Get Lost

Qin Chuan guessed correctly—the misfired rifle had indeed hit one of the camels, and it was the lead camel. The lead camel, startled and in pain, immediately got up and ran, with the other camels naturally following it into the sandstorm.

This sudden turn of events threw Bushra into a panic. He knew that these camels carried all his belongings, and as a "desert man," the most basic rule was never to let the camels run away—doing so was nearly a death sentence. Without hesitation, Bushra got up, shouting and chasing after the camels.

"Come back!" Qin Chuan shouted, but Bushra couldn't hear him—actually, even if he had heard, he wouldn't have understood what Qin Chuan was saying because Bushra didn't speak German.

So, Qin Chuan could only watch helplessly as Bushra disappeared into the sandstorm. While he was still in shock, Bazel had already grabbed him and yelled into his ear, "Quick, follow him! Don't let that man out of your sight!"

With that, Bazel began dragging the other soldiers to their feet and led the charge into the sandstorm, heading in the direction where Bushra had vanished.

Bazel's actions were understandable; his mission was to protect both Bushra and Alfredo, with Bushra being the more crucial of the two as their guide. Now that Bushra was in trouble, Bazel's immediate response was to retrieve him.

But in reality, this decision was a mistake.

Bushra was a seasoned desert traveler who had survived in these harsh conditions for years. He had his own set of skills, such as a strong sense of direction and tracking abilities. It was highly likely that Bushra would be able to catch up with the camels and return to the main group. However, Bazel leading the troops on a wild goose chase was an entirely different matter.

Although Qin Chuan sensed something was off, he still followed orders and ran after Bazel and the others.

The visibility in the sandstorm was extremely poor, and the group could only follow the sound of the camel bells. But after a while, even the sound of the bells faded, and suddenly, Qin Chuan realized that the people who were supposed to be behind him had vanished. He wanted to turn back and search for the main group, but in the storm, he couldn't discern direction. He barely made out a few figures stumbling ahead and had no choice but to follow them.

Qin Chuan tried several times to get them to stop, but he failed because the moment he opened his mouth, sand filled his mouth, making it impossible to speak.

After what seemed like an eternity, they still hadn't found Bushra or the camels. In fact, Qin Chuan realized they had lost themselves.

Finally, the storm subsided, and Qin Chuan saw that the ones who had been ahead were Werner, Keller, and Alfredo.

"Where is everyone else?" Qin Chuan asked.

"I don't know!" Werner replied. "I thought they were with you!"

Qin Chuan looked around and saw that it was already dark, with nothing but blackness surrounding them.

Then, the group instinctively began shouting in all directions:

"Is anyone there?"

"Captain Bazel!"

"Lieutenant Kuhn!"

But no voices answered them, even after they climbed to the top of a dune and shouted in unison.

"Are we... lost?" Alfredo asked, a flicker of fear in his eyes.

The soldiers didn't answer—this was a question that didn't need a response.

After a moment, Werner said, "We have two options: we can stay here, and maybe they'll send someone to find us, or we can go look for them ourselves."

"I don't think they'll send anyone to find us," Qin Chuan shook his head. "Because a few soldiers getting lost in a sandstorm is too common, especially in the desert. Our soldiers aren't as familiar with this land as Bushra is. Sending search parties would only result in more people getting lost."

Werner thought for a moment, realizing the truth in Qin Chuan's words, and then nodded. "So... our only choice is to find them ourselves."

"But how do we find them?" Alfredo said. "We don't know where they are; we could be walking in the opposite direction, getting farther away instead of closer!"

Werner fell silent after Alfredo pointed this out.

After a pause, Werner handed the decision to Qin Chuan: "Sergeant, what should we do now?"

Qin Chuan looked up at the star-filled sky and asked a question in return, "How much water do we have left?"

"I have one canteen left!"

"I have one and a half canteens!"

...

Luckily, they still had a total of five canteens among them.

"My plan is this," Qin Chuan said. "We must prepare to rely on these five canteens to reach the Msés Oasis."

"What?" The group was stunned by this suggestion.

"That could still be three days away, Sergeant!" Werner said. "And we might not even find the oasis!"

"That's why we need to plan," Qin Chuan replied. "Our unit is heading toward the Msés Oasis. If we want to find them, we have to head in that direction."

"Yes!" Alfredo agreed. "That way, we won't risk going in the opposite direction without realizing it, and it increases our chances of either finding the unit or being found by them."

"Exactly!" Qin Chuan nodded. "But this doesn't rule out the possibility that we might never find them..."

"In which case..." Werner finished the thought, "we would have to make it to the oasis on our own."

"Yes," Qin Chuan agreed. "As much as I don't want that to happen, we have to be prepared for it, don't we?"

The group fell silent, but though they didn't speak, they all knew that Qin Chuan's plan was the most reasonable one. None of them had a better idea.

"If you all agree," Qin Chuan said, shaking his canteen, "then from now on, we can only use up to one and a half canteens per day, so we can last at least three days. Just in case, we should also collect our urine in empty canteens."

Werner and the others exchanged uneasy looks.

"Sergeant!" Werner asked, "But how do we know which direction the Msés Oasis is?"

"Look up at the sky, Werner!" Qin Chuan pointed to a star. "That's the North Star; it only appears in the north. That means... this is east, the direction of the oasis!"

With that, Qin Chuan started walking.

Alfredo followed and asked, "Sergeant, what if we run out of water and still don't find the oasis?"

"In that case... just lie down and take a nap," Qin Chuan replied.