Refusal

A group of people were fleeing through the desert.

"Hurry, faster!"

"Keep up, don't fall behind!"

"They're coming!" someone screamed in panic.

Ah!

Then came a scream.

Someone at the back of the group couldn't help looking back, only to see a companion already pounced upon and knocked to the ground by a green-skinned lizard. The lizard opened its mouth wide and bit directly into the companion's head.

Right behind this feeding green-skinned lizard, another lizard sprinted out.

The lizard burst into a sprint with startling speed, and in the blink of an eye, it was about to pounce on two people at the back of the group.

"No!" one of them cried out, his heart filled with terror, yet a cruel glint flashed across his face.

In this life-or-death moment, he actually reached out and pulled down his companion.

The companion was dragged to the ground, struggling to get up, and opened his mouth to curse before being pounced on and killed by the lizards, able to emit only a shrill scream.

The screams made all the survivors' hearts tighten.

One of the young girls saw the scene behind her, bit her lip, took a potion from the leather pouch at her waist, and waved it toward the sky behind her.

The potion was like powder, but after being scattered into the air, it instantly turned into a thick green smoke.

"Hold your breath!" the girl called out loudly in warning; she was none other than Zi Di.

The surviving companions seemed quite familiar with this green smoke, immediately holding their breath and darting out of the haze.

As for the green-skinned lizards pursuing them from behind, they breathed normally and thus inhaled all the smoke into their nasal cavities and lungs.

Consequently, these green-skinned lizards soon let out miserable screeches, some struggling in the deep green smoke, others darting about wildly, throwing the entire chasing pack of lizards into chaos.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the surviving exploration team members successfully put some distance between themselves and the lizards.

"Hurry, run!"

"We're going to make it."

"Lord Zi Di is truly amazing, thanks to your potion!"

"Are there any left, throw some more."

Everyone shouted and cheered, the joy of rebirth from a desperate situation filling everyone's heart.

"How could you do that?! I just saw it, you actually caused your companion's death." Bai Ya's accusation sounded exceptionally harsh amidst the cheers.

The person accused first showed a flash of shame, but quickly grew angry and cursed, "Fuck off, mind your own business!"

"You!" Bai Ya stammered, feeling astonished.

The accused person wore an agitated expression, his usual good temper completely gone, as if he had turned into a different person.

"Alright, we aren't out of danger yet. Sir Zhen Jin will decide everything that happens here!" an old man spoke at the opportune moment, steadying the group.

He was precisely Cang Xu.

Meanwhile, off to the northeast of this surviving group, there was a sand dune.

Two heads poked out from the dune, their looks similar; they were the biological brothers Lan Zao and Huang Zao.

"Older brother, I've found them!" Huang Zao said, extremely excited, though his excitement immediately subsided. "They're being hunted by green-skinned lizards."

"They really are here," Lan Zao nodded. "Huh? Why don't I see Sir Zhen Jin?"

"They probably got separated and haven't regrouped yet. We only managed to track the beasts' trails here because we found the pink markings on these green-skinned lizards," Huang Zao guessed.

As it turned out, after the exploration team was teleported earlier, they immediately encountered a storm.

Relying on her potion, Zi Di had rapidly melted an underground cave into the dust storm, helping many exploration team members.

The cave had not been sturdy and collapsed while the dust storm raged, accidentally connecting with another subterranean cavern.

To survive, everyone had no choice but to enter this cave.

As it turned out, this desert underground cave was not formed naturally; the cave had been forged by a group of green-skinned lizards.

The exploration team members were not unfamiliar with these green-skinned lizards, having encountered them soon after they were teleported into the desert.

The place Zi Di and the others reached was the most crucial location within the lizards' underground nest—the nursery.

A large number of lizard eggs were stored in the nursery, guarded by dedicated mother lizards.

Upon encountering each other, the two sides immediately engaged in a fierce battle.

There were only two mother lizards, and under the effects of Zi Di's potion, the exploration team members quickly killed them. However, this commotion caught the attention of other green-skinned lizards, which immediately launched a frantic, vengeful offensive against the exploration team members.

Fortunately, the entrance to the nursery was extremely narrow, so everyone dug in and held the defensive line against difficult odds.

The green-skinned lizards came endlessly, and casualties began to appear among the exploration team.

Through dissection, Cang Xu learned that the frequency of heat in green-skinned lizards was not high, and a mother lizard only ever laid a single egg at a time. Yet there were so many lizard eggs in the cave, leading him to naturally deduce that the scale of the lizard pack outside was enormous.

Without a doubt, holding their ground here offered no way out.

Realizing this, everyone began planning a breakout.

During this time, Zi Di scattered the pink potion over the lizards, hoping this would transmit a signal.

As for now, they had broken out and temporarily shaken off the lizards' pursuit.

"Let's hurry and join up with them," Lan Zao said, making to move.

But the next moment, his arm was grabbed hard by his younger brother Huang Zao: "No, older brother, look!"

Following the direction of Huang Zao's finger, Lan Zao saw a massive number of green-skinned lizards blocking the path ahead of Zi Di and Cang Xu.

However, Zi Di and Cang Xu had no idea, their view being blocked precisely by a sand dune.

