"Friend, can you tell me why this is happening? Have we perhaps violated some taboo of yours?"
Dai Xiao Mei was still trying to converse with the little child in front of them.
The child, looking very composed, poured water into a teacup on the table and then offered it to the others.
"You have not only violated our racial taboos, but you also harbored the intent to kill us."
Upon hearing this, Dai Xiao Mei was utterly bewildered. What did they mean by harboring the intent to kill? She had never intended to harm any living creature here, only to find a way to pass through.
"That's not true, we had no intention of fighting you. After all, this is your territory. How could we possibly harbor murderous intent towards you?"
Jiang Fan quickly explained, but the child shook its head repeatedly, saying,
"Perhaps you are unaware, but we are very clear."
"You must have been brought here by people from Atlantis. If that's the case, then you are definitely here to kill us."
It could be said that the child was only half right.
Although the leader of Atlantis had summoned them, Atlantis had no intention of killing them, but merely wanted them to undergo a trial.
"You are mistaken. The leader of Atlantis did not mean that. He merely wished for us to complete this trial."
Hearing this, the child burst into laughter, as if hearing the most ridiculous joke in the world.
"As expected, you are all so saintly. Let me tell you, the reason he wants you to go through this place is because he knows that leaving requires the Core."
"The Core possesses immense power. If it were handed over to you, you might not return it. Then, after leaving, they could quickly seize the Core or its power."
"The reason we didn't answer when you asked what was needed to leave is that the question posed too great a threat to us, so none of us dared to speak."
The Core can help you leave this place, but without it, our home will collapse.
Jiang Fan was completely baffled. Why was this Core so important? It was just a place, why would it collapse without the Core?
However, now was not the time to ponder such things. Jiang Fan simply wanted to leave. Once outside, he could just return the Core to them.
"You've misunderstood. We don't seek power; we simply want to survive."
Jiang Fan's words struck a chord in everyone present, including the child. It too only wanted to survive.
But the world's design only granted it so much ability, making survival a difficult task.
"Surviving is already remarkable. I advise you to abandon any other thoughts. There is nothing wrong with staying here."
"To obtain that Core from our Huakala world is simply impossible."
"We have no shortage of fighters here."
"If you are so foolish as to try and fight our people head-on, I suggest you save yourselves. You are no match for them. After all, they are animals, and you are just ordinary humans."
With no other options left, leaving this place seemed impossible. Jiang Fan could only slowly crouch down, accepting reality.
"What do we do now? I told you not to come in, and now you believe me, don't you? Once you're in, you can't get out."
Jiang Fan sounded somewhat angry, looking at Zhou Nian Nian. Zhou Nian Nian looked apologetic, glancing at Jiang Fan from the corner of her eye.
"Well, I didn't know. You can't blame me. I didn't expect that we couldn't leave either."
"Never mind, let's just stay put honestly. It seems we have no way out for the time being. We can only see if there are other methods."
"Thank you very much, little friend. Although you told us it's impossible to leave, we are still grateful to you."
With that, Jiang Fan slowly closed his eyes. The others, noticing Jiang Fan had fallen asleep, also quickly closed their eyes. However, Yao and Jiang Fan weren't fully asleep. They were both extremely cautious in unfamiliar environments and would detect any approaching threat immediately.
As Jiang Fan and the others slept, Jiang Fan suddenly heard the sound of a nearby fence creaking.
Yao also sensed something was amiss.
Slowly opening his eyes, he looked towards the source of the sound and saw a child leading another adult inside.
Both of them were moving very cautiously, almost furtively, carrying a knife in their hands.
Jiang Fan and Yao now had their weapons tightly gripped, ready to strike at any moment.
At this moment, the child suddenly turned its head, leaving only the tall adult behind. The adult then raised their weapon, preparing to throw it at Jiang Fan.
Yao, worried that Jiang Fan hadn't woken up and had seen the weapon flying towards him, immediately intervened.
With a swift strike, the thrown weapon was cut in half. Jiang Fan, meanwhile, quickly grabbed his axe and apprehended the two.
"What's wrong? Were you trying to ambush us? Who was trying to harm whom? If you were so eloquent, why resort to a sneak attack?"
As Jiang Fan woke up, Dai Xiao Mei and Zhou Nian Nian also stirred. They looked at the child and adult kneeling on the ground, utterly incredulous.
"What's going on? Did he intend to kill us?"
Jiang Fan simply nodded slowly and said, "Yes, we were almost killed by him. Fortunately, we were cautious and knew there was something strange about this kid. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been so nonchalant."
"I knew you saved us for a reason, wanting to take it all for yourself."
"Don't worry, I won't let you do that. Even if we are captured, we will all be captured together. We will never be taken advantage of by you alone."
"As for you two, prepare to die."