Knowing that DaXiong was about to suggest something utterly ridiculous, I quickly interjected, "Wait, [name of person 1], don't listen to him."

DaXiong’s eyes widened as he glared at me, clearly offended. "What do you mean, you don't believe me? Huh? When has Big Brother Xiong ever bragged about something he couldn't deliver?"

Seeing his mounting impatience, I sighed and conceded, "Fine, alright. Tell us what grand idea you have."

DaXiong straightened up, adopting a serious mien. "In my view, we should use the remaining glow sticks..."

Before he could finish, I cut in, "We could lay them out on the ground to form an 'SOS.' When a plane flies overhead tonight, they’ll surely see us..."

DaXiong broke into a slight smile. "Exactly, exactly! Comrade XiaoChuan’s awareness has improved! What do you all think of this plan?"

I let out a cold scoff, ready to point out that helicopters never flew this route, and jets or commercial planes flew far too high to see anything below. Even if they did see us, they wouldn't simply stop to rescue us; by the time they dispatched a search party—given the bureaucratic speed in the Celestial Empire—we'd already be mummies.

But before I could speak, [name of person 1] interjected, "No plane will see us tonight. Do you see that black line on the horizon? It's just past four in the afternoon. In another two hours at most, the next sandstorm will hit."

I had some basic wilderness knowledge, and now that [name of person 1] mentioned it, I finally noticed it: a dense, dark line spanning the far end of the desert.

When DaXiong heard this, his face instantly crumpled into a mask of despair.

I managed a wry smile. "Tonight, we'll probably need a UFO to rescue us!"

As soon as the words left my mouth, we distinctly heard someone shout not too far away: "Look over there! They actually saw it! There really is a UFO here! The guide wasn't lying to us!"

Hearing the voices, we all jumped in surprise, immediately scrambling to our feet and searching in every direction for the source of the sound.

Then, a cacophony of other excited noises drifted over from the distance: "Good heavens! It's real! This is incredible!" "Do you think this is the Celestial Empire's military testing some new aerial craft?" "No way. Look at that unidentified flying object—it’s hovering motionless and glowing like that for so long. That’s definitely beyond human technology!"

The voices seemed to be coming from behind a dune just ahead of us, so I quickly urged DaXiong to climb atop one of the Yardang pillars to get a better view.

Driven by the sheer will to survive, DaXiong didn't even flinch at how hot the sun-baked pillar was, scaling the nearest one in a few swift movements.

He shaded his eyes with his hand, striking a pose like a monkey gazing at the moon, peering intently before shouting excitedly, "Hey! You people over there! Help! We’re lost!"

We all looked up at him. After observing the area for a few seconds, he slid down the Yardang pillar, muttering, "They're coming, they're coming! They have vehicles—we’re saved!"

Seeing his elation, he became entirely careless. Halfway down, he jumped off the pillar, landing hard on his face, but he barely noticed, staggering towards the dune in a frantic rush.

[Name of person 1] and I quickly hoisted Liang Qian and Grandpa onto our backs, an uncontainable surge of relief washing over us.

As we ran toward the dune, two domestic SUVs crested the ridge and drove toward us.

A moment later, the vehicles stopped in front of us, and four young people stepped out.

There were two young men in button-down shirts and glasses—one heavy-set, the other thin—a tall young man wearing a Lakers Kobe Bryant jersey, and finally, a girl with her hair in a ponytail and thick-rimmed glasses.

I noticed radar and cameras mounted on their vehicle roofs, and the professional high-powered binoculars they held. I immediately realized these youths must be the legendary 'Young Adventurers' enthusiasts.

These rich kids, with nothing better to do with their money, spent their time fishing in remote mountains, rock climbing sheer cliffs, catching butterflies and lizards for study, or chasing UFO sightings. They were always drifting around aimlessly, contributing nothing academically, yet they were usually the ones who caused trouble whenever a park reported someone missing or a cave expedition got into trouble.

I used to despise people like them for constantly burdening the forestry bureau and park management. But now, I felt immensely grateful that we had stumbled upon this group of lucky fools; otherwise, we would certainly have perished.

The four of them looked utterly astonished when they saw us.

The guy in the Kobe jersey was particularly captivated, pulling out a DSLR camera from his car and snapping pictures of us incessantly.

The girl with the thick-rimmed glasses hopped excitedly over to me and asked, "Are you perhaps the legendary Wild Man discovered in Lop Nur?"

I was about to retort with a sharp curse.

The girl then bounced over to my grandfather, pointing at him, "Are you Professor Peng Jiamu, the one who disappeared? I’ve read so many books about you!"

At this point, DaXiong grew annoyed and blurted out, "Little lady, we aren't wild men, we’re just..."

Before he could utter the next word, [name of person 1] and I simultaneously kicked him down.

Then, I smoothly stepped in with a forced smile. "Ma'am, we are just like you—part of an outdoor expedition team. A few days ago, we got caught in a sandstorm in Lop Nur and became trapped here in this Ghost City. We’ve run out of water and food and are coming out to seek help. This elderly professor is my grandfather and also our team's expert consultant."

"What? Not wild men? Hmph!" The bespectacled girl pouted and playfully turned to the boy in the Kobe jersey.

That boy seemed to be her boyfriend, and he maintained a consistently cheerful and amicable expression.

Indeed, the boy smiled and said, "Your experience sounds absolutely terrifying. If you hadn't run into us today, things might have ended badly. Look at that black line on the horizon; there might be a massive storm tonight, even bigger than the previous ones."

The slightly heavier man in the shirt chimed in, "That’s right. Is your girlfriend injured? Get in the car quickly; we’re heading out now too. We have some water, bread, and a first-aid kit in the vehicle. We're all travelers out here; please, help yourselves."

DaXiong rubbed his backside, but his spirits instantly revived upon hearing the invitation to get into the car. "Then I won't be polite! You are truly good people."

Since DaXiong and [name of person 1] considered me, Liang Qian, and Grandpa to be 'one unit,' they insisted we take the couple’s car, while they would ride with the two shirt-wearing brothers.

I settled Liang Qian into the back seat first, then helped Grandpa in, before finally getting in myself and closing the door.

The moment I entered the car, the blast of cool air instantly revived me, driving away much of the oppressive heat.

I didn't waste a moment. I grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the seat and drained it completely.

Letting out a long breath, I began speaking with the boy in the Kobe jersey.

"Earlier, near the Yardang formations, we heard you talking about an Unidentified Flying Object. What was that?" I asked.

The girl answered before he could. "You didn't see it? It was so obvious! Oh, wait, you must have lost your binoculars, right?"

With that, she handed me her binoculars and opened the sunroof cover, inviting me to look directly above us.

Through the lenses, I saw, against the brilliant blue sky directly overhead, a tiny white dot.

This dot was neither a balloon nor a plane; it was some kind of aircraft suspended motionless in the air. I could clearly observe that it was performing a slow, deliberate rotation.

I zoomed in with the binoculars, and the small white speck became clearer and clearer.

It was generally circular, enveloped in a hazy white luminescence, making specific details impossible to discern. However, upon closer inspection, I noticed two very small dark spots directly in its center.

This immediately brought to mind the Candle Gods discovered underground in Black Bamboo Valley! And the circular discs inside the Scarecrow and the Armored Warrior—they shared the exact same configuration.