Going back seemed to be a dead end … The thugs would definitely not let her go so easily, so compared to the torture she would face if she went back, Claudia was more willing to go into the unknown desert.
"Why don't you look nervous at all?" Claudia could not help but frown.
She felt that her brain was in a mess … She couldn't remember how she came to this desert. Logically speaking, there must be a journey in the process, but this memory was blurry.
It seemed like she had experienced it, but also seemed like she had not experienced it … This made her feel vaguely uneasy. Traveling in the cold desert at night magnified this uneasiness infinitely.
Perhaps she should not have left the broken house … But if she waited until dawn, the thugs might catch up with her again.
"Maybe it's because my luck has always been good," Boss Luo said casually. "There is a saying in our world, 'there is always a way out.'"
Claudia rolled her eyes. She really did not know where this guy's confidence came from … She shook her head and suddenly asked, "You said, I can understand why Arria suddenly left. He is familiar with the terrain, so it is more convenient for him to travel alone … But why did Mr. Otto leave too? Didn't they not have a good relationship before? And Mr. Otto even paid for me and you! "
Luoqiu thought about it and said, "Did you see Mr. Otto pay for you and me with your own eyes?"
Claudia frowned and said, "Did he not? At that time, Mr. Otto had already transferred the money to Arria, so he agreed to bring you and me! Mobile phone … Wait! "
Come to think of it, she really did not see the transfer of money with her own eyes. That was done on the mobile phone. At most, she only saw Otto using the mobile phone, and only heard Arria saying that the money had been transferred … She really did not see the money in person.
"Mr. Otto did not transfer the money at all?" Claudia was shocked. "He and Arria are actually acting? But … But why would he do that? "
"What do you think?" Luoqiu asked casually.
Claudia lowered her head and muttered, "In this case, it could be that the two of them are working together to get money from you and me … from us … using a very simple herd mentality. At the beginning, Otto gave us the money without hesitation, but he didn't actually give us the money at all. He was just putting on an act to make us give him the money obediently. But later, I could not give it at all, and you were determined not to give it, so Otto had to change the original plan! "
"What plan?"
Claudia looked as if she had expected better from him. "You still don't understand? Of course, it was to create a good image in front of us! The money was not given, but he made it seem like he had already paid it for us! "This way, we will be the one who owes them … owes them two million. After we leave the desert, they will definitely think of other ways to make us cough up the money!" Why don't you understand it? "
Boss Luo smiled and said, "But in fact … they did not get the money and left quietly."
"This … maybe …" Claudia subconsciously said, "Maybe they felt that they could not get any money from us, and they were afraid that the thugs would catch up with us, so they simply left like this? After all, their lives are more important? "
"Or maybe, they have already achieved their original goal."
"Goal?" Claudia was puzzled. "What goal? They did not get a penny from us at all! I did not even give them an IOU or anything like that! Except for a broken oil lamp … You mean, the oil lamp? "
"You gave the oil lamp to Otto, right?"
Claudia said helplessly, "I did give it to him … I'm not used to owing people things. I thought that if this lamp was something valuable, giving it to him would be a way to repay him … After all, he did save us from the ruffians. If not for him, we would have probably been shot dead by the thugs outside the secret room. But I don't understand. If it was just for the oil lamp, why would he do so many things and even conspire with Arria to put on an act? Wouldn't it be more efficient to ask directly or even threaten directly? "
"Yes, it would be more efficient to ask directly." Luoqiu followed Claudia's train of thought and said, "After all, they had the upper hand at that time and could have made us hand over the oil lamp. But why did he do that?"
"Or he was worried about something." Claudia thought for a while and finally shook her head. "But I really don't understand. What was he worried about? He couldn't be worried that the oil lamp in my hand could really summon the fat blue elf. He was afraid that I would use a wish to save myself, so he helped to save us, right? "
"Student Claudia, you are really smart." Boss Luo praised.
Claudia rolled her eyes again and said rather irritably, "Now I know why you came to the Academy of Theology … You are probably a delusional patient who has been poisoned by the Mythological Poison and thinks that there are really gods and monsters in the world! Don't forget, it's not like I haven't touched that lamp before, but there was no fat blue elf at all! "
Boss Luo just smiled noncommittally and then pointed to the front. "There seems to be light over there … Why don't we go take a look? Maybe it's Arria and Otto."
On the other side of the sand dune in front, there was indeed a glimmer of light … But if it was Arria and Otto, Claudia obviously didn't believe it. First of all, they were only relying on the North Star to travel, and Arria and Otto might not be going in this direction. Even if they were going in the same direction, they were riding on camels, and she was walking on foot. It would be strange if she could catch up with them.
But even if it was not Arria and Otto, even if it was just a traveler in the desert, it was still good to meet them. At least there was a chance to seek help from the traveler.
"I hope your luck is really good." Claudia glanced at Luoqiu and finally whispered, "I … I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?" Boss Luo asked curiously.
Claudia hesitated for a while and then stammered, "Because … Because … Because you should have a share of the oil lamp, but I, I secretly gave it to Otto."
Actually … She didn't trust him at first because of the travel expenses … But she couldn't say it out loud.
"It's okay." Boss Luo said indifferently, "That oil lamp, for me, is not very useful."
"Th … alright then." Claudia nodded.
But she didn't understand the true meaning of the words "not very useful". She only thought that Luoqiu actually treated the oil lamp as an ordinary item.
