Chapter 111: Night into the Desert
The horn sounded outside the gate, and the guys from the gas station brought the big truck, along with a lot of desert tents for windbreaking.
This kind of tent is a local Egyptian brand, and it is said to be stronger than the German tent, effective in the desert to protect against wind, and the outside is painted with stinky fruit paint to prevent fox attacks in the desert.
The girls in Egypt were very good at handling food, and Puna had already prepared enough fresh water and jerky, and they put their bags in the cart, then drove the camels into the trucks and set off for the desert ahead.
Ateba himself has a good off-road vehicle, the wheels are very wide, sand-proof and durable, the rear compartment of the car is full of large tents and equipment, the borrowed big truck is super huge, carrying a few camels, this is a common method for the Egyptians to enter the desert, in the words of Ateba, the road always has an end, to the vast desert, when the vehicle can no longer continue to move forward, only the camels can really help them.
The car sped along the straight asphalt road, and the world disappeared like a dream, and there were no more people and lights in front of me, only the sound of the car's engine and the cries of the wind blowing through the window.
Looking through the car window, there is a yellow desert with no end in sight, a highway is like a bamboo, dividing the endless desert in half, and there is no car on the road at night, just a strong smell of sand.
The car drove all the way forward, and the sand on the road was blown into a sandstorm from time to time, which was a spectacular scene, but the camels on the other truck were quiet, trying to stretch their necks to look into the distance, and they felt as if they could see something beyond the reach of manpower.
Desert is the ultimate living environment, a test of human survival endurance, in the territory of Egypt, the green area suitable for human habitation only accounts for 4% of the land area, and the 96% is all desert, Egyptians have been dealing with the desert since ancient times, and have already learned to survive in the desert.
The road soon came to an end, and there was a small and simple station, surrounded by sand and some abandoned broken water bags, which were already dark green like cacti, and Ateba parked the car here and drove the camels down.
It was 10 o'clock in the middle of the night, and the desert was pitch black as far as the eye could see, and when the car stopped here, the sandstorm ahead suddenly stopped, which Ateba said was a good sign that the desert welcomed them.
The Western Desert as a whole belongs to the Golden Desert, which is a wild sandy land south of the Bahariya Oasis in Egypt.
After untying the camel, they put supplies and water bags on the camel's back, and then rode on the camel and continued on their journey, and after several hours of walking in the desert, the sky gradually began to lighten.
The morning glow wakes the entire desert from its slumber, and the entire desert in front looks like a sea of gold in the sunlight.
When the morning sun shone on the desert in the sky, Chen Zhi found that the depths of the desert seemed to emit a little bit of brilliant brilliance, and the brilliance shone like a diamond.
Chen Zhi once saw in the data, those that shine are not diamonds, but special minerals, the desert millions of years ago was also a vast ocean, after great changes in the environment, the sea is dry and rotten, the chalk formed by submarine volcanoes and red algae fossils are exposed to the surface, when the volcano erupts, the lava cools and solidifies into coarse-grained iron quartz sand, which spreads throughout the sea of sand, making this desert shine in the sun.
The sky was getting brighter and brighter, the temperature was gradually rising, and the scorching sun immediately shone on them mercilessly, Chen Zhi felt that the water on his body quickly evaporated and dried up, and his body was grilled by the merciless scorching sun.
In the daytime, the desert will also see people, and behind them there is an off-road vehicle that intersects with them, the people in the car are all wearing veils, tightly wrapped, their eyes are full of hostility, staring at Chen Zhi's team, and then at Mina and Ji Ying, the spear in their hands has been pointed at them until it disappears.
Abate told them that there is no law in the desert, that anyone can shoot at each other for any reason, and then throw the body in a sand pit, and that it may never be found and no one will be held accountable, and that if a woman walks alone in the desert without a male companion, she is committing suicide.
By the time it was afternoon, everyone felt that the water in their bodies was depleted very quickly, especially Fat Wei, who had completely suffered from heat stroke, and the humming camels complained, now they knew why the Egyptians were used to wearing headscarves, in the scorching desert, their skin would be burned at any time when they were exposed, and they put their scarves around their heads, and felt that their bodies were sweating like in a steamer, it was too hot.
The oasis in Abat's mouth was far farther away than they had imagined, and they had walked forward in the hot desert for more than seven hours, when the sun's rays were dimming and the desert winds were blowing, and Abarth said that it was time to rest.
They parked the two cars together as a basis for the night to withstand the gale, and then surrounded the cars with a cloth as a shield, and prepared to eat and sleep under the circle tonight.
Puna took a few packed chickens with her before leaving, and now while the sun has not set, she wraps the chickens in oiled paper and buries them in the sand, which is the desert roast chicken.
Under the scorching sun, the temperature under the sand is extremely high, like an oven, and it is heated evenly, Fat Wei and Abate set up a tent together, Chen Zhi helped Mina set up a bonfire, for the sudden drop in the temperature of the desert, this fire brings them not only warmth, but also a signal of safety, Puna boiled mint tea for them to drink in the desert, I heard that this tea can effectively prevent heat stroke, like a summer medicine in the desert.
The sand under the campfire heated up quickly, and after a while, Puna dug up the sand, and the aroma of freshly baked desert roast chicken was so enticing that it could waft seven miles away.
Everyone walked for a day without eating, all gathered around to break the roast chicken to eat, the roast chicken is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, it is really good, although there is a little sand on it, but everyone still eats very happily.
When they were done, Abate told them that they had to throw the leftover bones outside the tent, and the desert foxes had a keen sense of smell and would soon be attracted to them.
After they threw the chicken bones out of the tent, they saw a group of little desert foxes appear in the desert, and the thin figures looked like ghosts in the dark, their eyes flashed with blue cold light, scrambling to bite the chicken bones.
They gathered around the campfire and drank mint tea as the sun had completely set.
The night is full, the whole desert is plunged into darkness, the sky here is very transparent, the details of the Milky Way are very clear, and there are shooting stars in the sky from time to time, beautiful like a dream.
Fat Wei walked in the scorching heat for a day, and felt much better after drinking mint tea, now find a place where no one is convenient to go, for this vast desert, civilization has no meaning, any place is a toilet.
Though he was a rough man, he could see that he loved his daughter very much, and he set up Puna's tent beside him, and said that he was willing to keep a vigil for everyone tonight, mainly to ensure his daughter's safety in a group of foreigners.
At night, everyone sleeps in tents, and Ateba advises everyone to wear extra clothes, as the temperature plummets in the second half of the night.
What Ateba said was indeed right, Chen Zhi was awakened several times in the middle of the night, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that there was still bright starlight outside, and Ateba loyally kept vigil for everyone around the bonfire.
Chen Zhi couldn't sleep after being woken up by the freeze for the last time, he kept his eyes closed and half asleep, it was now more than three o'clock in the morning in Cairo, and the desert in the middle of the night was very quiet, only the fat Wei next to him came with a burst of snoring.
At this moment, there was a sudden sound of Suo Suo from outside the tent, which was very clear in this silence.
Chen Zhi sat up reflexively, looked carefully, and saw a figure reflected outside the tent, the figure was very short, like a child, waving to Chen Zhi......