The three vehicles, fully equipped, drove into the canyon at a moderate speed.
Before them stretched a vast, desolate plain that met the sky. On either side of the canyon rose distant mountains, their slopes covered in snow year-round. On a clear day, these mountains would be majestic and magnificent, but under the gloomy sky, they appeared unusually cold and rugged.
Snow continued to fall, a layer of white covering the withered yellow grass. Not far from the convoy's route, a jagged rocky beach with a thin stream lay silently, lifeless under the cold, gloomy sky.
"The two vehicles behind, be careful. Try to follow my tracks and don't deviate from the route," Mu Yiran's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "There might be many rat holes underground; the wheels could easily sink into them. If you see my vehicle sink, brake immediately."
Luo Jin and Shao Ling responded on the walkie-talkie, focusing even more intently on their journey.
A sudden gust of wind swept in from the distant wilderness, whipping up withered grass and whipping up a cloud of sand and stones. The sand and gravel pelted the car windows with a deafening crash, and even through the well-sealed walls, the fierce, piercing howl of the wind could be heard outside.
Everyone was somewhat terrified, sitting silently in the car, their eyes fixed on the desolate, gloomy distance outside the windows.
"What's that?!" Wu You suddenly pointed to the distant, swirling sand and snow. There were two enormous, dark shapes there—definitely not people, not a car, and not rocks—because they were moving!
"Don't be nervous," Yue Cen's gentle voice had a calming effect as he handed the binoculars to Wu You. "I think they're just wild yaks. As long as we don't get too close, they won't attack us."
"Yaks?" Wu You quickly looked through the binoculars. Although the sandstorm reduced visibility, he could still roughly make out that the two dark shapes were indeed two wild yaks. "My goodness, how can they be so big?" "
Some wild yaks can weigh up to half a ton. When they're in attack mode, they can even overturn a moving jeep," Yue Cen said. "It seems there are creatures in Death Valley after all, which is probably a good thing."
"But I always feel that those two wild yaks look a bit strange..." Wu You stared into the distance through the binoculars. "I wonder if it's because their fur is so long, but they look like they're not standing on solid ground. How should I put it... they look like two black shadows..."
"With this strong wind blowing, even a half-ton wild yak would probably feel like it's floating on air," Ke Xun said.
Wu You knew he was trying to comfort her, so she didn't say anything more and looked away through her binoculars. The distant, desolate, and majestic mountains were slowly receding, while the nearby landscape remained barren. The three vehicles continued cautiously forward, and thankfully, they were off-road vehicles. They navigated the potholes and even landslides without incident.
Over the next hour or so, they spotted other wild animals, such as antelopes, wild donkeys, foxes, and even wolves.
Fortunately, the pack of wolves was small, only five or six, and after seeing the large off-road vehicles, they merely observed them from a distance without pursuing them.
Despite the danger, the group felt a sense of relief, as if the presence of animals brought life to this dangerous place, making it less lifeless and hopeless, less like a true hell.
However, as they ventured deeper into the canyon and the night grew later, they could no longer see any animals, near or far. Thick clouds hung heavy in the sky, as dark as a pool of ink, and the wind intensified, whipping up larger boulders that pelted the vehicle.
"Looks like a blizzard is coming," Shao Ling's voice came through the walkie-talkie.
"No wonder I feel colder," Wu You rubbed his arms; despite the car's air conditioning being blasted, a chill seemed to penetrate the thick body of the vehicle.
"I'm having some…difficulty breathing…" Hua Jiqiu, being older, was quickly given an oxygen cylinder by Qin Ci, who was in the same car.
"Shouldn't we find somewhere to shelter from this storm?" Li Xiaochun asked.
"The terrain here is almost flat, with hardly any hills; we probably have nowhere to hide," Luo Yu said nervously.
"Let's find a place near water to set up camp," Mu Yiran said. "We'll stop here for today; it's not safe to drive any further in this blizzard."
