It took Sun Hang a full ten-odd minutes to figure out that the "hunting" Noor spoke of did not mean hunting down Sand-Sinking Giant Worms, but tracking their movements and following behind them to collect a special kind of "secretion."
People like Noor were called "hunters" within their settlements.
Meanwhile, the advance team had originally planned to come over, but Sun Hang decisively vetoed the plan—after some time communicating, Noor had already lowered most of his guard around Sun Hang. If a group of unfamiliar "outsiders" suddenly showed up now, there was no telling whether Noor might react too drastically.
"This is what I need to collect." Noor dug several leather-sewn bags out of the wreckage of the Sand Skiff. When Sun Hang opened one, he found it contained a pale reddish, viscous liquid that gave off a pungent fishy stench.
According to Noor, this special secretion of the Sand-Sinking Giant Worms would evaporate after only half a day of exposure to the air. To collect it, they had to trail behind the worms and seal it in airtight containers before it completely evaporated.
The secretion carried trace memetic effects, yet remarkably, as long as the mouths of the bags were tied shut, these unremarkable leather bags could completely block those effects. Even Sun Hang's senses could not penetrate them.
"What is this stuff used for?" Sun Hang asked Noor.
"This is what we use to feed..." Noor suddenly froze halfway through the sentence, then hurriedly shook his head. "I can't tell you!"
"Fine, don't tell me... By the way, are you hungry? Thirsty?"
At Sun Hang's question, Noor had yet to say anything, but his rumbling stomach answered first. He hurriedly searched through the Sand Skiff's wreckage, only to find a worn-through waterskin whose water had long since leaked