Rebirth Stockpiling: The Little Girl Sweeps Through the Apocalypse-Chapter 435

"Where?" Tang Yanchi frowned. "Didn't you say you've searched everywhere already?"

Yun Xiaoxiao looked toward the northwest. "The desert."

"You mean they're hiding in the desert?" Tang Yanchi sounded incredulous. "But the heat there is enough to roast a person alive. Even zombies shouldn’t be able to survive that."

"Theoretically, yes."

A ripple of uncertainty flickered in Yun Xiaoxiao’s eyes.

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At first, they had thought the same as Tang Yanchi, which was why they hadn’t considered searching there.

The desert, located in the northwest of Hua Country, was entirely covered in yellow sand, with sparse vegetation and dry air. Even before the apocalypse, it had been uninhabitable for humans.

And now, with the extreme heat, conditions were even worse.

Currently, outside the desert, daytime temperatures could already reach 50 to 60 degrees Celsius.

The desert, filled with dry sand, was even more unbearable.

Dry sand absorbed heat relentlessly.

Before the previous day’s scorching temperatures could dissipate, the next day’s heat would descend, creating an endless cycle. Being in the desert was like standing inside a blazing furnace.

Zombies weren’t truly human, and their bodies couldn’t feel the scorching heat.

But their exteriors still resembled humans—flesh and blood.

And their bodies were already decaying.

With temperatures consistently hitting 60 to 70 degrees or higher, their decomposition would only accelerate.

Hua Country was vast, with many regions far more suitable for survival.

Even dense forests and mountains offered better conditions than the desert.

Besides, zombies needed to feed.

What living creatures could they possibly find in the desert, aside from sand and mutated venomous insects?

Another critical factor was the blinding glare from the sunlight reflecting off the yellow sand.

At a glance, the air above the ground seemed to shimmer with an eerie haze.

From an airplane, looking down, the terrain was completely obscured.

If they wanted to search properly, they’d have to go on foot.

That would be an enormous undertaking.

Even in normal temperatures, many explorers hesitated to venture into the so-called "Desert of Death."

And they were unfamiliar with the desert, facing absurdly extreme heat.

So, when Yun Xiaoxiao and the others had arrived at the desert’s edge earlier, they had searched briefly before leaving.

Those were the main reasons they had dismissed it.

But now, they had scoured every other part of Hua Country—mountains, oceans, plateaus—yet there was still no trace of Tong Zhan or the high-level mutated zombies.

If they hadn’t fled abroad, the desert was the only remaining possibility.

"Then, are we going into the desert now?" Tang Yanchi asked.

Shen Yan immediately straightened. "Of course. We can’t overlook any chance, no matter how slim."

Yun Xiaoxiao nodded. "We’ll go, but we need to prepare thoroughly."

The desert’s heat was indeed a serious concern.

Even she didn’t want to end up roasted alive.

So, Yun Xiaoxiao and the others stayed at the Northern Base, making preparations.

At the same time, they waited for Ling Jing and the others to arrive from their missions.

Two days later.

The team set out once again, fully equipped.

They traveled in military fighter jets—olive-green, with spacious interiors.

Seats lined both sides, accommodating twenty to thirty people.

Supplies were stored in the middle.

This time, those joining the mission included Yun Xiaoxiao, Lu Chen, Ling Jing, Xiao Feng, Nie Yizhou, Lei Ming, Qu Xiaobei, Zheng Yuner, Han Bing, Liu Xiaohui, Shen Yan, Long Zhe, Tang Yanchi, Bai Hongting, and ten other elite military superpowered soldiers carefully selected from the Northern Base.

Bai Hongting was accompanying them because, years ago, he had pursued an international drug cartel into the desert.

He had spent nearly two months inside before finally capturing the entire group.

So, he had some experience surviving in the desert.

Among his ten subordinates was a local from the border region—Abu, born in a small town near the desert.

His father had often taken him into the desert as a guide for tourists, so he knew the terrain well.

With him leading, their safety inside the desert would be much higher.

The others each had their own specialties.

Their mission this time was to confirm whether Tong Zhan was in the desert—and to assess how many zombies he had gathered, as well as their overall strength.

This wasn’t an immediate battle, so they couldn’t afford to bring too many people and risk alerting the enemy.

After nearly two hours of flight, they finally reached the desert’s edge.

"From here, we can’t use the plane anymore. We’ll have to switch to vehicles," Abu said, pointing downward to signal the descent.

Beyond this point, they would enter the desert.

So, everyone transferred to the modified desert off-road vehicles prepared earlier.

A line of vehicles sped across the empty desert highway.

Waves of heat rolled over them. Even with air conditioning and ice packs inside the cars, the oppressive warmth was still palpable.

After another hour of driving, they arrived at Abu’s hometown—a small town called Tazhong.

The small town was nestled amidst endless stretches of yellow sand, surrounded by a sparse ring of windbreak trees that seemed to encircle it like a fragile barrier.

At first glance, one might mistake it for a mirage.

After all, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but golden dunes.

The sudden appearance of a town in this desolate sea of sand felt jarring, almost unnatural.

As soon as they approached, several zombies lunged toward the vehicles with terrifying speed.

The rotting flesh on their bodies had nearly decayed away, hanging in tattered strips from exposed bones.

Maggots writhed in the putrid meat, while flies crawled lazily over their decaying forms.

Some of the insects even spilled from the zombies’ gaping mouths and nostrils.

The sight was enough to turn anyone’s stomach.

Even after encountering countless grotesque undead, the group couldn’t suppress their visceral reactions at the sight of these charging horrors.

Disgust twisted their expressions.

Xiao Feng, gripping the steering wheel, slammed his foot on the accelerator, sending the car lurching forward. A zombie with half its face rotted away was flung violently into the air, crashing onto the road ahead with a sickening thud.

Yet, the creature twitched and writhed, struggling to rise again.

BANG!

Xiao Feng jerked the wheel and gunned the engine, crushing the zombie beneath the tires.

The sound of splintering bones echoed sharply.

The other zombies met the same fate, pulverized under the wheels of the following vehicles.

In ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‍the brief chaos, Yun Xiaoxiao slipped out of the car, darted through the town in a flash, and returned just as swiftly.

Her voice crackled over the radio: "Move out."

The message was clear—the town held nothing of interest.

Yun Xiaoxiao had an innate sense for detecting living beings in her vicinity.

If the numbers in her mind didn’t match reality, she would know instantly.

The convoy sped onward, racing deeper into the desert ahead.