Chapter 310: Death Sahara (3)

A screech of tires.

The car lurched violently out of control the moment it lost its driver, the wheels grinding against the road surface with a sharp, ear-splitting shriek, skewing off the road and about to roll over. In the same instant “Wan Xiangchun” spread his wings, gold-red feathers warm as flame and hard as steel, wrapping firmly around Wei Xun, and then “Wan Xiangchun” leaped out of the vehicle with him.

No thought spared for the others; they’d managed on their own.

Mao Xiao Le followed immediately behind, hooking his fingers into the hollow cavity of Badou’s empty shell and dragging it along with him. Half-Life Daoist jumped last, landed in a roll, and steadied himself on his feet. Then came a thunderous crash as their vehicle went completely out of commission; beyond the uncontrolled rollover, it had also been split open by a certain someone’s wings.

Wei Xun now understood why An Xuefeng had chosen to impersonate Wan Xiangchun. The wings were nearly identical. Even Wei Xun was seeing this for the first time; he had seen An Xuefeng transform into a firebird, but he had never seen him grow wings in human form. It was like looking at the archangel Michael of legend, the one said to bear gold-red feathers.

An Xuefeng felt Wei Xun’s gaze on him and looked down, his expression gentle. The broad wings folded closed around them, creating something that felt like a private world between just the two of them. He noticed the look on Wei Xun’s face; the unmistakable look of someone who was about to do something, and felt a faint flutter in his chest. Then his expression went rigid.

Wei Xun had, inevitably, failed to resist. He plucked one of the feathers.

An Xuefeng: ?

Wei Xun was genuinely curious why a firebird’s wings could apparently become identical to a Golden-Winged Great Peng bird’s. He had just tucked the feather away when he heard Half-Life Daoist’s voice from outside.

“Is Wei Xun all right? Is he hurt?”

Half-Life Daoist had been peering anxiously over since they jumped out of the vehicle; first stunned by the wings, surprised that An Xuefeng had kept this hidden, and then watching those wings stay folded for a good ten seconds with no sign of opening. Unable to stop himself, he finally asked.

Then “Wan Xiangchun’s” wings opened, and Wei Xun walked out looking entirely unharmed, as though he’d stepped out from inside “Wan Xiangchun’s” arms.

“I’m fine.”

Wei Xun said with a smile, and turned back obediently.

“Thank you, Brother Wan. Thank you for worrying about me, Vice-Captain Half-Life.”

Such a well-behaved manner; nothing like a reckless madman, which made the sight of Badou’s severed head lying not far away, empty eyes staring blankly at the sky, that much more striking. Then again, after seeing what Wei Xun had done in Northern Tibet, well…

The way Wei Xun called him ” Vice-Captain Half-Life” made Half-Life Daoist feel as though he had ants crawling all over him, bursting with energy. He laughed a little awkwardly.

“Ha, ha ha; good, good that you’re not hurt.”

“How could anything happen to Wei Xun? It was just a puppet shell, it was never going to be a match for him.”

Mao Xiao Le, who had just finished examining Badou’s body, declared this firmly, then looked at Wei Xun with a gaze that could only be described as starry-eyed, like someone who had found their soulmate.

“Wei Xun, you and I are kindred spirits, aren’t we? You also love killing Tour Guides most of all.”

Yin-Yang Butterfly, who had just gotten out of the first vehicle and caught the tail end of Mao Xiao Le’s declaration, went white and very nearly triggered his butterfly separation instinct by sheer reflex. He broke out in goosebumps all over.

Return was without question the team most dedicated to killing Tour Guides, and in particular to killing his Butcher Tour Guides; Yin-Yang Butterfly felt a chill in his chest just thinking about it. He had always known he and the Return group were natural enemies.

The old Return hands were one thing. But this Return newcomer…

He looked at Wei Xun, and something felt off in his gut. Their car had also been watching the livestream the whole time; he had heard what Wei Xun said. Yin-Yang Butterfly was acutely perceptive, and his thoughts had gone even further.

That line Wei Xun had delivered; it carried a lot of killing intent.

You love killing Tour Guides, fine, but why say it out loud like that? [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] It was practically a provocation.

A provocation aimed at whom?

