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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 211: Discussing the Dangers of the Desert
The night passed without a word, calm and peaceful, and I slept soundly.
When I woke up, the curtains had already been drawn shut, and Cold Snow was still fast asleep. Our hands were still intertwined, and as I looked at her profile, I couldn't help but smile. Just then, an unwelcome voice broke the moment: "Fengfeng, what's taking you so long? The sun is already shining on your backside!"
I rolled my eyes weakly, and at that moment, Cold Snow also opened her eyes.
"Good morning," I said with a smile as I leaned over and kissed her forehead. Then I sat up and called out, "Time to get up."
"Mm, good morning," Cold Snow replied with a smile as she sat up and began to get dressed.
After packing everything up, I finally opened the curtains. Sunlight poured in, warming our faces, just like my heart felt warm at that moment.
After a quick wash-up, Cold Snow and I walked out hand in hand.
Next to the Camel, Xianxian and the others were gathered around eating breakfast. When they saw us coming, they all started to tease us one by one. I just smiled and pulled Cold Snow's hand as we sat down next to them. At that moment, someone handed us our food.
"I underestimated you; you're pretty quick!" Xianxian said with a mischievous grin, raising her eyebrows at me, her meaning clear.
"Is that so? I'm just learning from you," I replied meaningfully while looking at Xianxian. Her smile froze as Snow Princess questioned her with a hint of reproach: "Fairy, you seem quite experienced!"
Xianxian immediately plastered a smile on her face and turned to Snow Princess, saying, "What experience? Don't listen to him; I'm very virtuous! It's really hurtful that you don't believe me!"
"Alright, alright, I didn't say I didn't believe you..."
Over there, my comment finally kept Xianxian too busy to tease me anymore. Looking at Xianxian's helpless expression was quite satisfying.
Pei Zi patted my shoulder like an older brother and earnestly said four words to me, "Take good care of her."
"Of course," I replied with a smile as I looked at Cold Snow. For some reason, the more I looked at Cold Snow, the more I felt she was exceptionally beautiful and graceful. She was understanding and capable; having such a girlfriend was truly a blessing I had earned over eight lifetimes.
Everyone chatted about my situation for a while, and we enjoyed our breakfast.
Happy times always pass quickly. After finishing our meal, we continued on our journey. Xue Er and I shared a Camel; I sat between its two humps while Xue Er sat on the front hump, perfectly able to lean against me. I wrapped my arms around her waist, and we began another aimless day of travel.
"Everyone be careful. Once we truly enter the heart of the desert, various dangers will follow. If anyone notices anything unusual, be sure to speak up," Pei Zi said loudly to ensure everyone could hear.
"I haven't heard of any particularly dangerous creatures in the Tengger Desert. It's not like the Gobi Desert in Mongolia; are there really death worms or something?" Yu Yu said, leisurely sitting atop the Camel and enjoying the desert scenery.
Xianxian smirked slightly, "Not knowing or not seeing something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Just like air—how do you know air exists?"
Yu Yu was at a loss for words, pondering before saying, "Then what do you think we might encounter as dangers?"
"Xianxian is right," I calmly interjected, sharing my thoughts: "Yu Yu, you just mentioned that there are death worms in the Gobi Desert. Since both are deserts, why do you think this one wouldn't have them? There is air, water, sand, and people here just like there is there. So I believe deserts are essentially similar; no one can say for certain how many dangers lie within them—perhaps those who knew have already died."
"Let's not even mention venomous snakes and scorpions; I think we should be most wary of Quicksand!" Wang Yi suddenly chimed in.
Quicksand is one of nature's most cleverly designed traps. It can appear anywhere under suitable conditions, quietly waiting for people to approach and leaving them in a dilemma.
"In 1692, an earthquake caused soil liquefaction in Port Royal, Jamaica, leading to the formation of Quicksand that resulted in one-third of the city disappearing and two thousand lives lost. Even seemingly calm places like Northern England's coast and the beautiful yet dangerous Alaskan fjords have stories of people being trapped by Quicksand—let alone here!" Wang Yi elaborated vividly, creating a tense atmosphere around us.
Quicksand is a monstrous entity that can swallow people into an abyss. Once someone falls into it, they often cannot escape, leaving their companions helplessly watching as they are consumed by sand in an instant. The danger level is something only those who have experienced it firsthand truly understand.
The rising groundwater reduces friction between sand particles, causing the sand to begin "flowing," thus forming Quicksand.
