The cold night wind was biting, and the sand stung his face.

Qi Yun lit a cigarette, his eyes flashing, and looked at Mamati, saying, "Lend me your satellite phone for a moment to let my family know I'm safe, so they don't worry."

Mamati didn't think much and handed over the phone.

Qi Yun took the phone, stood up, walked a bit further away, and dialed a number while relieving himself.

After finishing the cigarette, he shook himself, pulled up his pants, and returned the satellite phone to Mamati.

"I can't hold up anymore, I'm going inside to sleep now."

"Okay, Boss Qi," Mamati replied.

A few minutes later, he also stood up, went into Ai Shan's tent, and woke him up.

The two sat by the fire pit, the orange flames flickered, casting light and shadow on their faces.

"You didn't do anything stupid, did you?" Mamati asked seriously, staring at him without missing any detail on his face.

Ai Shan's body stiffened slightly upon hearing this, his eyes instinctively evaded briefly, and then he feigned calmness, facing Mamati's gaze, chuckling dryly: "What are you talking about? What stupid thing could I do?"

As he spoke, he reached out to add another log to the fire.

Sparks scattered wildly, like his frantic heart at that moment.

Mamati frowned, still staring at him: "You know what I'm talking about, Beck should have arrived long ago, but now we can't reach him!"

Ai Shan avoided his gaze, staring at the dancing flames, his hands rubbing each other unconsciously.

"Maybe he encountered a sandstorm, the satellite phone signal was disrupted, we faced such problems before."

Mamati looked at him deeply, said no more, and headed back to the tent to sleep.

Ai Shan didn't lift his head, a shadow appeared on his face in the firelight.

At three in the morning, the pitch-black desert was silent, only the wind occasionally slapped against the tent.

A figure slowly crawled out of the tent, then quickly disappeared into the night.

About two kilometers from the camp, a Ford Raptor was parked behind a wide sand dune.

"Did you get the stuff?" Ai Shan asked in a low tone.

"Got it." Beck squatted on the ground, smoking, a hint of hesitation in his eyes, "Bro, are we really going to do this?"

Ai Shan threw the cigarette butt on the ground, extinguished it with his foot, his eyes full of determination: "We're at this point, there's no choice but to do it."

"Do you know how much those things are worth? We work ourselves to the bone in this desert and won't earn that much in a lifetime. Once we get hold of them, we'll be set for life."

Beck stood up, frowning: "But Boss Qi isn't bad to us, this job's pay is substantial, isn't what we're doing a bit too unkind?"

He glanced in the direction of the camp, looking slightly uneasy.

"Pay? Compared to the value of those treasures, it's a drop in the ocean." Ai Shan leaned closer to Beck, gripping his shoulders, "Think about what kind of days we've lived, battling the elements for meager earnings."

"This is a chance to change our fate. Miss it, and there'll be no other! Plus, we're just taking things, not hurting anyone, it's not extreme."

Beck bit his lip, eyes filled with struggle: "What if we're discovered?"

"We won't be. I've observed them these past few days, they all sleep heavily at night, as long as we're careful, they won't notice." Ai Shan let go, gently patting his shoulder, "Once you've taken the items, hide them, then drive over at noon, just say you encountered a sandstorm on the road, no one will suspect you."

Beck was silent for a moment, finally nodding: "Alright, I'll listen to you, but if anything goes wrong, we're finished."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine, take out the stuff, let's head over now."

Beck nodded, opened the car door, and retrieved two towels and a small bottle from the glove box.

The bottle was marked "Ether."

Ai Shan shook the bottle near the ether bottle's mouth, a strange smile appeared on his face: "Let's go."

The two crouched low, using the sand dunes to conceal themselves as they silently advanced toward the camp.

The cold wind cut their faces like knives, yet they were indifferent, their eyes filled with greed.

As they drew closer to the camp, Ai Shan halted, signaling Beck to hide behind a dune.

He squinted, carefully observing the camp's conditions, seeing only a few tents swaying gently in the wind, the campfire long extinguished, leaving a pile of dark ashes.

"The stuff is in the tent on the left, remember, act quickly and don't make too much noise." Ai Shan whispered.

Beck nodded, indicating he understood.

Ai Shan took a deep breath, gestured, and the two rose again, stealthily approaching Liu Meng's tent.

He pressed his ear against the tent wall, listening inside, confirmed no anomalies, then quietly unzipped the tent.

Inside the tent, Liu Meng seemed deeply asleep, breathing evenly.

And Zhong Rui inside, snoring like a tractor, loudly.

Ai Shan felt pleased, pulled a towel from his pocket, poured ether on it, then nodded to signal Beck.

They softly crawled into the tent, their gaze quickly scanning the corner, immediately noticing the bag containing the treasures, placed near Liu Meng's feet, within reach.

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