The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Chapter 59 Leaving the Desert
The desert was quiet at night, with only the soft rustling of Chang'e and her entourage's footsteps.

About two or three hours later, Yu Qing suddenly felt so cold that he shivered all over.

Yao Dan wanted to wrap him in more clothes, but the clothes that were soaked in water made him feel even colder, and even wringing them out didn't help.

To avoid freezing, Yu Qing had to get down on the ground and walk alongside Chang'e and the others to increase his body heat.

But he was panting heavily after walking for only a short while, and he had to be half-pushed and half-pulled forward by Chang'e and Yaodan on his left and right.

However, he did feel a bit of heat on his body.

He believes that the road he has traveled in his entire life is not as long as the road he has traveled this time.

But he must persevere; he cannot leave the rest of the journey to tomorrow when the scorching sun is high in the sky.

After all, it's a journey of tens of kilometers; Yu Qing couldn't possibly handle such a large amount of exercise.

In the end, it was less that he was walking and more that Chang'e and Yao Dan were carrying him.

It wasn't that his feet were sore from walking, but rather that his muscles were numb from being lifted so much.

They only rested for a few minutes during this time, spending the rest of the time traveling. It wasn't until late at night that Erlang, who was walking ahead, stopped barking wildly.

Everyone stopped as well, and they saw dozens of bright blue lights two or three miles ahead.

Yu Qing shouted happily, "There are lights! We've finally made it out!"

Ke Yaodan said in a deep voice, "My lord, it's not a lamp."

Yan'er added, "Those are animal eyes."

"My lord, we may have encountered a pack of wolves."

"Wolves? Where would you find wolves in the desert?"

"My lord, there are wolves in the desert. This is recorded in history, but so many wolves is not normal."

Yu Qing sighed, "What an unlucky day! One bad thing after another. Next time I go out, I'll have to do what the ancients did and check the date first."

Yao Dan snorted and said, "Husband, you don't need to worry too much. Chang'e and I will take care of them in a few moves."

Yu Qing quickly stopped him, saying, "Wait a minute, let's observe first. You can handle these few dozen wolves, but what's scary is that they'll keep coming out, like that dark mass of wolves in Qinyuan last time. Hmm, but thinking about it carefully, this might actually be good news..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Think about it, what are all these wolves going to eat? There's simply not enough food in the desert, which means we've reached the edge of the desert."

Chang'e checked the holographic map and compared it with the constellation navigation coordinates displayed on the Lingxi necklace, and said confidently, "We'll be out of the desert in about ten kilometers!"

Yu Qing said happily, "Great! Then we don't need to worry about those wolves. Everyone can rest where we are and wait until dawn before setting off again."

The wolves had clearly spotted them, but they dared not attack rashly, so the two sides were in a stalemate.

Chang'e and the others surrounded Yu Qing. Yu Qing sat on the sand and began his breakfast. After eating and drinking his fill, he sat on his luggage and played with Erlang.

In order to deter the wolf pack confronting them and prevent them from launching a sneak attack due to misjudgment, thus forcing them to retaliate and causing unnecessary killings, Yu Qing would occasionally make Erlang let out a shrill howl.

The howling wolves were terrified by the sound, and not knowing what kind of opponent was making it, they dared not attack all night. About two hours later, dawn finally broke. The wolves from the previous night had vanished without a trace. He packed his belongings and set off again.

The joy of almost leaving the desert ignited their potential. After an hour of rapid travel, they finally made it out of the desert.

As they stood atop a mound on the edge of the desert, looking at the expanse of green before them, Yu Qing couldn't help but roar, "Damn it!"

However, there were no signs of human footsteps in sight, nor was there any path to follow. Thorns taller than a person grew all around, with tangled weeds growing beneath them.

"Chang'e, check again how far away the wind-receiving platform is."

After struggling for a long time, Chang'e said in bewilderment, "Am I wrong? The wind-receiving platform should be 1.5 kilometers in front of me. But as far as the eye can see, it's all barren land, there's no town at all! I can't even see a wall."

Yu Qing said, "It's over, this place has probably been abandoned a long time ago. When was your map updated?"

"It was decades ago. But if the changes here don't go known, our information could be decades behind."

"We can't even see a brick, so the wind-gathering platform might not have existed for over a hundred years. Fortunately, we're not looking for it, but rather going through it to the Second Paradise. We're only a dozen miles away, right? Logically, we should already be able to see the protective shield of the Second Paradise."

"My lord, the vegetation is so lush that we can't see anything ahead. Besides, the Second Paradise is located in a large canyon, so we have to go down the mountain."

"Why did you choose this location?" Yao Dan asked.

"The seven parks were built in different geographical environments in different regions of the earth, perhaps as a precaution. As a result, the parks seem to be well preserved, but other places are in chaos, such as reproduction."

Chang'e said, "My lord, let's not talk about that now. It looks like there's no road ahead. How are we going to get through here and down the mountain?"

Yu Qing sighed, "Back then, when we got the car, we thought we'd never need the flight suit again, so we didn't take it seriously. If only they hadn't been lost. What should have been a few minutes has now become difficult. I think we should send Erlang to scout out the route first, put on the goggles, and take some pictures along the way."

"That's a good idea. Let's sit here and wait for it to come back before we think of a solution."

After Erlang was released, Yaodan said, "Husband, we're bored sitting here anyway. Tell me, when we go to the Second Paradise, will you come out again?"

Daji interjected, "If we encounter a few stunningly beautiful human women, my darling will definitely stay there."

Yu Qing laughed and said, "Maybe we'll only run into a few old women."

"My lord, have you thought about how you're going to get in?"

Yu Qing said, "Don't worry about that. I'll have Yao Dan smash the shield open with her head."

Furong believed her and said, "No, it won't break. Our heads aren't as hard as the shields."

"You're the dumbest one. I was just joking. Yao Dan has a magical artifact left behind by Dr. Lu."

"My dear husband, I must remind you that after this, it may not work anymore. Those special batteries are nowhere to be found again."

"I have a way to use it multiple times, so don't worry."

Chang'e said, "From what you're saying, you want to go to the Third Paradise, the Fourth Paradise..."

"That's the plan, but it's not certain. We'll decide based on the situation. In today's world, things may seem developed, but they might not be easy to achieve."

(End of this chapter)