Unbearably Hungry and Thirsty

By afternoon, the sunlight was no longer as scorching as it had been at noon, but it was still unbearable.

A boy slowly climbed toward the crest of a low Sand Dune.

He was climbing from the dune's sheltered side. Clearly, he intended to cross it.

He held a sword in his hand. It had a wooden hilt and a strange blade, looking crudely made. The boy used the longsword as a cane to help himself forward.

The boy was slender, not at all robust.

He wore a linen undergarment, long trousers, and long sleeves, but his feet were bare.

Another layer of clothing covered his head, wrapping tightly over his nose and mouth, while leaving his eyes and golden hair at his forehead exposed.

It was Zhen Jin.

The dune's crest was only a few steps away. Sunlight shone down, making Zhen Jin narrow his eyes.

He had deliberately left his eyes uncovered because he knew he had to maintain a clear field of vision. Along the way, he also kept his hearing, smell, and touch alert for predators that might attack at any time.

The sunlight was dazzling. Even through his narrowed eyes, spots of light danced before Zhen Jin's vision.

Zhen Jin did not cross over directly. Instead, he stopped just short of the crest and waited until his eyes had truly adjusted before continuing.

Finding no danger, Zhen Jin stood atop the Sand Dune and looked into the distance.

The desert ahead was flat and gentle, unlike the rolling dunes behind him.

The boy could not help sighing.

That meant he would have to struggle onward beneath the sun's torment.

The boy's eyes were beautiful too, azure like the sky after rain. The confusion in them flashed away, replaced at once by determination.

"Keep moving."

Zhen Jin spoke to himself. Then his blue eyes suddenly lit up.

"Food!"

Having trained in battle qi, his physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people. He spotted a spider not far away, rolling down the Sand Dune with the wind.

Zhen Jin hurried down after it and caught the spider without much effort.

The spider was about the size of two adult thumbs put together. Its body was yellowish-brown, almost the same color as the sand, but Zhen Jin's sharp eyes had still noticed it.

The spider had eight legs, all curled up, turning its body into a ball. Then, borne by the wind, it could calmly roll down the Sand Dune.

If it had to move on its own legs, it would have taken far more effort.

In this barren desert, every living thing had its own unique survival technique. Conserving strength was undoubtedly one of the most important.

Zhen Jin pinched off the spider's head, then shook his hand and flung away all the sand clinging to its body.

Afterward, he put the spider directly into his mouth and chewed it continuously. Once it had been ground into tiny pieces, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed it all.

He had removed the little spider's head to get rid of its venom. Of course, such a tiny creature's life force was worlds apart from Bronze-level, and even if it was venomous, it could not poison Zhen Jin, who was at least Silver-level. But the boy had no desire to place any additional burden on his body.

The spider tasted awful. It had not been roasted, much less seasoned, and a strange flavor filled Zhen Jin's mouth, throat, and nasal passages.

Its jointed limbs were rather crisp, like dried, withered twigs.

Zhen Jin savored the aftertaste. That crisp texture was somewhat similar to other small insects.

This little spider was not the first one he had eaten as food.

Along the way, he had encountered several others here and there.

Spiders, scorpions, and creatures whose names he did not know—spiders had their heads removed, scorpions their tails, and all of them went into Zhen Jin's stomach.

Every time he ate, he felt like retching.

But he would never underestimate these tiny lives.

He knew very well that they were vital sources of water and food.

After walking through the desert for half a day, Zhen Jin had discovered that he had not come across a single edible plant, while small creatures were easier to find.

These little creatures had very little meat. Their greatest value was the moisture they could provide Zhen Jin.

Zhen Jin cherished this food greatly.

Though these morsels were tiny as droplets, if he accumulated them bit by bit, they might become what he relied upon to eventually make it out of the desert.

"If I don't treasure this food, perhaps one day I'll fall in the desert when I'm only a step away from escaping."

I really hope I can come across a Cactus. Zhen Jin sighed inwardly.

During this trek, he had encountered a few scattered plants.

But unfortunately, there had been no Cactus.

Those plants were all tiny and low to the ground. Zhen Jin did not know what species they were, nor whether they were edible.

He had tried.

After cautiously avoiding the needle-like sharp branches and leaves, he discovered that the plants' roots were driven deep beneath the desert.

Such roots allowed the plants to draw a little water from deep underground, but they also made them difficult for Zhen Jin to dig up.

After trying it, Zhen Jin decisively and wisely chose to give up.

Even if he dug it out, the roots of this plant might not necessarily be edible. Zhen Jin did not know what species it was.

Many times, he had to weigh what he would expend against what he might gain, patiently compare the two, then think calmly and decide what to take and what to abandon.

Clearly, rashly digging up a plant he knew nothing about carried far too great a risk!

In the end, Zhen Jin chose to give up.

This choice was actually very difficult.