The riverbanks in the valley were intermittent, and from their current location, they couldn't see any water source as far as the eye could see. So they continued driving forward in search of water, but the fierce winds roaring down from the snow-capped peaks grew increasingly violent, whipping up a blanket of dry grass and sand. The snow and sand that had already settled on the ground were thrown back into the air, creating a scene like thousands of towering, earth-shattering meat grinders. Visibility was reduced to only a few meters, and the entire world was shrouded in a vast curtain of gloomy gray and pale white.
"Oh no! I can't see the car in front!" Luo Yu exclaimed in alarm, his face turning deathly pale. "What do we do? What do we do?"
"Don't panic, keep going straight," Zhu Haowen said calmly from the passenger seat, then called out to the car in front over the walkie-talkie, "Yiran, can you hear me? Please reply if you hear me, please reply if you hear me. Shaoling, can you hear me? Please reply if you hear me, please reply if
you hear me." However, there was only crackling noise on the walkie-talkie; no one could be heard.
"Brother Wen, the navigation is malfunctioning!" Luo Yu looked at the display screen in panic. "Try the compass; does it still work?"
Upon hearing this, the other members of the car hurriedly rummaged through their belongings—some pulled out compasses, some GPS trackers, and some cell phones—but all navigation tools, whether electronic or mechanical, were ineffective.
"Old Qin, keep trying to call the other two cars." Zhu Haowen handed the walkie-talkie to Qin Ci, then took out his pistol, pulled the safety off, and rolled down the window halfway. A howling wind whipped sand and snow into the car. Zhu Haowen laboriously stretched his arm out and fired a shot into the air.
The gunshot was quickly swallowed by the howling wind. Zhu Haowen pulled his arm back, closed the window, and brushed the snow, sand, and dry grass from his hair. "Fasten your seatbelts," he said. "Luo Bo, stop the car, keep the lights on."
"If we stop like this, won't Xiao Shao's car crash into us?" Hua Jiqiu took a deep breath and asked.
"We're all driving slowly, especially with this visibility. Shaoling will be even more careful," Zhu Haowen knew Shaoling's cautious and suspicious nature well. "Even if we crash into each other, there won't be any injuries. Everyone, don't take off your seatbelts. I think the car in front, Yiran and the others, will stop once they realize we've fallen behind. Let's wait here for them; they'll come find us."
Everyone fastened their seatbelts as instructed and remained in the car.
Luo Yu pulled the handbrake, rubbed his hands, and although it was warm inside the car, his hands were stiff, cold, and even sweaty.
"Brother Wen, what do you think is the reason for this… could it be that Hua is behind this?" Luo Yu asked Zhu Haowen, his face pale. "Could it be that we've unintentionally entered the painting?"
"I don't know either, but your suspicion is quite possible." Zhu Haowen stared out the window at the dark, apocalyptic scene for more than ten minutes, finally seeing a faint glimmer of light in the distant chaos.
"Radish, hold your gun steady," Zhu Haowen said in a deep voice. "Old Qin, you too."
The three people in the back row scrambled to get their hands on their guns.
Luo Tan shakily picked up the gun, his voice trembling, "Brother Wen... what are you looking at? Is it a monster or... a ghost?"
"I don't know," Zhu Haowen gripped the gun tightly. "Listen, don't fire rashly, so you don't hurt your own people. If you're nervous, don't put your finger on the trigger."
"Okay, Brother Wen... I'll just treat it like playing paintball..." Luo Tan mentally prepared himself, took a deep breath, and steadily held the gun.
A few minutes later, the fleeting light reappeared. This time, it didn't flicker but remained lit, growing brighter and closer until it slowly revealed the imposing and powerful body of the Knight XV.
"It's my brother and brother-in-law!" Luo Tan cheered, putting down the gun. After holding it for only a few minutes, his arms were stiff, sore, and tired.
Zhu Haowen, however, still gripped his gun, warily watching the oncoming car. The car stopped five meters away, the passenger door opened, and a tall, long-legged man jumped out, fully armed with a hat, mask, and scarf, holding a gun and looking every bit like a terrorist. Yet, as he steadily walked towards them, he exuded a sense of security and reassurance.
