The Underworld was shrouded in a Black Mist.
Suddenly, next to a Bonfire, space began to fluctuate.
The next second, a figure appeared out of thin air.
Lin Bei glanced around and saw a worn piece of paper still lying on the ground, covered in scribbled text that he couldn't understand at all.
The only difference from last time was that the Small Wooden House was no longer present next to the Bonfire.
"That's a bit unlucky this time, there's no Small Wooden House!"
Lin Bei frowned slightly. He had originally wanted to farm the Disqualified Ones again, but now... he was afraid he would be disappointed.
"Sigh, without the Disqualified Ones' legacy, the harvest will be much smaller."
Lin Bei sighed and began summoning the Tank Army, crushing everything in their path while lighting the extinguished Bonfires in the darkness.
In the blink of an eye, an hour passed, and all the Bonfires had been lit by him.
However, this time, the surrounding Mist Area was noticeably at least half the size of the previous one.
All told, Lin Bei had only lit about forty Bonfires, and as for the Mist Monsters... they were even less challenging, collapsing with a single blow.
This time, he tried once more to attack the enveloping pure white Barrier.
Nearly eight thousand points of Combat Power still couldn't shake the Barrier in the slightest.
Afterward, he sat by the Bonfire and waited for more than ten minutes, but the feeling of heart palpitations, like the last time, did not appear at all.
"It seems there's nothing left to farm in this Instance."
Lin Bei stood up, used the Teleportation Stone, and returned to the island.
"How was the harvest this time? You didn't run into any powerful Disqualified Ones, did you?"
As soon as he returned, Da Hei came over, offering greetings and concern.
"The harvest was mediocre, not as good as yesterday."
Lin Bei said calmly, "By the way, didn't you say that the first time a novice enters the Underworld it would be relatively simple? Why is it that for me, it feels simpler each time?"
"Last time, there were at least a hundred Bonfires, but this time there weren't even fifty! And no Disqualified Ones! Damn it... I paid the entrance fee all the same, and I feel like I'm losing money!"
"Don't worry! Listen to me... didn't I mention before that joining a faction could give you benefits? As long as you agree, that Overseer above can pull strings for you within their scope of duty!"
Da Hei whispered mysteriously, "For example, every time you enter the Underworld, with help from above, they can guarantee that the Underworld you enter will always have Disqualified Ones present!"
"Huh? You guy... didn't you say it was completely random before?"
Lin Bei was also surprised by this.
The look he gave Da Hei was full of ill intent.
"Sigh, that's true for a grunt worker like me who doesn't have much authority!"
"But if a big shot at the Overseer level is willing to act, it's easy to achieve that."
"And as a Survivor from the Human World, you should know one thing clearly: rules... are only meant to restrict ordinary people."
Seeing Lin Bei show some interest, Da Hei immediately struck while the iron was hot and said, "What's more, the Overseer recruiting you this time belongs to the Goddess of Luck faction. By joining this faction, you can immediately gain the effect of a Lucky Blessing, which can be used to amplify your fortune."
"Things related to luck, such as opening supply treasure chests, refreshing the shop interface, and other operations, will yield twice the result with half the effort, making it easier for you to obtain high-quality items and goods!"
"Listen to your brother's advice, choose to join this faction, and you definitely won't lose out, kid!"
Da Hei tried to coax him patiently.
"Um... let me ask, are you part of this Goddess of Luck faction?"
"Cough, cough, I am not."
"Then why the hell are you so solicitous? Something feels off."
"Isn't this for your better development? If you can connect with the Overseer, you could pass the trials of this Survival World even with your eyes closed!"
"What you say makes sense, but the problem is... I can pass the trials myself anyway."
"This..."
"Forget it. If you want me to join the faction you mentioned, the benefits they give you must be split in half for me."
"I..."
"Think about it? When you've decided, remember to find the security guard at the villa entrance and call for me!"
After Lin Bei finished speaking, he immediately claimed the Dungeon Instance reward.
This time, his luck was a bit poor, only triggering the Ten-fold Critical Hit. Coupled with the subpar area of the Underworld he entered, Lin Bei only received 30,000 brave badges, 500,000 experience points, and 20 Shop Refresh Cards.
Da Hei looked as if his strength had been drained, collapsing onto the ground with deep sighs.
"Sigh, this kid... he even wants to fleece me! Damn it, the benefits Lady Aleria promised me are very important to me, and besides, there's absolutely no way to share them with anyone else!"
