Chapter 100

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Chapter 100: Desert Triangular Sail, Escape!

The triangular sail functioned like a wind sail, catching the winds swirling in the desert. At the base of the triangle was a leaf-shaped plate that glided effortlessly over the sand as though it had been greased. Unlike water sailboards, the desert sailboard utilized the wind to sail freely across the yellow sands at high speeds. Lin Mo stood on the board, pulling the triangular sail, and glanced into the distance while leaping high from the top of a sand dune.

Behind Lin Mo, in the far distance, a towering wall of yellow sand rose like a massive dune, chasing after him. The powerful winds whipped around Lin Mo’s body, boosting the speed of the desert sailboard transformed from the gold giant dragon.

There was no way to traverse the desert on foot; lacking food and water made that impossible, and flying would easily attract radar detection, leading to questions that couldn’t be easily answered. Hovering low could expose him to the eyes of passersby or military satellites overhead, creating even bigger troubles. This area was not only chaotic but also a military-sensitive zone. Lin Mo had a sudden burst of inspiration and adopted this method; the massive triangular sail could harness enough wind.

The underlying metal plate didn’t need worry about wear and tear; the main concern was dissipating the heat generated from the friction between the board and the sand through heat-conducting pipes to the triangular sail, which was made of one of the best natural materials for heat dissipation.

Even with the sandstorm pursuing him, Lin Mo was not worried at all. According to the display on the sail, shaped by the gold giant dragon, he was nearing the edge of the desert and would soon see the nearest water source, the Syr Darya River in Kazakhstan.

As the sandstorm drew nearer, Lin Mo felt like a light boat, blown farther and moving faster, as if the storm itself was propelling him forward. Even if it caught up, he would remain unharmed; amidst the raging sand, the gold giant dragon could openly activate his Void Magnetism to fly low under the cover of the storm.

After a while, the sandstorm seemed dissatisfied with this little object that constantly eluded its grasp, turning to sweep in another direction. The speed of Lin Mo’s desert sailboard quickly decreased.

The storm came swiftly and departed just as quickly, and soon the sailboard had no more power. The nearby sands settled, no longer swirling around. Lin Mo had to continue on foot, and the original sailboard shook before it directly attached to his wrist, transforming into a dull gray bracelet.

“I smell water!” Lin Mo caught a hint of moisture in the air and strained his eyes to look into the distance. Yes, a glimmer of green persisted, struggling to take root through the endless yellow sand.

Plants? Not a mirage, but real! Where there were plants, there was water!

Lin Mo smiled and hurried towards the green area he spotted. As a Dragon Knight, his physical endurance allowed him to survive three days in this waterless, foodless desert. However, he was still made of flesh and blood and could not live solely by munching on iron blocks like the gold giant dragon. Finding water meant food could not be far behind. If he didn’t replenish his supplies quickly, even a Dragon Knight would grow weaker and eventually perish.

Little blades of grass emerged tenaciously from the sand, and as he pressed forward, more and more grass appeared, along with tall and short desert plants. Out of breath after running for over half an hour, Lin Mo climbed over a small hill and finally beheld a rushing river right before him, the humid air soothing his long-thirsty body.

“Ha! Water!” Lin Mo ran down the slope to the riverbank and jumped in, drinking heartily.

On the riverbank, a fire sprang to life. Lin Mo shook his spear, dislodging several plump fish, as it transformed into a multi-functional tool in his hand, scaling and gutting the fish. He then searched for herbs he could use for seasoning.

At that moment, the gold giant dragon Gold Coin, having just consumed two F-14s, was in high spirits and morphed into cooking tools for Lin Mo. It finally turned into a roasting fork, where he hung the prepared fish, slowly grilling it over the fire until it became golden and slightly charred, releasing a mouthwatering aroma.

Field survival skills weren’t learned from this world; they were a required course for Dragon Knights. Every Dragon Knight must sustain themselves in isolating environments until rescue arrives or they successfully break free.

A gold giant dragon was truly an essential tool for survival or travel. During his time in the alternate world, Lin Mo had been too busy with battles and training to explore the many advantages of this creature. At that time, Gold Coin and Lin Mo’s partnership wasn’t harmonious, leaving no opportunity for Lin Mo to understand the dragon’s unique traits.

