Chapter 38: Igniting the Fuse

Krimus walked at the very front, acting like a dutiful guide as he held the flashlight for the patrol troops, illuminating the path ahead.

His face was full of cautious care, not daring to take a single wrong step, and even his footsteps were extremely light, as if he feared someone might pop out and shoot him.

In fact, he had never been down into this underground passage before.

Previously, while drinking at the camp, he had pretended to be curious and asked about the tunnels, but the sand bandits had brushed him off with vague laughs, treating him like a child.

He knew the Patrol Army Captain wanted to test if he knew where the tunnels led.

But the problem was, he really didn’t know!

…Damn it, he had been planning to find a chance to shake them off!

But now everyone was underground, and without the patrol troops’ emergency lights, he would be stumbling around in total darkness!

How the hell was he supposed to escape now?!

With his back to the patrol troops, he rolled his eyes discreetly, feeling the dull ache in his stomach from the punch he’d taken earlier. He thought to himself that if he got out alive, he would definitely return the favor with a punch of his own.

After they walked a bit further, the flashlight beams suddenly spread out, illuminating the area they had broken into—a vast underground hall.

The Patrol Army Captain, right behind him, asked sensitively, “How could there be a place like this?”

Krimus shook his head. “Maybe it’s a shelter they built underground? I don’t know either.”

It was an enormous underground space, with several tunnels connecting to the walls, leading in different directions.

The Patrol Army Captain immediately ordered, “Plant markers!”

The patrol troops spread out, methodically inserting positioning devices and emergency lights into the walls. They had done the same earlier, setting up markers along every tunnel they passed to prevent getting lost underground.

These positioning devices could construct a 3D map on their instruments—just as two points made a line and three points formed a plane, allowing them to navigate and pinpoint their location.

Krimus, holding only a flashlight, stood awkwardly to the side like an idle bystander.

The patrol troops’ footsteps echoed through the hall as they moved back and forth.

They were easy to recognize because they wore special long boots from the Golden City City Lord’s Mansion, with uniform heels that produced a distinct clacking sound against the ground, different from regular leather shoes.

As Krimus’s mind raced, he suddenly heard footsteps from a nearby tunnel that sounded a bit different.

He didn’t react at first and instinctively glanced that way.

He locked eyes with a familiar face.

Before the shock fully showed on Krimus’s face, the other person quickly put a finger to their lips, signaling him to stay quiet, then pointed to their tunnel. Finally, they made a fist with one hand, grabbed and pulled down with the other in the air, gesturing for him to follow.

Krimus didn’t understand the gesture, but he recognized the person!

They had drunk together, sung together, and split the valuable loot from adventure group members!

He was here—he had come to rescue him!

Krimus slowly and lightly turned around, as if he had spotted something interesting, and headed toward that tunnel.

“Stop!”

Someone behind him shouted, “Where are you going?”

Krimus forcibly suppressed his excitement and quickly pointed to the tunnel. “I think I just saw someone in there!”

The Patrol Army Captain rushed over at once and ordered, “Lead the way!”

Krimus pursed his lips and ducked into the tunnel.

It was a bit low, forcing him to hunch slightly, which also hid the trembling in his tense muscles.

He almost imagined it: as soon as they entered the tunnel, a mechanism would trigger, separating him from the patrol troops. Then he could escape smoothly, while they were trapped like turtles in a jar.

He walked faster and faster, nearly breaking into a run, until the captain sternly called from behind, “Stop! Slow down! Watch for ambushes!”

Krimus didn’t hear a word. In that moment, the patrol troops’ footsteps filled the tunnel.

He paid no attention to anything else, his mind frantically replaying the man’s expression and gestures from earlier. After going over it several times, he suddenly noticed the hand signal.

Strange—he thought he had seen that gesture before.

What was it?

As Krimus pondered, he slowed his steps.

The patrol troops finally caught up, and one kicked him in the knee, lowering their voice. “Did you really see someone? Or are you hiding something?”

It hit Krimus belatedly, and years of adventure group experience flooded back, sending his sense of crisis into overdrive.

He couldn’t remember what it meant, but the patrol troops probably would.

He dazedly repeated the gesture and asked, “Captain, what does this mean?”

The Patrol Army Captain’s face changed, and he shouted back, “Stop!”

The patrol troops’ advance halted abruptly.

The captain turned and demanded sternly, “Where did you see that gesture?!”

It was the signal for pulling the fuse to detonate explosives!

…

There weren’t many damaged weapons.

However, perhaps because they had emptied their ammo and chosen to charge in for close combat instead of retreating to reload, these weapons were more like… uh, physically damaged.

For instance, triggers smashed beyond use, barrels bent out of shape, and so on.

Honestly, with their love for melee, weren’t they afraid of the sand bandits unloading a clip on them?

As Xie Jianxun puzzled over this, he replaced parts on the batch of weapons.

He rested the gun barrel on his leg, took a shiny new spare part, twisted and tapped it into place.

Meanwhile, the patrol troops searched the sand bandits’ quarters.

