The desert doesn't reject anyone, but the desert also doesn't sustain anyone.
When Guan Tong arrived at the edge of the Birahan Desert, he immediately understood the meaning of this saying.
This was the closest desert region to him. When he arrived, quite a few people had already set up camp along the fringe.
Everyone knew that under the [Green Hell] rule, deserts with an annual rainfall of no more than 50 millimeters were the safest. In such places, the vast majority of plants simply couldn't survive—at most, there might be some cacti here and there.
But people were different. People were far tougher than plants. As long as a person had a bit of food and a bit of water, they could hold on for a very long time, even in such harsh conditions.
That was why anyone who could manage to come here to take shelter basically did.
It wasn't just ordinary civilian organizations. Even some influential people were among them. That much was obvious from the luxury tents as big as houses—those weren't the kind you could buy on the open market; they had to be custom-made.
Guan Tong thought for a moment. First, he found a secluded spot in an abandoned town at the desert's edge, summoned his shelter, and brought out all the members of the Children of Argan tribe.
After the shadows wrapped around them dispersed, every single person looked around at the withered, yellow environment—so completely different from the grasslands—with expressions of utter bewilderment.
"Where... where are we?"
"The edge of the Birahan Desert," Guan Tong said. "About two or three kilometers farther in, you'll enter the desert proper. There are extremely few plants here, making it much safer than other places."
Everyone was stunned. A middle-aged man exclaimed in a low voice, "The Birahan Desert? That's thousands of kilometers away from the Argan Grasslands!"
Every member of the tribe looked at Guan Tong as if he were some kind of ghost. They had no idea how he had managed to bring all of them so far in such a short time.
What's more, they didn't even know how they had been transported. The last image they saw was their bodies being wrapped in shadows. Then, after a stretch of darkness, their vision brightened again, and they were here.
Guan Tong had no intention of explaining how he used the shelter to transport people or how he had drastically shortened the journey through successive uses of Body Swap. These tribal members didn't need to know.
Moon Key understood this perfectly well, so she didn't ask a single extra question. She simply expressed her gratitude to Guan Tong.
The tribal leader, Jie, also said solemnly, "You saved the Children of Argan. You are a great benefactor to our tribe. If there's ever anything you need from us in the future, we will help you to the very end!"
Guan Tong knew that these tribal people were different from others. Because they had entered the grasslands early and didn't use electronic devices, they were unaware of the outside world's information.
Perhaps some members had heard the name "Shadow" in the early days, before joining the tribe, but they knew nothing about what "Shadow" had done afterward.
This gave Guan Tong a strangely relaxed feeling when dealing with them.
"By the way, you probably don't have much in the way of supplies left," Guan Tong said. He remembered seeing at the grasslands that, aside from one tent, the tribal camp had almost nothing.
"Yes," Jie said, his expression grave. "Shortly after the new rule was announced, all our supplies were destroyed. I'm not sure if we can trade with others here for some."
There were quite a few groups at the desert's edge. Where there were people, there were rivalries. If each side had needs, of course, they could trade.
"I'll leave some for you."
Guan Tong raised his right hand, and the Storage Ring flashed. Some easily portable canned food and water appeared on the ground.
"Then... thank you so much!" Jie was overjoyed, and the other tribe members looked at Guan Tong with gratitude.
The food and water themselves weren't worth much, but in a place like the desert, their value could double or even increase tenfold.
Especially since many people had rushed here to take shelter right after the rule was announced, without bringing much in the way of supplies. That would only make food resources even more expensive.
"A word in private?" Guan Tong said to Moon Key.
"Alright."
The two walked off to the side, and Guan Tong said, "Last time, I asked you to prophesy about Your Holiness on behalf of me and Adam, but the result was a fake."
"A fake?" Moon Key's face showed surprise, but then she shook her head hesitantly. "No, it can't be a fake. The prophecy crystal ball either gives no result at all, but if it does give a result, it's very unlikely to be wrong."
She knew that the few times errors had occurred, they all seemed to involve Guan Tong.
The earliest instance was her prophecy about the [Earth Dragon Rolls Over] rule. The future she saw was the world entering a nuclear winter, with humanity undergoing grotesque mutations due to large-scale nuclear leaks.
In the end, "Shadow" used some special ability to reduce the severity of the earthquake, causing the final outcome to change.
Then there was the time she saw Adam's corpse floating on the sea in her crystal ball. Having learned from the earthquake experience, she asked Guan Tong to help and see if they could change the prophecy's outcome again.
And they did. Adam truly survived.
These two experiences, plus the time her finger was broken by backlash when she tried to prophesy Guan Tong's future, made her realize that Guan Tong was definitely a very special existence. His future was completely unpredictable.
But she didn't think Your Holiness was that special either.
Guan Tong thought for a moment and said, "Could it be because we didn't give you complete information? After all, when we asked you to prophesy, we didn't know the True Your Holiness had a fake double."
