Chapter 575 The Manor (1/2)

Flamy glared at the Undead Shadowbird. With a loud boom, it exploded into smithereens in the sky.

When Gao Peng was back on the ground, he told the rest of the party what he had learned without sparing any detail. A subtle change in expression crossed everyone's faces.

Most of them were under the impression that they could at least explore other new environments beyond where they were right then. Who knew it would be the same dull gray for hundreds of miles… The air around them grew tense.

”Why don't we just conduct a few measurements on the temperature and humidity of this place?” asked one of the researchers in a small voice.

Even though his voice was barely a whisper, everyone else heard him loud and clear. Some of them nodded in agreement. However, others weren't happy about this. ”We spent so much money and brought so many people here just to measure these things? What the hell do you take us for? Your babysitters?”

Most tended to talk tough when they had the bite to back up their bark. Those who were able to be there were the best of the best in the Huaxia region. There was only a handful of the common folk who had earned the right to call themselves that. None of them were about to turn back any time soon.

”You have the strongest trainers in the Huaxia region in one place. What do you have to fear?” someone said.

”Yeah, even if everything looks the same, we still owe it to ourselves to see what kind of monsters live here,” said a corpulent man in a yellow robe whose hair was slicked back.

Gao Peng simply looked at them without a word. Some of these people's familiars were on the weaker end of the spectrum. Those who were actual master trainers in the group remained silent throughout the whole exchange, especially those from the ancient clan. Gao Peng noticed that some of them were giving each other knowing glances, as if they knew something about this place that they weren't telling anyone else.

Gao Peng blinked a few times at Bei Qing Yan. Do you know anything about this place?

Bei Qing Yan looked at him quizzically. Are you hungry? She then produced an unopened bar of chocolate from her bag and offered it to Gao Peng.

Gao Peng stared at it, dumbfounded. How could she be thinking about food at a time like this?

Seeing that they weren't close to making a decision, Gao Peng stepped forth and said, ”How about this: we'll split into two groups. Those who wish to conduct their research here can stay here; those who want to explore the place can just do it on their own.”

”Didn't we already agree that we'll be exploring this place as a group?” said the group leader, Li An, in an attempt to defuse the situation.

”Do you think it would be more efficient to operate as a group at this point?” asked Gao Peng, pointing at the rest of the group. ”I'm going to be straight with you: everyone here can't wait to get away from each other as soon as possible. We all want the largest chunk of the cake for ourselves. With so many people in one place, it would just be difficult to call dibs on something.”

That last part was the real clincher. The only thing that could drive most people to walk barefoot into hell was profit. Few were willing to sacrifice their time and energy to do something for free.

The strong found it repulsive to associate themselves with the weak, while the weak feared that the strong would keep everything for themselves. The power differences between the strong and the weak here were just too stark to ignore. There was no way either party would sincerely agree to cooperate with the other. Everyone wanted to believe that they were going to be the lucky ones that would stumble upon something good.

Li An was in an awkward position. Even though he already knew that there was no point in him being the leader of the group, he hadn't expected to lose his position so soon.

However, he had expected this much. He was already mentally prepared for this.

”All right then. We'll meet up here in a week. We'll wait another day for anyone who fails to show up at the agreed-upon time. In that time, all of you are free to explore your surroundings. If you see someone in danger... try to help them out,” said Li An, smiling weakly.

”Sure.”

”All right.”