Glancing at those dry, twig-like lips, he gulped and hesitated for a long time. He was unable to bring himself to do it.
A wave of sadness washed over him.
Ahhhh fuck this shit! What the hell?!
Every day, Ample Time is all lovey-dovey with NPCs, why do I have to drag this dead weight through the desert?
I’m the one who really needs a break!
Suddenly, those dry twig lips parted slightly, uttering a weakly, “Water...”
Relieved to hear that weak voice, Pangolin exhaled, calming his inner curses.
At least he’s still alive!
He dragged Cowley to the camel, grabbed a water bottle from the camel's back, shook it, and found it still had some water. He unscrewed the cap and brought it to the half-dead man's lips.
Feeling the fresh water at his lips, Cowley's eyes bulged with the drive to survive.
Instinctively, his hands clamped tightly around the bottle, veins bulging at his wrists.
Only a last sip remained in the bottle, but he swallowed for a long time until not a drop was left, then shook it in dismay before tossing it to the ground.
Looking up at his savior, Cowley's eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you."
Pangolin shook his head, indicating it was nothing, and casually picked up the water bottle. "Can you keep going?"
Cowley steeled himself and nodded. "I can..."
Pangolin nodded, turned, and went back to the camel.
The fresh water was gone. If they couldn’t reach an oasis soon, they might have to kill the camel...
Just half a month ago, the Army suffered a devastating defeat in the southern part of the River Valley Province, near Lucky Valley Municipality. Their forces were scattered, and the survivors were in disarray. Many died, were wounded, or fled.
And with the Falling Leaf Camp’s betrayal, Cowley almost perished amid the chaos. Thanks to Pangolin's help, they managed to escape from the gunfire.
It had been a perilous journey ever since.
Initially, their supplies were sufficient, aside from Pangolin, several bodyguards also accompanied him.
However, those cunning wastelanders weren’t satisfied with taking down Falling Leaf Camp. They chased them with a truck, catching up quickly.
The anti-aircraft gun on the truck burst into a frenzy of gunfire, and his bodyguards were torn apart by the quadruple gun as they protected him.
Luckily, Pangolin was quick to react. He grabbed a rifle dropped on the ground and fired back, blowing up the truck's engine and narrowly escaping death with Cowley.
Thus, the two of them luckily evaded the New Alliance’s pursuit, finally crossing the boundary of the River Valley Province before reaching the desert bathed in twilight.
But before Cowley could rejoice at having survived the ordeal, he realized the real nightmare had just begun.
Nearly 40 degree temperature fluctuations between day and night.
And the desert roamed by arthropod mutants, as well as fiercely aggressive sand bandits and slave squads. It was said that a branch of the Bonechewer Clan, the Bear Clan, was active in the area.
Fortunately, on the road, they encountered a caravan. Pangolin used the dinars General McClennan had given him to buy a camel and some supplies, allowing them to make it so far.
But... If they couldn’t reach an oasis soon, Cowley felt their journey was also nearing its end.
Staring ahead into the hazy distance, he took a breath and asked, "How much farther..."
"Almost there. We should reach the southwestern part of Oasis No.9 before dark." Pangolin unfolded a paper map and fiddled with a compass while speaking.
Honestly, it was his first time in the Sunset Province without an electronic map. He really didn’t know where he was.
The area of Sunset Province was about as large as the Western Regions on Earth.
The journey was nothing but sand, with only occasional sightings of cacti, shrubs, or tumbleweeds as landmarks. He could only follow a general direction.
Whether they could reach it before dark, he wasn’t sure, but after Cowley heard they were almost there, his will to survive was rekindled and he quickly started to limp over.
"Thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have died at the hands of those barbarians by now. Once we reach the military camp at Oasis No.9, I'll definitely introduce you to General Griffin!"
Pangolin’s face broke into a simple, honest smile. "It’s my honor to serve you!"
Looking at the man who had stuck by his side, Cowley couldn't help but be moved by his loyalty.
Not all wasteland dwellers are ugly, sly, cunning, evil, ignorant, and beyond redemption.
Like him... Isn’t his pure soul shining brightly?
Stared at so intently by the guy, Pangolin felt a chill down his spine, his scalp tingling.
