A Win-Win Choice
"Are you going to find that hidden Snakefolk Tribe?" Shi Haiyan asked.
Bai Xiaowen nodded. There was no need to hide this matter. Bai Xiaowen brought up the Snakefolk Tribe in front of Shi Haiyan, which was actually intentional.
Someone raised a question, "That Snakefolk Tribe shouldn't be easy to find, right? If it were easy to spot, how come none of the previous students who came to the Dead Spirit Lake found it?"
Bai Xiaowen smiled slightly, a smile radiating an indescribable confidence, "Of course I can find it."
Shi Haiyan first glared at the person who had raised the question, then hesitated before saying:
"... Could you take us with you? I mean, let's form a team and you can lead the charge."
Shi Haiyan was still a little embarrassed when he said this. Just now, when Chen Guowei wanted to invite Bai Xiaowen to join the team, Shi Haiyan's classmates had all subtly expressed their opposition. Now, he wanted to curry favor with Bai Xiaowen, which made him feel somewhat awkward.
However, since there was an opportunity to increase his strength, Shi Haiyan naturally wanted to seize it.
Which is more important, face or actual benefits? Of course, benefits. Many college students in the Common Era might not understand this principle, or even if they do, they can't put it into practice. But awakened college students in the Psychic Energy Era, who frequently fight to the death with monsters in the Wilderness Zone and the Spirit Realm, have matured considerably after learning the value of strength.
Fortunately, Shi Haiyan, out of consideration for his reputation, did extend an invitation to Bai Xiaowen. Although it was mostly just polite talk, Bai Xiaowen should appreciate it.
Bai Xiaowen laughed and said, "You guys are from Shandong University, right? We might meet at the National Championship next semester. If I take you guys to strengthen yourselves now, wouldn't that be giving our enemy an advantage?"
Shi Haiyan and the others looked a little downcast; what Bai Xiaowen said made perfect sense.
However, Bai Xiaowen changed the subject. "Originally, I only planned to bring Han Xu and Chen Guowei from our school. But since you were willing to take them on an adventure before, this time, I'll return the favor and take you all with me to the Snakefolk Tribe."
The awakened ones, including Shi Haiyan, were surprised by the unexpected turn of events and showed a hint of excitement. They secretly felt that inviting Han Xu and accepting Chen Guowei as a teammate was indeed a wise choice.
Han Xu's lips moved, but he didn't speak.
Chen Guowei scratched his head. "This... thank you, Lao Bai." He felt that Bai Xiaowen bringing Shi Haiyan and the others along was to repay a favor on his behalf.
"Bai Xiaowen... Boss, hehe, I'll call you that from now on," Shi Haiyan quickly established a closer relationship, "I call our captain that too."
Bai Xiaowen waved his hand. "Stop, I haven't finished speaking yet."
Bai Xiaowen glanced around; there were five Awakened Ones from Shandong University. He said to them, "Once you join my team, you must obey my commands without hesitation. If someone is assigned to attack a specific monster, they must absolutely not touch any other monsters, especially Leader Tier ones. Without my orders, you cannot interfere. Can you do that?"
"Why?" asked a fair-skinned, handsome boy.
Chen Guowei curled his lip. "Zhang Yubin, don't you understand? For the same monster, the fewer Awakened Ones involved in the attack, the better. If multiple Awakened Ones touch a monster, it will lower the kill score! As for the Boss Tier monster, only the White... Boss can handle it. If you go to help, you won't be of much use. On the contrary, it will lower the score and reduce the loot!"
Seeing that Shi Haiyan and the others were calling Bai Xiaowen "Boss," Chen Guowei realized that he might have been too casual in addressing him as "Old Bai." So he changed his address. In front of people from other schools, he had to give the captain enough respect and not be too casual, lest Bai Xiaowen lose his authority as captain.
The boy named Zhang Yubin said somewhat indignantly, "Doesn't this mean we're working for Bai Xiaowen while he gets all the Boss Tier's profits?"
Shi Haiyan couldn't stand it anymore and Intimidating Shout, "Alright, Yubin, say less! Getting a few Elite Tier monsters is already pretty good for both of us. Don't be greedy."
"I call this insatiable greed?" Zhang Yubin snorted. "Don't blame me for not warning you, working for Bai Xiaowen will only get you some dirty work at best. With so many summoned creatures and such high damage output, what good will he leave you? We'd be better off exploring on our own! Those who want to leave, come with me!"
Zhang Yubin turned and left.
After walking a few steps, I realized that no one was following me.
Zhang Yubin turned around and saw that the other four Shandong University alumni, including Shi Haiyan, were all surrounding Bai Xiaowen, showing no intention of following him. He was somewhat embarrassed and angry. "Foolish, truly foolish! See if you regret it later!"
After Zhang Yubin left, Shi Haiyan felt somewhat embarrassed and apologized to Bai Xiaowen: "I'm sorry, my junior classmate was indeed a bit immature..."
Bai Xiaowen shook his head and smiled, "Forget it, no need to talk about him. My requirements remain unchanged: those who can do it, come with me. Those who can't, you can leave now. If you really team up but don't follow instructions and act recklessly, I'll remove him from the Dead Spirit Lake space, and that will be awkward."
Shi Haiyan: "We've made up our minds. We'll follow orders 100%. You tell us which monster to fight, and we won't even glance at the others."
Bai Xiaowen nodded. "Show me your information, including your attributes and skills, so I can have a better understanding of your situation."
Seeing the Transformation expression on Shi Haiyan and the others' faces, Bai Xiaowen added, "It's okay if you don't want to show all your strength. The monsters you're assigned will be based on the strength you demonstrate. Whoever demonstrates the strongest strength will be assigned a correspondingly stronger monster when I'm in command."
The stronger the monster, the greater the reward; this is a constant Spirit Realm Rules.
Finally, Shi Haiyan and the others displayed their personal panels.
The four awakened individuals from Shandong University are quite strong. Shi Haiyan is a level 6 Elite Tier warrior, and the other three include two level 4 ranged archers and one level 5 Agility Specialty, whose roles are similar to Li Shuyi's.
The reason Bai Xiaowen deliberately revealed his speculation about the Snakefolk Tribe to guide these awakened individuals to team up with him was simple: it was a win-win situation.
How strong would the Snakefolk Tribe be?
Judging from the Snakefolk couple they encountered—a warrior and a priest— the Snakefolk Tribe should have no shortage of Elite Tier; at least several dozen Elite Tier.
A tribe should at least have a Advanced Boss to keep things in order, right? Of course, given the mystique of that Snakefolk Tribe, it probably has more than one Boss Tier.
Moreover, these Snakefolk are intelligent beings, unlike the mindless undead monsters of Yinwind Ridge who are easy to deal with.
Bai Xiaowen is not currently venturing into the Spirit Realm, and there is no faction conflict, which means he cannot leverage any external forces.
Therefore, Bai Xiaowen recruited some Elite Tier and ordinary awakened individuals to fight against the Elite Tier Snakefolk, leaving Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi room to fight the BOSS one-on-one.
This also benefits the awakened individuals from Shandong University. Their strength is insufficient to deal with the Boss Tier, but being able to safely kill some Elite Tier monsters yields substantial rewards. This is why they are willing to follow Bai Xiaowen; few who get into the Combat Department of a top university are fools.
In comparison, Zhang Yubin's impulsive departure was definitely an immature act—of course, it's also possible that he didn't trust Bai Xiaowen. But it doesn't matter; one more or one less makes no difference.
"So, how do we find that Snakefolk Tribe now?" Chen Guowei asked after the team was finalized.