Chapter 111

"Desert lizards are nocturnal, preferring to hide in warm rock crevices; they move quickly but are less agile than venomous snakes—catching them requires some skill."

Qin Yun spoke, slowly approaching, crouching down and extending his right hand with gentle, deliberate motion. Just as his fingers neared the lizard, it suddenly darted away at incredible speed, racing toward the lake.

Qin Yun's gaze sharpened; he sprang to his feet: "Little guy, just let me eat you already—why run?"

He closed the distance in one step, his right hand shooting out like lightning, precisely gripping the lizard's tail and lifting it up.

"Lizard: I'm so damn unlucky—ran into such a ruthless bastard."

"666, Brother Qin's speed is insane."

"Eating it turns you into a lizard person—ever seen Spider-Man?"

"This lizard looks kinda cute—Brother Qin really isn't human."

"Aren't lizards just full of bacteria? How do you even eat them?"

Qin Yun carried the lizard back to the distillation device, glanced at the comments, and spoke to the drone: "You're right—this lizard can't be eaten raw. It's teeming with bacteria and parasites; eating it raw will kill you. I need to clean it thoroughly, then roast it over fire."

With that, he began processing it.

In no time, the once-intact lizard met its end in the sulfur lake—its internal organs and skin tossed aside, washed clean with distilled water, then skewered on a dried camel thorn branch.

He lit a small new fire nearby with a bit of fuel, then placed the lizard directly over the flames to roast.

"When roasting lizard, you must cook it thoroughly to kill all bacteria and parasites. But its meat is tender—don't overcook it, or it'll burn and ruin the texture and nutrition."

As he rotated the camel thorn skewer, Qin Yun stared intently at the lizard over the fire.

Soon, the aroma of roasting meat spread through the air—though not intense, it was enough to make Qin Yun's empty stomach drool.

Watching Qin Yun's expression, the livestream viewers felt similarly tempted.

"Damn, looking at Brother Qin like that, it must taste amazing."

"I'm getting hungry too—I'll order something to eat first."

"Almost done—Brother Qin, try some already!"

After a while, the lizard turned golden and crispy, its scent rich and inviting. Qin Yun took it down, blew on it, then carefully bit into it, a look of satisfaction crossing his face.

"Tastes great—tender and juicy. No seasonings, but in the wild, eating something like this is already a blessing." As he ate, he skewered another piece of wolf meat and added, "Lizard meat is rich in protein—it replenishes strength quickly. But this little bit won't be enough for me. I must restore my full energy to continue the journey ahead."

After finishing the lizard meat and a piece of wolf meat, Qin Yun's body had mostly recovered. Though still slightly fatigued, he could move without hindrance.

He then roasted all the wolf meat stored in the tarp, wrapping each piece carefully.

After waiting over an hour, his canteen was full; he also filled another liter of water using the tarp.

"Now that I'm full, hydrated, and have food and water, I can set off—heading northeast toward Cold Lake Town."

Packing his gear, bow in hand, Qin Yun stepped out of the canyon, gazing toward the northeast.

"It's 3:30 p. m. now. From yesterday, I already know sunset here is around 7 p. m. —so today I'll walk about three more hours, then find shelter. With wolf pelts in hand, I'll spend a warm night."

He adjusted his backpack and began marching northeast, releasing both drones. Combined with the head-mounted camera, the three lenses continuously switched views under AI editing.

"Three hours is enough to get me out of the core area of the Ebo Liang Yardang."

The Yardang terrain is complex, riddled with intersecting gullies—hard to traverse. Once I leave this zone and enter the Gobi, progress will be much easier.

As he walked, he occasionally gathered dried camel thorns and red willow roots—fuel for tonight's fire.

At 5 p. m., the sun began tilting westward, and the temperature started dropping.

But since he was constantly moving, the cold wasn't yet sharply felt.

He parted the gravel crevices—several purple sandthorn bushes swayed slightly.

"Hey, another lizard—"

Before Qin Yun finished speaking, the sky suddenly darkened—a gust of wind slammed into him.

He snapped his head up: far on the horizon, vast clouds surged forward. Suddenly, the previously clear view had turned hazy yellow.

His expression changed instantly—he grabbed the front drone, retracted the secondary one, and kept only the main unit.

"Guys, big trouble—sandstorm's coming."

Seeing Qin Yun's grave expression on camera, viewers froze in shock.

"Holy shit, what bad luck—nothing's gone right these past two days. Just got water and food, now a sandstorm."

"Brother Qin, take cover—find shelter fast!"

"My god, a sandstorm—so terrifying."

"Brother Qin, don't get buried!"

"You might be fooled by the current Yardang terrain—Brother Qin is in the Qaidam Desert. Sandstorms here are normal."

While Qin Yun spoke, he realized the wind wasn't coming in bursts—it was relentless. The howl had turned into a piercing wail, like countless tormented souls screaming, sending chills down his spine.