"No. The prophecy crystal ball prophesies based on the heart's desire. Even if I didn't know about the double, it would still give the result I wanted in my heart—the existence of the True Your Holiness."
Guan Tong was momentarily stunned.
"You mean... when we found the fake, the True Your Holiness was nearby?"
"That should be the case."
"..."
Guan Tong recalled the situation in the Underground Parish at that time. He was certain that not a single cult member had survived. If the True Your Holiness had also been there, where had he hidden? Why hadn't he or Adam been able to find him?
Moon Key looked at Guan Tong, who appeared puzzled, and said, "I would like to prophesy for you again, but the same prophecy can only be performed once in the short term."
"There's such a restriction? That's a shame."
Guan Tong didn't dwell on it too much. There was no point in obsessing over things that had already passed. Even if there had been a mistake, he could just learn from it and do better next time.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way," Guan Tong said. Then, after thinking for a moment, he added, "I came quite a distance to get here. If something happens after I leave, I won't be able to get back in time. If you need help again, I'm afraid it might be too late."
"There aren't many plants in the desert, so there shouldn't be much danger, right?"
"That's not necessarily true."
Guan Tong's eyes held a profound meaning.
"Many people have come to take shelter in the desert. There are bound to be some unscrupulous mercenary groups and bandit gangs that rob people. If those people mean trouble, does your tribe have enough military strength to protect yourselves?"
Moon Key heard this and realized it was indeed a problem.
Most of the Children of Argan tribe were ordinary people with no weapons. If they got into a conflict with an evil group, they would be very passive.
Relying solely on Chief Jie and a few Ascendants was severely lacking in combat power.
Moon Key looked at Guan Tong. "It looks like I have to trouble you for help again."
"You're a friend of Adam's, and you're my friend too. Helping out a bit is nothing, but I have a lot to do. I can't stay here with you."
With that, Guan Tong pondered for a moment, took an item from his Storage Box, and handed it over.
Moon Key took it. "A whistle?"
"This is the [Corpse Whistle], an item. Blowing it can summon the living dead."
"The living dead from the previous rule? But..." Moon Key hesitated.
Those zombie-like summons didn't seem powerful enough for the current situation.
Guan Tong said, "I'm not giving this to you to fight with. When you're in danger, blow it. Once the living dead appear, I'll be able to sense them, and then I can come to help immediately through a form of teleportation."
His Body Swap ability allowed him to exchange positions with any Mind Power-related object, so he could always perceive the existence of all his Mind Power-related objects.
This way, the moment Moon Key blew the Corpse Whistle and the living dead were summoned, he could sense their appearance.
That way, he would know that Moon Key and the others were in danger and could instantly activate Body Swap to exchange positions with the living dead and provide support.
Although Moon Key didn't understand the principle, it sounded like this item was quite valuable. "Are you sure it's alright to give this to me?"
"Take it. It's already something I've phased out."
Guan Tong wasn't lying about that. He hadn't used the [Corpse Whistle] in such a long time. If it hadn't been for this matter with the Children of Argan tribe, he would have completely forgotten about this item.
If it couldn't be combined with "Body Swap," this item would have no value to him now anyway.
"Alright." Moon Key wasn't the type to be overly sentimental. She put the item away. "Unless we're facing life-threatening danger, I won't blow it and waste your time."
"No need to say that. I think mutual help between friends... might just be the key factor in why the human race can survive to the very end."
Moon Key's expression shifted slightly.
She had never expected that "Shadow"—who was widely regarded by the world as the epitome of a "lone wolf Ascendant"—actually believed that friends were the key to clearing the game.
"Shadow."
Just then, Adam's voice sounded through the Mind Network.
"I think I've found out who the True Your Holiness is. We'd better meet up immediately."
"Alright."
After Guan Tong replied, he said goodbye to Moon Key. "I have things to do. I'll be going now."
"Goodbye."
The next moment, Guan Tong's figure vanished without a trace. Moon Key looked at the [Corpse Whistle] in her hand, put it away, and returned to the tribe members.
The tribe members were curious about what she and Guan Tong had discussed, but they knew it was private and didn't dare ask.
When Jie saw her return, he didn't ask anything either. He just rallied everyone to move out. "Alright, let's first find a place in the town to store our supplies, rest for a day, and then head into the desert."
Someone asked, "Chief, shouldn't we go straight into the desert? This is the desert's edge, but I still saw some plants just now... Isn't it safest to go deeper into the desert?"
Jie said in a deep voice, "Of course. But there are definitely quite a few people over in the desert. We're all exhausted. If we bring our supplies over and run into trouble, it won't be easy to deal with!"
Everyone suddenly understood.
Indeed, leaving the peaceful, detached-from-the-world grasslands meant that the open and covert struggles between individuals and groups had come back.