Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhang Zian started wiping off the cooling oil. The elfins would rather sleep at the base of the car then smell the oil. They found it rather pungent. Zhang Zian had been generous in using it. He’d applied it to his forehead, temples, pressure points, neck, and wherever else he wanted to apply it.
Also, after one applied the oil, it instantly penetrated the pores on the skin. The strong minty scent on the nostrils went straight to one’s head. The kick one could get from such application was fantastic.
In addition, he also drank more water. His mouth constantly held a sip of water as well. This was a trick he’d learned from Nabari. It helped to relieve thrist.
He should be calm and resting, but he couldn’t calm down. He was always calculating the consumption of drinking water in his head. It made him anxious.
From the moment they’d made the decision to stay here and recuperate, he’d begun to collect his own urine and filter it. He would salvage any bit of water—even if it was his own. However, he gave up on cat urine. After all, the urine was concentrated enough that the filter could not remove much water.
As Xiao Tianyu had complained, filtered water did have a strange smell. However, as things currently stood, he could not be picky.
Just like that, they stopped for another day. When the sun rose again the next morning, symptoms of his heat stroke had been greatly alleviated. It was difficult to tell whether the cooling oil had played a part. Perhaps it was his strong physical strength. It could also have been a combination of both.
Despite recovering slightly, they faced a serious problem—not enough water.
After careful calculation, he discovered that it was not sufficient. Reducing consumption to a bare minimum would unlikely get them out of the desert. Not to mention that he needed more than a minimum consumption of water to prevent further heat stroke.
The expedition team had probably decided to leave the scheduled meeting place. They would assume that he was dead and wait no more.
The expedition team had a satellite phone, but he did not. He couldn’t contact them even if he wanted to.
If a person wanted to survive in the desert, they could only rely on themselves.
While he was resting yesterday, he hadn’t been idle. He’d been thinking about ways to find water in the desert.
An area with moss and grass may have water underneath it. There was a chance to dig water out. However, there were no green plants nearby. Digging randomly would be useless—it would waste physical strength and drinking water.
People trapped in the desert sometimes dug a sand pit and put a layer of plastic cloth over it to condense evaporated vapor. In the morning, some dew could be collected on the underside of the plastic sheet. However, this was only feasible if the sand itself was not dry. Otherwise, hardly any water could be collected.
Zhang Zian decided that when night came, he would try this method, even if it was not likely to be successful.
The elfins saw that he was looking better. However, he always had a frown on his face. They guessed that he was worried about the drinking water.
They all knew that water was the source of life, especially so after entering the desert. They understood, but they were unable to help find a way to solve their current problem.
“Hey! I propose that you use your drone to look from the air. Maybe you can find an oasis or meet Peter Lee. They may be nearby. Then you can get some water from them,” Richard said casually.
Zhang Zian shook his head. “Peter Lee? Don’t count on it,” he said. “They have two cars’ worth of supplies. It’s not enough for them. Their situation may not be better than ours. I’d rather not meet them. Let’s be careful. We might be the ones getting our water stolen instead. However, the drone reminds me of something.”
When the pyramid collapsed, he’d seen some black spots in the sky. They could be falcons or vultures. Unfortunately, they’d gotten caught in the storm and had likely perished.
However, where had the falcons or vultures come from?
They were different from sand cats and fennec foxes. Birds could not concentrate their excretions and release them whenever they needed to. Therefore, they could not live in extremely dry deserts. They needed branches and leaves that were not dried up like those in the Devil’s Sea. This meant that, within flying distance of the Devil’s Sea, they must have built nests.
Although there were other problems. Vultures were large birds that could fly hundreds of kilometers a day. Falcons had short flight distances, but tens of kilometers were no issue to them. They would need to comb a large range to find the nests. It would be a difficult task. Yet this was a viable lead for them.
He told everyone his thoughts and made everyone pay attention to the sky while he drove. If there was a black spot in the sky, he must be informed.
“Oh! If it weren’t for me, you idiots would never have thought of this!” Richard unceremoniously took credit.
If they could find an oasis, all their problems would be solved.
They were already out of the magnetic interference of the Devil’s Sea. He released the drone into the sky and let the camera spin 360 degrees around them. He asked the elfins to pay attention to the images uploaded to the remote control screen. If they spotted any suspicious flying object, they were to tell him immediately.
He drove down the road toward the Siwa Oasis, heading north.
Around noon, he parked and rested. He used the old strategy of piling sand on the car and brought back the drone to charge before waiting until three in the afternoon to continue on with their journey.
“Look! Is that a black spot?” Vladimir suddenly pointed to the screen.
It was tiring to stare continuously at the remote control screen. Thus, the elfins took turns. It was now Vladimir’s turn.
The other elfins, who were resting, were alerted at once. They went to the screen.
In order to save fuel, Zhang Zian did not slam his foot on the brakes. He let the car slowly slide to a stop.
He picked up the remote control, saw the black spot that Vladimir had pointed out, and manipulated the drone to point the lens in that direction, adjusting the focus to the maximum.
It was indeed a bird, but the details were difficult to make out. It was too far away.
“Can you catch up?” Old Time Tea asked worriedly. “Is it too far?”
Birds flew in the air without stopping. However, on the ground, they often had to bypass obstacles in the desert. As this bird was far away from them, they might lose it halfway through their chase. Then their efforts would be nothing but a waste of fuel.
“We always have to try!”
Zhang Zian looked at the sky, roughly estimated the position of the sun, and decisively started the car again. He headed towards the black spot.
