Incited by a man, many of the already somewhat worried tourists immediately started shouting, “That’s right! We want to go back! Your tour is completely unreliable, I told you we shouldn’t go to the Land of Miracles!”
Su Xing also smiled and added fuel to the fire, hoping to get some compensation, “Yeah, isn’t this your mistake? We demand compensation, or we’ll complain about you.”
Faced with such a scene, the tour guide couldn’t persuade them at all and had to find their leader to come over and negotiate.
The commotion lasted until midnight.
The final decision was that tourists who wished to return would be sent back early the next morning, and their travel expenses would be reimbursed.
However, since the tour group didn’t admit it was their fault, they refused to compensate.
Hearing this result, Su Xing immediately gave up her plan to go back with them.
Although the tour voucher was free, its original price was very expensive.
She absolutely wouldn’t go back until she had gotten full value from the voucher!
For her, nothing was more important than money.
The next morning, the tour guide announced the result in front of everyone.
Those staying stood in one line, and those leaving stood in another.
Perhaps sensing danger, many chose to leave.
In the end, only Su Xing, Kaka, the old lady, yesterday’s bespectacled man, the man in black, and the green-haired boy who stuttered when he spoke remained.
Su Xing looked at the group that stayed and pondered.
Kaka stayed, so the person chasing Kaka in this group definitely hadn’t left.
Also, if she wasn’t mistaken, the owner of that phantasm and the person chasing the phantasm were probably also in this group.
After the other group boarded the caterpillar bus, the tour guide led Su Xing and the others to officially begin today’s itinerary.
On the outskirts of the extreme northern snowy region, there’s an experimental base, one of the former workplaces of the world-renowned scientist couple, Rail and Mina.
Later, the couple moved to another location for work, and a few years later, they mysteriously disappeared.
This laboratory naturally became abandoned.
This was what the tour guide told Su Xing and the others on the way.
Their destination was, naturally, this place.
Although the laboratory had long been cleared out, it still held commemorative significance.
Just as they were about to enter the experimental base, Su Xing felt something and suddenly looked back.
On the snow-covered mountain peak behind them, several white humanoid figures were faintly visible.
“Is that not mist?”
Su Xing frowned, intending to go check it out.
However, Kaka pulled her wrist, “Su Xing, what are you doing? We’re already inside.”
Su Xing turned around, and indeed, no one was outside anymore.
Kaka probably came out specifically to find her because he saw she hadn’t entered.
Looking back again, the figures had already disappeared.
Su Xing frowned, then quickly relaxed.
With a slight twist of her wrist, she subtly freed herself from Kaka’s grasp and walked alongside him into the building with a playful grin.
The experimental base was very clean.
Inside, there was nothing but some common instruments.
Kaka wasn’t interested in these things and chatted idly with Su Xing, sounding a bit bored, “Su Xing, why didn’t you go with those people?”
She certainly wasn’t going to tell this rich young master such a stingy reason.
Su Xing smiled and retorted: “Why didn’t you go?”
Kaka scratched his head shyly, “If I left directly, my mom would definitely tease me when I got back.”
He made a fist in a determined gesture, “I must prove that I can travel independently by myself! Otherwise, my mom won’t be comfortable letting me go out.”
Su Xing asked curiously, “Where do you want to go?”
Kaka sighed, looking quite troubled, “To school. My mom is worried that it would be dangerous for me to go to school alone, so she insists I study at home. But I’ve already awakened my phantasm, so I can’t just stay cooped up at home my whole life, can I?”
Although she already knew he had awakened a phantasm, hearing it now still made Su Xing a little envious, “What does your phantasm look like?”
Kaka generously summoned his phantasm.
A blue light flashed, and a cute porcupine fish floated in mid-air.
Each of the porcupine fish’s spines had a blue tip, making it look very beautiful.
“This is my phantasm, the Blue Spined Porcupine Fish. I call it Little Blue.”
“Such a perfunctory name,” Su Xing thought.
Su Xing smiled casually, then immediately showered him with praise, “Wow! This phantasm looks really powerful! Porcupine fish are covered in spines, so their attack power must be very high, right? With such a powerful phantasm, I think you can definitely go to the Spirit Domain Academy!”
Spirit Domain Academy is Mercury’s top phantasm academy.
It exists independently of the Federation and is a power on par with Unicorn Bank.
Most of the teachers at Spirit Domain Academy are Great Phantasm Masters who have been famous on Mercury for a long time, making it the most desired academy for every new phantasm master to study at.
***
Su Xing, of course, praised Kaka like this because she hoped to make him happy.
Perhaps when they returned, he could plead with his parents to help her awaken as well.
Kaka’s eyes lit up, almost as if he’d found a kindred spirit.
He gripped Su Xing’s hand and said excitedly, “That’s exactly what I think too! My phantasm is amazing! Even though its initial skill is just being able to inflate itself, I have a feeling we’ll become the strongest combination in the future!”
Hearing this, Su Xing’s eye twitched, and she almost couldn’t resist pulling her hand away.
What was that? Isn’t a porcupine fish inflating itself standard? What the heck does that mean, it’s a “skill”? Is this skill even a little bit useful?
