Wu Junmin: "That night, the sandstorm was very strong. We tried to walk out, but we couldn't get out at all. We could only dig a sand pit next to the plane and lie down to sleep."
Wan Xiucheng: "We woke up at dawn and looked for a way to escape. The communication equipment on the plane was broken, so we found an orange and shared it. We wanted to find some stones to make an SOS, but there were no stones nearby, and the sandstorm was still severe. We didn't know where to find water, and we didn't want to stay put and wait to die, so we had to walk north. Before we left, I had already decided: if we found water, we would live; if not, we would walk until we died."
Wu Junmin: "We walked for more than ten hours on the first day, and both of us were exhausted. I was the first to hallucinate, seeing many figures suspended in the sky, like gods. I knelt down and kowtowed, which startled Old Wan. The sandstorm intensified at night. Old Wan still had strength. He told me to stay put and wait, and he would walk a bit further. If he couldn't find water, he would come back to sleep."
Wan Xiucheng: "I left him and walked forward. After a few minutes, I saw a lake and hurried towards it, but no matter how fast I ran, the lake remained the same distance away. I knew it was either a hallucination or a mirage. I had no choice but to turn back."
Wu Junmin: "We woke up before dawn and got up to continue walking. There was no saliva in our mouths at all. Our tongues felt like stones rubbing against each other in our mouths. If we didn't open our mouths, our lips would be sealed by a membrane. Our lungs felt like they were filled with sand; every inhale and exhale was extremely painful. Our throats hurt terribly, as if they were being cut by small knives. Neither of us had urinated; there was no urine left. If there had been, we could have drunk some."
Wan Xiucheng: "I remember the sand in that area was particularly dry. With every step, a puff of yellow dust would erupt from under our feet. There was truly not a drop of water. We tried digging down, digging over three meters deep, and it was still bone dry. After walking for a few more hours, I suddenly saw a plane on the dirt slope ahead, but I wasn't sure if it was a hallucination, so I pointed at the plane and asked Old Wu."
Wu Junmin: "I looked closely, and it was indeed a plane. If both of us saw it, it shouldn't be a hallucination. We were overjoyed at that moment. I said the troops had sent people to find us, and we had a way to survive. When we ran over, we saw it was the same plane we had crashed in. After walking for nearly twenty hours, we had actually returned to the same spot."
Jiang Ye nodded upon hearing this, "A person's left and right legs are actually not the same length. When walking in a place without any reference points, one will unknowingly walk in a large circle and eventually return to the starting point. This is why people trapped in deserts in ancient times could rarely escape; it's somewhat similar to a 'ghost hitting the wall'."
Wu Junmin: "We were both despairing at that moment. We collapsed by the plane, ready to wait for death. A faint glimmer was already appearing before my eyes. When that glimmer turned into flames, there was no hope for us."
Wan Xiucheng: "When I crawled under the plane, I found the sand beneath it was slightly damp. Prying open the plane's protective panel, I saw a layer of dew on the inner wall of the toolbox; it had condensed during the night. We quickly crawled into the plane to lick the dew. There wasn't much dew in total, but it did make us a bit clearer. Every drop we licked gave us a dizzying sense of relief. I took off my canvas trousers, cut them into large pieces, and made them into a funnel shape, so we could try to collect dew at night."
Wu Junmin: "But we had no containers. The bottom of the toolbox was exposed, so any water that dripped down would leak out. We dismantled the fuel tank, poured all the fuel into the sand, then grabbed a lot of sand and threw it into the fuel tank. We shook it back and forth and then poured it out, trying to wash away the oil."
Wan Xiucheng: "The next morning, there was actually about a liter of water in the fuel tank. We were ecstatic and took turns drinking it. But after the first sip, we knew it was bad. There was a strong smell of oil that stung our noses, and sand dust was floating on the water. However, at that time, we were so thirsty that we could drink any liquid, so we drank it greedily."
Wu Junmin: "We ended up vomiting it all out, projectile vomiting, unable to hold it back. Not only did we throw up what we had drunk, but we also vomited some yellow-green liquid, possibly bile. Old Wan even vomited some blood. After vomiting, we lay there, saying, 'It's over, we're really going to die this time.' I closed my eyes and decided that dying in my sleep was better than dying of thirst while awake."
Wan Xiucheng: "I was still unwilling to die. After recovering for a while, I crawled up again and changed direction. After walking for a short while, I saw something red in the sky in the distance. At first, I thought it was a hallucination, but at this point, even a hallucination was better than no hallucination. I went back and woke Old Wu up, and we continued forward."
Jiang Ye: "Did you find an airdropped survival pack?"
Wan Xiucheng: "Yes, in the evening, we saw a red package lying on a sand dune. We opened it and found so many things, food and drink. We wanted to cry at that moment, but our tear ducts were dry. We knew the troops must have come to rescue us and had dropped supplies because they couldn't find us. We drank water desperately. As we drank, tears began to flow, and we also urinated. But we were still afraid to discard the urine, so we poured it back into the bottle. The urine was a deep yellow, like black tea, almost reddish."
Wu Junmin: "We looked for other things in the package. The two cell phones at the bottom of the package couldn't be turned on. We ate some chocolate and fruit and spread the long red cloth on the sand in an SOS shape, but no planes came. We had no choice but to carry the package back, walking for two days straight. Finally, at night, a strong wind picked up again, but we heard a strange sound in the wind. Old Wan, with his sharp eyes, spotted red signal flares in the night sky in the distance. We quickly took out the signal gun from the package and fired two shots into the sky."
Wan Xiucheng: "Sir, I'm not trying to flatter you. If we hadn't undergone rigorous training in the military before, we wouldn't have had the strength to hold on until rescue arrived. If you hadn't invested tens of thousands of survival packs without regard for cost, we would have been buried in the sand long ago. Our lives were saved by you!"
Jiang Ye: "It was not easy at all. You don't need to thank me. It was your will to survive that kept you alive. When you recover, I will hold a commendation meeting for heroes attended by the entire army. Prepare what you want to say. In you, I see human courage, resilience, and dignity."
Wan Xiucheng: "There's one more thing I feel I must report to you."
Jiang Ye: "What is it?"
Wan Xiucheng: "When I was chasing that lake, I glimpsed two caves under the moonlight, very far away from me. The problem is, those two caves were not on mountains."
Jiang Ye looked at him blankly. If caves were not on mountains, could they still be called caves?
Wan Xiucheng: "It was a giant skull stuck in the sand, and the caves were formed by the eye sockets of the skull. I thought it was a hallucination at the time, but recalling it now, it seems to be something real."
Wu Junmin, on the adjacent bed, also turned his head to look at him, "A skull with eye sockets as large as caves, how is that possible?"
Jiang Ye's expression changed slightly, and he nodded, "I understand. The troops will have advanced to that position in the next two days. If there is any giant skull, they will find it. You two get some good rest. If you need anything, just send me a message."