Chapter 31: (Combined): This Aggrieved Posture… Part 1

Xie Jianxun brought the canned lamb soup close to his nose, using it to cover his flushed cheeks from the heat. His eyes sparkled brightly. When someone approached, they froze upon seeing those pupils that flowed like liquid gold.

Seeing someone arrive, Xie Jianxun quickly turned his head. “Captain.”

“…Today was our first official camp rest. According to the rules, we need people to take shifts for night watch.”

Standing wasn’t conducive to conversation, so Magm simply sat down on the sand next to him. Even seated, the tall captain loomed like a small mountain. He deliberately controlled his movements, so the sand didn’t kick up when he sat.

Xie Jianxun shifted to the side, giving him more space.

Magm smiled tolerantly and didn’t stop him.

“Thanks. I just came to ask if you want to join the night watch. You’re young and new here—it’s normal if you haven’t pulled an all-nighter before. You can take some time to adjust.”

Xie Jianxun nodded. “Sure, I’ll do night watch with everyone.”

Magm thought for a moment and arranged, “Then you’ll take the first half of the night, from eleven to one. Is that okay? I’ll have Jesilisi join you.”

Who? Was there someone by that name in their merchant caravan?

Hearing the unfamiliar name, Xie Jianxun didn’t react at first. But he quickly realized—it was Jie Ge.

Everyone always called him Jie Ge, so they’d forgotten his full name.

“No problem.” Xie Jianxun agreed readily.

Around nine o’clock, the logistics team began clearing dishes one by one, collecting everyone’s food waste and tossing it into the portable compression trash can. They extinguished the quick heat stoves.

Soon, some people ducked into their tents and turned off the lights.

More and more people returned to their tents, leaving the night watch personnel to head to their assigned patrol areas and wait for the next shift to relieve them.

Xie Jianxun followed Jie Ge to a sand dune.

The view from there was open. They could see their own cluster of tents, a corner of the merchant teams on either side, and the other group of night watchers not far away.

It was eleven o’clock. Most people had gone to sleep, with only a few tents still lit.

Xie Jianxun wasn’t very sleepy. He’d napped off and on during the day, so he still had some energy.

But he still habitually opened his mouth and let out a long, soft yawn. Tears squeezed from the corners of his eyes. He saw Jie Ge chuckle as he watched him.

Xie Jianxun quickly wiped away the tears and blinked. “Jie Ge?”

Jie Ge winked at him indulgently, like humoring a child, and whispered, “If you’re sleepy, just lean on me and doze off. I won’t tell the captain.”

Xie Jianxun: “No, no!”

Jie Ge teasingly repeated his words: “Yes, yes, little one… At your age, I slept twelve hours a day.”

The sky was like black velvet cloth, dotted with scattered stars.

Xie Jianxun saw someone emerge from a tent and head into the distance—probably to relieve themselves.

“What’s the night watch for? Bugs?”

To keep from dozing off, he roused himself and chatted with his companion.

Jie Ge, the desert veteran who’d crossed it many times, pointed at the sky. “See that?”

Xie Jianxun squinted, looking left and right, but saw nothing.

Jie Ge: “Not seeing anything is good. In the middle of the night, sandstorms can strike suddenly, turning the sky murky. It’s not just bugs—you have to watch for wind fields approaching too. The tents’ foundations are just for show; a couple gusts and they’ll be blown away.”

Xie Jianxun said in surprise, “That serious?”

Someone approached their position slowly and sat beside Xie Jianxun. Jie Ge startled and instinctively sized them up. Seeing those inorganic pale blue eyes, his heart skipped a beat.

But the little repairman’s eyes lit up—he clearly knew them.

Xie Jianxun spotted One, a pleasant surprise as expected. He knew the mechanical puppet would come find him.

He scooted close intimately and whispered, “You’re on night watch too? What about the Basero Team? Just one person?”