Onlookers saw more clearly, and the true tactical situation was uncovered by Lan Zao and Huang Zao.

"Not good, they're about to be surrounded by lizards. At this rate, they're definitely dead. We need to warn them quickly!" Lan Zao's expression changed drastically.

"Hold on," Huang Zao stopped him once more.

"What are you doing?" Lan Zao glared angrily. "Saving people is urgent!"

Huang Zao retorted, "Don't be a fool, older brother. These people are dead for sure. Look again!"

Lan Zao looked closely, his face turning pale. He discovered that not only were there large packs of lizards at the front of the exploration team, but lizard packs were also flanking their left and right sides.

"Even so..." Lan Zao's body wavered, teeth gritted, before Huang Zao interrupted him.

"Sir Zhen Jin isn't here, and they're only struggling thanks to Miss Zi Di's potion. There is simply no hope of survival. Don't be foolish, older brother. Even with the two of us added, it's nothing more than walking to our deaths." Huang Zao's expression was cold.

Then he posed a series of rhetorical questions: "What are they to you? Are they worth your life?"

"But we currently hold slave status, and we discussed earlier about following Sir Zhen Jin together, didn't we?" Lan Zao hesitated.

Huang Zao's face darkened: "Slaves... I have no desire to be any slave. The earlier situation was purely out of desperation."

"Besides, we don't even know where Sir Zhen Jin is right now. Since he isn't here, he certainly won't know what happened here in the future. Don't we want to follow Sir Zhen Jin for a bright future? Throwing our lives away like this is not our plan."

"But..." Lan Zao's expression wavered. "I at least have to speak up and warn them."

"Don't do that," Huang Zao shook his head. "It's already too late! They've already been surrounded. The moment you speak up and let them discover us, they will definitely demand our support. What will we do then?"

"Go, and it's certain death. Refuse, and they'll definitely harbor a grudge. Who knows what methods they might use to record this incident? When Sir Zhen Jin finds their remains in the future, he'll likely discover the secret of us standing by and watching them die. This is far too terrible for us."

Lan Zao did not reply, only watching the exploration team members in the distance; their faces were still filled with joy, completely unaware they had plunged into a desperate impasse.

Lan Zao's brow furrowed deeper and deeper, his hands instinctively grabbing two handfuls of sand as his fists gripped tight.

Seeing Lan Zao like this, Huang Zao's heart skipped a beat.

He knew his older brother very well.

Thus, Huang Zao spoke in a low bark: "Do you want me to die, older brother!"

"What?" Lan Zao was stunned.

"I know these people once helped you, and even Sir Zhen Jin and Miss Zi Di saved my life. You don't want to owe them, you want to repay their kindness. You must be thinking of sending me away and going to support them all by yourself!"

Huang Zao's words struck right at the center of Lan Zao's heart.

Lan Zao was indeed thinking that.

Yet Huang Zao continued: "If you go, you'll undoubtedly die! Leaving me behind alone, how am I supposed to survive in this desert by myself? Besides, can I just watch you walk to your death? You are my real brother! If you go, I'll definitely follow right behind you. You die, and my life goes with you."

"Little brother..." Lan Zao gritted his teeth, glaring at Huang Zao.

"Older brother!" Huang Zao glared back, yielding not an inch. "Have you forgotten Mother's dying words? You swore to take care of me for the rest of your life. You swore that even if you died, you would die before me. Now, going to support them is driving me to my death!"

"Yes, I swore. From childhood to adulthood, I've always taken care of you, haven't I? But you're already grown; you're a seasoned sailor, and you even possess Bronze-level strength..."

"So what? In the Spider Forest, wasn't I abandoned by you?!" Huang Zao interrupted Lan Zao without mercy.

"I thought you were dead back then!!" Lan Zao roared, his face flushed red, seemingly out of anger.

Huang Zao sneered: "Me dying was perhaps a good thing for you, wasn't it? After all, you were the one who caused Father's death in the first place. If I die, who will ever know your secret? Then you'll be free!"

"No! How can you think that?!" Lan Zao let out a painful, low howl, his expression twisted and the veins on his forehead bulging.

Huang Zao's tone suddenly pitched higher: "Then let's go! The two of us will leave this place together, escape this damned island together. You have to prove yourself with actions."

Huang Zao's words were like a spear made of ice, stabbing directly into the deepest recesses of Lan Zao's heart.

The burly man half-knelt on the ground, staring fixedly at his younger brother, remaining motionless for a good long while like a sculpture.

The brothers stared at each other for a few breaths, then were interrupted by the commotion stirred up by the green-skinned lizards.

Seeing several green-skinned lizards rapidly sprinting toward the sand dune where they stood, Huang Zao urged urgently: "Let's go, if we don't leave now, neither of us will get out."

He immediately stood up, pulling hard on Lan Zao.

At first he didn't budge, but after trying twice more, Huang Zao finally hauled Lan Zao to his feet, and they sprinted down the dune to escape the place.

At the very last moment of their retreat, Lan Zao looked back and saw that the exploration team had discovered their own plight, stopping in their tracks and clearly plunging into panic.

He let out a deep sigh in his heart, lowered his head, and fled side by side with Huang Zao.