Beating Instances through Words Left by the Dead

People thought they had escaped danger, unaware that they would be stranded in this sea domain for a long time, which meant that the Star Jump had not yet imposed any restrictions on food and drink.

Wu Chang took the opportunity to gather a lot of alcohol and food and stored them in his personal space.

If Cui Chengze’s plan failed, they would have to stay in the Shipwreck Belt for thirty days, and he didn’t want to end up eating those strange fish meats.

He sat in the bar for an entire day, until evening approached and the sky darkened, when suddenly someone appeared in front of him.

”Mr. Li, I’ve been observing you all day, and you don’t seem to be concerned about the current issues.”

Wu Chang looked up at the person. It was a thin man, dressed in black tight clothes wrapped like bandages, making his already slender body look like a human-shaped clothes hanger, swaying as he walked.

But the thin body made him exceptionally light, so light-footed that his feet didn’t touch the ground. Wu Chang observed that the direction and condition of the long fibers on the carpet he stepped on didn’t change at all.

Swift movements, light posture, discreet presence, absolutely perfect for stealthy deeds.

A talent.

”And you are?”

”You can call me Shadow.”

Wu Chang shook his head indifferently and said, ”Never heard of you, is there something you need from me?”

Shadow smiled and said, ”I’m here to tell you something: you, or rather the entire Star Jump, are about to face a great danger!”

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow. A scare tactic opening, interesting.

He pointed to the seat opposite, ”Explain in detail.”

Shadow said, ”The sea domain where the Star Jump is currently docked is known as the Shipwreck Belt. Once a ship enters, leaving is as hard as ascending to heaven. If we do not unite and save ourselves, we’ll end up trapped and die here.”

”Uniting everyone requires a leader. I believe, Mr. Li, you are the most suitable to be this leader, and I am willing to be your first and most loyal follower.”

Wu Chang swirled his glass. Good lord, this guy’s trying to spur him to leadership, even more eagerly than Sword Star and Negotiation Master.

”What are you good at?”

Shadow’s figure suddenly vanished, and then in a flash of a shadow, appeared behind Wu Chang.

”Concealment, infiltration, surveillance, tracking, assassination—all are what you need the most.”

Wu Chang clicked his tongue silently. Aren’t these all the things he’s best at? You’ve already claimed all the sneaky jobs, so what will I do?

But Shadow’s abilities were indeed strong, especially his agility, far surpassing anyone Wu Chang currently had at his disposal.

Faced with an assassination attempt by Shadow, except for relying on his own inspiration or Sword Star’s reincarnation talent, Sword Heart, others would have a hard time reacting.

”You say you’re good at tracking, right?”

Shadow nodded.

Wu Chang described the appearances of the Secret Ceremony Master and the Werewolf he saw in the cargo hold the night before. ”Find one of them, and consider your assessment passed. How about it?”

In front of Shadow appeared a prompt:

”Li Zaisi has given you a faction trial task. Investigate at least one of the two targets’ true identities on the ship to complete the trial task and join Li Zaisi’s faction.”

Shadow was delighted; he had bet correctly. This legendary hidden NPC indeed came with their own faction!

In the Abyssal Game, if there were two words that held the most value, it would definitely be hidden!

Anything related to hidden—whether it’s tasks, items, reincarnations, or roles—symbolized rarity and power.

The hidden faction was no exception. Luckily, he acted swiftly and got in! ℴℴ𝘮

”No problem, I’ll make sure to investigate them soon.”

After saying this, Shadow disappeared.

Shadow wasn’t the only crafty one who had set their sights on Wu Chang. The round Wu walked at the port was now proving useful.

In the next two hours, five more people sat across from him, expressing their desire to join his faction.

Two of them were too weak, not even as strong as Wu Chang, who was just over level twenty, and the Negotiation Master, having relied purely on luck and dungeon runs to mix their way to level thirty.

He rejected these two and assigned appropriate tasks to the remaining three.

The last person leaving received a very humanizing reminder from Wu Chang as a hidden NPC.

”I look for quality over quantity when assigning tasks. Tonight, four people have approached me, and I will only accept the first three to complete their tasks.”

Having said this, he left the bar and returned to his room, not appearing again.

The players who hadn’t made up their minds and were just observing couldn’t help but regret and slap their thighs.

Indeed, hesitating leads to defeat. The chance to join a hidden faction was gone.

Returning to his room, Wu Chang reflected on the day’s events at the bar.

The players who approached him, along with those detected by his inspiration, totaled over twelve.

Judging from the emotions conveyed through their eyes, at least ten wanted to join the faction he was building.

Calculating this, the number of players entering the Silent Route Dungeon exceeded his expectations, with at least over thirty.

If the acceptance limit for each faction was like his, capped at five people, it meant there were at least 5-6 factions on the ship.

An all-out brawl of a dungeon.

On the second night in the Shipwreck Belt, after a whole day of prayers, the mental state of the passengers on board had not improved, but rather worsened.

That night, the dream calls the passengers heard were clearer.

Passengers with artistic specialties or those with intuition beyond ordinary people sat up in bed at the calls, walked out of their cabins, and, in a half-conscious state, headed for the deck.

A student from Anjin High School, dreaming, climbed over the railing and leaped into the sea, chasing the call in his dreams.