Chapter 172
Xia Entang stood where he was, watching Chu Huaiqin walk for a while with his trekking pole. After hesitating for a moment, he followed behind him, staring closely at him, as if ready to rush over and help him at any time if anything happened.
The two children in front did not walk far. They looked back from time to time and saw that the atmosphere between Xia En and Chu Huaiqin was not right. They walked even slower, almost pacing in place until they were "caught up" by Chu Huaiqin.
"Hey, you're still here?" Chu Huaiqin looked at the two people in front of him with a confused look on his face. Then he glanced around and asked, "Where's Xia En?"
The two of them raised their hands at the same time and pointed behind Chu Huaiqin.
Chu Huaiqin turned around and saw Xia En, with a puzzled look on his face again, as if he didn't know when Xia En was running behind him.
Xia En walked up to Chu Huaiqin with a stern face. Under his strange gaze, he reached out and took the trekking pole in Chu Huaiqin's left hand, holding it. "Let's go!"
The two children looked at each other and smiled when they saw that the strange atmosphere between the two people finally disappeared.
A team that was ahead of Chu Huaiqin and his team encountered a big problem at this time: eating.
They entered the "Road of No Return" in the morning. The stench of breakfast kept them from eating much. These strong men quickly grew hungry. But trapped in the stinking salt pans, even with their gas masks removed, they couldn't eat. The occasional sip of water they took off was overpowering by the stench. Wearing protective gear in the sweltering heat, the stifling heat, and the profuse sweating exacerbated their discomfort, leaving the men agonized.
The atmosphere was filled with irritability, especially when Liman and Abadi exchanged unfriendly glances. The fans of both sides were terrified, fearing that they would not be able to hold back and start a fight here.
Before entering, we had been briefed on the program about the severity of the situation, so we were still rational. But after more than an hour, our tempers began to rise. In front of us, a flat expanse of brown sand revealed a vast expanse of fallen, corroded tree trunks. It was so large that it was obvious that this was once a forest, but due to geological reasons, the vegetation and trees here had all been eroded and fallen.
"Let's take a detour!" Andre suggested.
"But we can't be sure of its extent. If we get to the end and still find the same situation, wouldn't that be a waste of time?" said Russell of the Double Eagles. "Besides, we're out of energy."
"What do you have in mind?" Liman lowered his eyes and looked like he deserved a beating.
"Let's move! The trees here are all corroded, and many of them are almost merged with the sand. Just step over them. If you encounter any obstructions, work together to move them. The material of this protective clothing is very good, so there's no need to worry about it getting torn." Russell's idea is indeed a solution, but there is still a problem, 'cooperation'. Everyone here has their own little ideas, and it's not known whether everyone is willing to cooperate.
"Each of our teams has its own plans. Do you think you can motivate them?" Abadi of the Mali team expressed Russell's concerns without mercy.
"We can set up a team once, what do you say, Liman?" Andre asked. Liman was the most difficult person to talk to here.
"Of course, but who goes first?" Liman didn't want to take a detour. In a place like this, who knows if it will be even more unsafe.
"Let our team go first!" Russell felt that since he was the one who proposed it, he must start first.
After making the decision, everyone set off on their journey, walking on the corroded branches. They went around and around, and the first time they encountered a pile of tree trunks that they could not cross, the Double Eagle Team started moving the trunks first, but finally found that one team was too slow, so they all joined in.
Many viewers in the live broadcast room were amused by the scene, as this meant that when the rolling team arrived, there would be a smooth path!
The audience thought of it, but the contestants who were working hard to move the tree on the scene didn’t think of it for the time being, or someone thought of it but didn’t say it out loud.
This area was very large. The five teams moved as they went along, and they didn't get out of the area until 6:30 in the afternoon. In front of them was a big sand dune. As long as they crossed it, they would leave this hellhole.
The group was panting with exhaustion, but they didn't dare sit down. They stood for a while and climbed up the sand dune. Although there were still tiny salt crystals on the ridge, they didn't care. Tired and hungry, their legs were weak, and they slowly sat down, not wanting to move at all.
This was the place to be, so even if there was a bit of a stench, it was tolerable. Many people couldn't wait to take out their stored food and start devouring it.
While several teams were resting, Chu Huaiqin and others also approached the sand dunes. Looking up, they vaguely saw people sitting on the sand dunes. Then they looked at the road that had been cleared under their feet, and Chu Huaiqin smiled.
The live broadcast room was also infected by his smile.
"God's will, God's will."
"Hahaha, the protagonist's appearance still needs to wait!"
"Pfft, I even cleared the way for my brother."
Many people in the live broadcast room laughed, and although there were some negative voices, they were suppressed.
The four continued walking towards the sand dunes. As long as they climbed over the dunes, they would be completely safe.
"Brother, we caught up." The little monk said breathlessly. He was used to walking in a skipping manner, but walking properly in the salt field was ten times more tiring than walking on the sand.
