Chapter 129: The Na'vi

After resolving the magnetic interference issues, Wang Jing’s interdimensional squad set out once more. Their goal this time was to locate the Na'vi people and the human mining base, Hell's Gate.

The purpose of seeking out the Na'vi was to establish a cooperative relationship; after all, the enemy of one's enemy is a friend. Wang Jing was well aware that superconducting ore was as valuable as gold. Its most direct applications included manufacturing superconducting coils to enhance the power and size of electromagnetic cannons, as well as integrating it into microchips to boost performance while reducing energy loss and heat dissipation—it was truly a panacea. Searching for the human mining base was intended to secure a supply of this ore and to gather specific intelligence on the state of Earth in this world.

To maximize their search area, Wang Jing deployed drones. Fortunately, he quickly located both the Na'vi settlement and Hell's Gate.

"Boss, which way should we head first?" Li Yiyi asked, looking at the images transmitted back by the drones.

"Ada Wong, go and investigate the situation on the human side. The rest of us will head to make contact with the Na'vi," Wang Jing directed.

"Understood!" With that, Ada Wong peeled off from the group, flying alone toward the human ground base, Hell's Gate.

Wang Jing and the others landed and proceeded on foot toward the nearby Na'vi gathering place. They chose to walk because flying directly in might be seen as disrespectful and could easily lead to misunderstandings. Another reason was to collect biological samples from Pandora; after all, understanding a planet's ecology requires more than just observing one or two species.

As they descended, the team walked toward the Na'vi settlement, admiring the unique scenery and strange creatures. Because the ground vegetation was incredibly dense, the team often had to traverse winding tree branches, but thanks to the assistance of their combat armor, moving across the canopy was not difficult.

While crossing a trunk that spanned a lake, everyone stopped to watch the fish swimming in the water below and the surface that glowed with a faint blue light. The strange-looking fish in the water created ripples with every touch, and the areas swept by these ripples glowed slightly brighter than the rest of the surface.

"This is light emitted by aquatic microorganisms when stimulated. We have similar phenomena on Earth!" Li Yiyi explained.

"Even if you say so, we still need to collect the necessary samples," Liu Peiqiang said, taking a sealed bag from his armor's storage compartment and handing it to Alice in front.

Alice, experienced in such tasks, used her telekinesis to guide the bag into the water. She collected a full bag of lake water and handed it to Wang Jing, who immediately sent it back to the home dimension.

Just as the group prepared to move forward again, many seeds resembling oversized dandelion tufts drifted down from the sky.

"What are these?" Alice asked, reaching out to catch one.

"Seeds of the Tree of Souls. To the Na'vi, these are sacred symbols. The Tree of Souls acts as a network terminal for Eywa, the planet’s consciousness. The Na'vi often collectively link to this network for prayers and the like."

While Wang Jing was speaking, several seeds landed on him and the Ancient One. Wang Jing was somewhat surprised that the Ancient One had garnered favor from Eywa, the planet's consciousness, but considering she was an ancient being who had lived for over three hundred years, he realized it wasn't particularly strange for her to have some unique qualities.

"I can sense their connection to this planet, though it is very faint, like Wi-Fi with only one bar of signal," the Ancient One said calmly.

"It seems this Tree of Souls not only acts as a network gateway but also has Wi-Fi functionality!" Li Yiyi joked.

As Li Yiyi spoke, the seeds that had landed on Wang Jing and the Ancient One suddenly scattered. Li Yiyi reached out to grab a seed as a sample, but Wang Jing stopped him. Just as Li Yiyi looked at Wang Jing with a confused expression, ready to ask why, a roar sounding like a lion echoed from across the branches.

Wang Jing looked up and saw a pitch-black Thanator.

Seeing Wang Jing look its way, the Thanator opened its mouth, filled with sharp teeth, and the armor plates on its neck stood up, trembling along with its roar. If they were ordinary people, they would have been terrified by the Thanator's horrific appearance, but to the interdimensional squad, the Thanator's roar sounded like a kitten meowing in hunger.

"I'll take care of it!" Wang Lei said, stepping to the front and raising his electromagnetic cannon.

"Wait, capture it alive!" Wang Jing reminded him immediately. It would be a pity to kill such a perfect experimental specimen with an electromagnetic cannon.

"No problem!" Wang Lei retracted the fully charged cannon and flexed his fists, saying nonchalantly.

Initially, upon seeing Wang Lei raise the cannon, the Thanator had sensed a lethal danger and had already considered retreating. However, when it saw Wang Lei retract the weapon, the sense of lethal danger vanished. As the undisputed master of the jungle, the Thanator immediately felt confident again, assuming the opponent had been intimidated by its ferocity.

The Thanator extended its sharp claws, gouging deep marks into the tree branch, and lunged at Wang Lei. Faced with the aggressive beast, Wang Lei charged forward as well. Just as they were about to collide, the thrusters on Wang Lei’s armor engaged, providing extra momentum and lift.

The Thanator, having opened its maw to bite off Wang Lei’s head, didn't even have time to react before it was struck hard on the chin by a punch. Then, to the beast's disbelief, its entire body flipped backward. It struggled to adjust its center of gravity in mid-air, and after landing, it used its claws to desperately grip the tree trunk, preventing itself from falling into the lake below.

Seeing the remarkably human-like expression and eyes of the Thanator, the team felt a sense of anticipation—would it press the attack, or retreat in the face of adversity?

Wang Lei stepped toward the Thanator, his small stature causing the beast to back away in fear. Suddenly, a sharp, meter-long feathered arrow thudded into the branch in front of Wang Lei.

Instantly, the entire team leveled their weapons toward the direction from which the arrow had been fired, ready to tear the entire forest apart at the slightest hint of trouble. Seeing the team brandish their weapons, the Thanator seemed to have witnessed a catastrophic monster; it turned and fled without looking back.

Upon seeing the arrow, Wang Jing shouted, "Don't fire!"

The next moment, a tall, blue figure leaped from the dense foliage. Wang Jing recognized the Na'vi holding the bow and arrow immediately as Neytiri, the female lead of the Avatar, and the successor to the tribe's spiritual leader.

"You are not welcome here, Sky People!" Neytiri said warily.

"My god, the alien actually speaks English!" Li Yiyi exclaimed, showing no awareness of the danger of being pointed at by a three-meter-tall armed alien.