Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi had been together ever since they were swallowed by the sea snake, with hardly any chance to separate. They knew that the people around them were definitely not impostors, but genuine. However, there were now two individuals returning to China, impersonating their Shen Feng. Once they returned, they would use their false identities to commit evil deeds.
"What if Senior Sister and Chaoyang are deceived by these two impostors? No, we must stop this!" The thought of Chang Jianyi and Chu Chaoyang potentially being blinded by these impostors sent a wave of fear through Shen Feng.
Yue Hengyi felt much the same. What if his own family didn't recognize his true identity and were deceived? What if Qin Kewei was also fooled?
In the evening, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi found Slot, who was in the room, accompanied by Wang Jiaoe, whom they brought along as a translator. Shen Feng explained his purpose: "Slo, devise the shortest route to York Cape for me. We'll depart around tomorrow, heading straight for our destination, and we need to get there within two days! When we arrive, we'll leave you in this city called Cairns, understand?"
Actually, Slot felt quite content staying in the current base, where it was safe and basic necessities were provided. However, he dared not defy Shen Feng's wishes now. Moreover, he carefully observed Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi's expressions, knowing they were in a bad mood and not wanting to provoke them.
Immediately, Slot drew two lines on the map. He was very familiar with the geography of Australia. However, reaching York Cape within two days clearly meant taking a risk.
"Gentlemen, to reach York Cape within two days, we will need to cross the Great Sandy Desert and the Victoria Desert. Bring ample water and fuel. We must also travel at night to have any chance of reaching our destination within two days. After all, there are no highways in the desert, so we must travel day and night. However, I don't know if there will be dangers in the desert!" Slot stated directly.
Wang Jiaoe quickly translated what the old man had said.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi looked at the vast desert stretching across central and western Australia, their brows furrowed. They had never crossed a desert before, and the desert before them was simply too large. Taking a detour would consume a lot of time. To reach their destination quickly, it seemed there was only the option of taking a risk.
Shen Feng looked at Yue Hengyi and asked, "Xiao Yue, what do you think?"
Yue Hengyi nodded seriously and said, "Take the risk! We must expose the true faces of the impostors and figure out who is manipulating all of this from behind the scenes. We can only return to China quickly! If we don't get a reply tonight, we'll set off directly tomorrow morning!"
"Well said. We will definitely set off tomorrow. Even if it's a great desert, we must venture through it. As for fuel and water, Wang Jiaoe, I'll trouble you!" Shen Feng made the decision immediately. Even if it was risky, they had to return to China as soon as possible.
Wang Jiaoe readily agreed and said, "No problem. Also, if you need a translator, I can arrange for someone to accompany you. I have a few people here who originally lived in Cairns but haven't had the chance to return. Their families are also there. If you need to take them along, I can make arrangements."
"That's fine too. My translator also ran away. Please keep an eye out for me. If you see a guy named Angenno driving a pickup truck in the future, just kill him. This traitor, I don't have time to deal with him. Can you do me a favor!" Shen Feng said casually.
Wang Jiaoe nodded and agreed quickly, then went to find a translator, showing no intention of stopping Shen Feng.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were both deeply concerned about the situation in China. They felt as if they were lost in a fog, completely unable to see the surrounding situation clearly. Who was impersonating them? Why were they impersonating them? Who was manipulating all of this from behind the scenes?
"Xiao Yue, no matter what happens next, we must hurry back to China, and we must expose the impostors as quickly as possible. Speed is of the essence!" Shen Feng said in a deep voice.
Yue Hengyi nodded, his expression also serious.
They slept for a night, but neither Shen Feng nor Yue Hengyi managed to get much sleep. Before they knew about the impostors, they both felt that China was definitely extremely safe, as the zombie problem had already been resolved there. But now, for some reason, a crisis lurked beneath this tranquility, weighing on them like a mountain, making it impossible to fall asleep.
By morning, as dawn was just breaking and the ground was still dim, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi got up. They woke up Slot in the other room. Wang Jiaoe also found a young boy at this time.
"Isn't this just a child? Can he also serve as a translator?" Shen Feng looked at the boy Wang Jiaoe had sent. He was only about 1.4 meters tall and looked sallow and thin. If he accompanied them, wouldn't he be the first to die in danger?
Wang Jiaoe quickly explained, "I can guarantee that he is already fourteen years old and capable of taking care of himself. He came here with his father for a trip, but his father was killed by zombies. He now wants to return to Cairns to find his mother. Please take him with you."
The boy also quickly said in Chinese, "I can take care of myself, I can guarantee that. Also, I eat very little food and won't consume too much of your supplies. Please take me with you, I'm very obedient."
Shen Feng shook his head helplessly and explained, "It's not a question of whether we'll take you or not, but a question of danger. Both of us are ability users, but we don't have experience crossing deserts. If we encounter danger, we might not be able to protect you."
However, Shen Feng's persuasion did not deter the boy from his desire to go home; instead, it made him more determined.
"To be able to go home, to find my mother, I'd rather die in the desert, but I must go back," the boy said firmly.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were both touched by the boy's words. A fourteen-year-old child actually wanted to go into the desert with them and didn't care about the dangers in the desert. This was truly remarkable.
"Alright then, since you're not afraid of death, you can come with us. But I can't guarantee that I can protect you well!" Shen Feng shook his head helplessly, having agreed to the boy's request.
