Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 568 - 39: Surviving in Sand Dust

Chapter 568: Chapter 39: Surviving in Sand Dust

Sand dust continuously entered from the broken parts of the glass, preventing Tang Zheng from speaking. Just when the delay seemed unbearable, Aima finally calmed down, picked up the oxygen mask, placed it over her nose and mouth, and opened the valve of the 12 litre oxygen cylinder. Immediately, fresh air filled her lungs, relieving the sensation of suffocation.

Tang Zheng, still holding his breath, covered the mouth and nose of Pang Meiqin, who had a bleeding head wound. He used a cotton pad to stop the bleeding and forcefully bandaged it, then adjusted her into a sitting position.

Seeing that Tang Zheng had not taken a breath yet, Aima nudged his side. When he turned around, she promptly passed him the oxygen mask.

Tang Zheng shook his head. Seeing that the dust concentration in the car was not much lower than outside, he tried to open the car door that faced the opposite direction of the sandstorm blow. However, due to the car turnover, the car body had deformed and the door was stuck.

Thump, thump, Tang Zheng kicked forcefully with his left foot. Two powerful kicks made the pickup creak loudly, and after a final "boom", the whole door was kicked off and rolled away, instantly disappearing in the sandstorm.

Aima watched in surprise. Although she already knew of Tang Zheng’s extraordinary strength, witnessing the wild power this time still left her dumbstruck.

Tang Zheng grabbed the driver’s seat with both hands. His arms visibly enlarged and the bulging veins shaped like earthworms could be seen.

Creak, creak, snap, a tooth-grating sound of metal twisting echoed in the car, the screws shattered, and the entire seat first twisted and deformed under brute force, then broke off with a "snap".

Tang Zheng grasped the Velociraptor Mount with one hand, threw it out of the carriage, then pulled Pang Meiqin over. Aima, very understanding, immediately put the oxygen mask on her, and afterwards looked worriedly at Tang Zheng.

Physical exertion requires oxygen, and the breath Tang Zheng was holding in was obviously not enough. However, he remained calm, took out another oxygen cylinder, opened the valve, and after ensuring Pang Meiqin could breathe smoothly, he took out a gas mask and put it on his head.

Pang Meiqin, with her enhanced body, woke up after a brief spell of unconscious. Seeing the sandstorm and feeling the pain in her head, she was startled, but then saw that Tang Zheng was taking care of her and her breathing was unhindered, so she felt extremely grateful.

"He saved me." Pang Meiqin gestured towards her face mask, asking Tang Zheng if he needed it. The effectiveness of the gas masks was limited in this disastrous sandstorm, they hardly reduced the sense of suffocation. Tang Zheng’s chest rose high with every breath, he was clearly trying his best to inhale oxygen.

Tang Zheng pointed towards the fleet in the distance. The two women understood what he meant - he wanted to go to the mobile shelter. Sandstorms often last for several hours, so it would be impossible to endure it here any longer. They needed to escape while they still had the strength to.

Seeing the two women nodding their agreement, Tang Zheng raised a thumbs up, he needed to encourage them and boost their confidence. Then, he untwisted a coil of climbing rope and tied the two oxygen cylinders together.

The two women watched Tang Zheng working, impressed by his calmness and composure. They appreciated his hands that were creating a lifeline for them and a sense of security filled their chests. They would undoubtedly regret it for the rest of their lives if they didn’t seize the support provided by such a reliable man in the face of danger.

Tang Zheng took the military knife that was hanging on his waist and cut off any unnecessary parts of the rope. He then tied the rope around Aima’s waist, and then his own.

With the contact from Tang Zheng’s warm hands, Aima shivered, unable to suppress the memory of the sensation of his hands touching her chest.

Tang Zheng took out another climbing rope, connected Pang Meiqin and himself together, then, taking the lead, crawled out of the carriage. Even while sheltered by the pickup truck, the strong winds made him almost lose balance.

After taking a deep breath, Tang Zheng pulled out a scuba oxygen cylinder and carried it on his back. He then pulled the protective mask down to his forehead and bit on the breathing regulator.

The sandy wind hit his face, feeling like a harsh scrape from a sanding cloth. His cheek stung painfully, but he had no other choice. He had only brought two medical oxygen cylinders and had to make do, so he called out for a Velociraptor Mount. However, the wind blew the mount away instantly, a disgrace to dinosaurs.

The soldier helped Tang Zheng maintain stability in the sandstorm.

Tang Zheng recalled the useless Velociraptor Mount and took out two diving goggles. He put one on himself, then threw the other one to Pang Meiqin, gesturing Aima to close her eyes.

Aima nodded. She knew Pang Meiqin’s physical strength was superior and that she could be of help. So, the equipment was prioritized to her first.

Tang Zheng, with an oxygen cylinder in one hand, dragged it out of the carriage while two women, their mouths covering the oxygen masks, also followed him out, and the arduous trek started.

After barely twenty steps, Aima had already lost most of her strength. The sandstorm, with a speed of 200 km/hr, made it hard for her to keep balance. At any moment, she might be blown away. Occasionally, stones the size of fists flew by, startling Aima. If hit by them, she would definitely bruise, even breaking a bone.

