Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Since entering the desert, the expedition team finally had an opportunity for a comfortable day with nothing major going on. They did not have to sit in the furnace-like cars, and they did not need to endure Peter Lee’s roll call every morning. The male students followed Wei Kang to set up the infrared cameras. With that, they could relax.
Several fat, thin, tall, black, and white bodies lay on mats without their tops. They wore only beach pants and sunglasses. They had a few cans of hot beer on hand and lay in a daze, thinking of nothing and merely waiting for the sun to set.
It was a fabulous day, fit for a king. This was the research life that scientific personnel expected.
The cat was a nocturnal animal, and it would only come out at night—assuming there were cats nearby.
Wei Kang did not enjoy life like his students. Instead, he talked to Nabari about the desert. Nabari had seen all kinds of strange things in the desert for decades, and that was more interesting than any storybook.
Salem had constantly stalked Zhang Zian, asking him to teach him Chinese, so much so that he did not know what he had taught him. He He didn’t mix with anyone. She merely sat alone and sighed. Sometimes Gao Ke came over to chat, but she did not seem interested in having a conversation.
Perhaps she was a pampered young girl who had come to Egypt and suffered hardships. She might have been frightened. She must have been eager to return to her parents.
Time flew by, and it was soon evening.
A few days ago, everyone had been tired and took every opportunity to sleep. After dinner, they could only think of sleep. However, today, no one was tired, since nothing much was going on. The relationships of the students were also not as cordial as before. Whatever conversations they had were rather awkward. In the end, no one spoke, and all made excuses to return to their tents and use their mobile phones to pass time.
Zhang Zian was annoyed. In order to force Salem to stop bothering him, he taught him tons of Chinese (in the Northeast Chinese accent) and then let him slowly digest it. He finally got some time to himself.
During the day, the drone was used to explore the nearby terrain. As the sand in this area was tighter, it was conducive to driving vehicles. In addition, there was no undulating parallel sand dune blocking the outer area of the Devil’s Sea. It was expected that the speed of the fleet would be greatly improved. In addition, the expedition team was not following them as well. With a full day of driving, Peter Lee’s team would likely have made it to the central area of the Devil’s Sea by tomorrow morning at the latest.
What would they see there? Saying that Zhang Zian was not curious at all would be a lie.
The students returned to their tents, and he sat there alone with the camping lights, deep in thought.
“Xiao Zhang, what are you thinking about?” Professor Wei Kang walked over with a cup of coffee to chat.
“I’m not thinking about anything, just zoning out.” Zhang Zian straightened his body and said, “Did you have a good rest, Professor Wei Kang?”
Wei Kang looked for the folding chair to sit down. “I miss Peter Lee’s team. Will they meet with danger in Devil’s Sea? I also worry about whether the location of the infrared camera will work. Finally, I also want to discuss vigil duties for the night.”
They had originally shared the vigil task with Peter Lee’s team. However, now that they had left, the expedition team could only rely on themselves.
“Now that we have a small number of people and there is no abnormality along the way, do you still think the vigil is necessary? After all, there seem to be no large beasts around,” Wei Kang said.
Although it sounded like a discussion, Wei Kang had, in fact, indicated his preference on night vigil.
Zhang Zian thought about it and raised his objection. “We should be prepared for danger. In this wilderness, anything can happen. It always gets more dangerous when we let our guard down. I think it is better to stay up through the night.”
Wei Kang attached great importance to his opinion and nodded. “You are right. I asked Mr. Nabari. He also thinks so. Since your opinions are the same, I will inform everyone of our intention. Come over, and let’s discuss the rotation order of the vigil.”
With that, Wei Kang got up and was about to call everyone.
“Wait, Professor Wei Kang.” Zhang Zian stopped him. “You don’t have to discuss with the others. I can take on tonight’s vigil alone.”
“Ah?” Wei Kang said, “You alone? The whole night? No! No! How can that be? Everyone takes turns, and we rotate shifts.”
“Professor Wei Kang, listen to me—you have scientific research tasks, while I have nothing to do during the day. Since I am fairly idle and can make up rest during the day, let me do it. It is merely three nights. It doesn’t matter,” Zhang Zian said.
In fact, Zhang Zian felt that his four students were fairly unreliable. To let them keep the night was like handing their lives to them. In addition, he could put the elfins out during the vigil and ask Old Time Tea and Vladimir to help him.
Wei Kang did not know this and merely felt it was unfair for him. However, he said nothing.
“I will help you too.” Nabari walked over with a hookah. “Zhang Zian and I each take half the night, so it should be fine. Let the rest of you rest.”
Obviously, Nabari also had similar concerns.
Along the way, Nabari stood by and evaluated the performances of everyone on the team to determine who was reliable and who was unreliable. He was a quiet man, but he was crystal-clear on his judgments.
Camping on the edge of Devil’s Sea had made him very uneasy. He was unwilling to hand his safety and life to a few unreliable young people.
If two people kept the vigil, it was unlikely to be too stressful for either. Wei Kang reluctantly agreed and did not say anything else. However, he felt indebted to the both of them.
Nabari and Zhang Zian hit it off and talked about the plan. They decided on who should start the vigil and who would take the second shift. They also agreed to swap this arrangement for the second night.
After deciding, Zhang Zian returned to his tent to rest and wait for his shift later at night. He also advised Wei Kang to return to the tent to rest.
The camp was half empty, and it was very quiet at night. If you listened closely, even the sound of the wind blowing the sand could be heard.
Everyone felt vaguely that not only were the people gone, but also their sense of security. People were social animals. The more people there were, the more peace of mind they would have, for there was power in numbers.
Zhang Zian soon fell asleep soon. Suddenly, there was a slight banging sound at his tent door, and he opened his eyes.
“Zhang Zian, are you awake?” Nabari asked softly.
