Chapter 1389: Snipe

"Now that I want to quit, I can't, and you insist on dragging me to deal with those scary monsters! This is naked kidnapping! Moral kidnapping!!"

"I shouldn't have participated in the exploration from the beginning, and I shouldn't have come to this damn meeting now! I'll pretend I didn't hear what you just said. If you have the ability, take my power back... Anyway, play by yourselves, I'm not accompanying you!! Goodbye!!"

After saying this, Wu Tongyuan walked out of the tent without looking back.

This time, Wu Tongyuan was truly angry. He plunged into the continuous light rain, with no intention of talking nonsense with everyone anymore.

"Old Wu!"

Seeing this, Lu Xun immediately got up and chased after him.

"Truly ungrateful for his blessings!" Ji Xuan's molars were almost crushed. He paced around the tent and picked up a shovel, also walking out of the tent.

"Where are you going again?" Su Zhiwei asked.

"I'm going to dig that crater. What if there's that Red Star wish power underneath?"

Ji Xuan resolutely walked toward the other side of the tent. When Lou Yu heard him say he was going to dig, he immediately stood up from his seat, put on the black raincoat outside the door, and followed.

A moment later, in the tent that had just been full, only Chen Ling, Yang Xiao, Su Zhiwei, Dr. Qi, and Dr. Wen remained.

"I... am going out to smoke a cigarette." Dr. Qi's expression wasn't good either. Whether it was the disaster he had learned he caused just now, or the tragic future Yang Xiao had just described, the impact on him was too great.

He felt that a huge mountain was pressing on his shoulders. Although his psychological endurance was stronger than Wu Tongyuan's, this didn't mean he wouldn't be affected...

He needed to digest what Yang Xiao had said properly.

As Dr. Qi went out to light a cigarette, Dr. Wen hesitated for a moment and also decided to go out for some air. The tent fell into a brief silence.

"Director Chen... did I mess up?" Yang Xiao struggled for a long time, squeezing an ugly smile on his face.

"No." The bright red opera robe always sat on the side like a spectator, observing the overall situation. Those eyes seemed to take in everyone's thoughts.

He said slowly,

"They are not like you. You have already experienced too much and know that some things are destined to happen and the future cannot be avoided... But for them, the future you described is still too distant and void.

They are all smart people. Once they recognize reality, they will make the right choice... It just takes some time."

"Time..."

Yang Xiao looked up at the wall clock.

At this moment, there was less than an hour left until Chen Ling's 24-hour deadline.

Chen Ling's gaze was also looking at that wall clock. For him, this was the third time entering the era archive in the Abyss of Ghostly Mockery. In other words, after this era archive ended, the Red Star return time calculated by Lu Xun would be approaching...

In any case, Chen Ling had done what he could. Whether humanity could save itself depended on them.

And...

Chen Ling's gaze looked toward the continuous rainy mountain range outside the tent.

He had felt it before.

In Shennongjia, there seemed to be some other "things" moving around, not like government people...

"Maybe, they can help a little?" Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly.

【Audience Expectation +3】

[Current Expectation: 32%]

……

"Someone's coming out."

Amidst the pitch-black primeval jungle, a figure in camouflage lay prone on the hillside, binoculars trained on the brightly lit research camp in the distance. As a figure stepped quickly out of the tent cluster, he spoke immediately in English.

"Who is it?" the sniper lying beside him asked in a low voice.

"The mathematician, Wu Tongyuan."

He paused for a moment, then quickly added, "And the astronomer, Lu Xun. The two of them came out one after the other; it looks like they had a disagreement and are heading straight into the jungle."

"Good opportunity!"

The sniper's eyes lit up. "Have the 'Prayer-Bearer' pass the message, gather the nearby personnel, and find a way to take them out first... especially that Wu Tongyuan. Among our current intelligence, his is the most complete. He hasn't shown any lethality yet; he should be the weakest of the group."

Ever since Yang Xiao annihilated the Seventh Fleet, the U.S. side knew he could monitor modern communication equipment. Therefore, the personnel sent this time did not bring any communication devices at all. Communication between them was handled by a possessor of the Shinto path, internally referred to as the "Prayer-Bearer."

Then, the scout's voice sounded again:

"Huh... two more people came out..."

"Which two?"

"Higgs boson researcher, Ji Xuan; materials science PhD, Lou Yu."

"We don't have much intelligence on these two, but they should be harder to deal with than Wu Tongyuan... Send those powerful job-changers over. It would be best to wipe them all out in one go."

"Understood."

Undercurrents surged in the night-shrouded jungle, and murderous intent flowed through the cold drizzle.

At this moment, Wu Tongyuan was completely unaware of any crisis, threading through the drizzling jungle filled with resentment and anger.

"Old Wu..."

"Old Wu!"

Lu Xun's voice kept coming from behind him, but Wu Tongyuan had no intention of stopping.

"Old Wu, Yang Xiao has no intention of forcing you, and none of us would kidnap you... I know you were completely dragged into this by me. I apologize for my persistence at the time.

You know, it's too hard to do research with peace of mind in this era... and it's too hard for young scientists to stand on a bigger stage! My original intention in forming this exploration team was to use my resources to lift up you newcomers who truly have potential, to let the higher-ups see your abilities, and to make your future paths easier... Lou Yu is like this, and so are you.

If I had known that one exploration would involve so many things, I would never have dragged you into it!"

Hearing Lu Xun's sincere words, the anger in Wu Tongyuan's heart dissipated by more than half.

Wu Tongyuan had known Lu Xun the longest and knew what kind of person he was. No one hoped more than Lu Xun for human civilization to accelerate forward, and no one cared more than Lu Xun about the growth of the younger generation of scientists... It was precisely because of this grand ideal and his concern for the younger generation that so many people were willing to trust and follow him... Wu Tongyuan was no exception.

In the end, Wu Tongyuan had no real resentment toward Lu Xun. He knew clearly that Lu Xun had pulled him into this exploration team to pave the way for his future. Where would an alien meteorite exploration need a mathematician? Where would it need string theory or the God particle?

It was his own lack of ambition, his own desire to lie flat and rot... This couldn't be blamed on Lu Xun.

After hesitating for a moment, Wu Tongyuan stopped and turned back, intending to say something more to Lu Xun...

Just then,

The crack of a sniper rifle pierced the sky!

A bullet pierced Lu Xun's chest right before Wu Tongyuan's eyes, and scarlet blood bloomed in the night in an instant!