The Lost Tomb : Sea Of Sands

Chapter 70: Dusty Files

Li Cu was a little touched, but after thinking about it, the two boys may not understand what they were facing.

If you were in their shoes, you may not be able to correctly judge the situation either.

Truthfully, he was a little afraid of entering the desert alone since he had little experience traveling by himself. So when the two men volunteered, he was relieved.

After they returned to their respective homes, they immediately began to prepare. Su Wan felt that because Li Cu had entered the desert before and knew what was needed, he should give them advice. And as it so happened, they were going to have a school break soon that was quite long. He thought that if all went well, then they should be able to catch up with the beginning of the school term once and for all. As a result, it was very important that they complete the preparatory work.

Li Cu thought carefully about the process of going into and out of the desert with Wu Xie. He felt that some things in their equipment were unnecessary, but his own equipment had been prepared by Wu Xie before, so now he also found it a little difficult to recall everything.

Yang Hao said, "Wait, why don't we ask a tour guide? They should know."

Su Wan was on the verge of a breakdown and asked them how a tour guide could possibly provide this kind of service. They were going to dangerous places this time. It wasn't like they were going on a sightseeing tour. At the very least, it was more like that movie "Into the Wild".

In the end, they divided the money into three parts. Yang Hao was responsible for the transportation, Su Wan was in charge of all the small equipment and food, and Li Cu was responsible for checking the information and various road maps, as well as the GPS. He told the other two to remember that it was very dry in the desert and that there was a large temperature difference between night and day. The quality of the things they would bring was very important, and they would likely die if they bought things at a bargain. Su Wan proposed that they practice first by taking a few laps around the desert and having some fun, but Li Cu slapped him in the mouth again.

In terms of complexity, it was obvious that Su Wan's job was more convenient. As long as he went to Taobao to find a few crown sellers [1], then he could get everything he needed done since they would help him sort everything out. There was still a lot of equipment left in the warehouse anyways, so they also picked out a lot from there.

As Li Cu was leaving, he suddenly felt that maybe Su Wan was right, and they really should go to the desert to experiment. They had never experienced such a thing before, so if they entered the desert too hastily, then he couldn't guarantee that someone like Su Wan wouldn't have any mishaps.

Based on his requirement that the GPS have satellite images, he bought one of the most expensive professional ones out there. There was no route in the desert, nor any markers, so he had no other way to judge his position on the large stretch of white. Of course, the GPS had longitude and latitude coordinates, but he hoped to be able to see the various topographic features of the entire desert captured by the satellite images, so that he could also recall how Wu Xie had brought him into the desert before.

When the three of them met up on the third day, they had almost everything ready. Yang Hao bought three train tickets and said that they could directly get onto the train at the station through some connections. They would try to get a car after they got off the train in Alxa League, since it would be more convenient then. He even made three fake IDs and a fake driver's license so they could rent a car when the time came. As long as they paid a higher deposit, the private car rental companies wouldn't be very strict.

They all put on their backpacks and rushed directly to the train station to go to Inner Mongolia. It was there that Li Cu saw a familiar figure at the ticket check-in station— Liang Wan. She was in the same queue as them, and when their eyes met, both felt very awkward.

*

Let's go back to a few days ago. It was lunchtime when Liang Wan set out from Hangzhou and returned to Beijing.

Her fatigue had reached its limit, but she was still in the car talking on the phone and fighting to stay awake as she quickly made an appointment with someone. This was a very difficult opportunity, because if she couldn't arrive on time, then it was estimated that the matter would be delayed anywhere from ten days up to half a month.

She was clutching the cell-phone in her hand, and the sweat on her palms had almost soaked the screen.

The taxi took several turns and finally reached her destination— a branch of the Beijing Archives. When she got out of the car, she saw that the person she had asked for was waiting anxiously outside.

This was her first boyfriend, a nerd. He had been studying in the library management department at the university, so he could only find a job in the archives. Because of various problems—including Liang Wan's own academic problems— they finally broke up, but she had a very good impression of him. He looked honest and reliable and seemed willing to do many reckless things for her, but Liang Wan's practical ideas made it impossible for her to live with someone like him. She felt a little bad for coming to him for help at this time, because she knew what the risks were.

After getting out of the car, it was still a bit awkward for the two of them to meet. Liang Wan wanted to show a little restraint, so she smiled at him and said, "Long time no see."

The other party looked around nervously and asked her, "What do you want these things for?"

Liang Wan said: "I was also doing someone a favor. It's very important, so thank you for helping me. I'll treat you to dinner later."

Her first boyfriend looked at her, handed her the number and key, and then said, "Remember, you have to come out before eight tonight. I can only give you until eight o'clock. All the numbers and things are inside, and they can't be brought out. After you go in, your phone will be taken away, and you're on your own."

Liang Wan nodded and asked him, "If they find out you gave me this key, what punishment will you get?"

The young man smiled and said, "No matter what the consequences are, I'll bear them. Go quickly if it's so important to you."

Liang Wan was moved and wanted to hug her former lover, but he stepped back warily. She was somewhat embarrassed, and heard the other party said: "I have a girlfriend now. Go quickly."

Liang Wan nodded, feeling an indescribable feeling in her heart. When she stepped up the stairs and turned back to look, her first boyfriend had disappeared. But all of her embarrassment disappeared as she went up the stairs and approached the archives. The tension in her heart began to take possession of all her emotions, and all she could think about was what that strange patient said to her that night in the ward.

She walked uninterrupted as she searched for the room number of the archives. She knew that the surveillance here had been shut down by her first boyfriend, so she could walk bravely all the way to the furthest door in the corridor. This wasn't the end of the corridor, but her progress was halted by a huge locked iron gate.

Liang Wan opened the gate with the key and went in. When she saw that there were four doors in the room, she looked at the keys in her hand. The keys to the doors were all on the keychain, which meant that all the things she wanted to see were behind those four doors, and she would have to find them herself. And she only had seven hours to do so. She had to find out what was useful in those seven hours, so she opened her notebook and found the first name.

It was a child's name from those drawings she had seen before, and was written on the back in the drafter's column.

The child's surname was Huo, and his full name was Huo Zhongshu.

She began to rummage through the bookshelves. This particular row of bookshelves had the names of all those surnamed Huo in the whole city. A small label could be seen at the head of the bookshelf, which said that the first batch of children's classes was in North China in 1978.

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Note:

[1] So apparently Taobao is a Chinese online shopping website (think along the lines of Amazon) and they have a rating system where like 1 heart represents the lowest rating while 5 gold crowns represent the highest rating. The higher the rating is usually means the seller is more reliable in a way. So Li Cu is saying Su Wan just has to pick a seller that has crown ratings (hence the "crown merchant").