Chapter 25: The Onset of Crisis

The tyrant charged forward for more than six hours, and as dusk began to settle, a handful of stars glimmered on the far horizon. Throughout the journey, Lin Huang and his companion did not encounter a single attack.

This was likely due to the intimidating presence of the tyrant. In this region of the Crimson Sand Desert, classified as a Level One wild zone, creatures above the Iron rank were virtually unheard of. As a third-tier Iron-rank tyrant, he stood firmly at the top of the food chain in this desert, and all other predators did their utmost to steer clear of him.

Daytime in the desert was sweltering, so most predators preferred to burrow and rest, only emerging to hunt after sunset when the temperature dropped a little. Thus, traveling at night was far from wise.

With the tyrant by their side, Lin Huang and his companion had time to spare and saw no reason to press on after dark. Once the tyrant was recalled, Lin Huang summoned his second Sand Butcher.

The fat man, seeing Lin Huang call forth yet another summoned beast, could not help but ask in surprise, “Just how many summoned beasts do you have, brother?”

“That’s a secret,” Lin Huang replied, not even glancing back as he busied himself pitching the tent.

“Can’t you just buy a portable tent?” the fat man grumbled, sitting on a rock and watching Lin Huang work. “This is so much hassle.”

“Too poor—can’t afford one,” Lin Huang replied truthfully. Those portable tents were constructed using a technology similar to weaponry, and the price of a single tent was not much lower than that of an Iron-grade weapon. A few days ago, he genuinely could not have afforded one. But to the fat man, this sounded like a boast.

“I can believe you don’t have the money to buy a Life Crystal to reach Iron rank, but not being able to afford a tent? No way! One of these days I’ll come see your place and see just how poor you are. If you’re really too poor to even buy a tent, I’ll go all out and sponsor your advancement to Iron rank!” The fat man clearly thought Lin Huang was exaggerating. After all, for an ordinary person to advance to Iron rank, they needed over two hundred million credit points just to activate all the grey marks on their Life Wheel—a staggering sum, which explained why most people in this world never advanced that far.

Lin Huang burst out laughing. “No need to check out my place. When we get back, just come with me to the Credit Bureau and I’ll pull up my account records for you.”

“Are you serious? You’re really that broke?” The fat man looked genuinely alarmed at Lin Huang’s words.

Lin Huang just smiled without answering. Seeing this, the fat man grew even more uneasy. “Come on, man, I was just joking. Don’t take it to heart.”

Lin Huang ignored him, focusing all his attention on assembling the tent. It wasn’t long before the tent was up and night had fallen completely.

Turning around, Lin Huang noticed the fat man still hadn’t taken out a portable tent and was just sitting there with a strange look on his face. “Where’s your tent?”

“Uh… It got blown away by the wind last night…” the fat man muttered, scratching his head and not meeting Lin Huang’s gaze.

“Oh. Well, let’s make dinner first,” Lin Huang replied, seemingly unconcerned about the tent, stretching lazily and muttering, “Eat, then sleep. After a day of shaking about, I’m dead tired.”

“You may be able to sleep, but what about me?” The fat man glanced at the tiny tent Lin Huang had just put up, looking rather aggrieved. “Why don’t we squeeze in together for the night?”

“Squeeze in? Not a chance. Figure it out yourself,” Lin Huang shot back without hesitation.

“The temperature drops at night, and look at my delicate skin—if I sleep outside, I’ll freeze to death! Are you really going to let me freeze alive?” The fat man put on a pitiful expression.

“No problem. If you feel cold, you can always cuddle up to the Sand Butcher,” Lin Huang suggested with a touch of creativity. “He’s got more fat on him than you do, plenty of softness—just your type.”

“I’d rather freeze…” The fat man glanced at the Sand Butcher, who was grinning at him, and quickly shook his head to refuse.

“Stop slacking and make dinner!” Lin Huang changed the subject.

“I’ve lost my appetite, can’t eat, not cooking,” the fat man replied, turning away in mock sulk.

“Cook first, and I’ll help you out after we eat.”

“No way—you tell me how you’ll help, or I’m on strike tonight,” the fat man said, crossing his arms and waiting for Lin Huang to give him an answer.

“My solution is… I have a spare tent.” Lin Huang grinned.

“You’re not messing with me, are you?” The fat man was still wary.

Without another word, Lin Huang pulled a tent pole from his storage space and waved it.

“You could have said so earlier!” the fat man grumbled with a laugh.

“I’m not like some people who head out without thinking ahead—even forget to bring a spare tent,” Lin Huang retorted, tossing the components of the spare tent onto the sand. “After dinner, you can take your time putting it together. I’m going to bed.”

Only then did the fat man obediently pull out the cooking tools and start making dinner.

By the time they finished, night had fallen completely. The sky was full of stars, flickering like ripples on the surface of the sea. The sand had begun to lose its warmth, and the wind was turning chill.

Lin Huang left the Sand Butcher to keep watch, then crawled into his tent, leaving the fat man clumsily assembling his own. After more than half an hour, the fat man finally had a lopsided tent standing, with a pile of extra pieces left over. Out of patience, he crawled inside the half-finished structure and struggled to zip it closed. Having barely slept the previous night due to a sandstorm, he quickly drifted off.

Hearing the fat man’s snores from not far away, Lin Huang shook his head with a smile. The fat man was truly sincere, with no guards up at all—he could fall asleep anywhere. “He must really be exhausted…”

Lin Huang himself had slept well the previous night, so although tired, he wasn’t particularly sleepy. It was well into the night before he felt drowsiness begin to settle in.

As night deepened, the desert’s chill intensified. After midnight, the ground was covered in a layer of white frost. Bathed in the glow of two full moons, one red and one purple, the desert seemed utterly peaceful and serene.

Suddenly, the Sand Butcher sitting in front of the tent seemed to catch a scent on the air. His nose twitched, searching the surroundings, and after a moment he locked onto a direction, lifting his head to stare intently.

Though he could not see clearly in the distance, he sensed something rapidly approaching. Abruptly, he leapt up and shouted a warning at the tent.

“Awuu! Awuu! Awuu!”

Lin Huang had only been asleep for a couple of hours, but at the Sand Butcher’s urgent cries, he immediately sat up. He hadn’t taken off his clothes or even his shoes, precisely to be ready should anything happen during the night.

Throwing open the tent, Lin Huang looked around. When he saw the direction the Sand Butcher was pointing, his face changed dramatically.

With several quick strides, he reached the fat man’s tent. Finding the zipper stuck, he drew his battle blade from storage and slashed the tent open, then slapped the fat man’s face hard. “Wake up, you idiot! If you keep sleeping, we’re both dead!”