I raise furry animals and fly them to my motherland.

Chapter 183 Returning to the Ground
Under the flashlight beam, priceless cultural relics were piled up in the passageway, as if they had been casually placed aside because of time constraints.

A gilded bronze sacred tree looms in the darkness, lacquer boxes inlaid with Hetian jade are stacked on top of each other, and piles of Han bamboo slips are wrapped in silk.

Even more shockingly, several freshly packaged bronze artifacts were found piled up in the corner, with fresh traces of soil on them indicating that they had just been unearthed.

In the tomb raiding business, there are two types of tombs that are most popular: Western Zhou tombs and Han tombs, because bronzes and ancient jade are very valuable.

Therefore, the tomb raiders blasted a path and risked their lives to take these treasures, rather than surrendering willingly.

They needed to blast open an escape route, but they were afraid of damaging these cultural relics, so they temporarily stored them away in the building.

The tomb raiders gaped, as if they had seen a ghost.

They racked their brains but couldn't understand how this girl with such a young face had managed to crack their carefully designed treasure location in such a short time.

At this moment, they finally realized that they had really kicked a hornet's nest.

After capturing the three tomb raiders, Xu Ying and his two companions led the thieves back the way they came.

Professor Mo and Lou Yiqun are already cleaning up the research site that was damaged by tomb raiders.

Upon seeing that Xu Ying and his two companions had already captured the tomb raiders, Professor Mo's eyes widened in surprise: "So fast?"

Xu Ying explained the situation at the scene: "Yes, they were trying to forcefully blast an exit to escape, but we caught them."

"Professor Mo, you and Qi Xiao can now go and take a look at the tomb chamber we just visited."

"There are a lot of cultural relics piled up in the passageway behind the government office, all of which were not transported out by these three people in time."

Professor Mo and Lou Yiqun were both excited upon hearing this. They immediately stood up and followed Qi Xiao to the spot where Xu Ying and the others had just come from.

Then Xu Ying heard the two of them burst into excited exclamations.

She smiled upon hearing this, having already anticipated this scene.

As Xu Ying raised the corners of her lips, she suddenly felt her facial muscles stiffen and her temples throb and swell.

She took off her night vision goggles and gently massaged her brow bone with her fingertips.

The poor ventilation and insufficient oxygen content in underground tombs can cause a sense of spatial disorientation similar to seasickness if one stays there for a long time—this is not a place for the living.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Chen Su's voice came from beside him; he had somehow gotten very close.

His well-defined knuckles gently supported her, his body heat faintly emanating through her combat uniform. "Let's take him upstairs first."

He lowered his head slightly as he spoke, his breath brushing against her ear.

Xu Ying nodded, greeted Professor Mo and the others, and herded the three tomb raiders to the ground.

Once back on the ground, the night breeze carried the scent of grass and trees.

Xu Ying tilted her head back and took a deep breath; starlight fell on her trembling eyelashes.

From noon to dusk, seven hours of darkness make even the moonlight seem like a luxury.

"You've recovered?" Chen Su produced a bottle of mineral water from somewhere, unscrewed it, and handed it to him.

He leaned against the police car and looked at her, two buttons undone at the collar of his combat uniform, revealing an old scar on his collarbone.

The moonlight sharpened his features, yet his eyes were as soft as melted ink.

The police station staff had already set up their tents, and they were all stunned when they saw the officers bringing people up.

Station Chief Wei was adjusting the searchlight when he turned around, so surprised he dropped his cigarette: "That's it?"

"Thanks to Station Master Xu."

Chen Su chuckled, "Otherwise, according to the old rules, we'd probably have to play mahjong with our ancestors down there for three days." Station Chief Wei patted Xu Ying's shoulder vigorously, "Girl, you've done it again! Get ready for your bonus!" He turned and yelled at his deputy, "Go talk to Old Zhang at the Cultural Relics Bureau, make sure the subsidy is approved at the highest standard!"

"Thank you, leader!" Xu Ying's eyes lit up suddenly, like a little mouse that had stolen some oil.

She didn't notice that Chen Su was wiping a bit of dirt off her cheek with his fingertips, the movement as light as brushing away moonlight.

The warmth remained on her face until the three thieves were shoved into the police car.

The police station had left them food in an insulated box, so it was still warm.

Xu Ying ate her hot boxed lunch with gusto and sat down next to the Bactrian camel: "Mountain Peak, have you heard anything about your companions?"

[Found him! A young man in uniform drove up to pick him up!]
To shield themselves from the wind and sand, the camel has very long eyelashes. At this moment, the mountain peak's dark, bright eyes are filled with joy and excitement. With a blink of its long eyelashes, it smiles in a harmless, gentle, and lovely way.

Xu Ying chewed on a large piece of braised pork. After a day of hard work, she had a particularly good appetite for a warm and delicious meal.

As she chewed her rice, she pulled a bag of fresh sea buckthorn berries from her motorcycle. These were the rations she had brought for Shanfeng when she set off that morning.

She placed the sea buckthorn berries in front of Shanfeng: "Shanfeng, have you eaten?"

Shanfeng nodded: [I've eaten. Your friends were very kind; they found me camel thorn and jujube.]
Just as Xu Yinghe was finishing her meal, a police car drove back, followed by a small truck.

Kong Cheng jumped out of the police car, his combat boots kicking up a cloud of fine sand.

"Station Master Xu!"

The boy's clear voice broke the silence of the desert. He ran to Xu Ying in a few steps, sweat still dripping from his forehead. "The camels have all been brought back. They're in the back of the truck. They're not in good condition."

Xu Ying's heart tightened, and she quickly walked towards the truck.

Five Bactrian camels huddled in the cargo compartment, resembling several collapsed sand dunes.

The camel's hump, which should have stood tall, was now limp and tilted to one side, its dry hair covered in salt frost.

The water tanks prepared in the carriage were already empty, and the walls still bore the marks of their frantic licking.

"These tomb raiders are really something..." Xu Ying bit her lower lip.

Shanfeng followed behind Xu Ying, and when he saw his companion's appearance, his eyes immediately filled with tears.

The outermost female camel noticed the movement, her eyelids trembled as she lifted them, and cloudy tear secretions blurred half of her vision.

That look in his eyes reminded Xu Ying of wild animals huddled in their cages when they were rescued—not of fear, but of a numbness on the verge of collapse.

She tiptoed onto the carriage, her combat trousers getting covered in dried mud from the camel's body.

Chen Su, supporting the first-aid kit below, his fingertips slightly white from the effort, asked, "Do you need any help?"

"First, check the dehydration status."

Xu Ying's voice was a few decibels lower than usual.

She knelt on one knee on the carriage floor and carefully lifted the chin of the nearest camel.

The cracked nose felt like sandpaper, and my breath was abnormally hot.

When her fingers traced along her ribs, she could clearly count the outline of each bone.

The moment the saline solution Kong Cheng handed over touched the camel's lips, the poor creature began to tremble violently, emitting a hoarse "gurgling" sound from its throat.

"This hoof is infected."

Chen Su squatted at the other end of the carriage and gently lifted a camel's hind leg.