The sky darkened as a bright crescent moon climbed the night sky, casting the vast sea of sand in a sheet of snowy white. The sweltering daytime heat had vanished entirely, replaced by the desert night's bone-chilling cold that seemed to freeze the marrow.
Rick and the others remained by the cacti. To fend off the cold, Moya gathered dry branches and lit a bonfire. They sat around the fire in sullen silence, staring at the flames.
Over the fire roasted chunks of insect meat, but no one touched them except Shust, letting them char under the flames. "Hey, got any wine? Let me try some." Shust pushed Rant. Normally Rant would refuse, but now he tossed over his flask without a word. Shust uncorked it and drank freely.
Across the fire, Moya sighed at Shust's gluttony. For someone as indifferent to life as Shust, sentimentality was impossible. "Rick, eat something. Lav's too exhausted to wake soon, and Anna... won't recover that fast either..." Moya tried to comfort his friend.
"I'm not hungry." Rick hugged his knees, huddled in the fire's shadow like a statue.
Moya felt uneasy seeing Rick's silence. He knew Rick had strong pride, and this mistake had plunged him into pathological self-blame. Worse, Rick wasn't easily consoled, worrying Moya he might develop a complex.
Opening his mouth several times, Moya struggled to find comforting words, only to choke on them, worsening his mood. "Fuck this damned desert." He tossed the charred meat into the fire, standing restlessly. "I need a walk—it's too stuffy here."
"Watch out for scorpions up your ass. I don't want another dead weight in this lousy team, hahaha..." Shust laughed brazenly.
"Up yours, killer!" Moya kicked sand at Shust and stormed off. He knew Shust meant well, but his harsh words grated.
Climbing a dune, Moya inhaled the desert night's icy air, feeling slightly better. "Huh, what's that..." From the height, the sky looked odd—clear stars above, but the distant horizon was grayish. "Oh, maybe the desert sky's just like that." He plucked a dry weed, lying back on the sand.
Soon, the weed in his mouth swayed, his hair blown astray. "Wind's picking up. So cold." Shivering, Moya rose to return to the fire—then his eyes snapped wide at the distant sky...
By the fire, Rant idly poked the flames with a stick, Shust had drunk himself to sleep wrapped in his coat, and Rick stayed in the corner, watching over Lav and Anna.
Suddenly, a terrified scream echoed from the dune crest. "Moya!" The three men sprang into action like startled beasts. Rant dragged his trident up the dune, Shust shadowing him, while Rick crouched protectively over Lav and Anna, his dark eyes scanning the surroundings.
At the same time, Moya's staggering figure appeared, scrambling down the dune as if chased by horrors. "Run! Fucking run!"
"What's happening? Moya, calm down—what did you see?" Rant seized the panicked Moya.
"Sa... sandstorm! Run now!—" Moya pulled Rant, urgency in every word.
As Rant had only been a part-time lizard hunter in Tanzan Desert for a month, he wasn't familiar with the desert. He'd only heard of sandstorms but had no idea how terrifying they actually were—and the same went for Shust. So after learning about the sandstorm, they just went "Oh," but had no clue where to run or what to do.
This brief hesitation cost them the best chance to react. Standing on the dune crest, they felt the sandstorm's might the next second. The scene of obscuring the sky and blocking the sun, flying sand and rolling stones was indescribable. A powerful force tore at them, and their bodies were lifted into the air.
Before nature's might, human strength was negligible. In an instant, the three vanished, and even the massive dune was flattened by the sandstorm.
Rick, positioned lower, was luckier. The moment he heard the sandstorm coming, he grabbed Lav and Anna, ignoring Lav's terrified expression as he pushed her to the ground, covering all three with a canvas. Rick's actions were right—no one can outrun the wind. The only emergency measure was to reduce body surface area to avoid being blown away, and the canvas prevented suffocation if buried.
Watching tens of thousands of tons of sand fly is only shocking and terrifying, but when that sand buries you alive, the only thought is to beg God for luck...
Dawn broke, and the night-long sandstorm finally subsided. The once-undulating dunes had vanished, replaced by mirror-flat sand. The massive cactus cluster was uprooted and blown away. The insect cart lay in pieces, its parts and supplies scattered or buried under tons of sand.
Whoosh.
A human arm burst from the sand. Bracing against the sand, it heaved, and a lump bulged from the flat sand. After the sound of shifting gravel, Rick's sand-covered head emerged. He took a deep breath, lifted another small figure with the arm still in the sand, and dug out another person from below.
It was Lav and Anna. Buried all night, they could finally breathe. Staggering to their feet, Rick shook his hair, sending showers of sand flying. Sand poured from every crevice of his clothes like a funnel.
Gazing around, Rick's dusty face showed no expression. He collapsed to the ground, closing his eyes with a bitter look.
Could things get worse? Lost, no transport, no supplies, two girls to care for, three team members missing...
