Chapter 25: The No Man’s Land

Over the past few days, I had come to realize that Anna was a very lively and outgoing person, remarkably optimistic, and extremely at ease when interacting with others. She could speak Chinese, though not fluently, but she managed to understand bits and pieces. I dragged Anna into a corner, glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Anna blinked, her expression puzzled, and whispered, “Gao, what’s… going on?” Her Chinese was halting, her face full of confusion, but she showed no displeasure at my earlier near outburst. I apologized, “Sorry, Anna, that was a misunderstanding.” Then, composing myself, I continued, “Don’t mind what just happened, it was unintentional. Can you understand me?”

Anna wrinkled her brow—a gesture that, I had to admit, made this foreign girl rather endearing at times—and replied, “Gao, I… should… understand… some of it, okay. But I think… eavesdropping… is not a good thing.” She spoke earnestly, her tone quite formal. I hastily nodded, expressing my apologies. It’s especially hard to explain such things to a foreigner, and even if I tried, she might not fully understand.

After Anna turned and walked away, I intended to go back and try listening in again, but just then, their door opened. The short man stepped out, glanced about, and was about to head downstairs. As he turned the corner, he spotted me and paused, “Still up, little brother?”

“Yeah, couldn’t sleep, just taking a walk.”

“Same here, going to buy some cigarettes.”

We didn’t exchange more words. I turned and headed back to my own room, and so the night passed. Early the next morning, Zayi woke us all, telling us the weather was good and urging everyone to get ready to set out—hopefully reaching the supply point at the edge of the no-man’s land by nightfall.

I was fine, being used to early mornings, but the students were dragged out of bed, yawning, still half-asleep. Soon, all our equipment and supplies were packed. Li Ling wanted to hire a few trucks to take people, camels, and cargo as far as the road would allow, then switch to camels. However, given the local conditions, it was nearly impossible to find enough trucks; the drivers had better-paying jobs and refused to take us into the desert.

In the end, Li Ling had to offer a high price to secure three trucks—two for the camels and one for the people. The journey was rough, and by the time we arrived at the supply point, dusk was falling. The so-called supply point was nothing more than a large inn. The truck drivers didn’t even rest—they turned around and left immediately, probably anxious to get back to other work.

This inn charged exorbitant prices, and there weren’t many rooms—just a few large ones, men in one, women in another. Over dinner, Zayi advised us to eat our fill, as the coming days would not offer such good food.

The innkeeper was a warm-hearted middle-aged woman. She told us that just a few days earlier, another team had set out into the no-man’s land. Curious, Li Ling asked about them. The hostess informed us that the group comprised thirteen people, well-equipped, and had been dropped off by jeeps that left once they arrived—meaning they entered on foot. They didn’t look like a survey team, more like adventurers.

As we chatted, the four professional explorers in our group began whispering among themselves, exchanging glances as they surveyed the room. The leader, wearing dark sunglasses, had a bulge at his waist—I suspected it was a handgun. Their hushed conversation and wary glances made me uneasy.

Li Ling, sitting next to me, probably noticed my distraction at dinner. She quietly asked what was wrong. I discreetly pointed toward the four explorers without saying a word. Li Ling smiled faintly, and whispered, “You probably don’t travel much. Not everyone you meet out here is bad. With those four around, our chances of survival in the wild are much higher.”

I looked at her, surprised. It seemed Li Ling saw them as our security detail. Still, I couldn’t shake my unease, but there was little I could do—I’d just have to look out for myself.

Tomorrow we would enter the no-man’s land. The younger students, both men and women, were excited—many barely slept, chatting late into the night. I felt little myself; though it was my first time entering the desert, perhaps I’d simply grown indifferent to life and death.

At dawn, we set out again, this time on camels. It was my first time riding one. At first, I wasn’t used to it, but gradually I adapted. The others were in the same boat—excited at first, but as the hours passed, the slow, swaying motion grew tiresome, and many dismounted to walk instead.

Li Ling led the way, riding alongside Zayi and talking with him from time to time. She held a map in her hand, one compiled from the information she’d gathered, and periodically handed it to Zayi to confirm our direction. According to Zayi, our destination was about three days from the supply point.

By afternoon, some students began complaining of fatigue. Li Ling called for a rest—people drank water, snacked, and after half an hour, we continued. At first, Zayi was unhurried, but by four or five o’clock, he began urging us to pick up the pace.

He warned us, “The wind here at night is strong, we need to find a place to camp soon, or the storm might catch us.” I wondered if he had some kind of prophetic gift, for as dusk fell, the wind began picking up. I asked him if desert nights were always this windy. Zayi’s face grew grave, and he said this was a sign of a black sandstorm approaching. He wasn’t sure if it would reach us, but to be safe, he told us to hurry. Usually calm and fond of jokes, Zayi’s somber tone and serious expression made everyone tense up. Even the students stopped complaining and sped up.

Zayi was indeed an experienced guide. As darkness fell, he found us a sheltered spot—a place piled with rocks with a small cave beneath. The air inside reeked of animal dung, evidence that creatures had sheltered here before.

Though the cave wasn’t large, it could fit all twenty-some of us seated together. Zayi told us we’d have to make do for the night; if the black sandstorm came and we were caught outside, it would be a death sentence in the desert.

We had no choice but to follow his lead. We tidied the space up, lit our lamps, and found places to sit, preparing to eat and rest. The cave was cramped for so many, but with limited options, we managed.

After eating biscuits and canned beef, fatigue set in. A few girls said they needed to go outside, but the wind was fierce. Zayi told them to wait, but one of them blushed, clearly uncomfortable and eager to go immediately. The older members seemed to understand the situation. In the end, Zayi relented and told her to hurry, and a few other girls decided to accompany her.

“Brother Yun, have you been to the desert before?” A thin young man beside me asked with a smile. I glanced at him—I didn’t know him well, but I remembered his name was Liang Qiu. “It’s my first time too,” I replied.

“You seem so calm, I thought you’d done this before. But honestly, the dryness here is really uncomfortable,” he said.

As we chatted idly, Li Ling suddenly spoke up. “Why aren’t they back yet? Could something have happened?”

Zayi, who was nearly asleep, opened his eyes at her words and glanced at the cave entrance, shielded by windbreaks. “Don’t worry. The desert’s little animals all find places to sleep at night—there’s no real danger. The wind isn’t that strong now, it won’t blow them away,” he joked, making everyone laugh. Still, Li Ling was uneasy and got up to check on the girls.

At that moment, a scream pierced the air. We all jumped to our feet. The four explorers exchanged glances and rushed out at top speed.

The wind outside was indeed fierce, filled with sand that stung our faces. We shone our flashlights and spotted the girls behind a distant rock, shouting something we couldn’t make out over the wind. I wondered why they had gone so far—about fifty or sixty meters away. Fighting the wind, we ran over, only to discover that one of the chubbier girls was half-buried in the sand.

“Quicksand! Hurry, pull her out!” Zayi shouted. But the explorers were the quickest—one burly man whipped out a climbing rope and threw it down to her in a flash. The girl grabbed it in panic, and everyone started hauling her up together.