"Look, there are footprints here," another burly figure suddenly said.
The three of them immediately looked at the dragging marks and footprints on the sandy ground beside them. The graceful woman's face changed slightly, and she said, "There are children's footprints. Damn it, this alchemist is conducting human experiments. I'll go down and take a look." After that, she jumped down from the collapsed gap.
A moment later, she leaped out again and landed steadily by the sandy ground. If Dudian were here, he would have been stunned. You know, the secret room was more than three meters high, but this woman could jump up to three meters with just a single leap. What kind of physical ability was this?
"This alchemist is actually a three-star alchemist!" The graceful woman held a dark medal in her hand. There were three five-pointed stars on it, with a certain symbol [ ]. It was related to the alchemists' belief. They didn't believe in the Creator or the Father God, but instead believed in the starry sky above their heads. Even some crazy alchemists took refining the stars in the sky as their ultimate goal!
Among these alchemists, many gave up halfway and changed to another profession, which was called a star diviner.
Although they just divined for others, star diviners were also wanted by the Holy See of Light. The reason was simple. The will of the Father God would only be passed on to the Holy See of Light, and only the great Pope could understand it. Anyone who tried to guess the will of the Father God was regarded as a malicious cult!
"I didn't expect him to be a powerful figure," the burly man's gaze tightened. "To be certified as a three-star alchemist, he should have obtained some extraordinary power. The person who killed him is most likely also a three-star alchemist, or even... a four-star alchemist!"
The graceful woman's face was gloomy. "The children he abducted are nowhere to be found. There is a sand pile inside. Most likely, they were buried in it. Later, send someone to dig out the body, find out who he is, and give the family compensation. After all, they died because of this operation."
"I hope we can still identify his appearance," the short black shadow sighed.
The graceful woman twitched her face and said nothing.
"You look for clues nearby. I'll go down and bring up the alchemist's body, notify the probationary knights to come and carry it back, and take away the other things inside by the way," the burly man ordered. Then he jumped down.
The graceful woman and the short black shadow glanced at each other, drew their respective weapons, and began to search around.
...
...
In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.
On the west side of the desert, inside an enclosure built with desert plants and sandy soil, Dudian and the other three leaned against it. The surrounding wind and sand were not only hot but also dried out the water in their bodies. Moreover, the tiny sand grains in the wind and sand were likely to block the pores and sweat glands, causing their body temperature to rise sharply.
"Ten days have passed..." Mekin said listlessly, chewing on a grass root. "Do we still have to walk back by ourselves? I don't have the strength anymore."
Shamu said unhappily, "Be content. If it weren't for Dudian's ideas, we might not have been able to last these ten days. If we were eliminated, we would have made our families go bankrupt."
Mekin rolled his eyes and said unhappily, "You don't have to tell me that. Dian is my savior."
Dudian glanced at him and said, "You still consider me your savior? You refused to dig some water for me last night."
Mekin blushed and said, "I was just too tired. When we get back, I'll pour water for you every day. I'll definitely take care of you just like I take care of my grandma."
"Come on," Dudian said unhappily. "I don't want to be your grandpa."
"Go away. You're taking advantage of me."
"All right. You still have the energy to talk. I'm so hot that I feel like I'm smoking," Zach said with a look of despair.
"Then go ahead and smoke. If you do, people will know there are still living people here."
"You! When we get back, I'll beat you up."
"I'm sorry. Please don't. Don't wait until we get back. Do it now. I really deserve it. Come on, if you have the strength, do it!"
"You bastard," Zach rolled his eyes.
After ten days of going through hardships and surviving together, the four of them had become as close as brothers and no longer cared about what they said. And this result made Dudian, Shamu, and Zach experience an unexpected side of Mekin: his mischievousness!
He was definitely the kind of person who could make others angry without feeling any guilt, and he was also a chatterbox.
This made Dudian a bit helpless. He naturally didn't expect that many years later, not only he, Shamu, and Zach but also the whole world would be affected by this guy's mischievous ways, and it would even be recorded in the history of war.
Dingling!
Suddenly, the sound of bells rang.
The few of them immediately looked up and saw a camel nearly five meters tall gradually approaching in the wind and sand. It was dragging a wooden board more than ten meters long behind it. There were many small wooden wheels at the bottom of this wooden board. At the moment, seven or eight children were sitting on the board.
Dudian was a bit stunned. Although he knew that the nuclear radiation had greatly changed the world, he didn't expect that the genes of a camel could be so expanded by the radiation. Besides being twice as large in size, the four hooves of this camel were actually covered with scales like those of a snake, making it look like a war behemoth!
The three-meter-tall black horse he had seen before was nothing compared to this mutated camel.
"It's a Haotuo!" Zach actually recognized it and exclaimed in surprise, "It's actually a Haotuo that specializes in carrying people in the desert. Haha..." He had just laughed when a mouthful of sand blew towards him in the wind, almost choking him.
Dudian saw the children on the wooden board behind and knew that they were the ones who had participated in the survival assessment together. Although he didn't know how these people had found them, the trial had finally ended successfully. He also let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he could go back and have a good rest, and by the way, take another look at that alchemist's notebook. He was quite curious about the scientists in this world.
"Come here!" A woman wearing a veil, who was sitting on the Haotuo, said to Dudian and the other three.
Dudian and the others immediately dragged their bodies over and sat on the wooden board behind the Haotuo.
"All four of you are actually here?" At this time, a thin boy on the wooden board looked at Dudian and the other three in surprise.
Dudian glanced at him and remembered that he was Link from the next dormitory. He smiled slightly and said nothing.
Mekin said proudly, "Of course. Don't you know who we are? We are the strongest group of four. Surviving for just ten days is nothing. We could even last another twenty days with ease."
Shamu whispered, "We could still be friends if you didn't brag."
Zach shrugged and said, "His true nature has been revealed, and there's no going back."
Mekin didn't care and laughed heartily. Suddenly, the dead atmosphere on the wooden board became a bit more lively.
The thin boy sighed and said, "The other three in my dormitory didn't make it. It's a pity. There's too little water here. You guys are so lucky. Sigh!" As he spoke, there was a look of loneliness and regret on his face. After all, they had been dormitory mates for several months, and they were going to be separated from today on. It was inevitable to feel reluctant.
When the other children heard his words, their faces also darkened.
Dudian said nothing. He looked up at the woman on the back of the Haotuo and thought in his heart... How did she climb up there?
...