Thinking back to how Wei Xun had just been making a deliberate show of affection with “An Xuefeng,” a peculiar idea formed in Yin-Yang Butterfly’s mind. Was Wei Xun… actually hostile toward Bing-1?

He must be!

“Good that you’re not hurt. The Vice President specifically asked me to look after you.”

Yin-Yang Butterfly put emphasis on those three characters, Vice President. Even Bing-1 has entrusted your care to me; you should appreciate that, shouldn’t you?

After a brief exchange, everyone checked the two bodies. “Bodies” was generous, they were empty shells. Badou had been beheaded by Wei Xun; the contact in the first vehicle had been dispatched by Yin-Yang Butterfly. Once punctured, the bodies had deflated like leaking balloons, leaving nothing but two husks of skin radiating a rancid smell.

“Blood, flesh, bone, organs; all eaten out clean.”

Bai Xiaosheng put on gloves and performed a quick examination.

“Very fresh. Paired with agave and berry vinaigrette; this was the Cannibal Witch’s breakfast.”

Wei Xun understood how Bai Xiaosheng was smelling agave and berry vinaigrette through the stench of death. They had landed at ten-thirty that morning; Bai Xiaosheng saying “fresh” and “breakfast” meant these two men had been exposed, killed, and eaten the moment they went to meet the Return group at the airport.

“Don’t feel bad about it, we didn’t cause this.”

Mao Xiao Le, worried Wei Xun might carry some sense of guilt, said reassuringly:

“These two had ties to the Butcher Alliance’s side. We’d found out about it long ago.”

Badou and the others had been living people originally. The moment they learned through Wang Pengpai that Return was coming, they had certainly passed that information on immediately. But the Cannibal Witch was ruthless and cunning, and trusted no one, so she had simply eaten them and turned them into puppets, the better to welcome Return.

What the Cannibal Witch hadn’t accounted for was that Return had deliberately used these two men to send false information about “An Xuefeng” and “Wan Xiangchun.”

Wang Pengpai sighed with mild complaint.

“Tch, if we’d known about the livestream, we wouldn’t have needed all this trouble. Wasted two perfectly good inside contacts.”

“We have many more.”

“An Xuefeng” said evenly. Wang Yushu was completely in character; his arm went around Wei Xun’s shoulder without hesitation.

“Nothing the Butcher Alliance does is a secret to us, right, Yin-Yang Butterfly?”

Many people watching the livestream were only now registering that Return’s Tour Guide for this trip was Yi-2 Yin-Yang Butterfly. Even though Yin-Yang Butterfly had changed allegiances, most people’s mental image of him was still as the second-in-command of the East District’s Butcher Alliance.

If even the East District Butcher Alliance’s number two was willing to come and guide a Return trip, it gave considerable weight to what “An Xuefeng” had just said. Return’s relationship with the Butcher Alliance was clearly anything but ordinary.

After all, An Xuefeng was the number one Tourist. Whatever he said could be taken as reliable.

Yin-Yang Butterfly said nothing. These Return people were all thoroughly calculated in their scheming. One statement like that, and the West District’s Butcher Alliance would certainly start running internal checks; the Werewolf Alliance and other allied organizations would grow suspicious too; two already unstable partnerships might start watching each other with distrust.

Knowing his silence was essentially confirmation, Yin-Yang Butterfly simply couldn’t be bothered to get involved and changed the subject directly.

“Kill the Cannibal Witch first. She’s the weakest.”

He held up a piece of screaming rotting flesh in his hand. It was studded with strange jade-green spheres that on closer inspection turned out to be swollen maggots, their bodies packed with poison capable of contaminating even peak Tourists if they burst unexpectedly.

And yet there was a vivid red butterfly perched on the rotting flesh. It was beautiful and still, burning like a small flame. Its proboscis, like a thin straw, drove in turn into each swollen maggot, drawing out the contents with the ease of drinking jelly; the Cannibal Witch’s contamination was nothing but sweet jelly to Yi-2 Yin-Yang Butterfly’s butterfly.

