Ghostly Wall

Bai Xiaowen smiled slightly, "This requires starting with the natives of the Pale Mire."

The group continued their exploration through the Pale Mire, encountering two more waves of Swamp Giant Crab and Giant Swamp Crocodile along the way, each consisting of an Elite Tier leading a group of ordinary monsters.

Bai Xiaowen still didn't make a move—with so many people and him being Hero Class, if he joined the battle, even for Elite Tier monster's treasure chest, his Battle Rating would decrease accordingly. He simply had Han Xu hold the front line, with Li Shuyi joining in to provide support and damage, specifically targeting the Elite Tier monsters.

As for Bai Xiaowen, when he encountered Chen Guowei and his group, he had already recalled the newly added Vengeful Spirit, Skeleton Champion, and other creatures. Apart from the Stitched Monster Fatty was evolving and hibernating, and the four Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier responsible for carrying it (Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier: mmp), he only left behind one Rageclaw.

Li Shuyi's DPS is no joke; she stunned everyone with her first attack, consistently ranking first in Kill Contribution. However, Li Shuyi's addition also accelerated the team's progress. With a sufficient number of monsters, Shi Haiyan and the others' actual gains not only wouldn't decrease, but would actually increase.

One of the Giant Swamp Crocodile even separated a piece of Treasure Meat containing pure Psionic Particles. Everyone shared it, and the effects varied. Most of them temporarily increased their Life Value regeneration speed, but only two awakened individuals who hadn't eaten much of the Treasure Meat each gained a little bit of physique, which made them very happy.

There is a cap to the permanent attribute boost from Treasure Meat. During the Awakened stage, even if you collect and consume all types of Treasure Meat, you can only gain a maximum of 10 attribute points. Moreover, attribute increases become increasingly difficult. After reaching 5 or 6 attribute points, it becomes very difficult to gain any more attribute boosts from Elite Tier Beast Treasure Meat; only consuming Leader Tier Beast Treasure Meat will provide the necessary boost.

After gaining 10 points of attribute points, consuming more Treasure Meat will only provide temporary buffs. Expecting to become a top-tier player solely through consuming Treasure Meat is impossible.

Of course, those rare and high-grade Treasure Meat are still very valuable, as the temporary buffs they provide are quite powerful, such as significantly increasing Critical Hit rate, maximum Life Value, or movement speed, which are very useful when exploring Wilderness Zone and Treasure Ground Space.

Treasure Meat is not easy to store, and the Psionic Particles it contains will quickly dissipate over time, causing the Treasure Meat to "dissolve" as well. If it weren't for this drawback, awakened individuals could bring Treasure Meat to the Spirit Realm and use it as a temporary buff-type food to increase their status effects, which would be an extremely useful tool.

After defeating two waves of monsters blocking their path, Bai Xiaowen and his group finally encountered a wave of Lobsterfolk monsters.

These Lobsterfolk are Human Species with a certain level of intelligence. What's even more ingenious is that their mental state is extremely low, making them perfect for Bai Xiaowen to control using the Heart-Confounding Talisman.

This time, Bai Xiaowen didn't let the other awakened ones take action. He had Han Xu hold the large shield in front, only defending and not attacking, while he himself cast Spell Talisman on the Lobsterfolk.

With Bai Xiaowen's current Spirit stat of 50 and total attributes exceeding 120, controlling Standard Template Lobsterfolk is more than enough. Even against Elite Template Lobsterfolk warriors, his success rate in controlling them is over 50%.

Each time Bai Xiaowen controlled a Lobsterfolk, he would browse through its memory fragments. Once he confirmed that all the memory fragments had been browsed and the target Lobsterfolk was no longer of value, he would release the control and wait for the 8 minutes and 30 seconds cooldown of the Talisman Switching before controlling the next one.

The Lobsterfolk didn't have many fragmented memories of the Pale Swamp, but little by little, after controlling three Lobsterfolk in succession, Bai Xiaowen gradually gained some understanding of the secrets hidden in this swamp.

Bai Xiaowen attempted to control the last Elite Tier swamp Lobsterfolk, but unfortunately encountered a high failure rate. The chance of failure increases exponentially with each subsequent use of the Heart-Confounding Talisman, so Bai Xiaowen stopped pushing it and signaled Han Xu to kill the Elite Tier Lobsterfolk. He then closed his eyes and began to ponder, organizing and summarizing the fragments of memory he had gathered.

This is a very mentally taxing task. If it were an ordinary person, after going through so many fragmented memories from different Lobsterfolk, they would probably go insane.

The others followed silently beside Bai Xiaowen, not daring to disturb his thoughts.

Soon, Bai Xiaowen opened her eyes.

