Player teams

Before approaching these players, Lin Yuan had already had Lilia hide inside the coffin and submerge underwater.

On this magical ocean, people above the surface could not see anything underwater, so none of the players noticed the eerie black coffin accompanying Lin Yuan. They simply took him for an ordinary player.

"Just call me Zero. And you are?" Lin Yuan looked at the reasonably friendly Glasses Man. Twenty or thirty people followed behind him, clearly part of the same group.

"We're a team. Despite my limited abilities, I was elected team leader. You can call me 'Manager.'"

"A team? A team leader?" Lin Yuan paused briefly, then understood. "You belong to an 'organization.'"

From Manager's position and the respectful expressions of the teammates behind him, it was clear that Glasses Man held considerable authority as their leader. Most likely, someone from an organization had recruited ordinary players to form a team.

"That's right. I belong to the Consortium. What organization are you with, my friend?" Glasses Man made no attempt to hide it, seemingly very confident in the organization he belonged to, the Consortium.

"I don't belong to an organization. I learned about these things by chance," Lin Yuan answered truthfully.

Manager nodded. "An independent player? Some lucky independents do learn about the game ahead of time, but ultimately, independents can hardly compare to organizations. How about it? Want to join our Consortium?"

"Are you always this casual about recruiting?" Lin Yuan could not help raising an eyebrow.

"I trust my judgment of people." Manager smiled. "Besides, look at everyone else. They're all moving in groups too. At this stage, there's strength in numbers."

Lin Yuan followed Manager's gaze toward the other groups and found that everyone was indeed standing together in small clusters.

The Consortium team led by Manager had the most people. There were also two teams of around twenty, one team of a dozen or so, and several teams with fewer than ten.

"Those two large teams were formed by members of the Black Blood Society and the Adventurer Group, but I wouldn't recommend joining them." Manager took the initiative to introduce the other factions to Lin Yuan.

"Oh? They don't get along with you?" Lin Yuan had not previously learned much about these organizations, so this was a good opportunity to ask.

"Not at all." Manager shook his head. "The Black Blood Society believes that the strong reign supreme and problems should be settled through combat. They don't consider the risks to newcomers and believe anyone eliminated is weak. Newcomers who join their team can easily end up as cannon fodder."

"The Adventurer Group, meanwhile, pursues exploration regardless of anything else. The death rate among their newcomers is even higher than the Black Blood Society's."

Hearing this, Lin Yuan had a question. "You knew about the game beforehand, but this is still your first time entering it, right? Why do you make it sound like these organizations have been in the game for a long time?"

Manager glanced at Lin Yuan, a mysterious smile appearing on his lips.

"You're an independent, so it's perfectly normal that you don't know this."

"The truth is, this game has existed for a long time. We aren't the first batch of players."

"And these so-called organizations were actually founded by earlier players. We're really just branches they set up by establishing contact with us ahead of time through certain methods."

"You can think of us as new guilds that established guilds indirectly set up when a new game server opens."

"Once newcomers like us pass through the Gate of Departure, you'll truly see the power of these established organizations."

It seemed that beyond the Gate of Departure was where the veteran players were, and where the game truly began.

"I see. But there's still something I don't understand." Seeing that Manager seemed quite willing to discuss these matters, Lin Yuan quickly followed up. "Isn't this a seafaring game for all humanity? If everyone had already been pulled into this game before, how could human society still exist outside?"

"That's where you're wrong. Previously, the game only pulled in some people. The largest intake was an entire country, like the Mysterious Nation that suddenly vanished from history." At this, Manager's expression grew serious.

"This is the only time all of humanity has been pulled in. The organization's higher-ups believe this is very likely the last time the game will bring people in."

Hearing this, a phrase involuntarily surfaced in Lin Yuan's mind-a last stand.

It sounded as though the game had been driven into a corner, so it had pulled in all of humanity to make one big gamble.

But what was it gambling for?

Lin Yuan recalled the Island Whisper he had faintly heard earlier-"Save this world."

Hiss... don't tell me this world is about to end?

Forget it. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. It isn't my turn to worry.

After learning that veteran players stood behind the organizations, Lin Yuan became much more unconcerned about such major matters.

He was only a beginner. For now, all he needed to focus on was "keep a low profile, build up, and don't get reckless!"

"The remaining teams are all independents, right?" Lin Yuan brought the conversation back to the present.

The remaining teams had no obvious leaders and looked like groups that ordinary players had formed on their own.

"The other teams are, except..." Manager hesitated and looked toward the medium-sized team of a dozen or so. "That team. There's something off about them."

"They claim to be from the Diving Club and seem to know something about the game, but the Diving Club isn't any organization we know of."

"Maybe they're from another organization and don't want to reveal their true identities?" Lin Yuan guessed.

"If they were from another organization, they'd never use an unlucky name like 'diving.' What normal person would want to dive underwater?" Manager spoke with absolute certainty.

"...You're right." Lin Yuan rubbed his chin and insincerely agreed.

"And these Diving Club people seem completely unwilling to have anything to do with us. They're very secretive." Manager watched them for a good while before finally turning back.

"So? Why not join our Consortium team? We have the highest survival rate for newcomers!"

"Thank you, but I plan to explore this island on my own first." Having obtained the information he wanted, Lin Yuan stopped beating around the bush.

"No problem. I understand. If you change your mind later, just contact me." Manager showed no displeasure, rather like a businessman who believed friendliness brought prosperity. Then he changed the subject.

"But I've told you so much. Could you share a little information with me too? What do you think of this island?"

I just got here. How would I know?

Lin Yuan very much wanted to say this, but it seemed a little unreasonable. After all, the man had just kindly shared plenty of important information with him.

After thinking for a while, he said sincerely:

"There seems to be a very eerie doll girl on this island. She carries a large scythe on her back and drags a coffin, and she can revive endlessly. If you encounter her, it's best not to get into a conflict. Avoid her if possible."

"There's an eerie being like that here? Thank you for telling me!" Light flashed across Manager's lenses, and there was no telling what he was thinking.

Seeing this, Lin Yuan did not linger. He said goodbye and left.

After Lin Yuan left, one teammate finally could not help asking Manager:

"Captain, weren't you being too nice to him? You told him everything. And he didn't even appreciate it, acting all high and mighty!"

Manager glanced at the teammate beside him and said calmly:

"Capable people are naturally a little proud. That's perfectly normal."

"He's capable? He looked pretty ordinary to me." The teammate was puzzled.

Manager shook his head and said:

"We were the first group to reach this island. This is the island's only port where people can land. Boats arrived one after another afterward, and I remember everyone who got off each one. This 'Zero' was the only exception."

"Couldn't he have only just arrived?"

"What boat came over just now? Don't tell me he swam here on his own?" Manager scoffed.

"Use your brain and you'll know that's impossible. So he must have arrived before us and simply hidden his boat."

At this point, Manager's tone grew solemn.

"He arrived long ago but remained out of sight until just now. Clearly, he was using some method to scout the island beforehand. It's possible for some lucky independents to obtain relevant abilities and items."

"That's why I asked him about the island. And my glasses told me he wasn't lying."

"I see! Brilliant, Captain!" The teammate beside him finally understood.

Manager smiled faintly, accepting his teammate's praise.

He was very confident in the analysis he had just made, and quite pleased with himself.

That's the power of observation!