However, unexpectedly, before the old woman in front of him could answer, her grandson Xiaoqiang standing beside her was moved instead. He raised his hand and pointed to a dark range of mountains in the distance, saying to Wang Zhifan:
"Uncle, I know the Land of the Dead Soul, it’s just past the only mountain pass over there. I’ve heard that the place is really big..."
Slap!
Before Xiaoqiang could finish speaking, the old woman lightly slapped him on the mouth, stopping his narration.
"Ah Qiang! Who told you about that place?"
Following that, the old woman scolded loudly, clearly unhappy that her grandson knew about such a place.
"Boo hoo... Grandma! Grandma!"
After being slapped, Xiaoqiang burst into tears and tried to roll on the ground to avoid the situation, causing a brief chaos.
"Xiaoqiang, don’t cry anymore. Your grandma is worried about your safety."
Seeing this, Wang Zhifan helped Xiaoqiang up from the ground to avoid getting his clothes dirty, and offered a few comforting words to this young boy, knowing that this situation was not convenient for him to handle. He turned to leave.
The other onlookers among the players reacted similarly. From the old woman’s behavior of hitting Xiaoqiang, they could judge that what Xiaoqiang said was certainly correct.
Since they knew the location of the Land of the Dead Soul, they could rush over imdiately to check the situation or ask around elsewhere.
However, Wang Zhifan hadn’t walked far when he heard the old woman’s voice warning from behind:
"Young man, the Land of the Dead Soul is extrely dangerous. The safest places the old lady knows are the few ruined temples there!
In the ruined temples, there are ancient Buddha statues that can protect you through the night! But please rember, it must be a pitch-black ruined temple to be safe!
If the temple you see is not ruined and even has lights on at night, you must be very careful!"
After finishing her words, the old woman pulled her grandson Xiaoqiang into the thatched house, and then tightly closed its wooden door, probably to give her grandson a strict lesson.
Her last words were loud, and the surrounding players who were leaving all clearly heard them. At once, everyone stopped and began to form small groups to discuss and plan.
"Brother! I didn’t expect you not only to arrive in the village before us but also to have such excellent information collection skills!
Why don’t you cooperate with us to clear this dungeon? We three are all from Xia Country and are determined to unite and advance together!"
Three players, two n and a woman, walked up to Wang Zhifan. All had the appearance and attire of Xia Country people. One of them, a sunny young man with a warm smile, invited Wang Zhifan sincerely, with an earnest and genuine look that would make anyone feel good.
"Thank you for your kind offer, but I am not used to teaming up with others, so I won’t be joining you."
Wang Zhifan quickly and politely declined the invitation, indicating that he preferred to act alone.
This response was inevitable for him.
Because he knew he was different from other players, his equipnt was far superior to players of the sa level, and if he got too close to them, it would easily reveal secrets, leading to a series of troubles.
Therefore, simply choosing the lone wolf strategy was the most suitable option, as it could protect his secrets maximally.
At the sa ti, his individual strength was strong enough, without the noticeable weakness of lacking support that lone wolves usually have.
"Brother! What age are we in, and you’re still going with the lone wolf strategy? This dungeon has lifted the penalty zone, and acting alone is very dangerous for you!"
The sunny youth player shook his head in slight exaggeration as he replied.
"Look over there, those few are clearly not from Xia Country!
If you act alone and get ambushed by them outside, can you deal with it?
Moreover, this ti there aren’t many people from Xia Country, so how can we ensure we clear the dungeon smoothly if we don’t unite?"
He motioned with a nudge of his mouth towards the direction of three white players and two black players, wanting Wang Zhifan to recognize the current situation and understand that those from Xia Country must unite to collectively survive this survival level.
It must be said, the young man’s points were very rational.
In a dungeon with the penalty zone chanism removed, if players don’t huddle together for warmth and insist on flying solo, they’ll easily be picked off one by one by group players.
After all, when players are of the sa level, having more people holds absolute advantage.
But Wang Zhifan also knew that uniting had a prerequisite – there had to be enough trust within the group, preferably amongst very familiar people, those who knew each other’s backgrounds.
If a player trusts another like an old friend from the first eting, it’s safe to say their intelligence has defects.
Wang Zhifan choosing the lone wolf strategy included this crucial reason; he didn’t know any of these three players in front of him, and joining them just based on a few flattering words was simply unrealistic.
Unwilling to continue entangling in this issue, Wang Zhifan promptly shook his head in a second rejection, then turned to head down the mountain path.
The three Xia Country players behind him watched him turn away without further persisting, just exchanging glances amongst themselves.
After Wang Zhifan walked so distance away, the sunny young man lowered his voice and said to the two beside him:
"This guy is worth observing...
In dungeons of this level, fools have long been weeded out, so he’s likely the type confident in his strength...
Though we’ve encountered strong opponents before, a few rounds of cooperation should still secure victory..."
Another youth with a more indifferent deanor listened without comnt, directing his gaze towards the stances of other player groups and said:
"Except for the one just acting alone, everyone else in this dungeon seems to have entered as a team.
Those three white players are a group, the two black players are another, and there’s another group of four looking like they’re from Han Country.
Being all teams, our three won’t have much advantage, so we need to be cautious."
"Yeah, let’s avoid recklessness at first, at least wait until we enter the Land of the Dead Soul, let others explore first to understand the general situation."
The shorter female player among them nodded in agreent, fidgeting with a small silver dagger spinning deftly between her fingers as she spoke.
In other groups, their discussions were similarly focused, mainly confirming the strategy for clearing the current dungeon.
Although they couldn’t openly discuss detailed tactical content, so broad ideas were initially unified here.
The most notable point was that without exception, these player teams were restrained, not launching into a mad internal battle just because the dungeon lifted the penalty zone – looking to sort the strongest team before tackling the dungeon.
The reason behind this was quite understandable. None of them were newbie players, long past the stage of wild passionate brawls.
They knew that if players indulged in in-fighting at the start, causing deaths or severe injuries early in the dungeon, the challenge of clearing it would greatly increase, easily leading to failure.
Conversely, if the players restrain themselves early on, the overall progress of the dungeon would be smoother, at least by the ti players had enough exploration, the dungeon’s challenges would mostly be revealed.
Only then, seriously sorting out strengths and weaknesses among player teams allows winners to profit significantly without worrying about unexpected difficulties in clearing the dungeon.
However, there’s an issue in these confrontations – lone wolf players generally don’t have a seat at the table.
Most of the ti, lone wolves are deed as at on the platter, waiting for team players to make their move.
Currently, in the eyes of other players, Wang Zhifan is positioned like that. Watching him act alone without teammates, they consider him a dish on the nu.
To maximize his value, they certainly won’t act against him quickly, at least let him initially test the dungeon’s mines.
If he’s unfortunately killed in the process or fortunately finds valuable treasures, it would enhance his cost-effectiveness as a dish.
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