The mechanical puppet welcomed his affection. Its posture remained steady, but its eyes narrowed slightly.

It smiled faintly. “Someone’s watching over there. No need to worry.”

Meaning it wasn’t on watch duty.

It simply didn’t need sleep and wanted to check on the young human, sit with him, and chat.

Xie Jianxun enthusiastically introduced, “This is Jie Ge, the big brother of the team and Captain Magm’s right-hand man. This is One, from the Basero Team.”

Jie Ge: “Uh… hello, hello.”

He eyed One for a couple seconds, wanting to say more to socialize, but gave up and looked away warily.

After the introductions, things stayed peaceful. Jie Ge said he was going to relieve himself, leaving the space on the dune to the two of them.

The sand beneath them was fine and soft—not uncomfortable to sit on.

Xie Jianxun extended a finger and carefully drew a few lines in the sand: a circle, eyes, and a mouth.

He said in wonder, “Hey, you can draw here!”

Like discovering a new toy he’d never played with before, he smeared the marks away and drew new ones, having a great time.

One looked up at the distance, then lowered its head and drew a little figure next to Xie Jianxun’s.

The mechanical puppet could precisely control its finger. Soon, two identical little figures stood side by side in the sand, like copies and pastes.

Xie Jianxun grinned mischievously and smeared away the one One drew.

“Go draw your own. Why’d you copy mine exactly?”

One said, “Yours is so good, I couldn’t help imitating it.”

Xie Jianxun looked down at his stick figure and began doubting One’s artistic taste.

Not content with just figures, he drew a frame and added two wheels.

He muttered, “Look, doesn’t it resemble us? The landship racing through the desert.”

One pondered for two seconds and added a flowing curve to the back of the little figure’s head.

Xie Jianxun was puzzled at first, then realized it was hair—hey, he’d tied his hair in a little braid!

Calmly, he drew another figure, taller, sitting in the back of the landship. “The ship’s too crowded. You sit in the back.”

The mechanical puppet said softly, “Do you dislike me?”

Xie Jianxun: “…”

Who was this pitiful posture for? Oh, just him here! Performed specially for his viewing!

He simply flopped into its arms, using One as a bed frame.

He even reached out and pinched its face, whispering, “Go away, no peeking at me.”

When Jie Ge returned with soft footsteps, the little repairman was already sleepy, curled up against the man, eyes closed in a doze.

One saw him and silently signaled to stay quiet, but Xie Jianxun startled awake anyway.

“Sorry! How’d I fall asleep…”

Jie Ge looked at him fondly. “Just head back to your tent. The captain only wanted you to get some experience—he doesn’t really need you on watch.”

But Xie Jianxun persisted, so he stared wide-eyed through the rest of his shift.

As soon as the relief arrived, the little repairman slumped.

One scooped him up horizontally in one swift, light motion. In an instant, the young human was cradled in its arms, little face buried in the open collar of its coat, asleep in seconds.

Jie Ge raised one eyebrow and pointed toward the small tent nearby.

One nodded and carried him there.

Xie Jianxun didn’t sleep long. Around dawn, he woke up groggily and flipped over to find himself in the tent.

A warm, fluffy blanket was tucked into the gaps of his sleeping bag—clearly someone had wrapped him carefully and placed him inside.

Who did it went without saying.

Misty light filtered through the tent fabric from outside. Shadows passed over the canvas, accompanied by scattered voices.

Xie Jianxun unzipped and crawled out, surprised to find most people already up, sitting on the ground—but silent toward each other, the atmosphere far less harmonious than the night before.

He was puzzled. Soon, Laike came to hand him breakfast. “Yours.”

It was two slices of crispy-edged hard bread with jam in between, plus mashed potatoes sprinkled with nuts and served with red sausage.

Xie Jianxun took a small bite and carried the rest to the merchant team’s camp.

Everyone was there, sitting in a circle, murmuring quietly to each other.

