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墨書 Inktalez
The next morning, fifteen prisoners boarded a minibus to the train station and then took a train. Along with the prisoners were ten armed security guards, twenty employees from the Classical Exploration Company, and finally, the beautiful woman and Ding Ze. Among the employees of the Classical Exploration Company was an elderly man, the core of this expedition. Through extensive historical analysis, he had roughly pinpointed the location of the lost ancient city. When he came to explain the purpose of the expedition to the prisoners, he also introduced them to the lost ancient city.
The lost ancient city was only mentioned in a few documents. Over a thousand years ago, the Dawn Empire sought to establish a land route to the Iron Empire, known today as Twilight City. The expedition team set out and discovered the lost ancient city. According to records, it was located on a desert oasis with a population of over seven thousand. Months later, an envoy from the lost ancient city returned with the expedition team to visit the then Emperor of the Dawn Empire.
The Ancient City Envoy described their situation; they were originally a tribe that gradually grew stronger thanks to the oasis. The Dawn Emperor sent envoys bearing numerous gifts in return for their visit. Upon returning home, the envoys recorded that although the ancient city was small, it was not peaceful. Two princes were vying for the throne, and the sorcerers believed that the Eldest Prince was the source of calamity for the city. Consequently, the citizens exiled him, and the younger prince became its ruler.
The records ended there. The following year, when envoys from the Dawn Empire visited again, they found that the ancient city had vanished along with its sustaining oasis. The Dawn Emperor dispatched five hundred soldiers into the desert to search for it; however, not only did they fail to find it, but two teams of fifty soldiers also went missing.
The Old Expert said, "A batch of artifacts was unearthed a few months ago, among which were documents detailing the march records of those five hundred soldiers. Based on various clues, we have inferred where those two teams went missing. There is no need to worry; I believe that the ancient city has not disappeared but rather was covered by a massive sandstorm or windstorm that engulfed both it and its oasis in a sea of sand. This archaeological endeavor will use drills to penetrate deep into the sand and then employ metal detectors to locate the ancient city. This task is quite simple. If all goes well, we can return home in ten days."
Cui Ming smiled inwardly at this claim of returning home in ten days. If it were that simple, why recruit prisoners? They even needed to hire two experts. Cui Ming glanced at the beautiful woman and Ding Ze sitting at the front of their compartment; Ding Ze seemed oblivious while he knew that the beautiful woman was definitely skilled. Her display of physical prowess in prison had already shown capabilities beyond human limits. What intrigued Cui Ming was her large cloth bag that she carried everywhere; it appeared unremarkable and flat.
The beautiful woman stood up and walked over to where their compartment connected with another one, asking, "What happened?"
The train's snack vendor squatted by her cart, looking puzzled. "I don't know; I seem to be missing a row of ten boxes of Poker cards. Maybe I forgot to put them on?" she said uncertainly. It didn't make sense to steal ten boxes of Poker cards since they weren't valuable.
Returning to her seat, she shared similar thoughts with the vendor; although it was likely something had gone missing while passing through their compartment filled with prisoners, there was no logical explanation for taking ten boxes of Poker cards—only one explanation made sense: the vendor simply forgot to place them on her cart.
During their day-and-night journey, Cui Ming gained some understanding of both Ding Ze and the beautiful woman. The beautiful woman was named Beiyue and was in charge of Beiyue Agency. She spoke little and rarely showed expressions but possessed an impressive demeanor—sitting like a bell and standing like a pine tree. Ding Ze seemed indifferent towards both prisoners and exploration; most of his time was spent chatting with Beiyue—not in a romantic manner but rather displaying gentlemanly courtesy typical among friends where ladies were prioritized. He treated not only Beiyue but also other women from Classical Exploration Company and those on board with gentleness and patience.
...
The Classical Exploration Company was well-prepared, having set up camp eighty kilometers away from Kama Town, deep in the desert, fifteen kilometers into the sands.
After arriving at the camp to rest, equipment was distributed. Each prisoner received a ration of emergency food, a compass, a walkie-talkie with a four-kilometer range, and three portable metal detectors.
The next day, at dawn, the group mounted their camels and set off on their expedition.
The exploration team was divided into three groups. The first group consisted of fifteen prisoners and four armed guards. Five kilometers behind them were members of the Classical Exploration Company, and ten kilometers further back was the logistics caravan, carrying ample supplies of food and water, along with a doctor. Each team was equipped with radios to report their current status.
They advanced during the day and camped at night. As the journey progressed, the temperature difference between day and night became increasingly pronounced. Following the guidance of the Classical Exploration Company, the Prisoner Team successfully reached an oasis after a week. While resupplying at the oasis, the Old Expert informed the prisoners that they were only eighty kilometers away from their destination.
Cui Ming felt a sense of unease; the precise location of the oasis indicated that the Classical Exploration Team had been here before. During their first expedition, they hadn’t hired prisoners; this time they had. It was evident that something had gone wrong on their initial journey, and they were unaware of what that problem was. The logistics team set up camp at the oasis and would no longer accompany them but would send supplies of food and water as needed.
In the deep night, under countless stars, Cui Ming lay on the sandy ground by the campfire gazing at the sky. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go to the tent just ten meters away; it was because he was on night watch and needed to ensure that the fire did not go out. As they ventured deeper into the desert, the guards had completely abandoned their oversight of the prisoners; without logistical support, no prisoner could escape and survive in this vast desert.
A tent flap opened, and Beiyue emerged from within. She wasn’t wearing pajamas; after coming to the desert, she had changed into a yellow outfit and approached the fire with a large cloth bag in hand. She glanced at Cui Ming but did not greet him as she sat down quietly by the flames, staring into the flickering firelight, lost in her thoughts.
Cui Ming watched her from across the fire. Beiyue resembled a lotus flower—silent and still yet exuding beauty and grace effortlessly. Her eyes were strikingly beautiful, sparkling like stars while also reflecting a serene depth akin to deep waters. Thus, they sat quietly across from each other until dawn broke; Beiyue focused on the flames while Cui Ming’s gaze remained fixed on her.
As the duty prisoners rose to prepare meat soup, Beiyue stood up without looking at Cui Ming and turned back toward her tent. The eastern sky glowed red as a new day approached.
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