Chapter 563: Return (1/2)
Chapter 563: Return
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
”How do I get to the Sea of Threads?” Ye Chong asked. He would be able to understand better by going there himself. However, Ye Chong believed that Mei Wu was being truthful. That she could not use parapsychic waves in the Sea of Threads was a fact that matched what he knew about the colloid germ. Perhaps the three slitherlizards had left because they could not sense Mei Wu's presence.
Mei Wu looked at Ye Chong in surprise. ”You want to go there?” She was baffled. ”Why are you so interested in the Sea of Threads?” Sha Ya and Xuan Ning both looked at Ye Chong with surprise as well. They were curious why he would brave the dangers to see that place.
Ye Chong did not answer, but continued to look at Mei Wu.
Mei Wu saw the determination in his eyes, but still she shook her head ”We're too weak to do that now. Do you know how strong the wild animals are along the way? I was lucky last time, avoiding all their territories. The return trip was horrible. Besides, I don't remember the way.”
”There are four of us, and there's the Spider. Aren't we enough?” Xuan Ning asked, sceptical. They were two Level 9 shooters, one Level 8 shooter and a Master weaponsmith. It was a powerful and exclusive combination.
Mei Wu tossed a look of ridicule at Xuan Ning. ”Just because you're a Level 9 shooter, do you think you can go anywhere? Humph, without this huge spider, you wouldn't have made it here. A Level 9 shooter like you who are so up about himself despite not honing his skills is no better than a Level 8 shooter.”
Xuan Ning's cheeks flushed. He knew that Mei Wu was right. They were both Level 9 shooters, but Mei Wu was far more powerful than him.
Mei Wu looked at Ye Chong and said firmly, ”Even if we are two times stronger than we are now, it's still impossible. I know the strength of those creatures.”
It seemed that the matter will have to wait. Barging further into Darkniss on impulse was too dangerous. Ye Chong can be patient when it mattered. He remembered about the three snowshade leopards, about how strong those animals were. He asked, ”We saw three snowshade leopards a few days ago. Are there any of them nearby?”
”Snowshade leopards?” Mei Wu looked surprised. ”You saw snowshade leopards?”
Xuan Ning described their encounter with the animals to her. Mei Wu considered the incident and muttered to herself, ”You killed three snowshade leopards, in part due to having the huge spider, and also due to Ye Chong's unpredictable poison attack. There was also a geographical advantage, with the Raging River in the way. Without these conditions …” Mei Wu did not finish her sentence. She just looked at the three of them quietly.
A win was a win. That was how Ye Chong saw it, unlike what Mei Wu and the two shooters thought. The shooters felt that the Spider was only an accessory, not a person's own battle ability. That was why Mei Wu chose to train herself in this dangerous place, all alone. Ye Chong admired her resolution. After all, this kind of training required tremendous courage. However, Ye Chong believed that anything that could help him win was also part of himself. This was a difference in perception.
Xuan Ning and Sha Ya lowered their heads and heeded the stronger shooter, Mei Wu's words. Ye Chong was unmoved by her conclusion. He asked calmly, ”Where do the snowshade leopards live?” If the animals lived nearby, he could never have a base here. The creatures were too strong. His base would be torn down as soon as he built a new one.
”I don't know,” Mei Wu answered, shaking her head. ”I never saw any snowshade leopards nearby. They must live further inside Darkniss. Where did you see them?”
”Near the entrance of Darkniss.”
”That's not possible!” Mei Wu looked unsettled. ”Snowshade leopards live only in the inner parts of the Darkniss, perhaps even further in than the Sea of Threads. I've never encountered creatures as strong as the snowshade leopard.”
Ye Chong asked, ”I heard that the animals in Darkniss stay within their territories, and will not move about freely. Having stayed here for so long, do you think that's the case?”
Mei Wu nodded solemnly. ”People do say that. The wild animals in Darkniss often have a clear territory of their own, and will seldom go beyond their boundaries. There are exceptions, though, like when the three slitherlizards were chasing me. It rarely happens, and that was my only experience with it. If you really met snowshade leopards, they must have been chased by other creatures, or chasing something.”
Ye Chong and his two companions considered her words.
Mei Wu paused, and then added, ”There is another possibility …”
The three of them looked at up her. Mei Wu hesitated before saying, ”It's possible that something strange is happening in Darkniss.”
Mei Wu saw the puzzled look in her listeners, and explained, ”Darkniss has always been a stable place. However, it is also constantly changing. I have lived here for years, and felt it, but I can't exactly describe the nature of this change.”
Ye Chong and his companions thought about what Mei Wu said. Personally, Ye Chong was more inclined to believe in the third scenario. If it was only the snowshade leopards that were the anomaly, then the first two scenarios were more plausible. However, since the country of Western Frost had found a red-tailed beast in Darkniss … Ye Chong considered both events together, and felt that the third scenario was more likely.
It seemed that they would not be solving this mystery anytime soon. Mei Wu brought Ye Chong to the other three lake beds. There were so many rare mineral ores there Ye Chong wanted to just harvest them all and bring them home. However, that was an impractical wish. The Spider had limited storage, and it was unwise to use Celest's dimension keystone in front of these three shooters. Besides, these rare minerals were not particularly useful without normal alloys.