The sky gradually darkened, and the drones and armed helicopters finally left reluctantly, though planes still occasionally flew overhead.
Those on the aircraft searched the ground with thermal imaging, but due to the vast distance and expansive terrain, the thermal imaging was ineffective. In the end, they failed to find Ning Beichen and Linglong.
"Did they leave?"
Linglong, exhausted after a day of pursuit, asked.
Especially since they had lost their camel, and all their food, water, and supplies were on it.
Fortunately, not long before, Ning Beichen had found two scattered bottles of mineral water, a few packs of biscuits, and some clothes nearby, allowing them to replenish their supplies to a limited extent.
"They've left for now, but they'll be back tomorrow, so we must get out of their encirclement tonight."
Ning Beichen took a sip of water and swallowed a piece of biscuit.
This time, they had truly faced a near-death experience.
If it were just Ning Beichen, he wouldn't have minded; he was confident he could escape. But bringing Linglong made it extremely difficult.
A Grandmaster, if determined enough, could go without food and water for a week.
However, Linglong was an ordinary person; she couldn't do without sustenance.
Without food, she would lose the stamina to flee, and without water, she probably wouldn't survive a day in the desert. Therefore, Ning Beichen tried his best to leave the water and food for her.
Even Ning Beichen found it incredibly difficult now.
In a world dominated by modern weaponry, he could block bullets, but he couldn't block missiles. If he were hit by a missile, he would turn to ashes.
This was also the reason for the gradual decline of martial arts. No matter how high one's martial arts skill was, they would eventually find it useless, which would lead martial artists to despair.
"Ning Beichen, can we make it back alive?"
Linglong seemed dispirited, not just because she was hungry, but due to a sense of being trapped in a desperate situation.
"We definitely will. I told you, as long as I'm alive, you'll be fine."
Ning Beichen said to her with determination.
"The helicopters are gone, we need to hurry."
Ning Beichen watched the helicopters leave in the sky.
Shen Zongting had truly gone mad to deal with them, searching day and night, determined to see them alive or dead.
Linglong, weak and listless, stood up. She had been in a state of shock and high tension all day and now had to travel quickly at night. Before long, she couldn't walk anymore.
"Ning Beichen, why don't we surrender? I can't go on."
Linglong, weak and breathless, said as she sat down on the sand.
Of course, she was just saying it casually; she wouldn't truly surrender. If they surrendered, even if Shen Zongting didn't kill her, she would likely be imprisoned for life.
"Don't say such disheartening things. I'll carry you."
Ning Beichen stopped and said.
"Heh, I knew you wouldn't abandon me."
Linglong happily climbed onto Ning Beichen's back. Embarrassment or shyness was non-existent for her.
Ning Beichen didn't mock her. He understood Linglong well and knew she was truly unable to walk. If she had even a little strength left, she wouldn't have done this.
Ning Beichen, carrying Linglong, who weighed less than a hundred pounds, moved swiftly across the desert, even expending inner energy to use his lightness skill to travel.
Without transportation, walking in the desert was not easy. Ordinary humans couldn't cover much distance in an hour.
However, Ning Beichen possessed lightness skill, and his speed was not slower than that of a vehicle. After traveling swiftly for more than half the night, they had covered over two hundred kilometers and found a small oasis with a lake.
"This place is quite hidden, and I chose a direction they wouldn't expect. We should be safe for now. Let's rest here for a while."
Ning Beichen put Linglong down.
Linglong swayed her head, feeling dizzy. Although she wasn't walking, being carried by Ning Beichen, the prolonged jostling was still uncomfortable for her.
Next, Ning Beichen and Linglong replenished their fluids extensively and even took a bath in the lake.
Ning Beichen also managed to catch a few fish in the lake in the dark and gathered some edible cacti. He then dug a hidden sand cave in a wind-sheltered spot.
Following that, he built a small campfire in the sand cave, roasted the fish, and they ate heartily without any pretense.
The packs of biscuits Ning Beichen had found earlier were long gone. Having food in their stomachs immediately revived Linglong.
After eating and drinking their fill, Ning Beichen extinguished the campfire. Before dawn, they continued their journey. The further they went, the safer they would be. Only when they left Roman territory would they truly be out of danger.
Ning Beichen didn't let Linglong walk; he continued to carry her, using his lightness skill to glide across the desert.
Before dawn, Ning Beichen found another safe place and repeated his previous actions: digging a sand cave and hiding inside with Linglong.
During the day, not only would there be aircraft searching for them, but also satellites in the sky. If they were exposed outside, they could easily be found.
While they were hiding in the sand cave to rest, three people found the first sand cave Ning Beichen had dug.
One of them even judged the time they had left based on the residual heat of the extinguished campfire, and then the three of them continued to track in their direction.
These three were not soldiers but super-experts from Shen Zongting, and they were pursuing them in a sand vehicle.
After about an hour, the three stopped. There were no footprints left by Ning Beichen in the desert. Even if there were, the wind and sand would have long since erased them, which was why Ning Beichen insisted on using lightness skill to travel.
However, these three were not relying on footprints to find Ning Beichen but on a strange crystal ball.
"We are not far from the Holy Grail. They should be in this vicinity. Split up and search."
The man holding the crystal ball said.
Soon, the three began searching the area, not far from where Ning Beichen and Linglong were.
Ning Beichen and Linglong had not expected that the pursuers would rely not on their tracks but on the Holy Grail that Linglong had placed in her bag.
"Ning Beichen, look quickly, this cup is glowing."
Linglong, bored in the sand cave, saw her backpack light up. She opened it and discovered that the Holy Grail she had taken from Shen Zongting's treasure vault was emitting a white light like a light bulb.
Ning Beichen, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly remembered something upon seeing the glowing Holy Grail and leaped up like a fish.
"Bad, they've found us."
"How? We haven't been outside."
Linglong seemed to disbelieve him.
"It's the Holy Grail. They're tracking the Holy Grail."
Ning Beichen said to Linglong with a grim expression.