"Survivors": "I'll Go Look for the Red Skull Symbols."
Just moments before, Saha had only felt disdain for the young man's nonchalance, but now, it was mixed with a sense of apprehension about the unknown.
Polina's knuckles turned white from gripping the dagger so tightly that the blade was slightly adjusted, no longer pointing directly outwards but subtly towards the direction of the young man.
It wasn't until Winniever called out to the monitor that the air, which had been so thick it seemed like it could drip ice, finally cracked open a little.
Xu Xi slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
Because the moment the bearded man spoke, the Blue Entity gradually faded until they completely disappeared from his sight.
They did not lay a hand on him.
After a long silence, Saha asked first, "What exactly happened? What attacked her?"
Although he was asking the crowd a question, his eyes kept glancing at the young figure at the front.
The question remained unanswered.
Briman's smile vanished, his tone sharpening. "Gentlemen, your experience last night... is probably not unusual."
The "several people" he referred to were Winniever, Polina, Dana, and... Xu Xi.
The atmosphere among the first three was quite different this morning, while the latter...
"Friend, did you see something, or did you know something beforehand?"
Xu Xi didn't expect to be suddenly called upon.
He was pondering the meaning of those two words.
It turns out that the two words he didn't pronounce in the previous segment were actually lip readings.
Retreat or die... Get out of here, or die?
This is the most reasonable interpretation he derived from his previous deductions.
This seems to further corroborate his theory of factionalism.
If you don't leave, you'll be hunted down by that Living Corpse Man.
When confronted with such a direct and unexpected question, Xu Xi was no longer as flustered as before.
He knew that he couldn't compare to these elite players in terms of observation, on-the-spot reaction, or various experiences, and he also found it difficult to completely hide his emotional nuances from them.
But he has other advantages.
"Information requires an equivalent exchange, doesn't it?"
Xu Xi quoted a woman without hesitation.
So what if I suspect him? Or rather, what can I do about it?
"..." The crowd, who were all waiting to see the young man's reaction, received this dismissive statement.
Polina's eyelids twitched, and the corner of her eye twitched almost imperceptibly.
The tense, scrutinizing atmosphere in the lobby was subtly shifted by those words.
Information exchange at an equivalent cost.
In a perilous Dungeon this, this is indeed the principle of trading.
Impeccable.
However, this also indicates that the other party has not denied that they also possess information that the other party did not know.
The other party's attitude was very simple--
Want the information I have? Fine, trade it for what you know.
However, in reality, what valuable information could they possibly obtain in just one night?
On the same night, the young man was far ahead of everyone else.
Polina was the one with the most urgent desire among them all.
As one of only two players who were inexplicably attacked, she was terrified that she would be the next target.
But she didn't have any noteworthy information.
Thinking of what the young man had just said, her fingertips involuntarily curled up, and she felt slightly irritated.
What's this? The boomerang finally pierced its own skin!
Unwittingly, the young man was isolated in a delicate position.
No longer a strange teammate, but someone who needs to be analyzed, guarded against, and even... potentially excluded as a priority.
The medical team arrived quickly, carried the short-haired woman onto their back, and then hurriedly left.
After learning that Dana had only fallen into a coma and was not dead, everyone felt somewhat relieved.
Xu Xi glanced at the young man with brown hair and blue eyes.
In the previous stage, the opponent had requested to withdraw from the competition.
Perhaps because he wasn't leading the way this time, the other party didn't dare to easily try this path.
He was unaware that he was now the focus of all the players' attention. His glance not only made Briman's heart tighten, but also made the others subtly distance themselves from Briman.
Just as Briman was about to say something urgently, a disheveled man's slightly distorted voice suddenly came from the loudspeaker.
"Hey, players, can you hear me?--"
Three challenges, three locations, three teams.
Xu Xi silently observed the discussion among the nine players.
This continued until everyone had chosen their desired destination.
He was the only one left who hadn't made a choice.
All eyes naturally fell on the young man.
This time, there was less scrutiny and more of an indescribable sense of anticipation and exploration.
They both wanted to see which team the other would choose.
However, to their surprise once again, the young man did not choose either side.
Xu Xi's gaze calmly swept over the three squads.
The personnel and lore are almost identical, the only difference being that there are more brown-haired, blue-eyed men among the players heading to the Burial Forest.
He wasn't interested in any of those three challenges that lacked virtue.
Aside from provoking and angering the Blue Entity, he couldn't think of any other purpose those missions could serve.
Therefore, he said, "I'll go find the red Skull Symbol."
The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear.
This was a last-minute decision by Xu Xi.
He noticed that, in both the previous and this gear, everyone, including himself, seemed to have ignored this symbol.
All the players were completely absorbed by the so-called challenge.
The slovenly man's original words were--
"... Complete some small challenges while searching for our hidden red Skull Symbol."
The symbols are not in those three locations either.
He felt that the symbol was the real key point, even a crucial clue that could help him clear the Dungeon.
From the very beginning, Xu Xi was pondering: what exactly was the role of the Production Team in this Dungeon for the players?
After all, Dungeons generally don't include too much irrelevant background information.
Is this to pit players against the Blue Entity? To add extra difficulty for players?
On the surface, that seems to be the case.
But in reality, the Production Team may also be playing a role in guiding key clues.
Those tricky challenges are just a smokescreen; the red Skull Symbol is probably the real clue.
With this in mind, Xu Xi had originally planned to continue wandering around, finally had a target.
Whether this line of thinking is correct or not, we'll know once we find the symbol.
Anyway, he really had absolutely no interest in going to the graves of the Blue Entity to dance.
Upon hearing Xu Xi's choice, the front hall fell silent for a moment.
Winniever's brow furrowed subconsciously.
He originally thought that the red Skull Symbol was something to be found incidentally while completing the challenge.
He looked around at the crowd.
Clearly, judging from their expressions, everyone thought the same thing.
However, the young man meant that the challenges and the search for symbols were of equal priority?