The man paused before continuing, “I can help you contact your family and friends, but we don’t have any spare water or food.”
Sheng Xia understood exactly what he meant.
This was the heart of the desert. Water and food were things that kept people alive. Judging by their cracked lips and exhausted appearance, they clearly didn’t have much left themselves.
She guessed this group was the American squad that had entered the desert before them.
Who would have thought the sandstorm would blow her all the way to the American team? It was truly bizarre.
At the moment, Sheng Xia was both hungry and thirsty. She only remembered that after being swept into the sky, she had managed to tighten her hood and hold Jinbao firmly in her arms.
Then she had been spun helplessly through the air. The storm had carried her incredibly high, and she had no idea when she eventually crashed back into the desert.
Before losing consciousness, she remembered feeling as though every inch of her body had been burning with pain.
Then Jinbao pried open her mouth and fed her something.
Thinking about the metallic taste lingering in her mouth, realization dawned on her.
Jinbao had fed her his blood!
No wonder he looked so weak.
She tried communicating with him through their mental connection, only to discover that after seeing her wake up and finally relaxing, Jinbao had already fallen asleep.
He had used his own blood essence to save her and then guarded her for so long. His tiny body simply could not endure any longer.
Looking lovingly at the little monkey in her arms, Sheng Xia’s heart overflowed with gratitude.
She swallowed painfully and said in a hoarse voice,
“Um… could you please give me some water first?”
Lucas looked puzzled. Had this little girl been knocked silly from the fall? He had just explained that they had no spare water or food.
But when he followed her gaze toward her side, his eyes widened instantly.
A moment earlier, the sand beside her had been empty.
Now, a bottle of mineral water had appeared out of nowhere.
She! She was a Spatial ability user!
Back in the Latin American Federation, they had spent enormous effort searching for a Spatial ability user and failed to find a single one.
Yet now, in the middle of the desert, they had casually picked up a half-dead little girl who turned out to possess one of the rarest abilities imaginable.
Lucas picked up the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and carefully fed Sheng Xia several capfuls of water before reluctantly setting it aside.
The remaining four members of the squad, three men and one woman, stared curiously at the heavily injured girl with blood at the corner of her mouth, as well as the bottle of water that had appeared from thin air.
After thanking them politely, Sheng Xia produced a bowl of fish porridge beside her. Looking at Lucas with her clear, bright eyes, she didn’t need to say anything.
Lucas immediately understood.
He carefully helped turn Sheng Xia over and supported her against his chest before saying a few words to the blonde, blue-eyed beauty nearby.
The woman smiled, crouched down, picked up the bowl of porridge, and patiently fed Sheng Xia one spoonful at a time.
The porridge was still warm.
Tina couldn’t help feeling surprised.
This girl, who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, was truly remarkable.
She immediately shot Lucas a meaningful look.
Lucas nodded knowingly.
When he had turned Sheng Xia over earlier, he had noticed the Langya Squad insignia embroidered on her clothing.
So Huaxia’s team had entered the desert as well.
But what had happened for them to leave such a precious Spatial ability user in this condition?
Lucas simply couldn’t figure it out.
After eating and drinking her fill, Sheng Xia finally felt alive again.
Although she still couldn’t move, she could sense that her body was slowly rebuilding itself.
She guessed Jinbao’s powerful healing abilities were taking effect.
Watching Lucas and the others exchanging meaningful glances and silent signals, Sheng Xia quickly reached her own conclusions.
“My name is Sheng Xia. Sheng as in prosperity, Xia as in summer. May I ask what your names are?”
Lucas nearly choked.
His face reddened slightly as he introduced himself.
“Lucas Bruce. You can call me Lucas. We’re the Golden Lion Squad, and these are my teammates.”
Once their leader had spoken, the others introduced themselves without waiting to be asked.
The blonde beauty was Tina Nice.
The bald, muscular giant was Kyle Swell.
The black man was Alex Swan.
And the blue-eyed young man was Aria Luce.
Surrounded by people averaging over six feet tall, Sheng Xia, who stood barely five foot three, seemed even more petite and pitiful.