When the moisture in a loose sand layer reaches saturation, ordinary sand begins to roll, forming Quicksand. If the moisture trapped in the sand cannot escape, it will create liquefied soil, which cannot bear weight. There are two ways to increase the rolling of the sand, ultimately leading to the formation of Quicksand.
According to Dr. Larry Barron from the New South Wales Geological Survey, vibrations increase fluidity, causing what was once a solid substance to become soft and flowable.
The vibrations and water reduce the friction between sand grains, making the sand behave like a liquid. To understand Quicksand, one must first grasp the liquefaction process. According to the Utah Geological Survey, when soil liquefies, it loses its supporting strength and behaves like a viscous liquid rather than a solid. During an earthquake, liquefaction can cause buildings to sink significantly.
"If, I mean if," Wuma You swallowed nervously and asked with concern, "what should we do if we really encounter it?"
As soon as Wuma You finished speaking, Pei Zi said, "If you encounter slow Quicksand, there are ways to escape: as long as you act quickly and judge your direction accurately, you can generally get away. But if you sink deep into a Quicksand trap, you need to lie down quickly to reduce your body weight, spreading your arms and legs on the sand to increase buoyancy. If no one is around, you should roll slowly or crawl on your stomach to a solid area."
"Yes, if you get stuck in Quicksand, never struggle violently or kick your legs hard; that will only make you sink faster!" Xianxian added, explaining: "People used to mistakenly believe that shaking would loosen the sand around their bodies and help them pull free from Quicksand. But scientists point out that this movement only accelerates sedimentation of clay and increases the viscosity of Quicksand; flailing about will only make you sink deeper. So please don’t do anything foolish; if you get sucked in, we won’t take responsibility!"
"This is just talk; we haven't even encountered it yet and you're already making everyone anxious," I said with a smile, though I was genuinely worried. There is plenty of groundwater beneath the Tengger Desert, and all conditions for forming Quicksand are present. Although the chances of encountering Quicksand are low, I don't believe we won't run into it.
"Well," Xianxian replied dismissively, "if you're afraid of dying, you shouldn't have chosen to come here. So to reduce the mortality rate, we still need to give a warning, even if we might be lucky enough not to encounter it."
However, the chances of not encountering it are still quite small. Seeing that Black Bear and the others looked worried made me recall what Burn had said. I calmly suggested, "If we do get sucked in, everyone should gently move their legs to allow water and sand to seep into the vacuum area created by our movements. This will relieve some pressure on our bodies while gradually loosening the sand. We should also try to spread our limbs apart because the larger the surface area of our bodies in contact with the sand, the greater the buoyancy we will receive. As long as we have enough patience and move slowly enough, we can gradually escape."
"Will that really work?" Black Bear looked at me hopefully.
I nodded. "It's the best method."
"Not bad! Your university education wasn't wasted," Xianxian said with satisfaction.
"This is common knowledge!" I shot him a glance; even if I hadn't attended university, how could I not brush up on basic knowledge before coming to the desert? If someone came here completely ignorant like some people do, they wouldn't have enough lives to spare!
Although I feel that living doesn't hold any great significance, I also don't want to die—especially now that I'm no longer "alone."
What I hold in my arms is the most solid. I have always believed that women are meant to be cherished. However, merely talking without action is just a trick; since I think this way, I will continue to act accordingly.
"I've noticed that you've shaken off your previous lethargy these past few days. Have you really forgotten your brothers now that you have a woman?" Xianxian raised an eyebrow, looking at me with a teasing expression.
How could I forget! I shot him a glare. "What do you want me to do?"
"This is good enough, heh heh~" Xianxian chuckled helplessly, then rested his chin on Snow Princess's shoulder, lamenting, "Where on earth has that bastard run off to? Is he looking for trouble with This Lord?"
"Why haven't we found Luo Ruyun yet? Fengfeng, do you have any leads from your people?"
I shook my head. Many had gone out, but few had returned. Not only was there no information, but we didn't even know anything at all. "Where are we headed now?"
"I don't know. Ask Pei Zi; he's leading the way," Xianxian said, gesturing with his mouth towards Pei Zi's back.
Pei Zi naturally heard our conversation and replied, "Currently, there isn't a fixed location; we'll adapt as we go. However, we should be passing by Moon Lake soon."
"Moon Lake? The one on the China Map?" Wang Yi frowned. "What are we going there for? We're not really here for a vacation!"
"The more you try to find something, the harder it gets. So just relax and take it as it comes..." Pei Zi sighed, sounding quite helpless.
I looked around; the yellow and white sands stretched endlessly before us. In this vast desert, when would we finally find a clue?
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