Chapter 128: Chapter 120: Setting Off Together
"I do." Tang Mo pointed to the backpack on her back.
Her backpack held two bottles of water and some food, but she wasn’t worried that they would get any ideas just because they outnumbered her.
’She figured their strengths were probably about equal. If I can’t win a fight, I can just give them everything in my bag.’
"Give us half, and we’ll travel together," the girl said to Tang Mo after a moment’s thought.
"Give you half? And what’s in it for me?"
Tang Mo found the girl’s request amusing. They didn’t look like a band of robbers, and she hadn’t expected someone to make such a demand just for the chance to travel together.
"My name is Lisa. I swear on my family’s name that on this trip into the desert, our entire four-person team will do everything in our power to protect you."
Lisa’s oath was so solemn it startled Tang Mo.
’It’s just a little food and water. There’s no need for such a grave oath.’
Tang Mo took another careful look at the five-person team.
Lisa was standing very close to a tall, thin, and pale-faced boy, and they appeared to have an intimate relationship.
Another man and woman stood behind Lisa, looking as if they’d follow her every command.
And then there was a man standing a bit farther off. He was short and chubby, and neither his age nor his demeanor seemed to fit in with the other four.
"This is the guide we found in B City. He’ll be leading us into the desert this time."
Lisa noticed Tang Mo’s gaze linger on the guide and quickly explained.
’Actually, traveling with them might save me a lot of trouble on the way.’
’Besides, haven’t I been waiting for a guide these past few days?’
’Now one has appeared right in front of me; I could hardly be happier.’
As for Lisa’s oath, Tang Mo didn’t really take it to heart.
After what happened in Wuxi Village, Tang Mo wasn’t about to naively trust anyone again.
"Okay."
Tang Mo agreed without hesitation. She immediately opened her backpack and gave half of her water and food to Lisa.
Once she had the supplies, Lisa quickly distributed them. The others held the items carefully, taking small sips and bites.
They only had a few mouthfuls before putting everything away, storing it all in Lisa’s bag.
Tang Mo could tell the group had been thirsty for a very long time.
This place was incredibly desolate. The journey from B City, the closest major settlement, would take over half a month.
Food wasn’t a huge problem over such a long journey; you could always kill mutant beasts.
But finding drinking water was a massive issue.
After all, only the bases had proper water purification systems. Water found in the wild was still undrinkable.
Once the group had eaten and drunk their fill, Tang Mo officially joined them, and they set out on the road.
The group of six set foot into the vast, boundless desert.
The biggest reason this desert was known as the "Death Desert" was simply its immense size.
Once you were lost inside and ran out of food and water, you were basically leaving your life behind.
’This group probably only has the small amount of supplies I just gave them, right?’
Tang Mo glanced skeptically at their shrunken backpacks.
’To dare enter this desert with practically no supplies... They’ve got some serious guts. What kind of mission could it be?’
"Is it okay for you to talk about the mission you’re here for?"
Normally, missions were accepted from a mission center, and one that required entering the desert was bound to have an extremely generous reward.
Many teams kept high-reward missions confidential, fearing they might run into trouble along the way.
"Do you know of Sand Town?"
Lisa didn’t answer, asking Tang Mo a question instead.
Sand Town?
’Their destination is Sand Town, too?’
"I’ve heard a little about it."
Tang Mo was telling the truth. She really had only heard a little about Sand Town from Uncle He.
"We’re going to Sand Town."
Lisa’s gaze was firm, without a trace of hesitation.
"That must be very difficult."
Since she knew about Sand Town, Tang Mo believed Lisa’s group must have done their research on what it was like.
"Difficult or not, we have to go. Ah Bin can’t wait any longer." Lisa held the hand of the boy beside her, her eyes filled with tenderness.
Ah Bin was Lisa’s boyfriend. They had been together since college. But just after they graduated, after going through hell and back to get their families to approve their engagement, Ah Bin fell ill.
Leukemia. It was severe. It was fatal.
Lisa was by Ah Bin’s side through it all.
Later, they both became superpower users. As a Spiritual Ability User, Ah Bin began a long and slow process of self-healing.
By constantly treating himself every day, Ah Bin managed to suppress the illness enough to barely cling to life.
But his spiritual power was too weak. Relying solely on his own self-healing, the illness would only worsen over time and eventually destroy him.
So Lisa took him on a journey, searching for a cure.
Lisa had rescued the other two members of the team along the way. Since they had nowhere else to go, they decided to stick together.
Lisa hadn’t spelled it out, but Tang Mo already understood why she was so determined to get to Sand Town.
’They must know about the Desert Flower.’
’Or maybe they don’t know about the Desert Flower specifically, but the news that an abnormal treasure can be found near Sand Town must have gotten out.’
Lisa...
The more Tang Mo thought about it, the more familiar the name felt. She opened the rankings page on her ID Watch and looked up "Lisa."
Sure enough, Tang Mo found Lisa’s name at rank 35.
Since Tang Mo hadn’t absorbed any Crystal Cores or abnormal treasures in a long time, her own ranking had dropped to 29th, not far from Lisa’s.
She didn’t see the names of Ah Bin or the other two. ’No wonder Lisa calls the shots in this team,’ she thought. ’It all makes sense now.’
Although the guide Lisa’s group had found was a bit timid, he was extremely familiar with this desert.
He expertly led the group through the desert, doing his best to avoid steep dunes, quicksand, and areas prone to sandstorms.
The guide wore an expression of profound misery, yet he didn’t dare complain. Tang Mo found it quite amusing.
The story of how the guide ended up here was rather interesting. He had actually earned enough money to retire from guiding long ago and was living a comfortable life in the B City base, subsisting on food he’d stockpiled with his earnings.
But somehow, Lisa found out he had once been a guide, barged into his home, and dragged him out.
The base in B City was a small one. Lisa and her group just grabbed him and ran, giving no one a chance to react.
And that’s how he came to be standing here today, reluctantly serving as their guide just to stay alive.