They left no room unchecked, hauling out plenty of daily supplies and ammo the bandits hadn’t taken.

These items were dumped in an open area, piling up into a small mountain, then sorted and packed by the patrol troops’ logistics team.

They found quite a bit of cash—some crisp new bills, others yellowed, creased, and worn.

They also discovered vintage small celebrity records, colorful but dried-out white paint buckets, fireworks stained with paint, and half-finished sand sculptures.

Clearly, these sand bandits had quite the flair for life before becoming “sand bandits.”

Though they had ultimately taken that path.

Xie Jianxun’s hands kept working, but his eyes drifted to the side, patrolling the little mountain of loot with growing itchiness, like a gold prospector eyeing a riverbed.

The deputy found it amusing and turned to him. “See anything you want? Feel free to take some—these are useless to us.”

He could really take some?! Xie Jianxun’s heart raced with excitement!

He fidgeted with his fingers, deciding to finish repairing the current batch before digging for “gold” in the pile!

He was particularly interested in that big-headed, skinny-necked sand sculpture!

From the second-floor building, he could still see the patrol troops bustling like ants below, hauling things back and forth.

Footsteps approached from the cave entrance, and before the person even entered, their voice arrived: “Vice-Captain Alro, the sandstorm is heading our way.”

The deputy replied, “Didn’t it just shift direction?”

He made a hand signal, and the patrol troops nearby stopped their work, watching as he stepped out of the cave to gaze at the distant sandstorm.

Xie Jianxun curiously followed to look. He saw the massive, toppled-tornado-like sandstorm rolling toward the Sand Bandit Main Camp. It had been sesame-seed sized before, but now it was fist-sized.

Just standing at the cave mouth, they could feel the fierce wind carrying sand that battered their faces in waves!

This was several times stronger than the earlier gusts!

The deputy decided swiftly. “Everyone inside, secure the doors and windows with iron bolts!”

He quickly donned his helmet with crisp efficiency and headed out. “Sandstorms have low visibility and can even lift lightweight people—you all need to stay sheltered.”

Xie Jianxun ducked his head back, his eyes stinging from the sand. He truly felt the sandstorm’s terror.

“What about you?”

“Visibility’s too low in the storm. I need to guard the tunnel entrance and watch for sand bandit sneak attacks—the captain and the others are still below!” the deputy shouted. He stepped outside and pulled the cave door shut behind him.

Xie Jianxun yanked the door open and tossed him a weapon. “At least take your gun!”

The deputy caught the weapon that smacked into him, paused, then grinned. He waved vigorously at Xie Jianxun before turning and running toward the tunnel.

A gentle but insistent force came from behind. Xie Jianxun yielded obediently, watching as One secured the doors and windows with the cave’s original iron bolts.

The sandstorm seemed far off, yet it arrived in the blink of an eye.

In an instant, Xie Jianxun felt the whole world howling like demons and ghosts. Thick yellow haze seeped under the door cracks but was blocked from spreading.

The wind roared; if they were outside, they wouldn’t hear each other speak.

Xie Jianxun looked up at the ceiling.

If these buildings were made with lightweight wooden panels instead of sand-and-stone mortar, they would probably be rattling wildly by now.

As it was, things were still fine, aside from the heavy earthy smell inside.

Xie Jianxun smacked his lips, tasting sand in his mouth, and hesitated before unscrewing a bottled water on the table.

A muffled boom seemed to come from underground. Xie Jianxun didn’t hear it at first, but then the rumbles grew louder, almost reaching the surface!

The booms brought tremors. Xie Jianxun lost his balance and fell back into the chair, spilling half the water from his hand.

He stared in shock. “What the hell? An earthquake?!”

His first thought: Deserts could have earthquakes?

Second thought: Oh no, would the quake collapse the tunnels below? Why did bad luck have to strike now?!

Yellow haze churned outside the window as the sandstorm engulfed the area, visibility dropping to near zero—nothing visible beyond a meter.

Boom!

Another muffled blast!

This time it wasn’t just a rumble. Xie Jianxun felt his whole body jolt, sinking involuntarily, his line of sight dropping with it…

Wait—this wasn’t sinking; the house was collapsing!

Yellow haze rushed in. Xie Jianxun grabbed One’s outstretched hand and leaped up the tilting floor.

The mechanical puppet had already torn open the door lock upon sensing trouble.

With the door wide open, the ferocious wind poured into the house like a tsunami. Outside was a wall of yellow haze—zero visibility.

Xie Jianxun gritted his teeth, eyes squeezed shut, gripped One’s hand, and jumped outward!

Not far below, the deputy’s heart-wrenching shout rang out:

“…Captain!”

…

The underground air was stagnant, and Krimus’s mind was foggy.

In his daze, he remembered: yes, it was the signal to ignite explosives!

Jack and the others clearly planned to bury the pursuing patrol troops underground— a blast in the desert surface would leave no trace for eight hundred years.

So they had signaled him specifically, luring the patrol troops deeper and deeper into an inescapable depth.

Then—boom.

The sand bandits, familiar with the tunnels, could easily escape through disguised exits.

