Alligator's Ark of Tomorrow

After leaving the sand worm's territory, the speed of the dune buggy gradually decreased. It had been traveling at high speed all along. Even though the wheels were made of special high-temperature resistant refined solvents, they were already somewhat worn after running on the sand where the ground temperature exceeded 90 degrees Celsius for so long.

Although the equipment on the vehicle could not be brought along, necessities such as wheels were removed from the original vehicle.

The convoy stopped temporarily, and the officer in charge of changing the wheels felt a blast of hot air hit him as soon as he got out of the car. His companion in the car kicked him out without hesitation and slammed the door shut.

"*Columbian profanity*!"

After cursing under their breath, the officers quickly changed the tires, glancing at Gard every now and then.

The tall crocodile-man sat on the roof of the car, writing and drawing in his diary, completely ignoring the weather.

"Gald, would you like to come in and rest for a bit?"

Kanelian poked his head out of the vehicle beneath Gard; the deeper they went into the hot earth, the hotter the weather became.

"I'm coming in. Are you observing the surroundings from outside?"

"Tsk."

Feeling the hot wind blowing in from outside, Kanerian hesitated for a long time before finally nodding reluctantly.

"Change it if you want!"

"Forget it, you should just stay inside."

The environment of this hot land is too harsh for ordinary Terrans to bear. To live here, one's physiological tolerance must be at least good or excellent.

Having considered this from the beginning, among the Rhine Lab operators who entered the hot land, there were very few casters. There were originally quite a few, but many couldn't take it halfway and chose to quit.

Therefore, once you actually enter the hot land, the only remaining caster operator is Kanerian—if you don't count Seria, who should be a caster but instead plays as a heavy melee guard.

There's not much to say about the first day in this hot land.

Because the creatures on the outskirts of the hot land are not particularly strong or aggressive, the convoy will not encounter any danger as long as it avoids some territorial settlements.

Moreover, the convoy chose to enter at dusk, and after only two hours of driving, they found a clean Gobi desert beach to set up camp.

The temperature in this hot region is only relatively low before noon and in the evening. The highest temperature at noon can even reach 60 or 70 degrees Celsius. At other times, it is slightly lower, but still exceeds 50 degrees Celsius.

At night, the temperature in the hot land suddenly drops, making people feel as if they have arrived in the tundra north of Ursus, where they even have to wrap themselves in thick blankets to sleep.

"Gald, you should rest. Leave tonight to us."

Serea's voice rang out. You might not realize it before entering the hot land, but once you enter, you'll find that the hot land is really not a place for humans to stay.

During the day, Gard even spent several hours on the roof of the car.

If it were someone else, they'd probably be roasted alive by now.

Although there was no need to wrap himself in a blanket, Gard still habitually grabbed one and wrapped himself in it.

He recalled his first visit to this land four years ago.

At that time, he was all alone, and he kept his eyes open day and night to avoid being attacked.

Now, at least I can get a little nap at night.

Gard opened his eyes a crack and saw Seria sitting beside him.

Serea's face didn't reveal much of her emotions.

Because they were so close, Gard couldn't help but fantasize about whether Seria would come closer to him when she got sleepy at night.

But no.

She just sat there quietly, looking into the distance, and sometimes at the ground.

This actually made things more difficult for Gard.

Nothing was said that night.

Gard didn't sleep all night.

......

(Chapter 3, before 11:00 AM.)

Chapter Fifty-One It's Raining

I didn't sleep all night.

Gard once went three months without sleep, only closing his eyes twice in between.

He shouldn't have expected any reaction from Serea.

She most likely didn't see him as a man!

He patted his bottom, and seeing that it was almost dawn, Gard stood up.

"woke up?"

Seraya's voice rang out from the side.

"You can continue to sleep for a while."

"Sleep...sleep enough. We'll set off at dawn and try to get onto the path the Nightmare Army took within three days. There will be far fewer enemies there."

Gard said in a serious tone, he couldn't very well say that he had spent the whole night just stealing glances at her and hadn't slept at all.

The crocodile-man shook his head, realizing something was wrong.

He already has Laurentina and Gavial, how can he be sneaking peeks at Seria?

'Gald, you and Seria are at most colleagues. This diamond-obsessed straight woman wouldn't even consider you a man!'

Beneath Seraya's oversized robe was a black sleeveless vest.

Because it was made by Serea herself, it fits snugly without being too tight or too loose.

Even though not an inch of skin was exposed, just looking at Serea's resolute profile, Gard felt a unique kind of beauty.

Gard quickly distanced himself from Seria.

In fact, this is the normal reaction of a man. If a beautiful woman is sitting next to you and you are not moved, then you should seriously consider your sexual orientation.

