Guard Your Safety

The night in the no-man's land was exceptionally dark, darker than anywhere else.

Aside from the circle of light around the campsite, the darkness everywhere else was so oppressive it made it hard to breathe.

Humans naturally feel uneasy and afraid of the dark, especially when their vision is obstructed at night.

Coupled with the fact that this was a no-man's land, the thought of wild wolves, wild yaks, and other fierce beasts made the girls subconsciously huddle closer to the guys.

After packing up their things, everyone sat down to chat.

The girls took off their gloves, each holding a thermos filled with hot water they had prepared earlier in the county town.

"Let's go to bed early today and rest up. Tomorrow's journey is going to be tough," Meng Wenzhou said, looking at everyone.

"What kind of terrain are we covering tomorrow?" Gao Yue asked.

Liu Bo took out his phone and checked his memos.

"Tomorrow we'll first pass through a glacier river valley. Given the season, the ice on the riverbed has probably melted, which might make it quite difficult to traverse."

"After crossing the river valley, we'll reach the volcanic trench. We need to cross over the volcanic trench, and then we'll arrive at the most difficult part of tomorrow's itinerary: Hongtu Daban."

"What kind of terrain is Hongtu Daban?"

Liu Bo explained, "It's actually a very long uphill stretch, but it's full of jagged rocks and has an altitude of over 5,400 meters. Because the ground is all red earth, it's called Hongtu Daban. We need to cross over this place tomorrow."

"It doesn't sound that hard."

"Heh, hearing about it and actually driving it are two different things. There's a rock formation there, completely filled with various large boulders. I'm worried about whether we'll even be able to drive past it tomorrow."

After Liu Bo finished, Meng Wenzhou added, "It shouldn't be a big problem. Many people have crossed it before, even some commercial vans. Our cars will handle it easily, it just requires a bit of driving skill."

"Alright, let's not talk about that for now. What time is it?" Meng Qianyu asked.

Meng Wenzhou glanced at his watch. "Half past nine."

"That's still early. Right now, I'm just worried that wolves might come running over in the night."

"What are you afraid of when you're sleeping in the cars? Can wolves open car doors?"

"They can," Zhong Qing said, covering her mouth with a laugh.

The guys looked bewildered. "How?"

"Perverted wolves can open them."

The guys: "..."

"Damn, I was wondering how a wolf could open a car door. Turns out it was just a bad pun. We aren't perverts," Zhang Ziming laughed.

"Haha, just joking."

"We'll definitely be safe sleeping in the cars, but won't it be dangerous for you guys sleeping in the tents?" Meng Qianyu asked.

Liu Bo patted his chest and smiled confidently. "Haha, Qianyu, don't worry about us. With me and Brother Yang here, as long as it's not mutant werewolves, we'll be fine."

"I still think it's a bit dangerous for you guys to sleep in tents," Tang Ziyun chimed in.

"What else can we do? We only have three cars, with two people sleeping in each. We can only sleep in the tents and guard your safety."

"Don't worry. Just get a good rest tonight and don't overthink it. We guys have thick skin, we'll be fine."

"Alright."

They chatted for another half hour. As the temperature rapidly dropped, they could already exhale thick white puffs of breath when speaking.

The girls couldn't sit still anymore, so they got up, did a simple wash-up using mineral water, and then ran behind the dirt mound to relieve themselves.

The guys prepared the cars by folding down the front and rear seats and laying out air mattresses. The girls then got into the cars to rest.

Pan Ning and Meng Qianyu slept in Su Yang's car; Tang Ziyun and Su Qingci slept in Meng Wenzhou's car; Zhong Qing and Gao Yue slept in Liu Bo's car.

Because all three cars were gas-powered, running the AC all night would produce a large amount of carbon monoxide. Even with the windows open for ventilation, it wouldn't be good for their health.

Moreover, running the AC while a gas car is idling makes the engine very noisy and consumes a lot of fuel.

So, before coming, everyone had prepared several portable car heaters. However, using these heaters in the car still required cracking the windows open a bit for ventilation.

Pan Ning rolled down the window and looked at Su Yang. "What time are you guys planning to sleep?"

"Probably in a little while."

"Then before you go to sleep, come help us turn down the heater a bit. It's too cold right now, so I'm letting it blow a bit longer."

Su Yang made an OK gesture. "Alright, go to sleep soon."

The girls went to sleep wearing their clothes and covered in thick blankets.

Su Yang and the other guys sat by the tents, smoking.

"Phew... I can't smoke anymore. I feel a bit out of breath." Ji Bo put out his cigarette.

"Me too. No more smoking." Chu Qiunan also put out his cigarette.

Su Yang, on the other hand, felt absolutely nothing. Smoking here was the same as smoking back in Haicheng for him.

Liu Bo and Meng Wenzhou didn't feel much either.

They turned off the car lights and sat by their respective tents. At this moment, apart from the howling wind, no other sounds could be heard.

At 11 PM, the six guys also crawled into their tents to rest.

By now, the temperature had dropped to around minus seven or eight degrees Celsius.

Inside the tents, everyone except Su Yang crawled into thick sleeping bags, utilizing all kinds of warming equipment.

The cold night wind grew stronger. Although they were at the bottom of a dirt mound and shielded by three cars on the other side, the wind still made the tents flap loudly.

Listening from inside, it felt as though the tents were about to be blown away at any moment.

Whoosh, whoosh—

Lying on his mat, Su Yang opened his phone and took a look. No signal. Trying to scroll through TikTok in a no-man's land at an altitude of over five thousand meters was a bit difficult.

He shook his head, unzipped the tent, and walked toward the cars.

Arriving at the rear door of the Cullinan, he saw that a layer of white frost had already formed on the window glass.

Su Yang gently opened the car door, and a wave of gentle warm air immediately rushed against his face.

He poked his head in to take a look; Pan Ning and Meng Qianyu were already asleep.

Su Yang adjusted the heater to its lowest setting. Fully charged, this device would have no problem running for six or seven hours.

After setting it up, he gently closed the car door.

A biting cold wind blew against his right cheek. Su Yang suddenly sensed something and hurriedly turned his head to look at the top of the dirt mound.

In the pitch-black night, a pair of green eyes was staring right at him.

......