Darkness pressed in on every side; the five of them seemed to have stepped into an unknown space, completely cut off from the outside world.
Here, the Survival Bracelet's signal couldn't get out, so no one inside could contact anyone outside.
Lin Bei glanced at the public chat channel—every message had been completely blocked.
After his Island Upgrade, he'd actually been able to browse the Survival World chat channel freely while inside the Underworld, but now… with the torrent of bullet-screen comments suddenly gone, he felt oddly out of sorts.
"If my math's right, in the outside world the Rockets should reach their target in just over ten minutes, yeah?"
"Convert that with the time ratio and we've got roughly two more hours in here!"
"Hmm… if I pick up the pace, I might still make it back in time to watch the live show."
Lin Bei mused to himself.
He'd already seen the livestream from that guy named Bohaus in the public chat channel and everything the man had said.
Honestly, if this were the Hot Season, those Rockets of his might struggle to break through a Perfect-grade Barrier.
But right now… with Ammunition Dominator's terrifying boost, his Rockets had rocketed straight past the Perfect-grade category—calling them Extraordinary-grade missiles wearing Perfect skins wouldn't be an exaggeration.
As for this Barrier… forget ten Rockets; even a single one would be impossible to intercept.
"Gotta move, or I'll miss the fireworks!"
Thinking this, Lin Bei glanced at the people walking up ahead and called out, "Hey, one more question."
Everyone stopped and looked his way.
"Since the world will bumps the difficulty when new members join a team, what about those other raiders? Could they lower the difficulty just by tagging along with us?"
"Or if another survivor squad tries to block us midway, what do we do?"
Lin Bei was genuinely curious.
Their march through the Dark Forest felt exactly like dungeon-crawling back in their original world.
Only he still wasn't sure whether this Dark Forest counted as a private Instance Dungeon or a public one.
If it was the former, great—no interference—but if it was the latter, they'd have to watch out for saboteurs or sneak attacks.
"Oh, that. Usually, once a squad enters the Mist Area, they're split into five-person teams and isolated in separate zones."
"Under normal circumstances they won't run into each other."
"Exceptions exist, sure, but the odds are under one percent, so we don't need to worry."
"And even if we do bump into other Survivors, it might not be a bad thing."
"We can choose to team up and clear the Dark Forest faster."
A slight smile hung on Gale's face; Lin Bei's worries didn't bother him in the least.
He actually hoped they'd meet a few extra squads—working together might earn them a better ranking!
Take those Major Powers: every time they enter the Mist Area they flood it with members. Low odds don't matter when you send enough people—sooner or later some of them will spawn together.
Add their already formidable strength and they easily nab spots on the Speed and hall of honors for juicier rewards!
For those Major Powers, it's also a way to monopolize the leaderboards.
Ordinary Survivors, though, can't really copy the tactic.
After hearing Gale's explanation, Lin Bei immediately understood.
"Only a one-percent chance—shouldn't be an issue."
With that thought, he pulled out the Dawn Bonfire, loaded it with Perfect-grade fuel, and ignited it.
In an instant the surrounding mist scattered, and the area blazed with light.
"That's… a Purification-Type Special Item!"
Beside him, Battle Tyrannosaurus stared slack-jawed. "Damn, kid… you actually own something this precious? Unreal!"
"Oh, are these really that rare?"
Lin Bei asked, curious.
If he remembered right, he still had several hundred similar items in his storage space.
Admittedly their quality ranged from only superior to the excellent quality in his hand, but he'd never considered them particularly valuable.
After all, Aleria had said they couldn't even dispel the curse power of the Sixteen-Sided Dice, so how special could they be?
"Rare? This isn't just rare—across the entire Starry Sky, you can count them on two hands!"
Battle Tyrannosaurus exclaimed. "Of the thirty-six capital cities in the King World, fewer than fifty factions own Purification-Type Special Items!"
"And your item…"
He gestured at the vast, brightly lit space around them, eyes full of disbelief. "Its effect… is insane!"
"You only took it out and it's already purified the dark mist within a thousand meters; given time, the purified area could expand several times over!"
"But even the best purification items held by those powerhouse factions can barely clear a hundred-meter radius!"
"You… you're absolutely cracked!"
By the end Battle Tyrannosaurus was so excited he was practically dancing.
