After reaching safety, Jack and his team suddenly realized they had deviated from their planned route.
“Desert expert, how do we get back on track now!?”
Fortunately, they had a desert expert in their team. Jack looked at Ada, hoping she could point them in the right direction.
Ada glanced at the vast expanse of sand, hesitated for a moment, and then pointed in a direction. “If we cross over two mountains, we should be able to see the town.”
“……”
Lu Hao’s mouth twitched. Sister, you can’t just say things randomly, it could be dangerous.
He remembered how in movies, Ada’s random direction-pointing had led Jack and his team to wander for hours without finding water. It gave him a headache.
He began to doubt Ada's credentials as a “desert expert”. Could she have just been a water-paper-writing expert?
“Jack, Ada’s direction is wrong, don’t go that way.”
Lu Hao quickly stopped Jack from driving. If they continued on the wrong path, they would end up in a completely unknown area.
“What’s wrong with it!?”
Jack looked at Lu Hao. He knew Lu Hao was also familiar with deserts, so he wanted to hear his opinion.
“Tunisia is located near the Mediterranean coast. The desert here is heavily influenced by the Mediterranean wind direction. The prevailing wind coming from the Mediterranean Sea is the northeast wind. According to the characteristics of sand movement, the side facing the wind is constantly blown by the wind, so the slope will be very gentle. The leeward side is not affected by the wind, so the slope will be steep.”
Lu Hao pointed at the nearby sand dunes. “Look at the situation of these sand dunes.”
Jack and the others examined the sand dunes and found that, as Lu Hao had said, the slope on one side of the dunes, facing a particular direction, was all very gentle.
According to Lu Hao, that direction should be the northeast.
“We came from the northwest direction and went southwest deep into the desert. Now we should be heading northwest, not the northeast direction that Ada pointed to.”
“Uh… Ada, what do you think?”
After listening to Lu Hao's analysis, Jack didn't understand, but it seemed to make sense, so he looked at the official "desert expert"—Ada.
Ada blinked, ran Lu Hao's words through her mind, and realized that he was right. She chuckled sheepishly and said, "Lu Hao is right."
“……”
Since Ada also agreed with Lu Hao's analysis, Jack didn't hesitate. He stepped on the gas and sped through the desert. Colonel Bird and Colonel Banner quickly followed behind.
“Hey! There’s someone ahead!”
After driving for a while, two figures appeared ahead of their convoy.
“They must be locals. We can ask them about the route.”
Jack's face lit up. Finding travelers in the desert when lost was the greatest luck.
“Ugh, why are they here!?”
As they got closer, Lu Hao suddenly realized they were two “familiar faces.”
“Stop, stop, robbery!!”
The two Arabs, wearing Arabic headscarves, with flushed faces and cracked lips, saw Jack's convoy and immediately raised their guns, temporarily acting as bandits.
Lu Hao silently raised his machine gun, sticking it out of the window and aiming at them. “Hey, old friends, heard you wanted to rob us!?”
Seeing Lu Hao's big baby, the two Arabs were stunned and quickly raised their hands in surrender. “Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, we are law-abiding citizens.”
These two were the Arab idiots who had been following Elsa to the desert.
They hadn't given up hope and had followed into the desert, almost dying of thirst.
“This bottle of water is for you. Don’t follow us anymore.”
Lu Hao threw them a bottle of water and, as a mischievous joke, left them the military map of the old Buqi base. "This is the military map of the Buqi base. The gold is hidden inside. May Allah bless you in finding the gold and restoring your nation.”
“Thank you, thank you. May Allah bless you.”
The two Arab idiots, each holding a bottle of water and a military map, excitedly kowtowed to Lu Hao, as if Lu Hao was a messenger sent by Allah, specifically to guide them in finding the gold.
“You’re welcome, we are all friends.”
Lu Hao smiled and waved. Jack was speechless. “You know perfectly well that you can't find the Buqi base using that military map, and the base was already destroyed. You're playing a fool!”
“Jack, you don’t understand… I'm giving them hope, inspiring their survival instincts, so they can successfully get out of the desert.”
Lu Hao chuckled, his reasoning was sound.
Ada nodded in agreement. “Giving them a bottle of water in the desert is already a great favor.”
On the return journey, they sped along without any major incidents. After finding a previous campsite, Jack and his team finally felt relieved.
They were heading in the right direction.
In the days that followed, with Lu Hao occasionally finding water sources and hunting for game, the group finally reached the desert inn.
Exhausted, they checked into a room and went straight to sleep.
After resting for a night, Ada stormed into the market, furious, to berate the four local guides for their lack of professional ethics. They had sneaked away, and not only that, they had taken all their belongings with them.
Lu Hao and his team, however, stayed at the inn, enjoying the rare respite.
Colonel Bird and Colonel Banner contacted the Earl using a satellite phone to briefly report the situation.
The group rested at the inn for two days and two nights, until they were fully recovered. Then, they set off on the return journey, refreshed and energized.
Lu Hao, as usual, refused to accompany Jack on the long drive back. Instead, he chose to fly.
This time, Elsa decided to go with Lu Hao. After all, her goal had been achieved, and the rest was no longer her concern. There was no need to follow the treasure-hunting team.
The rest of the group had no choice.
With two cars, they needed to look out for each other. So, all four of them had to stay behind and drive back.
Ada closed her eyes in pain, once again sitting in the passenger seat.
“Jack, I've booked you a room at the same hotel as last time. I'll wait for you to come back.”
“You, you… be careful of a crash.”
Jack, unable to bear the sight of Lu Hao so enjoying himself, gritted his teeth.
Lu Hao clicked his tongue and joked, “Jack, I knew you were eyeing my million dollars. Now your true nature is exposed. You're cursing me to crash and die so you can inherit my fortune.”
“……”
Jack had no response for Lu Hao. His face darkened, he slammed the gas pedal, and disappeared from Lu Hao's sight in a flash.
Lu Hao and Elsa exchanged smiles. They booked their tickets and took a direct flight to Madrid.