Chapter 439 [(*^▽^*)]

"Don't worry, I guarantee that the path I've already explored is absolutely flawless. After all, my goal is also Xiushan Village, hidden among the mountains. Only through cooperation can we achieve success."

Xue Rui stared at Jiang Changdong's smiling face for a few more moments, then turned and left without saying anything. Although Jiang Changdong talked a lot, not a single useful piece of information came out of it; he was indeed a seasoned veteran.

Lin Leyou is right. We must pay close attention to this person and not let him seize any opportunities. Otherwise, Lin Leyou will be in great danger. He might not die in the dungeon's challenges, but at Jiang Changdong's hands.

The other party might even steal the gold-plated energy shield from Lin Leyou while killing him. In that case, even if Lin Leyou has enough points to survive, he would still be a complete loser.

Jiang Changdong didn't think much of his brief conversation with Xue Rui, because after he left, he ran into other people in various places, all asking similar questions related to the route to Xiushan Village. Many people didn't trust him, and even Jiang Changdong himself wasn't entirely sure.

He didn't draw this map himself; it was a prop given to him by the system related to his identity. Incidentally, the memories that appeared in his mind were also given by the system. He really didn't know whether this route was real or not.

But whether it's real or fake, they, including himself, will all follow this map to walk this lost path, since they have no other map besides this one.

The location of Xiushan Village is no longer known. Most of the older generation of villagers who originally came from Xiushan Village are now dead. The few remaining are mentally impaired, either unable to hear or see clearly, or unable to speak clearly. And almost none of their children have ever been to Xiushan Village.

After all, the road to Xiushan Village is extremely difficult to travel. The ancestor chose this secluded place to prevent his enemies from finding him.

Upon returning to his residence, Jiang Changdong immediately took out his own map, which absolutely could not be altered. Dealing with Lin Leyou would be simple; there was no need to risk his own life.

Lin Leyou only got up and walked out after Jiang Changdong left and was completely out of sight. If it was sunny outside when he first entered the dungeon, now the sun had completely set, and although there was still some light, most places had become very dark, such as where he was now.

He took out his phone and sent a message: "I'm going back to my place now. Remember not to talk to me without permission."

Xue Rui replied instantly, "I know, I'm already at my place. Brother Lin, hurry back, it's getting dark."

After replying with "I understand," Lin Leyou put his phone in his backpack and quickly headed back to the place he remembered. When he arrived at his residence, he was somewhat surprised to find that his family was quite well-off.

The house was a resettlement house allocated by the government. There was no one else in the house except him. His parents and elders were all working in big cities, so Lin Leyou was the only one at home.

However, many things in the house are very high-quality. The decoration looks luxurious, and there are furniture and appliances such as washing machines, air conditioners, and TVs, all of which cost over ten thousand yuan, not to mention other items.

In Lin Leyou's memory, these things were very expensive, but he didn't have any money. His parents spoiled him and bought him whatever he wanted, but they never gave him money. The boy was very stubborn and wouldn't give him money even if he asked for it. So he thought about going out to get money himself. Actually, he was just tall and was only seventeen years old.

Moreover, his current grandparents were originally villagers of Xiushan Village. The elderly couple lived in Xiushan Village when they were young, but they passed away several years ago.

When he was a child, his grandparents told him about the treasure in Xiushan Village. He was too young to think it was just a story, but now that he's grown up, he doesn't think it's just a story anymore. Maybe there really is treasure hidden in Xiushan Village. He wanted money, so he found a team that was going on an adventure to find treasure and set off with them.

Lin Leyou breathed a sigh of relief and casually found some food in the kitchen. She wasn't completely broke; she still had some pocket money, but it wasn't nearly enough for a child who had lived such a comfortable life since childhood.

Holding her phone, she texted Xue Rui, and the two discussed what to prepare. First and foremost, food and water were essential, along with various survival tools. They also packed a lot of sugary and easily portable items, and finally…

After preparing the items he would bring in the open, Lin Leyou began to rummage through his backpack. Because of the previous dungeons, he had always had a habit of preparing some food in his backpack. Items from the real world could not be put in the backpack, but items from the Endless World could.

