There was silence on the other end before the voice ca again, "You’re testing again."
The tone was akin to... you’re being naughty again.
Wei Feng chuckled softly, "Alright, shrewd girl, let’s et in the Tarim Basin. I hope the town we both reach is the sa one."
As soon as Wei Feng hung up, Gong Jiu humd, "This guy, every two sentences out of three are deceitful, this cooperation is impossible~~"
"There’s no choice but to go on, considering how many people they have lost inside, they have ’died’ into experience~~ And that experience is priceless, can’t even buy it..."
Flower Demon’s words made Anayi, who was already sowhat uneasy, look even more distressed, "You want to enter the Taklamakan Desert? Deep inside? You will die! It’s full of devils everywhere!"
Gong Jiu and Flower Demon exchanged a glance, both revealing a smile like that of the Big Bad Wolf...
"Dear, once you get on our car, don’t even think about getting off..."
Seeing that the only guide was scared to the point of turning pale, Sui Yi pressed on her temples, "Don’t scare her... Anayi, what we need is a guide, not a tourist guide, so we won’t force you. Just take us to the largest inhabited town on the edge of the basin... Of course, I’d prefer if you could introduce us to a reliable guide."
Guide and tourist guide, these concepts are different.
Anayi fell silent.
Gong Jiu started the car, Flower Demon continued snacking on sunflower seeds and watching soap operas, and as for Sui Yi... she touched the small piece of stone fragnt in her pocket.
And sighed slowly.
——————————
The roads in Xinjiang are not as good as ordinary highways; they are endlessly long and often encounter rough patches, making a day’s predicted travel stretch into two or three, with many unforeseeable incidents. Fortunately, with Anayi present, they first went to Korla, then onto the desert highway, which was the closest route.
But as everyone got on the desert highway, the huge car convoys that they thought they would be encountering surprisingly made them feel quite shocked.
"Are they on a Long March or the Silk Road journey, why are there so many people?" Gong Jiu wondered. Sui Yi was also curious, looking at these private cars which ca in fours, fives, sevens, eights, or even more, then her eyes shifted to the massive tour buses up ahead...
"Are all these people tourists?" Sui Yi asked Anayi.
"Mhm, most of these are self-driving tourists, those in the front should be tour groups organized by travel companies..."
"Are people still traveling to the desert at this ti of the year?" Gong Jiu grimaced.
"...for the heat, obviously, no need to wear cotton clothes, you can flaunt your thighs and chest..." Flower Demon’s very certain explanation made the car unusually quiet,
No one followed up on her statent.
A day and a half later, the group was haggard but finally arrived at the largest town on the outskirts of the Taklamakan Desert—Tak Town.
Originally it was supposed to be a nomadic tribe’s settlent, but as tourism developed, it gradually turned into a town, complete with various stores for supplying resources and inns and the like. At first glance, it looked more like a city than a city, but with an added touch of wildness.
Looking at the place before them, Anayi explained that many years ago the town was much farther out and in the years since it had expanded into the desert...
Flower Demon sighed lightly, "I now feel that those who ventured into this desert many years ago were at a loss..."
It was as if they were mad with resource deprivation, walking everywhere without encountering anyone and finding nothing to eat...
And now?
A glance around... nothing but people and food everywhere! Even a specialized Sichuan hot pot restaurant!
What a swindle!
"The power of humanity is infinite," Sui Yi made a judgnt, and the group quickly got out of the car together.
But they split into two groups, Sui Yi and Brother Ma went to et with Wei Feng, while the others went with Anayi to find a guide and stock up on essentials.
The eting went very smoothly, in the nearby restaurant, Wei Feng’s eyes flickered when he saw Sui Yi and Brother Ma.
"Going to find a guide? Seems you really don’t trust , huh?"
"No labor without reward, resources aren’t shared, I think that’s the best basis for safety between us."
Wei Feng chuckled softly.
Sui Yi looked over the people with him... the stern-faced man was there, just that Liang Qing wasn’t, probably either outside, or preparing their own team like Gong Jiu and the others.
"Your brother isn’t coming?"
Wei Feng was sowhat surprised Sui Yi would actively ask about this. Was she very familiar with his brother? Were they on good terms?
But he soon asked with a smile, "The Taklamakan Desert’s second-rate death journey, I wonder how many days’ leave Miss Sui has requested?"
There was a teasing tone in his voice, almost as if speaking to an old friend. Brother Ma pursed his lips, thinking this person really was cunning and not to be trifled with...
"I’ve never been a good student."
"Just the opposite of Miss Sui, Wei Jiang has always been a good student... And , I’ve always been a good brother."
Sui Yi didn’t respond but continued to sip her tea by herself.
Hmm, she was clearly snubbing him.
About an hour later, both groups, Liang Qing and Gong Jiu’s, arrived.
Sui Yi glanced at the guide Gong Jiu brought with him—short stature, thick limbs, a face with a little beard, probably in his forties...
His na was Gao Yi.
"Not Xinjiang native?" Sui Yi asked offhand.
"Hey, little miss, being a guide doesn’t necessarily require one to be from Xinjiang... I’ve been leading here for at least thirty years, brought people in and out reliably, with a guaranteed reputation, universally praised!"
His words were almost like those relentless ads for $998 on TV.
Sui Yi felt this man’s eyes were sharp, his speech forceful yet his gaze was shifty. He was a shrewd and slick figure. Facing them, he seed to see sothing; perhaps he did have so capabilities... but such a person was also likely to betray others. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to vote for it at Qidian (qidian). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.)
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