This guy isn’t... Is he?!
Just then, a group of cattle appeared on a sand dune ahead.
Unlike the two-headed ox of the River Valley Province, those had brown fur and were rather furry. They had only one head and their drooping eyelids made them look gentle. Their heads were adorned with trunk-thick horns.
Pangolin instinctively thought of Ankhara Longhorns; they did resemble them, but those mutated versions were significantly sturdier.
An old man stood in front of the cattle herd. He was draped in a cloak, wrapped in cloth strips, adorned with strange ornaments. He carried an old-fashioned revolver shotgun and appeared like a local herdsman. He stared in their direction.
"There’s someone ahead! Must be local herdsmen."
Hearing Pangolin's voice, Cowley looked up, instinctively tugging at his collar to cover half his face, especially his prominent nose bridge.
With the Falcon Kingdom and the Army's joint forces invading the Lion Kingdom, it wasn’t wise to reveal his identity without knowing if the area was under occupation.
Pangolin glanced at him subtly.
It seems these big noses were somewhat aware that they were unwelcome there.
Seeing Cowley looking for help, Pangolin didn’t tease him but staggered forward, addressing the shotgun-carrying herdsman. "Friend, we’re traders from the River Valley Province. We lost our luggage to sand bandits on the way... May I ask where this is?"
The old man scrutinized him for a moment, his expression skeptical, but ultimately, he didn’t probe further and spoke with dry lips. "Golden Lizard."
Pangolin froze, repeating what he heard. "Golden Lizard?"
The old man nodded, his expression growing more skeptical as he looked at the young man.
A traveling merchant from the south has never heard of the Golden Lizard?
How did he even get here?
"This is Oasis No.8, in the northeastern part of Sunset Province, under the rule of the Golden Lizard Kingdom. If you're headed north to the swamps, keep going north, and you'll see a mountain range. Once you cross it, you will be out of the desert.”
"Oasis No.8..." Pangolin revealed a confused look before he asked, "How far is Oasis No.9 from here?"
"Oasis No.9? If that’s your destination, you’ve veered way off course. You’d have to travel several hundred kilometers back in the direction you came from, just a bit further west." The old man casually pointed in a direction.
Seeing the bewildered young men, he smiled faintly. "But, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. There's a war going on there right now; heading there isn’t a good idea. Your accidental detour here might be divine providence."
Turning back now was clearly unrealistic.
Several hundred kilometers... With the supplies they had, they’d likely die on the road before making it halfway.
"We need to replenish our water supply... Can you tell us where we can find water?"
Seeing that the old man didn’t seem like a bad person, he turned to look back at the sand dune behind him.
"Just over that dune. Keep going for about a kilometer and you’ll find a village. There are quite a few merchants passing through. I was about to head back myself, I'll take you there."
Back in the real world, the first thing Battlefield Cheerleader did after taking off his helmet was to run to the kitchen fridge and grab a bottle of ice-cold Coke and gulp it down in one go.
He nearly choked and when he was satisfied, he returned to his room before logging in to the official forum to start a post.
Battlefield Cheerleader: Some of a fuc...
Spring Water Commander: What happened bro?
Battlefield Cheerleader: Didn’t I accept the damn mission?! Fuck! This is infuriating!
Eye Owe Money: The fuck? Are you still on that mission?
Battlefield Cheerleader: What else? I came all this way, might as well finish it, or it’s a waste of a long journey.
Ample Time: Is this what they call a sunk cost fallacy? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Night Ten: But it’s almost mid-July, and you haven’t done anything else along the way. It’s been so long... Aren’t you ridiculously far away now?
Gale: By my calculations, at 30 kilometers a day, you’ve walked over 400 kilometers.
Battlefield Cheerleader: I didn’t fail to reach it; I walked past it!
Quit Smoking: Walked past? What does that mean??
Battlefield Cheerleader: I don’t know what this place is either, but the locals say it’s Oasis No.8, territory of the Golden Lizard Kingdom. Further north would take us out of Sunset Province.
If they head east for another month, they would reach the Great Rift Valley, and north led to the swamps. That was probably where the Wandering Marsh was.