Chapter 423: Chapter 208: Expedition Army Crisis (Part 3)
Gu Ningzhi looked at the size of the footprints and thought it was highly likely that they belonged to a woman... Could this planet also harbor human-like life forms? But previous space imagery didn’t show anything relevant; from those slightly blurry images, they seemed far different from humans.
With doubt in his heart, Gu Ningzhi followed the footprints, and the "trees" within his sight remained dense and abundant. Moreover, the surrounding air seemed to drop by a degree every hundred meters, and it was almost approaching zero degrees now! What kind of bizarre environment is this?
"If I were you, I would leave this planet as soon as possible. This is no place for you kids to play." At last, the footprints disappeared. Gu Ningzhi suddenly became alert and assumed a defensive stance. At that moment, a slightly hoarse voice came from the sky, tinged with an indescribable mockery, as if laughing at a fool seeking his own death.
"Who are you?" Gu Ningzhi swiftly left his spot and appeared on a branch of a "tree" in the next instant, just level with the person who suddenly spoke, "Are you... human or..."
Halfway through his question, his gaze suddenly fixed on the person’s hand, which was shrouded under a loose white cloak—Was that... an intelligent brain? This discovery made Gu Ningzhi almost rule out the possibility of the other person being indigenous. However, he felt no joy of encountering an old acquaintance in a foreign land; instead, he became more cautious, his back taut, "Who exactly are you?"
"A kind person telling you to get out of here." The person’s hand extended from the cloak’s hem; the fingers were long and slim, though the skin was somewhat pale, with veins visibly blue as if malnourished. "Listen to me; this place is dangerous, and you’d better not gamble your life and that of everyone aboard the high-altitude warship."
"Why should I believe you? Do you think what you say goes, and I’m a fool without intelligence who can be scared away by a baseless threat?" Gu Ningzhi felt no malice emanating from the other person, so he didn’t attack proactively.
"For you now have one foot in the Yama Hall!" The person’s voice changed, carrying a hint of playful ease, "Do you even know what the thing beneath your feet is? Haha, don’t be fooled by its ugly and harmless appearance; in reality..."
The other person paused at this point, and Gu Ningzhi waited a while but didn’t hear any follow-up, "In reality, what?"
"In reality... all life forms on the planet were devoured and consumed by the thing beneath your feet before you arrived." The person chuckled, and the words sounded almost surreal to Gu Ningzhi, incredibly fantastical.
"Do you know what this planet looked like two years ago? It was very beautiful, rich in resources, and the creatures living here, though merely beasts, had individual biological cycles. Given time, it might even have nurtured truly intelligent beings."
Gu Ningzhi was silent, suddenly understanding where his initial worry and ominous premonition had come from. Space imagery, though limited, was very clear and comprehensive. According to the development rules between planets, if such a rich planet truly nurtured life, their number would undoubtedly be substantial. But based on the imagery, only some shadows can be vaguely seen...
"If... this thing really can devour life forms, shouldn’t I have died long ago?" Gu Ningzhi retorted with a sneer, "After all, I previously cut open one of those creatures and extracted some liquid..."
"It’s because there’s still starlight shining... If nightfall comes, you can stay here and try it out — prove whether what I say is true." The person continued, "According to this planet’s day-night cycle, it’s about two hours until nightfall, by which point the truth will naturally be revealed, but your life will be gone as well."
Although Gu Ningzhi didn’t believe him, he nonetheless secretly contacted Li You, asking him to issue a retreat order soon, allowing the exploration team to return to the base camp first. The Expedition Army’s warship was at a thousand-meter altitude, the things on the ground shouldn’t pose any threat.
"Little Squid, I have a shocking discovery now, and the situation is very serious. In about ten minutes, have the exploration team withdraw; the planet should present a different scene after nightfall..." Gu Ningzhi’s words were rarely opposed by Li You, even in this indirect overruling order issuance, "I need to stay on the planet for one more night to continue investigating, I’ll contact you at dawn!"
