Pet King

Upon hearing the orders from Peter Lee via the walkie-talkie, Nabari and Salem drove Car No. 1 like a wild horse.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven…three, two, one! Car Number Four, depart!”

After waiting for 10 seconds, Zhang Zian, who got the order to go, stepped on the gas pedal and rushed out, chasing the smoke emitted by Car No. 1.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven…three, two, one! Car Number Five, depart!”

Another car waited for 10 seconds before following Car No. 4 and driving out of the village.

Zhang Zian rolled down the car window. The children who had not left waved goodbye to him. He only rolled up the window after he could no longer see the village.

Thirteen cars set off one after another. The distance between each car was about 10 seconds. This was Peter Lee’s idea.

Driving in the desert, one should worry less about losing the car in front but fear driving too close. The cars naturally kicked up tons of dust and sand. Get too close and it would be impossible to make out anything else.

In particular, the road conditions near the Siwa Oasis were not very bad. Every car was driving at a high speed to save time. Therefore, there needed to be enough braking distance to guard against any unexpected situations. Once they entered the desert, the cars would all slow down, and the distance between each car would be reduced.

Although Zhang Zian’s car was number four, he was in the second position while driving, followed by Nabari’s car.

The convoy was long. As the respective captains of each team, Peter Lee and Wei Kang took the No. 2 and No. 3 cars and drove in the center of the team. This was to prevent loss of communication and to reach everyone on the team.

The mighty 13 high-powered off-road vehicles were like an unruly dragon screaming into the desert.

Each car was loaded with enough supplies to sustain a person to survive in the desert for 15 days. If food and water quotas were set, it was more than enough to sustain each person for 30 days.

Everyone was filled with optimism. From time to time, people sang in different languages ​​across the common communication channel, from American country songs to European folk songs and Chinese public dance songs. People were cheering and laughing.

Although the public channel was meant for regular reporting of current situations or to report special circumstances, as this was the beginning, there seemed to be no danger yet. There was also no need for regular timely reporting. Therefore, no one bothered to break up the party on the channel.

Both Peter Lee and Wei Kang were feeling confident. Even if they didn’t achieve their goals, at least they could safely return home.

To be honest, even Zhang Zian, who’d lacked confidence before departing, was amazed to see such a spectacular team. He came to the conclusion that perhaps he was worrying unnecessarily. Also, his self-confidence was raised to the extreme, not to mention the rest of the team.

Even Famous joined the party and barked on the intercom to sing a song. It made everyone laugh.

The only one who was calm was probably Nabari.

As a guide and sitting in the first car, Nabari had a heavy responsibility. He scanned the road ahead with weather-beaten eyes and informed those in the rear of the road conditions. He reminded the cars to slow down or pay attention to avoid holes. Besides those comments, he spoke of nothing else.

Salem sat in the co-pilot position of Car No. 1 and was full of excitement. He asked Nabari all kinds of questions, but Nabari only answered a few, about 10 questions. To some questions, he thought that there was no need for him to answer. Rather, Salem should observe with his own eyes, ears, and heart. A truly outstanding guide was not taught by others but self taught.

Salem sang a traditional folk song of the Bedouin tribe on the public channel, which attracted everyone’s applause. It made him very happy, and he swayed in his seat, similar to how one rode a surfboard on the waves of the sea.

“Uncle Nabari, do you need to take a break?” he asked bravely. “I can take over for you.” He did this for two reasons. The first was to please Nabari, because he felt that Nabari was a bit cold, and he worried that he would not share knowledge of the desert with him. Secondly, he wanted to satisfy his urge to drive. He had yet to drive such a great off-road vehicle yet.

Nabari shook his head, continued staring straight ahead, and said, “I am not tired.”

Since he had not been able to get what he wanted, Salem listened to the sweet singing from that Chinese girl over the intercom. It reminded him of Sihwa. He’d heard from Zhang Zian that the previous online saga involving her had died down. Rather than losing fans, she’d gained a lot more instead. Zhang Zian had been told to thank him on behalf of Sihwa.

Salem didn’t want her thanks. He would much rather see her himself while deep in the desert so that he could send her his regards and deepest admiration. If only she could smile at him just a little, he would die with no regrets.

However, Zhang Zian told him that Sihwa was currently traveling around the northern areas of Egypt, likely around the vicinity of the Aswan Dam. He was rather upset when he heard this.

Ancient Egypt was divided into Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, but not by drawing a straight line down while referencing a map. Rather, it was divided according to the upper and lower reaches of the Nile. Upper Egypt was in the south and Lower Egypt was in the north.

“It may be time for me to learn Chinese,” he murmured. “When we stop and make camp, I must ask Zhang Zian to teach me Chinese so that I can communicate with her alone. It is strange, though. Sihwa clearly has a European face, so why did she say she is Chinese? It’s a pity. It would be so much better if she spoke English…”

Sihwa was like a mystery to him, and everything about her made him extremely fascinated.

Not far away, a camel team slowly approached. A bell on the camel rang. Fellow Bedouin compatriots, tanned dark by the sun, looked at the team, albeit without much expression. Although they were basking in the sun while riding camels and Nabari and Salem were driving in air-conditioned cars, they did not have the slightest envy in their eyes.

Nabari sighed and said, “The Chinese are too anxious.”

Upon hearing this, Salem’s face froze. He thought he was talking about Sihwa. He didn’t even think about how Nabari might know Sihwa. He immediately said, “Uncle Nabari, Sihwa is a good girl. She is not in a hurry!”

Nabari was equally stunned when he heard this. They both looked at one another with big, open eyes.

In a high-pitched voice, Nabari said, “I was referring to Mr. Lee and Mr. Wei. Who is Sihwa?”

“Ah? Oh! No one!” Salem smiled quietly and hurriedly changed the subject. “Uncle Nabari, why do you say they are in a hurry?”

Nabari sighed. “I proposed to them that—I don’t object to driving into the desert, but it is best to bring a few camels. They flatly refused. They said that bringing camels will slow down the journey, so they will need to carry more supplies. To them, staying in the desert for a longer period of time increases the chance of encountering danger.”

With that, he clenched the steering wheel and added, “But in the desert, I still trust the camel. Now more than ever.”