Richest Rag-picker

Chapter 489: Chapter 461: Sand-Stabilizing Pearl

And sure enough, his hunch had paid off.

Tossing a handful of sand into the woven bag had actually rewarded him with a Sand-Stabilizing Pearl.

’Just from the name, I know this has to be a treasure.’

’But I have no idea what it actually does.’

A question formed in his mind, and he began to query the system.

But no matter how many times he asked, the system remained silent. Fang Chenyi could only shake his head in resignation.

Time ticked by. The vehicles sped on, but the sandstorm behind them was closing in just as quickly.

Finally, after nearly three minutes, Fang Chenyi felt a violent lurch from the vehicle beneath him.

Instantly, a sea of yellow engulfed them from all sides.

He didn’t need to think to know what had happened: the sandstorm had caught up and enveloped his convoy.

Just as Fang Chenyi and Qi Xiaotian were worrying about the vehicles behind them crashing into each other, the young guide in the passenger seat snatched the car’s comms system. He yelled to the rest of the convoy, "The storm’s still building! Group up, now! Park the cars as close together as possible, tighten the formation!"

At his words, both Fang Chenyi and Qi Xiaotian turned to look at him, asking in confusion:

"Stop? If we stop, won’t we be buried by the sand?"

But the young man replied anxiously, "We have no choice! There’s no other way! This sandstorm... it’s far stronger than I imagined! And this is just the beginning; I’m sure it’s going to get worse. If we keep driving, we’ll definitely be blown over. Then we’ll have a lot more to worry about than just being buried!"

Hearing this, Fang Chenyi realized the gravity of the crisis. He immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie and ordered the convoy to stop.

Visibility was now less than two meters. Fortunately, the drivers were all highly skilled. Guided only by the commands over the radio, they slowly managed to bring the vehicles together. Finally, using gentle bumps to feel each other out, they linked up the entire convoy.

A roll call over the radio confirmed it: all ten vehicles were accounted for, not one was missing. This feat earned the team an even higher appraisal from the young guide in the passenger seat.

But this was clearly not the time to be assessing the team’s competence. The most critical question was how long the sandstorm would last. If it went on for more than three hours, their chances of survival would be practically zero.

Once the vehicles were stopped, everyone stared nervously out the windows. The young guide in the passenger seat pressed his palms together before his chest, closed his eyes, and began muttering, as if in prayer.

Fang Chenyi was speechless when he saw this. ’Looks like I can’t count on him for anything right now,’ he thought.

’What are we going to do? Is my team really going to meet its end here? To fall before we’ve even begun... We haven’t even seen the asteroid, and this is how it ends?’

But Fang Chenyi refused to accept it. He would not allow this to happen.

Suddenly, he remembered the item he had just received. ’The Sand-Stabilizing Pearl!’

He didn’t know what it did. With that thought, he immediately reached for his bag, unzipped it, and fumbled around inside. A moment later, an earthy-yellow pearl appeared in his palm.

The moment he produced the pearl, the vehicle, which had been rocking violently in the storm, suddenly stopped swaying.

Not only that, but in the same instant, the swirling sand outside the windows vanished.

Everyone was stunned. The young guide, sensing the change, immediately opened his eyes. Seeing the yellow sand gently settling outside the window, he was overcome with ecstatic joy and shouted:

"It stopped! It stopped! The sandstorm’s over! This is wonderful, truly wonderful! Thank the heavens! Thank the heavens for watching over us!"

After shouting, he didn’t forget to press his palms together once more, offering his fervent thanks.

Meanwhile, Fang Chenyi seemed to have understood something. He looked down at the small, dull-yellow pearl in his hand, a wave of shock washing over him.

He didn’t believe this was some blessing from above, nor did he believe it was the result of the young man’s prayers.

He knew, with absolute certainty, that the sandstorm’s rapid retreat had everything to do with this pearl.

As the suspended desert sand gradually settled, the group witnessed a sight that left them dumbfounded—one they would never forget.

Everyone looked through the car windows in all directions and saw the same view. Dozens of meters away, the sky was still thick with churning yellow sand.

It was the same to the east and the same to the west. They were completely encircled by the sandstorm.

The storm had only stopped within a radius of a few dozen meters around them.

Seeing this incredible scene, everyone was utterly astounded. Even those who didn’t believe in ghosts or gods felt their convictions waver.

Qi Xiaotian was also staring blankly out the window. He asked in disbelief:

"Brother Fang! Look! What’s going on!"

Fang Chenyi, seeing the same thing, understood perfectly. ’The Sand-Stabilizing Pearl can’t dissipate the entire sandstorm. It only stabilizes the sand within a radius of a few dozen meters.’

The sky beyond that radius was still completely shrouded by the storm.

’But this is more than enough. This way, I don’t have to worry about the convoy being buried alive.’

Hearing Qi Xiaotian’s question, Fang Chenyi obviously wasn’t going to tell him it was because of the Sand-Stabilizing Pearl in his hand.

He thought for a moment before offering a somewhat uncertain counter-question:

"This should be like the eye of a typhoon, right? You know how they say the eye is the calmest part? I think the principle is probably similar."

Although Fang Chenyi’s explanation was a bit of a stretch, at a time like this, Qi Xiaotian and the others believed it without question.

Perhaps it was the only explanation that made any sense.

And so, Qi Xiaotian picked up the car’s communication system and began to explain Fang Chenyi’s theory to everyone.

After hearing the explanation, everyone had a moment of realization, and the supernatural thoughts that had begun to waver their resolve quickly dissipated.

Among the group, however, one person wasn’t so convinced: the young guide.

He had lived for years in the sandstorm-plagued Taklamakan Desert and knew for a fact that desert storms didn’t have "eyes"!

’This isn’t a convectional wind system; it won’t create a vortex. And without a vortex, how could there possibly be an eye?’

But aside from that explanation, he couldn’t imagine what else could have caused such a phenomenon.

Of course, in his heart, he preferred to believe it was the heavens watching over them...

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