The sudden sprint of the camels caused everyone to sway up and down, almost making them vomit along the way, feeling like their bodies were going to fall apart.
Even Que Qiu at the front looked a bit sickly.
That terrifying sandstorm dissipated as soon as it reached the Oasis Ancient City.
This so-called Oasis Ancient City was nothing but some weathered ruins, with a small water pond not far away, where some green plants grew. However, this was a rare underground spring source, sustaining this small pond for hundreds of years without drying up. It used to be very prosperous, but over time, only ruins on the yellow sand remained.
After Que Qiu finally managed to control the camel, he dismounted and sat on the ground, resting for quite a while.
As the caravan gradually caught up, Zhou Qiang, previously listless, suddenly became energetic and leapt off, sprinting into the ancient city.
"Zhou Qiang! Zhou Qiang!" His male assistant couldn’t catch up with him, barely managed to dismount the camel, and lay there unable to move.
Everyone could only watch as Zhou Qiang disappeared into the ancient city.
Professor Wu had fainted several times and now felt like half of his life was drained, leaning against the camel, unable to move.
The sky grew even darker, Que Qiu glanced up, it was two in the afternoon, yet the sky looked like it was around ten at night.
After resting for a while, he led his men to find a dilapidated stone-built broken house, called everyone to use the supply boxes to reluctantly patch the big hole on one side, and then called four strong men to fetch water because the black sandstorm would last for two days and a night; they couldn’t let themselves die of thirst here. The descending sandstorm hadn’t fully arrived, so they needed to fetch water before it hit, and look for Zhou Qiang along the way.
"I’ll go with you," Tianmiao said from the side.
"Sister Tianmiao, you better stay with us!" Cheng Luo was evidently worried. A delicate woman shouldn’t go along.
Que Qiu had no objections to Tianmiao’s proposal, in his heart, Tianmiao was too mysterious; she wasn’t an ordinary person. Maybe... not a person at all.
"Alright, let’s go, be careful." Que Qiu said.
In the end, only Professor Cheng Luo and two frail male teachers continued repairing the stone house.
While working, Cheng Luo worriedly glanced outside. Who knows what happened to Zhou Qiang. Why did Zhou Qiang suddenly run like he went crazy?
It seemed... possessed.
Bah!
What kind of possession is this?
Cheng Luo shook his head vigorously.
Where are there ghosts and spirits in this world? He had a higher education, how could he entertain such wild thoughts.
After reflecting on himself, Cheng Luo looked outside again.
Hope Senior Zhou Qiang won’t encounter any trouble and return safely soon.
Outside it was dark enough to require flashlights for illumination.
Que Qiu and his team put on goggles, covered their faces with scarves, and set off with two large empty plastic water containers, carrying shotguns. The cultural bureau had equipped them with these two shotguns just in case.
Just as they headed out, the fierce wind almost toppled them.
Cheng Luo placed an emergency lamp at the door to mark direction, a strong beam of white light shot towards the sky, guiding them.
With much effort, the five gradually approached the pond, when a wolf’s howl from not far away made them stop instinctively.
"Sand wolves?" Que Qiu’s face changed, his heart sank, "Quick, get the guns out!"
A single wolf howl meant that possibly seventy or eighty sand wolves were already lurking around.