After a few minutes of standoff, Dr. Wang Min gave up.
"Alright." He nodded. "Then please take out the red fruit tree, Priest Li Ban. After that, you're free to go."
Without a word, Li Ban took the completely unchanged red fruit tree out of his Cubic Space.
Priest Lu Yi said anxiously, "Dr. Wang Min!"
Dr. Wang Min didn't even turn his head. "If any of you are dissatisfied, go stop him yourselves."
Who knew how much spiritual rhinoceros and how many Spiritual Rhinoceros Fruits were left inside a priest who had just entered the Recycling Station?
Priests like them, who had to carefully calculate every bit of spiritual rhinoceros they used, might not be able to catch a newcomer at peak condition. Moreover, the red fruit grove they had worked so hard to save could be intentionally destroyed by the other party.
This was also the underlying threat in Li Ban's previous words.
Aside from Lu Yi, the other priests weren't nearly as anxious. Seeing that Priestess Huinv was standing on Li Ban's side, they simply stepped out of the way.
As Li Ban left, he glanced back. Lu Yi, however, had already run over to inspect the withered red fruit tree Li Ban had just taken out, as if in a fit of pique. Unlike the other priests, Lu Yi didn't see them off.
On the way back, Priestess Huinv joined them aboard the Wingman airship.
Deputy Camp Leader Werther of the Black Beast Camp was very surprised to see the priestess.
"Why did you come back with them?"
"I was just tagging along for the ride anyway. Now that the red fruit tree has produced seed fruits, Bai Ying is still there to watch. I'd have nothing to do if I stayed."
Werther smiled bitterly. "I didn't invite you two priests over just to watch."
He had wanted them to fight for a corresponding share of the profits afterward!
But he also knew the priestess's personality. She always looked as if she didn't care about anything.
Push her once, and she'd take one step forward.
If you didn't push her, she might even take a step back.
"Alright." Just as Werther helplessly accepted reality, Priestess Huinv dealt him another heavy blow.
"Mhm. I've decided to leave with Priest Li Ban."
Li Ban and Werther looked at each other simultaneously.
Li Ban spread his hands. "Don't look at me. I don't know anything about this. I didn't invite Priestess Huinv."
Werther turned his gaze toward Huinv, his expression gradually turning stern. "Priestess Hui—"
But before he could finish, she cut him off.
"He didn't invite me. But if he doesn't let me join, I'll just secretly follow him."
Zhu Yao sighed softly and stepped forward to speak to Werther. "You should know Priestess Huinv's temperament."
"Yeah, I know it."
Priestess Huinv usually seemed indifferent to everything, but once she made a decision, not even ten dragons—let alone ten bulls—could drag her back.
Werther really wanted to cry right now.
He was the one who had suggested inviting Li Ban and Zhu Yao to participate in the operation to save the red fruit grove.
Originally, he only needed to pay out some supplies, but now it was going to cost them a priest.
How was he going to explain this to the Camp Leader?
Naturally, Li Ban didn't have the time to worry about Werther's troubles. He immediately followed Yao Fang to collect their payment.
And perhaps to help Li Ban inspect the payment, or maybe out of fear that he would sneak away, Priestess Huinv followed him closely, not leaving his side for a single step.
After receiving all the supplies, Li Ban returned to the sector where his squad was staying, only to find everyone already packing up.
With no light during the night, it was difficult to travel, so the group was packing their things in preparation to set out first thing tomorrow morning.
Upon returning, Li Ban saw that Tail still didn't have a tail.
"I thought you would get yourself a new tail after seeing the Black Beast Camp's modifications."
"A new tail wouldn't be my tail. It wouldn't feel right to use," Tail muttered. "Besides, their Black Beast modifications make me uncomfortable too."
Nearby, Ming Kai led Ed over to Zhu Yao and said helplessly, "Ed wants to swap out for a pair of beast claws. No matter how I try to persuade him, he won't listen."
Zhu Yao told Ed, "Beast claws are very inconvenient."
Just as Ed was about to retort, he heard Zhu Yao continue, "You'll poke yourself in the face when you eat."
Ed suddenly froze, then hung his head in dejection, no longer demanding to change his arms.
For the current Ed, nothing in the vast heavens or earth was more important than eating.
No matter what he did, it couldn't delay his meals.
That was why Ed was the most excited when he saw the several hundred jin of rye that Li Ban brought back.
He cheered and jumped for joy like a little child.
The second happiest was the black dragon, Dila.
Over these past two days in the camp, he had been constantly worried that Li Ban would abandon him because he ate too much.
