bestfiction Chapter 415 A sudden change occurred!
Chapter 415 A sudden change occurred!
For the first two days after the group entered Death Valley, they encountered nothing terrifying or eerie. Everyone was fully prepared, and things went surprisingly smoothly. Moreover, Death Valley was not as desolate and lifeless as they had imagined, with endless yellow sand.
Conversely, the interior of Death Valley is quite different from its infamous reputation.
This place is not the barren land one might imagine, nor does it have the scorching heat and sandstorms that can bake a person dry like the Gobi Desert.
On the contrary, beneath our feet stretched an endless, dazzlingly green meadow, like a thick velvet carpet.
In the distance, the snow-capped peaks of the Kunlun Mountains gleamed in the sunlight, and the melting snow water formed clear streams that meandered through the valleys, making a pleasant babbling sound.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and damp earth, and occasionally a few unidentified birds could be seen hopping and chirping among the grass.
If it weren't for the fact that we were in a dangerous place, the vibrant "springtime scenery of a little Jiangnan" would be absolutely delightful.
The journey was uneventful, and the tense atmosphere in the team naturally relaxed. Even the team members on guard duty walked with much lighter steps.
At night, several bonfires were lit, and everyone sat around them, roasting meat, drinking wine, chatting and laughing.
Zhang Haiyang took a big bite of the perfectly grilled steak, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sizzling with oil. He chewed contentedly, his mouth glistening with grease, and said to Zhong Yuemin beside him:
"Yuemin, did we come to the wrong place? Didn't everyone say that this place is extremely evil, and that people and animals who enter never return, like the entrance to hell, and that it eats people?"
I think it wasn't as exciting as what we did in the Gobi Desert. At least there were packs of wolves for us to practice on.
"Look at this place! Mountains, water, grass, meat, birdsong, fragrant flowers—it's like a damn vacation!"
The other team members shared this idea.
Zhong Yuemin held a tree branch in his hand, poking at the campfire intermittently, sparks flying with his movements.
He didn't even look up; his voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"Don't be careless. This is just the beginning. Death Valley is huge. We've been dawdling for two days and we probably haven't even reached the edge of the central area."
Don't forget why we're here. The safety of this team of dozens of people depends entirely on us.
"Don't fall asleep or slack off while on night duty. Be on your best."
After dinner, everyone went to bed early, as they had to continue their journey the next day. They crawled into their tents to rest, the campfire outside gradually died down, and the temporary campsite became quiet.
Zhong Yuemin, Zhang Haiyang, and two other team members were on duty for the first half of the night.
Zhong Yuemin and Zhang Haiyang patrolled the perimeter of the camp and, after confirming that there was nothing unusual, went to relieve themselves at the edge of the camp where they had drunk too much water.
Just then, Zhang Haiyang fastened his belt, nudged Zhong Yuemin with his elbow, gestured with his lip towards a short distance away, and said in a low voice with a hint of anticipation:
"Hey, Yuemin, look! You probably have a 'love rival' now."
In the hazy night in the distance, two figures could be vaguely seen standing together. It was Yang Qing and a young male member of the expedition team who wore glasses and looked refined.
The two were standing very close, their heads almost touching, talking in hushed tones, their posture appearing quite intimate.
"That guy, what's his name again? Right, Wang Ye! I've noticed him these past few days. He's always hanging around Yang the richest man, serving him tea and water, and being very attentive."
"Look at them, instead of sleeping in the middle of the night, they're running around in this dark place, I wonder what they're muttering about..." Zhang Haiyang continued gossiping.
Zhong Yuemin glanced in that direction, his face expressionless, fastened his pants, turned and walked back, letting out a disdainful "heh."
"Chief of Staff Zhang, I've noticed you're getting more and more gossipy, almost like the neighborhood committee aunties."
The tone was clearly teasing.
"I'm a fucking married man, what rivals are you talking about? Even if those two are doing it right there on the grass, it's none of my business. She can be close to whoever she wants, whatever."
