Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 567 - 38: The Sandstorm Rages

Chapter 567: Chapter 38: The Sandstorm Rages

Early the next morning, the exploration team took to the road, with fewer people, and those who remained wore worried looks full of doom. If it weren’t for the curse upon them, they would rather abandon their pay and leave the death-filled Egypt. They had had enough of being continually hunted by mummified corpses.

"First to Cairo, then by train to Aswan." Looking at the map, Tang Zheng dismissed the idea of driving directly to the Abu Simbel Temple. It was not only a waste of time, but the rudimentary facilities for long-distance travel would also severely consume the physical strength and spirit of the group.

As the group leader, Tang Zheng had to consider all conditions, doing his best to keep the group members in optimal physical condition and use them in crisis combat situations.

"The train journey only takes 12 hours, that’s great," Lu Fan was delighted. She felt that driving a pickup truck on a dilapidated road for two days would completely shatter her bones.

Upon hearing this news, the foreign legionnaires and workers all cheered. They could finally return to human society. However, the next line from Tang Zheng made them feel even more as if happiness had dropped from the sky.

"I found a way to use the Book of the Undead last night, and now I will remove the curse for you." Before they set off, Tang Zheng gathered the hundred or so people and spoke.

After the commotion, the crowd lowered their breaths and nervously, yet expectantly, stared at Tang Zheng.

Seeing Tang Zheng stuffing the Golden Scarab into the cover groove, George instinctively stepped back. He had not forgotten the terrible death of the unlucky guy, Mai Lu.

The loving voice of Ramses II filled the air again. As Tang Zheng read three lines of poetry from the book, black smoke began to rise from everyone’s bodies, and the rotting flesh began to heal at an observable rate.

"It’s a pity that the Book of the Undead is only useful for its negative effects, and it has some overlap with the effects of the Daylily. But at least it doesn’t waste my physical strength." Tang Zheng put away the Bible and announced the departure of the convoy.

"Why do you remove the curse? Wouldn’t it be better to lure them with it?" Pang Meiqin, the driver, did not understand. "Having some more cannon fodder could help share the attacks."

Aima gave a disdainful glance at Pang Meiqin, thinking that the woman was wicked. She considered Tang Zheng kind-hearted, though she nearly choked at his following words.

"Are you not afraid that they might bite back when they’re about to die? And once we reach Cairo and then Aswan, there will be plenty of passengers along the way to serve as cannon fodder." Tang Zheng glanced at Aima, and analyzed, "But I guess the queen won’t be that ruthless."

"The whole of Siwa Town is gone now." Aima grumbled a little.

"But we could still have removed the curse when we reached Cairo, right? In case anyone wanted to leave the team..." Pang Meiqin could not finish. She was not too dimwitted and grasped the reason. "Indeed, if they don’t join us, it might be more dangerous. After all, Siwa Town behind them is a prime example."

"Leaving now is the right choice." Tang Zheng heaved a sigh. He had taken advantage of the crowd effect, as returning to Cairo made everyone feel safer. However, what the workers didn’t realize was that Tang Zheng and his group were like a plague. They would attract the queen’s mummified soldiers continuously.

But this time it wasn’t the mummies, but a sandstorm. Watching the sand and dust gradually looming from the right side of the highway, within a minute, it had escalated from a few centimeters to over a meter high. The local Egyptians’ faces changed color and urged the fleet to speed up, rushing on their way.

Under the gust of the storm, the sand and dust can travel as fast as 150 km/h, like miniature warhammers bombarding the car windshield and the metal car body, creating deafening crackling noises.

"It’s too late; we can’t escape. Boss, give us a caravan and five pickup trucks." The lead worker, clutching the walkie-talkie, was roaring. As a responsible person for his workers, relying solely on trucks without closed spaces to weather the sandstorm was too risky.

"You can negotiate with George yourself." Now that these people had resigned, Jasons couldn’t be bothered to manage them. After fobbing off the worker once, he called Tang Zheng.

"Get in the caravan. It’s safe in there." Through the window, watching the sea of yellow sand like a tsunami covering everything, with the caravan creaking and veering off the road, Jasons turned pale. He needed a strong bodyguard by him for a sense of security.

"Do you think I can still make it out? At this point, even breathing is a problem, let alone escaping the sandstorm." Tang Zheng retorted sourly. He also wanted to hide in the caravan, but reality was cruel; the main body of the sandstorm had arrived.

Aima and Pang Meiqin’s faces were somewhat pale with fear. At this moment, they could see nothing but the yellow sandstorm. A sense of loneliness and isolation in a closed space immediately washed over them.

With a creak, Pang Meiqin stepped on the brake. Continuing to drive in these conditions could result in a collision.

"Stop, everyone stop. Stay put and wait it out." Seeing they couldn’t outrun the range of the Sand Castle Storm, the lead worker and George’s anxious voices sounded almost simultaneously, warning the fleet.

The leading pickup truck didn’t stop and attempted to rush full speed ahead. However, after the tires hit a stone and the car jolted, it was flipped over by the sandstorm, rolled off the highway, and landed on its side some ten meters away. The four soldiers inside passed out.

