As the captain of the Adventurer Group's team, Spotlight had thought he was already well informed and widely experienced.
Even regarding the eerie Giant Tree Forest nearby, he had long since obtained the relevant information from the group.
But the moment Bai Ling appeared, he was still stunned.
There was nothing unusual about players subduing eerie beings to serve as crew members or followers.
But that depended on what they had subdued.
A doll girl, an existence that should clearly have been lifeless yet possessed life, was on an entirely different level from an ordinary transcendent creature.
And judging by the lively look in the doll girl's eyes, she clearly possessed intelligence and a will of her own, which raised her another level.
The doll girl was also dragging a large coffin that was clearly no ordinary object. An eerie being with a core accessory item like that was even more terrifying.
Such an existence should never have appeared in Paradise, let alone been subdued!
Unless... she was one of those few promising prodigy players the major organizations were devoting their resources to cultivating!
But those people were all on the major organizations' lists, and Spotlight was certain Bai Ling was not one of them.
"An exceptional figure among ordinary players, then... This sea really never runs out of surprises."
Spotlight naturally knew that although the major organizations had a higher proportion of powerful players, given the enormous number of ordinary players, it was perfectly normal for some to rival those organizations' promising prodigies.
He simply had not expected to encounter one head-on in his very first instance after forming his team.
Don't panic. She approached us in friendship, which proves she means no harm. I can't let the Adventurer Group lose face.
Spotlight bolstered himself inwardly, then replied, "Bai Ling, was it... Hello. I'm with the Adventurer Group, and I'm the captain of this team. You can call me Spotlight. And the one beside you?"
"This is the follower I subdued," Bai Ling answered according to Lin Yuan's earlier instructions, then took the initiative to propose:
"I noticed you've been watching these Rubber Beasts for a while. Are you planning to hunt them? Want to work together?"
Spotlight froze for a moment.
"Hunt Rubber Beasts beside so many dens? We don't have that much of a death wish. If we wanted to hunt them, finding lone Rubber Beasts in the jungle would be a safer bet."
"Wait, you... aren't planning to hunt them here, are you?"
Looking at Bai Ling, Spotlight had already labeled this seemingly quiet woman as "crazy" in his mind, and kindly advised her:
"The Rubber Beasts here aren't like the ones in the jungle. See those Spliced Beasts? The seeds inside them are higher quality, and they're stronger too. There are also plenty of Rubber Beasts in the dens that are stronger than those."
"I see, but you have a ship. Firepower shouldn't be a problem, should it?" Bai Ling steered the conversation toward the Adventurer Group's ship, just as Lin Yuan had instructed earlier.
"Ours is an exploration ship, not a warship," Spotlight said somewhat helplessly. "It has plenty of convenient functions, but head-on combat isn't its specialty."
"Then what are you hoping to do here?"
"We're trying to figure out how to get inside the Giant Tree Forest. These giant trees usually grow alone. Once they form a forest, there must be a Tree King among them. We want to get up close to the Tree King and investigate."
"You want to take down the Tree King? Get materials from it?"
"We're the Adventurer Group, not the Black Blood Society. Fighting and killing aren't our specialty. As for materials from the Tree King, the institute would probably be very interested, but to us, the adventure itself matters more."
Hearing this, Bai Ling was a little surprised. "The adventure itself? Is your ultimate goal really just to see the Tree King?"
"If we really get to see it, this instance will have been worthwhile." Spotlight shook his head. "I'm just afraid it won't go that smoothly."
"You really do... love adventure." For a moment, Bai Ling did not know what to make of them.
"Heh, why else would we call ourselves the Adventurer Group?"
Listening to his words from inside the coffin, Lin Yuan suddenly had a thought.
He recalled Research Institute 3154 purchasing Magical Creatures corpses from him on the first day.
At the time, he had thought they wanted to use them as materials to craft equipment.
But now he knew that Magical Creatures corpses could not be used as materials. They had to be transcendent creatures at the very least.
And when they had purchased five Magical Creatures corpses from him, they had specifically requested no duplicates.
Thinking back on it now, their reason for needing Magical Creatures corpses was very likely research.
The Black Blood Society loved combat, the Adventurer Group focused on adventure, and the institute conducted research.
These organizations really did have very distinct characteristics, just as their names suggested.
Especially this time, Spotlight had stated outright that what they valued was the adventure itself, while any gains were secondary.
On this dangerous sea, that could not possibly be purely a matter of interest. There had to be some deeper reason behind it.
But judging by Spotlight's manner, he clearly did not want to reveal the key details, so it would be inappropriate to press him.
Lin Yuan had a vague feeling that this seemed to involve some core information about this world.
Although the deeper principles remained unclear, he had at least gained some understanding of the organizations' characteristics.
That would make dealing with them much easier in the future. At the very least, when trading, he would know what was more valuable to them.
Meanwhile, Bai Ling had no prior experience dealing with these organizations and did not think as much about it as Lin Yuan did. She simply continued asking:
"All right, then why have you been watching from here all this time without taking action?"
"Our ship can become visually invisible, but the Rubber Beasts running around the perimeter are a real nuisance," Spotlight told her honestly.
"If you have a way to temporarily lure away the Rubber Beasts on the perimeter, we could certainly work together."
"Of course, we won't ask you to do it for nothing. You can name your terms."
After hearing him out, Bai Ling knew her opportunity had come and said directly:
"Luring the herd away is no problem. As for my terms, I'm interested in your ship's land-travel apparatus."
"This basic land-travel apparatus? That's no problem at all. If you want it, we can help modify your ship. You'll just have to provide the materials yourself." Spotlight's casual tone left even Lin Yuan taken aback.
He had thought this apparatus would be something quite valuable and had already prepared for the other party to demand more.
He had not expected them to seemingly place so little value on it.
That was a little strange.
An apparatus that allowed a ship to travel on land should not have been so easy to obtain, even if it were only a blueprint.
But since the other party had already agreed, Lin Yuan could hardly say anything more. He had Lilia give Bai Ling a discreet nod, signaling that the deal was settled.
Once both sides had agreed on the terms, the operation officially began.
Spotlight instructed his teammates to enter the cabin and carry out a series of operations, after which they pulled a pipe out from beneath the deck.
Pale white mist then continuously billowed from the pipe, enveloping the Adventurer Group's entire ship.
The white mist seemed to have a special light-refracting effect. Once it reached a certain density, it suddenly turned clear instead, leaving only an empty patch of ground. Neither the ship nor the Adventurer Group's members could be seen at all.
Only the flattened grass on the ground showed that the ship was indeed still there.
Interesting. This Adventurer Group has plenty of good stuff. Watching through Lilia's eyes, Lin Yuan felt a stir of interest.
Meanwhile, after Spotlight and the others finished concealing themselves, they all looked toward Bai Ling.
There were over a hundred Rubber Beast Herd creatures nearby, including all sorts that flew or jumped. Luring them away would not be easy.
Running too slowly and getting caught was naturally out of the question.
But running too fast would not work either. The slower Rubber Beasts would be left behind, obstructing the Adventurer Group's route forward.
Both sides had discussed this beforehand. At the time, Bai Ling had confidently assured them she would handle it, leaving Spotlight very curious about just what clever plan she had.
Soon, the mystery was solved.
Lilia strode openly up to the clearing and shouted at all the Rubber Beasts:
"Come hit me!"
Then she stood with her hands on her hips, looking thoroughly provocative.
Since running too fast won't work, and neither will running too slowly, why don't I just not run at all?
Before you continue