Life is a constant series of temptations and mistakes.

But Gard remained steadfast in his beliefs!

It was still barely dawn, no more than four or five o'clock, when the officers on guard breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that Gard had woken up.

Six dune buggies formed a circle, and a group of people rested inside.

From 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., sixteen combat-skilled officers will take turns on guard duty.

Three non-combat personnel are not included.

Gard and Serea are responsible for day and night respectively, and can take over command immediately in the event of a battle.

They woke up their sleeping companions. The camp was dark, and the convoy didn't even use any lighting equipment when on alert.

Because that would be very dangerous.

Creatures in the hot soil will be drawn to the light. They are not afraid of fire at all; on the contrary, they feel happy and excited when they see fire.

However, the night is also a time of great hardship for most Terrans.

It's not scary at all.

Because most people in Terra have excellent night vision, they can see their surroundings clearly by the light of the moon.

As for Gard, even at night, he could easily see small animals a hundred meters away.

The physical constitutions of crocodile people and crocodile humans cannot be generalized.

If Gard were to switch to a shooter, he would be a perfect shot.

As the Rhine Lab staff packed up, Gard opened his diary and wrote: "July 4th, 1091 of the Terran calendar. A female dragon of the Vyvan tempted me, but I withstood the test and did not make the mistake that every male Adaklis makes. My soul was elevated..."

"Hey, Gard, what are you writing?"

Kanelian’s casual voice rang out beside Gard, startling Gard so much that his hand trembled and he almost dropped his pen.

Fortunately, he remembered that Kanerian was shorter than him.

I can't see what he's writing.

"Are you writing in your diary?"

As if he had seen something interesting, Kanerian reached out to snatch the diary from Gard's hand.

"Let me see!"

"Think beautifully!"

Gard rolled his eyes at Kanerian. How could he possibly show his diary to anyone else? It was full of his cringeworthy remarks and embarrassing moments, not something he could share with others.

Although Gard wrote his diary in a language that is not written in this world, it is generally incomprehensible to most people.

"If you don't want to give it, then don't."

Kanelian pursed her lips, as if she were quite interested.

Gard prepared to put away his diary. He had developed the habit of writing in his diary when he first came to this hot land because he was afraid of dying here.

Thinking that if he really died inside, at least there would be a diary to prove that he existed.

Whether others can understand it or not is another matter entirely.

"Tick!"

A drop of water fell on the diary, leaving a small black dot.

Gard looked up at the sky.

A layer of black fog had accumulated in the gray sky at some point, and occasionally a glimmer of light would flash through the fog.

"Huh, it's raining?"

No sooner had Kanerian finished speaking than Gard charged out like a heavily armored tank, dragging his seemingly clumsy body, and jumped onto the roof of a sand truck.

A Rhine Life agent was startled by Gard's actions.

"Mr. Gard?"

Gard ignored him, and the deafening sound echoed through the camp.

"Everyone, get back to the car immediately, we have to leave!"

In an instant, everyone who was still dozing off was jolted awake.

They never forget where they are right now.

Although they hadn't encountered any significant enemies or engaged in any battles yesterday, when Gard gave the order, even with lingering doubts, they still moved in an orderly fashion.

"Gald, what happened?"

Upon hearing Gard's voice, Serea rushed over.

"It is going to rain!"

Gard's face was gloomy. He hadn't expected his group to be so unlucky. They hadn't encountered anything when they first entered the hot land, but now that they were stuck there and couldn't leave anytime soon, it started to rain.

It was as if some unseen force wanted to bury them all here.

"How is that possible? Logically speaking, it shouldn't be raining right now."

According to data analysis from decades of statistics, the rainy season in this region usually doesn't start until the end of July, or even August.

If it had only started raining then, the convoy would have already entered the roads that Nightmare's army had carved out in the hot land, and might even have found what they were looking for.

But it's only the beginning of July!

"Don't overthink it. Since the rainy season has come early, we need to prepare in advance."

It's not that Gard didn't want to leave, but rather that he simply couldn't leave now.

As acid rain began to fall from the sky in the direction they had come from, one after another, the monsters that usually hid under the desert crawled out and stared at the sky with hunger.

The soil receives rain only once a year, and it must store enough water to survive until the next rainy season.

The early arrival of the rainy season will bring back some wild beasts that were on the verge of death. Driven by their desire to survive, they will attack any creature that passes in their path.

Gard can break out the way he came, but these Rhine Labs agents cannot.

Gard looked at the Rhine Labs operatives in the camp and said loudly.

"We will continue to the designated location at full speed. All vehicles must not fall behind!"