Hermione tipped the contents of her suitcase onto the bed and turned to Tom, "So, what should we bring for our expedition into the desert?"
He couldn't blame Hermione, this was really hitting her blind spot of knowledge. She had never been to the desert before and naturally had no idea what to pack for a desert expedition.
Tom thought for a moment, "Water..."
Hermione picked up a pack of tissues and smacked Tom, "Please be serious!"
"Why are you being so unprofessional?! You should bring water when you go to the desert, what would you drink if you didn't bring water? By the way, not only water, but also some salt."
"Salt?" Hermione didn't quite understand, "Doesn't salt make you thirsty? Water is so precious in the desert that you have to save it, so why bring salt to increase your water consumption?"
Tom did not answer him directly. It was the middle of summer in London, and although Hermione's house was air-conditioned, the activity he had just been engaged in had brought a light sweat to his forehead. Tom reached out and tapped his finger on Hermione's forehead.
Hermione's forehead was soft and tender to the touch. Hermione flinched slightly when Tom touched her forehead, but soon recovered, allowing Tom to gather the beads of sweat from her forehead with his fingers.
Tom slid back and forth twice and then stretched his index finger toward Hermione's mouth, the girl sitting across from him blushed slightly, opened her mouth and licked Tom's index finger.
Fingertips are covered with nerve endings, which are much more sensitive than in other places, so when Hermione's tongue rolled, Tom couldn't help but feel very itchy and got goosebumps.
"Cat." This creature flashed through Tom's mind, and what Hermione had just done, was like being licked by a cat.
Seeing that Tom's reaction was more intense than hers, Hermione was relieved, "Do I have barbs on my tongue?"
They both covered their mouths and burst out laughing.
Joking aside, it was clear to Hermione why she needed to carry salt: sweating was taking salt out of her body, and if she didn't replenish it, there would most likely be trouble.
She jumped out of bed and held a piece of paper close to her, "Tell me what else we need, I'll write it down and then go to the supermarket."
Tom smoothed his clothes a bit and thought for a moment, "We could buy tea, make tea in the desert and replenish the lost electrolytes. At the same time, we can also bring back some pickles and mustard."
Hermione nodded, but seemed to have thought of a problem: fuel. From Hermione's perspective, it seemed to her that in the desert there was a good chance that fuel would be in short supply, and in that case, how was there going to be extra fuel to make tea? Although, as wizards, they could use magic to light a fire, this time it wasn't so convenient with Muggles present, and you couldn't put a few Notice-Me-Nots on every fire, could you?
"And bring a solar electric stove, so we can use the sunlight to boil water for tea." Tom could see Hermione's hesitation and offered the easy way out. Photovoltaic cells had been developed in the 1990s and were already being used in residential applications; there was no downside, except that they were expensive and crude.
"And clothing, the temperature changes a lot during the day and night there, and the sun can burn your skin, so short sleeves like now are definitely not an option, wear sun and wind protection for the cold, and high shoes..."
Tom and Hermione talked for a bit, writing down on a piece of paper what they needed. In the evening, when dinner was served, Mr. Granger announced the good news that Hal Hunter was willing to allow Tom and Hermione to join his expedition.
"The day after tomorrow I will take them on an excursion to Sheffield," Mr. Granger was in high spirits, "Hal is putting together a team, and you can see him when you get there, and see how an expedition takes shape."
Hermione perked up and Tom looked thoughtful.
"How's your archaeology team coming along?" Tom asked.
"Nearly finished, and some bodyguards, I guess." replied Mr. Granger casually,
"I think he mentioned something about that."
Tom said "hmmm," put his head down and wiped the steak on his plate.
The next morning, he left the Granger's house for his old friend Yuri's.
"Need some trusty hands?" There hadn't been much work lately, and Yuri's life had become corrupted, with late nights and late nights out. When Tom found him, he had just gotten out of bed.
Tom told Yuri of his destination.
"Ancient Egyptian ruins? Interesting..." Yuri rubbed his chin a little, "Good stuff there already."
It was clear that the arms dealer was a bit impressed.
Not to mention the economic value of the remaining artifacts, the ancient city itself had great research value. Dr. Hunter would have made a name for himself if he had found it.
Yuri was fully aware of its importance. To him, how much money could be made by stealing artifacts from the city? This was not the 19th century, and the days of British "archaeologists" strutting around transporting artifacts by camel from other countries were long gone. In those crazy times, so-called "explorers" and "archaeologists" were like locusts on the march, traveling to historic countries and plundering their cultural heritage. "Mr. so-and-so brought back dozens of camels at a time from such-and-such ancient country" was a common story in those days.
At the British Museum, it was like being a passenger on the French metro in the 1920s: everyone was legally French, but not many had actually been born and raised.
For Yuri, money was a secondary factor, he was more interested in the "fame" that came with it. Although Yuri's issue was hot, he was already thinking of a way out. The archaeological team that was about to be formed was a good opportunity.
"I'll help you find reliable help," Yuri promised Tom, "But I'd like to get in touch with that archaeologist."
"Of course," Tom nodded, because due to the nature of his work, Yuri had a very powerful armed force, none other than the Special Forces, or rather, they were the Special Forces.
"By the way, do they make custom bullets here?" Tom asked the question suddenly. He wanted to put something special on the bullets, an idea Tom had had for a long time, but had never put into practice. Now that he was going to venture into the unknown secret world of the desert, it would be nice to have something to fall back on.
Yuri smiled, "Sure, I'm good with my hands! What kind of bullets would you like to make for your gun?".
Bullets, if there were ready-made parts, could be made by hand, and Yuri knew that. He wanted to know what kind of gun Tom wanted to use to make bullets.