318: Chapter 318: Black Storm (First Update) 318: Chapter 318: Black Storm (First Update) Three hours later, Zhang Fan felt as though he had been thrown onto a fire to roast.
Hot, extremely hot.
The long robe, trousers, and mask made the temperature unbearable.
Even the breeze was a wave of heat.
With over 50KG of weight on him, Zhang Fan instantly realized how difficult the two-month journey ahead would be.
“Drink some water!”
Zhang Dongyang stopped, opened his water bottle, took a small sip, and handed it to Zhang Fan.
Zhang Fan really wanted to take out an ice cube to cool down, but the thought of it being a harsh discipline instantly dismissed the idea.
After drinking, Zhang Fan and Zhang Dongyang continued on their way.
At this time, Varidas and his group had also spotted Zhang Fan and his companion.
“Boss, what do you think they’re doing?
Trekking across the Gobi on foot?
Isn’t that like seeking death?” a blond foreigner asked in restrained Mandarin.
“I have to say, the people of Huaxia really do have courage.
Let’s wait until they can’t hold on anymore before we take action,” Varidas said, sitting on a camel and looking at the advancing duo through a telescope, a faint smile on his face.
Even these mercenaries wouldn’t dare to cross the Gobi on foot.
After all, there are deadly dangers lurking in the desert at all times.
The setting sun lingered on the horizon, its fading light turning the entire Gobi golden.
Zhang Fan took out his phone and, after taking a few photos of his father, had him take several of him as well.
“Set up camp.”
Zhang Dongyang placed his backpack on the ground.
Faced with some strange contraptions, Zhang Fan’s interest was piqued.
“Dad, what are these for?”
Zhang Fan played with two one-meter-long metal rods, which had eight long claws at one end, resembling tendrils.
“Supports for sleeping!” said Zhang Dongyang, as he buried the metal rods in the ground and then tied a hammock between the two ends of the metal frame.
“We’re sleeping on this?” Zhang Fan asked incredulously.
Zhang Dongyang shook his head, “The temperature difference between day and night in the Gobi is huge.
Sleeping on this is practically a death wish.
I have sleeping bags prepared.”
With that, Zhang Dongyang took a sleeping bag out and placed it on the hammock.
After completing these tasks, he took another small bag from Zhang Fan’s backpack and set up another hammock.
Then, Zhang Fan watched as his father took out a black small packet from the bag and tied it under the hammock.
“In the Gobi, there are desert vipers and some poisonous scorpions.
With this, nothing will come within five meters of us,” explained Zhang Dongyang, tying a few thumb-thick devices onto the metal frame.
“These are wind chimes, a precaution against sandstorms.
If they start ringing, it means a sandstorm is coming.”
“Pretty ingenious,” Zhang Fan marveled.
“Trekking across the Gobi without any preparation is simply suicide,” said Zhang Dongyang.
Zhang Fan rolled his eyes.
He had made ample preparations: a storehouse of water, ice, beef jerky, and an entire storehouse of snacks.
Watching the sun dip below the horizon, Zhang Fan took a few more photos, snacking and sending two text messages to Ye Xuan and Zhang Xiaoyuan.
“First day, all is well, don’t worry.
The signal is unstable, and I probably won’t be able to stay in touch in the coming days.”
At the same time, Zhang Fan posted the photos on Weibo.
The next second, the members of the slapping face group became agitated.
“Shit, is Fan bro going to the desert?”
“Damn, it’s only the first day after college entrance exams and Fan bro is already traveling.
He never sits still.”
“So beautiful, I want to play in the desert too.”
“Wait a minute, why don’t I see any camel caravans?”
“Is Fan bro planning to trek across the desert?
Holy shit, he’s an example to our generation.”
Soon, Zhang Fan’s Weibo exploded.
The replies broke a hundred in an instant and continued to skyrocket.
Thousands, tens of thousands!
It even trended!
“Yo, this guy’s got guts.”
“Wow, the desert scenery looks so bleak.”
“The sunset is too beautiful!”
“Be careful, waiting for you to come back.”
Weng Shuang also sent Zhang Fan a message.
Hua Ling: “Kid, I hope you die in the desert, then the world will be rid of one more freak.”
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Ouyang Feng: “Waiting for you in Capital City, I’ll treat you to the Big Treasure Sword when you come back!”
Qin Shuang: “Xiao Fan, if there’s trouble, just shout for help, someone will come to save you guys.
By the way, help me curse Zhang Dongyang, that bastard!”
Ye Jingtian: “Don’t get too tanned, or we won’t recognize you when you come back.”
Looking at each message, Zhang Fan felt incredibly warmed, ate some beef jerky, then crawled into his sleeping bag.
As he looked up at the stars in the sky, he drifted off to sleep.
The next day, at just 5 o’clock, Zhang Fan was woken up by his dad.
“Eat something, we’re hitting the road.” Zhang Dongyang said and then started checking the backpacks.
“Check for vipers and scorpions, I don’t want to carry those critters with us.”
Zhang Fan immediately started checking his own backpack with his scalp tingling.
Luckily, he found nothing strange.
“Where’s everyone?”
Valigus was holding binoculars, nearly popping his eyes out.
Had people vanished?
“Wake up, wake up,” urged Valigus.
“Boss, it’s only 7 o’clock.” A bunch of people yawned as they spoke.
“Get up you lot, you have thirty seconds to pack up, mount the camels!” Valigus commanded.
An hour later, they finally saw the figures of Zhang Fan and Zhang Dongyang again.
“Boss, let’s make a bet to see how many days these two can last.”
“I bet four days!”
“I bet seven days.”
“At most ten days, no more than that.”
A group of people began to make a commotion.
Exhaustion, heat, dry mouth, and occasional sandstorms, it was doggone rough.
If it weren’t for the goggles, Zhang Fan swore his eyes would definitely go blind.
Onward, silently onward.
For the first three days, Zhang Fan still managed to contact Ye Xuan and the others, but after that, there was no signal at all.
The fifth day.
Zhang Fan felt like a wild man, stiff all over, sweat and sand intermingled, making him incredibly uncomfortable.
On the tenth day, Zhang Fan felt everything looked golden yellow.
At that moment, he realized how comfortable his previous life had been.
However, Valigus and his group were completely astounded.
Ten days, a full ten days, and the pace of Zhang Fan and Zhang Dongyang hadn’t slowed down at all.
The twentieth day!
Zhang Fan felt like he was going insane.
Walking on, with no idea when there would be an end, it felt as if the whole world was irrelevant to him, lonely, dull, like a nightmare ready to swallow him up at any moment.
“Boss, they’ve been walking for twenty days, twenty days!” A foreigner said to Valigus.
The thirtieth day!
Valigus and his group were nearly driven crazy.
Zhang Fan encountered a storm for the first time.
At that moment, he finally understood what the legendary sandstorms were like.
For a full two hours, it was hard to move even an inch, and even with a mask, he could feel a belly full of sand!
The fortieth day!
Zhang Fan was dizzy and his vision blurred.
If it weren’t for the sight of his dad’s figure, he might have thought he had become a dead man.
The sixtieth day!
Zhang Fan’s eyes twinkled sharply, like those of an eagle.
The sixty-fifth day!
Zhang Dongyang stopped and looked at Zhang Fan with his long hair, his face full of gratification.
However, at that moment, at the edge of the sky, yellow sand like ocean waves covered the whole sky.
“Run, drop everything except for food and water,” Zhang Dongyang’s face changed dramatically.
“What’s happening, Dad!” Zhang Fan’s voice was incredibly hoarse.
“Black storm!”
“What?”
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