Chapter 122 Cheng Ho
On one of the canoes, a short-haired woman stood at the end of the boat. Her light brown eyes were glued on Isaac. It was as if she had something to tell him.
Wang Mei got off the canoe. She walked over to Isaac. For a moment, the woman was silent. Then words emerged from her mouth.
"After all this time, I can finally see you."
All attention was then focused on the two of them. Ling Tian and Cheng Ho were no exception. The old man thought that Isaac was a nobody, but he was wrong.
Isaac once again had to put on a smile to face this woman.
.
.
.
The group of canoes led by Cheng Ho began to move. Not crossing to the other side of the mangrove forest, but moving along the strait. They continued rowing until they reached a large body of water. There was no tree sighting at all, just a vast stretch of water.
Isaac was travelling in Nine Sky's canoe.
Along the way, he felt dozens of eyes looking at him. Ever since his meeting with Wang Mei, the members had been curious about him.
Wang Mei herself looked as usual. She just wore a flat face while looking at the shadows of the mangroves that lined the strait. She was trying to show that she didn't care.
Amidst the silence of their journey, she suddenly spoke to Isaac.
"So, Wang Yi sent you here?" she asked without looking at him. Her attention was still elsewhere, not Isaac.
Her behaviour irritated him. In the Nether Realm, speaking without looking at the other person was impolite behaviour. If he was in the role of Demon Lord, he would have sentenced Wang Mei to death without hesitation. However, he was currently playing the role of Isaac Constatine, a human and veteran hunter under Nine Sky.
"Yes, it can be said like that. Although Miss Wang Yi actually came here as well."
After he mentioned her younger sister's name, Wang Mei turned to him.
"She came here?" a look of concern was evident on the woman's face. "That stupid child can never listen. How many times have I lectured her, but she never understands."
Isaac pursed his lips, trying to show that he cared. "He's very worried about you. After all, you're related by blood. I guess it's only natural. But don't worry, she's already out of the dungeon."
Isaac then began to explain everything, the chronological events from when they entered until now. The woman listened carefully to every word that came out of his mouth. She was occasionally annoyed, occasionally smiling. Her expression changed depending on Isaac's story.
"You saved the homunculus children?! The seeds of the disasters? Are you crazy?" Wang Mei was glaring when Isaac told her that it was him who came up with the rescue idea.
Isaac smiled. "We should try different things to get different results. By saving that homunculus monster, maybe we can learn something new about the dungeon."
What started out as a conversation about Wang Yi, now turned into a debate about dungeon monsters. Wang Mei was seen vehemently refuting Isaac's opinion, while he remained calm and gave the woman an explanation.
On the other hand, the Nine Sky members observing the two of them looked astonished. In all their time working under the stern and cold leader, they had never seen Wang Mei as expressive as she was when talking to Isaac. To them, this was a rare sight.
Guo Chen, the man who was said to be Chen Wei's successor, could never make Wang Mei look like that. 𝗳𝘳𝒆𝘦𝑤𝐞𝚋𝗻𝚘𝘷𝘦𝙡.𝑐𝐨𝘮
"Brother... you're really amazing... How could you melt that ice lady's mood." At the end of the canoe, Guo Chen smiled while shaking his head.
The two of them continued to talk, until they didn't realise they had arrived on land.
At first glance, the land was like an island in the middle of the ocean with murky water. An unusual camp was seen there. Not only were there tents set up, there were people busy building canoes. There were not just one or two, but dozens of them. It was as if they were preparing to transport a large number of people.
The group of canoes pulled over and the people went ashore.
The Golden Dragon and Nine Sky members led by Ling Tian were invited to rest, while their leaders went with Cheng Ho into the big tent that stood in the centre of the camp. Wang Mei was also one of them.
It was easy enough for Isaac to guess that those people were going to have a discussion. He didn't mind not coming along, but the man who had accompanied him from outside to inside the dungeon invited him.
Of course, this raised a question for Cheng Ho. The man didn't expect that Isaac would have any influence on Ling Tian. Neither did Wang Mei. She didn't think Isaac would be able to get that close to the leader of number one guild in China.
"You don't mind if he joins us do you, Cheng Ho?" Ling Tian asked with a charismatic smile.
Whether he wanted to or not, the bearded man had to accept it. "Of course. The more heads that think, the better. Come here, Mr Isaac."
Cheng Ho smiled as he invited him to join the discussion. His voice and eyes were friendly, but the old man couldn't lie to Isaac.
The high perception stat made Isaac able to hear the heartbeat. Even the slightest lie could be clearly seen in his eyes.
As they entered the tent, Wang Mei walked side in side with Isaac. She whispered into his ear. "We need to talk again after this meeting is over."
Isaac shook his head. Unimportant problems kept coming to him.
All the important people went into the tent. Inside was one more person. An old man. The skin on his face looked saggy, as if it was about to fall off. There was barely any hair on his head, not even grey hair. His body was hunched and curved. He seemed to have been waiting inside the tent for a long time.
Catching a glimpse of the man, Isaac recognised him immediately.
"Before we begin this important conversation, I'd like to introduce an ally. I think you already know from Aman. He is Lawrance. Homunculus, the caretaker of Alpha on Floor 2."
Isaac remained silent and stared at the old homunculus. A similar response was also shown by the Golden Dragon Leader.
However, Lawrance seemed to be the opposite. f𝘳ℯℯ𝙬𝒆𝚋𝐧oν𝑒Ɩ.c𝑜𝙢
"What did you say? Aman? She came here!?" The old homunculus was angry after Aman's name was mentioned. "You're saying you won't involve her on it?"
"Please calm down. I didn't expect it either. There are always unexpected variables to every plan. I hope you understand." Cheng Ho held Lawrance's shoulders and held the homunculus up.
A small commotion ensued. Lawrance was angry that Aman went up to the third floor, and Cheng Ho tried to explain to the older man that it was an accident. It took him a while to get Lawrance to tune out. The old homunculus only stopped whining after Cheng Ho promised him Aman's safety.
"You promised!? Keep your word!" Lawrance said with grumpy eyes.
Cheng Ho nodded. "I will."
Then, the joint raid leader started the main discussion at this meeting.
"Beforehand, I apologise to you, Golden Dragon Leader, Ling Tian and Mister Isaac. I know you've just gone through a disastrous and exhausting journey. There must be many questions in your minds after finding us. But right now, I want to discuss this as soon as possible, we don't have much time."
After arriving at this camp and seeing them create many canoes, Isaac knew where this was going. Hence, he chose not to comment. His goal and the bearded man's plan were the same.
Ling Tian, on the other hand, seemed just the opposite.
There were many questions inside the man's head. Such as how could He Dong leave them and give different information, why their members were separated, or why they didn't return immediately and chose to continue climbing dungeon after finding out their communication device wasn't working on 2nd Floor.
All of Cheng Ho's decisions seemed controversial in the eyes of the man in golden armor. Nevertheless, Ling Tian still held back his curiosity.
Isaac was stared at by Cheng Ho for a moment, and so was Ling Tian. That bearded man opened his mouth.
"I need your strength. Especially the Golden Dragon. Your arrival is like a destiny. I want you to lend your strength, for tomorrow's lab raid."