Chapter 1

Footprints are not like tire tracks; they are clear and profound, and cannot be easily covered by wind and sand.

A single string plucked produces a mocking sound, as if to ridicule: "Aren't there always plenty of these self-proclaimed clever backpackers who venture out alone every year?"

With a light laugh, she said: "Yes."

The whistle was sharp, clearly audible even through the car window.

The meadows are situated in the river valley, becoming increasingly sparse as one moves westward

Then the vehicle came to a halt again, stuck and unable to move.

Qu Yi Xian slowed down the vehicle and glanced at the sunlight: "It is more than 100 kilometers from Dunhuang to Yumenguan, and under good road conditions, it takes over an hour to drive. Not to mention that he got lost in the desert, unable to locate himself, and waiting for rescue to arrive from Dunhuang, even a deity would find it difficult to save him"

As the unsteady tune of the stringed instrument played, Yuan Ye hurriedly handed his phone to Xu San, saying: "Quick, quick, don't delay the important matter, explain to us what is going on with the 'Five-Year College Entrance Examination and Three-Year Simulation'"

She paused her pen and disdainfully glanced at the swirling yellow sand outside the car window

Ticket evasion? Before Qu Yiqian could say anything, the bystander Yuan Ye exploded: "For such a small amount of ticket money, are you willing to risk your life?"

Before setting off, she calculated the fuel level and the distance to be traveled, while charging the satellite phone and sending a text message to Yuan Ye: "I will search westward along the Yumen Pass, the fuel is only enough to support five hundred kilometers, and I need to refuel before sunset"

He only knows that there is a Qu Ye on the Northwest Ring Road

Due to road construction, the entire stretch from the southern part of the wild camel protection area to the Yumen Pass of the Han Great Wall is engulfed in dust and sand

It looks... quite familiar

Qu Yi-xian twisted open the thermos and took a sip of water, her gaze calmly penetrating through the car window, which was veiled in a layer of yellow dust, as she glanced outside.

Relying solely on the fleet is not very effective in finding it

Qu Yixian hung the work badge around his neck and said softly, "I will go look for it first, but Yuan Ye..."

The string of the instrument did not make a sound, her gaze measured the height of the chassis and the slope, within the extremely narrow distance for passing, she pressed and released the brake, and the cruiser leaped straight down the slope onto the wasteland on the side of the national road

Yet, without observing this journey, Qu Yiqian is also unwilling to resign herself.

Before she could recall anything, the car window was knocked on twice with a loud bang, leaving a thick palm print on the window covered with a layer of fine yellow sand

The tourist attractions in Dunhuang are like having never seen money; I have no internal channels to book tickets. I mentioned that I could help him contact a travel agency for a 10% discount. He found it expensive and planned to bypass the ticket checkpoint to sneak in. Additionally, there was traffic on the way, and when we were nearing the Yumenguan, he got out of the car and walked along the national highway. I eventually received a call from him; he said he had run out of water, couldn't find his way in the desert, and was lost. By the time I reported it to the police and called him back, his phone had already shut down, and I guessed it was due to a depleted battery ... I eventually received a call from him; he said he had run out of water, couldn't find his way in the desert, and was lost. By the time I reported it to the police and called him back, his phone had already shut down, and I guessed it was due to a depleted battery ...

The instrument's string adjusted its direction, circling around the outside of the Jade Gate Pass. She drove extremely slowly, paying attention to any traces left on the ground by people who had passed by.

Qu Yixian licked her lips, picked up her phone, and glanced at the signal. In the nearly nonexistent signal bar, there was still a symbolic one bar of signal, flickering intermittently.

As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled up the handbrake, leaned halfway out of the car window, and waved her work badge at the approaching traffic officer, saying: "Sir, time is of the essence, let's understand each other."

A few hours ago

Her voice was cold and stern, leaving Yuan Ye momentarily speechless.

