He didn't know how long he stood there. Just when Charles was about to lose the feeling of his legs, he saw the clay man move.
It stood in front of the rope man's big net, shouting and yelling "Wu Ha".
The rope men also started to move. Taking advantage of the gap between humans' blinks, they loosened the tied-up crew members, walked into the cemetery next to them, and refilled the soil that Charles and his team had just dug out. The little clay man followed to help.
The crisis was resolved, and the Rope Man completely ignored the existence of Charles and others.
The crew members looked at each other with strange expressions and slowly put away their weapons.
They all understood without anyone explaining that these rope men were just trying to save them.
"Tuba." Charles called to his navigator.
"I'm here." Tuba, who had grown a tuft of white hair on his head, jumped in front of him with a smile.
Charles looked at the old madman in front of him with a complicated expression. This guy's brain was sometimes good and sometimes bad. He didn't know whether he should listen to this madman.
Glancing quickly at the rope men moving in the distance, he lowered his voice and asked, "You just found out that they won't let us move. So, do you know what these guys are thinking now?"
"They want to fill the mud back up and bury their dead companions again."
"I didn't ask that. Don't keep staring at one person. Go and see what other ropers think."
"But they all think the same thing in their heads..."
Tuba looked at the ropemen in front of him with a sad face. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly rushed into the group of ropemen and started muttering to two of them.
Dipper held his dagger and stood between Charles and the rope man with a vigilant look on his face. "Captain, how about we go first?"
"Since there's no threat, why leave? Maybe we can find out some information about this island from them, or find out... what that thing was just now."
Charles also came to his senses at this time. It turned out that these rope men were chasing them just to entangle them and avoid being attacked by the singing.
But it’s not Charles’ fault. He has explored so many islands, but this is the first time he has seen such friendly natives.
Long-term danger has made him subconsciously treat anything that is not of the same kind as an enemy.
Tuba came back soon with a smile on his face, dragging two light rope men in his hands. "We are good friends now."
But the rope man kept struggling to break free, and it didn't look like he came here voluntarily.
Charles looked hesitantly at Tuba, who was pulling the rope tighter, and said to him, "Ask your new friend what that thing was and what is the pattern of its appearance?"
But Tuba's answer made Charles angry.
"Hehehe, I don't know their language, so I can't translate it."
Charles didn't say anything. Dipper pointed at Tuba with his webbed right hand and shouted, "You can't even understand what they are saying, yet you are still chatting with others? Are you kidding the captain? Believe it or not, I will throw you on this island."
"Who can't be friends with someone if they can't understand what they're saying? I can hear their emotions, and I can see what they're seeing."
Charles didn't have time to listen to their quarrel and started drawing again by taking out pen and paper.
As the oblate pencil swiped across the paper, various buildings of the foundation appeared on it.
After finishing the painting, Charles handed the painting to the two rope men and pointed with his finger.
The rope man's body froze in place, and his strange facial features all turned 180 degrees to look behind him.
Tuba at the side translated: "They didn't mean to reject it. They said that what you drew is over there. I saw the road in their minds, so I know where it is."
At this moment, Tuba's expression suddenly changed. "Charles, don't go over there. There are noises over there. The noises of killing are coming from over there."
The sound of murder? Charles immediately thought of the strange music before.
"That thing came from the ruins of the Foundation? Another strange relic of the Foundation was leaked?" Charles muttered to himself with a frown on his face.
After a brief thought, Charles finally decided to go. Although it was dangerous, since the target had been marked, there was no reason not to go.
In addition, I already know how to control the strange singing, so the danger is within controllable range.
Upon hearing the captain's order, all crew members immediately packed their luggage and were eager to leave.
To be honest, being surrounded by such a group of weird rope men was a bit scary even though they had no hostility.
But after taking only two steps, the road in front of him was blocked by a rope man.
"Charles, they want to give us gifts." Tuba translated promptly.
Soon, all the gifts were delivered to Charles by the ropeman. They were some moldy echo coins, some gold and silver rings and gold teeth.
At the same time, the naked little clay man was pushed in front of Charles by the rope man.
The little clay man tried to rush back into the rope group, but was pushed out.
He screamed in panic, but the ropemen had no intention of letting him in. Their meaning was self-evident.
After being pushed to the ground by the rope man, the little guy fell to the ground and cried loudly like a child.
Looking at the rows of rope men in front of him, Charles grabbed the moldy echo coins, rolled up the little man with his tentacles, and threw him in Linda's direction. "Take him, let's go."
Under the gaze of the rope man's strange features, Charles and others gradually walked into the forest.
"Mr. Charles, are they good people?" Lily turned her head and looked at the rope men who were gradually disappearing beyond the firelight.
"I don't know whether they are good or bad, but judging from the way they know how to pay with money, this should not be the first time they have cooperated with humans."
Lily put her furry head against Charles' face and said, "They must be good people. They were protecting us just now."
Charles looked at the little man curled up in Linda's arms with an aggrieved expression and nodded slightly.
Under the leadership of Tuba, Charles and others continued towards their destination.
Without having to search blindly, Charles and others quickly found their destination.
Also in the forest, the foundation's modern building was looming among the trees, but Charles did not see any automatic elevator leading to the dome.
"Throw the telescope to me." said Charles, squatting on one knee on the tree trunk.
Charles took the monocular telescope handed to him by Dipper and closed one eye to observe carefully.
"Door? Doesn't the Foundation go to the surface through something like an elevator, but something like a portal?"
Charles felt that this possibility was not impossible given the Lenovo Foundation's use of various relics.
After a quick search, Charles jumped down from the tree trunk and said, "Drop everything unnecessary and let's go."
(End of this chapter)