Qin Yun strapped the drone to his body, lens facing forward, and moved swiftly.

"Guys, the Yardang terrain is rugged, full of mounds. When the sandstorm hits, the wind and sand get trapped and amplified by the mounds. One misstep, and you'll be buried under sand—no trace left. I must find a suitable shelter fast."

"Whoo—!"

Far on the horizon, a black sand wall, dozens of meters high and stretching beyond sight, rolled forward like a monstrous beast, swallowing the earth's yellow sands, blotting out the sun. The world plunged instantly into darkness.

Qin Yun quickly wrapped his tarp around his head, kept moving, using the mounds as cover, sprinting toward lower, rock-shielded areas.

The sandstorm arrived faster than expected—in an instant, his vision was completely obscured.

"Damn, this is terrifying—I feel like I'm lagging."

"Not just you—I'm lagging too. Satellite signal must be down."

Qin Yun no longer cared about the livestream. His steps didn't pause—he lowered his center of gravity, dodging sand and searching for gaps between mounds and hollows in rocks.

The world was now pitch-dark—the sun fully swallowed by dust. All around, the wind roared, gravel clattered against rocks with a "pika-pika," the ground trembled faintly, and distant Yardang mounds collapsed with booming crashes.

His windbreaker flapped violently under the gale. The sand thickened, the curtain nearly blocking all sight. Each breath filled his lungs with dry grit, burning his throat.

But he didn't slow down. Seizing a brief lull in the wind, he leapt over a low mound—and his eyes lit up: between two nearby mounds lay a natural depression shielded by a massive rock. The entrance was narrow, the rock walls steep and smooth—an ideal wind shelter.

His heart surged—he pushed himself to sprint toward it, when another violent gust struck, hurling shards of stone at him.

Stones scraped his hands and legs, sharp pain flaring—he knew without looking that he was bleeding.

In the drone's camera feed, nothing was visible except wind-whipped dust; the footage was severely lagging, brutally fragmented.

He ignored the pain on his body, rushed forward a few steps, shoved aside the rubble blocking the depression's entrance, and leapt straight in, diving deep.

As soon as he slipped into the depression, Qin Yun curled tightly inward, then draped the tarp over himself, shrinking against the wall. Only then did he finally catch his breath.

He looked down at the drone's display—the image still stuttered, frame by frame.

"Brothers, bad luck—we hit a sandstorm. Right now I'm hiding here, waiting for it to pass. Hope it doesn't last long, or I'll be buried alive."

After speaking, he listened to the terrifying sounds outside, curled up tight—this state was utterly unlike when he single-handedly killed the desert wolves.

At this moment, he was so small.

"Brother Qin, hold on."

"Brother Qin is really cursed."

"Bad luck, but sandstorms usually pass soon enough—they won't last forever."

As seconds ticked by, the wind and sand outside still raged, but the sound suggested it was already weakening.

After an unknown length of time, the gales subsided, the clatter of falling stones faded away.

Qin Yun suddenly opened his eyes, pulled off the tarp, and shook off the sand coating his body. He crawled toward the entrance—now completely filled with yellow sand, though not deeply. He cleared it quickly and climbed out.

Outside, the sky was clear, the sun reemerging with its light.

But as far as he could see, every direction was littered with collapsed rocks and endless yellow sand.

Qin Yun launched the drone, aimed its lens at himself, and smiled: "I hit a sandstorm, but luck was on my side—I made it through. Now I need to keep heading northeast; less than two hours remain until sunset."

He brushed the sand from his body and pressed on.

After the sandstorm's ordeal, viewers online felt the camera's footage had grown even more desolate.

"666, just staying alive is victory."

"Damn, sandstorms are terrifying—if I'd been out there, even if not buried, I'd probably have been crushed by rocks."

"Crushed by rocks? Unlikely—but you'd choke to death easily."

"Good thing Brother Qin is still on Ebo Liang—if he'd entered the Gobi, it'd be far more dangerous."

At 6:30 p. m., Qin Yun's forward view opened into a vast Gobi plain—the scene suddenly cleared: no more tangled Yadan landforms, only endless Gobi.

"Friends, I've now left the core zone of Ebo Liang's Yadan formations. Ahead is the Gobi plain—less than half an hour remains until sunset." His face beamed as he spoke to the drone's lens: "Since this morning, I've searched for water, distilled it, fought off wolf packs, and survived the sandstorm. Next, I'll camp on the Gobi plain and continue toward Lenghu Town tomorrow, showing you how to survive in the Qaidam Desert."

"Any one of the things Brother Qin went through these past two days would've killed me."

"Brother Qin is a real man—even I, who don't like men, am starting to like him."

"Brother Qin looks so weathered now—it's strangely attractive."

"Tonight, Brother Qin will finally get a good night's sleep."

"Upvoters, don't set a flag."