Chen Professor, hearing the fat man's authentic Beijing accent, gave him a suspicious glance. He thought to himself, could this Mr. Pete be a second-generation immigrant? But it didn't make sense that a second-generation immigrant would take on the tough job of a mercenary.

Chen Professor became even more wary of the fat man.

It wasn't surprising that Chen Professor was suspicious. In those years, the United States had done a lot of infiltration, even recruiting people in China at high salaries who could speak extremely obscure dialects, specifically to engage in espionage.

Zoe, this American girl with a standard European appearance, also responded to Chen Professor's greeting in fluent Mandarin: "Hello, Professor Chen."

Chen Professor was even more surprised, thinking that the United States had arranged for many China experts in the team for this joint scientific expedition.

Zoe and the fat man saw Chen Professor's worries, but given the roles they were playing, it wasn't easy to directly reveal their true identities.

"Hey?" Duan Pengfei broke the awkward silence. "Where are Li Yi, Zhang Qiang, the guide, and that American?"

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere became unusually oppressive. A student named Liu Xiaojuan said to Duan Pengfei with tears in her eyes, "They're missing..."

Although it was expected, Duan Pengfei still showed a look of surprise.

"Missing?"

Liu Xiaojuan said to Duan Pengfei, "When the black sandstorm hit, several of us followed Chen Professor's camel and arrived here after a short walk. There were ancient city ruins here to shield us, and we survived. But after the sandstorm passed, we realized that all five of you were gone."

"After the sandstorm passed, we searched around here until night, but we didn't find anything," another student named Wang Tieniu added.

Of the two teams encountering misfortune, the most distressed was actually Chen Professor.

In the village, he had heard the Uyghur elders say that the black sandstorm would arrive in about five days, but the black sandstorm would only rage in the central region of the Taklamakan Desert and would not attack the Lop Nur area.

Chen Professor then planned to set off first, so that they could reach the Lop Nur area before the storm hit. If the American follow-up personnel arrived a day or two late, then they could use the black sandstorm to separate the two teams, and they would have at least a half-month time difference.

But no one expected the black sandstorm to arrive two days early. Chen Professor didn't expect that the American security team was a group of daredevils who weren't afraid of death, and they dared to venture deep into the desert when the storm was about to come.

In fact, all of this can't be entirely blamed on Chen Professor. With extreme weather, no one can accurately predict it. But judging from Chen Professor's overall mental state, it seemed that he had suffered a considerable shock.

Besides the fat man and Zoe, there were only six people left in the archaeological team: Professor Chen Liren, teaching assistant Duan Pengfei, and four students, Liu Xiaojuan, Wang Tieniu, Liu Kailin, and Li Zhonghua.

Associate Professor Li Yi, student Zhang Qiang, the guide Gurbanjan, and that American Nick were all missing in the black sandstorm.

Their external communication equipment had also failed, and they had completely lost contact with the outside world.

In the oppressive atmosphere, Duan Pengfei observed the ruins similar to the ancient city of Loulan by the dim firelight and couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Is this the ruins of the ancient city of Loulan?"

Chen Professor's eyes were red, and he hadn't yet recovered from his self-blame. He shook his head, "This is not Loulan, but it is also Loulan..."

This time, not only Duan Pengfei was confused, but the students and the fat man and Zoe were also baffled by Chen Professor's words.

Chen Professor saw that everyone was looking at him with inquiring eyes, so he adjusted his emotions and explained slowly, "During the day, I carefully observed that from the light brown mudstone of the ancient city, the rock composition here is the same as the rock composition of the Loulan ruins. The architectural styles of the two are almost identical, and the cultural characteristics retained are extremely similar. From this, it can be judged that the ancient city ruins we are in may have been part of the ancient city of Loulan. However, no historical documents show that such a ruin was hidden in the desert, and this place is far away from the location of the ancient city of Loulan. We only entered here by mistake."

Duan Pengfei guessed, "Could it be that the people in the ancient city of Loulan came here specifically to build another ancient city?"

Chen Professor denied Duan Pengfei's statement, "Look, the rock material of the ancient city ruins is clearly different from the yellow sand here. It's impossible for someone to transport the rock and soil here specifically to build a castle, right? And this ancient city ruin is on a desert, and the sand is flowing. No one would build a castle on quicksand."

Chen Professor thought for a while and said his idea, "Perhaps this ancient city ruin was originally connected to the ancient city of Loulan, and was later transported here by sand."

Duan Pengfei raised a question, "If the sand is flowing, then the ancient city should sink into the sand, right? How could it be transported here?"

Chen Professor pondered for a moment and explained, "My idea is a hypothesis. This is the first time I've seen this situation."

After Chen Professor said this, no one spoke again. Duan Pengfei and his students silently thought about what Chen Professor said.

The two of them had been discussing for a long time just now, and the fat man was confused. Now that no one was talking, it gave the fat man a chance. The fat man asked, "Professor Chen, I heard about this ancient city of Loulan when I was a kid, but I only know there's such a place. Can you tell us about the history of Loulan?"

Chen Professor was a little surprised. The fat man's question was like someone asking an elementary school math question in a university classroom. However, Chen Professor wasn't a rigid and serious person. Since someone asked, he was happy to answer. "Loulan was once a country in the Western Regions and an important transportation route on the ancient Silk Road. The name Loulan first appeared in the 'Records of the Grand Historian: Biography of the Xiongnu.' In the fourth year of the Former Reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, that is, 176 BC, Maodun Chanyu mentioned Loulan in a letter to Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, 'Established Loulan, Wusun, Hujie, and its surrounding twenty-six countries, all as the Xiongnu. All the people who draw bows are one family.' At that time, Loulan was conquered by the Xiongnu.

"In the fourth year of the Yuanfeng Reign of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, 77 BC, Han General Huo Guang sent Fu Jiezi to assassinate the King of Loulan and changed the country's name to Shanshan, moving the capital south. At that time, Loulan became an important place for the Han Dynasty to garrison and cultivate.

"The Jin Dynasty and the Former Liang Dynasty, following the Cao Wei Dynasty, also established the Western Regions Chief Administrator's Office in the city of Loulan, stationing a large number of troops and carrying out large-scale land reclamation, firmly controlling the entire Loulan area. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, merchants traveling between the East and West mostly had to pass through Loulan, and cultural exchanges between the East and West reached a new peak during this period."