Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Xiao Zhang! Xiao Zhang! This is the expedition team. Please reply!”
“Xiao Zhang! Xiao Zhang! This is the expedition team. Please reply!”
At the water well within the Bedouin tribe, Wei Kang looked towards the south with a telescope. From time to time, he picked up the walkie-talkie to call Zhang Zian.
“Teacher, forget it. Drink a glass of water first. Do not overwork yourself.”
Gao Ke ran forward and handed a bottle of water to him. “We have been here for three days. If Zhang Zian wanted to be here, he would have come by now. I will say something that you won’t want to hear—since he did not arrive at the scheduled place at the stipulated time, he likely did not make it. Because such an epic black storm and earthquake occurred in the Devil’s Sea, the chances of him escaping all of that are extremely low. You must be prepared for the worst.”
Wei Kang sighed, passed the telescope to Gao Ke, and took a few mouthfuls of water.
“Though that is the case, he is alert and resilient. He may not be trapped in the Devil’s Sea. Let’s wait a while for him,” Wei Kang said.
Gao Ke wiped his sweat and looked up at the hot sun. Since they left the desert, Wei Kang kept the expedition team here, waiting for Zhang Zian to return safely from the desert.
The members of the expedition team were somewhat dissatisfied with this decision. They’d finally gotten out of the desert. What they needed the most now was soft beds, showers, air conditioners, buffets, ice cream, Wi-Fi, friends, and sand sculptures. They should not be waiting here aimlessly like idiots for someone who was most likely not going to come back.
After saying goodbyes at the Devil’s Sea with Zhang Zian, the expedition team arrived, with Nabari’s help, at the scheduled location to meet up. Then they said only to wait 48 hours.
However, they did not stay at the place for 48 hours. They did not even stay there for 24 hours.
On the first day, they set up their canopy to rest and took turns looking after the restless He He. However, at noon, there was a sudden sound of thunder from the direction of the Devil’s Sea, followed by a huge wall of dust. They were overwhelmed and did not know what to do. Nabari, on the other hand, was on his mat praying to his god.
Then the black storm appeared. It came from the direction of the Devil’s Sea and quickly spread to them.
As the black storm arrived, they could not stay put, or they might be buried in the sand. Thus, they were forced to leave the scheduled place in advance and briefly lost their way in the black storm.
When the sandstorm stopped, they found that they were off-course. At this time, they faced a choice—to return to the scheduled location to continue to wait for Zhang Zian, or to return directly to the Siwa Oasis. Wei Kang and Salem chose the first option, while the rest chose the second. Nabari was so scared by the Devil’s Sea that he was unable to comment.
He He’s mental state was unstable. They also had a principle of the minority obeying the majority. Wei Kang had no choice but to agree not to wait for Zhang Zian, as he felt responsible for the overall safety of the expedition team. So they left the desert, though he constantly felt very guilty. If Zhang Zian arrived at the scheduled place within 48 hours but found no one, it would be disappointing.
The return journey was not smooth. Even with the help of the drone, there were even more difficulties and dangers when crossing the sand dunes. On the way back, one of their cars rolled over the sand dunes and down the ridges. Fortunately, Du Xuetao was only slightly injured from the accident.
As they were already exhausted, the expedition team took a longer time leaving than when they had entered the desert. When they finally saw the Bedouin’s camel team, everyone was half gone. They also did not have many supplies left.
Under such circumstances, the rest didn’t particularly appreciate Wei Kang insisting on waiting for Zhang Zian.
Gao Ke pointed to a Bedouin cottage. “Teacher, you should think about Xiao He. She must be counseled as soon as possible.”
He He didn’t have much to do throughout their journey and kept insisting on returning to the Devil’s Sea to feel the pure cosmic energy. She even tried to steal a car. Fortunately, they watched her closely with 24-hour surveillance to prevent her from escaping.
Wei Kang shook his head. “I have contacted her parents. They are on the way here. Let them decide how to treat her… I insist on staying here. In fact, I also considered her status. If she is allowed to return to the Siwa Oasis, she will make a report and insist that we illegally imprison her. We are in a foreign land. We will not be able to defend ourselves properly.”
They were fully aware of how the Egyptian police force worked. Thus, Wei Kang felt that it is better to stay in the Bedouin tribe, which was outside of their jurisdiction. He would wait until her parents arrived and hand her over to them to avoid any other issues.
“Then do you think that, instead of waiting for Zhang Zian, we’ll end up waiting for Peter Lee instead?” Gao Ke said as he looked into the distance.
On the return journey, the expedition team’s satellite phone rang once, and the number was displayed as Peter Lee’s satellite phone. After getting connected, the other party said nothing, and neither did Wei Kang. After waiting for a while without speaking a single word, he hung up.
This silent phone call contained a lot of information. Peter Lee and his team had escaped the Devil’s Sea—at least, some of them had made it. However, Zhang Zian was not with them. If he was, he would have said something.
Wei Kang and Peter Lee had nothing to say to each other. Wei Kang’s impression of them had changed dramatically. He felt that they were simply lawless. He mainly wanted to know about Zhang Zian’s situation when he got on the phone. Once he had his answer, there was no need for further conversation.
As for why Peter Lee called, why he didn’t say a word, it wasn’t clear. Perhaps it was a farewell to the expedition team who had gone through difficult times with them.
Wei Kang sincerely hoped that in the future, he would not have any further interactions with them. He drank a few more mouthfuls of water and picked up the walkie-talkie to continue his calls.
“Xiao Zhang! Xiao Zhang! This is the expedition team! Please reply!”
He had said this a zillion times within the last three days. He was now reciting it like a machine. As time went by, he knew that the possibility of Zhang Zian returning safely was getting smaller and smaller. This is because he calculated that the drinking water and food in Zhang Zian’s car were not enough to support him for so long.
Unless…
He did not want to imagine any cruel possibilities of what he might do. However, if Zhang Zian chose survival, he could understand whatever actions he chose to take and would not blame him. Nevertheless, he did hope that this would only be undertaken at the point of utmost desperation.
In any case, when He He’s parents arrived, they must leave, as there was then no further reason to wait.
“Xiao Zhang! Xiao Zhang! This is the expedition team. Please reply!”
This time around, there was a sudden response.
“Expedition team! Expedition team! This is Zhang Zian! Received! Please speak!”