They quickly passed the sand dune with a glimmer of light … Sure enough, it was not Arria and Otto, nor was it the group of thugs in the camp, but a small group of nomads.
…
"Oh, it's the Bedouins … These two fellows are lucky, don't you think so, Mister?"
At the dune where the faint light came from, two figures were looking into the distance. One of them was holding a pair of binoculars in his hand and was talking … They were Arria and Mr. Otto, who had quietly left after taking away the water and resources.
"The desert always protects the pure-hearted," Otto said indifferently, "Let's go, I still need your help, Arria."
"Okay, Mister." Arria smiled, "Who asked me to take three million from you?"
Mr. Otto didn't say anything, he just quietly sat on the camel … Arria quickly followed and asked curiously, "Mister, you went through so much trouble just to get this oil lamp? What's so special about this oil lamp? "
The oil lamp was now in Arria's hand. He breathed into the oil lamp and rubbed it. Probably everyone would do this subconsciously, probably because of a little unrealistic delusion.
Mr. Otto didn't even look at it, as if he already knew the result. He said indifferently, "For those who are qualified to own it, it's a treasure that can fulfill any wish. For you, it's not even worth much. "
Arria shrugged and threw the oil lamp back to Mr. Otto, "I like Dollar the most, I don't like things that are worthless. You white skins are always so weird. You must have too much money and nowhere to spend it. You don't know the pain of the poor! "
With that, Arria rode the camel in front … Mr. Otto looked down at the oil lamp in his hand and seemed to be lost in thought.
"Since I passed the test and even brought you out successfully … why didn't I call you out?" Mr. Otto frowned, "Don't want to see me … at least, we haven't seen each other for so many years."
The oil lamp was still in tatters, it even seemed to be covered with a layer of dim dust, and no one could rub it open.
At night in the desert, the moon and stars were not rare … Two figures riding on camels slowly walked deeper into the desert.
…
…
Here came the problem. Although they had already reached the camp of this small nomadic tribe, Claudia suddenly thought of a problem — the language barrier.
Although the thugs seemed to be locals, they knew British, including Arria, so there was no problem with communication along the way — but what about the indigenous people who lived in the desert?
Boss Luo walked up at some point and started talking to a middle-aged man who walked out of a tent.
Not long after, Boss Luo turned around and waved at Claudia, calling her over.
Claudia came to Luoqiu's side and asked in surprise, "You know their language?"
— I just learned it …
Of course, she couldn't say that. Luoqiu just smiled as a response, then slowly said, "They are Bedouins, a nomadic tribe that lives in the desert. This gentleman is the head of this family, his name is Adil. The others are his family, wife, children, brothers, and so on. "
"Oh … I see, I have heard of them before." Claudia nodded, "I heard from my father that they are a very friendly tribe that likes to live a free life, so they have always lived in the desert … Some documentaries have also mentioned them."
Boss Luo suddenly said, "Claudia knows a lot of things and understands a lot of things. It is as if you are preparing to be an explorer.
Claudia shrugged, "When you have a father who likes to go on adventures, you will more or less know some of these things that are not very useful … Okay, let's not talk about this. Mr. Adil's family should not be the only one here, right? There should be more nearby? "
Boss Luo nodded, "There is a water supply point nearby, so there should be a lot of Bedouins nearby … I think, in the village we went to before, there should be a lot of Bedouins …"
Those thugs captured a lot of people to develop the underground pyramid, but in the end, there were only women and children left in the village … Claudia already knew where the men went.
She suddenly shivered, not because she only knew fear at this time, but because the fear had long exceeded her psychological endurance, so she could not feel it. Now that she relaxed, she realized the horror of this day.
She slumped to the ground, her entire body trembling. Her face was pale, and she was sweating profusely … Claudia lost consciousness in an instant, and completely fainted.
…
Feeling a trace of warmth, Claudia tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were heavy, as if something was stuck to them. She could only see a vague figure approaching her in the darkness.
"Don't come —!"
Her reaction was abnormally big. Like a bird startled by the twang of a bow, she suddenly sprung up and reached out to grab the blanket covering her body. From her face to her eyes, there was something called fear.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
"I … I … I don't …" Claudia seemed to have calmed down and saw the person clearly — her new classmate, so she shook her head, "Forget it, it's okay."
"That's good." Boss Luo nodded and handed a bowl to Claudia, "This is tea made with camel milk. You must have fainted because you were dehydrated … Drink something liquid, it will help you recover faster."
Claudia hesitated for a while, then reached out to take the bowl, and then sipped it … She suddenly stopped and looked at Luoqiu, then frowned and said, "I'm not used to people quietly approaching me when I'm sleeping … Can, can you do it next time?"
"Of course." Boss Luo nodded and stood up, "There should be an hour before dawn. Have a good rest after drinking the tea."
Claudia nodded. Actually, she was completely awake and didn't feel sleepy at this time, but her body was indeed weak, so she looked quite terrible.
"Have a good rest."
"Wait … That, thank you."
"Don't worry and have a good rest," Boss Luo said casually, "I'll be watching from outside, no one will quietly approach you."
She opened her mouth, but didn't say anything in the end. She just lowered her head and silently drank the warm camel milk in the bowl … She felt that this new classmate in front of her was really a mysterious person. From being hated to now … In fact, it was only half a day.
He actually didn't do anything, but her feelings were constantly changing.
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