After the others noticed something was off, they all turned to look at the Dawn Bonfire cradled in Lin Bei's arms, shock flashing in their eyes.
This thing was practically the bane of mist!
With this Bonfire around, they no longer had to worry about losing their way in the fog, and even if monsters really did attack, under the suppression of such a powerful item those creatures would be lucky to fight at ten percent strength.
"Hahaha! Beiming, you've given every one of us a massive surprise!"
Gale burst into laughter. "I used to think we'd need luck to make it onto the speed monument, but now… we're absolutely set!"
After that, he swept his gaze across the rest of the squad and spoke in a grave voice: "All of you, we owe Brother Beiming a favor this time, so I don't want anyone breathing a word about him owning something this powerful!"
"Got it?"
Gale's tone was stern, his expression deadly serious.
"Understood!"
Everyone nodded at once, promising not to leak the information.
Seeing this, the corner of Lin Bei's mouth curved in a smile.
He glanced at Yīlù Zhǒu Hǎo, who had been quietly needling him earlier.
When the man noticed Lin Bei's gaze, he looked defeated and sighed, "Hey, don't look at me like that. I've got a short fuse, but I'm no traitor. I don't like you much, but… I won't do anything that disgusting."
"Besides… thanks. With your item helping, everyone in the squad can get decent rewards. I'll definitely pay you back for this kindness."
With that, he trudged off to a corner, sulking in silence.
"Interesting."
Lin Bei had his perception fully active; under the sweep of his Spirit that topped a hundred million, none of them could hide their thoughts.
Although he couldn't read minds the way Aleria could, he could still sense their general intentions.
None of them planned to sell him out.
In the Survival World, a place crawling with scum, that kind of character was practically a miracle.
He'd just been lucky—stepping outside, he'd run into decent teammates right away.
Fate, you could call it.
Thinking of that, Lin Bei produced another "Purification Bonfire"—currently the worst one he had, only of superior quality. After adding fuel of the matching tier, it could light up a ten-meter radius.
Feed it higher-grade fuel and the illuminated area would keep expanding.
But compared with Dawn Bonfire, this one could only dispel dark mist; it offered no boost to anyone's strength.
"Though this Purification Bonfire can't match the one in my hand, it'll still be crucial when you explore Mist Areas later."
"Meeting is fate. Since you've all looked out for me, I can't be stingy."
"Take this as a gift; I hope you won't think it's too humble."
Lin Bei had always lived by the rule: if you treat me with an inch of respect, I'll return a mile.
These squad members were, in his eyes, rather weak, but their character was solid, so he didn't mind lending a hand to make their future days a bit easier.
He also saw himself as a proper Lucky Ambassador, duty-bound to recruit soldiers for his faction at every opportunity.
He was just picky—scum didn't meet his standards—so his expansion had been slow.
The people before him had decent morals; he planned to keep testing them. If their potential checked out, he wouldn't mind pulling them all into the Lucky Faction.
That way, through them he could secure resources in the High-Level Survival World that lower worlds lacked, letting him hole up safely in Island Survival without ever leaving.
"Heh, no way I'm going out. The world's huge and dangerous; with just a hundred-million Combat Power I probably can't even beat Aleria. I have to stay hidden and grow steadily!"
"I've heard that, apart from Overseers, other top dogs can't forcibly meddle with the lowest-tier Island Survival World."
"The only ones who might mess with things are the Inspectors, one rank above Overseers—but each move costs them dearly and puts a heavy burden on themselves."
"So for me, the best option is to stay put in Island Survival and never leave!"
"That way, even if big shots outside want me dead, they can't touch me."
"I'll keep growing until I hit ten billion Combat Power—no, at least a trillion—then I'll step out and see who dares lift a finger against me!"
The recent Order Beacon incident had proved everything.
From the moment he joined the Lucky Faction, the two sides had become mortal enemies.
Lin Bei refused to believe any Survivor who'd only lived through one Calamity Season could already own a Perfect-grade Barrier covering a hundred-kilometer radius and blueprints for an Excellent Grade Warship.
Clearly, the Inspector from the Order Faction Aleria had mentioned had made a move.
"Oh right, that Bohaus guy seems to be planning to build a fleet to attack my island."
"Hmm… I'll upgrade the island's defensive weapons and make sure they never return."
Lin Bei noted it inwardly, opened his memo, added a few lines, then smiled in satisfaction at the stunned group before him.
