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墨書 Inktalez
The Prisoner Team and the Classical Exploration Team continued their journey, and by that evening, they finally reached the destination mentioned by the Old Expert. Standing on the Dune, they gazed out at the endless sea of sand, where towering Dunes formed small hills, surrounded by valleys of sand; the desert was anything but flat.
"Tomorrow, we will start searching due north from that sand hill. Drill every twenty meters and place a small flag in each hole," the Old Expert convened the members of the Prisoner Team during dinner that night. "Do not drill on top of the Dune; choose the lowest points instead. The three groups will advance in intervals of fifty meters, and report any non-desert findings to me."
Cui Ming asked, "How far do we need to advance?"
The Old Expert replied, "Due north for thirty kilometers. If nothing is found, we will return to our original position and change locations to continue northward. After that, we will no longer use camels; we will proceed on foot. We start at seven in the morning and set up camp at eleven to avoid the scorching sun. We will resume at six in the afternoon and rest by ten at night."
Damn it. If we die, it means you want to search for that thing in our dead zone. If this task were as simple as the Old Expert claimed, the Classical Exploration Company could easily handle it alone. Given all signs indicating that they had failed during their first expedition, one could conclude that the role of the Prisoner Team was merely to act as a detector for finding where the first expedition's members had perished. Otherwise, how could that old man pinpoint a specific area and direction in the vast expanse of Dawn Desert?
But if there’s no risk involved, what’s the point of hiring prisoners? Cui Ming glanced over at Beiyue not far away; she was sitting by the fire, slowly eating her food. Ding Ze sat beside her, talking while Beiyue rarely spoke, only nodding or shaking her head to express her opinions. Cui Ming leaned closer to Xiao Jiang and said, "Trust me this once; if danger arises, don’t worry about anything else. Run back, and remember to head towards Beiyue and Ding Ze."
Xiao Jiang looked at Cui Ming, then at Beiyue and Ding Ze. He didn’t say anything but nodded. After ten days of interaction, Xiao Jiang had formed his own opinion about Cui Ming. He found Cui Ming to be a humorous person who adapted easily; he could sleep with or without a pillow. His attitude towards food and sleeping arrangements was indifferent. At the same time, Cui Ming had good judgment—if he said something seriously, it was likely true. For instance, when Cui Ming remarked that Nene, the Old Expert's assistant, was pink...
Finding out whether Nene was indeed pink wasn’t an easy task. There were armed guards around, making it impossible to sneak a peek. So what could be done? The assistant realized she had lost her lipstick while several prisoners were playing Poker nearby. As she passed by them, she overheard them betting on who would claim ownership of her lipstick that night. With a cold smile in her heart, she pretended to be interested in their game and joined in.
Cui Ming proposed a wager: if she won, she would keep her lipstick; if she lost, she would still keep it but must reveal Nene's color to everyone. How would they gamble? It was simple—Cui Ming took out three Poker cards: Jack, Queen, and King. The assistant could draw one card and compare it with Cui Ming's card. She had three chances; winning just once would mean victory.
Cui Ming displayed the three cards and then shuffled them randomly. The assistant chose Jack on her first try and lost. The second time she drew Jack again and lost once more; on her third attempt, she again picked Jack—no surprise there—and lost again.
Well then, the assistant graciously admitted that Nene was pink and even pulled out a section to show everyone, earning cheers from the prisoners. Afterward, when she demanded her lipstick back, Cui Ming pushed one of the prisoners forward and said, "Take it."
"I want my lipstick," she said angrily.
"His nickname is Lipstick; we're betting on his ownership tonight." The assistant froze for a few seconds before realizing she had been tricked and walked away covering her face.
Later on, Xiao Jiang asked Cui Ming, "Aren't you worried about getting back at you? We're under their roof."
Cui Ming replied, "If we truly encounter danger, she won't be able to save us."
The hardest work began as they strapped on the fifty-kilogram metal detector drill. Under the scorching sun, one person operated the machine while the other two steadied its body, drilling a hole every twenty meters. They also had to carry tents, food, and water. The most annoying part was the old expert, who would check in every ten minutes to ask if there were any discoveries. By evening, when they worked further away, the walkie-talkies lost their signal, allowing everyone a bit of peace.
Three security guards followed three groups of prisoners. Escape was impossible, but slacking off was an option. The guards changed shifts daily, supervising the prisoners' work. After a hard day's labor, they could return to camp for a day of rest.
Among the prisoners, Cui Ming was the smallest and was responsible for operating the drill, while Xiao Jiang and the Giant helped hold it steady. Once they finished drilling, Cui Ming checked the gauge and said, "Retract." The operation was quite convenient; pressing a button retracted the drill bit. The machine only needed to be charged twice a day to last for all their work.
The Giant pointed to the shaded area created by Dune and said, "Let's take a break."
The three walked over, touched the sand—it wasn't too hot—and sat down. Xiao Jiang called out to the guard twenty meters away, "Hey buddy, can I get a smoke?"
