Chapter 55: Section 56: Optimism and Hope


    Lord Zhenjin swept his gaze around and immediately understood the restlessness in people’s hearts; the concerns and thoughts of the young knights were crystal clear to him.


    As the leader, he had to set aside his own injuries and prioritize the entire team.


    Lord Zhenjin knew that in such a desperate situation, watching oneself slide towards the end of death step by step, without any means of escape, the vast majority would break down, go insane, or even go mad.


    So, he chuckled lightly and consoled, “Everyone, you should feel fortunate that this Golden Spear Scorpion Group sees us as a herd of beasts, its leader challenging me to a duel of kings. Unless the outcome is decided, the scorpion group will not launch a full attack.”


    “Indeed, we owe it to you, Lord Zhenjin, that we’re still alive!”


    ...


    “But while that is true…”


    “Sooner or later we will…”


    While members of the exploration team echoed his sentiments, they faltered in their speech.


    Lord Zhenjin continued, “As long as we’re alive, there’s a lot of hope. For example, encountering other people, receiving support, and thereby getting rescued. Or another sandstorm could arise, scattering everything, or perhaps the teleportation could activate again, directly taking us away from this place.”


    Everyone looked at each other, wondering if Lord Zhenjin was being overly optimistic.


    Then they voiced their thoughts.


    “Lord Zhenjin, we’ve been through two teleportations, estimating the time to be about half a month. We’ve just been teleported here a few days ago, and the chances of being teleported again are virtually nonexistent.”


    “If we face another terrifying sandstorm, we’re more likely to suffer than to be lucky.”


    “We are trapped in the desert, with no idea how vast it is or our exact location. Who can come to rescue us? The likelihood is too small.”


    People spoke in twos and threes, their expressions filled with dejection.


    Yet, Lord Zhenjin maintained a smile: “But there’s still a possibility, isn’t there? When you were trapped in the sand dunes, did any of you imagine you would be rescued by me? After I joined you, did any of you imagine the scorpion group would come to our aid?”


    Everyone looked at each other again, falling into silence, forced to admit there was some truth to Lord Zhenjin’s words.


    “So, never give up hope,” Lord Zhenjin sighed heavily, speaking earnestly, “As long as we keep hope alive, not giving up on ourselves, there is still hope and a possibility to survive until death truly arrives!”


    “You’re absolutely right, Sir.”


    “With you here, we have hope!”


    Their eyes brightened slightly, and their morale lifted a bit with Lord Zhenjin’s encouragement.


    But Lord Zhenjin promptly shifted the conversation: “However, relying solely on external help and change is not the act of the brave. Self-reliance is more reliable.”


    He swept his glance around the group, with a brief pause when his gaze passed over Zi Di, finally resting on Scholar Cang Xu, “Old scholar, do you have any thoughts?”


    Zi Di had almost run out of potions. The strongest medicine powder could release a dense green acid fog. However, after many attempts, the fog had proven to be useless against the scorpion group.


    The desert was barren, and Zi Di was severely lacking materials and unable to prepare new potions.


    That’s why Lord Zhenjin was more hopeful about Scholar Cang Xu’s performance.


    Cang Xu, sensing Lord Zhenjin’s expectant gaze, shook his head with a wry smile: “I’m sorry, Lord Zhenjin, I don’t have any means to change the situation. In fact, I have been very puzzled. Why does this scorpion group persistently pursue you? The biggest threat to their life here is probably those green-skinned lizards. Yet they ignored the defeated lizards to relentlessly chase after you. According to what you’ve told us, gold mica stones are the food of these scorpions. They do not eat meat. But the scorpions always make us their primary target, which is illogical.”


    Someone murmured, “In such a godforsaken place, what logic is there to speak of?”


    “Maybe Lord Zhenjin provoked this scorpion group and inflicted great damage on them, causing them to hate him intensely, so they have been pursuing him relentlessly without giving up.”


    Lord Zhenjin shook his head, “I have indeed slain several scorpions, but the casualties they suffered at the hands of the green-skinned lizards were far greater. As for that Silver Battle Scorpion, I fought with it. The injury on my arm is its doing, while my blade only left a white mark on its carapace.”


    “It seems we must slay a gun scorpion and dissect its corpse to understand their anatomical secrets,” Cang Xu suggested.


    He had a belief— the structure of a creature largely determined its habits.


    Lord Zhenjin agreed with this view, having benefited greatly from it during past explorations and survival attempts.


    However, with the scorpion group right in front of them, slaying and dissecting one was a risky endeavor.


    Currently, it was a king versus king situation, where the scorpions did not attack but rather gathered to watch their leader’s duels against Lord Zhenjin. If the exploration team recklessly attacked a gun scorpion and dissected it, how would the scorpions react?


    It was highly probable that they would launch a group attack, and the few remaining members of the exploration team would be easily wiped out by the scorpions.


    Hurriedly attacking an ordinary gun scorpion was too risky.


    Lord Zhenjin’s team needed a good opportunity.


    The sun slowly set.


    It was no longer blinding, hanging in the western sky like a round iron plate heated red from the forge.


    The daylight dimmed, turning the barren desert into a dry yellow hue.


