October 14th, late night, 23:40.

After selling the last batch of goods, Ya Qiaoxi heaved a sigh of relief.

Her entire body was soaked in sweat, the smell of perspiration emanating from her hair, which clung to the sides of her cheeks in strands. A gentle pinch with her fingers caused the sweat to drip incessantly.

The average temperature in the Hexi Corridor in October is only single digits, but that’s above ground. The "Spring Breeze" outpost below ground is much warmer, especially since Ya Qiaoxi’s stall is right next to the big boiler inside the outpost, the temperature here is even higher.

She had already taken off her tactical vest and leather jacket, leaving only her undergarments and a not-so-thick shirt, which was now clinging tightly to her body, revealing her fiery curves.

Just now she noticed quite a few eyes lingering mischievously on certain parts of her body, but Ya Qiaoxi didn’t care much—whether in Yumen or Dragon City, no one dared to make a move on her. At most, these people could only fantasize in their heads, and if anyone’s hands got a bit too naughty, Ya Qiaoxi wouldn’t need to lift a finger; someone else would deal with those fools who let the small head control the big head.

"Ugh... I’m about to faint from the heat, should choose a different spot for my stall next time." Ya Qiaoxi gulped down water vigorously, the stickiness on her body made her wish she could take a hot shower immediately—unfortunately, taking a shower in Spring Breeze is a huge luxury. Regular bathhouses charge either per session or by the minute, but in Spring Breeze, showers are charged per second.

With Ya Qiaoxi’s habit of taking at least thirty minutes for a shower, the profits from this delivery would barely cover the cost of a bath.

"I might as well just find a random hose and rinse off." Ya Qiaoxi sighed, gathering her sticky long hair into a high ponytail at the back of her head.

After counting the cash she had just received and stuffing it into a small safe she carried, Ya Qiaoxi pulled out her phone.

Due to electromagnetic interference in the no man’s land, communication signals in Yumen are always intermittent, so people have gotten used to checking unread messages periodically or collecting the messages they need to send and then sending them all at once when they get a signal.

Ya Qiaoxi was used to seeing a flood of messages pop up on the screen, but as she scrolled through all the unread messages to the end, her expression froze for a moment.

"Spring Breeze is about to publicly disclose the complete information of the mysterious treasure map?" Ya Qiaoxi couldn’t help but read out the message title, "Free? Unconditionally? Fully disclosed? Has the owner of Spring Breeze gone mad? Or... is there some kind of trap?"

Ya Qiaoxi took another sip of water and continued reading.

Besides the pinned message in the forum, the second most-clicked topic was discussing the convoy that had just returned from the no man’s land.

This convoy was supposedly commissioned by the owner of Spring Breeze to be the advance team exploring the treasure location, but from the information sent back by onlookers at the scene, it seemed this convoy was completely wiped out... As for the reason for the wipeout, opinions varied.

"Looks like I need to find a chance to ask the owner of Spring Breeze." Ya Qiaoxi muttered, "But the advance team was completely wiped out, and people are still so crazy about the treasure map... Are they really not afraid of death?"

Ya Qiaoxi packed her things and found a Spring Breeze guard nearby. After asking the whereabouts of Sun Hang and the others, she headed straight for them.

October 14th, late night, 23:47, Spring Breeze outpost, "Kangle" Bath Center.

"I must say, you three really know how to enjoy yourselves, huh?" Watching the three of them soaking their feet on massage chairs, Ya Qiaoxi angrily wiped the sweat off her forehead, "What is this? An expense on public funds? If I report this to the Dubhe Tower, how much of a reward can I get?"

"Spring Breeze’s owner said all our expenses in the outpost are on him. These services seemed expensive, so I thought I’d let the kids experience it." Sun Hang glanced at a bewildered Xue Yue, "And you, Mr. Ya, you smell of sweat like this, did you go sell goods or lug bricks?"

"Pretty much the same, by the way, did you guys check your phones?" Ya Qiaoxi grabbed the towel draped over Candle Dragon’s shoulder and randomly wiped her face, asking.

"Are you referring to the treasure map thing?"

"There’s just ten minutes left before the complete info about the treasure map goes public. Doesn’t the Federation Council and the Dubhe Tower have any reaction?" Ya Qiaoxi asked.

"What kind of reaction do you expect us to have?" Sun Hang retorted.

Ya Qiaoxi was slightly taken aback, "You’ve already been in touch with Spring Breeze’s owner?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Nanhua Town," Candle Dragon said quietly.

"What?"

"The location marked on the treasure map is Nanhua Town."

Ya Qiaoxi took a deep breath and then nodded, "That’s pretty deep... Since you even know the treasure location, then about the wiped-out advance team..."

"They encountered the Curse Fog." Candle Dragon answered before Ya Qiaoxi could ask, "They got lost in the Gobi Desert and stumbled right into the area shrouded by the Curse Fog."

"Curse Fog? The legend that’s been circulating in the Hexi Corridor for many years but has never been verified?" Ya Qiaoxi’s eye twitched a couple of times, "Confirmed?"