The old man held the cat statue, took out a piece of white silk from his chest, and carefully rubbed it.
"Do you have to go?"
"We must."
The old man sighed, "Then I can give you two pieces of advice as a gift for the statue you just bought."
"One, hire a trustworthy guide. Two, never drive through the desert."
"You don't drive?" Tom froze, recalling the dream he had before.
"God, I don't like machinery. Camels are the best means of transportation because they are God's servants and will bless you."
"Good thing God doesn't like machines, not creatures," Tom muttered. "I'll remember that, thank you."
The shopkeeper looked at the cat sculpture he held and fell into thought for a moment.
"Take this and return it to me if you come back from the desert." The owner handed the cat statue to Tom. Tom put his hand on it, pulled, but it didn't move.
"One hundred thousand Egyptian pounds as a guarantee. If you come back from the desert, I'll give it back to you." The old man said seriously, "After all, this is my family heirloom, and it's most likely you won't be able to bring it back from this journey."
For a moment, Tom thought it was some kind of new trick, but he instinctively felt that the cunning old man in front of him wasn't joking about this matter.
But one hundred thousand Egyptian pounds wasn't a small sum; it was nearly five thousand pounds. Tom wouldn't be able to get that for a while.
"I'll have to go to the bank..." To withdraw the money, Tom would have to go to the bank and exchange some gold, but of course, if he could get in touch with a local wizard, it would be faster— a few hundred Galleons would be enough.
"It's not necessary." Hermione took out a checkbook and a pen directly from her pocket, signed it with a flourish, and handed a 5,000-pound check to the shopkeeper.
"We will definitely come back."
The shopkeeper kept the check in the cash register drawer.
"Actually, if you could be our guide..."
"No way. Money to take, not life to spend." The old man was very pessimistic about Tom's journey and was unwilling to take on the job.
"Good luck!" He waved Tom and Hermione out of the store.
Only when they had walked a certain distance did Hermione become worried and asked Tom if it was a scam set up by the old man. Tom was speechless; that wasn't the attitude she had when she paid!
"It's because you want to rent it!" Hermione pouted, slightly displeased.
Only then did Tom realize, "Hermione, you just..."
Hermione had just shelled out 5,000 pounds all at once!
"I have an account where I store my future university tuition fees." Hermione felt a little embarrassed. "After Hogwarts, I'll only be eighteen, so I still have a chance to get a degree from a Muggle university...".
Tom: What the hell?
He knew Hermione was rich, but he didn't think she was that rich. In the UK, bachelor's degrees last three years, except in Scotland, where they last four. Unlike on the continental Europe, universities in the UK cost at least £20,000 per year, and some of the most expensive ones, like Oxford and Cambridge, £58,000 per year!
Only with the academic fees for one year, the entire cost of a French student for two years could be covered, including the cost of the return flight home.
This also means that Hermione has at least £60,000 in her account, with a possible maximum limit of £180,000, making her a true human ATM!
Hermione: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
Oh no, I think I've revealed something!
"What are we having for dinner?" She changed the subject.
Tom: "..."
Damn it, don't think I don't know you're trying to change the subject!
"Some Egyptian food, perhaps?"
But Hermione succeeded.
...
When they returned to Cairo,
Dr. Hunter was still not ready to leave. The next morning, Alyosha knocked on Tom's door with Peter, the interpreter, and led him to Dr. Hunter's room.
Upon entering the room, Alyosha opened the door and expressed his intentions.
"By definition, the doctor is the captain of this journey, and I am under Mr. Yodel's complete authority, so I am not in a position to say anything about his expedition or his route. I am just a bodyguard, responsible for ensuring his safety and safely taking you back and forth."
Alyosha said kindly, "In fact, we are no different from the weapons we have in our hands. But after all, we are all living people. I have to be responsible for my own men. I can't let them die in vain... Do you understand?"
Looking at the AK47 on Alyosha's thigh, Dr. Hunter nodded.
"Great," Alyosha felt relieved to see Dr. Hunter's cooperation. "A guide, a reliable guide is necessary under these conditions. Have you chosen a guide already, doctor?"
Hal Hunter shook his head. Of course, he understood the need for a guide. The team had been stranded in Cairo for the past few days, partly because he hadn't been able to find a suitable guide. Hal had decided to try his luck in a village on the edge of the desert after encountering a bunch of braggarts in Cairo.
Alyosha wasn't worried at all that Hunter hadn't found a guide yet. It was actually a good thing for him because the guide Hunter would find wouldn't be able to earn his trust, and there would be boring trials and skirmishes on both sides – too many troubles to use his own side.
It's like working in a group task where you have to look at what your teammates have written. What a heart he must have to send it to the professor without looking at it!
"Peter used to work with the organization in North Africa. He should have a good candidate." Alyosha looked at his colleague.
Peter raised his glasses, "I have a good candidate. We could go to the desert first. I have an informant there who would make a good guide."
After a few more minutes of discussing the details, the decision was made to head to Alhaya, on the edge of the Sahara Desert, where Peter said the informant would be.
The team had a bus loaded with supplies: ammunition, drinking water, food, tents, medicine, fuel...
Alyosha's six-person combat team, Dr. Hunter, and four of his students, a total of twelve people, rolled towards the edge of the world's largest desert.
Alhaya, an Arabic word meaning "life," gets its name because it is a large oasis on the edge of the Sahara. At the edge of this oasis is a small town with nearly 1,000 inhabitants.
The bus entered the town on a bumpy road, and through the windows, they saw a scene of decadence and desolation.
In this small village, Peter found his informant: Yushadu.