Buddhist player

Perhaps Bai Chen's words had an effect, or perhaps the inconsistency in timing caused people to waver, but even the Fierce Tiger King, unusually, did not voice any objection to the matter of dividing the team for exploration.

If you include the basement, the entire villa has four floors.

Bai Chen's original plan was to divide the team into three groups, each exploring the first, second, and third floors separately, and then go to the basement together at the end.

However, this overly radical suggestion was clearly not adopted. Even the fallen maple leaf weakly suggested that everyone explore on the same level, which would involve grouping people for exploration on the same level…

"...Fine, you guys can stay on the first floor and explore if you want, but I'm going to the second floor. Anyone want to come with me?"

With the incense stick dangling from his mouth, Bai Chen rolled his eyes, slightly exasperated.

"If no one is there, then I'll go alone."

This type of survival dungeon becomes increasingly dangerous as you progress, and he didn't want to waste time on such trivial matters.

"That……"

Before the bard could finish his slightly hesitant sentence, Yuan Qing had already stood up and stood beside Bai Chen. Although he didn't say a word, his actions made it very clear.

"Alright, then Yuanqing and I will explore the second floor for now, and the four of you will be responsible for exploring the first floor."

Bai Chen glanced at the girl beside him, nodded, and handed her a powerful flashlight he had taken out of his backpack.

"Whatever you find, meet here in the lobby on the first floor in half an hour."

While theoretically the second floor should be more dangerous due to what happened at the beginning, could the dragging sound of a chair coming from upstairs be a warning sign?

Since we'll eventually have to explore the entire villa anyway, we might as well start our operation in the earlier stages when the danger is lower.

Bai Chen thought this way and did this way, but he didn't expect that Yuan Qing would choose to come along on his own initiative.

As the camping lights in the lobby on the first floor gradually dimmed and faded away, only the silent footsteps of the two people and the desolate scene illuminated by the powerful flashlight remained on the stairs.

Judging from the thick layer of dust piled up on the stairs, no one has been here for a long time, and there is a faint smell of decay in the air.

"You changed the time on Tiger King's phone."

Just as the lights downstairs went out completely, Yuan Qing's voice suddenly rang out in the darkness.

"While everyone's attention was drawn to the open door and the cars in the downpour, you seized the opportunity to grab his phone, which he had left on the sofa, and changed the time."

—Not a question, but a statement of affirmation.

"What, you saw it?"

Bai Chen raised an eyebrow and glanced to his side.

The staircases are quite wide, enough for two people to walk side by side.

"I guessed it."

The flashlight beam swept across a large, unidentified stain on the wall at the corner, and Yuan Qing spoke calmly.

"You took out your phone at the very beginning. If the time was wrong then, you wouldn't have waited until now to reveal it. Not only him, but you also changed the time on your phone yourself."

"What, is this your reason for following me? To confront me?"

Stopping at the corner of the stairs, Bai Chen stared at the dark stain on the wall and lit another incense stick for himself.

"No, it's just that I hate idiots."

He also stopped in his tracks, Yuan Qing's expression indifferent.

"You're too dangerous. Although on the surface the poet seems to be in control, you've actually been deliberately guiding the team's direction. You're hiding something, and I need to know what you're hiding."

"Want one?"

Bai Chen did not answer the other party's question. After carefully examining the stain, he turned to look at the other party and offered the cigarette pack in his hand to him.

"..."

After staring at him for a moment, Yuan Qing took a stick of incense from the cigarette case in his hand.

At the opportune moment, Bai Chen handed over the lighter in his hand.

Here, the lighter.

Yuan Qing: "………"

But unexpectedly, after lighting the cigarette, she didn't taste any cigarette flavor. Instead, she tasted... orange flavor.

"……I see."

After a few seconds of silence, Yuan Qing nodded.

"You did this on purpose?"

"No, strictly speaking, I was also one of those who got scammed."

Seeing that the other party understood what he was trying to say so quickly, Bai Chen couldn't help but feel a little gratified.

Talking to smart people saves you a lot of effort.

The beginner trial has dynamic difficulty; the stronger you are when you enter the dungeon, the higher the difficulty of the beginner trial dungeon will be. Its appearance has directly raised the difficulty of this dungeon by many levels.

If he hadn't awakened the talent [Retrospection], hadn't picked up the corpse [Pharmacopoeia], and hadn't cultivated [Orchid Heart in the Empty Valley Technique], then the walkthrough for this beginner dungeon might indeed be as the bard described. But for now...

"To what extent can you do it?"

Turning her head, Yuan Qing looked at him.

"To surpass human limits in a short time, while also being able to exorcise evil spirits within a small area... There's no point in saying that."

Shaking his head, Bai Chen continued walking upstairs.

"The only way to clear this dungeon is to understand its mechanics and the key elements. Any other path will lead to certain death."

With his current strength, he would absolutely crush this group of novices. In fact, if he wanted to, he could take down all five members of the team in a minute.

...But that makes no sense.

If this dungeon were a typical blizzard-like scenario, it would be fine, but this dungeon is completely unpredictable, going against the grain from the very beginning and successfully leading the team astray.

He had originally planned to wait and see, but the moment he discovered that the door could be opened, he had no choice but to intervene, altering the time on Tiger King's phone and forcibly bringing the entire team back on track.

Despite his seemingly calm demeanor, he actually treads on thin ice with every step, fearing that a single misstep could lead to the complete annihilation of his team.

—That's right, in Bai Chen's opinion, there is a very high probability that their team will be wiped out in the end.

His only consolation is that there is at least one smart person in this team.

"...That stain is blood."

After a moment of silence, Yuan Qing suddenly spoke.

"With that level of bleeding, the stairwell is a crime scene; someone died there."

"Ah, that's right. It's probably another typical villa murder case or something. It's probably some kind of burglary that resulted in the entire family being wiped out, and then the resentment accumulated, eventually turning the house into a haunted house... We'll talk about the specifics after we find the backpack."

Exhaling, Bai Chen stopped and looked at the deathly darkness before him.

"We're here, on the second floor."