After dropping us off, Lao Pi prepared to leave.

Lao Pi seemed dejected. I had manipulated him every step of the way, and in the end, I even broke one of his fingers. An old man in his fifties, traveling so far just to make a little money, it wasn't easy. I even felt a little sympathy for him.

"Wait a minute, Lao Pi!"

I called out to Lao Pi.

Lao Pi was first stunned, then looked at me with fear, at a loss for what to do.

I guessed Lao Pi had misunderstood. I quickly walked to his side and reached into my bag to take something out.

Lao Pi's pupils contracted even more, and he subconsciously trembled and said, "Spare... spare me."

Lao Pi thought I was going to pull out a gun, but I didn't.

I took a watch out of my bag, put it in Lao Pi's hand, and said to him, "I bought this watch for my birthday after my first successful business venture. I've always cherished it. It cost 30,000 RMB when I bought it, and I estimate it could still sell for over 20,000 on the second-hand market."

This watch had always been in my office; I didn't take it with me.

Later, when the company was acquired and my things were being packed up, Liu Wei collected and kept my valuables.

The last time I met Liu Wei, Liu Wei returned all the things he had kept for me, including this watch.

Lao Pi took it with trembling hands and looked at me suspiciously. "What is this...?"

I gave a wry smile. "That's just how I do things. I've been chased too many times, so I'm cautious. If you don't follow my rules, I'll... Well, enough said. Take this watch. Consider it a little compensation from me personally."

Lao Pi shamelessly wiped the watch face with his dirty sleeve. When he realized that the watch I gave him was indeed a good one, a smile finally appeared on his face. He carefully tucked the watch into his hidden side pocket, placing it with the wad of American dollars, and patted the pocket with satisfaction.

As Lao Pi prepared to drive away, I grabbed his arm, my face darkened, and I warned, "Remember what I said before. Don't reveal our whereabouts."

I pointed to my eyes with two fingers, then pointed to his eyes, and said, "I'm watching you."

Lao Pi quickly said, "Boss, don't worry. I've been in this business for so many years. I know the rules."

I nodded with satisfaction and watched Lao Pi leave.

During the conversation between Lao Pi and me, the camel trader and his men had already unloaded the seven camels from the truck, and the supplies were also moved onto the camels. They worked quickly.

After everything was taken care of, the camel trader and the others drove away.

Several speeding trucks quickly became small dots on the seemingly endless highway, just like Lao Pi's minivan, eventually disappearing at the end of the road.

I, Fatty, Dodge, Zoe, and Jennifer stood on the dividing line between the road and the desert, leading seven camels, gazing at the vast desert, feeling somewhat lost.

I put on my sand mask and goggles, beckoned to the others, and said, "Let's go."

In the past two years, this desert has changed a lot. Long-term wind erosion has changed the shape of many sand dune landforms.

Fatty and Zoe didn't remember the road they had taken before at all, but we weren't completely clueless either.

Dodge remembered seeing a defense map of the Taklamakan Desert a long time ago, drawn by early Z organization members when exploring the Taklamakan Desert. It marked a military base, and he roughly remembered the direction of the military base.

Fatty claimed that when he followed An Wenshan out of the desert, he had made a point of checking the time and using the watch hands and the sun to determine the position, so he roughly knew the direction of travel.

Fatty and Dodge put their heads together, calculated the angle where the two positions overlapped, and finally determined the location of the camp where Fatty and Zoe had temporarily resided.

Afterwards, we rode our camels and headed towards the direction calculated by Fatty and Dodge.

On the way, Dodge remembered some more things about An Wenshan: "An Wenshan has always been decisive in his actions and willing to endure hardship. Although he had been active in other places before, since Strange deployed personnel in the Taklamakan Desert and transferred An Wenshan here, An Wenshan quickly took root here, adapting faster than anyone else."

After hearing Dodge's evaluation of An Wenshan, Fatty also talked about his impression of An Wenshan: "The first time I saw An Wenshan, I felt that this person was secretive and ruthless. To be honest, I've been in the army for several years, and I've seen all kinds of people. But it was the first time I had seen someone like this. I couldn't read any emotions on his face, nor could I guess his personality. I simply had no idea what he was going to do next."

Dodge continued Fatty's words and said, "Yes, An Wenshan has always been decisive in his actions and handles things flawlessly. In the organization, we define such people as 'assassins'. They are the elite among our group of people. Unfortunately, An Wenshan has no background or backing in the organization. He has skills, but he can't climb to a higher position."

I sighed and said, "Sure enough, no matter where you are, you need a background and backing."