Chapter 441 [(*^▽^*)]
Jiang Changdong stood smiling at the meeting point, watching the number of people slowly increase. When Lin Leyou arrived, he didn't pay much attention to him, only glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.
Even if he wanted to tear Lin Leyou to pieces countless times in his heart, he could still remain calm and collected on the surface. This is the most terrifying enemy, because you never know when he will make a move.
He didn't even use surveillance equipment when he met Lin Leyou yesterday, acting completely indifferent. But he probably never imagined that his and Xue Rui's mission was to stop these people from going to Xiushan Village.
Jiang Changdong noticed that everyone was carrying large bags and bundles, and they were all bundled up quite tightly. This was necessary, as they were going deep into the mountains and forests, where there were many wild animals, insects, snakes, rats, and so on. They might even get cut by plant leaves if they weren't careful. Such attire was essential.
Xue Rui stood at the very edge, his gaze fixed on Jiang Changdong, but Jiang Changdong didn't pay him any attention. After all, there were quite a few people staring at him, and he didn't even know Xue Rui.
He regarded Xue Rui as either a native NPC or an outsider, or what everyone calls a player.
Jiang Changdong looked around and said, "Everyone is here. Fortunately, no one is late and has delayed us. In that case, let's set off. Now I'll give everyone a map. This map is a photocopy. It has the route map that I promised to give you before, which is the route I explored earlier."
"Let me state upfront that this route is solely based on my personal exploration. Whether it's correct or not, we'll have to see for ourselves. I think everyone agrees, right?"
Everyone was naturally very happy to get the route map. As for what Jiang Changdong said? What did it matter? In any case, once they set off, they might be able to help each other in the early stages, but once they found Xiushan Village, they could all turn on each other at any time and start killing each other.
Moreover... many of the other teams were also aware that they were going to enter these deep mountains to search for Xiushan Village, and some had even seen quite a few of them.
Heaven knows exactly how much treasure was hidden in Xiushan Village. What if there wasn't that much? What if the person who hid the treasure sold off a lot of it later? Maybe only a small amount will remain now, and then there won't be enough for so many people to share. In that case, they'll have to kill some people first.
For example, those who come alone, those who are thin and weak, or those women who are easy to bully—they won't let any of them go, unless they are not confident of killing them.
Lin Leyou and Xue Rui, being relatively thin and loners, had already attracted attention. Of course, any action would have to wait until they reached Xiushan Village or found the treasure.
Perhaps these two people will die on the way and never be able to reach Xiushan Village?
The gazes that had just been fixed on the two of them quickly shifted away. Of course, such gazes were everywhere; many people were being looked at this way, not just Lin Leyou and Xue Rui, but it was just that their gazes were more noticeable.
There's nothing we can do about it. Both Lin Leyou and Xue Rui are only eighteen years old. The difference is that Lin Leyou is only a few months older. At this age, they are still growing.
Even inside the instance, their ages didn't seem to have changed much, so they looked rather thin; it seemed all their nutrition was going into bone growth. But that's fine, anyway...
Jiang Changdong didn't distribute the maps himself. Instead, he handed the map in his hand to the person in front of him, letting him take one and the rest to be given to others. Everyone was quiet and didn't cause any trouble. Once everyone had a map, Jiang Changdong smiled and said, "Let's go."
Lin Leyou took the map, looked at the route marked on it, and compared it with the map that appeared on the panel after his mission changed. He found that this section of the road accounted for about one-fifth of the entire route, and the overlap of this one-fifth of the route was more than 70%. This showed that Jiang Changdong's map was real.
He was wearing gloves and holding the map. Many people had already followed Jiang Changdong ahead, and he followed as well. But unlike the others, he didn't put the map away. Instead, he held it in his hand, intending to throw it away later. As soon as he took out the map, the red dot on the scanning monitor on his wrist lit up.
Therefore, although it is unknown how Jiang Changdong tampered with the map, he must have put something on it. I would not carry this map with me and expose myself to Jiang Changdong's view.
We can just find a chance to throw it away later. Anyway, we're deep in the mountains and forests, where everyone's view is completely blocked. We can just find a corner to hide it in, and no one will ever find it in their lifetime.