Devouring an opponent’s contamination allowed you to extract their intelligence in advance. The Cannibal Witch was being served up to Yin-Yang Butterfly on a platter. The rotting flesh screamed in agony and struggled frantically, but it was entirely unable to escape. Yin-Yang Butterfly curved his lips slightly; he liked watching prey scream and writhe, particularly alienated Tour Guides.

At his level of strength, the pull of the Abyss had long since surpassed the satisfaction of ordinary bloodshed. Killing a Tourist here or there barely interested him anymore. Killing alienated Tour Guides, contaminating them, devouring them; that was where the real appeal lay.

The butterfly finished absorbing the contamination within a few seconds, and Yin-Yang Butterfly was left feeling mildly unsatisfied. He looked toward Wei Xun, about to suggest letting him absorb Wei Xun’s piece of rotting flesh too, and then he noticed the maggot spheres on the rotting flesh stuck to Wei Xun’s blade.

They were emitting an oily, luminous green glow.

Oily green?

Yin-Yang Butterfly: ??

His appetite evaporated completely on the spot. Even the small red butterfly hesitated visibly, hovering with a kind of reluctant uncertainty.

“The Madman’s Killing Blade’s contamination has entered the Cannibal Witch.”

Wei Xun said, shrugging off Wang Yushu’s arm around his shoulder. He hadn’t used the Fire God’s or the Perished Ming’s pollution, but the resentful soul contamination that had been forged through those two pollutions was hardly simple anymore; the pale-green glow looked profoundly unsettling. And having taken down the Puppet Master several times over, the blade now carried an inexplicable intimidating weight against Abyss creatures and Tour Guides alike.

Wei Xun looked at Yin-Yang Butterfly’s small butterfly. It was tiny and delicate, with long trailing tails that trembled gently when it rested on the tip of Yin-Yang Butterfly’s finger; pathetically cute. Its wings were two-toned; closed, they were like moonlight frozen in silver frost, breathtakingly beautiful. With Little Jade present, Wei Xun recognized at a glance that this was also a female Abyssal Insect, and of a higher grade than Little Jade at that.

Now that was a truly formidable insect for a truly formidable person.

Wei Xun thought with admiration, and looked forward to the day Boss Maggot made its own magnificent emergence from the cocoon.

“Keep moving. Get to Adrar first.”

One good fire reduced the two skin-husks to nothing. Of the vehicles, only one remained drivable; when Yin-Yang Butterfly had dispatched the driver in the first car, Wang Pengpai had seized the wheel with reflexive precision, and the Old Driver’s orange title had let him keep the vehicle stable without a scratch.

One vehicle obviously couldn’t fit everyone.

“Split into two groups.”

Bai Xiaosheng removed his glasses; the lenses had already accumulated a layer of reddish-brown fine sand. In the short time they had been standing here, the sky had darkened strangely, the horizon to the far distance having turned a deep, continuous red; a wind column was forming there, vast and towering, and the reddish-brown sand and soil rolled through the air like a great red dragon, with no clear line between sky and earth. The terrifying Harmattan wind was nearly upon them.

Everyone swapped into desert goggles and wrapped their faces. The road here was remote and empty with not a soul in sight; there was no possibility of finding another vehicle, and without Wang Pengpai’s driving ability, any vehicle was likely to be useless in this storm.

“Two groups; Bai Xiaosheng, Team Captain, Vice-Captain, Xiao Le, and Yin-Yang Butterfly in the car. Wan Xiangchun, Half-Life Daoist, Zhang Xingcang, and Wei Xun; you four stay behind.”

Staying behind meant waiting? Of course not.

“The Harmattan wind qualifies as a scenic spot in the Agency’s judgment. Zhang Xingcang, your group takes the scenic route; bring Dreamchaser and go directly into the Death Sahara.”

The livestream cameras would follow the most compelling footage. The moment those four entered the Sahara, they would unquestionably hold four camera slots. Even if Wang Pengpai’s group was making ambush kills out here, the cameras would not switch away.

That meant “An Xuefeng’s” group of five would hold three camera slots, with two people consistently off-screen.

“We’ll go out there and kill to our hearts’ content first.”

“An Xuefeng” laughed coldly, then his expression softened when he looked at Wei Xun. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] He remembered to keep up appearances right up to the last moment and issued his orders.