After satisfying his hunger and quenching his thirst, Lin Mo enjoyed a good sleep inside the large tent created by the gold giant dragon, blissfully unaware that while he had left Aysulu, the entire "Red Scorpion" headquarters had been significantly damaged by nearby forces and would take years to recover. Infuriated after their aerial bombardment, the Merland tribe had waged war on the "Red Scorpion" for three consecutive days and nights, vigorously pillaging Aysulu, with various factions pushing for their gains.

The "Red Scorpion" had initially aimed to retaliate against China for eliminating their armed smuggling team, but they had become a mud Buddha crossing the river, unable to protect themselves. They lacked the energy to plot further mischief, facing sudden internal discord while simultaneously contending with external armed challenges. Whether it was Lawrence Cotler, Commander Natasha, or Colonel Yahann Frank, they were all overwhelmed.

Only Haus, the intelligence chief of the "Red Scorpion," harbored suspicions that the new Elite Guard member Morin was the "Chu Zhongtian" he had encountered on the train. However, this "Morin" and his “Lone Wolf” partner Yakov had long since vanished, making it impossible to trace the so-called "Chu Zhongtian," as Lin Mo’s identity as a pilot meant most wouldn’t have access to him.

The high-ranking members of the "Red Scorpion" couldn’t fathom what kind of force had attacked them. The skirmishes to seize F-14s left them bewildered about the technology behind it all. Perhaps such capability could only belong to the United States or some high-tech consortium.

The "Red Scorpion" could only grit their teeth and swallow their anger, utterly clueless about the organization they had provoked. Lin Mo’s actions inadvertently masked the traces of China’s special operations team "Night," and it took long for them to realize that it had indeed been orchestrated by the Chinese military.

At first light, Lin Mo set out again, not with the intention of returning home directly but rather heading towards China National Petroleum’s Aralsk branch as an undercover identity. As this was a covert mission, he needed to stay consistent, especially since it was a secret operation. The official protocol simply informed the Kazakh authorities about the operation, serving as a record of action. Even if it went wrong, both sides would deny any involvement.

“Mr. Chu! You’ve worked hard! How did everything go?”

The station chief, Liu Hongyu, in his forties and wearing black-rimmed glasses, greeted Lin Mo warmly upon his dusty return to the station. As someone from the top monitoring the situation, he always felt a bit anxious upon seeing Lin Mo after months of absence. He had no idea if Lin Mo had genuinely gone undercover to inspect the oil pipeline or if he had secretly returned to Almaty to pass time. This dusty station wasn’t the most pleasant place to be.

However, seeing the signs of sandstorm exposure on Lin Mo’s body eased Station Chief Liu’s worries. Getting the deity here was easy, but sending them away was hard, and he still didn’t grasp Lin Mo’s true temperament. He hoped this wouldn’t be a difficult character to deal with.

“Everything’s great! I didn’t want to disrupt the workers, so I conducted my visit secretly. The results are quite satisfactory! In a few days, I’ll be heading back! I will report everything I saw and heard accurately to the headquarters, and thank you, Station Chief Liu, for your full support of my work.” Lin Mo spoke casually, a line prepared by the Intelligence Group. The specifics about the oil pipeline were sensitive in international cooperation, whether good or bad, belonging to the realm of intelligence and not revealing too much.

“That’s good to hear! You’ve truly worked hard! Go take a shower first, and we’ll have dinner together tonight!” Station Chief Liu felt relieved. The headquarters sent valuable personnel, and if he treated them poorly, they could easily file a complaint, destroying his future. Although he was working abroad under bad conditions, such lucrative positions at state-owned enterprises were hard to find.

“Alright!” Lin Mo nodded, realizing Station Chief Liu truly believed he was an officer sent from above, without knowing he had taken a detour to risk his life during his absence.

The chef at the station prepared a hearty dinner filled with desert flavors for Lin Mo and Station Chief Liu, and they both praised the meal. The desert plants surrounding the station had all been sourced and added to their dishes. Station Chief Liu subtly flattered Lin Mo, and Lin Mo, in turn, praised Liu for his hard work, making the evening enjoyable for both, culminating in a cheerful finale.

Lin Mo had left most of his luggage in Aralsk when he went out, though he had hidden an iPad and a wallet before entering Aysulu. In due time, someone would retrieve those belongings for him. While the operation had incurred significant costs, he at least saved the taxpayers at home from unnecessary waste, not to mention it was still valuable property.

Using his laptop, Lin Mo encryptedly contacted the Intelligence Group at the "Night" headquarters. The group seemed anxious over Lin Mo’s disappearance. Upon receiving his message, they paused, promptly verifying his identity before receiving the text full of suppressed excitement.