“Then what? Where’s the contradiction?” Li Cu asked Wu Xie.

“Secondly, the contradiction lies in the fact that no one can be certain whether these instruments are completely damaged or irreparable just because they got wet. If these items can be dried out like a phone and used immediately after being taken out of the water, then the perpetrator’s painstakingly orchestrated farce would be in vain. Moreover, after this incident, we will inevitably be more cautious, and the perpetrator will have almost no opportunity to act again,” Wu Xie said. “Do you understand? Unless this is an impulsive crime, otherwise, no matter who it is, if they want this team to stop going to Gutongjing, the best way is to smash all these instruments and destroy them completely, rather than just throwing them into the river.”

Li Cu understood Wu Xie’s point. If this were the case, then the first assumption would basically be invalid. What was more likely was the second scenario—someone wanted them to discover that there was something beneath this lake.

According to his thoughts, such a sealed container could not appear here alone, as it is a storage device, and the key is what is inside this container. In other words, this kind of container is used during the process of transporting or storing “something.” So why is all this happening? Why would someone want them to discover this container?

In this desert, there are several possibilities for the appearance of this item: First, a transport team may have passed through here and accidentally dropped this container from their vehicle. However, this is a desert without roads; generally, transportation relies on camels. This means that if a transport convoy passed through here, it would not be an ordinary large transport truck, but a specialized armored vehicle for sandy terrain. So, where were these items being transported to in this desert?

The second possibility is whether a truck or armored vehicle transporting such items got lost in the desert, becoming stuck nearby, and over the years, the wind and sand caused the cargo on board to collapse? This possibility made Li Cu hesitate because the items were found in the water.

Unless the truck or armored vehicle drove straight into this lake, the items couldn’t be in the water. The oasis and the lake can be seen several kilometers away; which reckless driver would make such a mistake? Even if that were the case, there wouldn’t just be one container found; there would definitely be many at the bottom of the lake. Unless this lake was moved here later.

The third possibility is somewhat similar to the second: it could be that this area itself is an old storage zone. If this lake was moved here later, it might have shifted over the ruins of a warehouse. Thus, the containers left behind in the warehouse would have been submerged by the lake.

The temperature in the desert was rising, and as Li Cu contemplated these three possibilities, he said to Wu Xie, “I think if we take another look underwater, we can find out more.”

Wu Xie nodded and asked him, “What do you want to see underwater?”

“Are there any remnants of transportation vehicles, or are there any ruins of buildings?”

“Just as I thought. However, your injury isn’t healed yet, so you can’t easily get into the water. Let the two of them go at night; during the day, we need to avoid being seen,” Wu Xie said.

“Boss, it’s really dark here at night. There won’t be any strange fish in this water, will there? Just like you used to tell me…” Wang Meng said, feeling a bit uneasy.

“This place isn’t that big; there won’t be any large fish,” Wu Xie glanced at Wang Meng. “Unless you’re a bit unlucky and encounter an extremely low-probability unfortunate event.”

“I’ve always been quite unlucky, boss. What if I really do end up dead? Is there a death benefit?”

“No, but I could sell your ashes. My old creditors would definitely appreciate it.” Wu Xie exhaled a large puff of smoke and said to him, “Go inflate the rubber raft and tell those scholars that we’re resting here today. We’re going to the center of the lake tonight to do geological sampling.”

Li Cuo asked, “What if they want to continue on today?”

“I’ll pour two bottles of vodka into their camels’ feed.”

“Drunk driving?”

“Exactly,” Wu Xie said. “Their camels will try to ride them.”

Fortunately, drying those instruments would take much longer than expected. Even in a desert climate, the instruments might still need two to three days to dry completely.

An old professor complained that it wasn’t even windy, as the hot winds in the desert could quickly dry anything. Meanwhile, a few soldiers looked at the old professor as if he were a madman.

Wu Xie told Li Cuo that nobody likes the wind in the desert; no one likes it at all.