But them?

Unfamiliar with the passages, they would end up buried alive with nowhere to go.

Krimus shuddered. Suddenly, he realized—what the hell had he been doing?!

He had actually led the patrol troops into this tunnel!

Worse, he was in it too! He would be buried alive!

He wasn’t even one of Jack’s men—why was he risking his life for them? Better to side with the patrol troops; at least they wouldn’t kill him for no reason!

Behind him, the Patrol Army Captain commanded the team: “Full retreat!”

The captain realized he had been too reckless.

Charging blindly into unfamiliar underground tunnels—his head must have been turned by their previous victories.

As his mind raced, he issued orders: “Follow the markers and emergency lights—move!”

He radioed the surface simultaneously: “Assemble a team for immediate extraction!”

Finally, he roughly grabbed Krimus by the collar and shoved him into the middle of the patrol formation: “You stay in the center!”

From reaction to full reversal, the team went from halting to retreating in a mere half-minute.

They backtracked along the marked path to the underground hall, entering via the tunnels they had come from, guided by the emergency lights.

No one spoke. In the narrow, stuffy tunnels, only the churning air, echoing footsteps, and everyone’s heavy, ragged breathing filled the space.

Even the slightest sound was amplified.

Suddenly, a distinctly different noise came from behind!

It was footsteps unlike any he’d ever heard before—likely due to the difference in heel material. Yet the only one different was Krimus, who was in the middle of their group, not at the back!

The Patrol Army Captain brought up the rear and reacted almost instantly. He grabbed his weapon, spun around swiftly, and fired several shots into the tunnel behind them.

Bang, bang bang!

The bullets peppered the walls, sparks flying everywhere, but they hit no one.

The tunnel fell silent again, as if everything they’d heard before was just their imagination.

He frowned slightly and shouted back over his shoulder, “Everyone, pick up the pace!”

Before long, they spotted a pinpoint of light at the exit, like the hole of an ant.

Krimus’s tightly wound nerves eased a fraction. He was sandwiched between the patrol troops’ hard armor, forced to match their rapid stride as they hurried forward.

They probably won’t have time to blow it up now, he thought with a stroke of luck.

But the next second, a deafening boom rocked the tunnel!

The entire team’s footsteps stuttered to a halt for a moment before they broke into a frantic sprint toward the light!

Krimus’s mind went blank with a buzz. His suspicions had been right—Jack didn’t care if he died and was truly going to bury them all underground! Those backstabbing… damn… ruthless, cold-blooded bastards…

The thick stench of gunpowder smoke wafted in on the wind.

The light grew closer, their footsteps faster, and the sound of a second explosion chased right after them!

Boom—

The whole tunnel shook violently. Sand and stones rained down from the ceiling nonstop, thud thud thud, pelting Krimus’s face.

Somewhere, a brick wall had been blasted open, and flowing sand poured through the gap, gradually filling the tunnel behind them.

The light was within reach now; he could vaguely make out the face of the deputy!

“—Captain!” someone shouted from afar.

Krimus’s foot slipped out from under him, and he plummeted!

He looked down as his body dropped uncontrollably, limbs flailing like he was swimming through water, before crashing heavily into a pile of sandy rubble.

The secret passage they’d been in had collapsed from the shock, dropping everyone straight into the tunnel one level below!

This is bad. Krimus jerked his head up. What had once been a straight shot to the exit was now a good seven or eight meters away!

“…Up.”

The Patrol Army Captain’s low voice came from behind him, along with a hard shove to the shoulder.

Krimus stumbled and turned, but before he could say anything, he saw the patrol troops forming positions. They crouched down, allowing their comrades to climb over them, trying to create a human ladder to send someone out first.

In less than a minute, they’d assembled the basic structure of a human tower, their coordination so seamless that no words were needed.

Boom!!

Krimus spat out a couple mouthfuls of dirt and got shoved again.

The Patrol Army Captain stared at him incredulously. “Legs broken? Brain fried? Why are you standing there like an idiot? Get up there, now!”

Krimus let out an “ah” and pointed at himself. “M-Me first?”

The Patrol Army Captain enunciated each word: “I don’t get off on abusing prisoners! You don’t have insulated armor—you’ll die faster than us, got it? Move!!”

So aggressive… What kind of talk is that? Cursing yourself to die like that…

Krimus’s lips moved, but he didn’t voice it.

The patrol troops wasted no more words and roughly shoved him onto the human tower, stepping on their comrades’ shoulders.

Krimus’s mind was a total fog; he couldn’t think of anything except to climb upward with all his might.

He stepped over one hard shoulder after another, inching higher bit by bit.

The light at the hole grew brighter; the silhouetted figures backlit by it sharpened into focus.

Finally, he made out the deputy, eyes brimming with eager anticipation, reaching out a hand toward him.

Seeing that the first one up wasn’t the captain, the deputy paused for a beat.

But he said nothing, gripped Krimus’s wrist, and hauled him out bodily.

Krimus flopped out like a dead pig, without a shred of resistance left. He collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air in great heaving breaths.

He… he had survived!