"Mountain Inn": With Expert Xu Xi Here, There Definitely Won't Be a Problem

Inside the instance.

Everyone first looked around at their surroundings. Seeing no danger, they finally had time to take a look at their teammates this time.

First was a refined-looking young man. After looking around at the others, he gave them a perfectly measured smile and said warmly, "It's fate that brought us together in the same instance. Let me introduce myself first—"

Before he could finish, however, a burly man rudely interrupted him.

"What's there to introduce? It's a waste of time!"

The man scoffed and ignored the sudden tension, rummaging through the pack on his back.

Everyone was dressed in hiking clothes and carrying a backpack. From the looks of it, they were hiking as a group.

The refined young man's expression froze for a moment, but he showed no other reaction and merely smiled helplessly.

The woman with a high ponytail wore an indifferent expression, seemingly unconcerned by the exchange. She too promptly took off her pack and inspected it.

The short-haired woman with glasses looked from one side to the other but didn't dare interrupt.

Xu Xi silently looked away.

His teammates this time didn't seem easy to get along with.

At the very least, the burly, muscular man had a volatile temper.

At the same time, comments were flying through Ji Yang's livestream.

[This bulky guy is so arrogant.]

[I've come across him before. This is already his fourth instance, and he's pretty strong.]

[He doesn't have to be so cocky, though. If he keeps it up, his teammates might ostracize him.]

[I've watched his instances too. That's just his style. He's straightforward, and as long as you don't provoke him, he generally won't pick a fight with you. But that refined guy looks pretty calculating to me.]

[I don't think there's really any need for introductions in an instance. Everyone's just meeting by chance, and who knows how many people will die by the end? There's really no point.]

[Expert Xu Xi is as quiet as ever.]

Ji Yang split his attention between watching the stream and keeping an eye on the comments in his own livestream. Seeing the lively discussion, he left them to it and habitually took a sheet of blank paper and began writing and drawing.

After making an initial assessment of everyone's personality traits and recording them, he turned back to the screen to keep a close watch on what happened next.

Xu Xi also checked his pack. It contained common hiking equipment, as well as convenient foods like compressed biscuits and beef jerky, and two bottles of mineral water.

"We can't stay here any longer. There's going to be a rainstorm soon."

Xu Xi looked toward the voice and found that it was the high-ponytailed woman, who had seemed the most indifferent, who had spoken. He looked up at the sky and saw that it had turned overcast, though it had been fairly blue just moments ago.

"We need to hurry and find somewhere to shelter." The refined man's expression suddenly grew grave. "The mountains here are steep, and there's hardly any vegetation on the slopes. If the downpour lasts too long, there could easily be a mudslide!"

At the word "mudslide," everyone's expressions tightened.

Although they had never experienced one in the real world, they knew how terrifying mudslides could be.

"Let's climb the slopes on either side. We'd better get as high as we can," the short-haired woman with glasses suggested timidly.

The burly man nimbly climbed a slope and surveyed the area before making the decision outright. "This way. There's a dense forest."

The others climbed up after him and saw a large expanse of green in the distance.

"All right, let's go that way, then." The refined man nodded in agreement.

The two women also knew that dense woodland could block a potential mudslide, so neither objected.

Xu Xi offered no opinion either and silently followed his teammates.

Although this instance, like the last one, took place in the wilderness, it was even more baffling. At least the last instance had given the players a car at the start and set out a route for them. This time, there were no hints at all.

In fact, none of them knew what this instance was about, so for now they could only keep moving and see what happened. In any case, staying where they were was certainly not a good choice.

Ji Yang finished sketching the mountainous terrain in the instance and put down his pen.

[This instance is way too... open-ended, isn't it?]

[Yeah, there isn't even a simple hint. What if they go the wrong way?]

[But Expert Xu Xi hasn't said anything, so I think he must know what he's doing.]

[The main thing is, we have no idea what the background of this instance is. Surely they don't just have to hike across the mountain?]

[No way. How hard could hiking a mountain be?]

[In the last instance, all they had to do was drive down a road.]

Ji Yang glanced at the clamoring comments and tapped his pen against the table. "There is a hint in this instance."

His words immediately caught the commenters' attention.

[Huh? What hint? Where is it?]

[Am I going blind already?]

Ji Yang smiled and explained, "Actually, the instance and the players have already told you what the hint is. Have any of you clever folks figured it out?]

[What?]

[Oh, I know!]

[Know what? Get out of the livestream with your riddles!]

[The rainstorm is the hint from the instance, right?]

[? Why?]

Seeing that someone had guessed correctly, Ji Yang immediately said, "That's right, someone got it. The hint is the rainstorm. As for why..."

He held up the terrain map he had drawn to the screen.

"Look at the terrain here: high mountains, deep gullies, and steep slopes. The soil is slightly dry and cracked, so this is clearly a dry region. The sparse vegetation leaves the soil loose, and if a heavy downpour suddenly hits, there's a chance of a mudslide."

"During a mudslide, traveling either with or against its flow is dangerous. It's best to run toward the slopes on either side, perpendicular to the direction of the flow. Everyone knows what trees can do against a mudslide, so that dense forest is where the hint ultimately points."

"So there's a ninety percent chance the players chose the right direction. The remaining ten percent is the possibility that the instance plays against convention and deliberately messes with the players. But that basically won't happen. Instances never put players in a situation where death is inevitable."

[Holy crap, so that's how it is.]

[Nice, I learned something new.]

[I knew Expert Xu Xi had a reason for staying quiet. He'd probably already thought of that.]

[The hint in this instance is so well hidden. Could it be really difficult?]

[With Expert Xu Xi here, there definitely won't be a 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 livestream.

The five of them walked for a long time, and before the sky grew completely dark, they had made it through most of the forest.

"We've been walking for hours. Let's take a break," the refined man said, panting as he glanced at the others, who were also out of breath.

Xu Xi leaned against a tree, feeling as though his legs were about to give out.

The burly man was the only one still in good shape, 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."