"Follow me."

Bai Xiaowen turned around immediately.

The group followed, Li Shuyi, feeling a bit puzzled, privately messaged Bai Xiaowen in the Team Channel: "Did you notice anything? We're heading back."

Li, the beautiful lady, was quite sensible. She didn't question Bai Xiaowen in front of everyone, but instead inquired through private chat, just to maintain Bai Xiaowen's leadership position in front of everyone.

Bai Xiaowen replied via the Team Channel, "It's okay, going back is just your imagination. The Ghost Mist here seems to have a sensory-distorting effect, like being trapped in a maze. If we continue in the same direction, we'll keep going in circles and eventually return to where we started."

After a pause, Bai Xiaowen continued, "I just checked my memories and learned about the relationship between the Snakefolk and the Lobsterfolk. The Lobsterfolk are actually servants and vassals of the Snakefolk Tribe. Remember the key to the Shadow Labyrinth I told you about? I suspect that the Shadow Labyrinth is underground in this swamp, and the Snakefolk Tribe is hidden inside the labyrinth. However, to find the Snakefolk Tribe, we must first find the Lobsterfolk's settlement."

Bai Xiaowen walked while silently counting her steps.

After walking for about a few kilometers, Bai Xiaowen turned back again.

Behind them, a group of awakened individuals followed, looking completely bewildered.

Chen Guowei and Han Xu had complete confidence in Bai Xiaowen and followed without hesitation. The students from Shandong University, while following, showed signs of hesitation.

One of the awakened students from Shandong University quietly asked Shi Haiyan, "What's the purpose of walking back and forth like this?"

Shi Haiyan had been frowning as he observed his surroundings, and gradually a look of realization dawned on his face.

"Shh, don't make a sound. Didn't you notice? Although we're going back the way we came, the scenery along the way is different each time. At least this mud pit in front of us is one we've never been before," Shi Haiyan whispered, his admiring gaze fixed on Bai Xiaowen.

Shi Haiyan was a quick-witted person. While many others were still confused, he had already seen through the deeper meaning of Bai Xiaowen's "back and forth walk". It was precisely because he could see it that he admired Bai Xiaowen immensely and was able to recognize the gap between himself and Bai Xiaowen.

Take Einstein's theory of relativity as an example. People who can truly understand relativity are considered very knowledgeable and remarkable, but compared to Einstein, the gap is still enormous.

Shi Haiyan racked his brains but couldn't understand how Bai Xiaowen had found a way to break the deadlock. Don't underestimate the simple back-and-forth walking; at which point, how many steps to take before turning back—these are all complex issues, representing the gap between him and Bai Xiaowen in solving puzzles and breaking deadlocks.

Of course, Bai Xiaowen had read some fragments of the Lobsterfolk's memories, giving him firsthand intelligence, which was also an important reason.

At this moment, Bai Xiaowen was explaining the principle of the back-and-forth walking to Li Shuyi.

"The principle behind being trapped in a maze is actually quite simple. First, we need to understand what being trapped in a maze means."

"The so-called 'being trapped in a maze' is actually a phenomenon that occurs when a person's senses are blurred, causing them to lose their sense of direction and become disoriented."

"Whether it's a human or an animal, when they lose sight of their surroundings, they move forward instinctively, ultimately resulting in circular motion, that is, going in a large circle. There are deep biological reasons for this. The strength and length of a human's two legs, and the strength and muscles of a bird's two wings, are subtly different. For example, in humans, if a person's left leg takes a slightly longer stride, even if their right leg takes a slightly shorter stride, after traveling a sufficient distance, they will eventually turn in a large clockwise circle and return to the starting point."

"When there is a field of vision and reference points, our brains constantly collect feedback from our eyes and correct our direction, which is why we can walk in a straight line."

"At the bottom of this Undead Sinkhole, the dense Ghost Mist of the Pale Swamp further disoriented us and intensified our sensory confusion. That's why we ended up walking in circles and returning to where we started."

"After walking a certain distance, we choose to turn back along the same route. In reality, we don't return the same way, but rather we follow a zigzag path formed by arcs. Although this wastes some time, at least it ensures that we don't go around in circles."

After thinking about it carefully, Li Shuyi finally understood.

"How is your brain structured? How can you be so smart?"

Bai Xiaowen smiled, then her smile faded as she turned her gaze to the thick fog not far away.

Splat, splat... The sound of messy footsteps splashing through the mud and water rang out.

"Prepare for battle. There are quite a few enemies this time," Bai Xiaowen glanced at the eager Shi Haiyan and the others. "With your strength, plus Han Xu and Chen Guowei, you should be able to handle three Mid Elite monsters at the same time, and at most five at once, right?"

