Dong glanced at the box, then looked up. "Why?"
Gelman answered calmly, "Didn't you say before that you came here for 'Nitoromi'? You gave us such important information, so it's only right that we repay you."
Dong fell silent for a while, then accepted it without protest. "Thank you. I'll take it, then."
He did need to extend his Lifespan. As someone who had ascended to "one chosen by God," he was already remarkably long-lived, but even his life had an end.
If he wanted true "immortality," he would have to submit to the "demigods" and become one of their "apostles."
But Dong had already rejected "Flesh." He was unwilling to become a hideous monster, and naturally wouldn't grovel before the other "demigods," either.
Only after Gelman returned to the campfire did Dong rise and solemnly pick up the box.
The moment he touched it, the box turned into a line of "text" and imprinted itself on the open page of his book.
Dong walked back into the shadows, but didn't sit down. Instead, he turned and stared at Gelman.
"You have no intention of giving up, do you?" he asked suddenly.
Gelman was silent.
Ging and Biscuit both looked up.
They already knew what Dong was asking Gelman, and they could guess what his answer would be.
Biscuit found the situation especially strange.
At first, Gelman and Ging had been the most eager to explore the Dark Continent, while she and the others had taken a more cautious stance.
Now, even Ging had reservations about the road ahead, yet Gelman remained just as determined.
He still wanted to press on, but he wasn't charging ahead recklessly.
Dong could see what Gelman was thinking, too.
"You still intend to continue, even if you encounter them and end up like me,