Yuan Ye could sense the surging anger of Qu Yixian even through the phone, and his heart trembled slightly as he hurriedly replied: "After Xu San received the call, he immediately reported it to the police. The authorities have already dispatched a rescue team. However, I was thinking that the person has been wandering in the desert for several hours, and they must have run out of water by now. It is likely that the rescue team won't arrive in time. Since you happen to be on this line, please keep an eye out for them."

Yuan Ye also heard it, he paused and tentatively asked: "Master Qu?"

Although July is not the season for blowing sand, even a gentle breeze can cause fine sand to shift mountains and flatten seas. Any footprints or clues, in the face of the wind and sand, vanish in an instant like a drop of water swallowed by the sea

The wasteland beside the national road is not easy to traverse, as the stones crushed under the wheels strike the chassis, creating a continuous light rattling sound.

The vehicle has already exited the congested section of the road. She turned the steering wheel to the left, and the cruiser immediately surged up the hill, rolling onto the loosely laid gravel road.

"It's blocked." Qu Yiqian lazily lifted her eyelids and switched the phone to her left hand.

Xu San answered the phone, lightly uttering a sound. Upon hearing Qu Yiqian's response, he said: "The guest's surname is Xun, he is twenty-five years old and has just graduated with a master's degree, standing about 1.75 meters tall. He was wearing a blue standard windbreaker and carrying a military green backpack. When I dropped him off halfway, he asked me if there were any internal channels to book a combined ticket for the Yumen Pass scenic spot and the Yadan Devil City."

Pluck a string

Yuan Ye made over ten phone calls before finally getting through to this one. Frustrated, his voice grew louder: "Master Qu, are you still stuck in traffic?"

The rear of the vehicle kicked up a cloud of yellow dust, and behind this sand barrier, the traffic was barely visible, immobilized and stretching for a long distance.

The center of Qu Yixian's brow twitched violently as she glanced at the empty sun, cursing under her breath: "This little brat is really asking for trouble."

Furthermore, one must also account for the car wash fee

A vast expanse of desert and Gobi

The controller squinted: "Do you also have the surname Qu?"

The air conditioning in the car has been set to maximum, yet under the scorching sunlight, an undeniable warmth still seeps through.

He raised his eyes, scrutinized Qu Yiqian a few times, licked his lips, and asked: "Are you the team leader on the ring line?"

The Yadan Devil City is located on the west side of the valley, approximately fifty kilometers away

After a moment of deliberation, the voice suddenly lowered: "Xu San originally disagreed, but as a taxi driver, he had no right to prevent a passenger from getting out of the car. However, he couldn't shake off his concern, so he left the passenger a phone number, asking him to call immediately if anything came up. It was just a moment ago..."

As they sat back in the car, Yuan Ye's mocking voice cruelly rang out: "On the Northwest Ring Line, they only recognize the name of Master Qu, not the person himself. Let alone your name; when it comes up, everyone only recognizes 'Five Years of College Entrance Examination, Three Years of Simulation'"

July, Dunhuang

The distance from Dunhuang to Yumenguan is 84 kilometers one way, so the round trip is multiplied by 2. The fuel cost is calculated at 2 yuan per kilometer

With a silent strum of the string, she merely rolled her eyes dramatically

Traveling west along the ancient Shule River Valley from the Yumen Pass, one encounters an oasis. The ruins of the Han Great Wall are located less than ten kilometers from this oasis. Following the beacon towers westward, one can reach Houkengzi after ten kilometers. This place marks the end of the Shule River Valley, where the valley has dried up, and the yellow sand in the riverbed has weathered like the cotton fabric of a once vast sea.

With one string plucked and eyes narrowed, sit up a bit straighter: "When did this happen?"

Further west, the yellow sand mixed with gravel, and as the sand became coarser, it became even more difficult to find any traces.

The footprints of a young man measure approximately forty centimeters. Although the tread of the athletic shoes is somewhat deeper, even if a two-hundred-pound person were walking, they would still be barely discernible in the wind and sand outside the Yumenguan Pass.