Shi Haiyan said somewhat apologetically, "With five of them, the pressure will be quite high. We can only stall; it will be difficult to kill them in a short time."

Bai Xiaowen nodded slightly. After reaching a consensus, his subsequent arrangements became much simpler.

A group of Lobsterfolk arrived, numbering in the dozens. Most of them were still Standard Template, but there were seven or eight Elite Tier Lobsterfolk, whose size alone was a size larger than the other Lobsterfolk, and whose carapaces were also a darker color.

Bai Xiaowen didn't hold back on his Insight skill. In addition to the Mud Shell and Sturdy Carapace skills, the Elite Tier Lobsterfolk also possessed an offensive skill.

[Giant Claw Crush: The Lobsterfolk swings its giant claws to attack the target, dealing moderate crushing damage (physical damage). The target must pass a strength test; otherwise, they will be grappled.]

"The three Elite Tier on the left are yours. Shu Yi and I will handle the rest," Bai Xiaowen commanded in a deep voice. "As for the ordinary Lobsterfolk, kill as many as you can."

As Bai Xiaowen spoke, he raised his hand, and his Rageclaw pounced forward, biting and nibbling, holding back several Elite Tier Lobsterfolk on the right.

Han Xu, carrying a large shield, charged forward, blocking the three Elite Tier Lobsterfolk that Bai Xiaowen had deliberately left behind. Shi Haiyan and the others excitedly drew their weapons and launched an attack. This feeling of not having to worry about their own safety and ganging up on Elite Tier was the most exhilarating.

Li Shuyi drew her twin swords and Savage Charge into the fray. After accumulating passive attack speed and Critical Hit with her initial few strikes, her sword speed suddenly increased, like a windmill, and in less than ten seconds, she had knocked down an Elite Tier Lobsterfolk.

Four Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier gently placed Fatty on the ground, then raised their swords and shields to shield Li Shuyi from the ordinary Lobsterfolk.

After acquiring the Blood Essence Stone Dark Gold Tier accessory, Bai Xiaowen's personal damage output has increased significantly. In particular, when he activates the Desert Eagle's Rapid-Fire Mode, he occasionally triggers the "Killing Thirst" passive effect, which forcibly reduces the opponent's maximum Life Value by 10%! Moreover, this is true damage and is not affected by armor or magic resistance.

This skill is more effective against Advanced Boss with extremely long health bars, as a single trigger can reduce their Life Value by nearly 100 points. However, against Mid Elite Lobsterfolk, it only deals 20-30 points of true damage, which doesn't fully demonstrate the dominance of the Dark Gold Equipment.

Of course, the skills Blood Thirst and Mana Thirst are not just for show.

After Rageclaw is attacked and loses Life Value, Bai Xiaowen's Life Sharing will transfer a portion of his Life Value to it, maintaining a unified health level between him and Rageclaw. This means that Bai Xiaowen's Life Value is also reduced.

At this point, Bai Xiaowen can use the Life Value stored in the Blood Essence Stone to restore his own health. Even better, due to the existence of Life Sharing, the health of the Rageclaw will also gradually recover.

"The Blood Thirst skill can basically be seen as a ' Blood Drain ' effect. Although it only provides 10% Blood Drain, it still enhances my survivability."

Bai Xiaowen pondered that he definitely had to upgrade the enhancement level of this Dark Gold Tier ornament. It was already this powerful even before enhancement; he wondered what it would be like once it was enhanced to +4 or +7.

Soon, the group of Lobsterfolk fell one after another. Among them were several ordinary Lobsterfolk, seeing that the situation was hopeless, tried to escape in panic, but were all stopped.

After discussing it, Shi Haiyan and the others decided to reduce the ordinary Lobsterfolk to only one or two points of Life Value, rendering them unable to fight, before handing them over to Bai Xiaowen. This would allow Bai Xiaowen to control them using the Heart-Confounding Talisman skill that Talisman Switching.

Bai Xiaowen shook his head. "No need. The fact that these Lobsterfolk have appeared means we're very close to Lobsterfolk settlement. Just kill these monsters."

Shi Haiyan and the others were naturally overjoyed. Even a mosquito bite is still meat, and even a dozen or so Psionic Points are money, not to mention the chance to win a treasure chest. They all felt that following Bai Xiaowen was the right choice. If they had left in a huff like Zhang Yubin, they would never have had such wonderful times.

Bai Xiaowen then ordered Rageclaw to sniff the Lobsterfolk's corpse, and then handed over the task of leading the way to Rageclaw. From then on, there was no need to go back and forth. Guided by Rageclaw's sense of smell, the group quickened their pace, and before long, they found a Lobsterfolk village!