Lu Ban had never been to the desert before.
In his mind, the desert was not some beautifully idyllic natural wonder but a dangerous, arid forbidden zone where disaster could strike at any moment.
As a child, he'd watched documentaries about explorers disappearing in Lop Nur, and movies portrayed the peril of quicksand traps, instilling in Lu Ban a deep-seated fear of the desert.
Now, the silver desert stretched endlessly before him, as far as the eye could see, only sand upon sand, with no structures, vegetation, or other people in sight.
Not even the sky harbored birds, a world of absolute silence.
It was in such a world that Lu Ban heard a buzzing sound.
It was like the sound of metal vibrating under atmospheric pressure, commonly likened to the sensation of a fighter jet's wings cutting through the sky.
The buzzing noise came from ahead, and at the same time, Lu Ban saw a column of light shooting straight into the sky.
"What is this?"
