Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Since Fina had promised to go back to the camp with them, everything else would be easy to handle. As for how to find a reason to convince Professor Wei Kang, that could be resolved later.
“These cats are…” Zhang Zian pointed at the cats, who were huddled together and seemed to be ready to escape.
“They have been living here always…” Fina’s eyes held rare sorrow and nostalgia. “I also lived here at the beginning. It was still an oasis of abundant water and grass, and it was inhabited on both sides of the lake. There were all kinds of animals here, with small animals hiding amongst date palm trees and bushes. Occasionally, the lost travelers found this place. Before drinking from the clear lake, they always thought that this was a mirage…”
It had been an idyllic era. Or at least it had been for Fina.
“What happened next?” Zhang Zian asked, although he could guess.
“Later, people discovered the gold mines. The reason seems to be that a traveler got a big piece of gold in his fist from the lake.” Fina looked slightly angry.
Was it actually a gold mine?
Both ancient and modern Egyptians had an unusual obsession with gold. After someone discovered gold, the place would be designated for the pharaoh, and no one else could touch it.
That was when it was all over.
They could imagine the events that followed.
The mining of gold had caused deterioration of the environment. The lakes and oases rapidly shrunk, and it had become deserted in the days that followed.
Large animals had disappeared, and only cats and other small animals that had adapted to these harsh environments had survived.
Thus, these honeycomb sand dunes may not have been formed naturally, but rather, they had been caused by mining activities.
“Can we let them follow us back to the camp? Professor Wei Kang definitely wants to see them. I am not sure this is what he is looking for, but at least he can carry out some scientific examination.” Zhang Zian spoke up for Wei Kang’s work.
It was normal for scientific research to fail more often than succeed. However, not everyone could accept failure. For example, the leaders of Binhai University were not necessarily promoted because they were top-grade lecturers. Most of them were promoted because of their ability to produce results.
If Wei Kang’s costly scientific research couldn’t produce any decent results, it would be hard to get a research budget in the future. Without a budget, it would be even tougher to publish a paper with sufficient influence. Adding to these difficulties, it was impossible to expect a promotion without these. It might not be possible to remove the word “deputy” from his official work title in a lifetime.
Although this had nothing to do with Zhang Zian, he felt like he owed this to Wei Kang. If he could help, he still wanted to help.
Judging by how Wei Kang had treated the foxes previously, Fina felt that Wei Kang was a very principled person and agreed after some thought.
“Well, anyway, they always follow me, and they will not leave,” she said indifferently with a snort.
On the way back, the cats fell far behind. Zhang Zian thought that they’d run away, but after a while, he saw their bright eyes.
Before returning to the camp, he hid the remaining elfins and thought about what to say to Wei Kang.
“Meow meow! I missed you so much! Let me lick your fur for you!” Upon reaching camp, Snowy Lionet rushed out and stuck out its tongue. It desperately wanted to lick Fina, but she lifted a front paw to hold its face. Snowy Lionet’s legs were short, and it was unable to reach her.
Zhang Zian glanced at the camp. It was still quiet. There was no difference when he left. Only Xiao Tianyu’s tent gave a steady, low hum.
Looking at the time, he saw that he had been gone for almost an hour. A few wild cats were afraid of the lights, but a few lingered around the periphery of the camp.
To put on a show, one had to go all-in.
He asked Fina to instruct the wild cats to go around the infrared camera placed by the expedition team and leave some images in the camera, so that it would be easier to win the trust of the other scientists when Wei Kang published papers in international journals.
When he was ready, he hurried to the side of Wei Kang’s tent and slapped the tent door. He said eagerly, “Professor Wei Kang, wake up! This is urgent!”
Wei Kang immediately responded, “What happened? What happened?”
He stumbled out of the tent, wearing his glasses. He had not had time to put his jacket on.
Wei Kang thought that something serious had happened, and his face turned pale. He’d brought his team to a foreign country thousands of miles away and gone deep into the wilderness. If something really happened, how would he explain to their parents?
Zhang Zian pointed into the darkness. “I was watching the night and used a night-vision telescope to check the area. I saw a few animals running towards the infrared camera, so I woke you up to ask if you want to check it out.”
“Oh? Is it? Well, that’s fine, but you did scare me…” Wei Kang first calmed down, and then he was awake. “Did you see what animal it is?”
“No. They are furry but seem to be some kind of small animal,” Zhang Zian replied vaguely.
“Go! Go over there and check it out!” Wei Kang went back to his tent to get a camera and waved his hands in the air.
Their voices woke Nabari. Nabari never dared to sleep soundly, fearing the devil from the Devil’s Sea. He slept in his clothes.
He entered the tent and asked, “What happened?”
Zhang Zian briefly explained the situation. Nabari heaved a sigh of relief and decided to go with them.
Years ago, he had met some wild cat nearby. On his final guide mission, if he could see it again, it would be a perfect ending to his career.
As for the others, they were all sleeping soundly. Some sounds came from He He’s tent, suggesting that she might be awake. Nevertheless, she stayed in the tent. After all, she was the only lady left.
The three made their way through the camp and ran to the location where the infrared camera was set up.
Wei Kang rushed to the forefront. He could not wait to reach them, but he was afraid of scaring those little animals away.
When he was close, he gestured to the two men behind him, indicating that they should proceed quietly. They first saw Fina and a few pairs of bright eyes playing around it.
Wei Kang was on the ground, holding up his camera and observing the cats through the camera’s lens.
His heart rate suddenly increased. He had found a rare species of sand cat. It had never been discovered by modern humans ever.
