"Ah?" Candle Dragon was taken aback, clearly not reacting to Sun Hang's topic shift.

"I said these pastries are quite delicious, I wonder if they're sold inland."

"Oh, you're talking about this? It's sugar oil cake, a specialty snack from the Hexi Corridor area, available in both Chang'an and Chunming City," Candle Dragon said. "As for Tianfu City... if you search, you might find it there too, though I can't say if the taste would differ."

"You think the taste is great too, right?" Sun Hang glanced at Xue Yue, "Sugar oil blend, it's practically an arch-enemy for anyone on a fat loss diet, but humans tend to love this taste."

"They're all delicious!" Xue Yue vigorously chewed the food in her mouth, "All of them are so tasty!"

"If you like it, let room service send another portion over," Candle Dragon suggested.

"I'm planning to set off for Yumen tomorrow," Sun Hang said, "Are you familiar with the route to Yumen?"

"I've traveled it twice," Candle Dragon replied, "Honestly, it was during a mission to explore Taklamakan. But, to be safe, I still recommend finding a guide."

"Any reliable candidates?" Sun Hang asked.

"Ya Qiaoxi," Candle Dragon said, "She was once the leader of the second-ranked mercenary group in Dragon City, but retired after a disastrous mission. Among my 'old friends,' she's the only one I trust."

"No wonder the first person you looked for in Dragon City was her," Sun Hang said meaningfully, "You must have some history together?"

"That's all in the past," Candle Dragon smiled helplessly.

"But hasn't she retired? She told you earlier today she won't do mercenary work anymore," Sun Hang asked, "Are you planning to use charm to persuade her back?"

"Just as a guide," Candle Dragon shook his head, "Though she's quit mercenary work, she's visited Yumen quite a bit over the years."

"What for?"

"Deliveries," Candle Dragon said, "For those free hunters and mercenaries who tread the edge of life and death, alcohol is an essential commodity."

...

...

Next morning at ten, North Gate of Dragon City.

As Candle Dragon drove the car out of the city gates, Ya Qiaoxi was already waiting on her motorcycle at the gate for a long time.

In a city like Dragon City where traffic jams are often, a motorcycle weaving through cars is much more useful than a car.

"Hey, you're here," Ya Qiaoxi greeted them and pointed to several large cardboard boxes stacked by her feet. "Is there space in the car? Help me carry some stuff over."

"Are all these boxes wine?" Sun Hang got out of the car, picked up a box, and besides the sound of glass bottles clinking, he vaguely heard the sound of fine metal parts rubbing against each other.

"Supplies," Ya Qiaoxi said, "Including but not limited to alcohol."

"There must be plenty of contraband, right?" Sun Hang's nose twitched lightly, "I smell plastic explosives and some special drugs."

"Rest assured, all legally certified for transport," Ya Qiaoxi laughed, "Otherwise, I would've sneaked them into your car first thing in the morning, especially since you have the privilege of exemption from inspections."

"By the way, any latest news on that treasure in the no-man's land?" Candle Dragon asked, after loading the last box of 'supplies' into the car.

"So much news, but the more it spreads, the more exaggerated it becomes, almost like a fantasy novel," Ya Qiaoxi said. "Rather than sorting through dubious rumors, it's better to go to Yumen and see for yourself."

"Makes sense," Sun Hang gave Ya Qiaoxi a thumbs-up and plopped into the passenger seat.

Ya Qiaoxi glanced at her watch, then swung her long leg over her motorcycle: "It's getting late, let's set off!"

She lowered her helmet visor, and the motorcycle engine emitted a deep rumbling sound.

Candle Dragon immediately pressed the accelerator to follow.

...

"Candle Dragon, do you remember the first half of the road?" Ya Qiaoxi asked via the radio channel.

Her motorcycle maintained about twenty meters' distance from Sun Hang's car, and the fine gravel kicked up by the rear wheel constantly tapped against the SUV's windshield, making sounds like chattered beans.

"If I remember correctly, the first part should follow the riverbed of Longgu River northwest for about forty kilometers," Candle Dragon replied.

The Longgu River was originally an unnamed river outside Dragon City. Later, the river dried up, and the riverbed became part of the Gobi Desert. People were astonished to find a large accumulation of animal bones at the downstream riverbed, hence the name Longgu River.

The source of Longgu River is deep in the Hexi Corridor's no-man's land, but the river does not pass through Yumen. An earlier hunter bought the wrong map and ventured too deep into the no-man's land, mistakenly turned at a wrong position along Longgu River, leading to loss of direction.

"Why not put a road sign at the turning point?" Sun Hang questioned, "It shouldn't cost much, right?"

"Sandstorms frequently occur in the Hexi Corridor, and even if a sign is erected, it might be blown away or broken by a storm," Candle Dragon explained.

"Then spend more to erect a sturdy, heavy sign, or cast an iron stele buried several meters underground," Sun Hang suggested.

"What if I told you these sandstorms are actually a type of anomaly phenomena, powerful enough to alter the Gobi Desert's terrain?" Ya Qiaoxi laughed over the radio.

Sun Hang: "Then never mind."

"Even if a road sign survives a sandstorm, it would hardly serve as a guide," Candle Dragon said, "Just like Ya Qiaoxi mentioned, Gobi Desert's terrain changes every year... Besides the rampant sandstorms, the terrain alterations are also classified as anomaly phenomena. The shape of the Longgu River Valley slightly shifts every month. You could plant a sign at the riverbed this month, but by next month, the sign might be hundreds of meters off the riverbed."

"Exactly, so Longgu River can only be one of the reference points," said Ya Qiaoxi, "If those rookie novices assume following Longgu River leads to Yumen, they probably won't reach Yumen, and certainly won't return to Dragon City."

"So how do you veterans determine the route?"

"Distant mountains and the sun in the sky are our reference points," Ya Qiaoxi said.

"Can you elaborate?"

"That's Dragon City's guides' trade secret. If you want to learn, you'll need to pay tuition."

"How much?" Sun Hang immediately asked.

"Not cheap, teaching apprentices may starve the master... More and more people can lead the way now, so money is harder to earn," Ya Qiaoxi said.

"Now it's 10:45. By eleven o'clock, if the sun precisely aligns directly above the camel-shaped gulch at the north, turn southwest at a forty-five-degree angle, leave the riverbed and drive forward. If the sun isn't aligned above the gulch, continue driving forward and wait for the next hour to look for another reference," Sun Hang suddenly said.

"How do you know?" Ya Qiaoxi's tone carried a hint of surprise, "Have you been to Yumen before?"

[P.S. Some geographic settings of this novel reference reality, while others are fictional. Not all geographical conditions mirror reality; please don't match strictly. In reality, Dragon City should be in Inner Mongolia or Northeast, while this book sets it roughly between Baiyin and Tianshui, adjacent to Chang'an. Yumen in this setting has been moved near Wuwei.

Comparing with real names facilitates understanding and visualization, and once again, don't map book locations onto real-world cities (A Virtual Reality.jpg), any similarity is purely coincidental.]