After saying that, he walked towards the guard post without looking back, his back view appearing crisp and neat in the night.
Seeing his nonchalant attitude, Zhang Haiyang couldn't help but chuckle and mutter a curse under his breath:
"Hypocrite! So what if you're married? You've had your share of women out there, haven't you? Don't try to act all high and mighty with me..."
He shook his head, quickened his pace to catch up, then couldn't help but glance back at the couple whispering in the dead of night, muttering to himself.
"They grew up in America, so they're very open-minded, which is why the four-eyed guy got such a good deal."
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Nothing more was said that night, and the team continued deeper into the heart of Death Valley. By the fourth day, the success of the past few days had made most people less tense than when they first entered.
The team found a relatively flat meadow near a stream as a temporary resting point, where they prepared to cook and rest before continuing their journey into the heart of the region.
One of the guides, known as Lao Ma, was in charge of the meals. He was a dark-skinned, experienced man from the plateau.
He quickly built a makeshift stove on a slightly higher earthen slope outside the camp using a few stones, placed the large iron pot he had brought on it, and prepared to start a fire.
The others sat lazily in twos and threes on the soft meadow, basking in the sun, some even dozing off.
Zhang Haiyang was boasting to someone about his "glorious deeds" as a local tyrant in Beijing back in the day, while Yang Qing and a few other members of the expedition team were organizing instrument data on the side.
Everything was filled with a relaxed, almost picnic-like atmosphere.
However, the fangs of Death Valley were suddenly revealed without warning at this most vulnerable moment!
"Boom——!!!"
A deep, muffled rumble, as if from the depths of the earth, exploded without warning!
The sound approached from afar, initially muffled, but in an instant became deafening, like a giant hammer slamming into everyone's eardrums.
"Buzzing..."
"what sound?!"
"Thunder?!"
The people resting on the grass were startled by the sudden loud noise and jumped up, looking around blankly with surprise and confusion on their faces.
Above our heads, the sky was still a clear blue, with a few wisps of white clouds drifting lazily by. There was no sign of rain or thunder.
The eerie thunder had not yet subsided—
Before they could even understand what was happening, someone suddenly exclaimed,
"Hey, Lao Ma, what's wrong?"
A terrified scream shattered the brief silence.
Everyone turned around sharply at the sound and saw that Old Ma, who had been busy by the stove just moments before, was now lying straight on the earthen slope, motionless!
The iron pot next to him was overturned, and the water inside spilled all over the ground.
"Old horse!"
Zhong Yuemin reacted the fastest, letting out a low growl and leaping out like a cheetah, rushing up the earthen slope in a few steps and squatting down next to Old Ma.
The sight before him made his heart sink to the bottom. Old Ma's eyes were wide open, his pupils were dilated, and his face, neck, and exposed skin were a strangely charred black, as if they had been burned by an extremely high temperature. You could even smell a burnt smell of flesh!
His body was still twitching slightly, but he had clearly lost consciousness. He looked utterly miserable, as if he had been struck by lightning.
"Old Ma! Old Ma! Wake up!" Zhong Yuemin called out urgently while reaching out to check his carotid artery.
At this moment, another unexpected event occurred.
“Rumble——!!!”
More rumbling thunder, like ferocious beasts suppressed for millions of years, roared wildly deep in the clouds, the thunderclaps continuous and more terrifying than the last!
Almost simultaneously, the once clear sky, as if splashed with a giant bottle of ink, rapidly darkened and became gloomy, its color visibly diminishing.
In just a dozen or so breaths, daylight turned into the pitch black of night.
"Woo... Awooo...!!!"
A biting wind suddenly arose out of nowhere, howling like a banshee, tearing at everyone's clothes, whipping up bits of grass and sand that stung their faces.
What's even more chilling is that in the middle of summer, the high plateau valley was suddenly blanketed in heavy snow. The icy snowflakes, mixed with the howling wind, pelted down relentlessly, causing the temperature to plummet!