Chapter 112: Gobi Night of Terror

Under the setting sun, a figure trudged alone across the endless Gobi Desert.

At this hour, the temperature had dropped below zero; Qin Yun clearly felt the perceived temperature plummeting, and even a light breeze sent icy shivers through him.

The auxiliary drone circled overhead, while the main unit, guided by AI editing, smoothly switched its camera angles.

"I need to find a sheltered spot—there are still plenty of such places visible."

Sandwiched between his backpack and his back were many dried twigs and sticks, all collected along the way for kindling.

Especially since entering the Gobi Desert, where virtually no vegetation grows, he had to prepare in advance.

Soon, he locked onto a leeward depression in the desert.

"Look, everyone—there are plenty of uneven stones here, it's a leeward zone, and the terrain is sunken; perfect for building a temporary shelter."

"Looks empty and barren—feels unsafe."

"Why not just find a ditch or cave instead, Brother Qin?"

"You've still got that desert wolf as an enemy—watch out it creeps up and bites your ass tonight."

Qin Yun began constructing the shelter: first he stacked stones into two low walls on either side, then unfolded his umbrella cloth over them to form a simple windbreak.

At the entrance, he built a stone stove and immediately lit a fire.

When the embers glowed and the sun fully sank, stars began flickering into view across the sky. He sent the drone soaring, capturing the vast, majestic scene and streaming it live.

Viewers admired the scenery, flooded the chat with comments, and sent gifts; Qin Yun meanwhile took out wolf meat and began roasting it.

When the drone returned, Qin Yun took his water bottle, drank while chewing on the dry wolf meat, and soon felt his energy beginning to recover.

"Today was dangerous, but went smoothly overall—and I gained a lot." He looked up at the drone and smiled faintly. "I can't yet judge how far I am from Cold Lake Town, but as long as my direction's correct, I'll definitely walk out of this无人区 in five days."

"666, this view is fucking beautiful—too bad Qin Brother doesn't take anyone. I'd love to survive the wild with him."

"Upvoter, you'd probably end up stored as food for Qin Brother."

"Hahaha, Qin Brother's had bad luck these past two days—everything's gone wrong. Wish you safety tonight."

Night deepened; the Gobi's temperature plummeted rapidly, and the cold wind howled. Qin Yun instinctively crawled inside the low stone walls.

"That's it for today—we'll meet again tomorrow."

He turned off the drone, laid out the wolf hide on the ground, then blocked the entrance with his umbrella cloth. Leaning back against the red rock face, he covered himself with one layer of umbrella cloth and then two more layers of wolf hide.

Though foul-smelling and pungent, the wolf hide was warm—he rediscovered what warmth truly felt like.

As night deepened, Qin Yun's breathing slowed, his heartbeat dropped to an extremely low rate, and he drifted off peacefully against the rock.

But just as he slept soundly, a sharp, searing pain exploded along his forearm—as if scalded by boiling oil.

Qin Yun jolted awake, every hair on his body standing on end—a spider the size of a palm clung to his forearm, its chelicerae embedded in his flesh. The spider was sand-brown, nearly indistinguishable from the Gobi's gravel.

"Fuck! Sand-Striped Black-Chela Spider!" Qin Yun nearly fainted, flicked it off with his right hand—but his forearm was already swollen, burning hot; the venom spread rapidly through his veins, and within a few breaths, his fingertips went numb.

Seeing this, Qin Yun's heart nearly sank.

He frowned, gritted his teeth, and swiftly plugged in the battery, reactivating the livestream.

It was around 1 a. m. —Chinese netizens were night owls by the thousands; as soon as Qin Yun went live, a flood of viewers poured in.

"Oh, Qin Brother's back on—can't sleep?"

"Qin Brother looks pale—is something wrong?"

"Qin Brother probably needs to piss and's scared to go alone, so he's streaming to keep us company."

Qin Yun lowered the camera to focus on his swollen wound; his voice was hoarse: "Brothers, danger's here. I've been stung by a Sand-Striped Black-Chela Spider."

"Fuck, what happened to this wound?"

"Looks terrifying—it's swollen so badly."

"Sand-Striped Black-Chela Spider—is that the one I know? That's deadly poison! Qin Brother's done for—call for rescue now!"

"Damn, told you not to set flags—look what happened to Qin Brother."

Qin Yun glanced at the comments on his screen and said gravely: "The Sand-Striped Black-Chela Spider is a uniquely deadly species found only in the Qaidam Basin desert. Its venom is far stronger than ordinary poison spiders—several times more potent. It first paralyzes nerves, then corrodes muscle. My arm is already numb."

"Damn it, Qin Brother, don't be so calm! What do we do? Think of something!"

"Holy shit, still giving a lecture? Qin Brother's about to die!"

"666, the streamer risks his life to educate us—aren't you all gonna kneel?"

Qin Yun quickly crawled out of the windbreak. The night was pitch-black, yet the silver moon shone brightly, illuminating everything without need for artificial light.

"Remember those few plants I saw along the way, nestled in the gravel crevices? Those plants can solve my current predicament."

He cut a strip from his umbrella cloth with his dagger, tightly bound it above his arm, then began squeezing out the poisoned blood.

On camera, his wound first oozed pus and blood, then black blood; long moments passed before red blood finally began to flow.

He flexed his fingers: "Squeezing won't remove all the venom, but it buys my body more time to build resistance. Still, the toxin already inside continues to damage me—I must move faster."

