks and protective suits weighed a thousand pounds, and everyone looked at each other, no one moving. Someone, unable to bear the odor, retreated a distance, and others followed suit, until the smell faded.
After Chu Huaiqin's team finished lunch, they rested for half an hour and then set off. The team in front of them set off a day and a half earlier than them. In order to win, the journey would not be slow. If they want to catch up with the distance, they still have to put in some effort.
The four of them continued on their journey, arriving at their next food point at 7 PM. The buried food had been dug up again, but they managed to find a meal bit by bit, like Yugong moving the mountain. Meanwhile, the group ahead of them wanted to go first, but they also wanted to go first. There was a subtle push and pull, and in the end, no one set off, and darkness had already fallen.
This is not a food point. Many people took out their stored food to eat, and the Chinese audience in the live broadcast room burst into laughter.
Chinese audience: "Oh my, you are waiting for your brother!"
Foreign audience: "Shame on you! Our team stopped to figure out a solution. Who would wait for a 'squeamish person'?"
Foreign audience: "Yes, he really thinks he is a god and will disappear when he comes to this devilish area."
Chinese audience: "The Chinese fans in front should stop stirring up hatred. Their teams will definitely leave tomorrow morning. Our Rolling Team is still half a day away from them, so we will definitely be behind them."
Foreign audience: "Why should we explore the way for you?"
Chinese audience: "..."
Ever since entering the top 20, the audience in the live broadcast room has become less harmonious.
The next morning, the advance team was awakened by a foul odor. They ran out and vomited, quickly putting on their gas masks. Unexpectedly, Chu Huaiqin and his team also smelled it, but the odor was relatively mild. The young monks, with their most sensitive noses, were the first to be overwhelmed, and the production team had to provide protective clothing and other supplies in advance.
The gas masks were fine, but no one wanted to wear the protective suits; they were too dense and too hot. The four of them barely managed breakfast, then set off at daybreak, their protective gear in hand. At 11:00 AM, they were still some distance from where the advance team had arrived the day before, but several of them couldn't stand it anymore. After retreating a bit, they each had lunch in advance. They had to get out of this salt flat before today.
"Remember, when you walk, be sure to avoid sharp objects and don't scratch your protective clothing, okay?" Chu Huaiqin said. He reached out to help Lin Zhinan straighten his tilted hat, and when he turned around, he saw Xia Entang glaring at him, his hat also tilted. Chu Huaiqin smiled, walked over to Xia Entang, reached out to help him straighten his hat, and then adjusted his shoulders.
Finally, he tapped Xia En's gas mask twice on his forehead.
"Brother, the previous salt fields were also in the desert, why didn't they become like this?" Lin Zhinan shook his hands and jumped to straighten the protective clothing from top to bottom.
"Desert sand comes in different types. Some have high iron content, some have low. Excessive iron content erodes the salt pans, leading to this situation." Chu Huaiqin held out his hands, allowing Xia Entang, who had come close, to help him sort them out. The protective suit was white, and the shoes were specially made. They were completely sealed and difficult to put on, and without someone to help hold them in place, they were prone to slipping out of place.
"Sister, sister, help me." The little monk saw the three of them helping each other and he was the only one left, so he quickly jumped over.
Lin Zhinan smiled and reached out to help the little monk tidy up.
After a busy period, the four of them were fully equipped and began to attack the "Road of No Return".
To cross the point of no return, they first had to cross the sand dunes. The four of them, leaning on their trekking poles, slowly climbed up. As they walked, they could clearly feel the difference between the sand here and elsewhere. Once they reached the top, standing on the ridge, they gazed at the endless road of no return. They were still quite nervous, but when Chu Huaiqin raised his binoculars and peered into the distance, he could just spot the group ahead.
"Brother, we are almost catching up with him." Lin Zhinan said happily.
"Well, let's go!" Chu Huaiqin nodded and walked down first.
The downhill road wasn't difficult, but the fear of slipping made everyone very cautious. Once we reached the flat ground, our hearts trembled with every step, fearing something might go wrong.
But wearing a fully enclosed protective suit in the salt pans, with temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius, was a real pain, especially for Chu Huaiqin. Even with a fan inside, his entire body was soaked. His speed had slowed down, and he was completely exhausted. After some thought, Chu Huaiqin asked the young monk to take Lin Zhinan ahead, as long as they were some distance away from the advance team, so he could rest.
The two were reluctant, and Chu Huaiqin said with a stern face: "No, I can indulge you in other places, but not this time. Leave here as soon as possible, I have no problem with that."
The two children saw Chu Huaiqin's stern face for the first time, and looked at Xia En in panic. Seeing him nod, they thought for a while, then they walked away with a crutch in one hand and holding hands with the other.
Chu Huaiqin bent down and took a breath for a while before starting to pull off his clothes.
Xia En was frightened by his actions, "What are you doing?"