The man reached the car and knocked on Luo Jin's window. Luo Jin was about to open it when Zhu Haowen stopped him: "Tell him to take off his mask."
Luo Jin reacted for a moment, quickly saying "Oh, oh," indicating he understood, and turned to gesture towards the window.
The man outside, after seeing Luo Jin's gesture, gave him the middle finger in exasperation, then untied his scarf and removed his mask, revealing a face that seemed to say, "I'm about to be blown away by the wind, open the window now!"
Luo Jin opened the car window, choked by the cold wind, and coughed, covering his mouth as he cried, "Brother! That's great! We thought we'd lost you guys, we were so scared, waaaah..." He actually started crying.
Ke Xun tapped him on the head and shouted into the wind, "You guys wait here, we'll drive to the back to find Shao Ling and the others!"
Zhu Haowen also shouted, "Be careful not to get separated again!"
"Don't worry, we won't go far. If we still can't find them within a certain range, we'll come back. We'll wait for them here!" Ke Xun gestured for Luo Jin to close the window, turned around and went back to the car opposite. The car started and slowly drove back the way they came.
Shao Ling was indeed cautious; his car stopped not far from Luo Jin's car. The three cars reunited, and everyone temporarily squeezed into Mu Yiran's car for a small meeting.
"All the navigation devices have failed." The biting wind whipped Shao Ling's face, leaving two patches of high-altitude red on his cheekbones, making him look very down-to-earth.
"If what we said before is true, that there is super-magnetic basalt underground in the Lenggerle Canyon," Yue Cen handed him a thermos filled with hot ginger tea, "then it's not surprising that electronic instruments and compasses would malfunction due to magnetic interference."
"I don't think we can continue," Qin Ci said. "Director Hua and Qingqing aren't feeling well, and even if we find a suitable campsite, we probably won't be able to set up camp in this weather."
"Old Qin is right," Ke Xun said. "We'll probably have to make do in the car tonight. Let's switch cars later, with the ladies in one car for easier rest. But we need a man in each car to escort us. Brother Qin, I'll trouble you to do that, and also look after Qingqing."
"Okay." Qin Ci nodded.
"The rest of you, four to a car, get some food first, then go to bed early. But someone needs to keep watch at night, so arrange it accordingly. Don't let one person stay all night; take turns
," Ke Xun said. Everyone agreed. Zhu Haowen said, "The current problem is that the navigation is malfunctioning, and we can't communicate with each other via walkie-talkie or cell phone. If this is still the case tomorrow, our progress may be even more difficult."
"It's alright, Yi Ran brought a tow rope," Ke Xun said. "If this is still the case tomorrow, we'll use the tow rope to link the three cars together."
Zhu Haowen didn't say anything more.
Wei Dong suddenly asked everyone, "Who fired the gun back then? You only needed to fire one bullet, but you fired a whole magazine, huh? Was it exciting?"
Luo Yu and Zhu Haowen exchanged surprised glances.
"I only fired one bullet into the sky," Zhu Haowen said.
"Huh?" Wei Dong and Shao Ling also exchanged surprised glances. "What about everyone else? Who else fired a gun?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Shao Ling frowned slightly: "We heard a series of gunshots behind us, coming from all directions, one after the other, lasting for about ten seconds."
This time, Ke Xun exchanged a glance with Mu Yiran: "We heard them from the front too, which is why we realized you might have run into trouble, so we turned back to look for you."
A stiff silence fell over everyone. After a long while, Li Xiaochun swallowed hard and said, "In the valley... are there other people, or... 'things'?..."
Author's Note:
Hao Wen: I only fired one bullet.
Shao Ling: But we heard a series of gunshots behind us, coming from all directions.
Ke Xun: Luckily, it was just one shot and not a piss.
Everyone: (Imagining the scene)... Shut up.