Shrouded Seascape

The fine yellow sand swirled in the gentle breeze, permeating every corner of the desert. The temperature wasn't particularly high, but the air was exceedingly dry.

Lily was feeling a bit thirsty. She licked her parched lips, but she didn't ask Charles for any fresh water. There weren't any supply points here, so they needed to ration the remaining fresh water for their return journey.

Just then, a tiny bottle cap filled with water appeared before Lily.

"Drink up. We can still afford to feed a little mouse like you," Charles said with a smile.

Lily cupped the bottle cap in her hands, beaming with gratitude. "Thank you, Mr. Charles."

Lily then brought the cap to her lips and drank in small sips. In no time, the bottle cap was empty. Lily exhaled, and her drooping ears perked up. "That was so refreshing!"

Charles patted her head gently and said, "Once the Narwhale has been refitted, we no longer have to be so frugal."

"So our ship will become like that ship that can travel on land? That sounds so cool!" Lily asked, her long tail swishing back and forth, brushing against Charles' fingertip.

"The main concern is space. The cars are too small, but the Narwhale is 65 meters long and 10 meters wide with a draft of 6 meters. We can venture deeper into the surface, and we'll have a better time searching for the darkness.

"The darkness has been taken away, so there's a low chance that it's nearby."

Charles tapped his fingers rhythmically on the windshield, dissatisfied with the truck's cargo capacity.

"Once the Narwhale is here, leave the deck cannons to me. I'm the gunner, and how can I be called a gunner without my guns?" Lily exclaimed excitedly.

Charles looked out the window and saw that the desert was as desolate as ever. He soon reached out for a small box next to Lily's feet. "Go check on Bandages and the others inside."

"All right!" Lily exclaimed. She bent down and crawled into the crudely assembled wooden box. After a short while, Lily emerged from the box, saying, "Mr. First Mate says that they're doing well. They have plenty of food and water. A single biscuit can sustain them for several months.

"They only have one complaint; apparently, it's a bit bumpy."

"That's good. Have Bandages reassure the other four in the truck. We're currently searching for that 'mirror.' We just have to find it, and we'll immediately restore them to their original sizes."

Lily crawled back into the box. When she came out later, she brought with her a message from Bandages.

"Mr. Charles, Mr. First Mate says that if we really can't find it, we should head back first. He says that he'll be fine," Lily said, looking up at Charles.

"I know what I'm doing here. He doesn't have to tell me what to do. Tell him to be patient and wait," Charles said. However, he was honestly feeling troubled by their predicament.

They had been searching for so many days, and Charles reckoned that they had scoured the majority of the desert, but they still hadn't been able to find the sand giant. They had lost track of it, and the chances of finding it in this expansive desert were diminishing rapidly as time ticked by.

Charles glanced at the visibly exhausted Dipp sitting before the steering wheel.

We'll keep searching for two more days. Charles said to himself. Losing five crew members on their first exploration was a tough pill to swallow.

Time ticked by slowly, and the scenery outside changed once more.

The sand dunes shrank gradually and disappeared; the ground became flat once again. They had crossed the entire desert and had reached the semi-desert region once again. However, the desert before them wasn't the same stretch of desert they had traversed before.

Charles was about to take out the map to reorient himself when he trembled visibly.

There was something in the distance.

Charles grabbed the binoculars and saw a slow-moving entity.

It was the sand giant—no, it could no longer be called a giant. Its appearance had transformed to resemble the "Gobi Desert," which was a semi-desert composed of a mixture of gray earth and gravel.

Only its upper body was visible as it stumbled down the desert. This time, it was facing Charles and the others. Charles saw pebbles falling from its face through the binoculars.

The "mirror" replicated the surrounding environment, and its front side was the surface, while the backside was the back of the "mirror."

"Move! Get closer to it, but don't go too fast!" Charles exclaimed. His nerves were stretched taut as he took control of the vehicle and drove toward the distant entity.

Charles dared not breathe, and his eyes were unwittingly transfixed on the "mirror." It wasn't just him; everyone was nervous as the entity changed in size.

They had encountered it once, but none of them dared to claim that they had completely understood the entity that defied common sense before them. It had to be known that the entity did not merely replicate the surrounding environment.

If one got too close to it, one would be projected onto it.

In other words, Charles was approaching the "mirror," and the "mirror" was approaching him as well. However, they seemed to have struck a certain balance, as the distant "mirror" did not grow larger and was shrinking gradually instead.

"Captain, I think this change is related to our position. Previously, we were behind it, but now, we're in front of it," Dipp remarked.

Charles initially thought that he had figured out the entity's workings, but it seemed that he always had to expect the unexpected on the surface world.

The truck came to a halt, waiting for the other party to approach. However, the other party was still shrinking, albeit at a slightly slower pace.

"No... the front and back sides of this 'mirror' are reversed. Since both the front and back are causing it to shrink, then moving either left or right should enlarge it. Let's move to the right."

With that, the three trucks moved slowly around the "mirror."

Charles' method proved to be effective as the "mirror" indeed grew larger.

When Charles finally felt like it was time, he stepped on the brakes and placed the finger-sized truck on the ground.

Charles sounded nervous as he turned to the walkie-talkie and exclaimed, "Bandages! Head due west and keep going! Do not deviate, or you will never be able to come back,"

"Understood..." The toy-like small truck used the distant "mirror" as an anchor point and moved rapidly to the left, circling it.

Charles was so nervous that his palms were sweaty. It wasn't just him; the other crew members wore anxious looks as they stared at Bandages's truck.

Just then, the distant "mirror" started shrinking once again, but Bandages' truck grew larger.

Charles couldn't help but clench his fists. "It worked!"

Bandages' vehicle had grown from the size of a matchbox to the size of a shoebox, and it was still growing, slowly transforming to its normal size.

"Bandages, keep moving for another thirty seconds, then head south to escape the influence of the 'mirror,'" Charles said nervously. The timing was crucial against such a bizarre entity. They'd be in trouble if little Bandages became giant Bandages.

"Understood..."

Bandages grew more and more as time ticked by, but Charles noticed just then that he could no longer see the "mirror." It had disappeared into the distant purple mist.

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