The team was ready, and Shen Feng led them to depart. There were four people in the car, young and old. Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were in the front and passenger seats, while in the middle row sat the fifty-year-old Slot and the fourteen-year-old boy. Shen Feng found the boy's name inconvenient, so he gave him a Chinese name, Lu Zhengqi, which sounded much more imposing.
The truck bed was loaded with food, fuel, and water. Water was the most important. It was difficult to find water in the desert, and if they lost their way and couldn't replenish their water supply, everyone would die.
Even while sitting in the car, the old man still held his cross and prayed: "God bless us, let us reach our destination safely. I beg to be given a safe base to live on. I don't want to die like this."
Shen Feng drove towards the distance, his speed already exceeding 120 kilometers per hour. Fortunately, they were in the plains of Australia, where the surroundings were flat, and dozens of kilometers were visible at a glance.
"Brother Feng, let's take turns driving. That way, you won't get too tired. Although I haven't got a driver's license, I've driven before, so it'll be fine," Yue Hengyi suggested to Shen Feng.
Shen Feng nodded and agreed. The car drove directly into the grassland. Fortunately, the grass wasn't too tall, about fifty to sixty centimeters, which could hide some small animals but not the vision of those in the car.
The grassland was quiet. Occasionally, snakes and rabbits could be seen emerging from the grass. Kangaroos, however, were less common. Perhaps these kangaroos didn't live in this area.
Shen Feng spent five hours driving at high speed but still hadn't left the grassland. Although the distance on the map wasn't large, driving it was a different matter entirely.
It was already noon by then, and everyone was hungry, so they got out to cook. Lu Zhengqi, to show he was useful, helped with the fire and dug up wild vegetables in the grass, surprisingly finding over ten types of local wild vegetables.
Shen Feng didn't know if these wild vegetables were edible, but seeing Lu Zhengqi's serious expression, he chose to trust him. The toxicity of these herbaceous plants wasn't that strong, so it was fine if they ate them.
Next, Yue Hengyi began to cook porridge. Both the wild vegetables and the dog meat were chopped and thrown into the pot to boil, with a little salt added. The appearance was very poor, looking like pig slop, grayish-green and sticky, but it was edible.
"Let's eat," Shen Feng said, looking at the vegetable porridge in his bowl and shaking his head helplessly. This was the result of Yue Hengyi cooking. Not only was it unpalatable, but it also looked terrible.
While eating, Lu Zhengqi ate ravenously. Although it was just simple porridge, he drank it with great relish, even licking the bowl clean. The bowl didn't need washing because there wasn't a single grain of rice left on it.
"Kid, don't eat so fast, there's more here," Yue Hengyi said, surprised to see someone eating faster than him. It was just a bowl of porridge, why the rush?
Lu Zhengqi looked at Yue Hengyi in surprise and asked, "Can I have a second bowl?"
"Of course, go and get some if you want. Speaking of which, haven't you eaten enough at your base? Mashed potatoes and pumpkin pancakes should be sufficient, right?" Yue Hengyi asked.
As Lu Zhengqi scooped porridge into his bowl, he said, "Only soldiers can eat pumpkin pancakes and mashed potatoes. Women, children, and the elderly can only eat wild vegetables and salted fish. Even bread is only the scraps, the burnt ones."
"Wang Jiaoe looks beautiful, but I didn't expect her to be so cruel-hearted, feeding the people below such poor food. Truly, the most poisonous hearts belong to women," Yue Hengyi laughed, shaking his head. It seemed that the leaders of these bases were all the same, exploiting the lower classes to enjoy themselves.
Shen Feng drank his porridge while looking at the map, not participating in their discussion. He was considering which route would be the shortest.
At this moment, Lu Zhengqi became angry and explained to Yue Hengyi, "You can't slander our leader. Our leader is very kind. When our base had no food to eat, it was our leader who led people to catch large fish and eventually brought back enough fish to survive the famine. She is not a bad person as you imagine."
"Is that so? Then why does she let the soldiers eat better than you? And why did you leave the base? Isn't it because you couldn't eat enough at the base?" Yue Hengyi said dismissively.
"That's because people often tried to harm us, so the soldiers had to maintain their strength to protect us and eat enough food every day!" Lu Zhengqi continued to explain.
"Alright, alright, even if your leader is a good person, I won't argue about this anymore. But from now on, no matter when, you are not allowed to leave our team, otherwise, we won't be able to protect you if we encounter danger!" Yue Hengyi didn't want to argue with this child any further and could only back down.
In the afternoon, the group continued their journey. Finally, at dusk, they saw the grassland becoming increasingly sparse, the green in the distance diminishing, and eventually, they saw endless yellow sand stretching as far as the eye could see.
"While it's not dark yet, let's keep moving. After dark, we'll cook and rest for a while. Xiao Yue, it's your turn to drive!" Shen Feng said to Yue Hengyi.
Yue Hengyi agreed. He opened the car door and climbed onto the roof, then into the truck bed to check the fresh water. Everything was fine. Three hundred liters of water was enough for a week, more than enough to cross the desert. As for the food and fuel in the car, they were also sufficient.
However, as Yue Hengyi was checking the supplies in the truck bed, he noticed that the sand dune in the distance seemed to move. He looked closely but found that the sand dune hadn't moved at all.
"Is the mental pressure too great? Am I seeing things?" Yue Hengyi muttered to himself.