The rest of the journey was tedious. Since Chang Dong wanted to avoid encountering the group ahead, he deliberately slowed down the car.
The slow pace doubled the boredom, making it feel as if even birds could fly out of the dullness.
Fei Tang only felt slightly invigorated when they reached the monument, marking Peng Jiamu’s place of death: it was surrounded by densely packed mineral water bottles, all unopened, along with cans of beer, dried apples, and oranges—left by past adventurers as offerings.
Before Peng Jiamu went missing, he left a note for his fellow scientific expedition team members, saying, “I am heading east to find water,” and never returned. Yu Chunshun’s cause of death was said to be dehydration. Before he died, he tried to dig for water with a Tibetan dagger1photo below , digging two deep pits but failing.
Therefore, offering water became a habit for those who came later.
Chang Dong went over, offered two bottles of water, and bowed.
This marked a boundary point. After driving for more than an hour, the landscape gradually changed. The desert was left behind, and as they entered the Great Lakes Depression, the unique salt crusted terrain of Lop Nur appeared ahead.
——
Lop Nur, historically known as Yan Ze2means salt pond, was a large lake comparable in size to Qinghai Lake 3over 4000km2 in size. Throughout history, it had gone through three periods of abundance and three complete dry spells. The most recent drying occurred around 1972.
Around the same time, Americans released a satellite photo of Lop Nur, showing that after it dried up, it resembled a human ear, with clearly visible auricle, helix, and earlobe. Since then, it had been called the “Ear of the Earth,” also known as the “Sea of Death.”
After drying up, salt and alkali deposits accumulated on the lakebed, forming a hard salt crust. Over time, with thermal expansion and contraction, the salt crust cracked and protruded towards the sky. Its hardness was remarkable, sometimes unbreakable even with a sledgehammer, and a sharp sapper’s shovel could only split the thinnest crust in half.
Some described the salt crust terrain as resembling waves of mud, instantly dried and frozen in place, creating a treacherous and menacing landscape. Cars passing through felt as though they were being gnawed by fangs, and even the best tires would get worn down.
Chang Dong stopped the car and announced over the radio, “The salt crust can puncture tires, gnawing at the car’s body. Everyone, get out and increase the tire pressure. Also, Ye Liuxi, you need to decide whether to leave your car here. If you leave it here, there’s still a chance to drive it out later. If it gets ruined in the salt crust terrain, consider it a gift to Lop Nur.”
Ye Liuxi said, “Then I’ll leave it here.”
After crossing the quicksand region and towing the car last night, she was well aware of the differences between their vehicles. Sometimes it wasn’t about skill: no matter how good a race car driver was, they couldn’t rank driving a tractor on the race track.
Chang Dong glanced back inside the car; his car was big, and adding one person was easy: “Organize the things you need to bring. Fei Tang’s car or mine, you can choose whichever one you want…”
Suddenly, Fei Tang shouted, “Sister Yexi, take my car, I warmly welcome you!”
Ye Liuxi said, “…Alright.”
Chang Dong didn’t say anything and eventually put down the radio.
While inflating the tires, Fei Tang asked him for help: “Brother Dong, can you help me with mine too? I need to move things for Sister Yexi.”
His enthusiasm was immense, making multiple trips to help Ye Liuxi transfer her luggage. On one trip, he had a stove in his left hand and pots and pans in his right, making a racket all the way.
This commotion had nothing to do with him. Chang Dong finished inflating the tires and got back into the car.
Fei Tang, on his last trip to her car, thoughtfully reminded Ye Liuxi, “Sister Yexi, make sure you check everywhere. Don’t leave anything behind because no one will come back to help you get it.”
Ye Liuxi, half-leaning on the car seat, slung the bag over her shoulder: “Got it.”
Fei Tang excitedly walked towards his car. After a few steps, he tripped and fell to the ground with a loud “ouch.” He quickly got up, picking up the things and muttering, “It’s nothing, just tripped, no big deal.”
What had fallen were just small items like salt canisters and ladles. Half-crouched and half-kneeling, he picked them up. Lowering his head and using his body to shield his actions, he glanced back from under his arm—
Ye Liuxi was also half-kneeling, one hand lifting the car seat cover and the other hand reaching inside, searching for something.
No wonder he couldn’t find anything that night despite searching all over…
The seat cover was a decoy; the items were stuffed underneath!
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