Chapter 168 Traveling by Oneself Encounters Many Hardships_2
Lu Yuan froze, almost falling off the tricycle.
He cried out miserably, "Don't you know that trees can be choked to death by urine and feces?"
…
In his tree form, Lu Yuan indeed didn't need much to eat, relying on photosynthesis to grow.
But if he were to materialize again, he would still need water... and this damned requirement was quite substantial.
Even though the Storage Space contained nearly 15 tons of water, he still felt uncertain, consuming 30 liters a day, which would be exhausted in just 500 days.
It should be noted that this was still a wasteland with a few weeds, not a true desert.
If they reached a desert, the ordeal would be even more agonizing.
"What if, Sky City is located right in the center of a desert?"
"What if, there are no water sources around? I must be prepared for this."
After some discussion, the group decided to implement a "hide by day, travel by night" strategy, which meant resting in tents during the day and traveling at night.
Although the travel speed would be slightly slower, the consumption of water resources would be significantly reduced since they wouldn't need to drink as often.
Moreover, the "Ice Qilin Core Crystal," a previously useless oddity (picked up from a Monster's cave), suddenly came in handy.
On one hand, the "Ice Qilin Core Crystal" could be used as an air conditioner, bringing a touch of icy relief to the unbearable heat.
On the other hand, when moisture met cold, it would condense into water droplets.
Utilizing a urine pit wasn't out of the question, since the daily condensation was enough for Old Wolf to have a potful!
As a result, Old Wolf was surprised to find that the water he drank lately had a faint smell of urine.
Awoo?
Well, it was actually dew, and the taste was quite pure.
Its poor intelligence couldn't distinguish the slight odor, which wasn't much of an issue.
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Thus, the group continued riding for two entire months, reaching the end of the wasteland.
Considering a daily distance of one hundred kilometers, they covered about six thousand kilometers.
In theory, they had surpassed the location given by the Meida Civilization, but in reality, they found absolutely nothing!
"Meida Civilization has misled me!" Lu Yuan felt his heart quivering.
What lay at the end of the wasteland?
Neither a forest nor an ocean.
It was an unimaginably vast basin.
And within the basin was an even drier desert where not even weeds could survive!
The place was eerily silent; they seemed to have reached the edge of the world.
Under the blazing sun, the endless golden sand dunes resembled the vast ocean, both rugged and supple, with countless sand particles floating up from the ground in the breeze, forming a turbulent sandstorm.
Even before entering the desert, everyone's breathing became labored, each heartbeat felt like knocking on the edge of survival...
"Damn, what kind of hell is this... Where's the promised Sky City?" Lu Yuan placed his hand on his forehead, looked into the distance, and even took out the "Far-sighted Cornea," continually searching.
Nothing!
Nothing at all!
"It's been a long time since we've seen any animals..." The Undying Giant Turtle murmured, "We aren't going to actually die in this godforsaken place, are we?"
Morale had plummeted.
A faint bitterness lingered in his heart; Lu Yuan felt like crying but could only pretend to be strong, acting as if nothing had happened.
The group decided to rest for a day at the edge of the basin to regroup.
At that time, the temperature had risen to 45 degrees Celsius; ordinary people out in the sun were prone to heatstroke.
Old Wolf's tongue hung out continuously, lucky to have a tricycle for shelter from the elements, or it would likely have died from the heat.
Only Old Cat had no major issues; the superiority of robots was fully demonstrated here.
Lu Yuan suddenly bit his tongue hard and shouted, "Today, having reached the edge of the desert, everyone will have an extra 10 liters of water, so drink to your heart's content!"
Encouraged by the water, the turtle and Old Wolf howled.
They were always easy to satisfy.
However, Lu Yuan, the zoo director, was feeling a bit frustrated and saddened.
He was actually quite at a loss.
He pulled out a document from the Storage Space.
It was the coordinates of Sky City verified by Meida Civilization experts, complete with photos of Sky City.
[This Sky City had undergone a massive disaster, emitting dense black smoke, seemingly due to unattended city equipment. No city residents or maintenance personnel were observed.]
[It was slowly descending, and according to its trajectory, it would completely fall to the ground after 16,000 kilometers.]
[If only we could explore this city, we would gain massive resources!]
But these coordinates were merely an estimation.
If Sky City resumed normal operation in the meantime, or managed to hold on a little longer, then the coordinates would be inaccurate.
Beauty experts stated, "No guarantees, not responsible."
Lu Yuan cried out in despair in his heart, "Why did I come this far?!"
"If I hadn't left, what changes would have occurred in the relics of Meida Civilization by now? Did Mother Bear give birth to baby bears? Did the wolf pack cuckold Old Wolf?"
"What kind of cooperation has occurred between Rize Civilization and human civilization?"
Running off alone to face hardships was already a huge psychological burden.
The bitterness in his heart was indescribable.
So, he crawled into his tent and used the freshly allocated 10 liters of water, along with the 10 liters he had saved, totaling 20 liters, to take a cold shower.
After not showering for two months, the dirt on his body was like diatom mud, clumping together easily.
After the shower, he felt refreshed and invigorated.
He then took out a textbook and flipped to the last few pages with images of beautiful women, indulging himself...
"That feels so good... feels alive again."
Wise Mode·Lu Yuan's eyes became sharp, regaining his fighting spirit once more.
If he couldn't find Sky City, he wouldn't be able to return home and would have to return to the territory of Rize Civilization, living by "scraping by."
This was something he absolutely refused to accept!
"I must find it!!"
He casually gave the bathwater to the Tree of Life to drink.
The roots of the Tree of Life reached into the bathtub, not disdaining, and in the blink of an eye had sucked the basin dry... its green leaves emitted a glow.
"The Tree of Life drank my water."
"I, Old Lu, naturally need 10 liters of water, we are two different entities," Lu Yuan took a petrol can and stealthily filled his water bladder.
Old Cat crawled into the tent, glanced at him with round eyes, "Go ahead and shamelessly sneak some water here."
"But have you thought it through? Not turning back, continuing to stay here?"
Lu Yuan, red-faced and neck swelling, said, "I've come all this way, of course I must keep looking."
Old Cat asked, "But where to look? North, south, east, or west, pick a direction."
Lu Yuan fell silent for a moment, his soul entered the Tree of Life.
It allowed a vine to extend towards the sky, continuously spreading until it reached a height of a hundred meters, finally reaching its limit.
He used the "Explorer's Eye" from high up to look down.
Obviously, there were no relics of any civilization around.
He sighed softly, his soul returned to his human body, and he mindedly put on his robe and hat.
The saying "Different waters and soils bring up different people" explains why Middle Eastern people have garments with wide sleeves and robes reaching to their feet, as such attire is most suited for the desert climate.
He drew a diagram in the sand with his finger, "Let us boldly assume that Sky City held on a little longer. A massive object like this, having tremendous inertia, is very difficult to alter its direction significantly; it just keeps sliding forward."
"Hmm, go on, I'm listening," Old Cat scratched his head with his hind leg.
"So, I've decided, to follow the original direction and keep walking!!"
"How many kilometers?"
"Walk until... we completely run out of water!" Lu Yuan said through gritted teeth.