The guard sat under his own sunshade with a chair and ignored Xiao Jiang completely. He glanced at his watch; even a few minutes of prisoner rest had to be logged. This wasn’t because Classical Company was stingy; it was to remind the prisoners that their actions were being recorded.
Cui Ming's group was the slowest. Initially, all three groups worked side by side, advancing fifty meters apart. Now, the First Group had nearly reached their campsite for the night while Cui Ming's group still had two kilometers to go. The fifteen prisoners were divided into five groups: three for detection and two preparing the campsite—cooking and setting up tents. This was also a subtle hint that if they didn’t finish their work today, they wouldn’t get any food.
"The others are getting impatient; let’s keep going," said one of the guards from the First Group who had already reached the campsite to change shifts while this guard remained with them under the sweltering heat. The Giant stood up first and pulled Xiao Jiang and the others up as well; the guard packed away his sunshade and chair.
The four climbed up a sandy slope and stood at its peak. Cui Ming marveled, "This place is so flat." Within a ten-kilometer radius, there were no dunes—just smooth sand—and they could clearly see the campsite two kilometers away where tents had already been set up.
"Second Group is over there," Xiao Jiang pointed out.
The Second Group was about a mile from the campsite and working efficiently. The four slid down onto the sand and prepared to drill again when Cui Ming sniffed and asked, "Do you smell something strange?"
The Giant pointed behind him with his thumb. Cui Ming turned around to see a guard using the restroom. He chuckled and continued drilling. At that moment, music floated over from the First Group's walkie-talkie; they were singing about being a snail climbing up a beautiful peak. After finishing their song, one of them called out, "You guys better hurry up; the soup is ready."
"You animals better leave me some," replied the Giant into his shoulder-mounted walkie-talkie before continuing his work.
As both groups slowly advanced, Cui Ming's team was still over a mile from camp when several prisoners from their campsite brought over some bottles of water to check on them. The Giant remarked, "At least these folks have some conscience."
"Not really; retract," Cui Ming said as he retracted the drill bit. Suddenly he felt more vibration than usual beneath his feet.
Then came a voice over the walkie-talkie: "There are bugs."
Then they heard gunshots from the camp. Three security guards were firing at the sand, and something jumped up and landed on one of the guard's heads, causing him to fall to the ground.
"What was that?" Xiao Jiang asked in panic.
The other two guards stood up, guns at the ready. Suddenly, the sand nearby cracked open, and a Giant Bug emerged from the ground. It looked like a beetle magnified dozens of times, green in color with a large head and a pair of eyes. Its body was covered in scales, it had no legs, and its fat body writhed quickly across the sand.
The guards immediately opened fire. The bullets hit the Giant Bug's body but caused no substantial damage; however, they did keep it at bay. At that moment, another Giant Bug burst out from beneath the guard's feet, leaping up and opening its massive mouth—big enough to swallow the guard's head whole. Its circular mouth was lined with sharp teeth. In just two seconds, the Giant Bug released the guard's body, leaving behind only the severed head. Looking at the Giant Bug's belly, there was a round object inside—clearly the guard's head.
From thirty meters away, Xiao Jiang couldn't hold back and vomited. The enormous creature pointed in panic and exclaimed, "So many bugs!"
Suddenly, dozens of bugs appeared within a hundred meters around them, each writhing their fat bodies toward the three of them. Cui Ming looked at the bugs and waved his hands repeatedly, shouting, "Run! Run! Run!"
The three of them dropped their equipment and turned to flee toward the dune they had come from. Xiao Jiang ran the fastest when a Giant Bug emerged just five meters away from him and leaped toward him. Cui Ming flipped his fingers, sending a Poker card flying through the air. The card glowed red as it sliced through the Giant Bug's body, causing it to crash onto the sand and gasp for breath.
A second Poker card followed swiftly, flying into the Giant Bug's open mouth and piercing through its body with ferocity. The struggling Giant Bug let out a wail before exploding into pieces, green blood and chunks splattering all over Xiao Jiang.
"Don't freeze! Run!" Cui Ming shouted as he sent another Poker card flying toward a Giant Bug fifteen meters away. The spinning card sliced through its tough scales and spun inside its body, cutting it in half. The nearby Giant Bugs seemed to sense danger and dared not approach any closer.
With still a hundred meters to go to reach the dune, Cui Ming looked back but could no longer see any living people—only writhing Giant Bugs everywhere. Suddenly, the ground shook violently as the dune ahead exploded, sending sand flying dozens of meters into the air. A colossal Giant Bug emerged from beneath—its body towering three stories high—opening its massive mouth to unleash a stream of green liquid aimed directly at a stunned Xiao Jiang.
Cui Ming pulled his left hand across his chest, causing countless golden cards to flash before him. With a quick motion of his right fingers, he pinched one card and sent it flying toward Xiao Jiang. Just as fast as he could act, the card reached Xiao Jiang before the toxic liquid did. A white protective wave emanated from Xiao Jiang’s body as the toxic liquid struck it; he was knocked back hard but landed safely next to Cui Ming without harm.
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