The night passed without incident.
Lu Hao and Taozi woke up early.
Traveling in the Sahara Desert, they chose to travel during the morning and evening hours, avoiding the hottest parts of the day to prevent heatstroke.
They found a camel merchant in the local market and, after some haggling, successfully purchased two sturdy camels from the merchant.
Taozi was astonished to see Lu Hao haggling with the locals in fluent Arabic.
As far as she knew, Lu Hao already knew Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish, and now he was adding Arabic to the list.
"Lu Hao, you're a language genius."
Riding on the camel, Taozi praised Lu Hao. She felt a surge of admiration for him.
Lu Hao smiled, modestly replying, "When you're exploring abroad, knowing more languages opens up more options for adventure."
Then, they bought some food and water.
Their preparations were complete.
Thus, they set off slowly, facing the rising sun.
Lu Hao wore an Arabian-style head scarf he had woven himself, wetting it with water to protect his head from the scorching sun.
Taozi wore a simple headscarf and carried a suitcase with a built-in sunshade, looking like a scholarly student from ancient China traveling to the capital for the imperial examinations.
The daytime high temperature in the Sahara Desert could reach nearly 60 degrees Celsius. Without protection from the sun, it would only take a couple of hours to get heatstroke and pass out.
And passing out in the desert was extremely dangerous, because within a short time, the sun would roast you into jerky, leaving you to slumber forever in the sands and become food for wild animals.
"Taozi, you frequent the Sahara Desert. Are you familiar with the local tribes here?"
On the road, the camels trod on the soft sand, moving across the boundless desert. Lu Hao felt the heat radiating off his body. He squinted his eyes at the scorching sun and chatted casually with Taozi.
"I come to the Sahara Desert twice or three times every year. I'm familiar with the tribes nearby, and after spending a long time with them, I've learned a little bit of their dialect. I can communicate in simple phrases."
Taozi patted the camel's head, a bright smile spreading across her face. Entering the Sahara Desert felt like coming home to her.
"Taozi, you're incredible."
Thinking of Taozi's ease in traversing the desert in the movie, Lu Hao couldn't help but feel a touch of awe for this island girl.
Most people, alone facing such a harsh environment, would flee in terror. Yet Taozi embraced it, returning to this land of death year after year.
"I just know this area. I don't know any further places."
Hearing Lu Hao's praise, Taozi felt a little embarrassed and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
Lu Hao chuckled, "Taozi, you're too modest. To me, you're the living map of the Sahara Desert."
Taozi's cheeks flushed with a rosy hue, her face full of shyness.
Lu Hao couldn't believe this independent and strong island girl was so easily embarrassed. He laughed internally and stopped teasing her.
Grr~
At that moment, the camels they were riding suddenly stopped, emitting a snorting sound. They shifted uneasily, huffing and puffing.
"Hmm! ?"
Lu Hao furrowed his brows and gently tugged on the reins. However, the camels just shook their heads and showed no signs of moving.
"What's happening!?"
Taozi had been in the desert many times, but this was the first time she had encountered camels refusing to move forward. In the past, most of her desert journeys ended with the camels dying of exhaustion.
Even camels, the ultimate desert creatures, couldn't withstand the scorching sun of the Sahara.
"Be careful, Taozi. Don't get off the camel."
Lu Hao reached out to stop Taozi from jumping off the camel. He explained, "Camels have lived in the desert for millions of years. They are known as the 'Ships of the Desert' and are very sensitive to any changes in the wind and environment in the desert."
"Normally, camels won't stop without reason. Unless there's something nearby that makes them uncomfortable, or there's a danger, they wouldn't be willing to move forward."
Like ducks sensing the temperature of the spring water, these "locals" had extremely keen instincts for danger in this unique environment.
After explaining this to Taozi, Lu Hao squeezed his legs against the camel's flanks, signaling it to kneel down. He dismounted, retrieving a walking stick from the saddle and surveyed the surroundings.
The terrain wasn't complex. Besides a few bushes, there were only sand dunes and boulders in the distance.
After searching for a while, Lu Hao's gaze suddenly focused. Holding his walking stick, he slowly approached.
Rustle~
As he got closer, there were some faint sounds coming from the bushes.
This tense situation made Taozi sweat with worry.
Lu Hao seized the opportunity, quickly parting the bushes.
Hiss!!!
A chilling hiss suddenly rang out. Then, a dark shadow burst from the bushes, lunging at him.
In an instant, Lu Hao's hairs stood on end. With lightning speed, he swung his walking stick, hitting the dark shadow with a "bang" and knocking it to the ground.
Hiss~
As the shadow landed, Lu Hao and Taozi immediately recognized what it was.
It was a venomous snake.
It was about 60-70 centimeters long and as thick as a wrist. Its entire body was covered in light yellow scales like sand, all with yellow, horizontal patterns.
The snake's head was large, a blunt, diamond shape. Its eyes were unique, sand-colored, large, and round, resembling those of a crocodile.
Most surprisingly, there were a pair of spike-like horns on top of its head, like the legendary dragon horns, looking extremely imposing.
"Desert Horned Viper!?"
Lu Hao's face changed. He didn't expect to encounter this desert assassin.
In an instant, information about the Desert Horned Viper flooded his mind.
The Desert Horned Viper is the most powerful desert reaper in the entire Sahara Desert. Its scale color is very similar to the sand, making it almost impossible to distinguish at first glance. It's for this reason that almost every day, people or camels are bitten by the Desert Horned Viper.
Its venom is extremely potent, a type of hemolytic toxin. A mere 40 milligrams is enough to easily kill an adult.
Thinking of this, Lu Hao stepped back, creating distance.
This thing was too dangerous to engage in close combat.
"Lu Hao, be careful."
Taozi looked on with anxiety. She had heard countless tales about the terrifying Desert Horned Viper from her years of traversing the desert.
Hiss hiss~
As Taozi's words fell, the Desert Horned Viper coiled into a ball. It circled around, flicking its forked tongue and emitting a spine-chilling sound.
Lu Hao, now a desert expert, knew that the Desert Horned Viper was using its hissing and friction sounds to provoke and agitate its prey.
It was about to strike!
Sure enough.
The next moment, the coiled body of the Desert Horned Viper suddenly leaped into the air, its body acting like a spring as it pounced towards him.
Bang!!
Lu Hao didn't hesitate. He quickly drew his pistol and fired almost without aiming.
Dead center!!
The once-lively Desert Horned Viper's head instantly exploded, its body flying back from the force of the impact and landing limp on the ground, no longer moving.
Lu Hao blew on the smoke from the muzzle of his gun, chuckling lightly, "This thing is still the best!"