Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 356: The Desert’s Cruel Embrace

Ethan’s Soul Sense detected no immediate danger within a five-kilometer radius, providing him with some peace of mind. However, the oppressive heat of the desert, under the glare of nine blazing suns, made him reluctant to venture out. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

He preferred the cool of night, when his Soul Sense ensured that no threats lurked in the darkness. But now, he turned to Nora Vance, silently asking for guidance.

Jed, standing beside him, mirrored the same expectant look. Nora Vance hesitated for a moment, caught in thought, before Dot stood up and addressed them.

"Big Brother, Uncle Jed, my mom isn’t lying!" Dot exclaimed, her small voice unwavering.

"If you head west from here, in seven days, you’ll pass four safe points," she continued, "but along the way, there are areas frequented by Sand Scorpions, Blazing Lizards, and Fiery Earth Rats."

Dot’s small hands moved, as if to demonstrate the path. She seemed like a miniature adult, serious and detailed in her speech.

"If you want to be safer, on the third day, you need to head south for two days before turning northwest..."

Nora Vance stood by, silent but smiling at her daughter’s focus. She gave a gentle nod but didn’t interrupt.

"How... Dot, how do you know all this?" Uncle Jed asked, genuinely astounded.

Dot glanced up at Nora Vance, who returned her look with a quiet nod.

"Bring it out," Nora Vance said.

Dot pulled a small belly band from her embrace, fumbling with it for a moment before pulling out a thin, palm-sized piece of white, leathery material. The map, though small, seemed to pulse with significance.

"Here..." Dot handed the item to Ethan, her fingers grasping the edge carefully.

[Ding... System Notification: Incomplete ’Sea of Death’ map detected. Copy? After copying, the map system will be activated.]

Ethan’s heart quickened with excitement. "Copy." He quickly sent the command.

[Ding... System Notification: Copy complete. Map system activated.]

As soon as his hand touched the map, Ethan instinctively knew what it was. His attention shifted to the upper-right corner of his vision where the mini-map lit up. With growing interest, he unfolded the map on the table. It was a detailed record, highlighting safe routes, dangerous regions, and the locations of four major cities.

Yet, despite its detail, the system flagged it as "incomplete."

Jed leaned over to study the map. "Where are we now?" he asked.

Nora Vance lightly tapped a spot on the map. It was only slightly off from their current position, but it was close enough.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Nora, how do you pinpoint our location?" he asked, curiosity piqued.

Everyone knew that maps alone were useless without a way to determine one’s position. The desert’s ever-shifting terrain meant a map without positioning was little more than decoration. Wind and time could change the landscape in a moment, making it impossible to rely on sight alone.

Nora Vance met his gaze and slowly explained, "Seasons, wind direction, the sun, shadows, time..."

Dot, still perched on her mother’s back, piped up. "Mama says this is the Vance family’s Wind-Listening and Position-Finding technique. I secretly learned it when I was little!"

"Mama says Dot must always remember it. That’s why I went hungry and got spanked a lot," she added with a sniffle, as if the memory still stung.

Nora Vance smiled warmly, lowering her head to ruffle Dot’s hair. Ethan couldn’t help but notice that since leaving the Butcher Tribe, Nora smiled much more often.

"I’ve heard of the Vance family’s Wind-Listening and Position-Finding technique," Uncle Jed said, nodding with respect. "It’s remarkable. I didn’t expect Dot to have mastered it!"

Ethan nodded in agreement, then glanced back at the map, still in awe of its detail.

Uncle Jed’s eyes grew intense. "Ethan, let’s go!" he urged, his tone sharp.

Ethan was absorbed in the scale of the Sea of Death displayed on the system map. The vast desert spanned a staggering 153,392,551 square kilometers—larger than Earths’s total land area by more than ten million square kilometers. The enormity of it made him pause. Just how vast was this world?

Absorbed in his thoughts, Ethan was snapped back to the present when Uncle Jed called out to him. He nodded, still a bit lost in the enormity of what they faced.

"Alright, let’s go... after we eat," he said, stalling for a bit longer. The thought of stepping into the heat was too much.

As they ate their meal of instant noodles and giant scorpion meat, Jed joked, "Ethan, you’re spoiling us." He chuckled. "After we part ways, we won’t survive in this Sea of Death without you."

Ethan paused, his heart heavy. Jed’s words were light, but they struck him deeply. How could something as simple as instant noodles be so meaningful in such a desolate place?

Uncle Jed stepped outside the tent, signaling their departure. Reluctantly, Ethan followed, knowing the time had come to face the heat.

As they exited the sealed tent, a wall of scorching heat hit them. It was suffocating, and Ethan took a moment to adjust. He turned to find Jed and the others clutching their chests, struggling as well.

Ethan mused, ’Seems like living in air-conditioned rooms too much isn’t good for them.’

If they caught a cold in this desert heat, it would be bad.

Uncle Jed led the way, with Nora Vance and Dot following closely behind. As the first sun began to set, Nora Vance suddenly stopped.

Dot, whom she had been carrying, began to vomit uncontrollably. Ethan rushed over in alarm.

Just as I feared, what you dread most happens, he thought, his stomach tightening.

He called for Uncle Jed and quickly pulled out a tent from his spatial storage. They set it up quickly as Dot collapsed onto the ground, her face pale and her body trembling. The vomiting was accompanied by diarrhea, and her temperature spiked dangerously high.

Ethan immediately activated Tree Form, casting every healing spell he knew, even using his dispel skill. But nothing worked.

On the surface, it seemed like heatstroke. Ethan cursed himself for letting Dot eat cold watermelon, for letting her stay in the air conditioning—she was just a child, and the temperature shift had been too much for her fragile body.

He glanced at the supplies in his Mindscape, but there was no medicine.

Time passed slowly, each minute an agonizing reminder of their helplessness. The three adults were frantic. Night fell, and Ethan tried again, offering fresh water to Nora Vance to wipe Dot’s body, hoping to lower her temperature.

Nora Vance’s tears fell freely as she wiped her daughter’s sweating skin. Dot, in a delirious state, kept calling for her father.

Ethan’s heart shattered at the sound. He stepped out of the tent, his gaze meeting Uncle Jed’s grim face.

"Ethan..." Uncle Jed said softly, his voice low with worry, "Dot might not make it."

Ethan froze, his mind racing. He had thought this was just heatstroke, something common on Earth that wouldn’t be fatal. But Uncle Jed’s tone suggested otherwise.

"Heatwind Sickness... in the Sea of Death, it claims countless lives," Uncle Jed said quietly. "If my son were alive, he’d be ten years old this year..."

His words were like a hammer, striking Ethan with a painful realization. In ancient times, a simple cold or heatstroke could be a death sentence. There were no vaccines here, no modern medicine.

Suddenly, a system notification flashed in front of Ethan’s vision.

[Ding... System Notification: Detecting activity from fatal microorganisms within the protagonist’s body. Please eliminate them as soon as possible!]

Ethan’s stomach clenched. The next moment, he doubled over in pain, a deep, indescribable discomfort wracking his body. He ran, barely managing to find a spot before vomiting violently.

Uncle Jed watched in stunned silence, his face filled with dread.

Ethan stumbled back, clutching his stomach. He realized that his symptoms were exactly the same as Dot’s. He remembered the warning from the system the night before at the Butcher Tribe camp.

He staggered back toward the tent, feeling a surge of panic.

"Uncle Jed," Ethan gasped, his voice hoarse. "Why were you wearing face coverings last night?"

At the question, Uncle Jed’s eyes widened in realization.

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