She greeted them generously before looking directly at Lucas and slowly asking,
“Mr. Lucas, can you take me with you? I can pay.”
“With water and food.”
Lucas’ eyes lit up.
The others stared in astonishment.
As expected of someone from the Langya Squad.
Even in such terrible conditions and facing such a harsh environment, she remained calm and composed.
The little girl couldn’t move at all. Leaving her here would be the same as leaving her to die. Even if she had food and water, she wouldn’t be able to eat or drink on her own.
Traveling with them meant someone could take care of her and perhaps even help her reunite with her teammates.
Her calculations were quite clever.
The Golden Lion Squad had entered the Lop Nur Desert several days earlier. They had originally brought supplies and camels as well.
Unfortunately, they had been even more unlucky than the Langya Squad.
Their guide had turned out to be completely unreliable.
Three days after entering the desert, he had led them directly into a giant nest of sand scorpions.
Even now, Lucas shuddered whenever he remembered that endless sea of crawling creatures.
Within minutes, the guide and all their camels had been swallowed by the swarm.
Had the guide not died in the scorpion nest himself, Lucas would have suspected he was a spy.
Without a guide, they could only rely on a crude map and the positions of the stars to navigate.
After several grueling days of travel, they had finally reached this area.
Their food could last another week, but their water supply was nearly gone.
For the past two days, they had barely dared drink any water, terrified that they would die of thirst before reaching the dimensional rift.
Earlier that morning, shortly after setting out, they had discovered Sheng Xia lying unconscious on the sand.
Seeing that she was gravely injured but still alive, they had considered checking whether she carried any food or water.
However, the strange little monkey that emerged from her arms had intimidated them enough to keep their distance.
The argument Sheng Xia heard before waking up had been the team debating whether to save her and discussing the peculiar monkey.
In truth, they were just as curious about Jinbao as they were about Sheng Xia.
The expressions and intelligence displayed by the little monkey made it difficult to believe he was an ordinary animal.
Lucas and the others exchanged excited looks, but Lucas still asked cautiously,
“There are five of us. Do you really have enough food and water to share?”
Sheng Xia nodded. There would be no problem.
Her throat hurt terribly. Every word she spoke felt like torture.
Right now, all she wanted was to sleep.
The previous day’s events had been far too terrifying.
She still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock.
Sure enough, people shouldn’t be trusted too easily.
Mu Ting was a member of the Langya Squad, yet she had treated her that way.
The disappointment was overwhelming.
Sheng Xia had assumed Mu Ting was merely a jealous and petty young lady.
She had never expected her to be so vicious.
Was being betrayed by teammates some unavoidable plot point?
Was fate determined to keep repeating it?
The existence of someone like Mu Ting within Gu Ziyan’s team made Sheng Xia lose some of her enthusiasm for forming exploration squads.
Jinbao had sacrificed so much for her.
Her first priority now was survival and recovery.
She was gambling. Gambling that the Golden Lion Squad would not abandon her.
Her Spatial storage, her supplies, and her stockpile of food and water were now the bargaining chips she was using to buy her life.
Having reached an agreement, Sheng Xia retrieved a stretcher from her space.
It had come from Xifeng City’s supply depot. She had casually stored it away while collecting materials and never imagined she would one day use it on herself.
A bitter smile crossed her face.
Soon afterward, Lucas settled her onto the stretcher.
Alex and Kyle lifted her from front and back, and the newly formed team continued toward the dimensional rift.
During the days she spent recovering, Sheng Xia followed the same routine every day: wake up, eat, sleep, and repeat.
Whenever she needed help with personal matters, Tina took care of her.
The food she prepared for herself consisted of nutritious, easily digestible liquid meals, supplemented by fresh fruits and vegetables.
The supplies she provided to Lucas and the others were merely ordinary rations.
Even so, they were already extremely grateful.
Whenever they craved fresh fruits or vegetables, Sheng Xia would quote outrageous prices and demand beast crystals in exchange.
The repeated transactions made their hearts ache.
Beast crystals were valuable, but more could always be obtained by hunting.
