Chapter 120

As the saying goes, men and women working together make the work less tiring.

But for Qin Yun, having Laura with him was undoubtedly an added burden.

Fortunately, Laura was not a delicate person; though physically exhausted, she did not complain or whine. Perhaps having faced death, she no longer found these physical hardships unbearable.

"Qin, do you earn money doing this?"

Watching Qin Yun skin the wolf and collect its meat, while one drone flew far off to film the scenery and another now faced her, Laura asked curiously.

Qin Yun didn't look up: "It's decent—better than my old job. If you're interested, download Douyin's China version after we get back, follow me, and next time I go live, I want to see your name at the top of the leaderboard."

"Pfft… Qin Ye 666."

"Hahaha, the beauty looks totally confused—probably didn't understand what he meant."

"Germany has TikTok too; how could she not understand?"

"She's probably never met someone as blunt as Qin Ye—he probably thinks all Chinese people are reserved."

Laura actually understood; she used TikTok too.

"Qin, you're very different from the Chinese people I've met."

"How so? Obviously more handsome—that goes without saying."

The livestream viewers immediately burst into laughter and scolding.

"Damn, Qin Ye is so shameless—your looks are barely better than mine, what's there to be proud of?"

"Your attractiveness is three points lower than mine, yet you dare speak so boldly."

Laura smiled brightly: "Qin, you're definitely handsome, but beyond looks, you're more charismatic."

"Hahaha." Qin Yun laughed loudly, his voice echoing across the desert, "Just don't fall for me, or you'll get homesick when you return home."

"Qin, has anyone ever told you you're narcissistic?" Laura asked seriously.

"No one says that—they say I'm humble, honest, and self-aware. I agree."

"…."

After spending an hour cleaning up yesterday's mess, the two set off again.

Qin Yun walked ahead, the bharal followed behind, and Laura trailed farther back—distantly, they looked like a couple on a tourist trip with pets.

"Baa—baa—"

He gave Laura the water bottle and warned: "Even if you're thirsty, don't gulp—just sip a little to moisten your mouth, unless you find a water source."

Only then did Laura realize she had not truly escaped danger.

It was only because she was with Qin Yun that she felt safe.

They walked slowly along the desert.

Because of Laura's physical condition, they had to rest for ten to fifteen minutes every half hour, so their pace was slow.

"Qin Ye, Qin Ye, the police have responded."

The livestream comments suddenly flooded with repetitive messages; Qin Yun noticed immediately.

He perked up, glanced at Laura, and quickly said: "Oh? What did the police say?"

"The police say they pulled data from the traffic system—the three others who entered with Laura, Mia, Lu Kasi, and Tang Mu, have all left the country."

Qin Yun wasn't surprised; according to Laura's account, this was clearly premeditated, and since a full day and night had passed since he discovered it, the killers would have fled immediately.

"I understand, thanks, brother."

"No need to thank me, Qin Ye."

Qin Yun turned to Laura: "The three who tried to kill you have left the country."

Laura nodded, her expression calm, even slightly pleased: "Thank you. I understand."

But Qin Yun didn't press further—it was her private matter. Besides, they had left the country; Chinese law couldn't reach foreign nationals, especially when the victim wasn't Chinese.

Soon, the two continued forward.

Watching Qin Yun ahead, Laura felt a cold chill: Mia, Lu Kasi, Tang Mu—I hope you're still alive. I want to see your faces when I appear before you.

After another two hours, nearing noon.

Qin Yun suddenly spotted a distorted shape on the distant horizon.

"Camel!"

It was a Bactrian camel—this was rare.

Wild Bactrian camels in Qaidam were nearly extinct, classified as critically endangered.

He identified it as wild because its body was small, its legs long and thin, and its humps triangular.

"Qin, it's a camel, a camel!" Laura saw it too and cried out excitedly, "We can follow it to find water!"

"666, the beauty actually knows something."

"Follow the camel, you get water."

"Qin Ye, we can ride the camel now."

"Quick, get closer—Qin Ye's about to hunt again."

"Haha, wild Bactrian camels are protected species—if Qin Ye kills it, animal protection will descend on him in a second and shoot him dead."

Qin Yun blinked in exasperation but ignored them, answering Laura instead.

"Why do camels have humps? To store fat and energy—they can drink once and go days without water, and survive long without food. And their range is enormous—following it won't guarantee water, but it'll definitely drag you to death."

He pointed at the camel: "Most importantly, wild Bactrian camels are extremely alert—they bolt at the slightest disturbance."

As he spoke, he suddenly yelled, "Wah!"

On camera, the camel froze, then turned and bolted, vanishing from the drone's view within seconds.

Seeing this, Laura was instantly disappointed: "What now? My water bottle's almost empty."

Qin Yun smiled: "If there's truly no water, we'll have to drink urine."

Laura was stunned, and the online viewers in the livestream were stunned.

"Damn, Qin-ye, eats so well."

"Dude upstairs, are you that twisted?"

"Qin-ye, where's your integrity? Your integrity's fallen off."

"Hahaha, Qin-ye's clearly just joking."

