StarCraft: Everyone wants the Queen

Chapter 294 An Oasis in the Desert

Since Gagar couldn't write, Shen Qingqing didn't force him. She simply had him put his handprint on a piece of paper as a promise.

"Two copies, this is yours."

A piece of paper was tucked into his arms. Gagar carefully smoothed out the contract and began to read it intently by the bright moonlight.

"You can read?"

Seeing that he was staring at the contract, Shen Qingqing raised an eyebrow and said jokingly.

“No, I don’t recognize it.” Gagar simply shook his head. He had never seen this kind of word before, nor did he recognize any words. He was just curious.

Then he looked up at Shen Qingqing and said, "Explorer, you said you came from another planet, right?"

"Ah."

Have you ever seen a large ship?

"?"

Shen Qingqing narrowed her eyes; she really didn't know what the big ship he was talking about was.

"What it is?"

She had only ever seen interstellar spaceships and warships.

“It’s a huge ship that can fly and breathe fire!” Gagar gestured with his arms outstretched. “The pirates you’re talking about came in big ships.”

"Oh, I've seen it before." Not only have I seen it, but I've also ridden in it and driven it.

Upon hearing the affirmative answer, Gagar's eyes practically lit up with excitement, for he had never boarded a large ship before in his entire life.

Shen Qingqing stood up and walked slowly around twice, and Gagar's gaze followed her around twice as well.

"Take me to those pirates now, and I can... give you some deposit."

Originally, Shen Qingqing wanted to offer some benefits, but she felt it was a bit like a clandestine deal, so she changed her mind at the last minute.

A black and gold dagger was suddenly reflected in his green eyes.

The dagger was about twenty centimeters long and had a matte black finish. Under the moonlight, it could even faintly gleam with a golden light, instantly attracting Gagar's attention.

"This is a deposit."

Upon receiving the dagger, Shen Qingqing instinctively reached out to rub it with her fingertips. Before she could stop her, her fingertips, which had touched the blade, had already made a cut.

"Hiss... Good, good knife."

Shen Qingqing swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth. This child, even with a wound, was still holding onto the dagger and praising it as a good knife.

Clearly unfazed by the scars and wounds he had seen, Gagar simply wiped them on his clothes and continued admiring his new treasure.

He didn't turn around until his arm was poked, and a small bottle came into view.

"Medicine, for stopping bleeding."

Shen Qingqing didn't say much, just handed him the medicine and turned away.

She was kind-hearted, so she didn't ignore it.

But she wasn't a saint; aside from providing medicine, she wouldn't do anything that would harm herself.

……

Gagar stuffed the medicine into his pocket, then, without any hesitation, took out a red object right under Shen Qingqing's nose, chewed it, and then applied it to the wound.

“These are petals from the Tree of Life; they can heal wounds.” Seeing that Shen Qingqing was staring at him, Gagar assumed she wanted one, so he took out another petal and handed it to her.

But as soon as her hand touched the petal, the deep red petal seemed to have come into contact with some corrosive substance, quickly decaying, disappearing, and turning into ashes little by little, scattering in the wind.

"!!" Gagar was also stunned. He never expected that someone would encounter the Tree of Life and this would be the result.

Shen Qingqing awkwardly withdrew her hand, "It seems I have no chance to come into contact with the Tree of Life."

In this situation, Gagar couldn't say anything, so he simply put his index and middle fingers together, put them in his mouth, and whistled loudly.

Soon, the soft sand began to become even softer, until a grayish-black carapace gradually appeared.

These are... bugs? Shen Qingqing never expected that there would be bugs on Anubis.

The insect seemed to have an uncontrollable adoration for the queen, and it tried to get closer to her by pawing at her black, barbed limbs, but it was stopped by a whistle from Gagar. It twisted its round head a couple of times, and the antennae on its head drooped down.

"No one is allowed to approach anyone without my permission!"

With a serious expression, Gagar made a gesture, and the beetle immediately tucked most of its body into the sand, making it clear that the two of them should come up.

"It likes you very much."

After settling in, Gagar casually remarked.

"Really? Maybe I'm more popular with small animals," Shen Qingqing laughed. "As an explorer, it's hard to get things done without a bit of affability."

By using his identity as an explorer, he dispelled most of his doubts.

Gagar gave her a meaningful look, but ultimately said nothing.

After all, the woman in front of him was tall and slender. Although he hadn't seen her face yet, she was completely different from the terrifying figure described in the murals, so she probably wasn't an insectoid.

“There are many hunters around here. They are used to coming out at night. It’s getting light now. If we’re lucky, we can get to the tower before noon.”

With practiced ease, he gripped the beetle's back protrusion, and with another sharp whistle, Gagar controlled the beetle, guiding it in one direction.

The three whistles varied in length and sharpness; the third whistle, more like a command, was much sharper…

She secretly memorized the whistle frequency, and listened carefully to the whistle as she went through several turns and accelerations along the way, gradually confirming her inner guess.

Along the way, they passed a large grove of jujube trees. Just as Jiajia was about to speak, he said, "These are all wild jujubes, they don't taste good."

The moment Shen Qingqing opened her mouth, she had already picked one and put it in her mouth.

It's a bit hard and a bit tough... Aside from the sandy texture, the sweetness is just right, and it's not bad to eat.

Gagar watched her with amusement, only to find that the explorer lady merely frowned slightly, without displaying the distorted expression he had expected.

"Isn't it sour?"

He asked the question instinctively.

"It's alright," he said, swallowing the jujube and taking a sip of water from his water bottle. Shen Qingqing found his disappointed look amusing and asked, "Do you do this often?"

"No, I just can't understand how anyone could eat something so awful."

That's because people are always inclined to try new things. Shen Qingqing smiled without saying a word.

She has now taken off her hood, for no other reason than that on such a desolate planet, probably few people would recognize her; on the contrary, excessive concealment would only make her seem more obvious.

“We’ll be at the tower soon. Don’t wander off later; quite a few people have gone missing recently,” Gagar whispered a reminder.

Shen Qingqing immediately understood. Although she was prepared, she still felt a sense of unreality when she stepped onto the slightly damp soil.

There are oases and naturally formed lakes in the desert, but is the moisture level of the soil and the wildflowers scattered on the grass what one would expect from a place where an oasis has suddenly appeared?

Looking at the oasis before her, which resembled a small forest, Shen Qingqing was stunned.