Escort Convoy

"Hello, my name is 'Fei Dao'... Please take good care of me in this Instance from now on."

Despite being the two men's employer, Fei Dao maintained a very humble attitude.

Lin Yu didn't say anything, but Li Nian waved her hand naturally.

"Don't worry, buddy, I'll make sure you get through the game smoothly with your money—I'll even help you get some good reviews if I get the chance."

As she spoke, Li Nian plucked a weed from a nearby crevice, broke it off, and put it in her mouth.

"You know where this 'Zhu Ming' and I come from... Although neither of us are exactly good people, we'll definitely handle your money and your business perfectly and beautifully once we've taken it."

"Right, Sister Zhu Ming?"

Hearing Li Nian direct the question to him, Lin Yu nodded slightly and said, "I will do my best."

He didn't speak with the same confidence as Li Nian; instead, he asked Li Nian a question afterward.

"However, according to the prompts before entering the Game, this Instance should have six people. The three of us are together, so where are the other three roughly located?"

Although not all [Instance] will cause all "Player" to appear in the same place, Lin Yu felt that something was amiss this time.

There are six people in total. My team of three is in one place. Could it be that the other three are also in a team?

Sure enough, after a moment's thought, Li Nian said, "I think... there's a certain possibility that this [Instance] might be a competitive one."

"In other words, the remaining three 'Player' may have a conflict with our objective—don't forget, our [Instance] is called 'The Caravan Heist'!"

Lin Yu frowned slightly. "Indeed, the name 'Snatching the Escort' sounds very competitive... However, our Clearance Conditions is not to steal anything, but to reach a certain location, isn't it?"

As Lin Yu spoke, Li Nian nodded. "Indeed, but if we want to reach that place called 'Willow Town,' we'll probably have to steal some things!"

"Humans in the Prison Mountain Realm mostly live in small settlements, organized into villages. Towns are extremely rare and heavily guarded... For people like us to enter a specific town, we need to have an 'identity'."

As Li Nian finished speaking, she touched the knife-carved marks on the rock wall behind them.

It was a long knife drawn in simple strokes.

"If I'm not mistaken, in this [Instance], we'll probably have to travel with a caravan of goods."

Li Nian speculated, and Lin Yu asked curiously, "How do you know that?"

"I've been to the Prison Mountain Realm a few times, so I'm fairly familiar with the 'human forces' here," Li Nian said softly. "Because there are many Yaomo in the mountains, 'trade' between human towns relies on 'escort services' to complete the transactions—and the knife marks carved here are the markers for where 'escorts' meet."

"If I'm not mistaken, we just need to wait here for a while, and instructions on how to get to 'Willow Town' will be delivered to our doorstep."

Li Nian thought to himself, analyzing the situation.

This was Lin Yu's first time in the Prison Mountain Realm. Although his Senior Sister's information prevented him from being completely clueless, he still didn't understand the details at all.

Now that Li Nian's words are so reasonable and well-founded, he naturally chooses to trust Li Nian directly.

"Okay, we'll do as you say."

Lin Yu indicated that he had no objection.

The employer, Fei Dao, nodded quickly, indicating that he agreed with Li Nian's statement, but soon he had some doubts.

"Should we wait here...? How long will we have to wait?"

"If we wait too long, won't we be at a disadvantage when we might have to compete against other Player?"

Fei Dao asked somewhat uneasily, seemingly hoping for a definite answer from Li Nian and Lin Yu.

However, neither Li Nian nor Lin Yu were clearly certain.

Li Nian only vaguely said, "Don't worry, it shouldn't be too long."

Lin Yu observed the obvious worry in Fei Dao's eyes and gained some understanding of his employer's mental fortitude.

"No wonder he was in such a hurry to hire someone; he's probably not the type of guy who's good at handling special, urgent, and unexpected situations."

Lin Yu had gained a general understanding of Fei Dao.

This Prison Mountain Realm was indeed terrible for him—after all, it was a world where a random monster could suddenly appear and slap someone at any moment.

Among the "Player," there's even a saying that "every type of Instance in the Prison Mountain Realm has some element of combat."

Even in survival and puzzle games, you might have to Struggle monsters that Xingyi appear out of nowhere.

Therefore, for someone with the mental fortitude of someone like Fei Dao... the Prison Mountain Realm is indeed too unfriendly.

"Fortunately, he happened to hire me and Li Nian..."

As a "mercenary" who gets paid to do things, Lin Yu is still quite conscientious.

Since Fei Dao's mental fortitude is average, I will try my best to help him pass the level without scaring the employer or causing him any additional worry!

Therefore, seeing the worrying Fei Dao, Lin Yu volunteered.

"I can sense if anyone is approaching us."

As he spoke, he quietly took out Old Zheng, pretending that he was experiencing Mental Power attack, and closed his eyes slightly, pressing his index and middle fingers against his temples.

After sensing the situation, Old Zheng quickly provided Lin Yu with an answer.

"About 500 meters to the left of the valley, there is a group of about 30 Native, probably a caravan delivering goods."

"We should see them in a few minutes."

Lin Yu repeated Old Zheng's words and pointed in the direction of the people who were coming, as indicated by Old Zheng.

Hearing Lin Yu's words, Fei Dao relaxed slightly, but then tensed up again. "Really? People have really come... But are these people sure they're friendly? The people from the Prison Mountain Realm aren't so easy to deal with!"

Li Nian waved her hand. "It's alright. Since we've entered the Game location here, it must be something the 'Death game' has designed for us."

"Moreover, you can leave the negotiations to me—although the people of the Prison Mountain Realm are quite wary, I have ways to gain their trust."

Li Nian said solemnly.

A short while later, just as Lin Yu had predicted, a convoy of vehicles came around the bend in the valley ahead—six vehicles covered with Heat-repelling talismans, and the animals pulling the vehicles looked like a hybrid of camels, yaks, and horses.

A convoy of this size is already quite rare in the Prison Mountain Realm.

As they walked this way, the group in the lead quickly noticed Lin Yu two companions standing beneath a protruding rock in the valley that provided just the right amount of shade.

The carriage caravan stopped some distance away.

Before the other party could ask a question, Li Nian preemptively struck.

"Is that a convoy heading to 'Willow Town' over there?!"