Chapter 54: Desert Eagle (Part 2)

Hot, it's really too hot!
It's so hot that even lying on the sunny side of the rocks doesn't feel cool, because there's hardly any sweat left to seep out—a sign of absolute danger in the desert.
It was so hot you couldn't see a single plant, not a trace of animal dung, and all around were bare stones and grains of sand. Even in the basin below the hillside, not a single drop of water could be found—only a patch of white salt grains. In such an environment, even the Song of War Heroes, who had undergone the strictest desert survival training and could be called a desert combat survival master, couldn't find even a trace of fresh water for five consecutive days.
Zhao Haiping kept lying by crevices in the rocks, trying hard to see if there was water left behind by rain inside. He lay on the ground, constantly searching for even slightly moist soil or grains of sand. But when he dug up a wild grass he had finally found with his combat knife, he was discouraged to find that the roots had become dry and brittle. With a gentle tug, he broke into several pieces.
"Splash......"
Lying on the ground, pale and trembling all over, Zhan Xiaoge suddenly raised his automatic rifle and pulled the bolt, but suddenly his whole body went weak and the rifle crashed to the ground again.
Zhanxiage looked at the AK automatic rifle that, for some unknown reason, suddenly felt at least a hundred times heavier, and let out a low cry: "Huh?!" ”
Zhao Haiping, who was fully focused on searching for a water source, looked at the AK automatic rifle that had fallen to the ground but was pointed at him. He was genuinely startled by the war hero song, "Master, what are you doing?" Just lie down and stay still! ”
"Hehe, good disciple, you're thirsty, aren't you?"
Zhao Haiping nodded instinctively, just about to call out with a mix of surprise, "Master, you're awake?" But Zhao Haiping immediately sensed something was wrong. Although Zhan Xiagoge had already acknowledged the existence of his persistent disciple, when had he ever used such a flippant tone to call him a "good disciple"?!
"Hehe...... I'm going to shoot that little bird down. Although it's really small and skinny, its blood should be enough to soothe my obedient disciple's throat! Good apprentice, tell me, should I hit its head or its wings? Sigh, no matter where it hits, half of its health will be wasted, right? ”
Sigh, still talking nonsense!
Zhao Haiping shook his head helplessly. Just then, he suddenly heard a crisp bird cry in the sky. He quickly looked up and, sure enough, saw a small, unknown bird flying overhead. Zhao Haiping suddenly jumped up and shouted wildly, "Don't shoot!" Master, keep an eye on our bag, I'll go chase it! If you still don't see me back in two hours, find a way to light a fire on the mountain and send me a coordinate signal! Master, do you understand? If I still haven't returned after two hours, you must find a way to send me a signal! ”
Zhanxiage nodded foolishly and said, "Mm!" ”
God knows if Zhanxiage truly understood what he was saying, but Zhao Haiping had no time to confirm further. He threw off his backpack, grabbed two empty water bottles, and ran off.
Although Zhao Haiping had never received desert survival training, after so many years in the army, many veterans from the field army's reconnaissance company were invited to serve as temporary instructors in the Armed Police Force. Zhao Haiping finally understood that in the rocky mountain deserts, there were strange shapes, even hollow rocks inside, some of which were natural reservoirs!
After rainfall, large amounts of rain may accumulate in places where the sun cannot reach or the terrain is low. Birds or animals living here should clearly know where these water sources are.
What's wrong with birds? So what if they're small? No matter how good they are, they still need to eat and drink, right?!
His eyes fixed on the unknown flying bird, Zhao Haiping ran faster and faster across the rugged mountain terrain. Suddenly, he felt his feet slip away. He only had time to shout wildly in his heart before he missed and tumbled violently down a valley over ten meters high.
A sharp stone struck Zhao Haiping's grenade that hadn't been unlocked in time, producing a "ding-ding-clang" sound. All 365 sweat pores on his body contracted in shock. If he hadn't died in the fierce battle with the enemy, but had fallen into a valley while chasing a bird and smashed the grenade, that would have been a truly unjust death!
He couldn't die yet; Zhanxiage was still waiting for him to find Qingshui and come back to save him!
Zhao Haiping drew his combat saber and stabbed it fiercely into the crevice of the rock beneath him.
"Smack!"
The high-carbon steel combat knife was actually snapped by the inertia of Zhao Haiping's body rolling down the hillside. Clutching the half of the knife, Zhao Haiping only had time to shout "This is bad" in his heart before involuntarily continuing to roll downward.
"Clang!"
This time, Zhao Haiping didn't roll for long. He heard a loud bang, and sparks of gold danced wildly before his eyes, as if someone had struck him on the head. Amid the dull sound and the buzzing of dozens of flies buzzing in his ears, two warm things slowly flowed out of his nose.
But no matter what, his body finally stopped rolling.
Zhao Haiping stared blankly at the stone in front of him, more than a person's height, standing in a triangular shape, with its sharpest edges pointed at the hillside. This kind of play was practically a deadly weapon that killed people!
Zhao Haiping touched his steel helmet, which had been slammed into the rock and had been hammered in and was about half an inch deep. This helmet, hit by at least twelve bullets, was the same helmet he had used to sit together with Zhanxiage and other Fifth Special Forces brothers eating "hotpot!"
Suddenly, Zhao Haiping, who had just been lucky enough to dodge being pierced by rocks with his steel helmet, jumped up and slapped himself twice hard to stay awake. Then, quickly looking up, in his dizziness, he could barely make out the figure of an unknown bird the size of a mung bean in the air. Zhao Haiping simply lifted his head in the valley and continued to run at full speed.
"Damn it, fly slower!"
Zhao Haiping ran with all his might, shouting wildly: "If I can't find the water immediately, Master won't survive. If Master can't survive, I, Zhao Haiping, won't survive either!" ”
Tears and snot blurred Zhao Haiping's face, and in the blurred eyes, the bird suddenly disappeared!
Before Zhao Haiping could look around, his foot suddenly slipped and he stepped into empty space again, tumbling and crawling into the second valley. This time, Zhao Haiping fell even harder. The sharp stalagmites left twelve or thirteen wounds on his body. The wounds from earlier were now worse, and the sharp, piercing pain could pierce deep into his soul made Zhao Haiping's mouth drop open, but he suddenly burst out laughing.
Zhao Haiping couldn't help but laugh, because ...... He actually saw water!
Beneath the large rocks, in the crevice where sunlight never reaches year-round, isn't it just a huge pool of water?!
Zhao Haiping lunged forward, twisting open the military water bottle and gulping down wildly while reaching out his right hand to scoop out a handful of pool water. Ignoring that Zhanxiage had warned him long ago that the pool water must be boiled or disinfected before drinking, he directly put the water into his mouth.
"I...... Pah! ”
Zhao Haiping had never drunk water so bitter, so astringent, and so salty. He widened his eyes, and after a long moment, finally regained his composure and spat out the water from his mouth with force. This kind of water is even more bitter than seawater. Who knows if a bowl of water can produce a tael of salty salt in the sun? Even if you drink it, not only will it not quench your thirst, but you'll likely only get thirstier, eventually leading to even more severe dehydration.
However, using only this pool water to help Master Zhan Xia Ge cool down seemed like a good choice.
It was only at this moment that Zhao Haiping had time to carefully examine the valley where he had accidentally fallen. His eyes widened sharply, and he roared, "Don't steal my master's water!" ”