The next day, Chen Wen shared the plan he had set the night before with everyone.

Dennis, having felt the warmth of the camel, raised both hands in agreement.

He talked about his experience the previous night and couldn’t help but show a satisfied smile.

Speaking of the feeling of sleeping between camels, Dennis used a metaphor.

"It’s like lying on a blanket wrapped in dung. It smells bad, but it’s physically comfortable, soft, and warm."

This vivid metaphor made everyone burst into laughter.

In the following days, they followed Chen Wen’s advice. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Everyone had a clear division of labor, collecting camel dung and firewood as much as possible along the way during the day.

This desert is not lacking in camel dung.

After all, the number of dromedaries in this desert can be described as overabundant.

Often, Chen Wen would stand on a dune and see herds of dromedaries wandering the desert in search of water.

By nightfall.

After lighting the firewood, Chen Wen threw the camel dung into the fire.

The burning efficiency of camel dung was indeed high. According to Chen Wen’s observation, a piece of camel dung could match the burning time of twice or even more firewood.

"The burn endurance of this stuff can rival half a piece of coal!"

Watching the camel dung burn for nearly half an hour, Chen Wen couldn’t help but marvel.

With the addition of camel dung, staying warm was no longer a problem for Chen Wen and the others.

The camel dung and firewood collected during the day were more than enough to satisfy their fuel needs at night, with some even left over.

And after Chen Wen attempted to surround their shelter with camels, the warmth problem was completely resolved.

The temperature brought by the camels ensured that Chen Wen and the others wouldn’t feel cold all night.

However, if there’s a downside, it’s that the method is quite smelly, very smelly.

After all, these are camels, and they don’t keep themselves clean like humans do.

With the night cold problem solved, everyone returned to their previous traveling pace during the day.

According to Chen Wen’s estimation, at their current speed, they would reach the first major oasis on this survival route in less than ten days.

There, they could hunt again to gather ample supplies.

...

The following week passed with them on the march.

However, on the morning of the ninth day, Hua Yun, who was in charge of managing the water supply, informed everyone of some bad news.

"Our water supply is about to run out. The remaining water is only enough for us to use this morning, and that’s with conserving it. By the afternoon, we’ll be out of water."

Hearing this news, everyone’s faces turned grim.

In their earlier estimates, they thought that if they conserved their water, it would last until Oasis No. 1.

But as they continued to advance, the speed of water consumption exceeded their expectations.

Three days ago,

they realized they didn’t have enough water.

During these three days, Chen Wen tried to use the whistling kite and the crested hawk-eagle to find water, but the stretch they were in was known to be a drought zone.

This area had no stable oases, only some unstable small ones.

The whistling kite put in considerable effort but only found two severely polluted water sources.

While the whistling kite and the crested hawk-eagle could drink this water, Chen Wen and the others, being human, could not.

Moreover, the water in these sources was not plentiful, and filtering them didn’t help.

As a result, Chen Wen and the others found themselves in their current predicament.

"We need to find water, or else we won’t make it through today."

Chen Wen said, glancing at Fred.

He had been observing everyone’s condition over the past few days.

Apart from himself, everyone else seemed to be at their limit.

High temperature, drought, sun exposure.

These negative effects compounded on everyone else, making it very uncomfortable for them.

The high temperature and sun exposure caused their sweat to evaporate quickly.

Without enough water to alleviate the situation, it wouldn’t be long before the others couldn’t hold out.

Especially Fred.

He had low resistance to hot weather, and combined with his tall and muscular build, he had been consuming several times more fresh water than Chen Wen.

Even so, he was struggling.

Yesterday, Fred even showed signs of heatstroke.

If they run out of water for a day, there’s a nine in ten chance Fred won’t hold out.

"We must find water today."

Chen Wen reiterated to emphasize the importance.

He then said, "Fred, I remember that in the supplies I stole amidst the chaos earlier, there were white T-shirts. Look for them, and if you find them, wrap one around your head to keep your brain as cool as possible."

"Additionally, if you can bear it, you can use urine to dampen the T-shirt to further lower your head temperature. As long as the head temperature remains relatively low, you’ll generally be fine."

Hearing Chen Wen’s words, Fred nodded weakly.

He rummaged through their things, found a T-shirt, and headed to a hidden spot.

At this point, hygiene was not the priority; survival was!

"The rest of you, too. If you can’t bear it, follow this method. Don’t feel embarrassed or think you can endure it; once your head’s temperature gets too high and you get heatstroke, I won’t be able to save you."

Having said that, Chen Wen then approached the crested hawk-eagle and the whistling kite.

"I’ll have to trouble you again today."

Chen Wen spoke with an apologetic expression.

He hadn’t anticipated the harshness of the weather when he brought the crested hawk-eagle along on this trip.

In the past few days, even the crested hawk-eagle had wilted a bit from the sun.

The whistling kite was doing alright, having adapted to the conditions, but even it wouldn’t fare well without water.

"I’ll do my best to find water; without water replenishment, I’ll die here too."

The whistling kite said.

With a whistle from Chen Wen, the crested hawk-eagle and the whistling kite took to the skies, searching for water sources.

While the two animals searched, Chen Wen wasn’t idle.

He and the others climbed dunes to get a high vantage point, scouting the surroundings for signs of oases.

As time ticked away, everyone became increasingly anxious.

After using Chen Wen’s method, Fred managed to keep his head relatively clear.

He sighed, somewhat dejected, saying, "I’ve been drinking too much water these days, it’s just that..."

"We’re all part of the same team; there’s no need to feel like an outsider."

Chen Wen waved a hand, interrupting Fred’s negativity: "Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses; when we’re on the plateau, we’ll need you to carry supplies and fight against other teams."

After saying this, Chen Wen looked in the northwest direction, where they were headed.

With his keen vision, Chen Wen noticed a group of dromedaries there.

He had a rather bold idea in mind.

After deliberating for a moment, he said, "I see a group of dromedaries headed our way. If we really can’t find water, we can try hunting them. We can quench our thirst by cooking their blood, and camels’ stomachs usually contain water mixed with food, which we can drink after filtering or distilling."

"So, I think, if it comes down to it, we should hunt a lot of dromedaries to acquire water resources. After all, dromedaries are overabundant in this desert, and the local government encourages us to hunt them."

Upon hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit up.

They hadn’t thought of this method.

For the sake of survival, a murderous resolve began to gleam in their eyes.

Since the whistling kite and the crested hawk-eagle hadn’t returned yet, and they had nothing else to do, they decided to act!

After a brief discussion, everyone agreed to Chen Wen’s plan.

They picked up their weapons and began approaching the group of dromedaries.