I looked at Gao Yanan and asked, "How are we going this time?" Which route to take? ”

"We first went to Egypt, from Egypt westward to Morocco, then from Morocco to Mauritania, and then eastward from Mauritania to Ethiopia. What do you think? So we're pretty much all over the Sahara. ”

I frowned and said, "What? Are we going to cross the Sahara twice? Are you kidding? ”

Gao Yanan shook his head and said, "No kidding. The Sahara is so big, and if we go this way, we can actually explore a tenth, maybe only a hundredth. The route we took did not go deep into the desert. If you don't think so, we have a second route. ”

"Oh? How does the second route go? I hurriedly asked.

Gao Yanan said with a smile: "The second route is to go to Egypt first, play for two days, and then go from the Nile River in Egypt to Sudan, and then cross the Sahara Desert to Morocco. This route is traversed from southeast to northwest, and it leads into the depths of the desert. Walking on the Enajel plateau, you can go and see the petroglyphs. ”

I nodded and said, "Let's take the second route, so that we only need to cross the Sahara Desert once, although we go into the depths, but if we want to find the secret, we really have to go into the depths." ”

Gao Yanan looked at everyone and asked, "What do you think?" ”

Everyone thought about it, discussed it for a while, and reached an agreement. Gao Gao Ping said: "We have discussed, let's do what Professor Shui suggests." If I come out of the Sahara Desert, I don't want to enter it again, so it's better to cross it once as the boss said. ”

Gao Yanan said with a smile: "The Sahara Desert is more than 5,600 kilometers long from east to west, and more than 2,000 kilometers wide from north to south. That's impossible. Even if it is diagonally inserted from the Nile Valley, it will be seven or eight thousand kilometers away. Our time, the state requirements are within a month. We spent sixteen days in the Taklamakan Desert, haha, the Sahara Desert is not a month, even two months can not be completed. So, our task is very difficult. ”

We asked, curiously, "Why does the state set a time?" Is there any secret? ”

Gao Yanan shook his head and said, "This, I don't know. We'll have to wait until we get back. ”

The plane was parked at the Cairo airport, where the embassy people were already waiting for us. When we came to the embassy, we learned that the embassy had already received instructions from the state and arranged everything for us. Three desert-specific off-road vehicles, prepared with water and food. We put our gear on the roof of the car, bundled it sturdy, and rested for the night in a room arranged by the embassy.

Early the next morning, the embassy had already prepared breakfast. Listen to the chef, this is specially prepared for us. The people at the embassy ate about an hour later than we did. Because we had to leave early, we were also given food to cook earlier.

Cairo is right on the banks of the Nile, so we don't need a guide, but we did add an interpreter in between. Just a translator at the embassy, very familiar with Egyptian and Spanish, and also has some research on some indigenous languages in the Sahara Desert. Although Leng Feng can also speak some foreign languages, only English and Yue are the most familiar, French and Korean are also fluent, and for African languages such as Egyptian, our level is the same.

The translator is Chinese, called Li Zhiming. Thin and tall, wearing a pair of eyes, high nose and deep eyes, he doesn't look like a Chinese person. After asking, I found out that he was of mixed Chinese and German descent. Not only am I fluent in African languages, but I am especially good at speaking German.

The Nile is flooded from April to October, and we are not here at the right time, and it is only July, which is the time when the river is at its highest. There is simply no way to walk along the Nile. Fortunately, Li Zhiming is familiar with Egypt and took us along the way smoothly. It's just that the itinerary arranged by the state is more urgent, so we don't have time to travel to the Egyptian pyramids, which is very regrettable and helpless.

Passports were still checked when entering Sudan and visas were issued before they were released. We have been marching in a hurry along the way, and we have not been able to properly appreciate the magnificent scenery of the Nile River in Africa. But even so, elephants, lions, zebras, rhinos and the like are often seen. The crowd shouted and screamed.

Dinner was very rich, we hunted two pheasants and an antelope, washed and peeled them on the riverside, and made a barbecue on the fire. It's just that there are crocodiles at the water's edge from time to time, so we can't enjoy the delicious food with peace of mind. After eating and drinking, we doused the campfire with water and went back to sleep.

Through Li Zhiming, we really. The most photographable things in the desert are lions and tigers from time to time, and they are not crocodiles, anacondas, but desert scorpions. This poisonous scorpion is not large, and it is the same color as the sand in the desert, which is earthy yellow. They hide in the sand, and if you don't touch them, they won't move. It's very dangerous in the desert and it's not easy to spot. By the time you find out, you can't hide from it. And their poisonous surname is so terrifying that not a single adult elephant will be poisoned by them. However, the tail spines of ordinary poisonous scorpions cannot pierce the hard skin of elephants.

