The dungeon for the newcomers was chosen by Yang Lin and Yu Yezhou; it was the simplest E-level dungeon.
Such dungeons hardly resulted in deaths, but they also didn’t offer many points.
It took three days to complete this E-level dungeon, and the points earned were still not enough for a day’s stay in the Hive.
These newcomers, both male and female, completely regarded Gu Zhan as a big shot.
Once they came out of the dungeon, they wouldn’t leave, surrounding him and asking questions.
"Big shot, points are so hard to earn! Is there any other way besides going into dungeons?"
"Are there any other group activities in our guild?"
"When’s your next dungeon run? I want to go with you!"
Even as they walked to the guild entrance, they still wouldn’t disperse.
Gu Zhan said, "Next time, I'm going to an SSS-level dungeon. Do you want to come with me?"
"…"
The newbies instantly fell silent, and in the blink of an eye, they scattered.
Gu Zhan sighed, finally free.
But before he could enjoy a moment of peace, laughter came from nearby. "Is this how you scare them off?"
Gu Zhan turned around to see Sang Yue stepping out from a corner, smiling at him.
Gu Zhan said nothing and turned into a room next door, only to find Xu Yu there as well.
He wore a puzzled expression.
Sang Yue followed him in and said, "I heard you want to enter an SSS-level dungeon next? I have one here; are you interested in learning more?"
Gu Zhan raised an eyebrow and sat down at the long table.
The room's arrangement resembled the one they rented in the bar initially, with a long table opposite a whiteboard.
After Gu Zhan took his seat, Sang Yue didn’t begin speaking right away. After a moment, Yu Yezhou arrived.
Gu Zhan was surprised. "Where’s Yang Lin?"
Yu Yezhou replied, "Yang Lin isn’t coming."
"Why not?"
Yu Yezhou said, "Someone needs to oversee the guild affairs; she can't leave."
Sang Yue raised an eyebrow. "If I remember correctly, you’re the guild leader; why are you leaving Yang Lin behind?"
Yu Yezhou chuckled softly. Although Yang Lin was the vice president, she handled more of the tedious tasks than Yu Yezhou did.
Sang Yue raised an eyebrow but didn’t say much. Instead, she walked to the whiteboard and said, "This dungeon is one I discovered a few months ago. At that time, I had no teammates, and since its difficulty was SSS, I set it aside for now. You’ve probably fought many SSS-level dungeons, but this one is different; its difficulty is exceptionally high and could be considered super S."
After a pause, Sang Yue added, "If anyone wants to back out, you can leave now."
Xu Yu, however, said, "Get to the point."
Sang Yue smiled; she knew these people were fearless. Her standard process was essentially unnecessary.
"Since that’s the case, let me explain the details. This dungeon is special; you need a ticket to enter. There are six spots in total, and um, we don’t have enough people right now, so we’ll find two more later."
"This is the ticket."
Sang Yue tossed a red invitation card, with black lettering on it reading—"A Loving Family."
Gu Zhan opened the invitation, revealing a blood-red interior with nothing inside.
Sang Yue said, "The only information I currently have is that this dungeon is quite extreme, and many people might die inside... not just players, but also NPCs. This dungeon doesn't require strong offensive skills or intricate logical thinking, but it does require a lot of imagination. I've never participated in this type of dungeon before, so I feel quite uncertain."
"Yall are the strongest people I've encountered so far, so with you guys here, I feel a bit more at ease."
Yu Yezhou chuckled, "You don't need to praise us so much; it's a bit embarrassing."
"That's not flattery," Sang Yue replied. "Those who can do more should take on more responsibilities. I just hope everyone can contribute."
Gu Zhan asked, "With such a dangerous dungeon, why would we choose to tackle it now?"
Sang Yue sighed, "It's because of the guild. We've just established the guild, attracting quite a bit of attention. We need to achieve some results while everyone is focused on us. Well, I also have my own motives; this dungeon is said to have a divine-level item."
At this point, Sang Yue couldn't help but glance at Gu Zhan.
They all knew that Gu Zhan possessed a divine-level item.
However, Gu Zhan himself didn't think much of its significance.
Yu Yezhou continued, "This dungeon is also very important for our guild. To be honest, after establishing the guild, I learned that there is a player guild alliance in Chun Bai Cheng. We need an SSS-level dungeon clearance record to join."
