Chapter 1555: The Leader
Ning looked around at the place he had arrived at. It was a small room, about 5 by 5 by 3 meters in all directions, with a few sacks around the place. It was definitely underground, and when Ning looked around, he saw no door or window at all.
How were they supposed to get out of here?
The two men at the front moved their hands and a chunk of the ceiling opened, the rock that was in its place moving to close the pocket they had just created.
Ning looked back at where it was closed, and a girl beside him moved to it and carved a ‘3’ on it. Ning then looked around at the walls around him and saw various numbers written all over it, including 10.
They had either begun distributing into City 10 or had formed a route to it. Whatever the case, they were ready.
A rope ladder dropped from the top and people began climbing on it one by one. Ning was the second last to move, behind whom was one of the other men who did not do anything throughout the trip.
The more likely case was that Ning didn’t know what he did. He might even have been the Breather who helped the others stay alive.
After climbing the rope that was nearly 10 meters long, Ning arrived in an open space with a much wider room that was brightly lit from the ceiling.
Ning looked around and saw a bunch of sacks and clothes being hung around in some sort of hanger that was completely covered up. There were a lot of those and Ning could barely see through the clothes.
He then saw a man who Karina approached. Karina walked up to him and kissed him gently before whispering into his ears about something.
The man was slightly taller than Ning with long hair that came down to his shoulders. He had slightly darker skin and with rugged physique. He appeared as though he worked out a lot, and had gotten a few scars from various altercations.
Ning looked around, still very much confused. Was this not where they made Dust? Karina did say he needed approval for that first.
Was this the leader then?
“You are called… Ning?” the man asked.
“I am,” Ning said. “And who are you?”
“They called me leader, and you will too,” the man said.
Ning raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean I’m in the group?” he asked.
The man gave a smirk. “You would want that, wouldn’t you?” he asked.
“I mean, I did just walk what? 4 kilometers to get here. That was a long journey. I wouldn’t have done that If I didn’t want it,” Ning said.
The man’s smirk lowered a little. “A comedian, are you?”
“No, just telling the truth. If you find that funny, I suggest you laugh it off,” Ning said.
The man pulled out his knife and twirled it around in his finger. He licked his lips while doing so, trying to appear threatening.
Ning simply watched him, waiting for him to speak.
“You aren’t so easily scared, huh?” he asked. “Why is that so?”
“Should I be?” Ning asked.
The man paused for a long time, letting an awkward silence settle between the group. Everyone looked at the leader, trying to see what stance he was taking when the man laughed out loud. “Alright, you’ve won me over,” he said and put back his knife. “Tell me, what can you do exactly? These people say a lot, but I like to trust my own eyes.”
“Okay,” Ning said and pulled out a small vial of Spark before eating it. Once he had the power inside of him, he looked around and saw one of the clothes hanging off of the hanger.
He touched the cloth and immediately turned it into Dust that fell to the ground.
“I can turn anything into Dust,” Ning said as he moved back. Even as he did, he saw a section of the hanger that turned out to be a thick section. It was large, like a branch or something, but it was completely made out of stone.
‘A stone branch?’ Ning thought. But the other began talking and his attention was pulled away.
The man moved forward and Ning stepped away from the Dust. He picked a bit of the Dust and tasted it, his eyes immediately going wide.
“My god, you were right,” he said, looking at Karina. Then he turned toward Ning. “How do you do this?”
“It’s a long story,” Ning said. “I don’t know if you have the time for it. I just told her, so you can ask her later.”
“Alright…” the man said. “How long did it take you to learn this then?”
“I was high on Dust for a while, so long but not that long,” Ning said. “About 3 months or 4 months.”
“4 months, huh?” the man said, scratching his chin as he put on a thoughtful look. “It took you quite a short time, and you weren’t even with Dust for that long. You are much more talented than me.”
“Oh, you don’t have to praise me,” Ning said. He also wondered what he meant by talented.
‘Than him?’ he thought.
“Alright, I’ve made my decision,” the man said and pulled out something from his jacket, slipping it into his mouth.
‘Was that Dust?’ Ning thought.
“You will be one of us from now on,” the man said with a cheer.
The various others clapped, and Ning smiled. He finally made it into their group.
The leader walked toward him with his hand outstretched and a massive smile on his face. “Welcome to the family, Ning.”
Ning smiled and grabbed his hand for a shake. “Happy to be here,” he replied.
The leader continued smiling and so did Ning. The smile continued.
Ning frowned and looked down. When he did, his eyes widened with a look of horror.
From where he shook the leader’s hand, his hand was beginning to slowly turn into rock.
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