After Li Nian announced her title, the previously somewhat friendly negotiation atmosphere instantly vanished without a trace.

However, when Li Nian made her move, the atmosphere became friendly once again.

The trio over there chose to believe Li Nian's claim of having "no ill intentions."

After all, they didn't have much of a choice.

"Your reputation as the 'Master Thief' is indeed well-known and well-deserved!"

Little Fire Dragon sheathed his long sword and clasped his fists, speaking respectfully.

Deadshot also nodded. "You are much more skilled than an ordinary 'Thief'."

Typically, a 'Thief' could not use their own abilities to steal an [item] that someone else was holding in their hand.

But... the 'Master Thief' before them had done just that, which was enough to prove her 'Master Thief' title was no falsehood.

This person was indeed far more formidable than an ordinary 'Thief'.

Simultaneously, this also made Little Fire Dragon and Deadshot realize...

Since the other party could silently steal their weapons without any visible movement or warning, did that mean Li Nian could also accomplish this during a fight?

Regardless, with just one encounter, Li Nian had already solidified the trio's resolve.

Just this one 'Master Thief' was difficult enough to deal with; it was best to negotiate peacefully!

At the same time, the three of them felt a bit fortunate—thankfully, they had followed the principles of the 'Player Mutual Aid Association' and chosen to talk first, even though it might be a [Competition dungeon].

Otherwise, they would have almost clashed head-on with the 'Master Thief'... which would definitely not have been a good thing.

Subsequently, Little Fire Dragon spoke again. "Aren't the other two going to introduce themselves?"

Lin Yu gave a slight nod. "I'm just a nobody. My class is 'Veterinarian'."

"You wouldn't also be from the 'Free Alliance', would you?"

Deadshot asked warily.

After all, it wasn't hard to observe that among Lin Yu's group of three, the two women seemed much closer.

Lin Yu waved his hand. "Of course not."

Although this identity of Zhu Ming was practically no different from having joined the 'Free Alliance', he hadn't formally joined yet.

Just as Deadshot was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Lin Yu spoke with a smile.

"I am 'Clozapine' of the 'Psychological Society'."

Deadshot, Little Fire Dragon, and Squirtle's emotions, which had just relaxed a little, immediately tensed up again.

"'Psychological Society'?!"

Li Nian giggled as she spoke. "That's right, an executive specialist of the 'Psychological Society'."

Then, she looked at Lin Yu and lowered her voice. "But seriously, Sis Zhu Ming, Clozapine is really unpleasant-sounding... why didn't you pick a nicer one?"

"The ones above and below aren't much better, Magnesium Valproate and Lithium Carbonate," Lin Yu said helplessly. "Let's just make do with it. Anyway, I won't be using it for long."

"That's true..."

Li Nian stopped dwelling on it.

While Li Nian and Lin Yu could whisper here, the trio on the other side was not so optimistic.

A 'Master Thief' from the 'Free Alliance' was scary enough, but now there's one from the 'Psychological Society' too?

And an "executive specialist" at that—which meant this person was one hundred percent a combat-oriented type, not some support or strategic personnel.

Little Fire Dragon's expression turned grave.

He no longer held much hope for achieving a mutually beneficial cooperation.

After all, while people from the 'Free Alliance' acted erratically, there was still room for discussion in a [Competition dungeon]; perhaps the other side also didn't want a fight to the death.

Especially since the 'Master Thief', though fond of stealing things, had a relatively good reputation among the known members of the 'Free Alliance'—upon careful recollection, he had never even heard of the 'Master Thief' killing people for no reason.

She liked stealing things, but that's all she liked.

The 'Psychological Society' was different. Every single one of its members was a lunatic obsessed with increasing the game's difficulty for everyone in [dungeons], hindering everyone's progress under the guise of "accelerating screening to aid growth".

Expecting these people to choose cooperation in a [Competition dungeon] was even less likely than expecting pie to fall from the sky!

However, as a member with deep identification with the 'Player Mutual Aid Association', Little Fire Dragon chose to temporarily overlook Lin Yu's identity and continue with the process.

"And what about this one," Little Fire Dragon looked at Flying Knife, forcing a strained smile onto his face, "what is your identity, sir? You wouldn't be... from the 'Marauders', would you?"

Hearing this tentative question, Flying Knife quickly raised his hand. "I swear by heaven and earth, I have no connection to those three organizations. My ID is 'Flying Knife', a verifiable 'Second Tier' 'Referee' on the forum."

"I just posted a commission on the 'Hunters' Association' to find someone to help me through the [dungeon]. I never expected these two great deities to show up," Flying Knife grinned, almost on the verge of tears. "And... I only just found out now that one of them is from the 'Psychological Society'!"

"I thought both were from the 'Free Alliance'."

Flying Knife said, sounding utterly aggrieved.

Li Nian crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you afraid of? Relax, we take money and do the job; we'll definitely get you through the dungeon properly."

Lin Yu also nodded. "Don't be too prejudiced. Even if I am a 'Psychological Society' member, since I'm out here taking jobs, it means I won't deliberately pull any tricks."

Then, he looked at Little Fire Dragon's group. "Since you came to discuss cooperation, let's first exchange our respective clear conditions."

"The essential task for our group is to reach Willow Town."

Little Fire Dragon was stunned. "What? You're also heading to Willow Town?"

Deadshot immediately furrowed his brows. "That's strange. Could our speculation be wrong?"

A six-person dungeon, split into two groups of three, not gathered together initially but separated into different locations based on team relationships—this was a fairly standard opening for a [Competition dungeon].

But...

It was only *highly likely* to be a [Competition dungeon].

Just like how a flat-billed creature swimming in water is most likely a duck, but it could also be a platypus.

Inside the dungeon, all six people on both sides were veterans. Based on their own experience and guides seen on the forum, they had instinctively assumed this was a [Competition dungeon].

But that wasn't actually the case.

Flying Knife looked at the three people opposite him, dumbfounded. "Your clear condition is also just 'reaching Willow Town'?!"

Seeing the three nod in unison, Flying Knife let out a long sigh of relief. "We all misunderstood. Even though it looked like a [Competition dungeon], it actually isn't a confrontation type..."

"It seems it should actually be considered a [Survival] type."

Just as Flying Knife was becoming optimistic, Lin Yu interrupted him.

"Don't celebrate too soon, employer," Lin Yu put his hands in his pockets and looked at Little Fire Dragon, Squirtle, and Deadshot. "Sorry, you three. Could one of you repeat that one more time?"