** Although we heard him speak, we had no time to pay him any mind, because we heard a low growl emanating from the herd of wild camels, and they were actually starting to retreat.

And on the sand patch before them, a lump of sand began to swell up slowly, as if it were an inflated balloon.

Before we could even make out what was happening, a distinct pop sound echoed from that patch of sand, and then those camels simply vanished!

In less than half a second, several enormous camels had disappeared right before our eyes. It was utterly incomprehensible.

Da Xiong and I exchanged a look, while Old Ni was already so terrified he had dropped to his knees, eyes tightly shut, murmuring prayers incessantly.

I stared blankly at the sandy area. I could see a few wisps of yellow sand drifting in the air; otherwise, there was no other anomaly, as if the herd of wild camels had never even been there.

After another moment, Da Xiong and I were still speechless, but Old Ni finally became enraged and roared at us, "Do you two really want to be taken away by the Devil? If you don't get down now, don't blame me for being impolite!"

He practically dragged us off the rock face, and we stumbled back to the campsite, still deeply unsettled.

After a long pause, Da Xiong finally asked me, "Was it quicksand?"

I shook my head and replied, "No, quicksand isn't that fast. I don't know what it was, perhaps... maybe it really was the Devil?"

The three of us fell silent again. Boss Wu, noticing our strange expressions from not far away, walked over and asked me what was wrong.

I opened my mouth to tell him, but Old Ni cut in first, "It's nothing serious. It’s just that the two bosses almost fell while climbing the Yardang formations, so they look a little pale."

Boss Wu glanced at me, grunted an acknowledgment, and said, "The cooking pot is ready. You two rest up, then come eat."

Boss Wu turned and walked away. Old Ni leaned in and whispered to us, "The Devil is still lurking nearby. Don't stir up trouble; if we anger it, we'll all be doomed!"

Having witnessed that bizarre scene, we all fell silent, thinking that perhaps being a little superstitious wasn't such a bad thing. After all, there are too many strange occurrences in this world that cannot be fully explained by anything.

Everyone was quiet during dinner.

Boss Wu stared intently at the photographs for a long time, clearly finding nothing of note, appearing preoccupied. His assistant, meanwhile, maintained his usual sour expression, eating by himself.

After dinner, everyone retreated to their tents, planning for a good night's rest and an early start the next day.

My mind was restless, and I kept tossing and turning, unable to sleep, so I took out my phone to play games.

Time slipped away until it was deep into the night. Just as I was about to put the phone down and sleep, I saw a massive shadow flicker outside the tent.

I thought to myself, what on earth could that be in the middle of the night! I broke out in a cold sweat of fear and retrieved my dagger from under the pillow.

A sliver of moonlight cast the shadow outside the tent very clearly. It looked like a human figure, twisting its body in an awkward posture as it tried to squeeze into my tent.

I dropped to my knees and crawled to the tent entrance. A round head poked through the opening. I instantly clamped an arm around the person's neck and raised the dagger, ready to stab.

Suddenly, I heard the person yelp, and they whispered quietly, "Ow, ow, ow! It's me, don't hit, don't hit."

When I recognized Da Xiong’s voice, I released my grip and asked him, "Drilling into my tent in the middle of the night without making a sound, what are you trying to do?"

Da Xiong rubbed his neck and sighed, "Oh, my dear mother, I didn't realize you were so strong, kid. You nearly choked the life out of me."

I just looked at him, saying nothing.

After a moment, he caught his breath and asked me, "Can you actually sleep, kid? The way those camels disappeared was too bizarre. If we sleep now, maybe our fate will be the same as theirs. I think we should go take a look over there; at least it will put our minds at ease."

I frowned and retorted, "You fatso, you're just recklessly brave. Go look if you want to, but don't drag me into it. If there's real danger, this isn't a game."

Da Xiong scoffed, saying, "When did you become such a coward? Do you actually believe there are Devils in this world? We must look at things scientifically, follow the path of sustainable development, and promote the socialist market economy."