If he were left behind in this camp, he feared he would be dismantled and turned into body parts for those weird humans.
The only issue was that their luggage was now severely overloaded.
Li Ban and Zhu Yao placed the heaviest provisions, like grain and fresh water, into his Cubic Space, taking out some of the lighter items.
Working through the night, Zhu Yao and Tail sewed a massive backpack that could be hung beneath Dila's neck.
Although Priestess Huinv had followed them into the sector, she didn't get too close to the group.
Most of the time, she just rested her chin on her hands and watched everyone bustle about.
The next day, just as they were about to depart, Guo Kao finally arrived, fashionably late.
He still had a lot of work at the Black Beast Camp and had taken advantage of Li Ban and Zhu Yao's trip to the Red Fruit Camp to quickly hand over his duties.
Even though he sped up as much as possible, he didn't finish until Li Ban was on the verge of leaving, at which point he hurried over.
Shu Yu, who originally belonged to the Red Fruit Camp, actually wanted to leave with Li Ban as well. However, her body did not belong to herself, so she could only watch helplessly as the group rode off on the flying dragon.
And the spot that would have belonged to her was naturally occupied by Priestess Huinv.
Upon leaving the Black Beast Camp, Li Ban checked on the red fruit tree inside his Cubic Space once again.
It seemed to know that Li Ban's storage space was limited and that it might be discarded if it took up too much room. Thus, after growing to a height of 1.5 meters, it stopped expanding outward and instead began vigorously sprouting tender green leaves. It looked as though it wouldn't be long before it bore new fruit.
Even though Zhu Yao couldn't see the situation inside Li Ban's Cubic Space, she was very happy just hearing his description.
"Being able to see such a vibrant color of vitality in the Recycling Station... it makes me feel like there's still hope in this world."
"There is," Li Ban said with certainty. "No matter how small, it's there."
As before, one of them sat at the very front and the other guarded the very back, luxuriously communicating via Mind Art.
However, this spell consumed very little spiritual rhinoceros. Using it frequently also helped Li Ban master it faster, so Zhu Yao didn't object.
Priestess Huinv, who sat in the second-to-last row, suddenly looked back at Zhu Yao. "What are you talking about?"
Zhu Yao smiled at her former acquaintance. "We're just chatting casually to help Li Ban practice his Mind Art."
Priestess Huinv's expression was gentle. "Right now, the smile on your face is quite beautiful."
She thought for a moment, then suddenly asked in a low voice, "Do you blame me for not looking after you?"
The faint smile on Zhu Yao's face remained unchanged. "I don't. At the time, we were all survivors of the Sea of Monsters. Just keeping ourselves alive was hard enough."
She then asked softly, "Why did you suddenly want to leave with us? You know we're heading to the Continental Center."
Priestess Huinv turned back around. Resting her chin on her hands, she gazed out at the sky and earth, which remained bleak and pale gray even from this high vantage point.
"I've waited at the edges for a long time, and searched for a long time. I think it's time to go back and take a look."
Zhu Yao switched to Mind Art and asked carefully, "Are you looking for Priest Chu Zhan?"
Priestess Huinv didn't answer immediately. After a long while, she finally gave a soft "Mhm," without using Mind Art.
Zhu Yao fell silent, gazing into the distance in a slight trance.
The silhouettes of many people appeared before her eyes as well.
They had been her companions in the Wizard World. After suddenly falling into the Recycling Station one day, they had also been companions who supported each other.
Together, they figured out the rules of the Recycling Station, built a temporary camp, invited new members, and fought tooth and nail.
In the end, they charged into the Sea of Monsters together, striving to return to the normal world and fighting to shake off their trash-like fates.
And then—only she and Ed escaped the Sea of Monsters alive.
Due to a head injury, Ed lost most of his memories and became simple-minded, but Zhu Yao was very envious of him.
Watching the black dragon soar above the earth, Zhu Yao's heart slowly sank.
Even though she had already pulled herself together and decided to fight once more to leave the Recycling Station, she felt a chill run through her entire body at the thought that she might see her former comrades-in-arms in the Sea of Monsters.
There was no fire in the Recycling Station. Coldness was everyone's fundamental nature, but the cold Zhu Yao felt was creeping up from the very bottom of her heart.
It was the coldness of despair.
"What did you say to Priestess Huinv? You look terrible."
Just as Zhu Yao was gradually sinking into her horrifying imagination, Li Ban's voice suddenly rang out in her mind.
As a result, a touch of warmth entered the cold, like a tiny flicker of flame appearing in the dark night.
Zhu Yao sighed softly, dispelling the terrifying thoughts that had crept into her mind at some unknown point, and replied to Li Ban using Mind Art.