“Wan Xiangchun, look after him. Once you’re in the Sahara, move carefully.”

“…Understood.”

Wei Xun barely held back a laugh. “Wan Xiangchun” kept his expression perfectly cool and simply, openly, pulled Wei Xun a little closer to his side.

“Brothers, time to run!”

Wang Pengpai had already started the vehicle; he stuck his head out the window and called out.

“See you in the Sahara!”

That battered wreck of a car, the kind that looked like it would fall apart in a stiff breeze, came alive under Wang Pengpai’s hands like a different machine entirely, and charged boldly into the wind. Just before they left, Yin-Yang Butterfly gave Wei Xun a small butterfly; both a means of protection and a means of communication.

They had discussed everything without any attempt to hide it from the livestream, and the plan had certainly been heard by the other side in full. The Butcher Alliance would almost certainly be unable to sit still and would send people to ambush the Wan Xiangchun group before they could enter the Sahara.

If they actually did that, they would be walking straight into Return’s trap.

Wei Xun thought it through quickly. The situation on the surface appeared to have the “Wan Xiangchun” group of four occupying the camera slots while Wang Pengpai’s group operated invisibly to ambush the enemy. In reality, Wang Pengpai’s five were driving straight into the Harmattan, and with the plan just laid out visibly, those five would certainly hold all five camera slots.

The four left behind were the ones who would be relatively unseen.

And “Wan Xiangchun” and Zhang Xingcang could both block the Agency’s observation, those two were the genuine covert assassins.

Of course, taking the scenic route into the Sahara was also a real objective. Wei Xun needed the white sand to lift the end-of-period curse, and Zhang Xingcang needed to get into the Sahara to try and wake Dreamchaser.

The four of them now stood in the howling wind. Wei Xun felt like a sheet of paper, he might be swept away at any moment. The ferret and the butterfly had already burrowed into his arms, and Wei Xun was half-leaning against “Wan Xiangchun.” And this was only the prelude to the Harmattan; the truly terrifying hot wind hadn’t arrived yet.

Far from any city, with not a living soul in any direction, a person standing here understood clearly just how vast and indifferent the natural world was, and just how small they were within it.

Compared to his alienated form, Wei Xun’s base body was still on the weaker side. Even as a Tourist, every rank advancement did improve physical constitution, but his rank was still low. Right now, the wind filled his ears completely; he had to hear “Wan Xiangchun” repeat himself several times before the words got through.

“Wei Xun, you should be receiving an Agency notification right now, right?”

The moment he said it, the notification appeared in Wei Xun’s mind.

【Tourist Wei Xun, welcome to this Death Sahara custom independent tour!】

【Trip Details】

【Difficulty: Unsolvable】

【Group Type: 8-person small group, private custom tour】

【Tour Guide: Yi-2】

【As this is your first independent tour, the Agency is pleased to provide a special introduction!】

【Independent Tour Features:】

【1. Full freedom to stop and go as you please! (Entrance fees included.)】

【2. Luxury transport service, first class in every category; whether aircraft, off-road vehicle, boat, horse, camel, or otherwise — your choice, and we have it covered! (Driver included.)】

【3. Curated five-star luxury accommodations throughout, rest well and play hard! (Meals self-managed.)】

【First recommended activity: “Devil Fire Wind” is approaching. Would you like to participate?】

【Base reward: 10,000 points, plus desert specialty food, tools, creatures, titles, and more. The better your performance, the richer the rewards!】

Wei Xun had genuinely never experienced an independent tour before; the novelty of it was interesting. In previous journeys, the scenic spots and the activities at each were all predetermined. Here, the Agency was making recommendations, and it was clearly possible to decline.

No wonder the An Xuefeng who had been left here with them was completely unconcerned. The independent tour included Agency-provided transport as well.

“What happens if you refuse?”

Wei Xun asked out of curiosity.

“If you refuse, it becomes a natural phenomenon instead.”

Half-Life Daoist said with meaning, his voice somewhat blurred by the roaring wind.

“What you’re facing is genuine, terrifying nature.”

Scenic spots existed to test and develop Tourists; complete the task and you passed. Genuine natural dangers had no “passing” condition. The Harmattan blew for five or six days once it started; without Wang Pengpai’s driving skills, there was no leaving until it ended.