Fresh fruits, vegetables, and those miraculous Frost Leaves were not things one could enjoy whenever desired.
The first time Sheng Xia produced Frost Leaves and had Tina feed them to her, the Golden Lion Squad immediately suspected that she was the mysterious Poppy who had recently become famous on the Interdimensional White Paper.
Tina had once had a younger sister about Sheng Xia’s age.
She had possessed the same adorable baby face.
Unfortunately, she had died during a beast tide. Whenever Tina looked at Sheng Xia, she was reminded of her sister.
As a result, she cared for Sheng Xia with increasing sincerity.
Sheng Xia occasionally shared delicious food with her as well.
As for everyone else, she treated them equally.
If they wanted something tasty, they could pay with crystals.
“Does anyone want Frost Leaves?” Sheng Xia called from her stretcher.
Aria forced a smile and placed a red crystal into her hand.
“Yes, you little profiteer.”
Sheng Xia remained completely unbothered and thoroughly enjoyed herself.
Within just a few days, she had accumulated several crystals, most of them red crystals.
She wasn’t picky. Her speed had been too slow.
That was why she hadn’t been able to outrun Mu Ting during the crisis.
She believed she could still save herself.
Speed absolutely had to be increased first.
That way, if she ever needed to flee for her life again, she could run faster.
Bah, bah, bah!
There absolutely could not be a next time.
Seeing how harmoniously Sheng Xia got along with the team, Lucas became increasingly satisfied with her.
If only he could recruit Sheng Xia into the Golden Lion Squad.
The thought made him secretly excited.
He had already begun planning how to lure her over after this mission ended.
Completely unaware that someone was trying to poach one of his team members, Gu Ziyan continued pressing forward.
Another day passed without any news from Sheng Xia.
His expression grew darker than ever.
The atmosphere within the Langya Squad became increasingly heavy and silent.
Aside from meals and rest periods, nobody spoke.
The oppressive mood was suffocating.
Whenever some unlucky beast wandered into their path, it was usually obliterated instantly.
For three consecutive days, the entire squad remained trapped in this tense atmosphere.
Mu Ting spent every day hiding like a frightened quail, terrified of encountering Ye Qingqing and receiving another beating.
Meanwhile, Ye Qingqing tirelessly sent messages and attempted calls to Sheng Xia every single day.
Finally, in the middle of the third night, she received a reply.
The only reply: I’m fine! Meet at the dimensional rift.
Ye Qingqing nearly burst into tears from joy.
She immediately shared the good news with everyone.
A cheer erupted throughout the team. One after another, they sent messages asking about Sheng Xia’s condition.
Watching her communicator flash endlessly, Sheng Xia felt helpless.
After three days of recovery, she could only move her fingers.
Her body no longer hurt, but she was still confined to her stretcher.
That single message had been sent in secret.
She had waited until the Golden Lion Squad wasn’t paying attention, had Jinbao retrieve the communicator, and then spent over ten minutes painstakingly typing with the only two fingers she could move.
By the time she finished, she was utterly exhausted.
To avoid attracting attention, she put the communicator back into her space and immediately fell asleep.
The life of a freeloader was wonderful.
Her lack of replies, however, drove the Langya Squad nearly crazy.
Gu Ziyan stared at his communicator with visible disappointment.
Perhaps Sheng Xia had encountered some kind of trouble…
Suppressing everyone’s worries as well as his own, he said,
“If you want to know how she’s doing, then we just need to reach the dimensional rift as soon as possible. Since she said we’ll meet there, she’ll definitely be waiting for us. Move out!”
With that order, the Langya Squad finally regained some of its former vitality.
Everyone’s steps became noticeably lighter.
Five days later, at dawn.
Outside the dimensional rift, Lucas stood beside Sheng Xia’s stretcher, a rare look of impatience on his face.
“Sheng Xia, we’ve already wasted two days waiting here. Your friends still haven’t arrived. No matter what happens, you’re coming inside with us today.”
His tone was far from pleasant.
His patience had finally run out.
Sheng Xia knew she could not delay any longer.