Li Cu was a bit moved, but upon reflection, he thought that these two kids might not truly understand what they were facing. If it were him, he might not be able to accurately assess the situation in such circumstances either. To be honest, he was a little scared about entering the desert alone, as he had very little experience traveling by himself. He felt relieved that these two had volunteered to join him.

After they returned, they immediately started preparing separately. Su Wan asked Li Cu for advice, believing that since Li Cu had been to the desert before, he would know what was needed. Coincidentally, they were about to have a long vacation, and Su Wan thought that if everything went smoothly, they could make a round trip in time for the start of school, so it was crucial to ensure that their preparations were thorough.

Li Cu carefully recalled the experience of entering and exiting the desert with Wu Xie. He felt that some of the gear they had was unnecessary, but since Wu Xie had prepared his equipment, he found it difficult to remember everything now.

Yang Hao said, “Why don’t we ask a tour guide? The guide must know.”

Su Wan was exasperated, telling them that a tour guide couldn’t possibly have expertise in this area. This trip was like entering a dragon’s den or a tiger’s lair. It was not tourism; at the very least, it should be about wilderness survival.

In the end, they divided the money into three parts: Yang Hao was responsible for transportation, Su Wan handled all the small gear and food, while Li Cu took charge of researching information and various route maps, as well as managing the GPS. He reminded the other two to remember that it would be extremely dry in the desert, with a significant temperature difference between day and night, and the quality of their gear was very important. If they bought cheap items, they might end up in serious trouble. Su Wan even suggested they conduct a drill first, to explore the areas around the desert a few times. Li Cu gave him a light slap for that idea.

Speaking of convenience, Su Wan’s task was relatively easier; he just needed to find a few reputable sellers on Taobao to get all the necessary items. The sellers would help him organize everything. There were also plenty of leftover gear in the warehouse, and they picked out quite a bit of that as well.

As Li Cu was leaving, he suddenly thought that perhaps Su Wan’s suggestion was right. Maybe they really should experiment in the desert, after all, none of them had experienced such a situation before, and if they rushed in, he couldn’t guarantee that someone with Su Wan’s personality wouldn’t make any mistakes.

He bought the most expensive professional GPS, requesting one that displayed satellite imagery, because there were no marked routes in the desert. He had no way to determine his position on a vast expanse of white without any landmarks. Of course, the GPS would provide latitude and longitude coordinates, but he hoped to see the various terrain features of the entire desert captured in satellite images, which would help him recall the process of Wu Xie leading him into the desert.

On the third day, when the three of them met up, they had mostly finished their preparations. Yang Hao had bought three train tickets, saying they could use connections to board the train directly from inside the station. After getting off in Alashan, they would find a way to get a vehicle, which should be relatively easy at that time. He had also made three fake IDs and fake driver’s licenses. When the time came, they could rent a car, and as long as the deposit was sufficient, the private rental companies were not very strict.

A few people with backpacks hurried directly to the train station, heading to Inner Mongolia. At the ticket-checking area, Li Cu noticed a familiar figure. He saw Liang Wan in the queue, and the two exchanged a glance, both feeling quite awkward.

Now, let’s rewind to a few days earlier. When Liang Wan returned to Beijing from Hangzhou, it was lunchtime. She was utterly exhausted, but still managed to stay alert while making phone calls in the car. She quickly arranged to meet someone; this opportunity was hard to come by, and if she couldn’t arrive on time, the matter would likely be delayed by another ten days or half a month.

She clutched her phone tightly, her sweaty palms nearly soaking the screen. The taxi turned a few corners and finally arrived at her destination, which was a branch of the Beijing Archives. As she got out of the car, she spotted the person she had arranged to meet anxiously waiting outside.

He was her first love, a bookworm. At the time, her boyfriend was studying library management at university, so he could only find work at the archives. Due to various issues, including Liang Wan’s own academic problems, they eventually broke up. However, she had a very good impression of this man; he seemed honest and reliable, and it appeared he would do many reckless things for her. Yet, Liang Wan felt that her practical side couldn’t align with someone like him. Coming to ask for his help, she felt a bit guilty, knowing the risks involved in this favor.

After getting out of the car, their meeting was still somewhat awkward. Liang Wan wanted to appear a bit reserved, so she smiled at him and said, “Long time no see.”

He nervously glanced around and asked, “What do you need these things for?”

Liang Wan replied, “I’m being dragged into this by someone else; it’s quite important. Thank you for helping me. I’ll treat you to dinner later.”

Her first love looked at her and handed her the numbers and keys, saying, “Remember, you must come out before eight o’clock. I can only protect you until then. All the numbers and those things are inside; you can’t bring anything out. Once you go in, your phone will be taken away, and you’ll have to rely on yourself.”

Liang Wan nodded and asked him, “What will happen to you if they find out you took this key?”

The young man smiled and said, “I’ll bear whatever consequences come; just go quickly if it’s that important to you.”

Hearing this, Liang Wan felt a wave of emotion and wanted to hug her former lover, but he took a cautious step back. She felt a bit awkward. He added, “I have a girlfriend now; you should go.”

Liang Wan nodded, feeling a complex emotion in her heart. As she stepped onto the stairs and turned to look back, her first love had already disappeared. However, as she climbed the stairs and approached the archives, all her awkwardness faded away. The tension in her heart began to consume all her emotions, and her mind was only focused on that night years ago, in that hospital room, when that strange patient said that one line to her.

She walked along, searching for the room number of the archives, knowing that the surveillance here had been disabled by her first love. So she could walk boldly forward, all the way to the door at the deepest end of a corridor. This was not the end of the corridor, but rather blocked by a massive iron lock.

Liang Wan used a key to open the iron door and stepped inside. She saw four doors within, and glanced at the keys in her hand—each of these four doors had its corresponding key on the keychain. This meant that everything she needed to find was behind these four doors, and it was up to her to search for it. She had only seven hours, and she had to find something useful within that time. She opened her notebook and found the first name.

It was a name she had seen on the blueprints earlier, the name of a child, filled in the space for the draftsman. The child’s surname was Huo, and the name was Huo Zhongshu.

She began to rummage through the bookshelf, which was filled with names of people with the surname Huo. The header of the bookshelf had a small label that read “First Batch of Youth Classes, North China, 1978.”