Chapter 1386: The Nine Monarchs' Meeting

The Nine Monarchs' Meeting

The three of them passed through the misty drizzle and finally arrived near the tents of the scientific research camp.

In the distance, the outline of a massive meteorite crater loomed indistinctly. Illumination lights were scattered around the crater, but they weren't turned on at the moment. Only a ring of yellow caution tape cordoned off the edge of the crater. Numerous soil sampling devices were neatly stored together, as if someone had been gathering soil samples for experiments just recently.

On the other side of the meteorite crater, bright lights illuminated the bumpy ground in front of the tents, where two figures had already been waiting for a long time.

"Yang Xiao, Dr. Su." Lu Xun saw the two of them from afar and waved at them.

"You guys actually managed to make it back..." Yang Xiao's eyes were filled with pleasant surprise upon seeing Lu Xun bringing Wu Tongyuan over. "I thought you guys would be stuck drifting at sea for a while."

Lu Xun glanced at Wu Tongyuan and chuckled,

"Just got lucky."

"Dr. Wu, long time no see." Su Zhiwei proactively extended her hand toward Wu Tongyuan. "Haven't seen you in a while, you've lost another circle of weight?"

After Yang Xiao and Lu Xun finished speaking, their gazes fell upon Lou Yu, who was wearing glasses, standing to the side...

Yang Xiao hesitated for a moment before still extending his hand:

"Dr. Lou, long time no see."

Lou Yu looked at him in confusion. After hesitating for a moment, he still didn't reach out his hand. "You two are..."

Lou Yu hadn't participated in the Red Star Exploration, so naturally, he didn't know Yang Xiao and Su Zhiwei. Just as he had said, if Lu Xun hadn't given him this opportunity, he might have silently burned away his entire life in that small research institute.

In the end, it was Lu Xun who spoke up to introduce them to him:

"This is Dr. Yang Xiao, who researches magnetic fields, and this is Dr. Su Zhiwei, who researches string theory..."

"It's raining outside, let's go in and chat." After Lu Xun finished his introductions, Yang Xiao pushed aside the tent flap, allowing bright light to spill out from within.

As the group entered, the three people who were playing cards also temporarily stopped and stood up.

"Dr. Lu, long time no see."

"Dr. Qi, playing cards? Did you win?"

"Haha, never won against Dr. Wen. He's too strong at this."

"Lu Xun, why are you guys only arriving now?"

"..."

Whether it was Ji Xuan, Dr. Qi, or Dr. Wen, their relationships with Lu Xun all seemed quite good. As soon as they met, they naturally started chatting. Unlike the exhausted Wu Tongyuan and the tense Lou Yu, these three exuded a sense of relaxation.

After everyone exchanged pleasantries, Yang Xiao glanced at the time on the wall:

"Well, everyone is here now, we can pretty much get started..."

"Everyone? Hasn't Dr. Chu not arrived yet?" Dr. Qi asked in confusion.

"Dr. Chu's situation... is a bit complicated..."

The group sat down around a low picnic table. Ji Xuan put away the playing cards on the table, and Lu Xun briefly recounted what had happened in Wushan. Everyone's expressions turned somewhat grim.

"You're saying... Dr. Chu was taken by those monsters..."

"Calamities," Yang Xiao corrected.

"Dr. Chu was abducted by that group of Calamities?" Dr. Qi's brows furrowed tightly. "Then we need to quickly figure out a way to rescue him!"

"Currently, the Gray World hasn't formally intersected with Earth yet. Even if we wanted to save him, we have no way to cross over."

"And what exactly is the Gray World?"

Ji Xuan couldn't help but ask.

Apart from Yang Xiao, Lu Xun, and Su Zhiwei, the other Nine Monarchs hadn't even seen a Calamity yet, let alone the Gray World. All they knew was that the globe was undergoing a nuclear war and that some abnormalities had appeared in their own bodies... that was all.

Introducing them to the upheavals currently happening in this world was the exact purpose of Yang Xiao gathering them here.

"I will explain everything in detail to you all shortly." Yang Xiao paused for a moment. "But before that, I need to introduce someone to you."

"... Who?"

Yang Xiao didn't answer, merely directing his gaze toward the entrance of the tent.

The rest of the group was stunned and was also preparing to turn around to look. But the next moment, whether it was the electric lights or the candlelight inside the tent, all light sources extinguished simultaneously. Ink-like darkness instantly enveloped everyone!

The chilling mountain wind mixed with drizzle swept into the tent from the fluttering flaps. Before the group could recover from the sudden darkness, the extinguished lights flared back to life!

Flicker—

The faint light dispelled the darkness. Sitting amidst the group, they didn't know when, but an extra dark figure draped in a great crimson theatrical robe had suddenly appeared!

"Ah!!!"

Ji Xuan happened to be sitting directly across from him. Seeing that pitch-black face abruptly appear, he was so frightened that he let out a scream, stumbled backward, flipped his small folding stool, and fell headfirst onto the ground!

Dr. Qi, Dr. Wen, Wu Tongyuan, and Lou Yu were also pale with fright. The former two, in particular, subconsciously reached their hands out into the void, seemingly almost ready to attack...

Although it was Lu Xun's first time seeing this face of Chen Ling as well, he had long known Chen Ling would appear, so his reaction wasn't as extreme. After seeing that familiar great crimson theatrical robe, he recognized the person who had arrived.

However, he was still somewhat confused. Why did Director Chen suddenly change into such a face? Was it specifically to scare them?

"Dr. Yang, who is this person??" Dr. Qi asked in horror.

"Don't be nervous... this is also an old friend of everyone here," Yang Xiao chuckled. "Last time when we carried out the Red Star Exploration operation, he was also following alongside us the entire time."

The group was stunned, but Dr. Wen quickly realized something,

"He is... Director Chen?"

"It's me." Chen Ling nodded slightly. "Recently, some problems have occurred with my body, so I might look a bit scary. Please forgive me, everyone."

Chen Ling had met Dr. Qi and Dr. Wen during his first trip to Shennongjia, but those two hadn't left a deep impression on him. Or rather, at the time, Chen Ling's attention had entirely been on Yang Xiao and Su Zhiwei, so he simply couldn't pay attention to everyone.

"So, Director Chen is just like us?" Wu Tongyuan asked blankly.

"... You could understand it that way."

With this sentence, the trauma of everyone being frightened by Chen Ling just now was immediately alleviated significantly. After all, in their eyes, Chen Ling had also become one of them, it was just that... his changes looked a bit frightening, that was all.

As Chen Ling finished speaking, his gaze subconsciously fell upon Dr. Wen in the corner... He didn't know if it was because of his appearance, but from just now, Dr. Wen seemed to have been staring at him continuously.

"Dr. Wen, is there a problem?" Chen Ling asked proactively.

After hesitating for a moment, Dr. Wen still shook his head:

"No... it's nothing."

"The reason I gathered everyone here this time is to hope that everyone can share their recent encounters, as well as what abilities have appeared in each of you... Many upheavals will occur in this world in the future. Only if the few of us combine our strength is it possible for us to overcome these difficulties."

Yang Xiao's gaze swept over the crowd. "Then... how about I start first?"