"It's hot," Chu Huaiqin pulled away Xia En's restraining hand and panted, "Don't worry, I won't take off my gas mask. The protective suits are just for safety reasons. As long as we don't touch the sand and don't hurt our skin, we'll be fine."
"No, it's too dangerous." Xia En held Chu Huaiqin's hand tightly.
"Didn't I tell you? I'll be careful not to get hurt and won't touch my skin." Chu Huaiqin was scorching hot. The temperature outside was almost 40 degrees Celsius, and inside it was at least 50 degrees Celsius. He couldn't stand it any longer, "Let go."
Chu Huaiqin suppressed his irritability due to the heat. He felt like he was about to faint. This stuffy feeling was even more unbearable than the high temperature outside.
"If you don't let go, just bear with it for a while. If not, I'll carry you on my back." Xia En was anxious.
Chu Huaiqin frowned, "Let go."
Xia Entang shook his head, "No."
"Are you looking for a fight?"
"I won't let go even if you hit me."
A fiery breath surged up from below, and Chu Huaiqin felt like his feet were soaked with sweat. Sweat continued to ooze out of his skin, sliding down his muscles, sticky and itchy. Chu Huaiqin could feel the sweat running in a relay race, from his forehead to his neck to his chest, and then to his abdominal muscles...
It was a perfect line, but it made him unbearable.
Xia En couldn't understand Chu Huaiqin's "pain" at all and held his hand tightly.
Chu Huaiqin: "Xia En, do you know that sometimes people can endure excruciating pain, but cannot tolerate external discomfort?"
Xia Entang shook his head. For him, there was nothing he couldn't tolerate except Chu Huaiqin's health and safety.
Chu Huaiqin smiled: "I knew it."
Xia Entang was stunned by Chu Huaiqin's smile, thinking that he had figured it out. However, he didn't expect that Chu Huaiqin would suddenly kick his ankle lightly, and his foot would instantly become numb and his hand would loosen. Chu Huaiqin took advantage of this moment to shake off Xia Entang's hand and quickly pulled down his zipper. The air rushed through him, and he let out a long sigh, feeling comfortable.
"You," Xia Entang watched Chu Huaiqin's protective suit fall off and onto the ground, contaminating the inside. His eyes turned red with anger and he looked at Chu Huaiqin speechless.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful not to fall." Chu Huaiqin patted Xia En's shoulder, pulled his boots out of his protective suit, and said to the director team, "Remember to recycle them."
Chu Huaiqin waved to the director team, pulled his backpack, and walked a few steps with his trekking pole. He found that Xia Entang had not caught up with him, so he turned around and looked at him, signaling with his eyes: Follow me!
Xia En pursed his lips, turned his head away, and walked away, passing Chu Huaiqin.
Chu Huaiqin: It seems like I have pissed people off.
In such hot weather, even if Chu Huaiqin hung a fan in front of his chest, he could not catch up with Xia En. He was very tired while looking up to look for Xia En. So as he walked, he lowered his head and walked with every few steps.
Live broadcast room:
"I'm so scared that my brother will collapse. Oh my god, Xia En is really gone."
"This place is too dangerous. My dear brother was a little willful this time."
"Hahaha, my dear brother is so willful. This is the first time I've seen it."
"People who are afraid of heat really find it hard to tolerate being sealed in a stuffy space under high temperatures. It's like motion sickness. People who haven't experienced this think they can just bear it and get used to it. But they don't know that people with this constitution will want to take a knife and end their lives when they feel so uncomfortable."
"Yes, I'm prone to motion sickness. What I hate most in my life is people telling me to just be patient. If you dare to give me a knife when I start to feel dizzy, I'll either kill you or me."
"Phone number queue."
"Don't worry, I'm doing my job, everyone can rest assured. Didn't I take off my gas mask?"
"Get ID number."
Although some people in the live broadcast room thought Chu Huaiqin was a bit willful, many people also understood. However, in China, this trending search still became popular. Each person had his own reasons, and Chen Guo was troubled by this and quickly removed the trending search.
Chen Guo muttered to himself: I don’t know which rival company bought these trending searches.
Chu Huaiqin had no idea what was happening outside. He lowered his head and walked forward step by step with difficulty. When he was bored, Chu Huaiqin even counted the drops of sweat that fell to the ground.
Xia En, who was walking away in a huff, walked slower and slower. He tried to secretly turn his head to look at Chu Huaiqin several times, but he controlled himself. He walked foot to foot, almost standing still. The audience in the live broadcast room was speechless and could only cheer Chu Huaiqin on.
After a while, Chu Huaiqin finally caught up. Although Xia En tried hard to control the corners of his mouth, they still turned up. He thought to himself: As long as he admits his mistake, no, as long as I say a word to him, it will be fine.
Thinking of this, Xia En's eyes were filled with anticipation.
What was surprising was that Chu Huaiqin, who was staggering every three steps, didn't even look at him. He lowered his head and just walked past him.
Xia Entropy: ...
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