"We?"
Meng Chao caught the subtle implication in Wu Haibo's words.
"Of course."
Wu Haibo smiled, firelight gleaming in his eyes. "I am the director of the Ancient Ruins Research Institute. If the ruins had remained sealed, that would have been one thing. But now, after a full ten years, the ruins have opened once more. Surely you don't think I'd stay behind in this safe, dull place and watch you explore the secret treasure I've dreamed of all my life?
"Besides, believe me—without professional guidance, whether it's the Crimson Dragon Army's most elite Assault Captain, the Adjudication Court's veteran secret investigator, or Dragon City's youngest God Realm Expert, none of you will survive ten minutes in the unpredictable depths of the ruins. Nor should you expect to die cleanly within those ten minutes!"
Behind Wu Haibo, the well-trained Black Horn Warriors stepped forward.
The same light flickered in their eyes as in Wu Haibo's—half caution, half excitement.
That light made Meng Chao realize something.
Perhaps Wu Haibo had not been persuaded by him at all.
Perhaps this director of the Ancient Ruins Research Institute, along with the Black Horn Warriors guarding this enormous chasm leading straight to hell, had been the ones most deeply affected by Primordial Summoning.
Perhaps, through every day and night of the past ten years, the researchers and guards here had endured the mysterious temptation emanating from the depths of Earth's Core without pause. The voice sent forth hundreds of millions of years ago was like the river of time itself, like restless tides, endlessly crashing against and eroding their mental defenses.
They had merely needed an excuse.
An excuse to send themselves into the endless darkness deep within Earth's Core.
"Then I'll be relying on Director Wu!"
Meng Chao nodded.
It didn't matter.
Even