The little star from the Gobi Desert, handed over to the state, is hailed as a national treasure.

That morning, Aunt Li handed her a beautiful glass bottle filled with colorful scraps of paper that refracted a dreamy halo in the sunlight.

Sweetie loved it and kept holding it and fiddling with it.

Li Guihua stood by her side and, seeing that she was engrossed in playing, said in a low voice, "Sweetie, play here quietly. Auntie is going to the outhouse and will be right back."

Sweetie nodded obediently, watching Aunt Li's figure disappear around the corner.

The next second, she immediately threw the glass bottle on the ground and kicked it hard with her little foot—"roll," the glass bottle rolled far away, and colorful spots of light swayed on the ground.

She patted the sand off her hands and hopped after him on her short legs.

Every time she was about to catch up, she would kick it again. The glass bottle turned into a disobedient ball, which Sweetie kicked all the way to the camp gate.

Sweetie chased and kicked, having a great time, her clear laughter echoing throughout the camp.

The adults who stayed at the base watched her having fun, and their faces showed loving smiles. No one stopped this adorable little one.

No one expected that behind this seemingly innocent and naive game was a meticulously planned "prison break".

Sweetie kept kicking, getting closer and closer to the base gate. The sentries standing guard at the gate, guns in hand, stood ramrod straight, their eyes fixed straight ahead. Their imposing presence made Sweetie instinctively shrink back.

She scratched her braids in distress. What should she do?

Just then, a gentle voice sounded from behind: "Little friend, why are you here all alone?"

Sweetie turned around and saw a middle-aged man. He had a refined appearance, wore glasses, and was smiling at her with his hands behind his back.

Sweetie thought he looked unfamiliar, hesitated for a moment, and whispered, "Uncle, I don't know you."

Wan Hongxin squatted down, smiling warmly: "I am Uncle Wan, and also your father's comrade-in-arms."

Tian Tian didn't know that he was Jiang Guoqiang's assistant and apprentice, a water conservancy expert who came to provide support. She only heard that he was her father's comrade-in-arms, so she obediently nodded and said, "Hello, Uncle Wan."

"Sweetie, you're such a good girl." Wan Hongxin reached out and patted her little head, his gaze subtly sweeping around before returning to her face. "What are you playing here?"

Sweetie held up the glass bottle in her hand and said in a clear voice, "Sweetie is kicking the bottle."

"Is kicking the bottle fun?" Wan Hongxin asked with a smile, but his eyes glanced at the soldiers standing guard at the door, who had already noticed the commotion.

Sweetie giggled and kicked the bottle again: "It's so much fun!"

"How about Uncle plays with you?"

"Great! Great!" Sweetie clapped her hands and cheered, "Uncle, kick with Sweetie!"

As she spoke, she kicked the glass bottle with her little feet, sending it flying towards a pond not far away.

"Uncle, please help Sweetie pick up the bottles!"

Wan Hongxin agreed, then pretended to chase after the bottle for a couple of steps, asking casually, "Sweetie, do you know which uncle or aunt discovered that big pond over there? Uncle wants to write a report to commend that comrade."

Sweetie ran happily behind, and without thinking, said, "Uncle dug and dug, and dug it out!"

"Dug it out?" Wan Hongxin slowed his pace, a hint of suspicion flashing in his eyes. "Just like that, you casually dug and found a pond?"

"Yes." Sweetie remembered her father's instructions: no matter who asked, she should say that the pond was dug by the uncles.

That's for sure! Sweetie was only responsible for pointing out where the water was; the uncles were the ones who did the digging of the pond.

Wan Hongxin frowned slightly upon hearing this answer, which was consistent with the base's version of events. Before he knew it, Tian Tian had already kicked the bottle away again.

"Uncle, come and catch me!"

"Here it comes, here it comes."

Wan Hongxin hurriedly took two more steps to catch up. The two were already very close to the pond. The soldiers on guard at the gate, worried about Tian Tian's safety, came over with their guns. "Tian Tian, ​​slow down."

Sweetie seemed to have had a great time playing. Seeing that everyone was paying attention to her, she suddenly grabbed the bottle and threw it forcefully into the pond!

"Come and catch me! Come and catch me!"

With a "whoosh," the glass bottle traced an arc in the air before "plop" falling into the water.

The water in the pond was flowing water; as soon as the bottle fell in, it immediately floated with the current, drifting further and further away. Sweetie stared with her big, round eyes for a few seconds, then her mouth twitched, and she burst into tears.

"The bottle! My bottle is gone!"

Wan Hongxin hadn't expected this to happen. He initially didn't want to get involved, but the child's loud cries drew the attention of the surrounding soldiers and base personnel. Tian Tian was everyone's darling; who could bear to see her cry so pitifully?

"Sweetie, don't cry, Uncle will help you pick up the bottles."

Without a word, a young soldier rolled up his trousers and was about to go into the water. Seeing this, the others rushed to help, some finding long bamboo poles, some taking off their shoes and rolling up their trouser legs. Even Wan Hongxin was pushed and squeezed to the edge of the pond by the crowd.

The glass bottle, however, was so light and slippery in the water that several people on the shore couldn't even touch it, no matter how hard they tried. Suddenly, the shore was filled with a cacophony of voices and chaos.

No one noticed that while everyone's attention was drawn to the bottle in the pond, the little dumpling, who was not even as tall as an adult's thigh, was crouching down and tiptoeing as she quietly slipped out of the back door of the barracks and disappeared into the vast yellow sand in the blink of an eye.

Five minutes later, when Li Guihua arrived at the camp gate, panting, there was no sign of Tian Tian.

The soldiers looked at each other, stunned. Li Guihua's vision went black, and she almost fainted on the spot.

Only Wan Hongxin, without saying a word, took off and chased after them out of the barracks.

As soon as Sweetie left the base, she seemed to be guided by radar, and without hesitation, she took her short legs and headed north.

The vast expanse of yellow sand and Gobi Desert stretches for thousands of miles, with layers of sand dunes rising and falling like solidified yellow waves, one after another, extending all the way to the distant horizon.

The sun scorched the earth, and the air was filled with dry, hot waves.

Sweet little shoes got hot from walking on the sand, but she wasn't afraid at all. She held her head high, like a majestic little general, walking with great momentum.

"Sweetie has to save Daddy! She has to save everyone in the base!"

But as she walked, she was also worried. She had lied to her uncles and aunts and secretly ran away. What if her father got angry and scolded her for being naughty?

Although Dad loves Tian Tian, ​​Tian Tian is also afraid of Dad getting angry. If she could bring Dad a gift when she finds him, would he not be angry?

As she kicked at the sand, she tilted her head and pondered what to give her father.

All I could see was sand. I couldn't very well give a handful of sand to my dad, could I?

Just as she rounded a clump of camel thorns, Sweetie suddenly stopped. She looked at the sand dunes to her left, her little body straightened up abruptly, and a hint of surprise flashed in her round eyes.