"Hello, my name is 'Flying Knife'... Both of you, please take good care of me in this upcoming dungeon."

Although he was the employer of the two, Flying Knife kept his posture very humble.

Lin Yu did not express an opinion, but Li Nian very naturally waved her hand.

"Don't worry, buddy. We took your money, so we'll definitely get you through this smoothly and safely. If there's a chance to help you boost your rating, we'll do our best to get that for you too."

As she spoke, Li Nian plucked a weed from a nearby crevice in the rock, broke it, and stuck it in her mouth.

"You know where I and this 'Zhu Ming' are from... Although neither of us are exactly what you'd call good people, we took your money, so your business will definitely be handled properly and beautifully."

"Right, Sister Zhu Ming?"

Hearing Li Nian toss the question to him, Lin Yu gave a slight nod before speaking. "I will do my best."

He didn't make a promise as brimming with confidence as Li Nian had. Instead, he then asked Li Nian a question.

"However, based on the prompt before entering the game, this dungeon should have six people in total. The three of us are together, but roughly where are the other three?"

While not all dungeons make all Players appear in the same location, Lin Yu had a feeling something was off about this situation.

A total of six people, with his group of three together in one place. Could it be that the remaining three were also a team?

Sure enough, after a brief moment of thought, Li Nian spoke. "I think... there's a certain possibility that our current dungeon might be a competitive one."

"In other words, the remaining three Players likely have goals that conflict with ours. Don't forget, the name of our current dungeon is 'Escort the Darts'!"

Lin Yu frowned slightly. "Indeed, the name 'Escort the Darts' sounds very competitive... But, our clearance condition isn't to snatch something, but to reach a certain location, right?"

As Lin Yu spoke, Li Nian nodded. "That's true, but if we want to reach that place called 'Willow Town', I'm afraid we really can't avoid snatching something!"

"Humans in the Prison Mountain Realm mostly live in small-scale settlements, with villages as the basic unit. The number of towns is extremely small, and they are all heavily guarded... For folks like us to enter a specific town, we must have an 'identity'."

Having said this, Li Nian reached out and touched the mark carved into the rock wall behind them with a knife.

It was a crude drawing of a long knife.

"If I'm not mistaken, in this dungeon, we'll probably have to travel with an escort convoy."

Li Nian speculated. Lin Yu was somewhat curious. "What makes you think that?"

"I've been to the Prison Mountain Realm a few times and know a bit about the 'human factions' here," Li Nian said softly. "Because the mountains are mostly filled with demons, monsters, ghosts, and strange creatures, 'trade and interaction' between human towns must rely on the form of 'escorting darts'. And the knife mark carved here is the meeting point marker for 'dart masters'."

"If my guess is correct, we just need to wait here for a while, and a method guiding us on how to get to 'Willow Town' will be delivered right to our doorstep."

Li Nian analyzed the situation logically.

This was Lin Yu's first time in the Prison Mountain Realm. Even though he had the senior's information to prevent him from being completely in the dark, he still didn't understand the finer details at all. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Now that Li Nian spoke with such reasoned arguments, he of course chose to trust her directly.

"Alright, we'll do as you say."

Lin Yu indicated he had no objections.

Their employer, Flying Knife, who was standing to the side, also quickly nodded, indicating he agreed with Li Nian's assessment. But soon, a bit of doubt arose in him again.

"Wait here... then how long do we have to wait?"

"If we wait too long, and there's a possibility of having to compete against other Players, wouldn't that put us in a more passive position?"

Flying Knife asked uneasily, seemingly hoping Li Nian and Lin Yu would give him a definitive answer.

But obviously, neither Li Nian nor Lin Yu could be sure either.

Li Nian only vaguely said, "Don't worry, it probably won't be too long."

Observing Flying Knife's clearly worried brows and eyes, Lin Yu also gained some understanding of his employer's psychological resilience.

"No wonder he was in such a hurry to hire people. He's probably the type who isn't very good at dealing with special, urgent, and sudden situations."

Lin Yu had a rough understanding of Flying Knife.

This Prison Mountain Realm was indeed too harsh for him. After all, this was a world where a random monster could pop out and slap someone at any moment.

Among Players, there's even a saying that goes, "Every type of dungeon in the Prison Mountain Realm involves a bit of slaughter."

Even Survival or Puzzle types might require a fight with a monster that pops up from who knows where.

So, for someone with Flying Knife's psychological resilience... the Prison Mountain Realm was indeed far too unfriendly.

"Fortunately, he happened to hire me and Li Nian..."

As a "mercenary" who worked for pay, Lin Yu had a conscience.

Since Flying Knife's psychological resilience was average, he would do his best to help him clear the dungeon without scaring this employer or causing him extra worry!

Therefore, looking at the worried Flying Knife, Lin Yu also volunteered.

"I can sense if anyone is approaching us."

As he spoke, he quietly took out Old Zheng, pretending it was his own mental energy perception at work. He slightly closed his eyes and pressed his index and middle fingers against his temples.

After perceiving, Old Zheng quickly gave Lin Yu the answer.

"About five hundred meters away, around the bend to the left front of the valley, there's a group of about thirty natives. It should be some escort convoy."

"They'll probably be visible in a few minutes."

Lin Yu repeated Old Zheng's words, pointing in the direction Old Zheng had indicated the approaching people would come from.

Hearing Lin Yu say this, Flying Knife's expression relaxed slightly, but then tensed up again. "Really? People are actually coming... But are you sure these people are friendly? People in the Prison Mountain Realm aren't that easy to get along with!"

Li Nian waved her hand. "It's fine. Since the location we entered the game is here, the Death Game must have set something up for us."

"Besides, leave the negotiation to me. Although people in the Prison Mountain Realm are quite wary, I have ways to gain their trust."

Li Nian said seriously.

Not long after, just as Lin Yu had said, a convoy came around the bend ahead in the valley. Six carriages were plastered with talismans for avoiding heatstroke. The animals pulling the carts looked like hybrids of camels, yaks, and horses.

A convoy of this scale was already considered quite rare in the Prison Mountain Realm.

As they walked towards this direction, the people at the front quickly noticed Lin Yu's trio standing under the protruding rock in the valley that happened to provide shade.

"Besides, leave the negotiation to me. Although people in the Prison Mountain Realm are quite wary, I have ways to gain their trust."

Before the other side could ask questions, Li Nian took the initiative.

"You over there! Is that the convoy heading to 'Willow Town'?!"