"Hey, why are you all staring at me like that?"
Lin Bei asked curiously.
"Beiming, that smile just now… it kind of scared us."
"And this... the Purifying Bonfire, it's... it's too precious! We..."
Gale swallowed hard.
"Oh, I was just reminded of something happy—it has nothing to do with you."
"All right, put the Purifying Bonfire away. Consider it a small token of my thanks."
Lin Bei waved him off, cutting Gale short. "You've answered plenty of my questions along the way, and I've learned a lot. Besides, we're teammates now. This thing isn't all that valuable to me."
"Besides, you're decent people—better than most Survivors I've met. Being with you feels comfortable."
"I hope you all stay alive."
Lin Bei's smile faded a notch as he watched the darkness driven back. He murmured,
"You folks suit me. Sure, 'Yīlù Zhǒu Hǎo' can be sharp-tongued, but... he's not rotten inside, and he repays kindness. In the world of Survivors, that's practically an endangered species."
"In these times... good people struggle while the wicked thrive. I'm just trying to change that, even a little."
"So take it."
...Silence fell when he finished speaking.
After a long moment, Gale drew a deep breath. "Fine, we accept your kindness! Rest assured, we may not be top-tier, but our resolve is solid!"
"I can't promise much, but from now on, if you ever run into trouble, just say the word. As long as it doesn't cross our principles, we'll charge through fire and blades with you!"
"Haha, the boss is right—count me in!"
"Count me in too!"
"Hmph, I'm not happy you called me sharp-tongued—but... whatever, count me in!"
"Hahahaha—"
The group exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
At this moment, the gloom that had weighed on them for so long in the Survival World finally lifted.
For the first time, every heart felt light and unburdened.
"All right! With a top-tier purifying item backing us, let's finish fast and aim for a top rank!"
"Exactly, I'm raring to go! With luck, we might even snag the super reward from the Monument of Fame!"
"Go for it—we can do it!"
Fired up, the group marched forward, guided by the light of the Dawn Bonfire.
As for Lin Bei, he quietly released his aura and pressure into the surrounding space. Combined with the Dawn Bonfire's deterrent effect on dark creatures, not a single monster dared approach; they all kept their distance.
"Hahaha! Amazing! Look at those Shadow Cat Demons on the edge of the mist—they don't dare come near!"
Battle Tyrannosaurus strode ahead, beaming.
The rest of the team looked equally relaxed, hurrying along as if on a picnic.
Never before had they moved through the Dark Forest with such ease.
Wherever they went, even the black trees formed from dark mist dissolved swiftly under the Dawn Bonfire's purifying light.
Their current pace was ridiculously fast.
"I have a hunch—we'll take first place on the speed monument!"
Battle Tyrannosaurus was flushed and breathless with excitement.
"Same here. Even if the Major Powers teamed up, they couldn't cross this zone at our speed."
Vanilla Nemo nodded, her big watery eyes fixed on Lin Bei as she shot him flirtatious glances.
Seeing this, Yīlù Zhǒu Hǎo's face darkened; he ground his teeth.
Damn it—this is infuriating!
What's wrong with me? That punk's just younger, richer, and better-looking...
How am I worse than him?
Yīlù Zhǒu Hǎo felt like he was bleeding inside; his whole body ached.
"Everyone, get ready to fight!"
Just then, Gale—who'd been watching the path ahead—suddenly stopped. Frowning at silhouettes emerging from distant shadows, his expression darkened. "Beiming, put the Bonfire away. Our luck's run out—other Survivors have spotted us!"
"They'll probably gang up to snatch that item from you!"
At once the atmosphere turned heavy.
Hearing this, Lin Bei looked ahead. Where light met shadow, a group had gathered—roughly twenty Survivors.
They stared at the team with ill intent. Their leader in particular eyed the Dawn Bonfire in Lin Bei's hand, greed and malice flashing in his gaze.
"Hahaha! Think you can run? Too late!"
"I'm a war-chief of the Order Dynasty—three million Combat Power. You trash couldn't escape me even if you tried!"
"Wise up—hand over that purifying item!"
"Play nice and I might even sponsor you, let you join the Order Dynasty."
"Of course, if you refuse... heh, you know the consequences."
"Hmm... I'll give you five seconds. Don't disappoint me."
"Five..."
"Four..."