1264 The Show Must Go On (1/2)

Since Fina had promised to go back to the camp with them, everything else would be easy to handle. As for how to find a reason to convince Professor Wei Kang, that could be resolved later.

”These cats are…” Zhang Zian pointed at the cats, who were huddled together and seemed to be ready to escape.

”They have been living here always…” Fina's eyes held rare sorrow and nostalgia. ”I also lived here at the beginning. It was still an oasis of abundant water and grass, and it was inhabited on both sides of the lake. There were all kinds of animals here, with small animals hiding amongst date palm trees and bushes. Occasionally, the lost travelers found this place. Before drinking from the clear lake, they always thought that this was a mirage…”

It had been an idyllic era. Or at least it had been for Fina.

”What happened next?” Zhang Zian asked, although he could guess.

”Later, people discovered the gold mines. The reason seems to be that a traveler got a big piece of gold in his fist from the lake.” Fina looked slightly angry.

Was it actually a gold mine?

Both ancient and modern Egyptians had an unusual obsession with gold. After someone discovered gold, the place would be designated for the pharaoh, and no one else could touch it.

That was when it was all over.

They could imagine the events that followed.

The mining of gold had caused deterioration of the environment. The ​​lakes and oases rapidly shrunk, and it had become deserted in the days that followed.

Large animals had disappeared, and only cats and other small animals that had adapted to these harsh environments had survived.

Thus, these honeycomb sand dunes may not have been formed naturally, but rather, they had been caused by mining activities.

”Can we let them follow us back to the camp? Professor Wei Kang definitely wants to see them. I am not sure this is what he is looking for, but at least he can carry out some scientific examination.” Zhang Zian spoke up for Wei Kang's work.

It was normal for scientific research to fail more often than succeed. However, not everyone could accept failure. For example, the leaders of Binhai University were not necessarily promoted because they were top-grade lecturers. Most of them were promoted because of their ability to produce results.

If Wei Kang's costly scientific research couldn't produce any decent results, it would be hard to get a research budget in the future. Without a budget, it would be even tougher to publish a paper with sufficient influence. Adding to these difficulties, it was impossible to expect a promotion without these. It might not be possible to remove the word ”deputy” from his official work title in a lifetime.

Although this had nothing to do with Zhang Zian, he felt like he owed this to Wei Kang. If he could help, he still wanted to help.

Judging by how Wei Kang had treated the foxes previously, Fina felt that Wei Kang was a very principled person and agreed after some thought.

”Well, anyway, they always follow me, and they will not leave,” she said indifferently with a snort.

On the way back, the cats fell far behind. Zhang Zian thought that they'd run away, but after a while, he saw their bright eyes.

Before returning to the camp, he hid the remaining elfins and thought about what to say to Wei Kang.

”Meow meow! I missed you so much! Let me lick your fur for you!” Upon reaching camp, Snowy Lionet rushed out and stuck out its tongue. It desperately wanted to lick Fina, but she lifted a front paw to hold its face. Snowy Lionet's legs were short, and it was unable to reach her.