He would prepare a lot of food in the Endless World so that he could use it in the dungeon. Now he could use it. Looking at the food in his backpack, he realized that it was indeed necessary to be prepared!

The food and water were secondary; the most important thing was the weapons and items inside. Could he take them all out of this dungeon? He tried taking out the cursed dagger and succeeded. Then he took out the other weapons and items and, finding that there were no restrictions on items in this dungeon, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But then he felt that this might still be a bit of a problem. Jiang Changdong must have a lot more props than him. If there were no restrictions, he could definitely use all of Jiang Changdong's props as well. He had to be careful.

After putting all the props back into his backpack, Lin Leyou suddenly paused. The mechanical spider he had placed outside the house was originally meant to monitor the surroundings and see if anyone would come and secretly watch him. However, he didn't expect to see many people wearing gray clothes outside. The styles of the gray clothes were different, but the colors were the same. Of course, the pants and shoes were different colors, but they looked like a group.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but Lin Leyou had just returned home after a meeting with twenty-nine other people dressed in all black, and now seeing this group of people made her feel...

Lin Leyou narrowed his eyes and tentatively asked the system, "System, how many people went to Xiushan Village?"

The system didn't respond, so it seems this question can't be asked; I have to find out for myself. It's highly likely that this group is also eyeing the treasure of Xiushan Village, and it seems there's more than just one team of thirty people.

He was right! A team of thirty people, including proper NPCs, residents, and players, was still too few. So it wasn't that there were too few people, but rather that there were other teams.

Lin Leyou immediately sent the message to Xue Rui. Xue Rui was stunned for a moment after seeing it, and then released his mechanical spider. The two worked together to search outside, and they actually found people in similar situations to them, and not just one group.

Besides the people in gray clothes that Lin Leyou had previously spotted, Xue Rui later discovered a group of people in white T-shirts. When he saw them, there were definitely not thirty people, but there were probably around twenty.

Xue Rui said, "If I'm not mistaken, including us, there are probably three teams, a total of ninety people. I just don't know if they're all players, but..."

Lin Leyou, "But what? What do you think is wrong? Did Jiang Changdong suspect you before?"

Xue Rui shook his head. "He didn't suspect me, but I always feel something's not right. I'm on the same side as Brother Lin now, but I didn't expect Brother Lin's mission to become similar to the players', instead of mine becoming similar to Brother Lin's. Am I dragging you down?"

Lin Leyou paused slightly. He knew what Xue Rui meant. He felt that if it weren't for Xue Rui's existence, the task he needed to complete would definitely be part of the NPC's task, instead of having to complete the task like the players and lose points if he failed. One hundred million points!

Speaking of this, Lin Leyou was actually quite puzzled. Sometimes, even when residents were doing NPC tasks, they would still receive tasks similar to those of players. He had found this strange before, but hadn't thought much about it.

He tried asking the system, "System, are there any quests for us that belong to NPCs?"

He didn't say "hand it over to me," but rather "hand it over to us." After all, Xue Rui was currently on his side, and if he were to switch sides, Xue Rui would definitely be with him.

This time, the system didn't play dead; it actually responded and gave Xue Rui a pretty big surprise.

"Congratulations to Lin Leyou and Xue Rui's faction for unlocking the only hidden mission: Slay all bandits who covet the treasures of Xiushan Village and prevent anyone from disturbing the treasures slumbering deep underground. Killing a bandit in any way will reward you with 500,000 points, and after all bandits are dead, you will also receive 50 million points, 20 each of the three types of pills (physical, constitution, and spirit), and one gold-tier weapon item card! However, failing the mission will deduct 200 million points!"

"System prompt: Please choose between public and hidden missions!"

Lin Leyou and Xue Rui received the system notification at the same time. Of course, this hidden mission was indeed initiated by Lin Leyou. It was originally a mission that belonged only to him, but since Lin Leyou had previously given Xue Rui a faction badge, the two of them could not be in different factions, so Xue Rui also received the mission option.

Xue Rui exclaimed, "Brother Lin, you're amazing!!"

Lin Leyou's lips twitched upon seeing this. "Let's choose the hidden mission. Besides the previous rewards, there's an additional 500,000 points for each other person we kill later. Anyway, it's all the same. If we fail, losing 100 million or 200 million points won't make a difference to us. If we win..."