How to confirm the source of the sound was also a rather troublesome problem.
If they relied on hearing alone, it was completely useless. The sound was like three-dimensional surround audio, ringing right beside everyone's ears.
At least for now, Ronin could not think of any good method.
However, the people on this ship who had always served as the brain trust were not him, but Kurapika and Ging.
His role, at times, was to point out the direction, stand forward at critical moments, or become the final decision-maker when faced with a dilemma.
But this was not something that could be solved immediately. Over the next few days, everyone kept looking for various methods to lock onto the source of the sound.
Yet even when the airship approached the edge of the wasteland and was about to fly out of it, they still failed to locate the source. It felt as though this kind of noise, which had no offensive power but was extremely irritating, would simply appear across the wasteland at night.
Beyond the wasteland was a sea of trees.
That seemed to be the same sea of trees recorded in the information V5 had brought back. According to the normal route, once one crossed this sea of trees and continued forward another four hundred kilometers, one would reach the ancient labyrinth city.
However, Ronin's group's route was clearly different from the normal one, so the direction for crossing the sea of trees needed some adjustment.
Another thing everyone was curious about was what kind of terrain lay in the four hundred kilometers after crossing this sea of trees.
The sea of trees did not seem to have any particular dangers. Even the kind of shocking giant beasts they had seen before were quite rare in this forest.
The floating island left the wasteland, and the strange insects on the last umbrella tree near the edge of the forest also stopped at the boundary of the sea of trees.
Looking at the clearly divided border between the wasteland and the forest, Ronin also felt that it was somewhat strange.
Normally, plant growth should always have a gradual process. But the situation below was completely different.
On one side, the ground was still covered in sand and stones, like a Gobi desert. On the other side, grass and trees had already begun growing, with towering trees rising straight from the ground.
It was as if the two lands had been separated by a barrier.
Looking into the distance, what they could see next was a green ocean. Towering trees seemed to become the main theme below. Occasionally, small lakes or rivers dotted the forest, and this scenery made everyone, who had grown tired of the wasteland and umbrella trees, feel much more comfortable.
However, after arriving here, the clouds beneath the floating island also began increasing.
After flying for only a short while, the clouds had already covered the sea of trees below. If they wanted to see the forest again, they would have to lower the floating island's altitude.
Ronin did not choose to do that. He still let the floating island fly above the cloud layer.
With no strange insects harassing them, everyone's mood improved considerably.
Although those insects could not land on the island, even when they self-destructed in the air, they left behind a foul smell and gave off annoying death cries.
Now, the air was fresh, and white clouds drifted leisurely. Occasionally, when the clouds parted, all they saw was a beautiful view of clear waters and green mountains. It was truly refreshing.
"This place really isn't bad. It counts as one of the rare relatively beautiful landscapes we've seen on the Dark Continent," Ronin said.
As usual, he stood at the edge of the island.
This place had almost become his observation post. Tables, chairs, tents, even snacks—it had everything.
"Actually, returning to Lake Mobius from here would be fairly convenient," Ging said, his gaze turning toward the direction of the sea.
"What? You want to go back?" Ronin was somewhat surprised.
He had thought what Ging wanted to do most now was finish exploring the ancient city, look for Ai, and then fly straight to the World Tree.
He had not expected Ging to bring up returning to Lake Mobius here.
"You've already solved the Gold and Silver Ingot problem. Do you know what that represents?" Ging looked at Ronin seriously.
As Ging spoke, Ronin also noticed that among the people who had followed him here, one person was looking at him with anticipation.
That person was Odo.
Aside from Ronin, who had obtained command authority over the Gold and Silver Ingots through permissions, Odo was the only one on the floating island who independently possessed a Gold and Silver Ingot.
And Odo was also from the Mimbo Republic, one of the Five Great Nations.
If he could return to Lake Mobius now, then as someone who could independently control a Gold and Silver Ingot, he would directly become a hero of the Mimbo Republic.
"I know." Ronin nodded solemnly.
Right now, he could not only control the Gold and Silver Ingots, but also possessed an entire floating island.
There was far too much knowledge inside the floating island's database. If these things could be brought back to Lake Mobius, who knew how much they could advance the technology within the lake, or how much they could increase humanity's understanding of the Dark Continent?
"But that isn't what I pursue or care about." A smile appeared at the corner of Ronin's mouth.
He did not belong to any country in this world.
He did not even have much emotional attachment to the humans within Lake Mobius. The only people he cared about were those around him.
So no matter how significant or important this floating island might be to the lake, it had no meaning to him.
In fact, what Ronin saw more clearly was how much trouble this floating island would bring him if he brought it back into the lake.
He would not hand over his belongings so easily, and the Five Great Nations would never allow him to control the floating island. So there would most likely be a battle.
Even if he managed to hold onto the floating island in the end, what benefit would that bring him?
None at all.
So from the beginning, Ronin had never considered returning to the lake. At least in the short term, he had no such intention. Even if he really did return, he would not bring the floating island back with him.
In fact, the return method Ronin had been trying to use all along was not the Dark Gate guarded by the Gatekeeper, but returning directly to Lake Mobius through the Reverse Summoning Technique.
However, ever since reaching the Dark Continent, he had been trying to use the Summoning Technique to summon the giant snake from the Mahavi Ruins, but despite countless attempts, he had never succeeded.
It was as if there were an invisible barrier between the space he was currently in and the space where the giant snake was located.
If he could find a way to break through that barrier, he would gain the ability to travel between the two places at any time.
At that point, perhaps he would consider returning to the lake to do something.
After hearing Ronin's answer, a trace of gloom flashed through Odo's eyes.
As for Ging, Ronin noticed that his gaze had intentionally or unintentionally swept over Odo. Ronin immediately understood.
Ging had probably noticed something, which was why he had suddenly said that nonsense about returning to Lake Mobius.
Ronin looked at Odo a few more times.
What choice would Odo make?
Ronin was somewhat curious. After all, from the floating island's current position, returning to the coast was not a particularly dangerous route.
However, Odo should still know that he had the Caged Bird Seal on him.
As Ronin thought this, he noticed Odo's expression change slightly as he looked north.
There seemed to be a trace of expectation in his gaze.
Ronin narrowed his eyes, and in an instant, he saw through Odo's thoughts.