Gu Zhan wasn't interested in these trivial matters; he just felt that as long as Yu Yezhou arranged things he deemed suitable, that would be fine.
But the problem was that there were only four of them present, while this dungeon required six people.
Sang Yue said, "There's another issue: we don't have enough people. Do you know anyone reliable who can join us?"
After she said this, the room fell silent.
Recruiting was something that everyone was not very skilled at.
Yu Yezhou slowly said, "There are quite a few people in the guild, but since it has just been established, the members aren't trustworthy yet, and their abilities are still being developed."
After that, Yu Yezhou looked expectantly at Gu Zhan and said, "You often go into dungeons; do you know any strong players?"
Gu Zhan had initially wanted to shake his head, but at that moment, as Yu Yezhou gazed at him, he suddenly thought of two familiar figures.
He paused slightly, and before he could speak, Yu Yezhou noticed the subtle change in his expression and his eyes lit up, "You do?"
Gu Zhan: "..."
At this point, he had to admit, "I did meet two capable individuals in the last dungeon, but... um, I don't have their contact information."
Yu Yezhou was instantly disappointed.
Sang Yue said, "If we look, we might be able to find them; Chun Bai Cheng is not that big."
Gu Zhan looked at her and said, "These two are quick-witted and capable, but they tend to stick together, so they might not join our team."
The behavior in the library indicated that An Heyan would definitely prioritize his and Xu Ke's interests.
"That's not a problem," Sang Yue said. "Even though we're a small team, we are essentially fighting for ourselves. Well, I don't mean it that way. I mean, betrayal is mainly related to interests. In the next dungeon, we are already in a cooperative relationship. Betraying the team wouldn't benefit them at all. If they truly prioritize their own interests, they should have even less reason to betray the team."
Gu Zhan had no objections to this; to him, teammates were almost indistinguishable.
Since Yu Yezhou and the others agreed, he went along with it.
Yu Yezhou said, "Then let's proceed like this. We'll go find these two individuals, and if we can't find them..."
He grinned and said, "Then we'll have to let Qin Yue and Yang Lin join us."
Gu Zhan: "..."
He recalled how Qin Yue had stuck by him during the library dungeon and suddenly had reservations about the choice of teammates.
It would be better to team up with An Heyan and Xu Ke.
At least they could contribute an independent thinking brain.
---
After discussing the new dungeon, the group disbanded.
Yu Yezhou and Sang Yue went to find An Heyan and Xu Ke, while the others took a break.
It was unclear when An Heyan and Xu Ke would be found. Until then, they had a long period of rest.
This was the first time Gu Zhan had such an aimless break.
In the hive, he had nothing to do, and even found himself visiting the space more frequently.
That day, he went to the space as usual to check on things. As soon as he landed, he saw Xiao Xiu standing not far away, looking at him with an expression that was hard to describe.
He thought Xiao Xiu and Sun Jingqiu were facing some trouble and was about to go ask when he saw Xiao Xiu frantically waving his hand.
Gu Zhan was puzzled.
He took a couple of steps forward, and Xiao Xiu sighed, looking as if he had missed something.
What was going on?
At that moment, a teasing voice came from behind: "I thought you weren't coming."
Gu Zhan turned around sharply and was surprised to see a very familiar person standing there.
It was Mo Tuo.
To say it was Mo Tuo was not entirely accurate; he seemed to be leaning on the sculpture in the central plaza, which had transformed into a living statue. Its structural components had not changed. At that moment, he was lying in the water near Xiao Xiu, with a massive fish tail behind him, idly swaying.
The fish tail still retained some features of the sculpture; the scales were tightly fitted together and were white like plaster.
Gu Zhan: "..."
He had no idea that Mo Tuo could use this sculpture to enter and exit the watch at will.
Mo Tuo himself was quite displeased. He looked at Gu Zhan with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. The depths of his pupils held a coldness that expressed his dissatisfaction with Gu Zhan.
Gu Zhan felt a bit of a reckless mindset creeping in: "I thought you couldn't come. This should be a player's world, and as a monster, wouldn't you be punished for appearing here?"
"Punished?" Mo Tuo's expression flickered with a hint of nuance. "Haven't I faced enough punishment because of you?"