Da Hei was troubled in his heart.
Just then, he received another message in his mind.
"What the hell? Lady Aleria... how highly does she think of this kid? She's actually willing to grant even this kind of condition?"
Da Hei was dumbfounded, as if instantly turned to stone.
After a long while, he numbly shook his head, shouting inwardly: "Holy crap, this is what you call life! Compared to that kid... what I got is nothing! Honestly... I'm really jealous, absolutely dying of jealousy!!!"
...Lin Bei returned to his Manor Villa.
To be honest, he had already been tempted moments ago.
Simply because the other party could grant him a "Lucky Blessing" BUFF!
It was conceivable that with this powerful BUFF, combined with his Critical Hit system... Lin Bei could definitely sweep everything aside and rapidly become stronger!
However, whenever he saw Da Hei's dark face, he couldn't help but retort a few times.
Furthermore, he genuinely wanted to know the attitude of the "Overseer" Da Hei spoke of, so he went along with his emotions and, after some back-and-forth, ultimately left Da Hei hanging and came back alone.
Lin Bei frowned, sinking into contemplation.
"Something is off... even taking a step back, there's no reason why I would immediately want to retort against him the moment I see him, right?"
"Even if I am genuinely wary of him internally, putting it out in the open like this... isn't that a bit too deliberate?"
"Shouldn't the normal script be smiling on the outside while cursing internally?"
"It seems this guy... really has a problem."
Lin Bei muttered, "I just don't know the source of this influence on my emotions? Is it his ability? Or some special item? Or something else?"
"It's better to figure this matter out sooner rather than later, lest I fail unexpectedly someday."
"I wonder if Qing Qing's AI Algorithm can figure out what's fishy about that guy. Forget it, I should go ask now before things get complicated."
Lin Bei had just returned to the villa and hadn't even had time to rest before rushing toward the Combat Control Room where Qing Qing was located... "Master, you've arrived at a good time."
"Regarding this Missile Strike Plan, I have already designed fifteen different options. Would you like to choose one?"
As soon as Lin Bei entered the room, before he could even ask about the issue concerning Da Hei, Qing Qing spoke first, handing him a stack of documents and standing aside, awaiting his reply.
"...Fifteen options?"
Lin Bei clicked his tongue, then opened the document and scanned the dense text, immediately feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp.
He immediately handed the document back, cleared his throat lightly, and said with a calm expression, "I trust all your options. Since I've entrusted this matter to you personally, go ahead and execute it."
"I trust your decision!"
"Thank you for your trust, Master!"
Hearing this, a surprised smile appeared on Qing Qing's usually placid face. She then kissed Lin Bei forcefully on the cheek without hesitation, before turning back full of fighting spirit to continue operating the complex Combat interface, becoming busy once more.
Seeing this, Lin Bei could only temporarily set aside the doubts in his heart.
He planned to ask her carefully about the strange phenomena happening to him and Da Hei after the current matter was concluded.
For the time being, Lin Bei was idle.
With nothing else to do, he decided to open a few treasure chests to see how his luck was.
As for when to open the rest of the treasure chests, he would wait until he had joined the faction of the "Overseer" Da Hei mentioned and obtained the "Lucky Blessing" BUFF!
For now, he was just messing around because he was bored... On the other side, near the assembly area of the Bei Ming Hunting Group, hundreds of Survivors' ships had already gathered.
At this moment, they were having a party on a nearby island, enjoying themselves thoroughly, with arrogant smiles plastered on their faces.
Originally, this was the island of another Survivor, but because he refused to join the Expeditionary Force, he met a tragic end, and his body had already been thrown into the sea to feed the fish.
"Brothers, nearly a thousand people are now willing to join our Expeditionary Force. Before long, our power will grow even stronger! When that time comes... we'll launch a full-scale attack, flatten Bei Ming's island, and make this black-hearted merchant disappear forever!"
"Absolutely! I joined the Expeditionary Force just to plunder that old dog Bei Ming's gold coins! So he must die! All the resources on his island will be ours!"
"Personally, I think our Expeditionary Force can exist permanently. If we ever have a hunting target in the future, we can attack it together, and the benefits will be distributed according to contribution. What do you all think?"
"Hahaha! That's a great suggestion! We must toast to that!"
"Come on, let's toast! Hahahaha—"
The group of people had already fallen into a frenzy of celebration.
In their eyes, Bei Ming's island and resources were already within their grasp.