The trucks were slightly better off. Still, each pickup truck and Hummer was like a helpless boat on the sea in a storm, continuously swaying. With the wind speed intensifying, they started moving sideways. The right-side tires were all off the ground.

"Qin Yan, Manli, Chu Baichuan, don’t think about escaping to the caravan. Stay in the Hummers, no matter what happens, don’t come out." Tang Zheng opened the walkie-talkies supplied to them and informed the other three Hummers. The signal was disrupted, however, full of static noise, with intermittent speeches making it hard to hear.

"Everyone, just accept our fates." Pang Meiqin secretly rejoiced. Good thing she had trained hard to improve her driving skills after her enhancement. Otherwise, Tang Zheng would not have chosen her to be his exclusive driver. It’s such a pity though... If only Aima wasn’t here, it would then be a perfect world for two. Rolling in the sheets in such dire circumstances, that must be an experience with its own unique flavor.

After the initial panic, the beautiful leg stewardess also calmed down. As long as Tang Zheng was there, not much could go wrong.

"Stop staring and move to the right to tilt the car downward," Tang Zheng pressed against Aima, not caring about matters of gender propriety at the moment.

Aima looked intently out the window, extending her hand to Tang Zheng, seeking comfort. However, she inadvertently touched his lower body, causing her cheeks to flush.

Tang Zheng quickly reached out to hold her.

"A sandstorm can displace millions of tons of sand over several kilometers within hours. Its greatest dangers are suffocation and blindness. Fortunately, we have the car as a shelter, so we should be fine. We can endure this." Tang Zheng comforted the two women, while also worrying about Qin Yan and the others. "In times like these, panic is the worst enemy. Hastening could lead to fatal mistakes."

Hearing Tang Zheng’s calm voice, Aima gradually calmed down. But misfortune rarely comes alone. Hundreds of irregular rocks, each the size of a coconut, rolled rapidly on the ground. Like siege hammers, they crashed violently into them.

"Ah!" Aima screamed, tightly holding onto Tang Zheng.

"Warhammer!" Tang Zheng did not dare to use Gravity Suppression. In the face of such terrifying natural disasters, a small amount of gravity suppression could hardly withstand the impact of the rocks. Warhammer was no exception. It only appeared on the right side of the car, unprepared, when the rocks came thundering against it.

Boom, boom, boom, over a dozen continuous hits. Coupled with their staggering speed of 180 kilometers per hour, Warhammer

retreated three steps and crashed into the pickup truck.

These rocks came from weathered ancient sites, and you could even see engraved patterns on them. However, at this moment, they were deadly threats.

Bang, a rock hit the hood of the car, causing a visible dent, and the whole car jerked. Tang Zheng couldn’t command Warhammer to step in to block it. It had to ensure that the windshield was not broken, otherwise the sand would pour into the carriage, and that would be unbearable.

Luck did not continually favor Tang Zheng. Warhammer blocked more than forty blows. Still, some rocks half the size of a coconut consecutively struck the rear of the car, causing the pickup truck to roll over.

Tang Zheng immediately felt a sense of vertigo. In addition to the sound of collision, there were also the women’s screams. Deprived of the protection of the weapons, rocks came flying at them like meteors.

Bang, bang, the metal body of the car began deforming. The back windshield was so unlucky it got smashed, allowing a huge amount of sand dust to whoosh into the car, instantly filling up the carriage, and making the air murky.

In just a matter of seconds, everyone felt as if they had experienced torment in hell.

Tang Zheng quickly ordered Warhammer to flip the car up straight.

Cough, cough. The muddled air was whirling everywhere. Aima experienced the terrifying sensation of suffocation, and the sand that got into her lungs made her cough. However, when she opened her mouth, more sand got into her windpipe.

Tang Zheng quickly covered her mouth.

Aima looked up and saw Pang Meiqin had passed out. Her head had hit the glass, leaving a trail of blood. Tang Zheng had three open wounds on his forehead and cheek, with blood flowing freely. It was apparent that they had been cut by broken glass. She was the only one who was unharmed because Tang Zheng had held her the moment the car flipped. Feeling his warm chest, Aima was emotionally moved to tears.

Tang Zheng reached into Aima’s collar to grab her vest.

"You’ve got to be kidding, what is he trying to do?" Aima almost moaned, instinctively wanting to resist, and she twisted her body.

Tang Zheng had tried to avoid touching Aima, but with her twisting

Aima was not that foolish. Seeing Tang Zheng’s grave look, she knew she must have misunderstood. She immediately calmed down and let him do what he needed to.

Rip, rip. Tang Zheng used brute force to tear off her vest, split it into two, and used it to filter Aima’s breath and stop the bleeding for the unconscious Pang Meiqin. If they waited a few more minutes, the beautiful leg stewardess would certainly suffocate to death. Meanwhile, he also took out an oxygen can.

......

PS, please vote for us! (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to qidian.com to vote with your recommendations and monthly support tickets. Your support is my greatest source of motivation.)