“Killed them all… What a terrifying statement.”
Lili Ya wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
She had lost count of how many times she had checked the chat channel today.
In the past, she hadn’t liked reading these chatty places because there was no place for her in such lively environments.
Even if there was, she would only be a laughingstock.
But today was a little different.
Although she was still a laughingstock, for some reason it felt very different from before.
Was this what it felt like to have someone with her?
Lili Ya looked at Li Si leading the way ahead.
The severed goblin ear, still partially attached, dangled by her head, swaying back and forth.
It looked utterly ridiculous.
But she couldn’t laugh!
Lili Ya’s face turned serious.
“Lili Ya, when adventuring, focus your eyes on the surroundings.”
“Yes!”
Lili Ya instantly straightened up, her demeanor shifting abruptly.
Li Si nodded in satisfaction.
This kind of immediate obedience was a miracle in her previous party, something that would only happen if a general amnesty was declared.
Silently complaining about her former teammates, Li Si took out a map and carefully compared the mountain terrain.
Although the miasma was thick, basically making it no different from night, she could still barely discern the lay of the land through her high-intensity perception.
They were currently in a canyon area with a stream nearby, two kilometers from the team camp, within patrol range, and also among the suspected entrances listed in the survey information.
The team’s survey information was brief, but it listed many suspected entrances, and this one was a place where Li Si had a faint impression.
But as she approached, it suddenly felt somewhat different.
Walking up to a cliff, Li Si shone her torch downward, then threw the torch down.
It wasn’t high.
Below was a pool of water.
The torch made a splash when it hit the water and then was gone.
She had an impression, but because in her previous life she had only seen pixel blocks, honestly, everywhere looked like a dungeon entrance to her.
Li Si shook her head.
She could only wait for the evening survey meeting.
Unfortunately, the surroundings had been cleaned thoroughly, otherwise she could have checked the distribution of magic beasts to estimate the range.
“Li Si, there seems to be something over there.”
Lili Ya suddenly called out in warning, turning her torch warily to the side.
Li Si turned to look.
It was a cliff face, with thick miasma churning there, showing clear signs of activity.
She had already sensed the activity there.
It was an adventurer.
That adventurer also noticed them, raised a torch in greeting, and then walked toward the only path out of the valley.
Li Si glanced at Lili Ya, whose perception wasn’t high enough to see the situation there, and she looked very wary.
Li Si casually explained.
“So it’s an adventurer like us.”
Lili Ya breathed a sigh of relief, but quickly laughed, “No, not quite the same as us.”
Li Si looked at the goblin disguise suits they were both wearing, feeling that this was how adventuring should be.
Unfortunately, until evening, the suit never came in handy again.
After all, it was a field camp established under the leadership of the Border Town branch manager, with two Chosen teams assisting.
There were basically no magic beasts left in the area—nothing but thick miasma.
The patrol mission was essentially a participation benefit.
Walk around the camp for an hour, go to Enya, and collect 100 experience points.
Done.
Lili Ya was full of gratitude for the easily earned 100 experience.
Li Si felt nothing about it, but the atmosphere of the pioneer group at night surprised her a little.
No tension.
Surprisingly relaxed.
In her previous life when playing the game, she felt that if she didn’t clear the dungeon quickly, she would never leave the beginner village, so she always carried a sense of urgency, thinking all adventurers in town must be very tense.
But being there in person, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
The adventurers were all very relaxed, almost like they were on a group outing.
Li Si could vaguely guess the mindset of these adventurers.
These adventurers who had never seen real death probably still thought the adventurer corpses lying in the Holy Hall were just temporarily asleep and could be resurrected by the goddess later.
This carefree mindset probably wouldn’t change much until the first adventurer’s corpse rotted into mud.
That was fine too.
At least it meant a few more cannon fodder who weren’t afraid of death on the front lines.
“A very warm welcome to all adventurers for our temporary pioneer group’s first strategy meeting.”
At dinner time, a campfire was lit in the center of the camp.
The current leader, also the highest-level adventurer in Border Town and the Border Town branch manager, Atar, raised his cup to invite everyone to drink together.
It looked like a rather informal strategy meeting.
After drinking, the leader started tossing out today’s survey information, one piece per gulp of alcohol, very casual.
The other adventurers were mostly the same.
This was the nature of this world—joyful, relaxed, disliking pressure.
Li Si listened with a furrowed brow.
All the information was extremely fragmented, with everyone chiming in randomly without any structure.
Toward the end, she decisively gave up.
Being serious among these people was a waste of time.
Fortunately, the secretary general would organize the information on the side, so she could just go ask her for it later.
Giving up on syncing with the relaxed crowd, Li Si turned her attention to the business of eating.
Although the meeting was very loose, relaxation had its benefits—at least unlimited eating.
But when it came to eating, someone hadn’t stopped since the meeting started.
Li Si looked at Lili Ya beside her, unsure whether to feel pity or sorrow.
This pink-haired girl ate as if she had never eaten before, crazily stuffing things into her mouth.
Her cheeks were like balls.
Just when Li Si thought they had reached their limit, she would stuff in another huge wad.
Granted, she hadn’t given her lunch, but adventurers eating two meals a day was normal.
It shouldn’t be this bad.
“Ugh, cough, cough, cough!!!”
Lili Ya stiffened her neck and forced it down even though it got stuck.
Li Si quickly patted her back and handed her water.
This precious one couldn’t die from eating.
“Ugh, Thanks.”
Lili Ya muttered two words vaguely, then continued her eating crusade.
Li Si ate until she was about half full.
She was about to get up to grab a bread roll from next door when she suddenly paused.
“What is this?”
A black wisp of miasma drifted past her eyes.
The team’s camp was at the edge of the miasma, so miasma was nothing unusual, but this wisp was unusually black, like a thread, disappearing in a flash.
“No, this isn’t a miasma.” Li Si frowned slightly.
Her perception was going wild.
This was Strict Father’s talent warning her.
Unlike Kind Mother, Strict Father’s talent was very combat-oriented and only activated in battle environments.
As long as a teammate was in danger, this perception would provide an early warning.
That unusually thick black miasma from a moment ago was exactly such a warning.
Li Si stood up alertly and followed the direction the miasma had drifted.
But the warning came and went quickly—in the blink of an eye, it was gone.
Li Si stood outside an empty tent.
The miasma had disappeared nearby, and the warning had vanished.
Either the danger had been resolved, or it had been deliberately hidden.
And although this was a gathering place for adventurers, it was also in the wilderness.
The environment was too complex to determine whether the danger came from the environment or from intelligent life nearby.
Li Si frowned as she looked at Lili Ya, who was eating heartily by the campfire.
Regardless, the current situation indicated one thing: Lili Ya was in danger.
This was a tricky situation.
Li Si took a wary step, intending to return to Lili Ya’s side, when suddenly, in the darkness, a hand reached out from the shadows and clamped over her mouth.
Almost instantly, a force pressed her into the dark tent.