The Teammates in the "Mountain Inn" Were Not to Be Underestimated

Hearing this, everyone followed the burly man's gaze and saw a small, three-story wooden building barely visible amid the lush woods not far away.

Only when they got closer did they realize it was an abandoned inn.

Xu Xi noticed that the sign hanging outside the inn had been worn by time, making the words on it illegible. But he had a premonition similar to the burly man's: the theme of this instance was definitely connected to the abandoned inn.

It wasn't just the two of them. After seeing the inn, the other three had the same thought.

"Are we going in?" They had been walking for ages without a break. The short-haired girl wasn't particularly strong to begin with, and she was struggling to steady her rapid breathing. She instinctively pushed her glasses back up from the tip of her nose as she asked in a low voice.

"We've walked this long before finding an inn. Even if no one's there, we should go in and have a look," the Refined Man said unhurriedly.

"Who's going in first?" the short-haired girl blurted out.

But she regretted it as soon as she spoke.

Although they had to dig up relevant clues within the instance and find a way to clear it, none of them were greenhorns participating in an instance for the first time.

Every instance held dangers of varying severity, some obvious and some hidden. Who knew what was inside the inn? No one wanted to be the first to step forward.

The short-haired girl was terrified that, because she had spoken up, the others would push her in to be the first cannon fodder. In her fear, she edged closer to the other woman in the group.

The High-Ponytail Woman glanced at her, her expression indifferent.

No one answered. The short-haired girl bit her lip, her heart beating faster and her palms growing clammy with cold sweat.

Just then, a sudden clap of thunder sounded overhead. Silver-white lightning split the sky, followed by a torrential downpour.

The rain caught them off guard, soaking them to the bone in an instant.

They certainly couldn't shelter under the trees. None of them wanted to be struck by lightning.

The burly man gritted his teeth. "Come on, we're all going in together!"

Since no one wanted to go in first and they couldn't stay outside in the rain forever, they might as well all go in together.

Even if there was danger inside the inn, whoever fell victim to it first would just have to count themselves unlucky.

Xu Xi naturally caught the implication and cast a subtle glance at the burly man's back.

It hadn't been long, but the journey had given him enough time to form an initial impression of his teammates' personalities.

The burly man was hot-tempered and overbearing. From the very beginning, he had naturally taken charge of the group as though it were only right.

The Refined Man also wanted to lead the group, but after being rebuffed by the Burly Man once, he had given up for the time being. He seemed to bear the Burly Man no ill will, but Xu Xi couldn't shake the feeling that he was bottling up his resentment.

The High-Ponytail Woman remained aloof. Like Xu Xi, she neither offered her opinion nor joined the conversation. They were the only two in the group who had remained silent, and Xu Xi couldn't quite see through her.

Lastly, the Short-Haired Woman with Glasses was somewhat similar in temperament to Li Kang from the previous instance. She spoke softly every time, but she had seen quite a bit more than Li Kang.

All in all, none of his teammates this time could be underestimated.

He didn't know how many instances the four of them had been through, but he supposed it was no fewer than he had.

While Xu Xi's thoughts wandered, the others offered no objection to the burly man's order.

They had all caught the additional meaning behind the Burly Man's words, and they agreed with the plan.

The most relieved of them was, of course, the Short-Haired Woman with Glasses.

After all, if they all went in together and someone ran into danger, that person could only count themselves ill-fated and blame their own bad luck.

As for the whole group being wiped out... the instance had only just begun. Surely it couldn't be that brutal already?

With much the same thoughts in mind, the group cautiously stepped through the inn's front door.

Behind them, the rain didn't let up. Instead, it grew even heavier.

Xu Xi looked back thoughtfully at the rain pouring down outside, unable to shake the feeling that the instance was deliberately guiding them.

He brushed the thought aside and began examining the inn's interior along with his teammates.

But the sky outside was gloomy, leaving the inn exceptionally dim and indistinct as well.

The patter of rain outside broke the silence indoors. After stopping cautiously for a moment and encountering no opening kill, they spread out a little.

Xu Xi was still struggling to get his bearings when he suddenly heard a click.

A flame sprang to life ahead of him.

Xu Xi looked over in surprise and saw the Refined Man standing beside what appeared to be the reception desk, holding a candleholder.

Clearly, he had lit the candle, making the room a little brighter.

Seeing everyone looking at him, the Refined Man showed no discomfort and explained mildly, "I was just trying to find the light switch for the inn, but I couldn't find it. Luckily, I found a candle and a lighter on the counter, so I lit it. It'll do for some light."

The Burly Man narrowed his eyes but said nothing. He walked straight to the reception desk and saw another candleholder on the counter. He was about to take the lighter and light it too, but the Refined Man stopped him. The Burly Man looked at him with displeasure.

"One is enough for now. We don't know if there are any other candles, so we need to conserve them," the Refined Man said without the slightest hesitation.

He might have been willing to yield over leadership of the group, but this was a matter of life and death. There was no way he would let the burly man do as he pleased.

Though displeased, the burly man knew he had a point. He merely snorted and gave up on lighting the other candle.

The inn's first floor wasn't very large. The Refined Man placed the candleholder in the middle of the reception desk, and its flickering flame barely illuminated a small portion of the room.

Only then did everyone get a clear look at the layout of the first floor.

The simple furnishings were visible at a glance. Aside from the reception desk in the middle, there were dining tables and chairs on either side, all askew and covered in a thick layer of dust that was clearly visible in the dim yellow light.

A heavy curtain hung to the left of the reception desk. Beyond it lay another unknown area. To the right of the desk was a spiral staircase, and there was yet another area beyond the stairs.

"Let's look around for any clues first."

Everyone stayed within the candlelight as they moved about, each person taking great care for fear of triggering some trap.

Xu Xi took it upon himself to walk around and look for clues as well.

Some sheets of paper were pasted on one wall. He went closer and saw that the writing on them had faded almost beyond recognition.

[***ules]

[1. At night*****door, if you hear*****pay attention]

[****believe*****person]

[3. Never*****discover you***them]