Chapter 306: Escape the Desert 10

Although the guide spoke with confidence, Perry Yates didn’t really believe him and questioned whether the Oasis was truly safe.

「Day Nine of the Game.」

As Perry Yates was traveling, she suddenly heard a startled cry from behind.

She turned to see one of the people at the rear of the group sinking rapidly as the surrounding sand swirled.

The speed of the swirling and sinking only accelerated as the person struggled violently.

Seeing this, Perry Yates was shocked. ’Quicksand.’

This was the first time she had encountered quicksand in all her days in the game.

Moreover, if she remembered correctly, they had all just walked over that very spot.

’It was perfectly fine when we walked past it. How did it turn into quicksand in the blink of an eye?’

The others saw what was happening and wanted to help, completely oblivious to the fact that the quicksand was slowly expanding. It was the guide who noticed something was amiss and roared at the group, "Quick, get away from here!"

By the time the guide shouted the warning, the area of quicksand had already expanded several times over, and the ankles of the people and camels standing nearby were already sinking into it.

Fortunately, they weren’t in too deep. All they had to do was turn and get out of the quicksand’s reach as fast as possible.

But that was easier said than done. With the quicksand’s reach constantly expanding, they could only scramble for their lives, abandoning even their supplies in the process.

Later, after they had escaped to a safe distance, the guide explained, "That wasn’t ordinary quicksand. It was river sand."

"River sand? What’s that?" Perry Yates asked, her curiosity piqued.

"River sand, as the name implies, is quicksand that flows like a stream. Unlike ordinary quicksand, the location of river sand isn’t fixed; it’s constantly shifting its position over time."

"These shifts follow a pattern, so every year when the river sand appears on a large scale, all the caravans, as a rule, stop entering the desert."

After all, it’s called river sand not just because it flows like water, but because it can swallow people and even camels whole just as easily.

To this day, no one swallowed by river sand has ever survived.

"However, as dangerous as river sand is, there’s a group of people in the desert who spend their entire lives following its path."

"Following its path? Is it out of faith, or because the river sand gives them something?" Perry Yates asked.

’In her view, if something known to be extremely dangerous was still sought after by many, it could only be for two reasons: faith or profit.’

’Then again, faith is a kind of profit in itself. So, in the end, it all comes down to profit. The river sand must offer those people some kind of benefit.’

Sure enough, the guide continued, "River sand is also known as Gold Sand."

"Beneath this desert lie countless Gold veins, but they can’t be mined by conventional means. When the river sand flows up from underground, it always brings some of the Gold to the surface."

"And because Gold is heavy, you can always find some in the places where the river sand has passed."

"The people who follow the river sand are called gold chasers."

"Now, it might seem like gold chasers can get a lot of Gold, but chasing river sand isn’t for just anyone. First, you have to find it. Second, you have to make sure you don’t get swallowed by it. And what’s more, not every flow of river sand carries Gold, so you also have to learn how to judge."

The skills of a gold chaser are often passed down from generation to generation—a father teaching his son, who in turn teaches his own.

Much of the knowledge can’t be described in words; it can only be learned bit by bit through direct experience.

That night, the group found a safe place to rest as usual.

The caravan had suffered heavy losses from the river sand earlier that day, losing several people, a few camels, and a portion of their supplies.

After getting a fire going, everyone sat quietly around it, warming themselves. When hunger struck, they silently pulled out their dry rations to eat.

The experienced caravan’s losses were relatively minor. The players, on the other hand, were not so lucky.

Many had lost their supplies during the escape, left with only what they were carrying on their person.

Players with a Space Backpack were better off. Although the space inside was small, they had packed it to the brim.

Those who didn’t have a Space Backpack and had lost their supplies were in a miserable state.

They clutched what little supplies they had left, silently trying to figure out how they would survive the coming days. Inwardly, they cursed the System. ’Why did it have to seal away our System Space too?’

Perry Yates, watching from the side, was also a bit puzzled. ’Based on my observations, there shouldn’t be any Dealer Players among them. Space Cards are rare, but every player should have a System Space.’

’The System did say that the System Space was sealed before we entered the game, but I thought that restriction was only supposed to apply to Dealer Players.’

In fact, the System Space was initially sealed only for Dealer Players. Later, the System, unable to tolerate the Executors’ tyrannical behavior, decided to lock the System Space for all players.

Since the lost supplies included tents, everyone could only huddle together for warmth, struggling to keep the fire alive.

However, to make matters worse, the desert night was already frigid, but in the small hours of the morning, a fierce wind began to blow.

Perry Yates huddled behind a camel, the wind howling like a wolf in her ears. The whipped-up sand stung her skin like a thousand tiny knives.

’Looks like it’s going to be a sleepless night.’

Those without tents tried to shelter in the tents of those who still had them. However, no matter how much they pleaded, they were met with either silence or a torrent of curses from within.

Seeing this, the group could only do whatever they could to stay warm and survive.

「Day Ten of the Game.」

Perry Yates felt the sunlight on her face and slowly opened her eyes.

The fierce wind from the night before felt like a distant nightmare.

After getting up, Perry Yates discovered that the wind had brought more than just a nightmare—it had also brought moisture.

She noticed a thin film of condensation on nearby surfaces, almost invisible unless you looked closely.

But the film of moisture was insubstantial, and as the sun climbed higher, the heat quickly evaporated it all.