No one paid much attention to him, but Ning Wei, who was closest, noticed.
Ning Wei's eyes darted around. She knew that while the bead was powerful, it could only be used by Li Ye. If anyone else held it, it would just be an ordinary piece of jewelry. With the bead, Li Ye was like a tiger with wings, which was a good thing. Even if they didn't know how long they could proceed together, they would take it one step at a time.
Thinking this, Ning Wei pretended not to notice. Only she and Li Ye knew about this, it was their little secret.
The bead's power transferred to Li Ye. This time, after Mei Nan shouted the command, the sea elephant moved forward a distance, which no one had anticipated.
"Is it too light, or are we too strong?" Bai Yang couldn't believe her own strength for the first time. The sea elephant's shadow was still cast in her heart, and she had only come forward out of sheer desperation. She still considered herself extremely lucky, but there were too many people here now; even if she were more powerful, she couldn't get out alone. So, even if it was just for appearances, she had to contribute.
Everyone shared the same question. They had a rough idea of how heavy the creature was and hadn't held out much hope for moving it. Now, not only had they moved it, but they had moved it a considerable distance. This small distance was not only an excellent demonstration of their strength but also a significant step forward for humanity!
"Shall we strike while the iron is hot and try again?" Teacher Mei cheered them on, being the first to suggest it.
No one disagreed. Perhaps the secret to the key lay with this sea elephant. To get out, what was a little expenditure of energy? They gathered around and put in their effort once more.
With a confidence they couldn't explain, the sea elephant shifted another significant distance. Only its tail remained within the small dark room.
"We don't need to pull the rest, do we? What if the door closes again? We can use the tail to prop it open," Wang Jing suggested. Everyone agreed.
During the long process of overcoming challenges, everyone's strengths would gradually emerge. No one was absolutely intelligent, but no one was foolish either. Everyone had their unique strengths, which would inevitably be revealed as they navigated the challenges.
Now that the sea elephant was out, everyone looked to Mei Nan for further instructions. The sea elephant was a whole body; where could the key or information be?
Li Zi'ang glanced into the dark room and then said to everyone, "I'll go in and search again. You all ponder here."
The remaining seventeen people gathered around the sea elephant, their final decision being to dissect it. Thinking of this, Mei Nan recalled the story of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, who had secretly placed a white silk cloth inscribed with their victory into a fish's belly before their uprising. When discovered, it would be seen as a good omen. Dissecting the sea elephant now had a similar symbolic meaning, with information hidden inside its belly.
But how could they dissect it? Song Zhi patted the sea elephant and said earnestly, "This thing seems to have thick, tough skin, and we have no tools. How can we cut it open?"
"Did you find any sharp objects while looking for the key?" Zhu Yilian asked everyone.
Everyone shook their heads. If they had possessed any sharp tools, they wouldn't have been so tense when the sea elephant appeared; the main problem was that they couldn't defeat it with their bare hands!
Progress was interrupted again. Fortunately, no one in the group was particularly discouraged, so no one uttered disheartening words that would dampen everyone's spirits. Besides trying to find a solution, there was no other way.
At this moment, Li Ye picked up the ivory tusk from the ground. This tusk could tear a human body apart, so it should be able to cut open the sea elephant's body. Li Ye was a man of few words. He walked over with the tusk. Under everyone's expectant gazes, he slowly began to cut with the tusk.
With a "bang," he plunged it in and then made a forceful slash downwards. Li Ye's cut was deep; he only held the hilt of the tusk, the rest disappearing into the creature. From the neck down to the tail, everyone made way for "Butcher Li" to work. Butcher Li's expressionless face and fierce execution, coupled with his handsome features, instantly captured the hearts of all the women present. The men also cast looks of admiration at him; Li Ye was a role model in their eyes.
Amidst everyone's anticipation, the sea elephant's thick belly was opened, revealing a dense layer of flesh. Further inside were dark, reddish internal organs. As he cut, Li Ye's hands became stained with blood, and his expression turned grim.
"Go wash up quickly. We can handle things here," Mei Nan said, understanding Li Ye well; the young man was extremely particular about cleanliness. Seeing Li Ye's clean hands covered in blood, everyone instinctively felt a pang of regret. Hearing Mei Nan's words, everyone reacted, "Right, right, go wash up! Have two people accompany him, just in case that mermaid comes out to cause trouble." Even in this urgent situation, they didn't forget about potential dangers.
Li Ye, holding the blood-red tusk, walked to the edge of the pool. Song Zhi and Li Zi'ang followed him. He strode to the edge of the pool and looked at the dark water. His expression remained unchanged. He squatted down and began to vigorously swirl the tusk in the water, avoiding washing with his hands if possible. His movements became more intense, and finally, the tusk was clean. Li Zi'ang and Song Zhi beside him felt a jolt of fear; what if his thrashing agitated the water too much and attracted the mermaid? However, the mermaid did not appear throughout the entire process, perhaps having already left this pool.
The tusk was washed clean, and his hands were also clean. Water droplets fell from his slender fingers. Paired with his flawless face, every subtle movement he made was captivating.
Meanwhile, on Ning Wei's side. Tang Tang kicked the sea elephant's back hard. Bai Yang, seeing this, joined in with a kick, followed by several others. They managed to dislodge quite a bit of material from the sea elephant's belly. So far, it seemed to contain only normal internal organs.
Later, kicking was no longer effective. The men stepped forward again, reaching into the belly to rummage through, taking out whatever they touched without concern. The contents of its belly were scattered on the ground, occupying a considerable area. By visual estimation, there was nothing related to a key.
"Could it be hidden in the stomach or other internal organs?" Yuan Yuan asked after a fruitless search.