Chapter 117: Laura

This is a foreigner of Germanic ethnicity, but it's unclear whether she's German, American, or possibly from another European country.

Saying this, Qin Yun checked her breath and shook his head: "Her lips are cracked from not drinking water for about a day—she won't die. Since I've seen her, I can't just leave her to die."

Qin Yun pulled out his water flask and dripped a few drops slowly onto her lips, stopping once her mouth was moist.

Then he pinched her philtrum hard, and soon a soft moan came as she slowly opened her eyes.

……

My name is Laura Quandt; I just graduated from the University of Munich. Looking at the graduation trip plan on the table, I wasn't really eager to go.

"Laura, just fulfill our childhood dream, okay?"

"You're the richest—sponsor us a bit, please?"

In the end, I couldn't resist their persistent begging and agreed to join their graduation trip, even covering the entire cost.

Of course, to me, that's less than a week's pocket money—I didn't care.

There were four of us: me, Mia, Lu Kasi, and Tang Mu.

Our first stop was Istanbul in Turkey, then we went to South Africa, Brazil, New Zealand, Singapore, Dubai, and Japan. After leaving Japan, we set our final destination as Qinghai in China.

In Qinghai, I saw Qinghaihu, as blue as a sapphire; we cycled along its shore, camped, slept under the stars, and then tried skiing on Gangshika Snow Peak.

On the way down, a local herder, speaking broken English, said: "You should visit the Qaidam Desert—its yardang landforms are the devil's dwelling."

Mia knew me well—haha—so we came to the Qaidam Desert.

We followed our guide into the desert and photographed those strangely shaped rock formations.

During those two days in the desert, I couldn't remember where we'd gone—only that the surroundings grew increasingly desolate until my phone lost all signal.

That night, I was sleeping in my tent.

Then sudden, searing pain struck my back; half-conscious, I saw a familiar figure, and then I lost awareness. When I woke again, I was lying on a sand dune, alone.

Mia, Lu Kasi, and Tang Mu were gone.

I staggered forward; the desert wind whipped sand against my face, stinging and freezing. I didn't know how long I'd walked—the sun sank, the temperature plummeted, my lips cracked, and after a full day without water, I was parched and exhausted, my throat stuffed with cotton.

Around me stretched endless yellow sands and gravel, eternally standing there, watching me, this intruder.

I was tired, but I refused to give up.

I thought I heard movement—I'd heard wolves lived in deserts; maybe a wolf was coming to eat me.

But the moment I thrust my dagger forward, I saw it wasn't a wolf—it was a person—and then I passed out again.

Oh my God, did a Chinese immortal come to save me? This man is so handsome—weathered and rough, yet not a single bit less charming.

……

Looking at the woman on the ground, staring dumbly at him without a word, Qin Yun was speechless.

He spoke to the drone: "Looks like this one froze her brain—no saving her."

"Hahaha, she's acting like a lovesick fool—did Qin Ye knock her out with his looks?"

"Big white horse, yoshi."

"Qin Ye is indeed handsome—just slightly less than me."

"Fuck you, shameless."

Qin Yun frowned and looked at her, speaking in German: "Hallo, wer bist du? Warum bist du in der Wüste?"

Upon hearing this, Laura's eyes lit up instantly.

"Du sprichst tatsächlich Deutsch?"

"What the hell language is Qin Ye speaking?"

"666! Last time at Mount Siguniang, Qin Ye spoke Spanish—now he speaks German too? Awesome."

"Genius—Qin Ye's a genius."

"He speaks Spanish and German—so he must know English too. Add his native tongue, that's four languages. Damn, is Qin Ye really that powerful?"

"Of course—excellent people excel in every way."

"Beantwortest du zuerst meine Frage?"

Laura quickly pushed herself up with her palms.

"My name is Laura Quandt (I'll use Chinese to save characters)," she hurriedly said. "I came on a graduation trip with my friends, but something went wrong along the way."

Then she rattled off the whole story; by the end, Qin Yun's shock was plainly visible.

The netizens didn't understand German and began asking questions.

Qin Yun thought for a moment and said: "This woman's name is Laura. Her best friend stabbed her in the back and left her alone in the desert. Uh—I mean 'stabbed in the back' literally; look at her back—covered in bloodstains."

The netizens were stunned: Holy shit—is this attempted murder?

Qin Yun pointed to her back: "Do you want me to check your wound?"

At the mention of the wound, Laura finally felt the pain. She quickly reached out: "Thank you so much—what's your name?"

"I'm Qin Yun. You're right to thank me."

Ignoring Laura's dazed expression, Qin Yun went behind her and told her to lift her clothes. She obeyed, pulling up layer after layer; the instant her skin was exposed, Qin Yun immediately turned the camera away.

"Fuck, you're hoarding all the perks."

"Damn, Qin Ye, you're not a real brother—I thought we were tight."

"All the benefits vanished—Qin Ye, you're too cruel."

Qin Yun glanced at the wound and frowned slightly—the wound's opening was a clear puncture, depth unknown, but clearly not fatal, or Laura wouldn't be alive.

