Chapter 1388: Argument

"WAIT!!!"

Dr. Qi widened his eyes in disbelief. "You mean, the day the government people suddenly found me, it wasn't because of good luck... but because you used consciousness entanglement to pass information to them? And meeting you wasn't a coincidence, you came specifically to find me?"

"That's right..."

"For so many days, why didn't you ever mention this to me??"

"I was afraid that if I told the truth, it would only deepen your fear of your own ability, and the disaster didn't happen in the end, so there was naturally no need to tell you."

"Then why are you saying it now?"

"Since we are going to be honest with each other, we naturally cannot hide things about our abilities... And you know how to control your ability now, so it doesn't matter if I say it."

Dr. Wen's logic was quite clear, and his words were full of rationality.

Dr. Qi looked at him complexly for a long time and let out a light sigh... He had thought it was his own good luck that a disaster hadn't occurred, but it had been his brother quietly covering for him all along. This gave him a sense of frustration for no reason.

Fortunately, as Dr. Wen said, he could now control his ability, so the frustration was weakened significantly.

After the two of them came Wu Tongyuan.

Compared to the others, Wu Tongyuan's encounters felt like they were off the map... Not long after landing in the United States, he was robbed of his money by street thugs. When the other party threatened him, he even obediently handed over his credit card. Penniless, he began to struggle for survival in the United States, working as a waiter, washing dishes, and when he was hungriest, he even begged on the street. As a result, he got involved in a gunfight between two major gangs. Not only did he not get a single dollar, but he also lost the pocket money he had earned over the past two days.

However, unlike the candid Dr. Qi and Dr. Wen, Wu Tongyuan's narrative was a bit vague. Most of the time, he was describing how he survived in the United States, without any information related to his ability at all. After listening for a long time, there was no focus.

"That's it?" Dr. Qi's expression was a bit strange. "What about your ability?"

"My ability... it doesn't seem to be of any use, and it's hit or miss." Wu Tongyuan scratched his head.

"I can testify to this," Lu Xun said silently. "When I found him, he was being beaten up at the back door by people from a casino. If I had gone any later, I reckon his bones would have been broken."

Everyone: ...

In a sense, Wu Tongyuan could be considered the most pathetic of the Nine Lords in this era. Even Ji Xuan and Lou Yu, who hadn't obtained the Red Star's wish power at all, lived with far more dignity than him.

"I have nothing to say." Ji Xuan's expression was a bit resentful.

"I received Lu Xun's call and immediately bought the earliest high-speed rail ticket to rush to Shennongjia, but before I could even leave the station, I was suddenly knocked unconscious... When I woke up, it was already a day later."

At this moment, in Ji Xuan's heart, only unprecedented annoyance remained. He hated himself for not being able to go explore the Red Star with Lu Xun and the others. Now that everyone else had obtained abilities, just listening to the stories made his heart surge. If only he had corresponding abilities, how good would that be...

Lou Yu's description was also extremely simple, and he was even more miserable than Ji Xuan; he didn't even know about the Shennongjia exploration.

During this time, Chen Ling's gaze had been fixed on Lou Yu, as if wanting to see something from him... Unfortunately, Lou Yu's expression had no flaws, and every emotion he revealed inadvertently was real.

"Everyone."

After everyone had finished speaking, Yang Xiao finally spoke solemnly.

"Gathering you all here today is to tell you some truths about the world..."

After roughly figuring out everyone's situation, Yang Xiao laid out everything he knew: the Gray Realm, the Calamities, the Red Star, the return of the Red Star, and... the responsibility of the Nine Lords.

After listening, everyone's expressions were different. Lu Xun and Su Zhiwei were relatively calm, but the others were not calm.

"You mean, you want us to go and fight those Calamities that can slaughter cities??" Wu Tongyuan's face turned pale. "No... I haven't even killed a chicken since I was a child. I... I don't have that ability, I can't do it..."

"Just because you can't now doesn't mean you won't be able to in the future. You carry the Red Star's wish power and have obtained power that ordinary people cannot reach, so you naturally have to bear the corresponding responsibility."

Su Zhiwei saw that Wu Tongyuan was always being cowardly and really couldn't stand it anymore...

She was close to Lu Xun and knew how high expectations Lu Xun had for this guy, but as one of the Nine Lords, Wu Tongyuan's courage was not even as good as when she was in elementary school.

"No, how did responsibility get involved?" Wu Tongyuan was a bit anxious. "I'm just a guy who studies math. I just want to do research, earn a subsidy, and maybe become a dean or something in the future... I don't want to be this Nine Lord, and I don't want to go out and fight and kill... Please don't count me in!"

"No, why are you so ungrateful for your blessings??"

Ji Xuan couldn't stand it anymore. He was already annoyed because he didn't have any abilities, and seeing Wu Tongyuan like this, he was so angry that he jumped up. "If you don't want the ability, give it to me! Don't occupy the latrine and not poop!"

"I really wish I could!" Wu Tongyuan turned to look at Lu Xun. "Old Lu, there must be some way to give my ability to him, right??"

Lu Xun opened his mouth, but his gaze ultimately shifted to Chen Ling...

"No," Chen Ling said calmly. "What is yours is yours; you cannot give it to anyone."

Wu Tongyuan widened his eyes, and he and Ji Xuan both cursed at the same time:

"FUCK!"

"Old Wu, calm down." Lu Xun frowned. "You are the most special one among us, and the one with the highest potential... You don't want to get involved in this now because you don't realize what you can do yet. If you have no ideas, we can sit down and talk together. Everyone here is a top scientist in the country, and we will definitely be able to give you some inspiration..."

"No, why should you??" The exhausted Wu Tongyuan finally exploded, the anger suppressed in his heart these days gushing out.

"I said it when you came to find me back then, I didn't want to participate in the exploration, I didn't want to participate in the exploration!!"

"I'm just a guy who studies math. You insisted on dragging me along to study that damn meteor! It was you who said that a major contribution would allow me to be evaluated as an academician, so I came! And now??"

"Just because I participated in the exploration and got that damn wish power, I ended up wandering the streets in the United States, being bullied by those Americans! Now they won't even let me be evaluated as an academician! They won't let me do research either! And now they want me to step forward and be some great hero who saves humanity!!"

"Who among you has ever cared about my thoughts? Who has ever asked for my opinion?!"