Seeing that he had completely gone off track, I told him to stop.

Da Xiong chuckled slyly and pulled something out from his waist to show me.

I saw it was a Type 54 pistol replica, and I was startled, asking where he got it.

He said it was the "equipment" Boss Wu gave him after dinner, and he had a longer one in his tent.

He continued, "With this piece here, what do you have to be afraid of? We'll go take a look together. Even if Gargamel pops out, he'll be afraid of a gunshot."

I truly couldn't do anything about him, and having a weapon in hand gave me a bit more courage, so I followed him out of the tent and headed toward the stretch of desert where the camels had vanished.

The desert night was bitterly cold. Even in my leather jacket, I could feel icy tendrils crawling down my neck.

The camp was pitch black, with only the sound of uneven snoring drifting from the tents; clearly, everyone else was asleep.

We left the camp and skirted around the Ghost Town until we soon entered the vast, boundless sea of sand.

Da Xiong walked ahead, humming, "Over the mountains, over the sea, there lives a colony of Smurfs."

I followed, continuing the song, "Oh, dear Gargamel, oh dear Gargamel."

Da Xiong turned back and scolded, "Wrong lyrics! If the Smurf Papa heard those lyrics, he'd die of anger."

I replied, "Smurf Papa won't die of anger, but if Old Ni finds out we snuck out to look for the 'Devil,' he’ll definitely be the one dying of rage."

Da Xiong burst into loud laughter, saying, "That fellow, with that big beard, is actually so cowardly. Thinking of him praying, 'Oh, great Allah,' makes me want to laugh."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly tripped over something beneath his feet and fell headlong to the ground.

Seeing his clumsiness, I burst out laughing too and said, "Did Allah manifest himself?"

Da Xiong struggled to get up from the sand and began digging at whatever was under his foot, muttering as he dug, "Damn it, what is this? Are there stones in this desert?"

After digging for a while, he pulled something out of the sand that looked like an intestine.

I was startled and rushed over to look.

The object was dark, slightly elastic when poked with a finger, and its surface was covered in dry, cracked fissures filled with sand grains.

"What is this? A dead snake?" Da Xiong asked me.

I shook my head. The thing seemed strangely familiar. After thinking for a moment, I suddenly remembered and cursed, "Holy hell, this is a cable! What is this doing out here?"

Da Xiong examined it closely and confirmed, "It really is a wire."

He followed one end of the cable, digging away the sand for three or four meters, and then the cable began descending into the earth.

Da Xiong dug deeper, about a meter down, but still couldn't find the other end. We both pulled on it with all our strength, but the cable didn't budge, indicating its subterranean length must be considerable.

Da Xiong scratched his head and asked me, "Huh? What's going on? Is there an arcade hall buried under this desert?"

I wasn't in the mood for jokes. I stroked my chin and said, "We need to go back and get people to dig. It might be related to the tomb we're looking for."

Da Xiong protested, "Are you kidding me? Did ancient tombs from two thousand years ago have electricity? Are the zongzi [reanimated corpses] also watching TV and surfing the internet? If so, I want to be a zongzi too when I die."

I glared at him and told him, "What's so strange about that? Scientists detected traces of nuclear radiation in the ruins of Atlantis, meaning a nuclear war happened 15,000 years ago. A mere electrical cable is nothing!"

Da Xiong was about to say more when we heard a pop behind us, making me flinch.

Unlike before, this sound was clearer and more distinct, as if it were very close behind us, somewhat resembling the sound of a basketball exploding—very sudden.

We nervously scanned our surroundings for any anomaly, but after a minute, nothing seemed amiss.

After standing still for a while, we climbed the nearest dune to look in the direction the sound came from. It was near the spot where the camels had vanished. The two dunes there had a distinctive shape; they were probably the tallest landmarks nearby, so I paid close attention to them.

Looking down at the yellow sand in that area, there was nothing unusual on the surface—no bloodstains, no wreckage, not even a single incongruous mark. It was as if the entire herd of camels had been consumed by the desert itself.