Tang Zheng kept moving towards where he had last seen the mobile shelter, hoping it has not been blown too far off.

Aima lost her grip on Tang Zheng’s clothing, and her body was immediately blown away. The mountaineering rope connecting the two tightened instantly, even pulling Tang Zheng for a few steps, almost causing him to lose balance.

Tang Zheng pulled Aima back with the climbing rope, then held her waist with one hand, pressing her close to his side. Meiqin was already sprawling on the highway, inching forward. Although she looked awkward, her risk of being swept away had considerably reduced.

Tang Zheng didn’t want to be exposed to the sandy gust. He pulled at the rope, brought Meiqin up, had her stick to him, and, crouching, the three of them crawled forward together.

They marched along the highway, and all the pickup trucks were gone from sight. After covering forty meters, Tang Zheng noticed a boat-shaped mound of soil on the ground. This mound easily cut through the fast blowing sand, an obvious masterpiece of the Little Lolita. Qin Yan, Bi Yun and others accompanying her were truly fortunate.

Tang Zheng was somewhat out of luck. With the heavy sandstorm, visibility was limited to two meters. Furthermore, the pickup closest to the RV had also been swept away, leaving him without a reference point. All he could do was recall the distance between Lu Fan and the RV and calculate using his strides.

At this point the two women were dumbfounded. The sandy gust made their heads spin and they felt their strength rapidly depleting. They wanted to lie down for a rest, not caring about anything else.

"It should be around here, damn it." Tang Zheng calmed down and listened carefully. Meanwhile, he estimated the weight of the RV, the wind speed, and the possible friction caused by the tires.

"The RV must have moved towards the left. If it didn’t move sideways as a whole, the front end, being heavier, should be blown into a diagonal line, even reaching to the right in a straight line."

"Wait, there should other ways to increase our survival rate." Tang Zheng’s brain ran at full speed as he dragged the two women and three oxygen bottles toward the left under the soldiers’ shield. After seven steps, he reached the edge of the roadbed, took out a handgun and let it go. The sandstorm immediately swept it away into oblivion.

There was no sound. Trying again, Tang Zheng kept calm while the two women didn’t even know what he was doing. But they trusted him. His calm face was like a flag, infusing them with courage and confidence.

Tang Zheng took five steps forward and let go of nine guns, finally hearing a faint sound of iron clash. Suddenly uplifted, he stepped a meter forward and threw out another gun. As expected, the sound of iron clash came again.

Tang Zheng changed direction with the two women and moved towards the right. After seven meters, they finally saw the RV lying at an angle on the roadside. If they had walked another meter, they would have lost it.

Tang Zheng went to the door and pulled the oxygen valve hard a few times, yet the people inside seemed oblivious. As he couldn’t find the doorbell, he picked up an oxygen bottle and smashed it against the door. Amid the screeching sound of the collision, Victoria finally reacted.

"Is it possible for someone to walk in such a sandstorm and precisely locate the RV?" The personal assistant gave a doubtful look out of the window and instantly leaped up with a shocked look on her face.

Tang Zheng was standing outside with two women and three oxygen bottles, bearing a total weight of at least two hundred pounds. Was he even human?

Victoria opened the door and the sandstorm immediately gushed in. However, Tang Zheng moved faster. Not only did he throw himself and the two women in, he also hooked the door with his foot and shut it with a bang.

"Are you insane? If anything went wrong, you would have died there in the sandstorm." Victoria was flabbergasted and exasperated. She was unable to perceive how he managed to get the two women there. "Are you some kind of superhero who wears underwear outside his pants?"

"Our car flipped and several pieces of glass were broken. We couldn’t stay there any longer." Aima explained, while Tang Zheng was cutting the ropes tied to each person with his army knife, appearing cool and composed.

"How did you ascertain our position?" Victoria asked curiously. Upon hearing Tang Zheng’s explanation, she could not help but marvel, "Impressive!"

"Miss, can I have a cup of coffee, please?" Tang Zheng removed all the burdens from his body, jumped up and took a deep breath.

The sandstorm raged for another three hours. When it finally dissipated, everyone stood on the highway, looking at the desert covered in thick sand and feeling as if they had walked out from purgatory. This was an experience they didn’t want to repeat.

The entire fleet had shifted, except for the Hummer protected by Little Lolita. All other vehicles had fell off the roadbed. A small portion of them were severely damaged with their soldiers suffocated to death, their nostrils and trachea clogged with sand.

The Hummers carrying Yu Manli’s and Chu Baichuan’s teams had also narrowly escaped disaster.

"Uncle, where are you?" As soon as the sandstorm stopped, Lu Fan rushed out of the Hummer, running towards Tang Zheng’s pickup. Seeing no one in sight, he began crying loudly.

The others also searched for Tang Zheng. Ruxiong even speculated that Tang Zheng might have been blown away and disappeared.

......

PS, begging for recommendations! (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to recommend, vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is the greatest motivation for me.)