Each time he left behind a desert plant, Zhen Jin would fall into doubt—Did I make the wrong choice? Perhaps this was an opportunity the gods deliberately arranged to help me escape my predicament. Yet I chose to give it up.

Zhen Jin felt as though he were a student at the academy, taking an exam that concerned his life and death. He kept answering questions, yet no one gave him the correct answer to any of them.

Time gradually passed, and the sun slowly sank westward.

By evening, the sunlight was like a crude man who had vented his rage through a savage brawl. At this moment, his curses and blows had grown weak and listless, creating the illusion of gentleness.

The temperature in the air also became tolerable, though it remained incomparably dry. Zhen Jin consciously began to quicken his pace.

He needed to cover as much ground as possible at this time, to make up for his earlier losses.

As the sun gradually sank below the horizon, the lingering glow of sunset and the rosy clouds at the edge of the sky were breathtakingly beautiful.

But Zhen Jin had no mind to appreciate such scenery.

To him, it felt more like an ultimatum or warning from the sun—Kid, I'll let you go for now. Tomorrow, I'll come back and keep tormenting you!

At this time, the air temperature began to plummet, falling with astonishing speed.

Zhen Jin began to feel how thin his clothes were. A powerful chill swept over him, making him shudder despite himself.

Boy's heart could not help sinking slightly.

The temperature difference in this desert was enormous, even beyond his previous estimates.

This, too, was a trial for him.

"Although I can still endure it now, once my physical condition declines later on, this shift in temperature will likely become death's blackmail around my neck."

That was a possible threat for the future. What Boy most wanted to solve now was his hunger and thirst.

The feeling of hunger and thirst was even worse than when he had just awakened.

How could the tiny creatures he found along the way possibly fill Zhen Jin's stomach? In truth, rather than food, they were more like psychological comfort.

Fortunately, Zhen Jin had not encountered an attack from a powerful predator during his journey in the daytime. But that was also unfortunate, because it meant he had no chance to obtain a large amount of food.

At this moment, a special "scarf" was still wrapped around his neck—the corpse of the Desert Viper he had killed earlier.

Boy used his fingers to "affectionately" stroke the snake's scales.

An icy sensation came from his fingertips, but by the time it reached his heart, that coldness had turned into warmth.

This was the only food Zhen Jin had left, and he had deliberately saved it.

On the one hand, as long as it remained with him, Zhen Jin still had hope in his heart.

On the other hand, Zhen Jin was also wary of the risks involved. Rashly consuming a large quantity of food would also use up the water in his body.

As for the fact that the viper was originally a venomous snake, that was secondary.

A viper's anatomy determined that its venom glands were located in its head. Once the snake's head was pinched off, it was basically no longer venomous.

Given Zhen Jin's physique, even if he were poisoned, he would not fear the venom of an ordinary wild beast.

"But it would still be best to start a fire and roast it before eating. After all, this island is strange and dangerous; it cannot be viewed through ordinary eyes. Perhaps a snake like this is poisonous throughout its entire body? If so, my current situation would be no different from placing Death's scythe against my own throat."

When the sunlight vanished completely from the sky, night fell.

"This day has passed." Zhen Jin gazed at the vast, deep sky, and another wave of confusion rose within him, followed by fear.

His current situation was dangerous and difficult.

During the day, the sunlight he loathed and hated had actually given him good visibility. But now, in the darkness, more predators would be on the move.

Zhen Jin took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself again.

Then he delightedly discovered that he had truly succeeded!

With the tempering of that first experience, he seemed to have undergone a qualitative leap in stabilizing his state of mind.

He did not even need to pray.

Now, he could remain calm through his own strength alone.

Of course, he also knew full well what prayer would bring. He no longer held much expectation that the Saint Brilliance Great Emperor would answer him.

In the dead of night, the temperature was very low, and puffs of white breath began to emerge from Zhen Jin's mouth and nose.

The chill cut to the bone.

His hunger intensified, tormenting Boy endlessly.

His stomach had long since begun protesting, growling loudly.

But compared to hunger, his thirst was even stronger.

Zhen Jin felt as though his throat were smoking. If there had been a lake, he would have gladly submerged himself completely, swimming and drinking his fill.

He had replenished far too little water.

Zhen Jin had originally pinned his hopes on some desert plants, but that hope had been shattered.

He had not even seen the shadow of a cactus.

There was no moon tonight; the sky was filled with stars.

Zhen Jin tilted his head back to gaze at the starry sky, feeling that the starlight shone with ruthlessness and indifference, as if it were watching him slowly walk toward a dead end.

He tried hard to make out the constellations, hoping to use the stars to confirm his direction, but he failed.

He had never dabbled in this field and was utterly a layman.

Thanks to the right strategy during the day, he still had quite a bit of stamina left.

The boy continued trudging alone through the desert beneath the starry night.

Before he knew it, sand dunes had begun to appear around Zhen Jin again.

"What's that?" Through his blurred vision, Zhen Jin spotted the silhouette of a beast crouched along the waist of a sand dune.