The conversation between the two was somewhat strange; it seemed like old friends meeting and complaining about each other.
However, the tension they radiated made Xiao Xiu and Sun Jingqi tremble beside them.
The atmosphere in the entire space shifted dramatically, with the sun shining on the ground, only to be covered by clouds again.
After a while, Mo Tuo finally shifted his gaze away from Gu Zhan and looked up at the sky. This had once been his power in a certain dungeon, but due to the star disk watch, it had already been claimed by Gu Zhan.
It seemed that this player still did not realize the tremendous weapon he possessed, nor did he understand how powerful this force was.
It was powerful enough that it should not belong to a human at all.
Mo Tuo squinted his eyes. "A blessing in disguise, who knows?"
He suddenly smiled, the tension easing: "Don’t be so nervous. I just came to check on you. Wasn't it boring to go through a dungeon without me?"
Gu Zhan remained silent.
Mo Tuo chuckled, "I already know your next itinerary, and I’m looking forward to meeting you."
"You know what dungeon we are going to?" Gu Zhan frowned.
Mo Tuo smiled, "Don’t be so guarded. I’m the dungeon boss after all. If you say a few nice words now, maybe I’ll give you some hints about the dungeon."
Gu Zhan knew this was just Mo Tuo’s lie.
He would never help him.
Seeing Gu Zhan’s silence, Mo Tuo laughed even more wildly. It seemed he was about to leave the statue he was perched on; his laughter suddenly diminished, echoing in all directions around the star disk watch.
"I’m looking forward to meeting you."
With that, he fell completely silent.
That statue, too, resumed its form as a mere statue.
Due to its weight, it couldn’t lie on the riverbank but was instead washed by the river, gradually sinking until it became trapped in the mud.
Once Mo Tuo completely departed, Xiao Xiu cautiously stepped forward. "He’s gone? What about this statue?"
Gu Zhan smirked coldly. "Don’t worry about it."
That monster cared so much about his life and liked to meddle in such things; he would definitely come back next time.
If he didn’t know how to clean up the mess he left, then let him wake up from the mud at the river bottom next time.
"Okay... fine." Xiao Xiu was still very afraid of Mo Tuo. She didn’t understand how a human like Gu Zhan had the courage to confront a monster.
However, since Gu Zhan said so...
It was better to avoid bathing in the river for a while.
Beneath the pure white city corresponding to the players, there existed a "dark world."
This was the gathering place for monsters, where all the notorious and fortunate dungeon monsters lived.
They followed rules similar to those in the pure white city; in the dark world, group fights and killing other monsters were prohibited.
However, most of the time, they didn’t live here; for them, it was more like a resting "inn."
Monsters were born from dungeons, and as long as the dungeon was open, they could stay in their respective dungeons indefinitely.
But there were also some "native monsters" that didn’t have a dungeon of their own.
They roamed different dungeons, playing various roles.
These "native monsters," while lacking names, were numbered from one to ten.
They were all quite low-key, and the other monsters only knew they were powerful, with a high dungeon death rate, but rarely knew what these ten monsters truly were.
However, there were one or two exceptions.
The eye-catching one.
That was Number Two.
He often appeared in the dark world because… he was in confinement.
Yes, he frequently violated the rules.
This time was no exception.
Number Two appeared on the dark street with his orange-yellow hair. In the dim light, his hair color was striking enough, not to mention the "unique" glorious deeds he carried.
Monsters dared not discuss Number Two openly, but they whispered about him behind his back.
They huddled in small groups, speculating about why Number Two was on the dark street.
"Is he back in confinement again?"
"The last time he was in confinement was a while ago."
"To survive so many confinements… truly the rank monster..."
"I’d rather believe the world has let him off easy."
Halfway through his walk, Number Two suddenly stopped, turning to glance at the small monsters gossiping about him in the corner. A malicious grin cracked on his lips, and his gaze held a sharp mockery, as if he would strike at these small monsters in the next moment.
The dangerous atmosphere made the small monsters shiver. Meeting Number Two’s gaze, they froze for an instant and scattered like birds and beasts.
Number Two chuckled twice and continued walking.
He hummed a nursery rhyme he had just learned from the human world.
"Little bunny, be good… open the door… hurry up and open it… hee hee…"
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