Chapter 220 A Second Adventure into the Abyss (1/2)

Night had fallen, a narrow piece of the sky could still be seen from within the valley. It was like a stream of stars quietly flowing above. Yet, the forest was not quiet. There were sounds made by a variety of insects, and sometimes there would be howling of some beasts, probably from some territorial conflict or a boring life in the forest.

A group of people were sitting around a bonfire.

From picking firewood to starting the fire, Jian Mi personally saw to the whole process. He ended up perspiring all over.

“Jian Mi, you can return to the tent. We’re going to have a meeting, you can’t be around to hear what we have to say,” Ji Wengui said.

Jian Mi touched the back of head, and smiled sheepishly. “Alright, I’ll go back to sleep.”

After watching Jian Mi entered his tent, only did Ji Wengui speak, “I’ve gathered everyone for this meeting because I would like to hear everyone’s views. Uh, let me express my topic of discussion first. We’ve found clues that will help uncover the civilization and city of the Feminine-moon people very soon. What do you think about Doctor Ning coming at this time and requesting to join our team? Don’t worry, just speak what’s on your mind.”

A few team members exchanged glances, but nobody spoke. It was oddly quiet.

Ji Wengui said, “What’s wrong? It’s not a small thing, it’s a big matter, don’t you have any thoughts?”

Ma Tongtong hesitated before saying, “Leader Ji, you said you want to know how we feel, but rather, I want to know how you feel.”

Ji Wengui was slightly surprised. “Xiao Ma, what do you mean?”

Ma Tongtong said, “If it weren’t for Doctor Ning the previous time, we would have died in the toxic fumes. Every one of us here owes our lives to him.” He came here and requested to join us because he wanted to protect us, but you said you wanted to report it to our superiors, then gathered us for this meeting to hear about our thoughts. What could you be thinking?”

Ji Wengui looked somewhat displeased. “What am I thinking? I’m thinking for the benefit of everyone, and of our nation. Even though he had saved us and we indeed owe him our lives, that’s still a different thing. He appeared just right at the time when we’ve finally made an important discovery, and had even requested to join the team. Do you really think this is pure coincidence? Also, who is he really? Where does he stay? Do we really know him? We don’t know him at all, yet we’re allowing him to join? So should we announce to the world that the city and civilization of Feminine-moon people were discovered by him or us?”

Ma Tongtong’s lips moved. She seemed like she wanted to say something but she did not.

It all boiled down to a conflict of interest. If the team had not found any clues, they would probably have no such trouble, and would get along amiably with Ning Tao. However, it was a different story that this involved a piece of finding which would potentially shock the world, and offer an opportunity to have one’s name go down in history.

Ji Wengui said, “It was all an excuse that I’ve mentioned to report to the superiors. The decision is in our hands. If you all were not going to say anything, let’s vote. Anybody who agrees to Doctor Ning joining in, raise your hands. If you object to it, then don’t raise your hand. Vote now, who agrees to Doctor Ning joining in?”

Ma Tongtong raised her hand.

Apart from her, nobody did.

When Ma Tongtong was raising her hand all alone, Ning Tao had arrived at the end of the valley. A mountain of thousands of meters stood before him. A distance after crossing the mountain would be the area where he and Qing Zhui had initially found out about the abyss.

Ning Tao took out his phone, the time displayed was 10:03 p.m., but there was no signal. After a while, he had decided on a route, and charged his legs with spiritual power, and ran towards the hills.

Ladder under Feet had allowed him to not only borrow the power of air to leap gracefully like a white stock, but also allowed him to run faster and more effortlessly. It was like the effect of “flying on grass” in Wuxia novels. Even though he was not light enough to bounce off the tip of the grass, but he was like a flea jumping around the grasses, with the grass blades bending upon the touch of his feet, he was launched back up.

Ladder under Feet could allow him to borrow power from air, so all the more he could work with grass!

At 11:03 p.m., Ning Tao had reached the peak of the mountain of a few thousand meters of height. Cold gust of wind blew at the peak. The temperature had instantly fallen to 50-odd degrees Fahrenheit. Some corners had accumulated snow, which gave a feeling that winter had arrived during autumn.