Wei Xun hesitated for only a moment before accepting. He was also curious about what Bai Xiaosheng had called “taking the scenic route”; could it really lead into the Sahara?

The instant he accepted, the wind around them subsided noticeably. The sky was still reddish-brown, and sand and soil rolled across the horizon like dragons, dust blotting out the light, but the normal Harmattan seemed as though the Agency had filtered it away, while a strange, twisted, burning heat remained everywhere around them, faint but deeply wrong, carrying an eerie quality.

“Watch yourselves.”

An Xuefeng’s voice came through the earpiece, faint but audible.

“What’s been filtered out is the natural disaster. What remains is everything that has been contaminated and warped.”

“You two together, us two together.”

Half-Life Daoist had already moved to Wei Xun’s side and was shooing the others away.

“With the two of you, our danger level goes up.”

Fair enough. Half-Life Daoist and Wei Xun were both on the weaker end; the tasks the Agency would assign them would be proportionally simpler. The two of them together would face a two-person level challenge; significantly easier than all four together, and far more manageable than being paired with An Xuefeng or Zhang Xingcang.

“Take care.”

Zhang Xingcang gave a brief nod. “Wan Xiangchun” looked at Wei Xun once, and then he and Zhang Xingcang picked a direction at random and departed quickly.

“Wei Xun, let’s go.”

Half-Life Daoist turned back with a smile. “Where do you say we head?”

“You have more experience, Vice-Captain. I’ll follow your lead.”

Wei Xun said with deference. But Half-Life Daoist shook his head.

“Ha, in a situation like this, it should be the young person leading.”

Wei Xun, counting carefully, was participating in only his second journey as a Tourist. His own strength was still nowhere near the level required to challenge a Latitude 30 Degrees journey. The Agency had extended proportional accommodations; the route he chose and the scenic tasks he encountered would all be relatively simple and safe.

And this was a rare chance to spend time alone with Wei Xun; not to be squandered.

Half-Life Daoist thought with confidence, then quickly glanced at the livestream on his phone and confirmed with satisfaction that once separated from An Xuefeng and Zhang Xingcang, the broadcast cameras were nowhere near the two of them.

Perfect.

“Can you see the Agency’s scenic spot description?”

Wei Xun asked. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Half-Life Daoist shook his head, with some modesty.

“No. I’m still reasonably capable, after all.”

Understood; the scenic spot description was probably only visible to Wei Xun himself, because he was the weaker one. The Agency catered to those who needed more help.

【Scenic Spot Description:】

【During the winter half of the year, North Africa is occasionally struck by winds as hot and dry as fire. The wind carries endless fine red sand from the Sahara, blanketing buildings, vegetation, and the earth itself in thick red dust. The extreme dryness and winds that can persist for dozens of hours are capable of cracking the ground open and desiccating animals caught in its path into dried husks. This is the most feared wind in Africa: the Harmattan.】

【Survive the Harmattan’s assault and safely weather the five-day wind period!】

【As you have crossed your rank bracket to participate in this trip, the Agency is pleased to offer special guidance!】

【To the east, there appear to be tracks left by a white camel. Legend holds that the white camel is a sacred desert beast, capable of calming all winds and sand, and remarkably friendly toward humans. Ride the white camel; can you escape the Harmattan and find safe shelter? Be cautious: the pack of hyenas tracking the white camel is not to be trifled with. They look like dried husks and appear to have been contaminated by something.】

【Cross the dunes to the west and you will find a wild date palm oasis, a rare water source in the desert. The sweet dates will restore your energy, and fortunately it does not lie in the Harmattan’s direct path. Be careful, however! When the local people settled and built their village here long ago, the mosquitoes were a problem. Contaminated mosquitoes are everywhere, and some are capable of draining every drop of your blood, while others can drain the very matter from your skull.】

【To the south there appears to be a pleasant destination: a local village settlement. The thatched and rammed-earth houses, round as great steamed buns, carry a strong regional character, and the locals here practice a special ritual to repel the Harmattan that will let you ride out the wind period safely. And you are in remarkable luck, you have arrived during the villagers’ “divorce celebration.” A grand and festive occasion, with the entire village in attendance, all of them beautiful single women. Perhaps your true love awaits among them? It seems fortune is on your side!】

