As Vladimir said, as long as one's thoughts did not slip, there were always more solutions than difficulties.
Difficulties and morale were intertwined. The greater the difficulty, the lower the morale. On the contrary, every time a problem was overcome, morale would be greatly boosted.
After the drone's method of scouting the sand dunes was successful, everyone was relieved. Now they did not have to climb the sand ridge with their hands and feet. They were in a good mood.
Even though the sun was still blazing and the heat waves were rolling, everyone's psychological burden was reduced a lot.
In this way, every time they encountered a sand dune, everyone parked in front of it. Those who wanted to go to the toilet could go to the toilet, and those who did not could get out of the car to stretch their bodies. They waited for Zhang Zian to operate the drone to find a suitable place to climb over, and then everyone drove to follow the drone. Although it took more time than taking the risk of driving directly into the sand dunes, the safety and comfort were greatly improved.
At 10 am, when the team drove to a relatively flat sand field, Peter Lee gave the order to rest in place. They would rest there until 3 pm before continuing.
How were they going to spend the next five hours?
It was not practical to set up a tent. Under the direct sun, the tent was as hot as a furnace. It was the same in the car. When the car was moving, they could occasionally turn on the air conditioner. When the air conditioner was not turned on, there was still hot air blowing into the car. However, they definitely could not turn on the air conditioner when they were parked.
Fortunately, they had considered the problem of stopping to rest during the day before they set off. They had prepared some telescopic H-type aluminum alloy brackets and a few long rolls of white cloth, which came in handy at this time.
A pair of aluminum alloy brackets were set up a few meters apart. The bottom was inserted into the sand and fixed, and the top was hung with white cloth to form a simple canopy.
Although the canopy was very simple, the effect was immediate. In the desert, having shade and not having shade were two completely different concepts. The difference between inside and outside of the shade could be more than 10 degrees. Just think of the Arabs in white robes.
Several such canopies were quickly set up. Everyone parked their cars under the canopies, sat in the cars with the doors open for ventilation, or moved out folding chairs to sit next to the car.
With the white cloth canopy above their heads to block the direct sunlight, they did not need to worry about their skin getting sunburned. They could also take off their extra clothes.
The men were shirtless or only wearing singlets. The two women also took off their sunscreen clothes and only wore very cool sports underwear. Even so, no one paid special attention to them. It was said that one should be satisfied when they were full, but it was not good to be too warm.
The weather was too hot, and no one had much appetite. They reluctantly ate some food and then found their own things to do.
Some people picked up their Kindle to read novels, some took out their tablets to watch videos, some gathered together to play poker, and some simply closed their eyes to rest. However, it was too hot, and everyone was like a wilted plant. It was difficult for them to completely calm down.
There was no wind, not even a trace of wind. The air was absolutely still. If you picked up a handful of sand and let go, the sand would fall straight down. Everyone was cursing this damned weather in their hearts, wishing that there was a sharp arrow that could shoot down the sun.
Zhang Zian had brought a small fan with a USB port. He connected it to the power bank and could barely blow a bunch of hot air.
On the inflatable cushion, Fina occupied the position closest to the small electric fan. Famous was lying in the middle with its tongue out. Zhang Zian could only sit at the furthest end. When the wind reached him, there was not much left.
Of course, there was also Richard. It stood on the side of his shoulder close to the fan, spreading its wings to dissipate heat like a statue.
The sun was like a painting in the sky. Everyone hoped that it would quickly move to the west, but it did not move at all.
Resting in the desert, where the temperature was close to 60 degrees Celsius, was not resting. It was just letting the vehicles rest. For people, it was another form of torture.
Time passed slowly, and the sun finally moved.
At three o 'clock in the afternoon, the sun could already shine on the vehicles and people under the canopy. Peter Lee gave the order to continue.
Everyone put on their sweaty clothes and packed up the white cloth and aluminum alloy brackets like walking corpses. Almost no one spoke. They just passively obeyed the order.
Entering the Sahara Desert during the winter was already very difficult, not to mention that it was the hottest summer. After a day under the sun, even refined steel would melt into a pool of molten iron.
Next, they drove, encountered sand dunes, stopped, and took a detour. They were like conscientious worker ants, or robots without the ability to think for themselves.
Most people allowed their minds to be in a state of rigidity, as if this was the only way to ignore the pain in their bodies.
The biggest difficulty was not crossing the sand dunes, but the sun hanging high above their heads during the day. But there was no way to solve this problem, so everyone's thinking slipped … No, it should be said that it collapsed like a mudslide.
When the order to stop and set up camp came through the walkie-talkie, everyone suddenly came back to their senses. They found that the sun had already sunk near the horizon, and another night was coming.
With the experience from the previous night, practice makes perfect. This time, the speed of setting up camp was faster. Before the sun had completely set, the tents had already been set up.
The temperature dropped to a suitable level, and the relieved people spread out on the inflatable mats. They wanted to sleep just like that. When they woke up, they would already be out of the desert, or maybe they had never been in the desert.
However, even resting was an extravagant hope.
Peter Lee began to urge everyone to report the consumption of drinking water, food, and diesel for each car. The exhausted people were driven to get busy again.
Zhang Zian was also very tired, but he was still young and energetic. When he finished setting up the tent for four people, he counted the consumption of supplies in his car. Once again, he was the last in the team to report.
Unsurprisingly, from the gloomy faces of Wei Kang and Peter, one could guess that the data was not optimistic.
Because they were driving in the desert today, they had to take detours when crossing sand ridges. The average fuel consumption per 100 kilometers was more than 40 liters, and the data of some vehicles even reached an astonishing 50 liters!
Yes, it was the car of the fat Xiao Tianyu. Not only did he consume a lot of fuel, but he also consumed the highest amount of drinking water. Obviously, he did not control the air conditioning at all, and the engine overloaded for a long time was likely to suddenly break down.
"We can't go on like this," Peter Lee said decisively. Peter Lee said decisively, "Let Salem ride in the same car with him and let Salem drive. If the situation doesn't improve, let him ride in the same car as me. I don't believe I can't control him!"
Wei Kang's lips moved, but in the end, he did not say anything. He just sighed.
His own student and team member was dragging them down, and as a teacher, he felt very uncomfortable.
Zhang Zian reported his own data and then left. When he passed by a car, he almost collided with a white body — it was the shirtless Xiao Tianyu.
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