"Priestess Huinv once fought alongside me, and Priest Chu Zhan was there at the time too. Later on, we split up. They went to the Sea of Monsters before we did. She and Priest Chu Zhan were separated by a horde of monsters. In the end, Priestess Huinv only managed to escape with two or three others; everyone else was scattered. She's been looking for them ever since. She's searched for years."
She searched for many years, looking from the Continental Center all the way to its edges?
Li Ban thought to himself, but he didn't voice that despair-inducing answer out loud.
He recalled Priestess Huinv's demeanor.
She seemed to care about nothing and be indifferent to everything—fine with putting in effort, and just as fine doing nothing at all.
In truth, the priestess probably already had her answer in her heart, right?
"Could it be that Priestess Huinv and Priest Chu Zhan had a history together? That makes it even more tragic."
The black dragon Dila, having only been born five days ago, was completely oblivious to the complicated feelings of the people on his back.
Although the luggage was a bit heavy, it didn't stop him from spreading his wings and soaring through the sky.
If he wasn't afraid of attracting flying monsters, he would have loved to let out a couple of roars.
Dragons were, after all, beings that belonged to the sky!
Lanlou Camp, the dungeon.
Gloomy and bitterly cold.
There was only a small cluster of Luminescent Moss in the corner.
Felice, the botany expert from the Red Fruit Camp, hugged her knees and stared at the moss, carefully counting the leaves on it.
"One hundred and twenty-six, one hundred and twenty-seven—"
"Felice."
A person walked in holding a glowing stone. The sudden light forced Felice, who had been in the gloom for so long, to close her eyes, and it also interrupted her counting.
Felice waited a moment before opening her eyes to look at the newcomer. "What is it?"
"The red fruit tree was saved. They obtained two new seed fruits."
Felice was a little surprised, but aside from that, she had no other reaction.
She nodded. "If cultivated carefully, they should be able to get new red fruits in three to five years."
She slowly raised her eyes. "It seems your plan failed."
"It doesn't matter." The newcomer slowly shook his head. "We have already obtained enough results."
Felice fell silent.
"Aren't you going to beg us to let you out?"
Felice looked up. "I know your secret. Aren't you going to silence me?"
"We thought about it before, but now, there's no need. You can join our research."
Felice straightened her back, suspicion and fear still lingering in her eyes. "You... you're letting me join?"
"Yes. Very soon, there will be no need to hide anything. The white fuzz will cover the continent across the White Strait in less than two years. Those stubborn fools will soon realize that survival is the first priority. All that so-called persistence and pride is nothing but a joke."
The giant dragon Dila flew very fast.
Furthermore, being in the air meant he could fly in a straight line without having to take detours.
As a result, when Li Ban and the others arrived at the Continental Center, less than two months had passed.
Aside from a few marked monster nests, Li Ban's group had no encounters with any other camps.
—
Upon seeing the black dragon Dila, the guards of those camps either revealed looks of greed or raised their guard in high alert.
To avoid trouble, Li Ban didn't get close to them at all. He only went to the places he knew to continue absorbing waste elements.
As they neared the Continental Center, Li Ban finally saw the Sea of Monsters that both Zhu Yao and Huinv dreaded so deeply.
Here, only Li Ban had never seen the Sea of Monsters before. Everyone else had approached the Continental Center for various reasons, so naturally, they had seen the massive Sea of Monsters.
Previously, when Li Ban gazed at the horizon, he had seen what looked like a clump of red at the distant edge of the sky.
Now he finally knew that the clump of red was actually the Sea of Monsters.
"So it's a Sea of Monsters floating in the sky." Even with mental preparation, Li Ban still smiled bitterly.
There was no other reason—the Sea of Monsters before him wasn't just on the ground. From the ground all the way up to the sky, everything was swarming with red-and-black monsters.
Most of them had black skin, but their eyes were entirely red, lacking pupils.
The monsters were grotesquely shaped. Some looked like a mishmash of human limbs grafted together, some were like bloated chunks of meat, and others were man-eating mutated plants and animals—
Furthermore, not all of the airborne monsters had wings. Yet, they could all suspend themselves in the air without falling.
When undisturbed, these monsters hovered quietly, only occasionally devouring one another.
The monsters that devoured others would become even more terrifying, sprouting new organs on their bodies or growing increasingly twisted.
These terrifying monsters gathered together, dyeing the entire sky red. They looked like a gigantic, blood-colored pillar propping up heaven and earth.
But everyone knew they were not the supporters of the world; they were all gatekeepers of hell.