After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows
Chapter 488 - 479: Arrival at the Ming Sha Eye, Encounter Again

Chapter 488: Chapter 479: Arrival at the Ming Sha Eye, Encounter Again

Dinner consisted of baked bread and a vegetable jerky soup.

The bread was already cooked, reheated after cooling, toasted to a fragrant crispness, but the air was dry and cold, making it even drier to eat.

The vegetables and jerky in the soup were all dehydrated, easy to preserve, just toss them into boiling water and it’s done, a simple and quick meal.

Everyone gathered in a circle around the fire, eating a piece of bread with a sip of soup.

Xu Zhao took a moment to explain, "In the desert, we usually eat very simply. The food we bring is as easy to preserve as possible, with requirements lowered to ensure only the intake of energy and other nutrients."

This was mainly said for Jiang Lingxi.

After all, she was a celebrity. Even when the crew was filming in the desert, there was always a chef and fresh vegetables, fresh meat, preserved meat, and dried fish, a much richer diet compared to now.

Even in the previous "Survival" live broadcast, although they had to fend for themselves, the wilderness was not lacking in wild vegetables and meat; it just required more hands-on ability.

But now in this desert, conditions have sharply worsened, and he was a bit worried Jiang Lingxi might not adapt.

Jiang Lingxi, like the others, broke off a piece of bread, took a sip of soup, swallowed, and nodded, "The taste isn’t bad."

Although it couldn’t compare to before, it was much better than the tasteless hard bread and cold water during the forced marches of her past life.

For her, there was no need to adapt at all.

Xu Zhao exhaled a tiny sigh of relief.

After finishing dinner and arranging the night watch shifts, Xu Zhao crawled into the tent only to find that the third brother, who was sharing the tent, had already set up his sleeping bag, "Thanks."

"No need. Captain, do you think Miss Jiang and that girl named Changning beside her can really handle our pace from today?"

Xu Zhao took off his shoes and crawled into the sleeping bag, recalling Jiang Lingxi’s performance in "Survival" when he heard the third brother’s words.

He accepted this hire because it was Jiang Lingxi, not anyone else from the entertainment industry, even if it were a male celebrity, he wouldn’t have agreed.

"There’s no need to worry about that. Moreover, she hired us not to protect her but to share the burden against any violent individuals."

Even though he had never actually sparred with Jiang Lingxi, based on her performance in "Survival" and having watched her action scenes in the crew, he boldly speculated that Jiang Lingxi’s skills were not inferior to his own.

Plus, with the crossbow he got for Jiang Lingxi, and recalling her archery accuracy in the "Survival" broadcast...

If a fight really broke out, they wouldn’t even get close before they’re finished.

He wasn’t really worried about Jiang Lingxi.

The third brother lightly responded with an "Oh," laid down with his arm as a pillow, and quickly fell asleep.

In the neighboring tent, Jiang Lingxi and Changning shared a space.

The conditions were simple, and water was especially precious in the desert. The two of them barely wiped themselves with towels dipped in a bit of water, changed into sleepwear, and lay down.

Changning had difficulty falling asleep and wanted to have a quiet chat before bedtime, but just as she was about to speak, she heard the sound of breathing becoming long and rhythmic.

Jiang Lingxi fell asleep even faster than her, who was specially trained!

Hurriedly, she closed her eyes and tried to summon sleep.

At the crack of dawn, the sound of a spoon tapping a metal pot sounded outside the tent, and the small camp immediately turned lively.

Jiang Lingxi graciously declined the other team members’ offer to help organize the tent. Together with Changning, they swiftly packed their things and folded the tent; their speed was nearly comparable to Xu Zhao’s well-practiced team members.

During wash-up, she was the same as everyone else, using just a few sips of water to brush her teeth and a wet towel to wipe her face, without any special treatment.

The third brother saw all this and only then fully agreed with his captain’s words.

This Miss Jiang really wasn’t pretentious at all. Having served as a bodyguard for celebrities a few times, he found that compared to them, she didn’t seem like a celebrity at all.

From getting up to breaking camp and leaving, it was less than half an hour. Even Xu Zhao didn’t expect such speed. After getting in the car, he couldn’t help but glance at the plain-faced Jiang Lingxi in the back seat, "Today we set off more than half an hour earlier than I expected; we should travel thirty to fifty more miles than estimated."

Jiang Lingxi’s lips curved into a smile, "Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go."

Traveling was monotonous no matter the time, especially with the endless yellow sand and desert outside the window; the previously fallen snow had almost entirely melted, with the snow water already seeping into the ground.

Come nightfall, the team was fortunate to find a campsite where some snow remained.

It’s no exaggeration to say that everyone’s eyes lit up upon seeing the snow.

Although not yet short on water, and the snow water wasn’t technically drinkable, it could be heated for cleaning oneself and soaking feet.

The remaining snow also wasn’t wasted, melted into empty containers before leaving.

Jiang Lingxi opened the electronic map in her hand.

"If today goes as smoothly as yesterday, we’ll reach Echo Sand Eye by evening."

At these words, the atmosphere inside the vehicle suddenly lifted.

"Hope all goes smoothly!"

Perhaps the words came off too assuredly, as by noon, a car accidentally got caught in a sandpit.

At this distance, no vehicle in the convoy could be spared.

Several drove forward to tow it, while the others weren’t idle, helping to push from behind.

Even Jiang Lingxi didn’t just stand by, joining the pushing effort.

Everyone worked hard for over half an hour, finally rescuing the vehicle, which had sunk half its body into the sandpit, and was continually pulled inside by the shifting sands.

After such an incident, Jiang Lingxi noticeably felt that Xu Zhao’s team members were much warmer towards her. Although they still addressed her formally as Miss Jiang or Miss Jiang, it was clear they weren’t as politely distant as before, which was an unexpected delight.

But with this delay, reaching Echo Sand Eye by evening as planned was no longer possible.

As darkness fell, indeed they were still nearly thirty miles short.

Xu Zhao’s radio crackled with questions from the team in the rear.

"Captain, should we continue forward?"

Xu Zhao looked at Jiang Lingxi through the rearview mirror.

"Continue, stop at Echo Sand Eye."

Hearing the female voice through the radio, everyone paused for a moment before replying in unison, "Received."

Once the sun fully sank below the horizon and the moon rose high, the vehicles’ lights were turned on as they continued towards Echo Sand Eye.

Half an hour later.

Xu Zhao stepped on the brakes.

Without a need for his reminder, those in the car saw the lights coming from not far ahead.

It wasn’t the silvery glow of moonlight; it was clearly electric light, and strong at that.

"Ahead is a small valley, looks like someone already set camp there. It could likely be Chong Yin’s group..."

"Drive over to take a look."

The people camping in the small valley were eating dinner when Yin Chong heard the noise outside and exchanged a glance with Chong Shi across from him, both rising to head out.

Looking up, they saw a row of five cars silently parked above the valley, their headlights slowly dimming.

Those in the camp on watch had already put down their bowls, picking up their weapons and aiming in unison.

Narrowing his eyes, Yin Chong saw a familiar figure emerging from the car parked in the middle.

Even under so many weapon sights, the person remained utterly unbothered, looking over with calm eyes lacking any fear.

His lips curled slightly, "Put down your weapons, it’s someone we know."

At least until Echo Sand Eye opened again, he wasn’t planning on making an enemy of Jiang Lingxi.

After entering the ruins, that would be another matter.