Listening to Li Zhiming's vivid description of the dangers of the Sahara Desert, we couldn't help but chill. Much scarier than the Taklamakan Desert in China. The scorpions in the Taklamakan Desert are much larger and easily recognizable. People who live on the edge of the Hengduo desert often go to the desert to catch scorpions, and it is said that wild dried scorpions cost more than 300 yuan a catty. They often go into the desert to catch scorpions and come back, scald them to death with boiling water and dry them, and those who go into the desert every day to catch scorpions are said to earn nearly 100,000 yuan a year.

"Is there a scorpion catcher here?" We asked. Li Zhiming shook his head and said, "Basically, no." The scorpion here is too poisonous to make people feel cold. Actually, if you talk about medicine, the scorpion here is the best. ”

I smiled and said, "When the time comes, we'll catch a little bit, and it's delicious to fry and eat." ”

Li Zhiming said with a smile: "Although it is delicious, it is better to scald them to death before frying them and cut off their tail spines, otherwise we may not be able to stand their toxins." Moreover, those tail spines can be sold, or they are purchased at a high price. If you bring it to China, it may sell for a higher price. After all, there are many more Chinese medicines used in them than in foreign countries, and the pharmaceutical companies that make Chinese patent medicines on the market also like such drugs very much, which can increase their efficacy several times. ”

Lu Liang smiled: "Really? I don't dare to eat it. Chinese traditional Chinese medicine pays attention to the combination of monarchs and ministers, and there are main and auxiliary points, if the auxiliary medicine is replaced by a scorpion with a super high poisonous surname, don't you want human life. ”

Li Zhiming smiled wryly: "Won't you reduce the amount?" ”

The next day, everyone's eyes were bloodshot, and there were too many places for animals to hunt at night. From time to time screams hit our eardrums, and beasts crawled into our cars, running up and down, and everyone slept there. I didn't dare to fall asleep. Although Li Zhiming said that these glasses are tempered glass, which can resist small-caliber pistol bullets, we are still not at ease.

Gao Yanan said: "From today onwards, however, we have entered the Sahara, and the water is ready, right? If you don't have it, go to the river and fill it, and after boiling it, you can also make peace, which is much stronger than nothing. We promised, filling up a couple of drained jugs. Although there were a few boxes of bottled water on the morning car, no one touched them.

The car turned and began to head west, and soon saw the desert. These countries are also true, and it is much better to dig a few rivers leading to the desert in their spare time than to flow into the Mediterranean, and there are more flooding walls than this. Two excavators work for a year, and at least thousands of acres of wetlands can be opened. Although it is not far away, large tracts of arable land can be developed in both Sudan and Egypt. Although the methods of desertification control are not very effective, the work of desertification control is much easier after irrigation. After planting trees and grasses, it is being developed slowly, which is much better than the current excessive grazing and mining. But for so many years, no one has done it. It's really strange that I don't know until I succeed in doing it. But people believe that they can't succeed, so they don't bother to do it. How do you know if you can't succeed if you haven't done it?

This desert is yellow, endless, and the continuous sand dunes are magnificent, and from time to time you can see caravans shuttling and trekking in it. I don't know if it's a local businessman, a tourist, a scientific expedition, an expedition. But it doesn't look like an expedition or an expedition. The current scientific expedition team, the one who came out of the expedition team did not come out in a car, but with camels, basically not. It's not just slow, it's not too much.

Think we came out this time, that car was not water, oil and all kinds of equipment. Even a full box of inflatable sealant to deal with a punctured tire has been prepared. I think there are forty of them. There are also spare tires, one for each car, how can these things be less. The biggest problems and dangers in the desert come from car breakdowns. If there is no problem with the car, and there are no bandits and robbers, there is basically no problem.

However, as soon as we entered the desert, we were met by partisans. Through Li Zhiming's dialogue, we learned that we didn't know where it came from, and we entered the desert for the treasure left by the German Field Marshal Rommel in the Sahara Desert. So, now all the people in the Sahara are tracking down our whereabouts, and it's all in secret.

German Field Marshal Rommel was a high-ranking officer under Hitler during World War II, and was implicated in the assassination of Hitler by a senior officer. Legend has it that this man was fierce and cunning, and was known as the 'Desert Fox'. Numerous crimes were committed in North Africa, so a large number of jewels and gold coins were also gathered. It is said that there are more than 90 wooden boxes and a large wooden box filled with diamonds and rubies and sapphires, and their value is immeasurable. After his death, the man who buried the treasure was ambushed by the French [***] team, and no one survived. So, this treasure was lost forever in the desert. But the strange thing is that I don't know who actually said that we entered the desert ninety for this batch of treasures. Now the desert is full of wind and clouds, and it is all affected by our arrival.

And the guerrillas on the other side even said that they had been targeted since we entered Egypt. Now pirates and mercenaries in Sudan are coming. As long as we cooperate with them, we will guarantee the safety of our lives.

