<h4>Chapter 1118: Chapter 1125: Desert Crisis (1)</h4>


    "Ling Cheng, are we heading into the desert?" Yuan Yun asked.


    Ling Chen nodded and said, "ording to the intel I received, Porridge Girl is located in the desert. I checked the map on the ne; from here, if everything goes well, it will take about four hours."


    "That far?" Wei Jiahao eximed, "Ling Cheng, have you been to the desert before? I heard it’s terrifying inside. If we lose our way, we’ll end up dying in there."


    Ling Chen smiled slightly, patting Wei Jiahao on the shoulder, "No need to worry, it’s different now. We have a specialized positioning device, we won’t stray off course. Okay, after sitting on the ne for so long, everyone must be tired. Let’s find a ce to rest, eat something, and head out in the afternoon."


    While Qiu Yong and the others were resting, Ling Chen remained busy. Entering the desert isn’t something to be taken lightly, and he didn’t have much experience, so he had to be thoroughly prepared.


    First was the vehicle. Ling Chen rented two professional off-road vehicles from a nearby rental service; a good off-road vehicle is undoubtedly essential in such desert terrain. Besides the vehicles, Ling Chen also purchased a lot of water and food, these are necessities. Furthermore, water consumption is extremely high in the desert.


    Everything was ready by around four in the afternoon.


    With their stomachs full, Ling Chen, without any rest, directly led the group toward the desert. Since there were eight of them, one off-road vehicle couldn’t amodate everyone, so Ling Chen drove one and Yuan Yun drove the other, with the two vehicles moving in convoy straight into the desert.


    Before setting off, Ling Chen called Porridge Girl to notify her. He got this contact from Ling Tao; when he received the number yesterday, Ling Chen had called to ask about Porridge Girl’s situation, but unfortunately, the call couldn’t get through.


    At this moment, the phone connected but the busy tone still came from the other end, indicating that she was out of the service area. Ling Chen put away his phone, frowning slightly, with a hint of unease in his heart. It’s been two days, no news from Ling Tao, and they couldn’t reach Porridge Girl either; he wondered how she was doing.


    This was Ling Chen’s first time entering the desert; before setting off, he had done a brief study on it. The desert he was in now was vast; even if the whole of East Sea City were ced inside, it would upy at most a third of its area. This showed just how terrifyinglyrge this desert was.


    The off-road vehicles were equipped with navigation devices, and Ling Chen only needed to enter the destination’s coordinates to automatically configure the fastest and clearest route above.


    ording to Ling Chen’s n, it would take just four hours of driving in the desert to reach where Porridge Girl was. Along the way, the two off-road vehicles moved quickly; after all, it was an endless desert unlike the congested city, so driving at 120 km/h didn’t seem fast.


    In the blink of an eye, two hours passed, and the two off-road vehicles had gradually entered the desert.


    Looking at the increasingly dim sky, Wei Jiahao rolled down the window, watching the sandy surroundings, and asked, "Ling Cheng, how much longer do we have?"


    "Soon, about two more hours." Just as Ling Chen finished speaking, before having time to react, he felt the car’s front suddenly sink, and the sandy ground caved in, causing the off-road vehicle’s front to plunge into a pit.


    Luckily, everyone inside was protected by seatbelts, and no one got injured.


    Seeing Ling Chen’s vehicle rush into the sandpit, Yuan Yun quickly stopped the car and, along with the others, rushed over.


    "Ling Cheng, are you guys okay?" Qiu Yong rushed to the front, swiftly unlocking the car door.


    With the help of others, Ling Chen, Yang Chen, and Wei Jiahao climbed out of the car. Climbing out of the pit, Wei Jiahao said helplessly, "Ling Cheng, our luck is really bad, hitting a sandpit."


    Ling Chen brushed off the sand from his body, observing the situation around the pit, his brows furrowed slightly.


    "Hey! Ling Cheng, why did you jump into the sandpit?"


    Ling Chen didn’t respond but instead pulled out a thick stic sheet from the sandpit. Besides the several-meter-long stic sheet, there were also some wooden rods in the sand secured into a frame with iron wires. However, when the vehicle rushed down earlier, the frame got damaged, and now it’spletely copsed.


    Seeing Ling Chen crouching silently in the pit, Zhang Zhongfeng asked, "Ling Cheng, what’s going on?"


    Ling Chen stood up, climbed out of the sandpit, scanned the surroundings, and said solemnly, "Everyone gather around and stay alert; there may be enemies nearby."


    Upon hearing this, Qiu Yong immediately gathered everyone together, watchfully eyeing the surroundings. Ling Chen nced at the pitch-ck desert, instructed Qiu Yong, then cautiously moved around. He walked slowly, probing the ground with each step before advancing.


    Just as expected, there was another trap about ten meters away.


    Ling Chen’s expression grew serious as he pondered silently; he couldn’t fathom who would set traps here. This was a desert, isted from any vige or shop, who could it be? Was it robbers? Thinking this, Ling Chen couldn’t help but chuckle. If anyone dared to rob them, it could only mean they were courting death.


    This ce was hundreds of kilometers from Huaxia, where Huaxia’sws and restrictions had no impact. Regardless of what adversaries they faced, they need not show mercy.


    After waiting for a moment and seeing no danger arise, Ling Chen immediately called everyone to pull the off-road vehicle out of the pit.


    Upon opening the vehicle’s hood and looking at the smoking area, Ling Chen was somewhat helpless. They hadn’t even covered much distance, and there was already a malfunction. At this rate, it would take another half hour.


    "Help me get the tools, Eighth Brother."


    "Got it!" Wei Jiahao replied.


    After about forty minutes, the vehicle’s issue was finally resolved. "Everyone, get in the car!" Ling Chen called out, and with Yang Chen and Wei Jiahao, boarded the off-road vehicle. As the vehicle started, Ling Chen maneuvered around the adjacent sandpit, heading straight ahead.


    Bang!


    Suddenly, a sudden gunshot rang out. Ling Chen’s expression changed slightly; realizing the car’s front tire suddenly burst, causing the whole vehicle to tilt to the left.


    "Ling Cheng, the gunshot came from the northeast," Yang Chen calmly stated. Born blind, his hearing was the sharpest among the group, a skill in itself.


    Ling Chen turned to look in the direction Yang Chen mentioned, but it was pitch ck, and nothing was visible.


    "Guys, stay in the car and don’t go out; the opponent has the advantage, we don’t need to take risks," Ling Chen said over the walkie-talkie.


    "Understood!"