In 1905, the British explorer Will Jones, funded by a British nobleman, led an expedition of 11 people into the forbidden place known as the "Sea of Death" - Lop Nur. The name Lop Nur has been known to the world since 1900, when the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin discovered Loulan, the historical and legendary country of China in Lop Nur. When Sven He showed the world what he had acquired in Loulan, the countless treasures and artifacts buried in the ancient kingdom of Loulan became the target of the world's plunderers in the name of exploration and archaeology.

This time, Will Jones's purpose, like other marauders, was to find the ancient city of Loulan and return to England with Chinese antiquities, so as to make him a lot of money and gain fame and fortune. The route he chose this time was the same as the route Sven Hedin had taken to Lop Nur in 1900, all the way east along the Peacock River. Will Jones' team set off on March 15 and entered Lop Nur on April 17. Before entering Lop Nur, they found a Uighur to serve as their guide, and that guide was named Ablizi, who was said to be the most famous in the area.

April is one of the best seasons to enter Lop Nur, with less wind and sand. But Will Jones and the others were still caught in the storm, and the camels they brought with them were lost two of them because they were smashing in the storm, and now there are only nine left. At night, Will Jones sat by the fire in the camp, notebook in hand, absentmindedly recording the events of the day. Today is April 28th, and it is the eleventh day that Will Jones has entered the Lop Nur Wasteland. During these eleven days, Will Jones led the expedition to search everywhere in Lop Nur, but never found the Loulan depicted by Sven Heding. This made him wonder if Sven Hedin had really found the legendary city, but when he recalled that Sven Hedin had shown everyone his harvest and photos in China, Will Jones was sure that those antiquities were indeed from the mysterious eastern country of China. And the ground recorded in that photograph is exactly the same as the endless salt crust in front of him, so he can conclude that the place in Sven Heding's photograph is here—Lop Nur.

"Mr. Jones, we have been wandering around this hellish place for eleven days, and we have not found our destination, and although we have plenty of water and food, we are only able to stay here for another four days, and if we do not find it in four days, I am afraid we must return at once." Robert, who was in charge of logistics, walked over to Will Jones and sat down to report back to him.

Will Jones lowered his head and thought about it, he was well aware of the dangers of exploring in the desert wasteland, and knew that water came first here, and that if there was no water, everyone would die here. For eleven days, they did not find a single source of water, and although there was water in Lop Nur outside the wasteland, the water was not drinkable at all, because Lop Nur was a saltwater lake. If you want to find fresh water, you can only completely withdraw from the Lop Nur area. In that case, it would be a declaration of failure in this operation to enter Lop Nur. If he wants to come in, he will either have to brave the wind and sand to enter in the summer, or he will have to wait until October in the second half of the year.

Although Will Jones was very unwilling, life was more important at the moment, so he had to agree with Robert's suggestion: "Look here for three more days!" If we can't find the ancient city of Loulan in three days, let's evacuate here immediately. Originally, Robert said that there were four days left, but Will Jones, for the sake of insurance, decided to stay here for three more days, leaving a day to spare, just in case.

That night, Will Jones couldn't sleep over and over, he was always a little unwilling, afraid that he would not gain anything in the next three days, and he would return in vain. If this is the result of his first expedition, I am afraid that the next time he comes, the funding may not be so easy to find. The British aristocrat Harry Green was able to contribute generously this time, and it was also because of his lobbying and swearing that he would be able to bring him back the profits, so he was willing to sponsor it. If he fails to fulfill his contract this time, he will definitely not cooperate with him again. But where do you have to look to get something...... Will Jones, in his mind full of cranky thoughts, gradually fell asleep......

In the middle of the night, Will Jones was suddenly awakened by a chill, the temperature in the middle of the night was exceptionally low, and he naturally couldn't resist the erosion of the cold night with only a thin quilt, so he woke up. He walked out of the tent and wanted to go to the back of the tent to make it easier, but he saw several figures. At first, he was taken aback, thinking that it was an uninvited guest from the camp, but then he thought that this was Lop Nur, which was called the "Sea of Death", how could anyone usually come here and find their camp. But when he looked closely, he found that those people turned out to be Lucas, Nathan and others who had come to China with him from England.

Will Jones breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was them, and he walked some distance from the back of the tent, unbuckled his belt, and untied it a little. Looking at the figures of a few people in the distance, he still muttered: "These guys, what are you running around without sleeping at night?" Could it be that you are out and have some fun? "But this thousand miles of wasteland is full of yellow sand, where is there any fun? Or maybe it's easy to go out, but you don't have to go that far. Will Jones shook his head, saying that he couldn't understand what they were trying to do when they had gone so far, and then he shivered, feeling the cold of his surroundings, and shivered back to his tent. Anyway, they went out with four or five people, and there was no need to worry about anything, and Lucas was a very cautious and calm man, and there would be no trouble with him. Will Jones fell into a deep sleep again with this thought......

The next morning, Will Jones woke up a little late from the previous night's insomnia, and by the time he stepped out of the tent, most of the people were already outside. Will Jones brushed his teeth and looked around him, but he didn't find Lucas, Nathan and the others. He shook his head, walked to the tent of Lucas and the others, and shouted: "Lucas, Nathan, you slackers, we are about to leave, why don't you get up quickly?" Did you have an affair last night? Don't have the strength to get up by this time? ”

Listening to Will Jones's words, the others laughed too. Some are still shouting: "Then they must have met a beautiful and amorous girl!" Someone else shouted, "If there are girls in this place, it means one thing—hell are they!" "Hell, I haven't touched a woman since I came out with Mr. Jones...... They're so lucky! ”

The people outside giggled for a while, but there was no movement inside the tent. Will Jones felt a little strange, spit out the toothpaste in his mouth, and then lifted the tent and walked in. As soon as he entered, Will Jones was even more surprised that the tent was empty, only messy bedding. He touched the quilt, it was cold, it seemed that its owner had been gone for a long time.