241: Chapter 241 Can I have an IOU?

Looking in the direction of the voice, the newcomers were precisely the four people they had previously spied on.

Abbott immediately blocked Nie Ning and Heloise.

Seeing this, Nie Ning gave Abbott a silent thumbs-up.

Immediately after, Nie Ning thought of that silly bird, wondering why Chi Yu's beastly character was so much worse.

At this moment, Nie Ning began to use his Spiritual Power to connect with the Human-Faced Balloon, but he couldn't sense the Little Spider's location through it.

"Are you looking for this little thing?"

The speaker was none other than the Fifth-Circle Wizard, a middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache.

With a wave of his hand, a small beast cage appeared in his palm.

Nie Ning frowned. No wonder he couldn't sense the Little Spider through the Human-Faced Balloon; this beast cage must have the effect of shielding Spiritual Power.

"I didn't expect someone among you to be able to control a Corruptor. How rare."

The Fifth-Circle Wizard looked at Nie Ning, who was behind Abbott, and said with a smile.

Nie Ning's expression hardened. He hadn't expected this guy's Spiritual Power perception to be so strong. As expected, anyone who could reach the fifth rank wasn't simple.

"You didn't just come here to chat with us, did you?"

Nie Ning looked at the four people opposite him and spoke in a calm tone.

"Indeed."

The Fifth-Circle Wizard nodded and continued with a chuckle, "The black house here is actually related to the number of people."

"Based on the count, at least 16 people are needed to activate the trial of the ruins. This number usually only increases, it doesn't decrease."

Hearing this, Nie Ning couldn't help but exchange glances with Abbott.

If that was the case, didn't they have no hope of getting out?

After all, they had entered relying on a token, and such items would only become scarcer the further they went, making their chances of leaving increasingly slim.

Abbott had waited twenty years and still hadn't gathered enough people, which showed how difficult it was to gather the required number.

"Since you know, you must have come in fully prepared, right?"

Abbott's eyes flickered as he said in a deep voice.

Since the other party knew the rules but only came with four people, it didn't quite add up.

And the Eye of Astral had long become a thing of the past; these people couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

"We did make some preparations, but we miscalculated the number of people needed to activate the trial, so we'd like to borrow some things from you all."

As the Fifth-Circle Wizard's words fell, Nie Ning and the others instantly tensed up, their magic power slowly circulating within their bodies.

Seeing this, the Fifth-Circle Wizard shook his head slightly, smiled, and continued.

"Everyone, don't be nervous. I just want to borrow some materials from you all so we can make some puppets to trigger the ruins."

Although he said that, Nie Ning and the others didn't relax their guard.

Leaving aside the conditions for triggering the trial, the other party's strength was clearly much greater than theirs, so there was no reason for them to calmly discuss these matters.

"It shouldn't be that simple, right? If this could also activate the trial, wouldn't it be too childish?"

Nie Ning raised an eyebrow, asking cautiously.

A power capable of contending with gods, and you're telling me they'd leave such an obvious loophole?

"Of course, it's not that simple; it will probably take some effort. You just need to provide some materials, and we can handle the rest."

The Fifth-Circle Wizard didn't elaborate, his eyes constantly scanning Abbott, as if confirming something.

Nie Ning heard this and looked at Heloise beside him.

"I'm your student, and you want to split this with me too?"

Heloise hid the hand with the spatial ring behind her back, pouting discontentedly.

Seeing his thoughts exposed, Nie Ning couldn't help but cough twice, "As my student, what's wrong with helping your teacher share some pressure? You won't lose a limb."

Nie Ning said shamelessly.

He couldn't possibly split it with Abbott, could he?

If Abbott had those things, he wouldn't have been in such a miserable state before.

Such a brazen display even made the four people opposite them give Nie Ning a second look.

To be so self-righteous in front of outsiders, this young man truly has... boundless prospects.

Heloise was displeased: "Alchemy consumes so many materials; all the previous ones are used up. From now on, you can learn Alchemy yourself, don't look for me."

"As a wizard, you need to have a broader perspective."

Nie Ning said, pointing at Abbott, "You can't expect him to provide them, can you? He's in such a state; how could you even ask?"

Abbott, at the side, felt extremely awkward.

You can argue all you want, but can you please not drag me into this?

"Then why can't you have a broader perspective? A teacher asking a student for things, wouldn't that be a laughingstock if word got out?"

Heloise pouted, saying with disdain.

"You..."

"Hey, hey, stop, stop, stop. I only need materials for two puppets. At worst, I'll pay you back double after we get out."

Seeing that the two were about to argue, the Fifth-Circle Wizard helplessly intervened to mediate.

"Oh, how embarrassing. I was planning to give you the materials as a gift."

Nie Ning looked awkward, then continued, "Then can you write an IOU? If not, you can use other materials to offset it."

The four people opposite couldn't help but stare at Nie Ning with wide eyes.

To be honest, having lived for so many years, they had never seen such a shameless person.

Everyone came into the trial together, and not only did you not want to contribute, you even wanted to swindle some things from them. Was that reasonable?

The Fifth-Circle Wizard took a deep breath, calmed himself, and then slowly spoke, "I don't have too many things on me. I'll write you an IOU later."

"Alright then, there's no better way."

Nie Ning said with a helpless and troubled expression.

After some discussion, Nie Ning and Heloise each took half of the materials...

Heloise was almost driven to death by anger.

According to Nie Ning's logic, it was still risk-sharing, seeking victory through stability.

...

Once the Fifth-Circle Wizard obtained the materials, he began the work of crafting the puppets.

Meanwhile, Nie Ning and the others stayed on the side, eating and watching the four people make puppets, completely at ease.

"We need to be careful. I have a feeling those people aren't good news."

At this moment, Abbott's voice sounded in Nie Ning's ear.

Listening to Abbott's telepathic message, Nie Ning nodded thoughtfully.

He had noticed this long ago.

The four people had incredibly good tempers; they hadn't reacted despite his provocations, nor had they shown any dissatisfaction, which was abnormal.

More importantly, aside from the two fifth-rankers whose control over Spiritual Power was strong, preventing him from detecting too much Malice Perception.

The malice from the other two was very obvious; they would definitely not let them off easily afterward.

...