Chapter 291: Extreme Cold, Tass Desert 1

A thin layer of snow covered the vast expanse of yellow sand. The temperature was so low that the sand itself had frozen into chunks of ice, and the wheels crunched as they rolled over.

Fierce winds howled across the desert, but the sand was damp, so even strong gusts had a hard time blowing it around.

The caravan left winding wheel tracks, animal footprints, and droppings in its wake.

As the sun rose over the desert horizon, several argali sheep at the rear of the caravan bleated, struggling to keep pace. A bell on the lead sheep’s horns was still tinkling.

Evelyn Ford took out some yarn; she planned to crochet a few more sweaters. The Mammoths had started to slow their pace. The desert terrain was difficult to traverse, and the carriage swayed gently.

"The sun’s out."

Ronan Kendrick sat across from her, helping her wind the yarn. Hearing her, he glanced out the sliding window.

Mina and Blackie were lying in front of the stove, sleeping. The two birds had flown out and were perched on top of the carriage, keeping watch.

Roe deer meat was roasting on the stove, its aroma filling the air. Evelyn Ford sprinkled some cumin and chili powder on top, and the fragrance immediately wafted out of the carriage.

When Quincy caught the scent, he immediately urged his carriage forward.

"Evelyn! Ronan! Give me some of that chili powder."

Evelyn looked at him, completely exasperated. "Are you part dog? That nose of yours is incredible."

Quincy grinned. "Nope. I’m a cat."

Evelyn tossed him a packet of chili powder. She had brought it back from Westeria, and it was as hot as ghost peppers.

Evelyn used chopsticks to turn the roasting meat. After brushing on the seasoning, she placed a piece directly into Ronan Kendrick’s bowl. Mina stood up and twitched its nose. Smelling the chili, it shook its head and sneezed nonstop.

"That’s what you get for being greedy." Evelyn quickly picked it up and moved it further away.

After Ronan Kendrick finished his piece, he looked at Evelyn expectantly.

"Get it yourself." Evelyn wasn’t about to spoil him. She took a bottle of soda out of her space, took a sip, and couldn’t help but burp.

Ronan Kendrick took it and also had a sip, then he burped too.

"Haha." Evelyn burst out laughing at his awkward expression.

"This is gross," Ronan said with a look of disgust. "Water is better."

"It has too many additives. Drinking soda when it’s hot just makes you thirstier." Evelyn put the half-empty bottle back into her space and took out two bottles of mineral water.

In the other carriages, people were either sleeping or roasting meat and sweet potatoes. The day’s journey had been relatively smooth, and everyone was starting to relax.

In the afternoon, while crossing a snowy patch, the group stopped to rest for half an hour and feed the animals. They needed to cover more than sixty kilometers today, so aside from feeding the animals and bathroom breaks, they had to keep moving.

After finishing a sweater, Evelyn took out some cotton fabric and made a three-month supply of sanitary cloths for Wendy. That night before sleep, she slipped the cloths and some brown sugar to her.

The desert winds were strong at night, and it was over ten degrees colder than during the day. When they woke up the next morning, the carriages and the herds of horses and sheep were covered in a fine layer of sand.

It was a good thing they had prepared enough branches before entering the desert. Otherwise, with the shortage of fodder, the horses and sheep would have suffered. Two days into the desert, there was nothing but yellow sand, snow, and rocks—not even the shadow of a dead tree.

The desert snow contained a lot of small stones. The melted snow had to be left to settle and then filtered to sift out the sand before it could be given to the horses.

Although the temperature was very low, there was a type of carrion-eating insect in the desert. Miles Vaughn and Donovan Irving were both bitten on the cheek, and half of their faces immediately swelled up.

"It hurts so much! It’s itchy and painful! What kind of bug is this? Why does it hurt so much after a bite?" Miles Vaughn was in so much pain he was practically rolling on the ground.

Wearing gloves, Evelyn Ford caught one of the insects. It looked a lot like a ladybug, but it had no spots on its back. Instead, it had black and green vertical stripes, several antennae, and although its features were small, it had several teeth inside its mouth.

"Everyone should cover their faces up tightly. I have some insecticide; I’ll spray some on the carriages later."

Evelyn didn’t know how to treat it either. She could only use a Silver Needle to squeeze out the poisoned blood and then apply some anti-inflammatory ointment.

"No, I feel so dizzy... Quincy, why are there three of you? Why are you all floating in the sky?" Miles Vaughn’s vision went black, and he fainted.

Donovan Irving wasn’t any better off. He collapsed to the ground and started vomiting. His whole face was so swollen that it was difficult for him to speak.

Seeing them in this state, everyone grew worried and panicked. Evelyn could only dig out a few pairs of stockings and have everyone pull them over their faces, wrap themselves up completely, and then spray themselves with insecticide.

Miles Vaughn and Donovan Irving had already passed out. Evelyn continued to draw out the poison with her Silver Needles and gave them Detoxification Pills and Gold and Silver Flower, but neither showed any sign of waking up.

"What kind of poisonous bug is this? How is the venom so strong? Why aren’t they waking up? Evelyn, they’re not going to die, are they?" Quincy reached out and checked for breath under Miles Vaughn’s nose. He breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"He’s still alive."

"Let’s wait two hours. They’ve taken the Detoxification Pills, so there shouldn’t be a major problem."

In truth, Evelyn wasn’t very confident either. But their breathing and body temperatures were normal, so they had likely just passed out.

At that moment, Officer Graham spotted something on a sand dune up ahead. Evelyn went closer for a look and discovered it was the rotting-flesh-of-a-roe-deer-carcass. The same insects that had bitten the men were crawling all over it in a dense swarm, gnawing on the putrid flesh.

"Let’s get away from here."

Evelyn went back to get a hoe and buried the carcass. The insects still swarmed around the mound of sand, BUZZING incessantly.

Evelyn took the insecticide and sprayed it furiously at them, but it only seemed to repel them; it couldn’t kill them.

Evelyn then grabbed a torch and finally managed to burn the insects to death.

Just as the caravan was setting off again, Miles Vaughn and Donovan Irving slowly began to stir. Though their faces were horrifically swollen, their minds were relatively clear. Their vision, however, was still a bit blurry.

It was like being drunk; they saw double of everything.

"It seems these poisonous insects also have a hallucinogenic effect."

Evelyn’s brow furrowed in frustration. A cure for this insect’s venom was completely beyond her abilities.

"Try the Cannibal Flower," Ronan Kendrick suggested.

Evelyn’s eyes lit up. She looked at Ronan in surprise. "Why didn’t I think of that!"

"The Cannibal Flower is highly toxic. You forgot you can fight poison with poison."

Evelyn lunged over and pinched Ronan’s cheek hard. "You’re a lifesaver."

Evelyn took out a large Cannibal Flower. To prevent Mina and Blackie from being poisoned, she moved them over to Quincy’s carriage.

The poison she had made with the Cannibal Flower before was only moderately effective. This time, on a whim, she added a little sulfur.

Once the poison was ready, Evelyn deliberately got out of the carriage to catch an insect and bring it back for an experiment. The moment she sprayed it, the poisonous bug died instantly.

"The insecticide is a success, but I still don’t know how to formulate the antidote."