"Won't this be dangerous? Smuggling is strictly investigated these days."
Wang Banyue worriedly asked from the side.
He had a vague bad premonition.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Let's get some sleep. We'll arrive in Beidong tomorrow or the day after, then wait for a ship."
Zhang Tian said, and the others didn't say much more.
However, Wu Tianzhen and Wang Banyue both felt a hidden unease.
Surely they wouldn't be so unlucky. Yes, they believed in their own luck.
While Zhang Tian and the others waited for the train, in the desert.
At a fork in the road.
A group of camels was slowly advancing.
On the backs of the camels were a group of old experts.
They looked as if they had just experienced a sandstorm, their faces sallow and withered, appearing like patients.
And the camels beneath them were suffering.
These days, camels could barely get enough to eat, and following this group of people had almost worn them out.
At this moment, the camels remembered the group of handsome, strong men and beautiful women.
How joyful it was to follow them! Not only did they not have to worry about sandstorms, but they also had food available at all times.
But now, they had been hungry for several meals.
"This should be the fork in the road. Where should we go first?"
Professor Li looked at the map in front of him and the endless golden desert, asking for the opinions of the team members behind him.
"I suggest we go to Loulan ancient city first, and then to Jingjue ancient city. Since we have to go to both, Jingjue ancient city is definitely more dangerous, so it's better to see the easier one first."
Xiao Qiang said from the side, and Xiao Guang nodded in agreement.
"I agree."
Hao Aiguo also nodded, and the others had no objections.
"Wait, Xiao Huang says she seems to want to go that way."
At this moment, the only female team member spoke up.
She was holding a yellow weasel in her arms.
The girl's face was already disfigured, her chin had become pointed, and her nose was a little long. She looked like a weasel that had become a spirit.
"Xiao Li, are you sure? Weasels can talk? Let's forget it. The majority rules."
Chen Dongping said from the side.
Since he had gotten familiar with the group, he had become more talkative.
"Since everyone has chosen this direction, we'll go with it too."
Xiao Li said, not adding anything more, and followed the expert team towards the direction of the Loulan kingdom.
However, as they set off, the weasel in Xiao Li's arms raised its head, and a glint of light seemed to flash in its eyes.
It stared coldly at Chen Dongping in front of it but did nothing.
Huang Shuliang vaguely felt that there was something she needed in Jingjue ancient city in that direction, which was why she had instructed Xiao Li to go in the direction of Jingjue ancient city.
At this moment, Xiao Li had already become Huang Shuliang's possession, so she was one hundred percent obedient.
Huang Shuliang naturally did not wish to encounter this situation.
"Old Li, your team member constantly holding a weasel is not appropriate."
Professor Chen said from the side.
His voice was low, trying not to be heard by others.
"There's nothing we can do. We brought this weasel back because we felt sorry for it. Who knew she would become addicted to it? Sigh, let's just keep her. She doesn't eat much anyway."
Professor Li sighed.
If he had known this would happen, he would have sent it to a family and handed it over directly.
He would never have kept such a creature.
Professor Chen nodded.
"That's true, it's a life too. If we can keep it, we should."
Professor Chen was also kind-hearted and amiable. In modern terms, he was a saint.
"We should be arriving soon. Let's speed up. The beasts must be tired too."
Professor Chen shouted, and everyone echoed him.
"Jingjue ancient city, I've learned a bit about it. It's a massive city located in the heart of the desert."
"Its history is very long. To enter the ancient city, location and direction are very important, so we must try not to get lost."
Professor Li said indifferently.
This meant they should try to go slower, even if they went hungry, as long as they didn't lose their way.
From this, one could see the difference between Professor Li and Professor Chen.
Professor Li seemed to have a greater sense of crisis.
Professor Chen nodded.
"Professor Li is right. It was my recklessness."
He said, his gaze drifting towards the vast yellow sand.
"We've been traveling for almost a month, haven't we?"
Professor Chen couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, we have. Fortunately, the village secretary helped us when we encountered the sandstorm before, otherwise, we really wouldn't have been able to get out of the storm cluster."
Chen Dongping replied from the side.
It was also fortunate that the village secretary was quite familiar with the area, which saved them. Otherwise, these people would have died in the desert long ago.
"According to the map, we still have a few days to reach the Loulan kingdom. Fortunately, we managed to get some water there before."
Hao Aiguo said from the side, and everyone nodded with lingering fear.
"Alas, I wonder if this trip is a blessing or a curse."
Professor Li sighed.
This time, the map Zhang Tian gave them contained two ancient tombs.
Normally, there would be only one, and it would be dangerous. Now, having two directly was indeed a bit overwhelming.
"Mamati, is your route correct? Why do I feel like we're getting closer to the Black Desert?"
At this moment, a bead of sweat appeared on the village secretary's forehead.
He had lived here his whole life and had a strong sense of crisis regarding the Black Desert.
He rarely went near the Black Desert, and now he was leading the experts there. The village secretary felt like he was being too bold.
"We're almost there, village secretary. The food you have should be enough to get by. It should be fine."
Xiao Guang said from the side.
He was completely unaware of the dangers of the Black Desert.
"Mamati, you are truly fearless because you are ignorant."
"That's the Black Desert, Mamati! Not even camels can survive once they enter the Black Desert."
"There's a Snake God in there, Mamati!"
The village secretary was so anxious that he even started speaking in his native dialect.
"Comrade village secretary, we're just going to take a look over there. There shouldn't be any accidents."
Professor Chen performed as usual.
"Mamati, what can I say about you? You can't go there."
The village secretary said, and Professor Li spoke softly.
"This should be in the center of the desert. As mentioned before, it's currently the windy season. There should be more sandstorms in the center of the desert, right?"
Professor Li said.
The village secretary gave him a thumbs up.
"Yes, that's exactly it, Mamati."
"In the past, only one person successfully crossed the Black Desert. So, I don't have that confidence to cross the Black Desert. Let's leave."
The village secretary looked worried.
Although Zhang Tian had resolved the unknown dangers, he could not resolve the dangers of nature. Therefore, such natural phenomena still had to be resolved by the expert team themselves.
"It's okay, didn't we dodge the last one? It'll be fine."
Chen Dongping pushed up his glasses.
He was an intern, so he often had a kind of ignorant fearlessness. Most interns would follow the direction of their hearts, which was normal.
Just as Chen Dongping finished speaking.
The next moment, a light breeze began to blow around them.
The wind grew stronger and stronger.
The village secretary's face instantly changed.