    Lord Zhenjin and the others trudged through the desert.


    Each one of them looked haggard, with chapped lips, puffy eyes, growling stomachs, and sore legs.


    Food and water had begun to be rationed at the bare minimum.


    The scorpion swarm lingered far behind them.


    Throughout the journey, they frantically searched for anything edible. However, small insects and lizards had already been scared off by the scorpions, and even when they encountered a few plants, under Cang Xu’s warning, the exploration team members reluctantly gave up.


    These isolated plants grew sparsely in the desert, with thin and withered branches and leaves, but well-developed roots deeply embedded in the ground.


    These plants were inedible, some also carried toxins; one prick leading to bleeding would result in poisoning.


    Cang Xu identified these plants, preventing everyone from rashly digging them up, thereby saving the group’s physical strength.


    When night fell, Lord Zhenjin and others saw huge stones.


    These were gold mica stone clusters.


    The exploration team members were not surprised.


    The route was led by Zhenjin, this place was natural campsites he had used at night before, and it was also the first destination for their escape.


    With the gold mica stones for warmth, Zhenjin and the others could survive the bitterly cold desert night.


    They could even place their dry food on the gold mica stones and warm it up before eating.


    In other places, without gold mica stones, they would have had to make a fire for warmth.


    Fire-making required materials, and there was too little wood in the desert. If they had to make a fire, they would probably have to burn their own clothing for fuel.


    Here, they were spared the trouble of needing a fire, conserving many survival resources.


    Food and water were the most critical survival resources; their clothing provided warmth and protection from sunburn, making it an important resource for survival.


    The night breeze softly caressed their faces.


    Moonlight bathed the desert.


    Standing on what was nearly the largest gold mica stone, Zhenjin retracted his distant gaze.


    Although the scorpion swarm had entered the area of the gold mica stone clusters, like Zhenjin and his group, they contracted their ranks, settling in a corner to rest without any intention of aggression.


    Zhenjin breathed a sigh of relief.


    This situation was somewhat beneficial to him.


    The average person’s vision was greatly limited at night, and without the assistance of fighting energy, Zhenjin was no exception at present.


    Compared to humans, wild animals, especially predators, often had excellent night vision.


    As for how far the gun scorpions could see at night, Zhenjin was not sure.


    Just in case, there would never be a lack of sentries during the night watch.


    Jumping off the gold mica stone, Zhenjin found Cang Xu kneeling on the ground, squinting and examining the map in his hand.


    Although no fire was made, the moon was high and bright tonight, so the lighting wasn’t bad.


    Every so often, Cang Xu used his finger to trace some lines in the sand.


    Sensing Zhenjin’s presence by his side, Cang Xu lifted his head, then continued to draw lines in the sand.


    “Lord, I’m estimating our position, as well as the size of this desert and the direction of the Oasis,” Cang Xu explained without looking up.


    Zhenjin nodded, “Any progress?”


    “Ah, my lord, you must understand, this task is difficult,” the old Scholar sighed deeply, “We lack sufficient information. We don’t know how big this island is, how extensive the desert is, or its location on the island. Previously we were transported into the desert and indeed luckily found an Oasis, but the desert lacks landmarks, and we have no way of judging how far we’ve traveled from the Oasis.” S~ea??h the N??eFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    “If the sun and the moon are not artificial, if what we observed is real, and if there has been no change in our route, then at least our direction can be determined.”


    “If the owner of the island has not interfered too much, then this island should still have natural topography. Most islands have high central terrain and low-lying edges. Therefore, if we find a river and follow it downstream, in theory, we could reach the sea. But now we are in the desert…”


    As he concluded, the Scholar sighed again, “I’m very sorry, my lord, I cannot offer you much help. The current situation is quite grim, I think we need luck, a great deal of good luck!”


    “Yes,” Zhenjin echoed with a sigh.


    The young knight wore a troubled expression as he spoke about their current predicament, “We have very little food, enough for at most two days, and that’s the bare minimum supply.”


    “Even more troublesome is the scorpion swarm; we’re having a hard time shaking them off.”


    “I also need to remind you of something, my lord,” Cang Xu added, “The crisis the scorpion swarm brings us isn’t just death itself. Their constant pursuit is a sly, treacherous hunting tactic. Just like the Red Sand Gobi’s red-haired spike porcupines, when facing large prey, they shoot thorn arrows and chase the prey, letting it bleed profusely and weaken through vigorous movement until it can no longer resist.”


    “Perhaps the scorpion swarm is using this same tactic.”


    “Even if the scorpion swarm doesn’t launch a full attack, without enough food, we will become weaker and weaker.”


    “It’s not only our bodies that will weaken, but also our spirits.”


    “Under constant pursuit by the scorpion swarm, our pressure will increase, and we will become more fragile. People trying to survive in extreme environments need most to maintain hope and inner peace.”


    “I know of many records where the seemingly harmless mirages in the desert are actually very dangerous. Survivors stranded in the desert, once they fail to recognize the truth of the mirage and experience the huge drop from hope to despair, are very likely to break down and give up the principles they adhered to daily, or even give up their lives.”