A phantasm’s initial skill is very important; it almost determines the phantasm’s potential. If the initial skill is just like this, it’s almost impossible for this phantasm to be of much use.
Su Xing suppressed her conscience and continued to praise him wildly: “Your premonition must be right. Great things come from humble beginnings; if the start is full of difficulties, you’ll definitely soar later!”
Kaka was moved to tears, almost about to become sworn brothers with Su Xing.
“Pfft.”
Amidst this “touching” atmosphere, a sudden jarring sound cut in.
Su Xing turned her head and saw it was the young man in black from next to them.
Because they were close, Su Xing could see him clearly this time.
Surprisingly young, definitely no more than eighteen.
Golden, messy hair spilled out from under his hat, and dark red eyes were full of mockery.
“A bit punchable,” Su Xing grumbled, licking her molars, and asked with a sweet smile, “What? Do you also want to master such an amazing skill like Kaka?”
“You!”
This was clearly a provocation, and the boy opposite immediately flared up in anger, his eyes burning with fury, finally showing some of the youthful vigor appropriate for his age.
The bespectacled man, who was also watching the drama unfold, immediately came forward to mediate, “Hey, don’t quarrel, don’t quarrel. I think no one has any ill will. We still have to live together for two more days, so let’s not make things awkward.”
Su Xing smiled cutely, “I wasn’t trying to cause trouble, you know. I was speaking from the heart.”
“You!”
The man in black looked like he was about to charge forward again but was forcibly held back by the bespectacled man.
The man in black looked at the bespectacled man in surprise, then stood still, no longer bothering with Su Xing’s provocation.
The bespectacled man pushed up his glasses and introduced himself, “I’m Winx, a teacher. Please take care of me over the next few days.”
You don’t hit a smiling person.
Su Xing also smiled and said, “I’m Su Xing, a student.”
“My name is Kaka!”
The green-eyed boy also habitually pushed up his thick glasses and stammered, “Q-Q-Quinn.”
Su Xing glanced at him.
This boy was clearly a bit timid, his shoulders slightly hunched.
A head of soft white hair lay flat against his scalp, but he had a lot of hair.
The old lady replied tremblingly, “You can just call me Qina.”
Su Xing frowned and walked over, supporting Grandma Qina.
For some reason, she felt that Grandma Qina was even weaker today than yesterday.
Yesterday, she could stand and walk fine, but today she always gave the impression that she was about to fall.
The man in black scoffed and did not participate in what he considered a ridiculous self-introduction.
Suddenly, his eyes sharpened, “There’s someone over there!”
Su Xing and the others were startled and looked in the direction he indicated.
But there was only the iron wall of the base there, nothing else.
Grandma Qina sighed and comforted everyone, “It might be staff. What could happen in broad daylight? Don’t worry.”
The man in black frowned, clearly unconvinced.
“Rumble rumble rumble crackle crackle rumble rumble…”
Su Xing wiggled her ears and asked suspiciously, “Shh! Do you hear something?”
The tour guide frowned and listened closely, then her face suddenly changed.
Being experienced, she immediately recognized it, “Bad! This is a premonition of an avalanche! Everyone run!”
As she spoke, she turned and ran towards the main gate.
Su Xing and the others followed closely, wanting to escape the base.
However, when they reached the door, the tour guide tried to open it forcefully, but found that the door wouldn’t open at all.
“Why won’t it open! Who locked the door?”
She panicked, shouting and pulling hard on the doorknob, but the door wouldn’t budge.
The man in black yanked the tour guide aside and tried to open the door himself.
But his strength wasn’t enough; the door simply wouldn’t open.
The tour guide said despairingly, “This is an experimental base, surrounded by impenetrable walls. Once the door is closed, unless there’s a key, we can’t get out by human strength alone! The key is with my colleagues; they won’t make it in time! What do we do? This base definitely can’t withstand the pressure of an avalanche! We’re all going to die here!”
The man in black angrily kicked the door and said fiercely, “It must be the person I saw just now playing tricks! This door was clearly open just a moment ago.”
Su Xing frowned, finding many suspicious points.
But if they couldn’t get out now, they would really die here.
“I have a way.”
Winx suddenly stepped forward, extended his hand, and with a flash of grey light, a ball of grey mist suddenly appeared in his hand.
Winx was a phantasm master too!
“This is my phantasm, Haze. It can turn into a drill and drill through the iron wall. Tour guide, do you know where this base is thinnest? I want to try.”
Winx spoke quickly, looking dependable.
Seeing a turn for the better, the tour guide was almost overjoyed, nodding repeatedly, and led Winx to a corner, “Here, this used to be a window, now sealed with iron, but it’s still very thin compared to other places.”
As she spoke, Winx had already started to act.
His phantasm was indeed powerful, drilling a small hole quickly with high-speed rotation.
However, the rumbling outside grew louder and louder.
Su Xing already had a bad premonition.
The tour guide was clearly more experienced in this, and cold sweat was already beading on her forehead, “Tourists, let’s line up. We’ll go out in order later.”
Su Xing’s heart sank.
She knew that since the tour guide wanted everyone to line up, it meant she knew there wasn’t enough time for Winx to drill a large enough hole for everyone to get out.
In other words, it was very possible that some people wouldn’t make it out in time.