Inside the instance.
Everyone's first reaction was to observe their surroundings. Seeing no immediate danger, they finally had time to look at their teammates for this round.
First was the refined-looking young man. After glancing around at the group, his face broke into a perfectly measured smile as he said in a friendly tone, "It's fate that we've met in the same instance. Let me introduce myself—"
However, his words were rudely cut off by the burly man.
"What's there to introduce? Waste of time!"
Snorting dismissively, the man ignored the suddenly tense atmosphere and began rummaging through his backpack on his own.
Everyone was dressed in hiking gear, each carrying a backpack, suggesting they were part of a mountain climbing group.
The refined young man's expression faltered briefly, but he didn't show any displeasure, merely offering a helpless smile.
The woman with the high ponytail wore an indifferent expression, seemingly unconcerned about the clash between the two, and efficiently took off her own pack to inspect it.
The short-haired girl with glasses glanced nervously left and right, not daring to interject.
Xu Xi silently withdrew his assessing gaze.
These teammates didn't seem easy to get along with.
At the very least, that muscular, burly man had a fiery temper.
At the same time, in Ji Yang's live stream, the comments were flying.
[This big guy is so arrogant]
[I've seen his streams before; this is already his fourth instance, and his skills are pretty solid]
[But that's no reason to be so cocky. Being too arrogant might get him ostracized by his teammates]
[I've watched his instances too. This is just his style—blunt and direct. He usually won't bother you if you don't provoke him. That refined guy, though... I get the feeling he's quite scheming]
[I think introductions in an instance are unnecessary anyway. We're all just passing strangers. Besides, who knows how many will die by the end of the instance? It really doesn't matter]
[Master Xu Xi is as taciturn as ever]
Ji Yang multitasked, watching the live stream while keeping an eye on his own stream's comments. Seeing the lively discussion, he let it be and habitually picked up a blank sheet of paper to start sketching and jotting notes.
After making preliminary judgments about each person's personality traits and recording them, he turned his attention back to the screen, closely observing the developments.
Xu Xi also checked his own backpack. It contained common hiking gear, along with some compressed biscuits, beef jerky, and other convenient foods, plus two bottles of mineral water.
"We can't stay here any longer. A heavy rainstorm is coming."
Xu Xi followed the voice and was surprised to find it came from the seemingly coldest member of the group, the high-ponytailed woman. He looked up at the sky and saw that the previously clear blue expanse was now covered with dark, heavy clouds.
"We need to hurry and find shelter," the refined man said, his expression suddenly grave. "The mountain terrain here is steep and rugged, with sparse vegetation. If the heavy rain lasts too long, there's a high risk of mudslides!"
Hearing the word "mudslide," everyone tensed up.
Even though they hadn't experienced one in the real world, they all knew how terrifying mudslides could be.
"Let's climb up the slopes on either side. The higher, the better," the short-haired, bespectacled girl suggested timidly.
The burly man agilely scaled a nearby slope, scanned the surroundings, and decisively declared, "This way. There's dense forest."
The others followed him up and indeed saw a vast expanse of green in the distance.
"Alright, let's head in that direction then," the refined man nodded in agreement.
The two girls also knew that dense forest areas could help block potential mudslides and raised no objections.
Xu Xi offered no opinion either, silently following his teammates' lead.
Although this instance, like the last one, was set in a remote wilderness, it felt even more absurd. At least the last one provided players with a car at the start and a predetermined route. This time, there were no hints at all.
Truthfully, none of them knew what this instance was about. They could only take it step by step for now. Staying put was definitely not a good option.
—
After casually sketching the mountainous terrain of the instance, Ji Yang set down his pen.
[This instance is too... lax, isn't it?]
[Yeah, there's not even a simple hint. What if they go the wrong way?]
[But Master Xu Xi hasn't said anything. I think he must have a plan in mind.]
[The main issue is we have no idea what the background of this instance is. It can't just be about climbing this mountain, right?]
[No way, how hard could climbing a mountain be?]
[Well, the last instance was just about driving down a highway.]
Ji Yang glanced at the noisy comments and tapped his pen on the desk. "This instance does have a hint."
His words immediately grabbed the comments' attention.
[Huh? What hint? Where?]
[Am I going blind at such a young age?]
Ji Yang chuckled and explained, "Actually, the instance and the players themselves have already given you the hint. Any smart folks figure it out?"
[What are you talking about?]
[Oh, I know!]
[Know what? Get out of here with your riddles!]
[The heavy rainstorm must be the instance's hint, right?]
[? Why?]
Seeing someone had guessed correctly, Ji Yang immediately said, "That's right! Someone got it. The hint is the heavy rainstorm. As for why..."
He held up the terrain map he had drawn to the screen.
"Look at this mountain terrain. High peaks, deep valleys, steep slopes. The slightly cracked soil indicates an arid climate region. Low vegetation coverage leads to loose soil. If a sudden, heavy rainstorm hits now, there's a high probability of mudslides."
"When encountering a mudslide, going with or against the flow is dangerous. The best option is to run perpendicular to the mudslide's direction, up the slopes on either side. Everyone knows trees can help against mudslides. That dense forest is the final destination."
"So, the direction the players chose has a ninety percent chance of being correct. The remaining ten percent is if the instance breaks convention and deliberately messes with the players. But that rarely happens. Instances never set up a guaranteed death scenario."
[Whoa, so that's how it is.]
[Great, more knowledge stuffed into my brain.]
[I told you Master Xu Xi didn't speak up because he already had it figured out. He probably realized this point long ago.]
[The hint for this instance is so hidden. The difficulty can't be that high, right?]
[With Master Xu Xi here, there's absolutely no problem.]
Seeing some of the comments expressing blind confidence in Xu Xi, Ji Yang raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze back to the instance's live stream screen.
—
The five of them trekked for a long time. Before the sky turned completely dark, they had already passed through more than half of the forest.
"We've been walking for hours. Let's take a break," the refined man suggested, glancing at the others who were panting heavily, himself also out of breath.
Xu Xi leaned against a tree, feeling like his legs no longer belonged to him.
Only the burly man was in the best condition, but he rejected the refined man's suggestion. Instead, he lifted his chin, gesturing for the others to look ahead, and said,
"I think we've reached our destination."