A massive sandstorm whipped up again, sweeping back and forth across the desert as if it would never stop. It gradually died down half an hour later, and by then, the dead players might already have been half buried.
Under the murky gray sky, several figures slowly stood up. Some were too far away to make out who they were.
"Hey! You still alive?" Juan Er called out to either side from the middle of the group.
"Alive and well!" Darkness Under the Lamp spat out a mouthful of sand and headed toward Juan Er, looking around as he walked. "Where's Old Xu?"
"Up ahead." Xiao Hui, who was farther forward, pointed. Then he asked, "Are there any players from the Sand Sea Safe Zone left?"
"Probably not." Big Back Head climbed out of the sand and ran a hand through his hair. "A lot of them died, and a few got away. I doubt they'll be back anytime soon."
They took a head count and realized that the injured Zeng Zhao and the pink-haired guy were missing.
"Did they die or get away?" The group gathered and searched the nearby bodies, but they couldn't find either of them.
"Don't know about Pinky, but Zeng Zhao's probably dead," Brother Wu said. "I saw a Sand Sea player carrying his item."
Just then, Xu Huo returned from up ahead. "One of them got away."
Darkness Under the Lamp slapped his thigh. "I knew he was up to no good. He probably ran ahead of us to look for the hibernation pod."
"He's alone, and he doesn't know the exact location. He can't search the whole desert by himself, can he?" Juan Er said dismissively.
"I'm worried he'll tell the people in District 010," Xiao Hui said. "The people from the Sand