However, under the current circumstances, she had no choice but to compromise out of sheer helplessness.
Jiang Fan hooked the previous vine and pulled it closer. He then took out more vines from his backpack and tied them together.
Jiang Fan understood very well that Zhou Niannian was unwilling to touch the green liquid before them.
To prevent Zhou Niannian from being wronged, he had to extend the length of the vines.
After Yao cut down the vine hanging from the stalactite with a small knife and threw it down, Jiang Fan tied the two bundles of vines together and then tossed them onto the stalactite where the small knife had been hanging.
This created a simple, leverage-saving hoisting device resembling a roller.
Zhou Niannian's task was to tie herself to the other end of the vine. Then, Jiang Fan and the others would pull from the top of the vine, slowly lifting Zhou Niannian up.
This way, as long as Zhou Niannian tucked her legs up at the start, she wouldn't touch the green liquid.
Zhou Niannian was extremely excited upon learning of this plan.
She had feared she would also get splashed with the green liquid.
Now, having this method, she felt incredibly fortunate.
Zhou Niannian slowly wrapped the vine around herself. Once Jiang Fan and Yao saw she was done, they began to exert force.
Zhou Niannian was very cooperative, tucking her legs tightly to her chest.
As expected, not only was contact with the green liquid minimized, but even the splashes from the liquid didn't touch her.
Soon, Zhou Niannian was lifted up by everyone.
On the side, Dai Xiaomei watched with a face full of alarm, terrified that Zhou Niannian might fall or get hurt on her way up.
Of course, she hoped Zhou Niannian could retrieve the treasure bead in one go, so she wouldn't have to go up herself.
However, fate intervened. As Zhou Niannian ascended, she had barely touched the outer edge of the treasure bead when a powerful force repelled her.
The sudden strong force unbalanced Jiang Fan and Yao, affecting their footing.
Fortunately, their strength was considerable, and they held onto the vine tightly, preventing Zhou Niannian from falling.
Zhou Niannian expressed her helplessness, spreading her hands and shaking her head to signal that she couldn't do it.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Fan and Yao turned their gaze to Dai Xiaomei.
Clearly, Dai Xiaomei was now the most likely candidate.
Dai Xiaomei possessed dinosaur blood, and this treasure bead was something dinosaurs desired. Therefore, it was highly probable that the bead would recognize Dai Xiaomei's genes and allow her to take it.
Dai Xiaomei's expression was somewhat awkward, but she bravely stepped forward to replace Zhou Niannian.
"Be careful, Dai Xiaomei."
"Although I wasn't hurt when the treasure bead pushed me away, I could feel its immense strength. I almost cried out in pain."
Hearing Zhou Niannian's words, Dai Xiaomei began to feel flustered, fearing she would mess things up.
Clearly, even though Dai Xiaomei was scared, she had to go.
Currently, she was the only one who could try to touch the treasure bead.
Dai Xiaomei nodded slowly, gritted her teeth, and gave a look to Jiang Fan and Yao.
Upon seeing her signal, Jiang Fan and Yao began to exert their strength.
As Dai Xiaomei passed by the green liquid below, she showed a look of disgust and immediately averted her gaze upwards, trying her best not to see the green liquid.
At this moment, to everyone's surprise, a stalactite that had always been solid began to crack.
A fissure appeared at the top of the stalactite, and a piece broke off, falling onto a monster's egg.
It was evident that the weight of the stalactite was more than enough to smash the egg, which resembled a large ostrich egg.
With a clear and pleasant cracking sound, the monster egg, resembling a large ostrich egg, instantly split open.
The group was filled with terror at this sight.
If so many monsters were to appear at once, it was likely that none of them would survive.
Seeing Zhou Niannian about to scream, Jiang Fan immediately covered her mouth and nose with his hand.
"Don't scream. The monster hasn't woken up yet. If you scream now, we'll all be doomed."
Hearing Jiang Fan's words, Zhou Niannian immediately stifled her cry.
However, her tear-filled eyes betrayed her fear.
Zhou Niannian's hands trembled slightly.
Her eyes were filled with terror.
She stared intently at the monster egg that had just been struck.
Jiang Fan and Yao, standing beside her, were also focused on the egg.
As the primary combatants, they had to ensure the safety of their companions.
Fortunately, the egg showed no signs of further movement in the short term.
Seeing this, Jiang Fan quickened his pace.
He was afraid the egg would hatch before they could finish.
As the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly. Just as the falling rock had caused a brief calm, the egg began to tremble again.
Splashes of green liquid hit other monster eggs.
Suddenly, the monsters in the entire hatching pool seemed to react in a chain reaction, and their eggshells began to shake noticeably. As the blood vessels wrapped around their shells loosened and fell off, Jiang Fan's gaze became tense.
Yao, beside him, realized that disaster was imminent.
But Dai Xiaomei had not yet successfully obtained the treasure bead. The question was whether to bring her back or let her continue forward.
Yao immediately increased his pulling force, fearing that Dai Xiaomei wouldn't be able to retrieve the treasure bead.
Seeing this, Jiang Fan cooperated by exerting more force, wanting to lift Dai Xiaomei up faster.
However, things did not go as planned. The monster eggshells seemed to shake even more violently.
"What should we do now? These monsters seem to be hatching soon. If we stay here, we might get eaten by them."
Yao, unsure of what to do, asked Jiang Fan beside him.
"There's no other way. Dai Xiaomei is still up there. We have to cover her so she can get the treasure bead. Otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain."
After saying this, Dai Xiaomei, who was beside them, immediately agreed.