"Fine!"
"I'll share with Lin Yi once I get something truly good!"
Wu Renxin sighed and furtively slipped the accessory into his pocket.
He said nothing more and simply continued walking.
His expression was full of frustration, as though he blamed himself for not getting an equipment drop that Lin Yi liked.
Lin Yi continued following Wu Renxin, his eyes brimming with an amused, teasing smile.
Interesting!
Interesting!
As expected of humanity's former second-strongest expert. Even his barefaced lies sounded perfectly natural.
An ordinary person might already have been completely wrapped around Wu Renxin's finger!
Lin Yi had been some distance from where the equipment dropped. Without his [Eye of Illusion Breaking] talent, he might not have noticed the top-tier equipment that had originally dropped on the ground.
Without his ten years of gaming experience, he might already have trusted Wu Renxin with his innermost thoughts, and even been deeply moved.
Without combat power far exceeding Wu Renxin's, he might have been trembling in fear by now, thinking of retreating.
But!
Sorry!!!
Lin Yi had all of those things!
But Lin Yi merely followed quietly behind Wu Renxin, wanting to see just what he was up to.
Lin Yi and Wu Renxin stopped before a stretch of forest, both turning their gazes toward the sinister area ahead.
A wooden sign bore the crookedly written words "Gloomy Insect Abyss."
The place called the "Gloomy Insect Abyss" was pitch-black, inspiring dread at a glance.
"This won't be easy to get through," Wu Renxin said gravely, a trace of wariness flashing in his eyes.
Lin Yi smiled faintly. His gaze pierced the mist ahead, revealing the insect monsters lurking in the darkness:
"Indeed, the monsters here should be trickier than the ones before, but as long as we're a little careful, we should be able to get through safely."
The two stepped into the Gloomy Insect Abyss. Their surroundings instantly became dark and damp, and the air was thick with the stench of decay.
Every kind of insect monster here had its own unique method of attack, making them difficult to guard against.
First were the [Corrosive Worms] lurking on the ground. Their bodies could secrete a powerful acidic substance that inflicted continuous damage upon contact.
Next were the [Venomous Moths] fluttering through the air. Their wings were covered in highly poisonous powder, and anyone surrounded by them could become poisoned.
[Entangling Vine Worms] had long, slender bodies and could coil around trees or rocks like vines.
They possessed extremely powerful constricting abilities. Once a player approached, they would rapidly extend their bodies and wrap tightly around the player, immobilizing them.
[Lurking Crypt Spiders] excelled at digging traps in the ground, lurking silently underground as they waited for prey to fall in.
The surfaces of their traps blended into the surrounding environment, making them extremely difficult to spot.
Once a player fell into a trap, the crypt spiders would immediately swarm out from all directions, attacking the player with sharp claws and fangs and highly venomous bites.
[Shadow Flies] were an aerial threat in the Gloomy Insect Abyss. They flew in swarms at low altitudes, concealing themselves with their almost silent wingbeats.
They excelled at group attacks. Once they locked onto a target, they would dive at high speed, striking the player ferociously with sharp claws and teeth.
[Fluorescent Centipedes] were enormous, and the fluorescent spots on their bodies stood out in the dim surroundings.
They were extremely venomous, and every attack could inflict severe poisoning on a player.
[Sticky Silk Sac Moths] were massive, with extremely sticky silk sacs growing on their wings. As they flew through the air, they released sticky threads that clung to players, restricting their movement speed and attack frequency.
Once a player became entangled in the sticky silk, the sac moths would quickly close in and attack with their sharp mouthparts.
However, neither Lin Yi nor Wu Renxin was easy to deal with.
With his extraordinary positioning, Lin Yi deftly avoided the insects' attacks.
Meanwhile, Wu Renxin walked ahead, relying on his formidable combat power to slay every insect that lunged at him with his twin clubs.
The two fought their way through, finally making it safely across the Gloomy Insect Abyss.
They arrived before a mysterious cavern. The sign in front of it bore four large, crookedly written characters:
Endless Ant Nest!
Hee!
Lin Yi looked at the cavern before him, the corners of his lips curling slightly.
This was an area map that had troubled countless newbies, commonly known as... the ant nest!
It was also where Wu Renxin had found his fortuitous opportunity in his previous life!
Inside the cavern, densely packed ants scurried everywhere, occupying the labyrinthine interior of the Endless Ant Nest.
Each was about the size of a grain of rice, but their sheer numbers made one's scalp prickle.
Although each ant had only 100 combat power, their stats...
[Ordinary Worker Ant] Category: Insect Grade: K Level: 1 HP: 10 Combat power: 100 Description: [Ordinary Worker Ants] were fragile creatures with no offensive skills, but their unity allowed their population to survive longer. Skill: Live Toward Death (passive): When an [Ordinary Worker Ant] was killed, it dealt 10 true damage to its killer.
Somewhere in the Endless Ant Nest was an ant queen, the boss guarding the Eastern Pole!
This stage was different. Once the boss was killed, the Endless Ant Nest would naturally collapse!
It would never respawn!
This was one of the few unique bosses in the novice village!
And the prerequisite for clearing this stage was... finding the boss alive!
Each [Ordinary Worker Ant] could deal 10 damage to a player upon death.
But a single step would kill at least a hundred ants!
In other words, every step would cost at least a thousand HP!
Moreover, merely entering the Endless Ant Nest put a player in combat, even if the [Ordinary Worker Ants] did not actively attack, preventing out-of-combat automatic HP regeneration from triggering.
In his previous life, those who managed to find the boss were either HP tanks with enormous health pools, had temporary flight abilities, were healers who could continuously restore HP, or...
Could find the boss quickly!
The Endless Ant Nest had once been a major challenge in the novice villages, stumping many people.
But through the accumulated research of numerous novice villages, players finally found the optimal solution!
Of course!
Lin Yi knew that optimal solution!
But Wu Renxin definitely knew nothing about it yet!
In his previous life, the person who killed the boss in Novice Village No. 4396 was none other than Wu Renxin!
He had used the stupidest, yet also the smartest, method!
For most beginner classes, the ratio of HP to combat power was 1:1.
Wu Renxin used his talent to slaughter ants like mad, increasing his combat power.
As his combat power increased, so did his HP.
He spent every day in the Endless Ant Nest, heading outside whenever his HP fell to nearly half, then entering again once it was full.
Day after day, he kept this up. When his HP reached 1.8 billion, he finally found the boss's location.
He killed the boss, and the Endless Ant Nest collapsed. Rumor had it that he...
Cried bitterly for three days and three nights!