Captain Magm sat at the head, arms crossed, looking displeased. He nodded slightly upon seeing Xie Jianxun.

Xie Jianxun spotted an empty spot in the circle and sat there.

He sensed the off atmosphere. “What’s wrong?”

Magm answered indirectly. “The scouting team is expanding their range, checking for bug-infested caves nearby to prevent attacks if we linger too long.”

Xie Jianxun got it immediately. “A sneak attack?”

“The landship was damaged.”

Laike finished distributing breakfast and sat next to him with his own portion, voice unhappy. He managed the team’s supplies and finances, and the landship was a pricey piece of large machinery.

With such major property mysteriously broken, he was in a foul mood too.

Xie Jianxun turned to look at the fleet parked nearby. “Won’t fix it?”

“No rush,” Magm said. “Supplies were stolen too.”

The last night watch shift ended, and as people got up and moved around camp, they spotted inexplicable marks on the landship’s hull and reported it to the Joint Group captains.

Inspection revealed the panels had been sabotaged—they couldn’t start temporarily.

If it were just damage, they could repair it; they had several repairmen. But on the damaged ships, the stored supplies had vanished.

A sneak attack.

Or an inside job?

No… it was almost certainly an inside job. The night watch wouldn’t let strangers approach the fleet from afar.

The lost supplies weren’t a huge amount, but after calculating, they realized what remained was just enough for an immediate return trip—not to press on to the Golden Fruit Forest marker.

Someone was sabotaging their path to the Golden Fruit Forest!

Without catching the traitor, they’d live in fear and fail halfway, forced to turn back now.

No one could accept that.

Someone came to relay that the entire Joint Group should assemble for a meeting.

Xie Jianxun held his barely touched breakfast, worried, and followed the crowd to the gathering point.

Magm went to the captains’ meeting, while the rest found seats.

Soon, the results were announced to everyone.

“Ladies and gentlemen, all trusted members of the team—we never imagined this would happen. We’re shocked and furious. That traitor ruined our journey and our camaraderie.”

“Catching the traitor is urgent, but we must also decide: press on or retreat.”

The Adventure Group captain’s voice was low, like reciting a somber prayer.

“If we advance, we’ll drastically cut supply rations, use the oasis as a resupply point, and save current stocks as backup.”

“That means the road ahead will be grueling just to walk.”

People exchanged uneasy glances, silent.

Knowing hardship was one thing; having it hit home was another.

Finally, the Adventure Group captain said pointedly, “Next, hold team meetings to investigate thoroughly… then a full hand vote.”

He stepped down from the high ground and was swarmed by his group.

In the merchant team, everyone looked at each other. Jie Ge spoke first. “We lost the least stuff.”

“…But supplies are pooled uniformly. We prioritize the Joint Group.”

Joel said listlessly, his hair messy. He’d been woken by Anong that morning with the bad news and had no energy.

Magm: “Yes. The Joint Group’s first rule: unified supply allocation.”

Xie Jianxun checked the time— not yet seven.

One hour until the scheduled departure.

“Each of you was handpicked by me, so I trust you all.”

“I respect everyone’s choice. The Golden Fruit Forest is an expensive dream, but we’ll survive without it.”

The captain’s low voice reached every ear.

He sat with legs bent, one arm over his knee, biceps bulging powerfully.

Yet he was calm, the anchor for the whole team.

“We entered the desert for money, to live. Retreating is also to live—no shame in it. I know what you’re thinking, but your lives matter more than golden fruits.”

Finally, he added, “Everyone think for five minutes, then vote by show of hands.”

A sharp cry came from the distance.

“Do you know how much farther it is? Eating just a handful of beans a day, or drinking half a bottle of water?!”

“We can’t just go back like this! The brand-new Golden Fruit Forest—by now, the bugs might have multiplied, and we won’t get our turn…”

“You old geezer, scared of death…”

“My lifelong wish is to see the Golden Fruit once. Going back now is worse than killing me…”