Chapter 709: Chapter 51: The Ten-Kilometer Death Zone

"Death 10 Kilometers is actually just a very challenging road, but due to some bizarre phenomena, it has come to be known as Death 10 Kilometers."

Dennis spoke of this stretch with a trace of fear in his eyes.

Recalling the information he had seen, he continued, "Our association has records of previous Desert Extreme Challenges where some challengers encountered some very strange things upon entering this area."

Strange!

Upon hearing this word, Chen Wen immediately became excited.

He naturally didn’t believe in supernatural things.

Instead, he was very interested in the natural phenomena behind this place or any potential creatures that might exist.

Upon hearing this, Dennis began to recount the things he had heard.

"This area wasn’t noticed by anyone before, but since the association picked this route in the 1980s, problems began to gradually surface."

Dennis said, "At that time, a senior member of our association was passing through and planned to stay the night when he encountered an extreme temperature drop!"

"According to him, the temperature at noon was estimated to be over forty degrees. Afraid of the high heat, he found a place to rest, but at night, the temperature plummeted to near zero!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Wen mused, "So, the temperature variation in this area is quite significant, which might be related to the topography. Isn’t this also the case in the Sahara? It might be even more severe. I heard Mr. Liu mention that during his survival in the Sahara, he also experienced extreme temperature shifts, almost fifty degrees during the day, with his teammates even showing symptoms of heatstroke, while at night, it fell below zero."

The incident Liu Yu encountered was quite famous.

Only one team member was eliminated after experiencing the extreme temperature swings.

This event was deemed a miraculous night in Hua Country.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Indeed, as Chen Wen said, extreme temperature differences in the desert, though rare, are far from reaching the level of being bizarre.

This didn’t frighten Chen Wen and the others.

"I haven’t finished yet."

Dennis couldn’t help but say, "Then there are the climate issues; on many previous challenges, contestants have encountered strange weather here."

"Some suddenly encountered sandstorms, while others came across extremely rare desert floods. Some even claimed to have seen snow here."

Hearing this, Chen Wen nodded, "I think this issue should be attributed to those who planned the challenge. We came here coincidentally during the rainy season, with unstable and severe weather changes. Sandstorms aren’t uncommon, and encountering powerful convective weather, heavy rainfall, or even snow is normal."

Listening to Chen Wen’s analysis, Dennis scratched his head.

What was all this?

He grew up with happy education and was a poor student, especially in economics, and not very good at it.

So, some of the technical terms Chen Wen used, he didn’t quite understand.

But the others appeared normal, as they understood.

Or rather, this was fundamental geography knowledge, which general survivors might not know.

But they were well-informed.

"Alright, finally, there’s the poison issue; for some reason, there are particularly many poisonous creatures in this area."

Dennis shrugged, "There are Inland Taipan snakes and Westernon snakes that past contestants have encountered and large groups of desert scorpions. Apart from common desert scorpions, there are many unnamed poisonous scorpions."

Initially, Dennis thought Chen Wen and the others shouldn’t be afraid of the poisons.

But he didn’t expect, having not been frightened by the strange weather and extreme temperatures, that Chen Wen and the others’ faces changed completely when they heard about these world-famous poisonous creatures.

"What the hell! Inland Taipan? Isn’t this thing supposed to be found in desert grasslands? Does it really exist in this pure desert?"

Chen Wen couldn’t help asking.

Before coming, he had even looked into the distribution area of this terrestrial king of poisonous snakes.

Almost all materials indicated this poisonous snake lived in the arid grasslands of southeastern Australia, not the desert.

Hua Yun was rather concerned about the Westen Sorbes snake.

This venomous snake’s toxicity is also very strong, ranked tenth on the global venomous snake list.

Its venom is not as potent as the Inland Taipan but is quite nasty!

The Inland Taipan’s toxin is neurotoxic, and if bitten, if the antivenom is not administered in time, the only option is to wait for death.

Quick and efficient.

The main threat of the Westernon snake is the toxin that causes coagulation anomalies.

This toxin has a low fatality rate but requires long-term anticoagulant treatment.

If bitten and injected with the toxin by the Western Sorbes snake, you might not die.

But forget about continuing the challenge afterward.

As for the desert scorpion swarms, although everyone lacked extensive knowledge about scorpions.

They understood very well that the venom of some scorpions is comparable to snake venom!

They glanced at each other, acknowledging the dangers of the journey ahead.

"You guys shouldn’t spread the news about the Inland Taipan."

Dennis answered Chen Wen’s question, "Inside the Great Sand Desert, there’s stony desert, and it’s of considerable size. Long ago, when Desert Extreme Challenge was determined, our association’s predecessors saw the Inland Taipan there, and our association has always kept this news under wraps, not wanting outsiders to know."

"There have indeed been challenges where someone encountered Inland Taipan, but as you know, these snakes are docile and timid; as long as you don’t provoke them, they won’t attack humans. Those challengers all thought it was an ordinary venomous snake, so no one knew about it."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wen and the others nodded slightly.

After a brief consideration, Chen Wen said, "Alright, it’s getting late; we won’t continue today; let’s camp here."

"Tomorrow, let’s get up early and see if we can cross this area in one day. Ten kilometers may not seem far, but if we actually walk it, it will definitely exceed ten kilometers; we must be cautious and careful!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

This arrangement was very prudent, and naturally, they had no objections.

...

While Chen Wen and the others were resting, other teams had already entered Death 10 Kilometers.

Ninety percent of the route within the ten kilometers is in a vast stony desert.

The fastest team was the joint United States and United Kingdom team.

They had already reached the edge of the ten kilometers.

Their approach to advancement coincided with Chen Wen’s idea, setting off early in the morning and speeding through the area while the poisonous creatures were at rest.

Overall, their plan was going smoothly.

However, as it was getting late, they began feeling anxious; up front, Hope quickened the pace, urging those behind to keep up.

But just then, a sharp scream came from behind.

Hope turned around, only to see Gaston grimacing and shaking his hand while jumping up.

"What happened?"

Hope asked seriously, quickly approaching.

Gaston shook his hand, looking troubled, "I was bitten by a spider!"

"There was some issue with my shoe before, so I tried to handle it with my hand. But just as I squatted down to deal with the shoe, a spider suddenly sprang out from the sand and bit me!"

As he spoke, Gaston pointed to a black spot on the ground.

Upon hearing Gaston’s description, Hope’s face changed dramatically.

Spiders in the Australian desert, they are highly venomous creatures!

Getting bitten by one could lead to elimination, or worse, pose a lethal threat!

But upon seeing the spider that had bitten Gaston, Hope’s expression suddenly became peculiar.