You too

Bored and restless, she rummaged through the drawers and found a pen. Unable to find any paper, she settled for an old, slightly yellowed business card and began to calculate the losses incurred from the traffic jam

Speaking of rescue, Yuan Ye reestablished the call: "Then let me ask who else in the team is near Yumen Pass."

With a tilt of her body, she reached into the dark compartment of the passenger seat to retrieve the work badge of the Starshine Rescue Team, while quickly pressing down the car window and saying at a rapid pace: "Is Xu San next to you? Have him answer the phone."

It is noon, the time when the sunlight is the most intense

Once he deviates from this direction, it will be very difficult to trace his whereabouts again

Finding a person who has lost their way in the desert is akin to searching for a needle in a haystack

Departing from Dunhuang, this circular route passing through the Yumenguan Pass and the ruins of the Han Great Wall to the Yadan Devil City is one she has traveled countless times, able to navigate even with her eyes closed

She pointed to herself and said, "This is me, a woman"

In front of the small square city of Yumenguan, there is a viewing platform built on a slope, from which one can visibly see a meadow and a marshland ahead.

Xu San sighed and said: "He claimed to have experience cycling through Motuo, and this year he is traveling the Northwest Loop to scout the route for next year's trek to Langta. According to his plan, he ultimately intends to cross the Altyn-Tagh Mountains to return to Qinghai"

She raised her eyes and glanced at the rearview mirror to look behind her

As the string was plucked, the accelerator was pressed, and at the start, the tires rolled over the uneven dirt road compressed by the trailer, moving forward for several dozen meters

Childish

Fortunately, the signal had improved somewhat. Just as she pulled up the handbrake, her phone began to ring. She glanced at the caller ID and answered the call.

This yellowed business card clearly has a sense of history, with the corners of the printed text stained brown, resembling a cigarette that has been licked by a flame at one corner. The stain spreads all the way to the signature, making the name on the card completely illegible. The only thing that remains clear is the string of mobile phone numbers below the signature.

Unable to list completely, she turned to the front, just about to write, but paused slightly, carefully examining this business card.

The national highway, just a few meters away, is a dirt road that has been flattened and compacted using a bulldozer. This narrow two-way lane has been congested for several kilometers due to the numerous trailers transporting materials that have squeezed into it

The Starry Rescue Team is well-known along the Northwest Ring Road, having participated in countless rescue operations of various scales in collaboration with the police over the past few years. The team's emblem is so widely recognized that even a three-year-old child, just beginning to understand the world, can identify it

The traffic jam was very close to the Yumen Pass, and it did not take Qu Yiqian long to reach the scenic area

As she just left the national highway, the traffic officer controlling the road by the roadside raised a stop sign and began to whistle at her furiously

With a slightly stiff smile, Qu Yixian once again sought to clarify her identity: "On the ring road, there is only one team leader with the surname Qu."

Xu San received his call

The end of the desert is hazy, as if there is an oasis covering it

Only those who have walked this path for years know that the end of the desert is still the desert

After completing a full circle with the tune of a single string, no time was wasted. Heading west along the river valley, the search for the Yadan Devil City began.

The controller looked skeptically at the work badge in her hand, furrowing her brow, somewhat unable to reconcile the situation.

He understands this principle

Yuan Ye was momentarily taken aback, his tone becoming somewhat uncertain: "It can't be that..." What on earth are these people thinking?

I need to tell you something," Yuan Ye cleared his throat, and his tone immediately became serious: "Xu San brought a guest today to the Yumen Pass scenic area. Wasn't there a traffic jam on the way! The guest didn't want to wait and got out of the car to walk over by himself.

The tune of a single string is left ambiguous

The temporary traffic officer standing beside the vehicle leaned down, peering through the window at Qu Yiyuan inside, urging her to quickly catch up with the car in front and pass through the congested section as soon as possible