Chapter 29: Yi Cradles His Human… Part 2

There were about a hundred of them, formed into four neat blocks, instantly silencing the Joint Group.

“It’s the Patrol Troops.”

Someone nearby whispered questioningly. “Who are they? What’s their deal with us?”

Xie Jianxun was puzzled too, until the Joint Group’s captains returned with grim faces and announced the news.

These were the City Lord’s Mansion’s Patrol Troops, ordered by the City Lord to head out secretly and exterminate the Sand Bandits. Their route matched, and they could protect the Joint Group from Insect Clan attacks.

Sounded good, but they demanded fifty landships from the Joint Group for transport.

Fifty!

No small number—it was nearly half their fleet.

They’d had plenty before, but now halved, everyone had to cram into the rest.

Beds became bunks in seconds.

Landships had limited space anyway—just main driver and co-pilot seats. Squeezing more meant legs tucked in the trunk.

Many already carried supplies, making trunks impossibly tight.

The two hot-tempered captains argued fiercely: Why should the City Lord’s Mansion’s independent bandit hunt commandeer their stuff? They’d formed the Joint Group based on the City Lord’s Mansion’s notice!

But the Patrol Army Captain clearly had no interest in debate. He adjusted his gloves leisurely.

“We’re the City Lord’s Mansion troops, personally selected by the City Lord to enter the desert and wipe out the Sand Bandits.”

He said flatly, “Once the Sand Bandits are gone, your caravans will travel the desert much safer. You get that, right? Besides, this is an order from the City Lord’s Mansion—your landships are requisitioned!”

Not a request—an order. It stuck in the captains’ craws.

But their status and purpose were above board.

If true, and they’d guard against Insect Clan en route, it was a boon. A little crowding was fine.

They had to reallocate the counted landships, each independent group surrendering a few—including the brand-new one Xie Jianxun had just gotten.

His butt hadn’t even warmed the seat yet, and he watched his shiny new ride get requisitioned.

He reluctantly touched the landship’s icy shell a few more times before others came to take the vehicle away.

Now the number of landships was critically short. After redistribution, Magm’s remaining landships were no longer sufficient.

“Anyway, it’s four people per ship—no big difference,”

Magm asked him, lowering his head. “Are you riding with us, or going to your friend’s?”

Xie Jianxun thought for a moment and said embarrassedly, “I’ll squeeze onto my friend’s ship… Is that okay?”

Magm joked, “Of course. But other times, we have unconditional priority.”

One wasn’t exactly spacious either. Basero drove, leaving the passenger seat for the unfamiliar lady, while Xie Jianxun and One sat cross-legged in the cargo hold.

Their legs couldn’t even stretch out fully; trying to extend them might kick the gentleman in the face across from them.

He grumbled glumly, “Why don’t they—the Patrol Troops—use their own landships? Why insist on using ours?”

The landship’s engine sputtered to life up front as Basero turned the key.

After a few sputters, the landship slowly moved forward.

Basero floored the accelerator, catching up to the main convoy.

One by one, the landships left Golden City, carving tracks across the golden desert as they sped toward the horizon.

The engines roared in a symphony, rising and falling.

The sun blazed overhead, the entire desert reflecting light like a mirror. Basero pulled sunglasses from his pocket and slipped them on.

Hearing Xie Jianxun’s question, Basero smiled.

“Landships are expensive and prone to breaking down. Better to freeload off others than use our own.”

Basero’s tone was casual. Seeing Xie Jianxun’s wide eyes, he changed tack.

“They said this is a secret operation, so they couldn’t pull too many supplies from storage without tipping off the Sand Bandits’ spies. Landships are too bulky to hide like other supplies.”

Xie Jianxun: “…”

With the current setup, it hardly looked like a ‘secret’ operation!

The lady in the passenger seat spoke up. “In other words, they brought their own supplies and won’t take our water or food.”

Her voice was cold, her eyes fixed ahead.

Basero nodded. “Probably. That’s a good thing, right? If they took supplies too, I’d really spit blood.”

In the cargo hold, Xie Jianxun rested his legs on One’s, feeling the pressure on his knees ease.

To his left arm was the supplies stored in the landship, sealed in special material membranes to prevent leaks or spoilage.

With the landship’s slight jolts, the cabin temperature gradually rose.

After passing a certain point, Xie Jianxun clearly felt the heat, finally sensing he’d truly entered the desert.

He had come from the desert into the city before, but he’d completely forgotten that experience.

Click.

Basero pressed some button, and a blast of cool air swept over everyone’s faces, steadily lowering the cabin temperature.

It wasn’t too cold—just enough to keep the humans from sweating profusely while ventilating.

“Can’t run the AC too low. If it’s still hot, bear with it. We’ll reach the first oasis soon, and frequent in-and-out with AC isn’t good for the body… uh.”