Nothing could be worse. Rick even wondered if he'd done something wicked in a past life for fate to treat him so harshly. But... he was alive, which was the greatest luck.
"Right... I'm still alive..." Rick murmured, opening his eyes. Sitting up, he encouraged himself: "If not for luck, I'd have been eaten by insects in the sewers. Fate has been kind, giving me so much—it's only fair to take some back, heh..."
Even he couldn't help laughing. Yes, give and take. If he hadn't become an insect hunter by chance, he might have lost more than just supplies today.
As the only healthy male, he had to take on more responsibility. Lav and Anna woke after Rick cleared the sand from their mouths and noses, but remained weak, resting nearby. Rick couldn't relax—he had to scavenge. He picked up anything useful, like a professional trash collector. As a scum, Rick had been a sharp-eyed scavenger, which kept him alive. Returning to old habits sparked nostalgia.
Lav couldn't understand. She got why he collected scattered rations, but why the junk and scrap metal? When Rick returned with a pile of debris, she asked: "What's all this for? Planning to rebuild an insect cart? The power insect blew away..."
"You'll see." Rick brushed her off and started sorting through the mountain of debris.
First, he picked out rations, wrapping them in the canvas used to block sand. Calculating, there was enough for three to eat a week. Most of what he collected were machine parts—some from their cart, some blown in, suggesting other teams perished in the storm.
Finding a main shaft and two axles, Rick assembled three wheels. A tricycle? The basic frame looked like one, but missing gears and chains. He simply fixed a flat board on the axles and pieced together a tent-like structure with odds and ends.
Rick lifted the weak Lav and Anna onto the cart, tossed the remaining rations on board, then secured the front of the rickety tricycle with a chain.
"Planning to find something to tow this?" Lav propped herself up, curious.
"Any living thing around here strong enough besides me?" Rick smiled, deftly fastening the chain around his body. As he bent to pull, his foot struck something hard. Digging through the sand, he revealed a palm-sized wolf head emblem.
"Wolf Pack..." Rick frowned, gazing toward where the sandstorm had come from. After a long moment, his frown eased. "They really won't give up... But maybe I'll get lucky and find some lost water pouches..."
Rick turned and strained. With the squeak of rusty axles, his muscles bulged like forged steel, and the clumsy tricycle finally inched forward, leaving three deep tracks pointing west—the direction of Yiso City in his memory. In a lost desert, following the initial direction was the stupidest yet simplest choice.
This took a toll on Rick's stamina. Since entering the desert, he'd rationed water, leaving him severely dehydrated. Now dragging the cart, he grew dizzy after less than an hour.
"Take a break. Maybe... I can help Anna walk for a bit..." Lav watched from the cart's makeshift tent, Looking at Rick's hunched back with heartache . Raised in luxury, she'd never known adventure could be so harsh. Her worldview had shifted—adventure wasn't romantic, and her presence burdened Rick, filling her with guilt.
"I'm fine. Just need a breather." Rick wiped sweat from his brow, pulling the straw from his jacket, but stopped before drinking. He unzipped the jacket, tossing the precious one-liter water pouch into the tent. "You drink. You're not used to the water here and still weak."
Lav's nose suddenly stung, tears falling. Beside her, Anna turned away, eyes red, hiding her vulnerability. Lav, born noble, was jaded by upper-class hypocrisy. Rick's raw sincerity touched her, fostering complex feelings toward his silent sacrifices. Anna, from a harsh background, couldn't believe someone like Rick existed, yet his selflessness moved her.
In hardship, true nature shows. If Rick were Shust, he might drain them; even Rant wouldn't risk his life for the weak. Rick, rising from weakness, understood their plight. His innocence, though seen as foolish, was precious in this era.
Perhaps Rick didn't realize his unique quality, but those around him naturally rallied around him. From Moya to the unruly Shust, Lav and Anna all felt a sense of identification, a trait of leadership. In a sense, Rick had become the team's leader, though unaware, hence his self-blame in crises—simply wanting to do better, unaware of the weight of leadership.
"Anna, how's the venom?" Rick dragged his weary legs across the desert, shoulders raw from the chain. Talking distracted him from exhaustion and pain.
"Getting better." Anna checked her shoulder. The scorpion wound still looked awful, but the surrounding blackness had faded, confirming Lav's bold plan worked—Anna would become an insect hunter.
This should have thrilled Anna. Once stuck as a lowly lizard hunter, she now had an egg, opening doors and elevating her status. Yet she felt indebted to Lav and Rick. Rick was clear—she'd saved his life—but Lav...
Anna looked at Lav, who awkwardly avoided her gaze. "Don't thank me. It's the only thing I can do..."
Lav's casual words lit a path for Anna. Habitually self-centered, Anna was now confused. Wanting to belong yet mismatched, she wondered: What can I do for the team? The question brought a faint smile to her pale face—she knew her role.