He stepped out of the shelter, ignored everything else, grabbed his water bottle and drone, and hurried back along the path he'd come.

Though he appeared calm, viewers could see from his darkened face and low voice that Qin Yun was far from composed after the spider's sting.

"Damn, if it were me, I'd be dead already."

"At life-or-death moments, Qin Brother stays so calm—I'm in love."

"Real men solve problems—Qin Brother is awesome."

"I can't watch—I'm terrified he won't find them. Remember the sandstorm? Who knows if those plants are even still there."

"That's what you say…"

Qin Yun adjusted his breathing, deliberately slowing his pace—intense movement would accelerate blood circulation and drive the venom deeper into his body.

He glanced at his screen and said calmly: "If you ever face this, don't panic. Panic won't help you find an antidote—and your racing heartbeat alone could kill you faster than the poison. I'm not unafraid—but I know fear does nothing."

Qin Yun walked for half an hour, following memory and ground traces, until suddenly his eyes lit up.

He swiftly cleared away the yellow sand—a gravel crevice appeared before him. Through the gap, he saw what lay inside; he quickly angled the drone's camera toward it.

Viewers immediately saw several tender green plants and one purple plant.

Qin Yun felt his left hand had grown somewhat stiff, but he also finally relaxed.

He pointed to the plants in the gravel crevices and said, "These few are tender leaves of camel thorn, these are tender branches of desert wormwood, and these are seedlings of purple荆 sand spurge."

Saying this, he pulled up all the plants and waved them toward the camera.

"The key is these purple荆 sand spurge seedlings—their sap contains unique tannin compounds that neutralize the neurotoxin of the sand-patterned black-clawed spider. Combined with the cooling properties of camel thorn and desert wormwood leaves, they reduce swelling, relieve pain, and detoxify."

"666, Brother Qin knows damn much."

"True wilderness encyclopedia."

"Damn, knows everything—no wonder he's so calm."

"Turns out learning more knowledge never hurts."

Qin Yun quickly crushed the three plants into paste with the hilt of his dagger, then squeezed the wound again, forcing out another pile of pus until fresh blood flowed. He tore off a piece of umbrella cloth, applied the paste to the wound, then tightly wrapped it with the cloth.

After doing this, the numbness in his forearm had already spread to his elbow, and his vision even blurred—but he still looked composed and unruffled.

He waved his bandaged arm in front of the camera and smiled: "It was dangerous, but thankfully no real harm done. The detox still needs time. It's so late—you guys really know how to stay up."

"Haha, Brother Qin, wanna meet up in the canyon?"

"When dead, sleep as long as you want. While alive, cherish every moment."

"Brother Qin, wanna duo?"

Seeing these replies, Qin Yun shook his head: "I'm past the all-nighter age. After graduation, I used to sleep at one or two a. m. every day, but these past few years, after all-night overtime, I need a full day to recover. Can't compete, can't compete."

After chatting a bit longer, Qin Yun chose to end the stream.

This live stream was originally an accident.

Back at the shelter, he checked everything, ensured safety, then touched his arm—found the swelling had greatly lessened. This proved the purple荆 sand spurge truly neutralized the sand-patterned black-clawed spider's toxin. Indeed, where there's deadly poison, within a few miles there must be an antidote.

One thing tames another—it's not just talk. It's nature's law.

The night passed without incident; Qin Yun drifted between sleep and wakefulness as dawn broke.

When the morning sun spilled across the Gobi, Qin Yun reopened his stream, pointing the camera at his arm. The herbal paste and umbrella cloth were gone; the redness and purple-black discoloration had completely vanished, leaving only a faint small hole.

He smiled at the camera: "Lucky. Overnight, the sand-patterned black-clawed spider's toxin is fully gone. My body feels no abnormality."

"What happened? What's going on?"

"Damn, did something else happen last night? Brother Qin started streaming again mid-night."

"Shit, missed the good stuff."

"Brother Qin, don't do this—why do you always run into trouble at midnight? We keep missing it."

Seeing these comments, Qin Yun laughed: "It's not like I planned it. Around one a. m. last night, I got stung by a sand-patterned black-clawed spider—a highly venomous spider unique to the Qaidam Desert. If I hadn't been lucky enough to find the antidote, you wouldn't be seeing me stream today."

Hearing this, those who hadn't seen it felt even more pained.

Qin Yun unscrewed his water bottle, took a sip, stepped out of the shelter, stretched, then moved his body as he spoke: "Good morning, everyone. I'm Qin Yun, a temporary wilderness survival enthusiast. I'm currently in the desert wasteland of the Qaidam Basin. I'll survive here for five days until Survival succeeded. Today is day three."

"These past few days, I've faced many dangers—but each time, I escaped unharmed. This is undoubtedly due to my exceptional personal skills. Just like last night—if I hadn't studied botany, I'd already be dead."

"Hahaha, watching Brother Qin show off every day is truly enjoyable."

"Rich folks, drop some gifts."

"666."

After stretching, Qin Yun ate the leftover cold, hardened wolf meat: "The wolf meat, frozen overnight, is hard to swallow—but to maintain enough energy for intense hiking, I must force it down."

After eating, he displayed his water bottle and umbrella cloth.

"If I'd been frugal, I could've stretched it for another day. But last night, to clean the wound, I had to use clean water. So my top priority now is finding a new water source."

"Let's go!"

The drone shot upward swiftly; Qin Yun's figure instantly shrank to a tiny dot, like an ant, slowly crawling forward.