He trailed off midway.

Through the rearview mirror, Basero saw the two in the cargo hold stuck together.

Little Rose had turned into a clingy kid, burrowing into the other man’s arms with a comfortable sigh.

The mechanical puppet had its own temperature regulation system; its skin stayed cool, unaffected by the desert climate—like pressing against an ice block.

Seeing him inch closer slowly, One even lowered its body temperature further.

It shifted its legs, changing position.

One cradled him like a doll and asked nonchalantly, “Is this better?”

The young human in its arms nodded vigorously. “Very cool!”

Basero: “…”

He shouldn’t have said anything.

He averted his gaze and drove on sadly.

The lady in the passenger seat ignored the men’s odd little movements.

She pulled out paper and pen, quickly sketching the route they’d taken and the surrounding terrain.

As she drew, she said seriously, “Captain, how is our route planned?”

Peering through the seat gap, Xie Jianxun saw her paper was large, unfolded in several sections, spread out before her with several black X marks.

Basero kept one hand on the wheel, freeing the other to point at the map’s upper left corner.

The convoy drove in a straight line, so he barely needed the wheel.

“The stretch ahead is familiar territory—mostly straight, dodging the Flowing Sand River,”

Basero explained. “In about an hour and a half, we’ll reach the first oasis, a Golden City outpost. We’ll resupply there, rest twenty minutes, then hit the road again.”

“Another three hours or so, at landship speed, and we’ll leave the controlled safety zone for the First Danger Zone. No precise oasis maps there—Golden City only provides three or four higher-safety merchant routes.”

Xie Jianxun gripped One’s shoulder, poking his head out from the cargo hold.

“The safety zone doesn’t sound that big?”

He asked puzzledly. “Even if we don’t survey the whole planet, this range feels small. Isn’t Golden City the biggest city here?”

Basero explained, “The Insect Clan’s irregular awakenings can alter their survival paths, reshaping desert terrain and expanding the Flowing Sand River. So the City Lord’s Mansion hasn’t expanded surveys much lately—stability first.”

He rummaged in the front pouch, pulled out a map, and handed it back without looking.

Xie Jianxun unfolded it—a rough desert navigation chart from City Lord’s Mansion drone scans.

“That red dot—see it? That’s our target.”

Basero mashed buttons on the landship’s control panel, hunting for the audio system, then gave up glumly on playing music.

Xie Jianxun: “How long until we get there?”

“From Golden City, straight-line distance is three or four days—not counting detours. Conservatively, six or seven days.”

That meant a round trip would take half a month just on the road.

The landship was boring; nothing to do.

Soon, Xie Jianxun’s eyelids grew heavy.

The oasis break in an hour and a half was just for food and water anyway. He could use his light brain supplies without getting out.

With that thought, he yawned, pulled open One’s jacket, and loosely draped it over his face.

It blocked the annoying sunlight and let him nap comfortably.

Basero glanced in the rearview again and tsked twice. “Sir, spoiling a kid too much won’t end well.”

One looked down with a smile, bent one leg, and cupped his palm over Xie Jianxun’s other cheek, blocking the remaining light.

An hour and a half later, the convoy reached the oasis precisely.

Three and a half hours after that, they left the safety zone.

The landships shifted formation: those with scanners led, ordinary ones followed to avoid stragglers falling into the Flowing Sand River.

After half a day’s rush, Desert Star slowly entered night.

The lead scout ships slowed, finally stopping in an open area.

Sparse vegetation, wide visibility, clear skies with few stars, no Insect Clan burrows in sight—a decent campsite.

The trailing landships slowed and halted.

The Joint Group decided to camp here. The journey wasn’t short, and with possible Insect Clan fights ahead, they wanted to conserve energy.

But the Patrol Troops didn’t disembark. They stayed in their landships, overlooking everyone from above.

The Joint Group felt uneasy, murmuring among themselves.

The Patrol Troops seemed to say something, but they ignored it at first—until it was repeated.

“…Since you haven’t enlisted yet, I’ll say it again: Everyone back to the landships. Hurry and keep moving!”

Below, people had unpacked camping gear and exchanged surprised looks.

They didn’t keep working but didn’t put things away either.

Large Adventure Group Captain Antonio stepped forward from the crowd, frowning. “Captain, we’ve followed your orders. But after a full day on the road, everyone’s exhausted. Isn’t full recovery more important?”

“The later we are, the more likely the Sand Bandits hear about it.”

The Patrol Army Captain stared him down, speaking rapidly. “We have a death order from the City Lord’s Mansion: Annihilate the Sand Bandit Main Camp and make Desert Star safer!”

“If not, rotate drivers every two hours. We must get there in minimum time.”