"Well, try harder." Chu Huaiqin raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but found that he couldn't reach it. He had no choice but to move his face mask and use the force to scratch the itch.
"Let's go upstairs!" Chu Huaiqin also wanted to sit down and take off his mask.
"Wait, hey, brother, did you hear any sound?" The little monk blinked and asked curiously.
"What's that sound?" Chu Huaiqin gasped.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz, are those bees?" The little monk tilted his head and listened attentively.
"The wind and sand are roaring!" Lin Zhinan said, "Brother, let's go up!"
Lin Zhinan was extremely tired. Because they were in the salt fields today, they did not take a break at noon. As she walked along, she felt a dull pain in her legs again.
The young monk saw Lin Zhinan hammering his legs and didn't dare to delay any longer. He pulled people up the sand dune. On the ridge, a group of people were resting at a distance from the salt fields. When they heard the noise and turned around, they saw Chu Huaiqin appear. Then they suddenly remembered that they were making wedding clothes for others!
"Hi!"
Chu Huaiqin ignored everyone's surprised expressions and waved his hand. He couldn't hear anything through his mask, but everyone knew what he was doing. The members of the Double Eagles and the Maozi teams also waved, then their eyes shifted to his protective suit. They then noticed the convenient straw that extended from the water bladder into the gas mask on the Rolling Team.
"Are you okay like this?" Andrei from the Russian team had a face full of envy. Although they had taken off their masks now, there were still salt crystals on the ground and they hadn't taken off their protective suits yet. After wearing them for a whole day, he felt that his boots were full of sweat.
"As long as you don't touch the salt crystals, you'll be fine." Chu Huaiqin replied, reaching out to take off his mask. In an instant, he felt all the pores on his body open up.
The other teams suddenly realized what was going on. They immediately stood up and reached for the zipper. Victor from the Maozi team was the fastest, grabbing the collar and tearing it off. With a "squeak", he tore it from top to bottom, and the protective suit was flung out directly with a dashing movement.
Everyone was delighted to see this and put their hands on his collar, just as they were about to tear it when the little monk suddenly yelled, scaring everyone.
"Ah, brother, look what that is?" The little monk suddenly pointed to the distance with a look of panic.
Everyone's anger grew, but they still turned their heads to look in the direction of his finger. They gasped and saw in the distance a group of densely packed things coming towards them. They were so large that they blocked out the sky and the sun, and the buzzing sound became louder and louder with their speed.
Everyone was shocked. What was this?
"Locusts. Desert locusts."
Someone shouted.
Desert locusts, more commonly known as grasshoppers, are the largest of all locust species, with the largest reaching as long as a human index finger. They possess large wings, powerful limbs, and a thin, sharp shell. Normally, they wouldn't harm humans unless they were extremely hungry, but they never stop during migration, charging at speeds of 20 kilometers per hour, like the speed of a bicycle race. They're either fatal or seriously injured.
It was fine for the others who were wearing protective suits, but Chu Huaiqin and Victor had already taken them off, so they were the most dangerous.
"Quick, put on your face covering."
"Quick, Victor, put on your protective gear."
"Hurry, hold on to me."
Chaotic voices and urgent shouts rang out at the same time.
The sudden appearance in front of the livestream was astonishing. The drone footage was so realistic that the viewers in front of the screen could almost feel the overwhelming fear. Those with trypophobia scrambled to shut down their computers, while others simply knocked over their cups.
"Help, oh my god, this amount, ahhhhh!"
"Ahhh, it's coming, it's coming, it's coming with locusts, it's coming with locusts, run!"
"Where are you running? You're everywhere. You can't escape. Find a way!"
"Phili's face mask, ah, put it on quickly, don't hurt your face."
"Victor's protective suit, and Chu's, watch, it's coming, it's coming."
"It's going to die, it's going to die. I heard that a locust swarm can eat the food of a cow in one go."
"Ah, my dear brother's face mask, put it on quickly."
Seeing that the desert locusts were about to rush over, Xia En put Chu Huaiqin's face covering on his head and shouted, "Squat down."
Then he suddenly hugged Chu Huaiqin into his arms, pressed his head against his shoulders, and wrapped his arms around his neck to protect it, hugging him tightly, with his back facing the direction where the desert locusts were flying. The little monk and Lin Zhinan also reacted quickly, and the two of them surrounded Chu Huaiqin in the middle, hugging him tightly.
The others quickly put on their protective masks, but Victor's protective suit was only halfway on. The locusts were already approaching. They wanted to imitate Xia En and the others and hug Victor like Chu Huaiqin, but it was too late...
“Buzz buzz buzz!”
Locusts filled the sky, rushing over with a terrifying, earth-shaking roar. They surged upward like a torrential flood, smashing down on everyone...
"ah!"
A scream pierced through, making everyone's heart jump.
Who is it?
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