Second, the wound had already begun closing internally; though faint traces of blood remained, they were minimal.

But the critical issue was: the wound showed signs of pus—clearly an early infection. That's not a good sign. If it fully inflamed, and she didn't get timely help, it could kill her.

He re-covered her, his face expressionless.

"Brothers, this German woman's in danger—her wound is pus-filled, already inflamed. She could spike a fever or develop sepsis at any moment."

He said something to the drone, then turned to Laura.

"Your condition is dangerous—your wound is likely to become infected. You must receive medical treatment as soon as possible."

Laura nodded and pointed at the drone in the air: "Qin, are you with National Geographic?"

"I'm a streamer, currently live-streaming a wilderness survival expedition."

"Wilderness survival?" Laura blinked. "You're not joking?"

She shook her head. "Uh, could you give me some water? I'm terribly thirsty."

Qin Yun handed her the canteen: "Sip sparingly. Take five small sips, then stop."

Laura's eyes turned green at the sight of the canteen.

Still, she restrained herself, followed Qin Yun's instructions, took five small sips, then returned the canteen to him.

"I'm heading to Cold Lake Town—another day or two of walking. Do you come with me, or stay here and wait for rescue?"

Qin Yun pulled down the drone, showing its screen to her: "If you wait here for rescue, I'll have my fans call for help."

"No, don't leave me," Laura cried, shaking her head in panic and grabbing Qin Yun's arm. "I'll go with you."

Qin Yun showed no surprise: "Fine. One more won't hurt, one less won't matter. Stick with me. This bharal is just like you."

"Pfft… Boss Qin is lumping the beauty together with the bharal."

"666, the beauty's status in the desert might be lower than a bharal—at least the bharal's edible."

"The beauty's edible too, if Boss Qin is willing."

"Oh? Who's edible? Can Boss Qin even do it?"

Seeing these comments, Qin Yun's face darkened. Damn, these people had zero morals.

Laura looked at the bharal. The bharal looked at her.

Laura said seriously: "Qin, thank you for saving me. When we get back, I'll repay you properly."

"Alright, I'll wait for your repayment."

Qin Yun didn't take it seriously. A woman betrayed by her childhood friend was absurdly naive. He saved her only because he couldn't stand to let someone die, and out of respect for an international friend.

He glanced around, pointing to a distant desert wall: "Let's go over there. I'm going to have lunch."

At the mention of food, Laura's stomach growled loudly—she hadn't eaten in a full day and night.

Seeing Qin Yun look at her, Laura felt embarrassed: "I'm starving, Qin. Do you have anything to eat?"

"We'll talk about it when we get there."

The two reached the desert wall. Qin Yun found a smooth stone slab to use as a pot stand, then began gathering camel thorn and other fuel.

When he used the bow-drill method to start a fire, Laura's expression turned stunned.

"Haha, this blonde girl's never seen anything like this."

"Now she's seeing the power of a Chinese man."

"Boss Qin is conquering a foreign beauty."

"Qin, you're amazing," Laura exclaimed. "You know how to make fire by drilling wood? Are all Chinese people this capable?"

As he carefully coaxed the flame to life, Qin Yun didn't look up: "The Chinese are the hardest-working people on Earth. Didn't you know? Humanity escaped raw flesh and blood drinking thanks to our nation."

Laura was skeptical.

But when Qin Yun pulled out wolf meat and spread eggs on the stone slab, she believed him, drooling.

Not just the hardest-working—right now, if Qin Yun said the Chinese invented Germans, she'd believe him.

He ate three of the five eggs, gave her two. Even though the wolf meat was dry, tough, and gamey, to someone starving, it was a delicacy.

Watching Laura devour a large chunk of meat, Qin Yun mentally calculated whether their food would last.

The estimate showed not only food would run short, but water too.

Indeed, adding a burden wasn't as simple as one plus one.

While eating, Qin Yun thought of something and looked at the drone: "Anyone in Qinghai? Please call the police for me. Maybe Laura's companions are still inside the border."

"Boss Qin gave the order—Qinghai brothers, step forward!"

"Boss Qin, I've called the police. Wait for my update."

Qin Yun expressed his thanks, then told Laura what had happened.

Laura immediately rattled off a stream of German into the drone. Qin Yun didn't bother translating. When she finished, he simply said: "She says thank you."

"Damn, is German really that complicated? She spoke for ten seconds, and you turned it into two words?"

"Haha, Boss Qin's gone corrupt."

"..."

Qin Yun ignored them, his gaze lingering on Laura a moment before speaking to the drone: "Given the severity of Laura's back wound, her body should've reacted already—but without food, the inflammation was suppressed. Now that she's eaten and hydrated, I estimate she'll start feeling dizzy soon."

"Treating her wound's infection in this environment isn't impossible."

"The desert has many plants with heat-clearing, detoxifying, and anti-inflammatory properties. I happen to know a few—like Qaidam juniper, white thorn fruit, and desert ga."

"Damn, Boss Qin's impromptu lesson hit out of nowhere."

"666, Boss Qin is truly erudite in flora and fauna—he can name anything on the spot."

"They call him the Speaker of Things."