It seems his guess was correct. Xu Xi felt pleased inwardly.
He had even thought of more possibilities.
The second reset in the tunnel might have been because they occupied the fake Li Kang's car, violating the rules.
The third time was similar, but compared to the second time, they should have had one more chance for redemption, such as... paying their fare to the fake Li Kang.
Yes, you heard that right.
Xu Xi only now suddenly understood.
Actually, the instance had left them multiple ways to survive here, just like how the Woman in the Red Dress paid them fare, they could also pay a certain fee to the fake Li Kang and perhaps safely exit the tunnel.
Unfortunately, in the latter two resets, none of them had thought of this.
However, this survival path still had some flaws.
First, the fake Li Kang wouldn't allow the real Li Kang to board, meaning they would have to sacrifice the real Li Kang; second, after exiting the tunnel, they would have no means of transportation.
His proposal to buy the fake Li Kang's car was relatively a more complete solution.
It didn't require reducing their team size and still preserved their transportation. The only downside was that they had exhausted all their paper money and incense, so if they encountered similar situations later, they might not be able to handle them as easily.
Just in this tunnel alone, he had died three more times.
Xu Xi originally felt quite pleased with himself for finding such a good survival path so quickly, but then he suddenly realized that his three deaths had contributed to this.
Without this reset ability, he would have been completely finished back when the supernatural old woman blocked their path.
His barely inflated pride was doused with cold water, instantly making Xu Xi much more clear-headed.
To outsiders, it appeared as if the young man had merely casually solved what couldn't even be called a problem.
There was no joy of overcoming a crisis, no relief of surviving a disaster—still the same quiet demeanor, neither showy nor explanatory.
Unhurried, cold and detached.
With the pitch-black tunnel that was like a black hole as contrast, even though the outside world remained gloomy, everyone felt a trace of lightness in their hearts.
On the road.
Tan Xingyun and the others gradually began to understand some clues.
Unlike Xu Xi who had experienced three resets, they could only deduce from the final outcome and Xu Xi's few words.
They had considered asking the young man in the back seat how he solved this challenge, but they had been brushed off by him multiple times before. They figured they wouldn't get anything this time either, so it was better to think for themselves.
Not to mention the increasingly obvious sense of aloofness and restraint about him—anyone with eyes wouldn't actively disturb him.
He had made it clear he didn't want to waste words. That he was willing to lead them through the instance was already good enough—why ask for more?
Currently, both Tan Xingyun and Xu Xiuman had confirmed that this unassuming young man, whom they had initially overlooked, was definitely an extraordinary master.
If this instance didn't require everyone to cooperate, he probably wouldn't have bothered with them at all.
Hadn't they noticed he only acted at critical moments?
As for Li Kang, if possible, he even wanted to bow to the young man.
When the fake Li Kang appeared, he knew things were going badly.
When the fake Li Kang said he wasn't allowed on the car, it was no exaggeration to say he felt dizzy and almost broke down right then.
Even if his teammates knew he was the real one, so what? Abandoning just one person to get out of the tunnel—if he weren't the one being abandoned, he might have been tempted too.
Just when he thought he would die in this instance, the young man beside him unexpectedly spoke up. His casual inquiry sounded like heavenly music to Li Kang's ears.
His crisis had been resolved so easily.
Xu Xi thought his teammates would question him about his actions in the tunnel.
Although he couldn't explain why he knew the original car was problematic, he could use the rest—like that hidden rule—as explanation, since he had analyzed it himself.
Finally, he wouldn't be like before where he wanted to explain but couldn't.
But after waiting for a long time, his teammates seemed to ignore him, discussing among themselves.
However, their discussion was based entirely on believing his conclusions.
"So the original car having no markings and no license plate was already subtly revealing its strangeness," Xu Xiuman said thoughtfully.
Tan Xingyun quite agreed: "We all overlooked that."
"The fake Li Kang repeatedly mentioned his car in his words—that should have been a hint from the instance too."
"Unfortunately, we didn't notice these details, let alone connect them together."
"Thanks to Brother Xu—Brother Xu is really amazing!"
"But now none of us have any paper money or incense left. I wonder what we'll encounter on the rest of the journey."
Li Kang didn't participate in their discussion. Unlike before, he wasn't actively lightening the mood, just listening silently.
He vaguely sensed that when the fake Li Kang finished speaking, these two had considered abandoning him.
Although he could understand, he still couldn't accept it.
Xu Xi sat silently in the corner, unsure whether to interject or not. Finally being mentioned seemed like just going through the praise motions.
Was his presence really this low?
Had he been too low-key?
Unable to find an opportunity to join in, Xu Xi simply continued being a mute.
Forget it, if no one paid him attention, then so be it.
As long as they could clear the instance.
[What can I say? What else can I say? Nothing can describe how I feel right now.]
[Is that called being tight-lipped? That's clearly master demeanor!]
[Actually, I don't think Xu Xi counts as tight-lipped.]
[He doesn't? The number of words he's spoken in this instance so far can be counted on one hand!]
"No, what I mean is, he might just feel there's nothing worth saying."
[Right, it's like when you're solving a math problem with your friends. You find it simple and get the answer at a glance, while your friends are still doing complicated calculations.]
[Dammit, I can relate, though I'm probably the one struggling with calculations.]
[I get it—in Xu Xi's eyes, this instance is so simple it doesn't even need explanation, right?]
[That's exaggerated. Maybe he just doesn't like talking?]
[Not liking to talk doesn't mean being dismissive. Look—has Xu Xi ever seriously explained his actions to his teammates?]
[Uh... actually, no, he hasn't.]
The scrolling live stream comments were dazzling to watch.
The four people in the instance didn't encounter any more supernatural events and smoothly reached their destination.
It was a moderately-sized funeral parlor that looked lifeless and completely silent.
The moment the four got out of the car, white circles appeared at their feet. After a sudden flash of white light, they had vanished from the spot.
One second before being teleported, Tan Xingyun said in a relaxed tone, "I hope we have the chance to team up again in the future."
Instance cleared.