The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

On the originally cloudless, gray-blue sky, a very thin, almost transparent gray-white cloud seeped out from the void, slowly gathering, layering, and thickening.

The sunlight was filtered through the clouds, transforming from a dazzling golden yellow into a soft, water-washed silvery white.

Then the rain started to fall.

First came very fine rain, like mist, almost weightless.

Then the sound became denser and denser, hitting the glass of the cable car and making a soft, rustling sound.

The desert ground was soaked by rainwater, and the dry sand grains quickly darkened in the rain, their surfaces shimmering with a thin layer of water.

Su Mu glanced at the area.

The rain zone covered a radius of 500 meters around the cable car, but outside the edge of the rain curtain, the desert remained dry.

He turned to look out the window.

The sound of raindrops hitting the sand was very soft, like someone playing a musical instrument I had never heard before in the distance.

The humidity in the air was rising, and the earthy smell was being stirred up from deep within the ground, mixed with the crispness of the rain, making the entire cable car seem as if it had been washed clean.

Lin Yuwei stood beside him, her gaze piercing through the rain, looking at the desert ahead.

Then she saw it.

At the edge of the rain curtain, about three or four hundred meters away, an abnormal distortion began to appear on the surface of the desert.

The distortion is not visible in dry air, but in the moist air after rain, the light undergoes a subtle refraction and shift.

A blurry outline slowly emerged from above the sand dunes.

Those outlines are different from those of sand dunes.

It's too neat.

It was as if an invisible hand was sketching a city in the air.

The lines of the city walls, the spires of the towers, and the crisscrossing streets all floated in a semi-transparent, shimmering form above the distant sand.

Mirage.

Su Mu's dynamic vision captured more details in those outlines.

The city walls have crenellations, and the towers seem to have the outlines of flags. The streets are laid out in a cross shape, and the overall layout is as orderly as a meticulously planned capital city.

"Loulan." Lin Yuwei's voice was very soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing that illusory city.

Su Mu stared at the outlines for more than ten seconds, then looked away.

He took the metal plaque out of his backpack and turned it over. The small characters, "When the rain stops and the clouds part, the sun shines through, and a mirage appears over the ancient city," gleamed faintly in the rain.

"The direction is roughly north-northeast."

He said, "You can't tell from the distance, but the city wall is so big that, based on perspective, it's probably five to eight kilometers away."

Lin Yuwei nodded: "The area is still too large. Five to eight kilometers, searching in the northeast direction, would cover at least several tens of square kilometers."

Su Mu thought for a moment, then opened his communicator and sent a message to Zhou Zhenguo: "Are you there? I need your help to find some coordinates."

Zhou Zhenguo replied quickly: "Speak."

Su Mu described the direction and general area of ​​the mirage, and then briefly mentioned the clues from the iron plaque. "Your guilds have a better search capability than I do alone; you have more people and a wider coverage. If you find the ancient city ruins, send me the coordinates immediately."

"Okay. I'll arrange it right away."

Zhou Zhenguo paused for a few seconds, then added, "The ancient city of Loulan is a public task for the entire cable network. Finding it will benefit the whole network. I'm deploying everyone I can today."

Thanks.

"Don't thank me. I still remember what happened yesterday."

Su Mu turned off the communicator.

The rain was still falling, and there was still more than half of the thirty-five minutes left.

The outlines of those mirages slowly changed in the rain, like sand paintings being blown by the wind; some lines were fading away, while others were reassembling.

"Let's go," he said. "Let's find those treasure chests first."

The rain had stopped when the two descended from the cable car.

The sky cleared up again, and sunlight streamed down from the edges of the clouds, illuminating the desert that had just been washed by the rain.

The air still retained the moisture from the rain, and the sand felt more solid underfoot than usual.

Su Mu walked in front, with Lin Yuwei following half a step behind him.

Both of them maintained a natural rhythm, without needing to deliberately adjust their pace or find things to talk about.

Occasionally, Su Mu would stop to glance at the coordinates on the panel, and Lin Yuwei would stand quietly behind him where he stopped, waiting patiently.

After walking about two kilometers, Lin Yuwei suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Su Mu turned around.

Lin Yuwei's expression was somewhat subtle, as if she had something she was finding difficult to say. She stood there, her fingers unconsciously clenching the hem of her clothes, hesitated for two seconds, and then said, "I...I'll go over there for a bit. I'll be quick."

She pointed to a protruding, wind-eroded rock not far away, where there was a natural depression that was sheltered from the wind and hidden away.

Su Mu was stunned for a moment, then he understood.

I need to use the restroom.

The two were in the cable car.

Lin Yuwei has never used a toilet.

Su Mu thought for a moment and figured that Lin Yuwei probably felt awkward going to the toilet with both of them in the cable car.

"Hmm." He turned his gaze away and took a few steps in another direction, leaving her enough distance.

Lin Yuwei walked quickly over and disappeared behind the wind-eroded rocks.

Su Mu stood still, looking at the sand dune line in the distance, forcing himself to focus his attention on the route ahead.

But when the wind blew from the direction of the wind-eroded rocks, it still brought back some subtle sounds that he shouldn't have noticed.

His ears twitched, then he immediately suppressed his senses.

Two or three minutes later, Lin Yuwei emerged from behind the wind-eroded rock.

She washed her hands, shook off the water droplets, and her expression returned to normal.

She walked back to Su Mu's side, her gaze fixed straight ahead, her tone unchanged from before: "Let's go."

"Hmm." Su Mu didn't say much more.

The two continued walking.

But Su Mu noticed that Lin Yuwei's ears had turned red again.

He didn't say anything.

After walking for about ten more minutes, they found the first intelligence point.

The bronze treasure chest is located at the bottom of an abandoned windmill. The wooden structure of the mill has collapsed, with only half a stone wall and a few crooked beams still supporting it.

The box was under a pile of rubble in the corner, half-covered by sand.

Su Mu squatted down and dug it out.

The box wasn't large, its bronze surface covered with a thin layer of rust. He opened it. Inside were a short knife and several blueprints.

[Sand Spike Dagger (Green)... Sharpness 28, with a slight sand elemental enchantment. Has a chance to briefly blind upon hit.]

[Blueprint: Simple Sand Shield (White)... Creates a temporary shield made of compressed sand grains that dissipates after withstanding one moderate attack.]

[Drawing: Rope pulley system (white)...can be used for climbing or dragging heavy objects.]

The three items weren't very useful to him, but he could sell them at the exchange for some materials. He put the items away and continued on his way.