Chapter 5: The Blue-Light Coffin

"BOOM!"

The shockwave from the explosives echoed through the canyon, rattling loose stones from the cliff walls like a downpour. The drilling team of Tribe S huddled on the ground, covering their ears. A strange, indescribable odor hung in the smoke and dust—not the sulfurous stench of gunpowder, but something sickly sweet, like rotting meat mixed with nectar. It churned the stomach.

"Cough, cough..." A young crew member stood up, only to double over and vomit, bile and remnants of breakfast splattering onto the sand. "What the hell is that?"

No one answered. Behind the shattered stone gate lay a pitch-black opening, like the maw of a giant beast. The sweet, putrid stench poured from within, accompanied by a faint, haunting wail—not human, nor animal, but like the sound of countless violin strings snapping simultaneously. It was thin, piercing, and sharp enough to make one’s scalp crawl.

"Useless."

Williams' voice emerged from the dust. He wore a gas mask, his mechanical ocular implant glowing red in the darkness. Behind him, the Blood Covenant warriors had already set up searchlights. The beams pierced the darkness of the entrance, revealing a deep, cavernous passage with something carved into the rock walls.

"Chieftain, this smell is evil. Maybe we should pull back..." a veteran suggested hesitantly, but his words froze under Williams' gaze.

"Pull back?" Williams ripped off his gas mask, revealing metallic teeth at the corners of his mouth. "My father was dragged away by the sand at this very entrance. Now, his 'legacy' is inside. You want me to pull back?"

He led the way into the tunnel, his military boots crunching on the debris. As he passed through the stone gate, the searchlight swept across the wall, revealing densely packed totems. Most prominent were three human figures standing side-by-side, all covering their mouths with their hands, their eyes wide and bulging. It was the "Three Mute" totem from Tribe S legend, which meant: "See what you shouldn't, and take it to your grave."

"A warning from the sand?" Williams sneered, the red light from his mechanical eye sweeping over the carvings. "To me, it's an invitation."

He waved his hand, and the team followed with their drilling equipment. No one dared to speak again. Only the last recruit glanced back, seeing the sand at the entrance gathering on its own, slowly forming the shapes of the three mute figures. Where their eyes should have been, two black pits remained, staring fixedly at their retreating backs.

***

The temporary observation post of Tribe X was set atop a hundred-meter-high sand dune, camouflaged as a dead desert poplar. The scout, Amu, held high-powered binoculars, his gaze locked firmly on the Tribe S camp across the canyon, despite the sand grit on the lenses.

"Do you see it?" Lu Chen’s voice crackled through the earpiece, distorted by static.

"I see it," Amu’s voice trembled; the sight through the binoculars made his heart race. "At least twenty camels, carrying a long object covered in black cloth, but... but it's glowing beneath the fabric!"

Beams of light leaked through the gaps in the cloth, a ghostly, eerie blue, like glow sticks submerged in chilled soda. Even stranger, the sand around the camels refused to settle; it hovered in mid-air, slowly swirling around the object to form the outline of a giant scorpion—stingers, claws, and a segmented tail, more vivid than the totem on the Tribe S flag.

"It’s the Blue-Light Sarcophagus," Old Dao’s voice cut in, carrying an unmistakable sense of certainty. "My grandfather’s journals mentioned that when desert bone energy accumulates to a certain point, it forms a solid 'bone core.' It must be contained in a specially crafted sarcophagus, or it will incinerate anyone it touches. That blue light is leaking energy."

Amu suddenly gasped. "They’re moving! The caravan is heading northwest. It looks like they’re going to the Temple!"

Through the binoculars, the escort team was already underway. Leading them were four Blood Covenant warriors mounted on desert wolves, their mounts' eyes glowing green in the sunlight, their curved blades stained with dried blood. The Blue-Light Sarcophagus was carried by eight camels side-by-side. As the black cloth fluttered in the wind, it revealed a metallic edge engraved with a scorpion totem, which pulsed in response to the swirling sand.

"Northwest... that’s the main temple of Tribe S," Lu Chen’s voice deepened in the earpiece. "They’re going there to perform the ritual of sacrifice."

Su Qing interrupted, her breath coming in short, rapid gasps. "The Oasis Eye is detecting the sarcophagus's energy field expanding! For every meter it moves, the activity of the surrounding sand increases tenfold. If it reaches the temple, the entire canyon will become the heart of an energy vortex!"

"We can't let them succeed," Lu Chen said, his tone resolute. "Amu, mark their route and report the narrowest section of the canyon."

"Copy that!" Amu marked the map rapidly, his pen scratching against the paper. "Black Wind Pass! There are cliffs on both sides, with only one path through—perfect for an ambush!"

"Good." Lu Chen paused, and the sound of weapons being readied could be heard behind him. "Anti-Entropy Battalion, assemble! Target is Black Wind Pass—intercept the Blue-Light Sarcophagus! Remember, that thing is the container for the bone core; at all costs, do not let it enter the temple!"

***

"Wait!" Su Qing suddenly shrieked. "I’m detecting a life sign inside the sarcophagus! It’s very faint, but there is a heartbeat!"

Lu Chen froze.

A life sign?

Could it be that the sarcophagus contained not just the bone core, but... a living person?

Through Amu’s binoculars, the Blue-Light Sarcophagus suddenly shuddered violently. The black cloth bulged as if something inside were struggling. The hovering sand turned frantic; the stinger of the scorpion silhouette suddenly elongated and lashed out at a nearby camel. The camel didn't even have time to cry out before it was struck by the blue light, instantly reduced to a pile of white ash—not even a bone fragment remained.

"Speed up!" Lu Chen’s voice was filled with unprecedented gravity. "That’s likely the 'host' they’ve chosen. If we wait any longer, there will be no saving them!"

The roar of off-road vehicle engines erupted across the desert. The Anti-Entropy Battalion’s convoy sped toward Black Wind Pass like a black lightning bolt. Lu Chen sat in the lead car, the sand-mark on his right index finger growing searingly hot. He stared at the dunes flying past the window, suddenly recalling the bone flute left behind by the Sand-Speaker—the totem on it was seventy percent identical to the scorpion carving on the edge of the Blue-Light Sarcophagus.

What exactly was this bone core?

And who was the "host" inside the sarcophagus?

On the cliffs of Black Wind Pass, the wind whistled through the sand, sounding like a horn blowing for the coming slaughter. The escort team had entered the canyon, and the eerie blue light reflected off the narrow passage, dyeing the rock walls a ghostly hue. The scorpion shape formed by the floating sand grew clearer, its stinger pointed toward the sky, as if it would pounce at any moment to tear apart anyone who dared to stand in its way.