【The Agency recommends you head north. Look to the north, and perhaps you will see the shimmer of a lake, a thriving oasis, a bustling city with busy streets; but all of this is a mirage in the desert. Not only that, but the instability of the Death Sahara has added something more sinister to this mirage. Giant worms lurk beneath the shifting sands, waiting for their moment. Enormous resurrection grass can grind a soul to dust. Most terrifying of all, the giant from the depths of the Death Sahara appears to have broken free of its restraints. Be warned: a pair of enormous blood-red eyes may be watching you from somewhere unseen.】

Of the four options the Agency had laid out, east and west both seemed relatively straightforward in Wei Xun’s estimation. Whether fighting mutated hyenas or mutated mosquitoes, it was simply a matter of combat, and either the desert oasis or the white camel would offer a safe route through the wind period.

The south was peculiar. A jubilant “divorce party,” an entire indigenous village full of single women, a special ritual to repel the Harmattan; what was the ritual exactly? The first two options had contaminated creatures lurking about, and this one almost certainly did too. Honestly, this direction intrigued Wei Xun more than either of the other two.

He had always been drawn to strange and unusual customs, and he liked interacting with people most of all.

Too bad.

“You’re really listening to me?”

Wei Xun confirmed one last time. Half-Life Daoist nodded enthusiastically.

“I’m following you completely!”

He had calculated that the chance for his strength to return lay with Wei Xun. So, this entire Sahara trip, he was simply going wherever Wei Xun went.

Wei Xun gave a brief nod. He had already thought through many things: Zhang Xingcang and the others were with Dreamchaser; that would be fine. The Butcher Alliance and Werewolf Alliance enemies would be dealt with by Return’s strongest, and Yin-Yang Butterfly would get to stretch his legs and put his blade to use.

Honestly, he was still a relative newcomer who hadn’t been in the Agency long. Wei Xun had realistic expectations for this trip; he was very clear on his own role. Look after himself, accomplish the small things he had come here specifically to do, and that was enough.

He hadn’t come to the Sahara to dodge a five-day Harmattan. He had come to see what a complete Latitude 30 Degrees journey actually looked like. To see what elite talent the West District’s Butcher Alliance had. The Werewolf Alliance also interested him a little; the Devil Merchant seemed to be a part of that.

And Wei Xun very much wanted to get his hands on the A-4 Infected.

He said it directly: “We head north.”

The Death Sahara’s instability was affecting the mirage; this was too interesting to pass up.

“North it is!”

Half-Life Daoist was decisive. Seeing Wei Xun was struggling a little against the wind, he simply slung Wei Xun onto his back with practiced ease and took large strides northward.

A quarter of an hour later, Half-Life Daoist deeply regretted this decision.

******

“What are you doing here too??”

“Uwaaah—”

A sound like an infant’s shrieking filled the air as countless massive spiked spheres were sent rolling at terrifying speed by the howling wind. They looked like tumbleweeds magnified several hundred thousand times over, just as solid and real-looking as any physical thing, identical to the shimmering mirages around them.

In reality, they too were mirages, of a kind. If you stood still and let these enormous things roll over you, you would emerge looking entirely unscathed; but what they damaged was not your body. It was your soul. Intangible, ghostly, attacking the spirit directly; the degree of trouble these things posed was evident just from looking at Zhang Xingcang, who was currently here as well.

Because yes: Half-Life Daoist had barely taken a few steps with Wei Xun on his back before running straight into the very Zhang Xingcang who had left ahead of them. Meeting him here was like seeing a ghost in broad daylight. With Zhang Xingcang appearing here now, this was almost certainly one of the most dangerous challenges available.

As the situation now stood, both of them were being chased through the wind by rolling balls of giant resurrection grass; intangible, ghostlike, attacking the soul. Half-Life Daoist was at a severe disadvantage against this kind of opponent. The wind and sand were so overwhelming here that he couldn’t even open his mouth to invoke his title, every attempt just packed his mouth with sand.

“We can’t keep going forward; I can feel the Death Sahara’s energy ahead!”

