The cheerful atmosphere instantly turned somber.
Nois silently lowered his head, recalling the members of his adventure team successively leaving, and the perilous situations they had faced.
He felt guilty.
An unlucky person since childhood, he had never known what it was like to be favored by luck.
In his heart, he believed that if Reyel, Big Bear, Ai Wei, and Ze Ku had never met him, they might have had a better adventuring experience in the caves.
Half a year since the team's formation, this was their first great harvest.
Were the Flame Fruits useless to him?
No!
He had awakened his flame abilities upon entering the caves. How could fruits that enhanced fire-elemental strength be useless to him?
Yet, he did not keep the Flame Fruit for himself, choosing instead to sell it to outsiders.
He—
Did not want his teammates to risk their lives adventuring with him and receive no rewards.
He also wanted to see smiles on his teammates' faces, the joy when they received their fair share of resources, and then for everyone to have more motivation to continue adventuring.
Half a year!
For a full six months, this scene had never materialized.
He so desperately wanted that moment to arrive that he chose to sell the Flame Fruit. He wanted to buy equipment, fearing his bad luck would implicate his teammates.
"Who says your luck is bad?"
Seeing Nois's dejected state, Ai Wei walked up with a smile.
"Meeting us, is that a result of your bad luck? That means you shouldn't have met us, and we shouldn't have become your teammates."
"I have never thought that."
Nois looked up, shaking his head vigorously. Seeing his flustered expression, Ai Wei smiled.
"Nois, don't underestimate yourself. For us, people from different countries outside the caves to gather together, it's fate, and more importantly, it's because of you, our leader. It's your presence that allows us, who were once strangers and wary of each other, to gather here and hand over our backs without any reservations."
"Adventure is like a train journey."
"It stops and starts, and people get on and off continuously."
"The departure of those former teammates is an irresistible force, but our staying here is definitely due to your charisma."
Ai Wei's gaze was sincere, and Reyel walked up with a smile.
"That's right, this young lady is staying because of you, you silly boy. You're always grinning foolishly, and I enjoy adventuring with you, you simpleton. Perhaps your bad luck makes adventures more unpredictable, but isn't that precisely what makes adventures interesting?"
"I will protect everyone!" Big Bear clenched his wooden shield.
"Good... friends."
The taciturn and ineloquent Ze Ku extended his fist.
Nois's eyes welled up with tears. He clenched his fists tightly. Ai Wei suddenly walked to his side and hooked her arm around his shoulder.
"In our Dragon Country, there's an idiom: 'When misfortune reaches its extreme, good fortune begins.' Someone as unlucky as you, after hitting rock bottom, their luck tends to soar. You've been unlucky for so long, it's time for some good luck, and we want to enjoy some of it with you. I'm telling you, this might just be a turning point."
"But Elder Chen Yu he hasn't..."
*Ding—*
Before Nois could finish speaking, the crisp notification tone from his wristband startled him. He tapped it to check and saw a friend request from Chen Yu.
"Elder Chen Yu!!!"
Reyel grabbed Nois's arm and exclaimed, jumping up. Ai Wei, with her arms crossed and head tilted, seemed to be saying to Nois—
See, didn't I tell you?
Big Bear's face was filled with excitement, and even the usually stoic Ze Ku's eyes gleamed.
Nois looked around nervously. Although Chen Yu had added him as a friend, he was so unlucky that he couldn't guarantee what would happen next.
It was the encouraging gazes of his teammates that finally made him nod firmly and accept the request.
"Hello, Elder."
Nois sent a message filled with anticipation. Shortly after, he received a reply from Chen Yu.
"Hello."
An awkward silence ensued.
After exchanging greetings, neither Nois nor Chen Yu sent any further messages.
"You really have a lot of patience," the little demon whispered, watching Chen Yu, who tapped his leg and stared silently at the chat box for a long time.
Chen Yu smiled slightly without speaking.
Patience?
If he truly had patience, he shouldn't have added him as a friend in the first place. The moment he sent the request, he had already revealed his needs.
"Hmph!"
Suddenly, a cold voice reached Chen Yu's ears.
Chen Yu only then realized he was still on a video call with Jiang Yaqing. Before he could say anything, Jiang Yaqing directly ended the video call.
He stared blankly at the disconnected screen for a while, then turned his gaze to the little demon.
"What's wrong with her?"
He had indeed kept Jiang Yaqing waiting for a moment just now, but he also had important matters to attend to. Jiang Yaqing should have been able to sense that when she video called him.
She shouldn't have gotten so angry.
"How should I know?"
The little demon spread her hands.
Admittedly, Chen Yu had chosen the wrong person to consult. If Shona were here, she might have been able to guess Jiang Yaqing's feelings.
The little demon?
She was a perfect example of a "straight girl" with terminal cancer. Her mind was either focused on food, or mischief, or stirring up trouble. How would she know anything about relationships between men and women?
As for the silent Nuo Yi, there was even less to be said; his mind was filled only with food.
Seeing that the little demon couldn't offer any explanation, Chen Yu didn't dwell on it and returned his attention to the chat page. He was waiting for the other party to come to him.
It wasn't that he wanted to deliberately lower the price; he simply wanted to avoid being overcharged.
Little did he know—
At this moment, in the endless snowfields.
Chen Yu had no idea how he had offended Jiang Yaqing. What's more, after Jiang Yaqing ended the video call, he made no inquiry, which caused Jiang Yaqing's anger to increase exponentially.
"Fine, fine, fine, Chen Yu, you heartless wretch!"
Jiang Yaqing clenched her fists, staring at the projection on her wristband. If they weren't separated by tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of miles, Jiang Yaqing would have probably landed a punch directly on his face.
But—
She had to vent this anger.
Glancing around, the surrounding snow apes instinctively retreated a few steps upon feeling Jiang Yaqing's gaze. Jiang Yaqing pointed at one of them.
The snow ape that was pointed at frantically shook its head in terror.
"I told you to come here!" Jiang Yaqing glared. After a moment of silence, amidst the mournful gazes of the other snow apes, the snow ape came before Jiang Yaqing.
"Why are you backing away? Am I going to eat you?"
Jiang Yaqing glanced at the snow ape, then covered her chest, panting heavily.
"Where are those people you captured?"
The snow ape quickly pointed in a direction. Jiang Yaqing nodded silently, then twisted her neck a couple of times. With a lift of her hands, her cotton coat fell to the ground, revealing a luxurious, snow-white robe underneath, like that of a queen.
"Lead the way!"
Chen Yu was far away, and she couldn't reach him, but she had to vent her anger!