Chapter 119: Exchanges and Transactions (Fifth Installment)

The grass, standing as tall as a person, swayed continuously in all directions.

Wherever the little deer stepped, the air currents generated by the immense flow of light surrounding its body caused the surroundings to tremble with a rustling sound. With every step the deer took, the ground shook slightly, and its massive hoofprints crushed patches of grass. However, as soon as the deer moved past, the crushed grass would instantly spring back to its original state.

In this manner, the little deer moved forward without obstruction until it reached the camp of the hundred-man team. By the time it arrived, everyone in the camp had already gathered in the open space outside. Most of them, however, were wearing blindfolds that looked quite strange to the little deer.

Following its father's instructions, the little deer had absorbed enough life essence to shroud its entire body, specifically to ensure that humans would not be affected by its nature—a nature that would drive anyone who looked directly at it into madness. Yet, as it arrived, it found that all these people had put on blindfolds. The little deer felt no resentment; it simply found these humans wearing eye coverings a bit peculiar.

The deer halted outside the camp, while everyone inside gazed at it with nervous anticipation.

***

"Professor, what do you think Lingxiao wants by coming here?"

"Or is it just here to take a look?"

Deng Ziya asked Professor Qin nervously. It was no wonder she was anxious; the sheer size of the little deer was overwhelming. Observing such a colossal creature at close range was quite intimidating. It stood as tall as a ten-story building. If they did not already know it meant humans no harm, no one would dare stand before it.

"It certainly isn't here just out of curiosity. Lingxiao possesses great wisdom. It previously refused to let us get close, so its initiative to come here now suggests one of two things," Professor Qin replied, looking equally puzzled. "Either it is dissatisfied with our long-term presence and wants to drive us away, or perhaps our recent activities have encroached upon something of theirs? A warning?"

Professor Qin was also perplexed. It never crossed his mind that the little deer might be here to help them.

However, this uncertainty was soon resolved. A tiny sprite, no larger than a thumb, flew down from the side of the little deer. It made its way toward the military representative who led the hundred-man expedition.

Under the curious gaze of everyone, the sprite began making gestures toward the officer's blindfold with its tiny hands.

"Are you asking me to take off my blindfold?" Wu Wenbin pointed to his own mask and asked the miraculous-looking sprite in confusion. He did not know if the sprite could understand him, but given its humanoid form, he spoke instinctively.

As it turned out, the sprite did understand, as it nodded at him with a smile.

Seeing this, Wu Wenbin was visibly stunned and grew nervous. Take off the blindfold? Wouldn't that be a death wish? He was well aware that looking directly at the little deer would lead to madness. In his trepidation, he immediately said to the sprite:

"We can't do that. Looking directly at Lingxiao will cause problems."

Afraid the sprite might not understand, Wu Wenbin pointed at the deer, then at himself, and finally made a gesture of collapsing to the ground. Seeing his movements, the other soldiers couldn't help but find it slightly comical. Of course, no one dared to laugh; the reality of the situation was too grave to be taken lightly.

Watching Wu Wenbin's antics, the sprite covered its mouth and giggled. Soon, however, it adopted a cheerful expression, pointed to the deer, then to itself, and used both hands to mimic an embrace. The meaning was clear: the light swirling around the little deer acted as a barrier, neutralizing its gaze-induced madness. After all, apart from its antlers, the creature’s body was completely enveloped by the flowing light.

"Oh?"

Not only did Wu Wenbin understand the sprite's meaning, but many others behind him did as well. They remained hesitant, not daring to remove their blindfolds—all except Professor Qin.

Once the sprite finished its gestures, Professor Qin was the first to step toward Wu Wenbin. Without hesitation, he removed his blindfold and looked directly at the little deer.

And it was in that moment that Professor Qin felt, for the first time, the immense pressure of the creature's true scale. While he had felt a sense of weight when viewing the deer through the lines on his screen, it was nowhere near as intense as seeing it in person. The dense, swirling light covering the deer’s body made the professor dizzy, though only from the sheer brilliance of the glow.

Satisfied that there was no danger, Professor Qin took a curious glance at the sprite before turning to address everyone behind him:

"It's alright, everyone. Go ahead and remove your blindfolds. Lingxiao is covered in light; it won't cause us any harm."

"Oh?"

Hearing the professor’s words, the group exchanged glances. Though still somewhat hesitant, they began to remove their blindfolds one by one. Seeing that everyone had complied, Professor Qin stepped forward as the group's representative. Under the watchful eye of Colonel Wu Wenbin, he addressed the sprite fluttering before him:

"I don't know what to call you, so let's just address you as 'Miss' for now. You can understand human language, can't you?"

The sprite blinked and nodded, then held up its thumb and index finger to gesture that it only understood a little.

"A little? Well, that's better than not being able to communicate at all," Professor Qin said, smiling with delight. "By the way, Miss, may I ask why Lingxiao has come to see us?"

To ensure the sprite understood him clearly, Professor Qin gestured toward the deer's body as he spoke. His question was met with a sweet smile from the sprite.

The sprite flew in a quick circle and landed beneath the deer's belly, where it began to manipulate a vine that surged rapidly from beneath the deer's hoof. Under the sprite's control, the roots of the vine began to trace out characters on the ground—Ryan script, which everyone present could read. These characters were based on the visual information the little deer had received from Ji Yu; the sprite was merely transcribing the message it had received through telepathic transmission.

"The evil from another world is exerting an ever-growing influence on our world. To protect the forest, and to protect ourselves, we can provide you with some assistance."

"However, this help is not free. You will need to bring us more deer herds in the future. In return, we will provide an equivalent number of reinforcements for your own kind, and each one will be strengthened to the absolute maximum."

"What is your response?"

After writing this, the sprite looked directly at the crowd. Professor Qin and everyone nearby stood frozen as they stared at the words on the ground. This stunned silence, however, quickly gave way to unparalleled joy.