In this land of scarce water and food, people die daily from dehydration and starvation.
It's not that they don't want to leave to seek other sources of water and food, but their frail bodies and the scarcity of provisions simply don't allow them to travel long distances.
Not to mention that other water sources were likely to have dried up like this one; the vast distance alone was a huge obstacle. The most likely outcome was that they would perish on the journey.
It wasn't that no one had tried before. Many, unwilling to wait for death, had left their wives, children, and families behind to explore alone, yet none had returned.
If they had found sufficient food and water, they wouldn't have abandoned their families, so their fate was obvious.
Gradually, no one dared to try anymore. It was better to just scrape by like this; at least they could survive, and maybe one day a miracle would happen.
That morning, before dawn, everyone gathered at the well on the lakeshore, carrying their various simple containers, waiting for the respected old patriarch to distribute their daily water allowance.
After a night, the well had accumulated some fresh water.
The morning air was slightly cooler, free from the scorching sun, and the ground and air hadn't yet reached their peak heat and dryness. The water level in the well was also at its highest point of the day.
Everyone lined up, holding their pots, pans, and plastic bottles, eagerly waiting for the old patriarch's trembling hands to pour them their own ladleful of fresh water.
They lined up neatly; no one scrambled for more, even though the old patriarch looked like he could be knocked down with a single push.
There had been people who had sought more water before, some even attempting to monopolize the well. But the water in the well was essential to the lives of everyone and their families. Stealing their water was tantamount to taking their lives, something no one would accept.
Those who had relied on their height and strength, or formed gangs to grab more water, were now left without even the strength to drink. In the face of the collective, anyone who attempted to harm the interests of others would inevitably be defeated.
Buckets of fresh water were lifted from the well, distributed by the old patriarch, and the long line gradually dwindled.
Those drawing water, pouring it, and receiving it—all moved with great care, fearing to spill even a drop.
By the time the sun had fully risen, the water-drawing procession had finished, and the air began to heat up. The moisture on the soil's surface quickly evaporated, the temperature rose rapidly, the air began to distort, and the entire land was once again plunged into a scorching heat.
At the lakeshore well, the last person carefully left, carrying a bowl of well water mixed with a little sand. The old patriarch distributed a spoonful of water to each of the young men who helped draw water, as well as to himself. Then, he poured the remaining water in the bucket, now mixed with the fine sand from the bottom, back into the well.
"Old patriarch, the water we can draw from the well is getting less and less every day. The last few buckets can no longer be filled. The water we draw is mixed with sand; we've already reached the bottom!"
The old patriarch sighed helplessly.
"Alas, we can only hold on one day at a time."
He had done all he could. The daily allotment was already the bare minimum for survival. Any further reduction would inevitably lead to mass deaths from lack of water. He had no other recourse but to pray for a miracle.
The elderly chief turned his gaze towards the area surrounding the well with a heavy heart.
Due to severe water shortages and malnutrition, the frail tribesmen could no longer endure the short daily journey from their village to the well. So, they had relocated their families to the area surrounding the well, setting up simple tents on the dry lakebed and in the shade along the shore.
Hundreds of tattered tents, housing thousands of people, lay scattered around the well. Some drank the fresh water immediately after receiving it, while others returned to their own tents, carefully sipping it sip by sip.
For them now, this meager portion of fresh water was the most precious thing in the world, the very source of their life!
Just as the old patriarch gazed solemnly at his tribesmen, who were struggling to survive and facing the ever-present threat of death, a sudden breeze picked up in the calm air.
The rags covering the simple tents began to sway gently, and the old patriarch sensed that the sudden, oncoming wind was gradually gaining strength.
At the same time, a huge shadow fell upon the ground, and a strange, deep sound echoed from the sky.
The old patriarch looked up, only to see a massive black shape appear in the sky above them, casting a vast shadow on the ground as it slowly descended.
The tribesmen in the tents were also startled by the sudden and strange sound, and one by one they slowly crawled out to look up at the sky.
As the huge figure slowly descended, drawing closer, they gradually discerned its form.
It was a massive, pitch-black aircraft, with two circular thrusters on each side blasting pale blue exhaust. The air currents they felt were emanating from these engines.
Amidst everyone's stunned gazes, as if they were seeing an alien spacecraft, the massive aircraft slowly settled onto a clearing near the well.
The strange, muffled sound vanished, and the sudden wind subsided. The fluttering rags on the tents fell still, and the dust kicked up by the wind gradually settled.
Its full appearance was revealed to everyone.
The aircraft was enormous, over fifty meters long and thirty meters wide. Its roughly rectangular shape, unlike the slender fuselage of an airplane, appeared quite substantial.
Aside from the four thrusters integrated into the fuselage, the rest was entirely occupied by the cabin. It lacked the massive wings of a typical airplane, resulting in an even greater interior space. Its flight and vertical takeoff and landing were powered entirely by the four thrusters on either side.
The sharp angles and sci-fi-inspired fuselage took on a strange black sheen under the scorching sun, as if it absorbed all sunlight, leaving no reflection.
Faced with the sudden, monstrous object that had descended from the sky, everyone gathered cautiously. They were curious about its origins but hesitant to get too close.
Deep in the prairie, they had never even seen a normal aircraft, let alone this advanced craft that would cause a sensation even in a developed country.