Searching for someone in northern Myanmar, and you call that earning tuition fees?

The black Rolls-Royce Phantom sped through the night, the cabin so quiet that only the faint sound of the air conditioning vents could be heard.

Su Ming held the thick stack of documents in his hand, his fingertips sliding quickly across the paper, making a soft "swish" sound.

This was no ordinary browsing. His pupils contracted, and his brain raced, repeatedly replaying and reconstructing all of Gu Weiguang's movements and data before her disappearance in his mind.

"Mr. Gu, this document is missing a page."

Su Ming suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but it made Gu Changfeng, who was resting with his eyes closed, shudder and almost jump up from his leather seat.

"Impossible!" Gu Changfeng sat up straight, his tone urgent. "This is all the raw data I obtained by using all my connections, from the expedition team's logistics department to even the satellite base station. Not a single punctuation mark was missing!"

"Too few."

Su Ming pulled out the topographic map of the Lop Nur hinterland and pointed to a red circle near 40 degrees north latitude: "This is the boundary between the Kumtag Desert and Lop Nur, which is the location of what people commonly call the 'eye socket' of the 'Big Ear' desert. According to the log, the expedition team lost signal at 6 pm on June 14th."

He swiped his finger to point to another list of supplies: "But according to the logistics records, they consumed three times the usual amount of solid fuel at noon on the 14th."

Gu Changfeng was taken aback: "What does this mean? Maybe it's because the temperature has dropped and they need to keep warm?"

"In June, the surface temperature in Lop Nur is high enough to cook an egg." Su Ming looked up, his gaze sharp. "Burning fuel in the middle of the day, there's only one possibility—they're trying to create some kind of signal, or... they're fighting against something that can only be dispelled by high temperatures."

"And the scientific expedition log for this period is blank."

Su Ming closed the document and patted it gently: "Mr. Gu, someone has tampered with the document. Or rather, some of the information isn't even in the official archives."

Gu Changfeng's face turned pale instantly, and a layer of sweat broke out on his back.

He was a shrewd businessman and instantly understood Su Ming's subtext. This was no simple case of a missing scientific expedition member; there were signs of "human intervention" behind it all!

"Mr. Su, is Weiguang still alive?" Gu Changfeng's voice was trembling.

Su Ming was silent for two seconds, then took out his old Nokia phone from his pocket, turned on the screen, and glanced at the time.

"If she's just lost, she'll surely die within half a month. But if 'someone' intervenes..." Su Ming smiled meaningfully, "her chances of surviving are actually higher. Because a dead person has no use."

Gu Changfeng seemed to have grasped at a straw. He took a deep breath, pulled out a black gold card from his pocket, and handed it to Su Ming with both hands.

"This card contains 200 million in cash, the PIN is six eights. This is just a deposit. Mr. Su, as long as you can get my daughter out, whatever you want from any of the Gu Group's businesses, I'll give you!"

"I don't accept deposits." Su Ming didn't take the card. He just looked at the neon lights rushing past the window, then changed the subject, "Also, Mr. Gu, the cost of this mission might exceed the budget."

"No problem! No matter the price..."

"It's not about the money," Su Ming interrupted him, his tone somewhat strange. "I mean, we might need to dismantle some things this time. If we accidentally dismantle any prohibited equipment or historical sites... you'll have to pay the fine."

Gu Changfeng was stunned.

Dismantle things? Fine?

His heart skipped a beat. Was this kid serious? Going to the desert to rescue people and stumbling upon demolition work? How did his brain work like that?

He was, of course, unaware that in the yellowed notebook in Su Ming's mind, the page about Lop Nur contained a complex mechanical diagram, with a line of text annotated in red pen beside it:

[The earth listens to the heavens, the energy flows in reverse. If you encounter this situation, it cannot be resolved without dismantling it.]

"Mr. Su, as long as people are alive, even if you blow Lop Nur to smithereens, I, Gu Changfeng, will bear all the consequences!" Gu Changfeng said through gritted teeth as he came to his senses.

"make a deal."

Su Ming opened the car door.

The car had already stopped at the entrance of the largest hardware and building materials market in Jiangnan City.

It was late at night, and most of the shops in the market were closed, with only a few wholesale stores that stayed open all night still lit up.

"Mr. Gu, you can go back now. We'll meet in Korla in three days."

Watching Su Ming walk towards the hardware store with that tattered canvas bag on his back, Gu Changfeng couldn't help but roll down the car window and shout, "Mr. Su! What equipment do you need? I'll have the group's purchasing department buy it! Top-of-the-line imported goods, they can be airlifted over tomorrow!"

Su Ming didn't even turn his head, he just waved his hand casually.

"Need not."

"The more professional the rescue, the simpler the tools."

Gu Changfeng remained frozen in his seat, watching Su Ming walk into a small shop selling labor protection supplies.

This is the Lop Nur uninhabited area, known as the "Sea of ​​Death"!

Are you going to rescue people or to do renovations?