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

The car quickly arrived at the crash site. The wreckage had been cleared away, and a well-maintained road stretched out before them, like a long dragon coiled in the sand, winding its way into the distance.

Upon seeing such a neat road, the leaders in the car were very excited. They had been hoping to build a road through the desert, but unexpectedly, it was achieved by chance through the Japanese.

When the car sped along the road, even a young girl like Sweetie could feel the difference.

The car no longer bounced and swayed like before; instead, it was exceptionally smooth, and I could confidently accelerate to full speed.

Liang Zhe rolled down the car window, enjoying the refreshing sound of the wind in his ears, while Tian Tian happily stretched out her little hand and shouted towards the vast expanse of heaven and earth.

The road runs east-west, and the crash site happens to be a bend where it branches off, one side heading west into the hinterland, and the other heading east into the town.

They are now heading west. The road under their feet is wide and flat. Most of the road has been cleared by Commander Bai and Professor Zheng with their men. Occasionally, there are sections of road buried by sand. As long as they follow the markings, they can find their way back.

They advanced for about forty li (approximately 20 kilometers), and could already see the red flags fluttering in the distance. Brigade Commander Bai and his soldiers were still digging, while Zheng Hong sat on the hood of a jeep, marking something on a map with a pencil.

Upon hearing the car, they all turned around and happily headed towards Commander Liu's convoy.

"Commander, great news! Fantastic news!"

Although Zheng Hong had received timely treatment for poisoning, he was still a bit weak. But now he was so excited that his face was flushed and his sickly appearance was completely gone.

"Hey, don't rush, take your time," Commander Liu said, handing over a military water bottle.

Zheng Hong took the drink and took a big gulp before excitedly speaking.

"This road is incredibly valuable! It can not only meet military transport needs but also serve as a hub. When missile components are assembled and tested, this road can be used for transportation, avoiding damage to infrastructure."

"Old buddy, that's not what I'm concerned about," Commander Liu asked with a chuckle. "Didn't you find 'that'? Where is it?"

"I was just about to report this to you!"

Zheng Hong unfolded the map in his hand, pointing to an extended line marked with red pencil. "Following the roadbed, we cleared and explored, and finally confirmed that about five kilometers of this road are completely covered by shifting sand. And its end—" he pointed forcefully to a circled spot, "is an ancient city!"

"Ancient city? Are you sure?" Song Dazhuang and Liang Zhe asked almost simultaneously.

"Absolutely true!" Zheng Hong said decisively.

"I called my history classmates, and they told me that during the An Lushan Rebellion, a royal army carried treasures into the desert, intending to hide them deep in the desert as reserves for the future Tang dynasty to recover its territory."

"After Emperor Suzong ascended the throne, he summoned people to the desert to retrieve the treasures, but the sandstorm blinded them and all the marks they had made disappeared. They searched in the desert for seven days and seven nights but could not find the ancient city."

"The Joseon Dynasty later sent people in several times to try to find the treasure, but all their efforts were in vain. They had no choice but to keep the news a secret from outsiders. Unexpectedly, one of the generals secretly recorded the story and passed it down to his descendants."

"My history classmate said that even Chinese people know very little about this. The Japanese must have been informed by a traitor to find the treasure so easily and even built this road to transport it away."

The powerful figures exchanged glances, deeply shocked. For the enemy to invest such enormous manpower and resources in this desolate land, the value of this treasure must be immeasurable.

If they ultimately fail and are unable to transport these treasures away, it will be an unexpected windfall for the Great Xia Dynasty!

The starting point of all these clues was the plane crash of enemy agents, and Sweetie's keen observation.

Commander Liu sighed deeply, "God bless China! More importantly, we have a 'little lucky star.' Sweetie, your name deserves the top spot on this merit list!"

Hearing the praise, Tian Tian, ​​who was being held in Liang Zhe's arms, immediately straightened her little body and said in a clear voice, "This is what Tian Tian should do!"

Her adorable yet proud demeanor instantly amused everyone present.

"Engineer Zheng, stop standing there! Take us to see what kind of ancient city it is!" Chief Designer Wang couldn't wait any longer.

"Of course!" Zheng Hong laughed heartily. "Don't even mention you, I've been itching to go for ages! Come on, I'll take you!"

"Alright! Let's go! Let's see the treasures of our Great Xia!" Commander Liu issued the order with great enthusiasm. "Comrade Zheng Hong, you have done a great service! You have done a great service for the base, and even more so for the motherland!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Hong's eyes suddenly dimmed, and his previous excitement instantly subsided.

He shook his head and gave a bitter smile. "Commander, don't say that. I'm doing these things not only for the country, but also... atonement."

"My disciple, Gao Yanzhou, is a disciple I have nurtured for many years. I treat him like my own son and teach him with care. But I never expected that he would have already defected to the enemy's camp and done things like sabotaging the experimental field and kidnapping Tian Tian."

"Whenever I think about how he betrayed the country, betrayed me, and betrayed our beliefs, I regret it deeply and hate myself for not seeing his true colors sooner." Zheng Hong's eyes gradually reddened, and his voice became choked with sobs.

"Like Comrade Jiang Guoqiang, our most trusted disciples have all become enemy agents who endanger the country. I bear an unshirkable responsibility for this matter. I feel ashamed and can only alleviate my guilt by doing more and contributing more to the country."

Commander Liu remained silent.

He knew that he was more heartbroken that Gao Yanzhou had gone astray and ruined his own life than that he had been poisoned by his apprentice.

He stepped forward, gently patted Zheng Hong on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "Old Zheng, let bygones be bygones. Don't blame yourself too much. Enemy agents are extremely well hidden and skilled at disguise. They meticulously planned all of this to deceive and exploit us. This really isn't your fault."

"Now that you've found this roadbed and the treasures of the ancient city, you've made a great contribution to the country, and that's enough. There will be many more opportunities to serve the country in the future, so let's work together."

Like Jiang Guoqiang, Zheng Hong was also a straightforward person. Although he was saddened, after everyone's encouragement, his mood calmed down considerably. He quickly composed himself, regaining his resolute expression: "The leaders are right. Let's put everything else aside for now and head to the ancient city to find the treasure and hand it over to the country as soon as possible!"

The convoy started again, heading towards the ancient city. Beneath the wheels, the road traversing the sea of ​​sand seemed to have been carved out by a giant ruler, dividing the vast天地 (heaven and earth) in two.

Sweetie pressed her face against the car window, watching the yellowish-brown world rushing past, occasionally whispering, "Daddy, where's the ancient city?"

"Will there be lots of sparkly treasures?"

Liang Zhe gently stroked his daughter's hair and whispered, "Soon, we will be able to witness these miracles."