How can we believe this kind of nonsense, now there is only a breakthrough. If we are surrounded by people from behind, we are doomed. It was impossible to go back, there were pursuers behind. Now the only way to do this is to break through the other party's barriers. There were only two dozen people on the other side, how could we be afraid. There are so many of us, and there are so many advanced weapons. Now it depends on whether these tempered glasses that Li Zhiming said can block bullets.

Fierce gunfire rang out, and our car rushed towards them. There were white marks on the glass, and it really wasn't broken. Our confidence was so strong that we rushed through the line and galloped away. Their cars were far worse than ours and quickly dumped them. Listening to Li Zhiming's introduction, we knew that these cars were all transformed. Not only is tempered glass installed, but also a high-horsepower engine is installed, which can climb higher sand dunes in the desert, which also increases the speed. It seems that the state has long taken into account these contingencies and should have taken the chaotic situation into account.

Breaking out of the encirclement, our mood was also a little relaxed. We stopped the car and discussed the way forward. This is not the Amazon, where you can find a place to hide in the Amazon jungle will not be seen, this is the Sahara Desert, you can see it far away. Especially in places where there are not many sand dunes, it can be said that there is an unobstructed view. Such an environment undoubtedly makes it more difficult for us to escape. The excitement of just entering the desert suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Gao Gao Ping said: "Was our direction due west just now? ”

Gao Yanan nodded and said, "Yes, it's due west." According to the map, after another 300 kilometers to the west, turn to the northwest and just reach the plateau of Enajl, so we did not change direction. ”

"Now, we need to change course." I nodded and asked, "How do you choose to go, north or south?" ”

Ye Simin said: "If I were a guerrilla, I would choose to chase south. The desert is also our territory, and when we run for our lives, people will go to safety. So I think they're going to be heavily armed in the south. ”

Gao Yanan looked at me and asked, "Professor Shui, what is your choice?" ”

I nodded and said, "Steering is a must." But I don't think due north or due south is a good choice. I think we'd better go a little bit west-north. This will allow you to avoid the centaurs who want to intercept us due west, and you can also stay away from the centaurs who are in the south. Also, the guerrillas will also consider that we will go back to Cairo, so they should go north first and then east, so that we will avoid them as well. As for those in the northwest, it's a matter of luck. ”

Everyone lowered their heads and thought about it, and Gao Gao Ping said, "The boss's idea is very good. Now we can only look at luck. I can't think of anything else, and I don't have a better suggestion than the boss. So, I agree with the Boss's choice. "There was no objection to the crowd, and we continued in the direction of due north and slightly west. In the desert, the direction is only a little bit off, and it will be tens or even hundreds of kilometers away from the predetermined route. The reason is that it is too far away. Fortunately, the compass is still working properly, so our error should not exceed thirty kilometers.

We drove until dark and didn't stop. Here in our country we are almost 400 kilometers away from where we encounter the guerrillas. We decided to spend the night right here. Ate some canned beef and drank some water. It was simply solved. We don't dare to make a fire, and to make a fire here is to tell others that we are there. 'The desert is lonely. 'How striking a cloud of smoke reaching into the sky was in the desert. So, we are also very aware of where other people's positions are.

Looking at the slightly reddened sky ahead, I said, "There are people more than ten kilometers ahead, and it seems that there will be no less." Their campfires are huge, so we're going to change directions. Tomorrow head southwest to find out. ”

Everyone nodded, and they all hurriedly got into the car. The temperature difference between day and night in the desert was too great, and at noon, we had to take off naked, and now we all wear down jackets and still feel very cold. Gao Yanan's watch has a small thermometer on it, which is thermosensitive and does not use mercury. The temperature difference between day and night here is 42 degrees. We hid in the car and snuggled up to each other, warming each other's bodies.

As soon as we saw the road ahead in the morning, we hurriedly got up and set off. I want to bypass the people in front of me, so as not to encounter each other. If they are likely to run into us in either direction, the best thing to do is to go ahead of them. In this way, they are behind us no matter what, and a danger is avoided.

In fact, there are many rivers in the Sahara Desert, but they are all dry. The biggest advantage of sports cars in the river is that you may not see cars in the river on the top of the dunes. Even if we see it, we have time to run far. Because we can see far away in the river, we can see it far away if there are people.

A team appeared in front, apparently not guerrillas or mercenaries. Because the cars of the partisans were all in tatters, and there was not a single new car. But the mercenaries' cars are the opposite, their cars are all brand new 4x4s. For them, the safety of life is above all else, so although they are fierce, they are not the most terrible. The most terrifying thing in the desert is the al-Qaeda armament, they are a bunch of crazy people, and the leader will rush to him without his life.

The cars in front were two miscellaneous cars, which should not be those militants. We decided to run through it. We increased our horsepower and drove straight for the two cars there. Although I have seen it for a long time, it is still a little far away. The people in the distance seemed to notice our intentions and drove the car to both sides, giving way to the middle way. But we also saw them pointing guns at us. (To be continued.) )