Several people arrived, with Ling Feng standing at the front, followed by several unfamiliar faces.
The person who just spoke was also Ling Feng. At this moment, he was scrutinizing Zhong Mu from head to toe with a scrutinizing gaze, and then glared at the people next to him, "Don't bring people here so casually again in the future!"
"Understood..." The group nodded hurriedly and then moved aside, leaving Zhong Mu standing in front of him.
Ling Feng had no recollection of this face, so he looked it over. Zhong Mu, on the other hand, was stunned for a while when he saw Ling Feng appear, and then he also frowned and looked back at him.
The surroundings fell silent, and no one uttered a sound.
After a long pause, Ling Feng spoke first, "Are you a player?"
Zhong Mu nodded.
Then Ling Feng crossed his arms and asked seriously, "So tell me, what are the conditions for clearing this dungeon?"
Without hesitation, Zhong Mu replied, "Inquire about the origin of all the anomalies."
The dungeon notifications are only given to players. Those in the town who are sacrifices, as well as those who have turned into monsters from the black mist, will not hear the dungeon notifications and are unlikely to know about them.
Ling Feng stared at him, still not entirely convinced. After a moment of silence, he pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket and asked, "What does this say?"
Zhong Mu glanced at the note and froze. "Dungeon Notice: This dungeon has a two-month time limit. If you do not complete this dungeon in time, there will be no players left in the town after two months..."
This was a rule that Zhong Mu had never seen before, nor was it a rule that the town had devised itself. He paused for a moment, then looked up at Ling Feng, "This is the rule you found?"
Ling Feng nodded and put away the rule slip. "Our people have been wandering around the town and found this slip of paper. We also discovered that the offerings and those monsters cannot see the contents of this slip of paper. Since you can see it, it means you are also a player."
Ling Feng was temporarily relieved about Zhong Mu's identity. He was just confirming whether Zhong Mu's unfamiliar face belonged to the players in the small town. He never expected that Zhong Mu, a player, would appear with a new identity. After probing that he was a player, he lowered his guard against him.
"So there are rule notes like this in the town?" Zhong Mu frowned. It seemed that the rules in this instance were different from the original rules that restricted players. This time, there were only simple hints, which could not be considered real rules.
Furthermore, players in the dungeon need to find it.
While Zhong Mu was still in a daze, Ling Feng slowly strolled up to him, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over him. "Are you alone? No companions?"
Zhong Mu nodded.
Ling Feng nodded, understanding, and continued, "Then you have to rely on us. You have no companions, and we are all players without companions. It's the most convenient way for us to stick together and resist the threat to the town."
Zhong Mu silently rolled his eyes in his mind. When did the town threaten them? The town has been good to them! A bunch of heartless ingrates.
He had anticipated that these players would be unwilling to accept defeat and would band together to resist them, but he hadn't expected them to unite so quickly. Not only did they rapidly establish a base, but they were also quickly recruiting people and possessing unique information that made Zhong Mu realize that their previous disorganized state and dramatic change were likely due to Ling Feng in front of him.
Other players would all be somewhat aware of his intentions, and they guessed that he was the core figure who brought all the players together in the dungeon.
Zhong Mu frowned and stared at Ling Feng, never expecting that this person who appeared to be one of theirs was actually a mole within their ranks.
Now it's a case of the mole meeting the mole, but Zhong Mu has the advantage.
"Can I really trust you guys?" Zhong Mu was still pretending to hesitate, acting as if he was wavering, when Ling Feng invited him to join forces.
His hesitant demeanor prompted those around him to step forward and persuade him, but Ling Feng waved them aside and explained, "They are the town's sacrifices and monsters, while we are the players. Haven't you noticed that the townspeople are restricting us?"
Zhong Mu nodded silently. The restrictions were in place, mainly to prevent players from causing trouble in the dungeon.
"Then look at this, the rules we found." Ling Feng took out the slip of paper again and carefully unfolded it in front of Zhong Mu. "It says that this instance will last for two months. Do you know what that means?"
Zhong Mu stared at the words on the paper and muttered, "After more than two months, there will be no players left in the town. It is possible that all the players in this instance will stay here as sacrifices or monsters, and then let the next batch of players come."
"Yes." Ling Feng was surprised by Zhong Mu's quick reaction, but before he could add anything, Zhong Mu muttered to himself.
"Time is flowing at three times the normal rate in that town now, so there aren't many two months left..."
He seemed to understand why these players were anxious and had tried to find ways to resist. Currently, the dungeon was not progressing at all and was still being suppressed by the town. This was indeed a terrible situation of waiting to die for dungeon players who did not trust the town.
"We only have two months left. At the current rate of change in the town, more than ten days have already passed. The black fog persists day and night, and we will soon be integrated into this instance." Ling Feng stared intently at Zhong Mu. "If you don't want to die, you have no choice but to join us."
Ling Feng even brought up the issue of life and death, and only then did Zhong Mu nod, choosing to believe them and join their side.
These people will naturally trust him more and stop doubting him.
After Zhong Mu joined the group, Ling Feng chased away some of the onlookers and led Zhong Mu to a corner to talk.
A group of people outside were furious. Why did their boss take away the most attractive person among them, the one they had painstakingly brought and left behind?
Ling Feng ignored their gazes and instead took out a second slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to Zhong Mu.
"You're not like those lazy bums out there. I can tell you're smarter than them and can help me a little. Here's a note for you. It's the second note I found in town."
Zhong Mu took the note blankly, not expecting that Ling Feng would hide such information.
He unfolded the slip of paper and stared intently at its contents, which were quite simple.
[The origin of the town's anomalies lies within the town itself; you need to carefully discover it. Perhaps once the origin of the anomalies is eliminated, everything will end.]
Zhong Mu pondered the contents of the note, but couldn't quite understand it for a moment.
But Ling Feng, standing beside him, had sharp eyes and casually reminded him, "Don't you think that man named Yin Xiu was a little different from us ordinary players?"