Qin Yun glanced at the drone, walking as he spoke: "As long as you're not sick, urine is clean. The main components of a healthy human's urine are water, uric acid, urea, electrolytes, and sterile metabolic byproducts like sloughed-off urinary tract cells—water makes up about 96%, so when you're truly out of water and about to die of thirst, drinking urine isn't a bad option."

Laura's expression was strange, like this (´•ω•)

She swore that even if she died of thirst, she wouldn't drink urine.

After walking another half hour, Qin Yun suddenly crouched down, controlling the drone to zoom in the lens; Laura immediately leaned over.

He pointed to a footprint on the ground: "Look, this footprint is inverted V-shaped, made of two side-by-side hoof lobes. Guess what animal made it."

"Who the hell knows?"

"Qin-ye, you're overestimating us—our average education is only junior high."

"Dude upstairs, you talk too much—I dropped out of elementary school to haul bricks."

Qin Yun never expected them to know; he said directly: "If I'm not mistaken, these are Footprints of the Goitered Gazelle—a bovid antelope species, also a Class II protected animal in our country."

"Damn, how come all our country's wild animals are protected by law?"

Qin Yun chuckled: "Hey, you're right. Our Wildlife Protection Law explicitly forbids hunting key protected wildlife, and even non-key protected wildlife is strictly regulated. This is because our country has long-term vision—to preserve biodiversity and ecological safety—unlike foreign countries where all you need is a permit."

After speaking, he casually explained it to Laura too.

"Qin, what use is this Goitered Gazelle?"

Qin Yun said: "The Goitered Gazelle depends heavily on water sources—it tends to inhabit areas with springs or rivers. So if we find its Footprints here, it means water is likely nearby."

In fact, by now, there was no longer any doubt about finding water.

Because as they drew closer to Lenghu Town, vegetation became increasingly abundant—this proved it beyond doubt.

"That's really great."

Laura smiled happily.

The two continued forward; around 1:30 p. m., a gray-brown figure suddenly flashed past a distant dune—extremely fast.

Qin Yun's drone quickly approached and caught the figure—a juvenile Goitered Gazelle, agile and slender-limbed, playfully frolicking.

Just beyond the dune, a pool of water lay clearly visible—over a dozen Goitered Gazelles were playing by the water.

"Wow… Qin-ye found water so easily."

"Holy crap, that's a huge spring—can we drink it straight?"

"Of course—it's groundwater. Otherwise, how could there be so much? Without flowing water, it would've dried up long ago."

Qin Yun saw the drone's screen and smiled: "Right, it's spring water—definitely drinkable. But Laura, you can't. Your body is weak. Though the water looks clean, it's been drunk by countless animals daily—there must be some bacteria."

He waved his hand, landing the drone in front of Laura.

When Laura saw the scene on the screen, she burst into excited shouts.

"Qin, Qin, it's water—we found water!"

"Yes, yes, we found water! Now you don't have to ration it—drink the whole canteen. I know you've been eyeing it for ages."

Laura laughed heartily and drank the entire canteen without hesitation.

Then she sprinted toward the other side of the dune.

Qin Yun and the Argali quickly followed. When they crested the dune and saw the spring, the Goitered Gazelles immediately caught their scent—especially the strong odor of desert wolves on them—and fled in panic.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished without a trace.

If not for the Hoof prints left on the dune, one might think the scene had been an illusion.

The two slid down the dune and soon reached the spring.

Qin Yun observed: the spring wasn't deep—about ten meters long, four or five meters wide. The water was clear, with no odd odor—undoubtedly flowing water.

"Don't drink yet. I'll light a fire—we'll boil it first. There are bacteria in this water."

"Mm, I'll follow your lead."

Vegetation grew beside the spring—a cluster of pale green-yellow plants. Qin Yun pulled up plenty; soon flames rose.

While waiting for the water to boil, Qin Yun gazed northeast—endless rolling dunes and hazy gray masses stretched out; he had no idea when they'd see the outline of Lenghu Town.

……

"Slap—!"

An old man with white hair, eyes blazing red, swung a hard slap across the face of the woman before him, sending her crashing to the ground.

The servants around stood motionless as statues, eyes downcast, hearts silent.

The slap had been delivered with full force. Sophia felt stars exploding behind her eyes and a metallic sweetness in her mouth. Yet she felt no pain—only a deep, genuine sense of satisfaction.

She suppressed her inner delight, pushed herself up from the floor, and lifted her face with an innocent expression: "Dad, it really wasn't me. Why are you blaming me?"

"Ever since you were a child, you've taken all the love for yourself. Now that your sister is missing in China, you still want me to blame you?"

"How dare you say that!" Ben's lips trembled, tears streaming down his face. "She's your own sister. How could you? How could you?"

"Dad, don't you believe me?" Sophia cried. "My sister died in China—what does that have to do with me? Why do you insist I harmed her? Even you said it: no matter how much I disliked her, she was still my own sister."

Ben closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He staggered into a chair, leaning on his cane, silent for a long time.

The room was filled only with Sophia's sobs.

After a long while, Ben opened his eyes again, fixing them on Sophia's sorrowful face: "Then tell me—where are Mia, Lu Kasi, and Tang Mu?"