5: Chapter 5: The Surprise Attack!

Although a Black Sandstorm had occurred yesterday, this vast sea of sand showed no signs of any natural disaster having taken place.

It was as if it had always looked this way.

Song Yiqing set out with Yan Kuanru and the others. From their pace, it was clear that the members of the Yan Family Gang were veterans who spent their years traversing the desert.

The sand was soft, and moving quickly required skill, yet their speed didn't slow down in the slightest, as if they were walking on flat ground.

At the same time, Song Yiqing took an extra look at Zhang Qilin. The man was an expert in ancient martial arts, and he crossed the sandy terrain as if it were level pavement.

Because they all had to follow the paths taken by predecessors, all the Archaeological Teams initially started out on the same road.

This allowed them to see the equipment of the other teams.

Not far away was a team with the character 'Hang' on their shoulders. Song Yiqing recognized them.

This was a more professional exploration team. It was said that even their members were directly recruited overseas mercenaries, and their equipment was not weak at all.

With Great Xia opening up forbidden zones for exploration, civilian Archaeological Teams were also qualified to be equipped with firearms.

However, this equipment had to undergo inspection and registration before entry.

Even so, not many teams had the funds to afford heavy firepower.

Most people carried small thermal weapons, such as shotguns, old-fashioned rifles, or bows and arrows.

However, if one discovered unknown creatures or unexplored areas, the points obtained could be directly exchanged for weapons with the officials.

It was essentially a positive feedback mechanism.

While Song Yiqing was thinking, many netizens had already flooded into the Yan Family Gang's livestream room.

[Holy crap!! The Yan Family Gang actually tricked more newcomers?]

[Poor things!! I've watched way too many Yan Family Gang livestreams. Every time I see newcomers join, they always end up sacrificed because they encounter extremely dangerous situations!]

[Newcomers who join the Yan Family Gang can never escape the fate of accidental death!]

[How pitiful!! Truly pitiful. Looking at these two, they're clearly still so young. Sigh, it's really a bit of a waste.]

[Eh, why does that short-haired kid look so familiar? I think I've seen him in another livestream room.]

[User above, you actually remember that? Young kids nowadays all look more or less the same, what difference could there be?]

[Don't think about it. He probably just looks like some poor sap who's about to die. All these people have the same unlucky look on their faces!]

On the screen of the Yan Family Gang's livestream room,

Yan Kuanru looked at the bullet comments in the room and was secretly delighted, though he didn't show it openly.

When exploration teams brought newcomers, they were essentially used as 'tails'—this was already a default rule in the industry.

Only those who could survive an exploration had the chance to become permanent members of the team.

Yan Kuanru looked back at Song Yiqing and Zhang Qilin, who were walking at the very back, and then said to a middle-aged man beside him,

"Between these two, save the one carrying the ancient blade if you can.

That kid might know a bit of Feng Shui. Keeping him might allow us to go further."

"Don't worry, Brother Kuan."

The middle-aged man chuckled. As he turned his head, he gave Song Yiqing a slight nod and a warm smile, looking just like a kind elder.

But Song Yiqing could feel the coldness beneath the man's 'warmth'.

Traveling for a long time under the scorching sun caused even these old hands to show signs of fatigue.

Yan Kuanru first checked the time on his watch, then confirmed his hand-drawn map before saying,

"Rest and reorganize here. We set out in twenty minutes and should reach the destination before nightfall."

Hearing this, Song Yiqing and Zhang Qilin didn't dally. They found a random spot and sat down.

Just as Song Yiqing was about to drink some water, he felt a gaze fixed on him.

"Hmm?"

He turned his head and noticed that Zhang Qilin was looking at him.

"Something wrong?"

"You're not tired?"

Zhang Qilin asked calmly.

Seeing the other man's equally steady breathing, Song Yiqing couldn't help but smile.

"Neither are you."

“...”

Zhang Qilin didn't speak further. Just like his nickname, he was as quiet as a 'Muffled Oil Jar'.

Song Yiqing didn't mind. Instead, he secretly circulated his Feng Shui Secret Arts to determine the location of the Jingjue Tomb.

Just then, a figure slowly walked up to his side.

It was the middle-aged man who had smiled at him earlier—Zhu Chenshan.

"Kid, first time in the desert?"

"Yeah."

Song Yiqing wasn't sure what the man wanted, so he responded casually.

Then Zhu Chenshan spoke up,

"We in the Yan Family Gang have been to the Taklamakan Desert more times than we can count.

Our understanding of this place is like being at home."

"Oh?"

Song Yiqing felt slightly curious.

"What's the deepest you've ever been? The outer perimeter? Or the inner core?"

"Hahahaha,"

Zhu Chenshan laughed.

"Forget the inner core, even the outer perimeter is a place not many people can enter.

We just follow the main road and scavenge for bits and pieces nearby.

So, following us is a stroke of great luck for you!"

As he said this, he lowered his voice and said to Song Yiqing,

"But you also understand that following an exploration team isn't always absolutely safe, right?"

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?"

Song Yiqing's eyes narrowed slightly, then he pretended not to understand.

"I don't understand."

"Hehehehe."

Zhu Chenshan chuckled, said nothing more, and stood up to return to the rest of the Yan Family Gang.

Song Yiqing naturally understood his meaning: he was soliciting a protection fee in exchange for a helping hand when danger struck.

As for not paying? Then if you died, you died.

Song Yiqing didn't care about any of this.

After all, it wasn't certain who would be the one dying in the end.

Just as he was thinking,

A slight movement beneath the sand suddenly made Song Yiqing frown.

He instinctively looked toward Zhang Qilin.

He saw that the other man was also looking over.

The two didn't communicate, but they both read the meaning in each other's eyes.

There was something under the sand!! And it was dangerous!

Song Yiqing slowly pulled out his Entrenching Shovel, while Zhang Qilin, sitting diagonally opposite him, gripped the hilt of his ancient blade.

Meanwhile, the members of the Yan Family Gang seemed to have noticed nothing, still chatting and laughing.

But suddenly!!!

Bang!!!

The ground suddenly exploded!!

Immediately following, a massive Black Giant Scorpion, as large as a bull, suddenly appeared.

Its long black tail, tipped with a sharp barb, swept out and instantly took the life of a Yan Family Gang member.

Puchi—

Blood instantly splattered across the sand, soaking a patch red.

The others, having finally reacted, scattered and pulled out their shotguns to attack!

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

...