Ruins and a lake

After thinking it over for a while, Lin Yuan used Lilia to give Bai Ling a subtle hint, prompting her to ask what he wanted to know:

"I'd rather not have an artisan measure my ship. Could you transfer the technology for this Land Travel Device? I'll find a way to handle the actual conversion myself."

Spotlight weighed it carefully for a moment before saying:

"Normally, that shouldn't be possible, but considering the goodwill and... abilities you demonstrated earlier..." He glanced at the coffin Lin Yuan lay in and swallowed again.

"Anyway, a Technical Blueprint for a low-level Land Travel Device isn't worth that much. If I put in a request, it should be fine."

"But I have to warn you beforehand: anyone without artisan power won't be able to understand those diagrams."

"Artisan power?"

"Well... that involves cultivating transcendent power. Sorry, but I can't reveal too much before you join our organization. In short, at this stage, every artisan is definitely a member of some organization."

"But as the game progresses, if you're lucky, you might run into an independent player who's just changed their class to 'artisan' in the latter half of the route."

"You can change your class to artisan? Then that's no problem."

In that case, Lin Yuan could try becoming an artisan himself and carry out the conversion on his own, without having to worry about his secret being exposed.

Spotlight also revealed that the system would unlock the friends feature in another two days. They would contact Bai Ling then and trade her the diagrams.

Once both sides had reached an agreement, they said their goodbyes.

This was a dungeon, after all. There wasn't much time for pleasantries when everyone was busy seeking improvements and rewards.

Judging by the Adventurer Group's behavior, however, they didn't seem to intend to keep exploring.

When Bai Ling asked about this, Spotlight made no attempt to hide it:

"We're a little different from the other organizations. Materials, equipment, even loot-none of those are what we value most. What we value has always been the adventure itself."

"We've explored pretty much all of this dungeon and seen some of its secrets and such. That's enough."

"We'll leave the rest for the Consortium, the Black Blood Society, and the others to fight over."

As he spoke, Spotlight pointed into the depths of the Giant Tree Forest:

"Once you pass through the Giant Tree Forest, you'll see a lake. That's where the Tree King emerged from."

"The lake isn't deep. There's a small stretch of ruins underwater."

"There are probably transcendent materials or other good things in those ruins. Both the Consortium and the Black Blood Society have set up camps on the far shore. It looks like they're preparing to explore it in detail. If you go, you'll have to deal with them."

"That lake is right in the center of the island. If you're worried about the Tree King blocking your way, going around through another area won't be much farther."

"Other than that, there's nowhere else worth visiting in this dungeon."

The Adventurer Group certainly lived up to its name. They hadn't been in the dungeon for very long, yet they had already explored most of it.

Bai Ling thanked Spotlight for the information, then followed the direction the Adventurer Group had indicated and her own senses, skirting the Giant Tree Forest as she headed toward the lake.

With no one else around, Bai Ling stopped concealing her true relationship with Lin Yuan and asked somewhat stiffly:

"Um... Captain Lin, once I get the Technical Blueprint for the ship's Land Travel Modification, how should I give it to you?"

Her greatest worry was that Lin Yuan would refuse to let her leave even after the dungeon ended. What would she do if he insisted on boarding her ship?

Fortunately, Lin Yuan had no such intention and answered Bai Ling's question directly through Lilia:

"Once the friends system opens, just contact the account named 'Zero.'"

After spending this time with her, Lin Yuan felt that Bai Ling wasn't someone who would break her word, so he didn't need to worry too much about her withholding the Technical Blueprint.

Of course, if she really dared to keep them for herself, there would be plenty of chances for them to meet again along this route.

In Bai Ling's eyes, meanwhile, Lin Yuan was definitely one of the most powerful uncanny beings in Paradise. She would never dare leave a debt to such a being unpaid.

From the sound of it, 'Zero' seems to be a player too. Maybe they're another poor soul this uncanny captain captured, just like me, Bai Ling thought.

Naturally, she never even considered the possibility that Lin Yuan was "Zero." After all, she had long since decided that Lin Yuan couldn't possibly be a player.

That person called 'Zero' has it so rough. Luckily, once I leave the dungeon, I probably won't have anything more to do with this uncanny Captain Lin...

As she walked, Bai Ling felt sorry for "Zero," whom she had never met.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, she realized that she didn't actually seem to pity "Zero" all that much. Instead, she felt a faint trace of... envy.

No, no! How could I think that! Sure, Captain Lin is strong, and he isn't some murderous maniac. Exploring the dungeon with him is safe, I've gained a lot this time, and he doesn't look bad either...

Stop! Don't keep thinking like that! He's an uncanny being! Bai Ling, you absolutely cannot think of him as human!

I can't rely on a being like that. I still have to walk my own path as a player!

In the end, Bai Ling gave herself a pep talk.

Meanwhile, through Lilia, Lin Yuan saw Bai Ling muttering to herself, her expression shifting, and had no idea what she was thinking.

Everything about this girl was fine, except that she seemed a little mentally unstable at times.

Lin Yuan didn't dwell on her private affairs and instead began considering something else.

It was something Spotlight had revealed earlier, whether intentionally or not: "organizations" used ships as currency for transactions.

Only players had ships, which meant that every "organization" could, at the very least, exercise complete control over some of its members' most important assets.

From the look of things, organizations controlled their members far more strictly than he had imagined.

That put an end to any thought Lin Yuan had of joining an organization.

Freedom was one consideration, but more importantly, once he joined an organization with such tight control, it would be easy for them to discover his secret-that he had merged with the ship panel.

There was no telling what would happen then.

But the information these organizations possess is important too. It looks like I'll need to pay more attention to maintaining the right boundaries when dealing with them.

As Lin Yuan pondered this, he heard Lilia call out cheerfully:

"I see it! A big lake!"

That fast?

Lin Yuan paused in surprise, then realized.

That was only natural.

Before meeting Bai Ling, he and Lilia had been wandering aimlessly through the jungle. Given Lilia's terrible sense of direction, that was why they had gone hours without finding much.

But in the end, this was only an island. Though larger than the beginner dungeon, the entire island was only a few dozen square kilometers in area.

With a clear direction and guidance, it actually wouldn't take very long to reach any part of the island.

No wonder the Adventurer Group had explored the entire island dungeon in just over half a day.

As he thought, Lin Yuan looked toward the lakeshore through Lilia's eyes.

The lake wasn't actually that big, only a little over a kilometer across.

And just as Spotlight had said, the Consortium and Black Blood Society teams had already built makeshift bases by the lake and were organizing people to investigate its waters.

The two teams weren't cooperating, however. Each had occupied a different side.

Together with the few rubber trees of the Giant Tree Forest that extended to the lakeshore, the three sides formed a three-way standoff.