1292 Two Choices (1/2)

Zhang Zian had fled to the edge of the Devil's Sea, but he was not very sure where he was. First the ground had broken up, and then the black storm had arrived. The landscape had changed completely. The unique honeycomb dunes had disappeared, replaced by the large parallel dunes commonly found in the desert. The Devil's Sea was now like a dream.

In the wake of the storm, the light of the setting sun was extraordinarily soft, and the air was exceptionally clear. The temperature was cool, and everything felt new. The elfins jumped out of the window and shook the sand off their bodies to revel in the new joy they felt.

Looking at their car, everyone was shocked. Except for the half that was buried, the car's body paint had been stripped away by the violent sandstorm to reveal its iron shell. The glass was full of scratches, much like sandpaper. The things stacked on the car's roof had long since disappeared.

Although a sunset was much appreciated, it was nearly dusk. Zhang Zian did not have much time to appreciate the scenery. He had to dig the car out of the sand while it was still cool. He was the only one able to do this work—no one else would be able to help.

He asked Famous to get the folding shovel from the trunk. He then took off his shirt and started digging.

It was not easy to dig a half-buried car out of a sand pit. Each scoop displaced some sand, but more than half of it always flowed back in. It was somewhat of a wasted effort.

”Come on! Come on!” Richard cried as he watched, enjoying the scene.

The sun set, and after a rushed dinner of random food, he took out a camping light and continued digging. His torso was covered in sweat.

It was a pity that he hadn't brought gloves for this trip. His hands quickly got sore from the friction. He could only tear off pieces of cloth from a shirt, wrap them around his hands, and continue working.

He hadn't slept for over a day. He'd only gotten slight relief earlier from dozing off in the driver's seat.

It wasn't that he wanted to rush. However, food and water were severely limited. In addition, he did not know where they were. It would be dangerous to stay an extra day where they were.

He only knew that he was not leaving the Devil's Sea from the north side. It could only be east, south, or west. To find the expedition team, he could no longer pass through the Devil's Sea—he needed to make a detour. Without Nabari, the desert was completely strange to him.

The expedition team would only wait for him for 48 hours at the scheduled location, leaving after that for the safety of their team members. Twenty-four hours had already passed. He only had another 24 hours before he had to find his own way out of the desert.

Although the members of the expedition team were not all reliable, people were social animals. Traveling as a group provided a sense of reassurance. In case of unexpected situations, having more people meant there was always someone looking out for you.

So he dug. He dug until the sun rose again. Finally, the car was out of the sand. He also dug a slope in front of the car. He found a few slabs from the ruins and laid them under the tires. This was to provide sufficient grip to the tires when he started the vehicle.

The elfins had already fallen asleep. After finishing his tasks, his body extremely sore, he went to the driver's seat, sat down, and slept.

While sleeping, he felt pain on his chin. It was itchy as well. He stumbled awake and saw a bird's buttocks in his face. It seemed to be trying to poop in his mouth.

He slapped Richard away. He wiped the corner of his mouth—hopefully it was just saliva. Then he sat up straight, his eyes wide, and looked around.

The bones in his body felt like they had been horribly split up. He had a splitting headache, muscle pain, dry mouth, mouth ulcers, and a stomachache. He did not feel comfortable at all.