Xue Rui also noticed this, after all, it was he who reminded Lin Leyou to buy the scanning surveillance device, and he naturally had one himself. Although this thing was a bit of a gimmick, it was really useful at times.
When Lin Leyou was about to close the task list, he suddenly noticed that dozens of red dots had appeared on it. The red dots were located at the entrance of the marked route.
This is… Lin Leyou’s eyes widened slightly. This seems to be their location? He hadn’t expected the map to be used like this! If that’s the case, then it’s much more convenient!
Not long after they set off, Lin Leyou and Xue Rui saw red dots appearing in two other directions on the map, bringing the total number of red dots on the map to eighty-eight!
That's right, there are ninety people in total, but there are eighty-eight red dots and the remaining two are green dots, which are him and Xue Rui. They are in the same group and are on the opposing side of everyone else.
The two continued to follow the main group into the mountains without making a sound. This place was indeed a deep mountain forest; after walking for a short while, they could no longer see any trace of a path. They were now following the map provided by Jiang Changdong.
Once they've completed the route on this map, how they proceed from there is entirely up to them.
Lin Leyou walked slowly forward with the map in his hand, and soon fell to the back. As he walked, he observed the surrounding situation, and of course, he did not miss Jiang Changdong's every move.
However, Jiang Changdong clearly did not intend to make a move now. All his actions were very proper, as if he were leading a tour group. Every time he walked forward, he would explain the situation to everyone, such as where to go next.
This naturally earned him everyone's favor, but it's unknown how long that favor will last.
Lin Le walked at the back, while Xue Rui walked a little ahead, with two people between them. They walked like this for a whole day, until dark, and no one of them fell behind.
Since it was getting dark, they couldn't continue their journey. Jiang Changdong looked ahead and then breathed a sigh of relief. "There's an abandoned cave ahead. No animals live in it, so it'll be perfect for us to rest for the night."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The worst thing about being out in the deep mountains at night was sleeping outdoors, since wolves, tigers, and leopards wouldn't leave a good meal unattended. Having a cave was a different story; at least there was shelter from the wind and rain, and guarding the cave entrance would protect them from many dangers.
Lin Leyou followed. Although there were signs of life inside the cave, it was still a bit dirty. It seemed that Jiang Changdong had stayed here when he came to explore before.
Xue Rui stayed to one side and only cleaned his own spot. Of course, everyone did the same. Everyone took care of their own things, cleaning their resting place, taking out food and water, and eating slowly.
Jiang Changdong sighed as he looked at everyone's state. "I say... how about we start a fire and cook something hot? There's a small river up ahead, how about we go get some fish and grill it?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than someone retorted, "Forget it, I'm exhausted after walking all day. Let's eat something and go to sleep. We can take turns keeping watch tonight. You can eat whatever you want. I'm going to sleep soon. If you want me to keep watch, just wake me up. I'm not a deep sleeper."
He said what many people felt: after walking all day on mountain paths, their legs were sore and aching, and they were really tired. Now they were sitting on the ground, not even wanting to stand up.
Even Lin Leyou's legs were a little sore, and he was gently rubbing his legs, hoping it wouldn't affect what he needed to do later. Of all of them, only Jiang Changdong was still standing there full of energy.
Everyone's gazes toward him were a little strange. Jiang Changdong hadn't expected things to develop this way, since his physique and physical abilities were at their peak, and walking a mountain path for a day was really easy for him.
Previously, the people he entered the same instance with were all of similar strength, so he didn't notice anything unusual. After getting used to it, he found that he couldn't fit in with ordinary people.
He quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "Oh dear, I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it. Now that you say it, I suddenly feel really tired. It's true what they say, I'm getting old. My legs aren't as nimble as they used to be. Unlike you young people, you can just sleep it off for a night."
When he said this, his face looked very tired, as if he was really exhausted. Many people were skeptical of his change in demeanor, but they didn't think he was completely lying. After all, Jiang Changdong was old enough to be considered, and even if he was faking it, he was definitely tired.
As night fell, the dense vegetation in the deep mountains and forests meant that even the starlight and moonlight rarely reached their resting place. Apart from the light of the campfire, there was no other light.
Of course, everyone brought flashlights, but if the light were too bright, it might attract some large animals, so only one campfire was lit, and not many.
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