Zhang Xingcang shouted urgently. What he was calling the Death Sahara was the entry point to it, and what had broken free and was ahead of them was almost certainly one of the creatures that had escaped from within the Sahara. Wei Xun thought of the Agency’s description: the giant from the depths of the Death Sahara.

“East is clear.”

Right now, Wei Xun was the only one with a good vantage point, perched high on Half-Life Daoist’s back; the higher up you were, the further you could see. He had spotted the row of dunes to the east, rising one after another like a great serpent, and caught a particular smell under the cover of the wind that did not escape his nose.

It smelled exactly like Baby Corn’s enclosure after several days without cleaning.

Running in that direction would lead straight to what the Agency had described; the giant worms lurking beneath the shifting sands. Desert sandworms.

Giant resurrection grass rolling in from the north. A giant to the south. Sandworms to the east. That left only one direction.

West.

No time to hesitate. They changed direction immediately. Wei Xun actually thought the west was the most dangerous of all. Just as the Agency’s description had implied; the dangers you knew about, the dangers you could see coming, were the less frightening ones. The west had received no warnings whatsoever in the Agency’s description. Whatever was hiding in that direction was almost certainly the most dangerous thing of all.

Zhang Xingcang understood this principle perfectly well. The terrifying sense of crisis was nearly enough to blow his mind apart. Not another moment of hesitation; he gritted his teeth and invoked the Mutual Aid Alliance’s Rule Seven. In the instant the Agency’s observation was blocked, he produced a clean white conch shell with vivid red markings.

Inside the conch shell was a small pinch of golden sand.

Saharan golden sand, something that could enter the Death Sahara. Without Dreamchaser in control, there was no entering the Sahara through the Agency’s normal pathways. But here, in this mirage already saturated with the Sahara’s power, the golden sand could just barely function.

Just barely. Zhang Xingcang had no way to ensure they all landed in the same place. And carrying Dreamchaser, he would likely drop straight into the deeper layers of the Sahara.

Wei Xun and Half-Life Daoist staying together was safer.

“Hold on, I can’t guarantee where you’ll end up!”

Zhang Xingcang called out urgently.

“Hold tight and split!”

Half-Life Daoist grabbed Wei Xun by reflex; Zhang Xingcang seized the Dreamchaser dragon egg. He grunted, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth as he forced the Saharan golden sand into use.

An invisible force enveloped all of them, and in the next instant the four of them vanished where they stood. The rolling balls of giant resurrection grass continued their path forward, churning through the spot where Zhang Xingcang’s group had been standing; and then, five meters further on, they simply ceased to exist.

Not passed through; devoured. Crushed into nothing by an invisible force. Something like a black hole was concealed in the empty air, swallowing everything that entered it. If Zhang Xingcang’s group had run a few steps further, they too would have had nowhere left to be.

The chaos wreaked by the Death Sahara’s instability was vast and far-reaching; the few creatures that had slipped out were the least of it. If things were this turbulent outside, the interior of the Death Sahara was almost certainly more dangerous still.

The world spun. Zhang Xingcang’s first sensation upon landing was sand, and then he exhaled with relief. Red sand; this was the fifth layer of the Death Sahara. Manageable; not too deep, and still within the layers Dreamchaser had explored and mastered.

Thank goodness the golden sand had worked. Zhang Xingcang had sustained serious internal injuries and needed to take a moment to stabilize. By instinct he tightened his grip on whoever’s hand was in his; this time, no matter what, he was not letting Dreamchaser go…

Hm??

??

“What, why is it you?!”

Half-Life Daoist whose hand Zhang Xingcang was gripping lost all composure.

“Where’s Wei Xun?!”

He had been holding Wei Xun so tightly. How had he ended up alongside Zhang Xingcang? Were two hands somehow not enough? Half-Life Daoist’s mental state had fully collapsed.

And Zhang Xingcang was in an even worse state than him.

His egg was gone.

The Dreamchaser egg that had been in his arms just a moment ago, enormous as it was, was gone.

******

Somewhere in a vast black desert, Wei Xun picked up the Dreamchaser diamond egg from where it lay half-buried in black sand at his feet, tucked it into his arms, and felt, for one of the rare times in his life, a little lost.