42: Doing this in front of me?

Some people die, but their spirit lives on.

While some people live, their eyes are already dead.

After being discovered by the patrolling Warriors, Jin Yu had already lost all hope.

They were outnumbered, in poor condition, and their attributes were lowered. How could they possibly fight?

The hungry and exhausted group was captured without any resistance.

But when they were brought into the Green Oasis, Jin Yu felt a form of torture—

A rich aroma, like cooking smoke slowly rising in the morning mist, wafted into her nostrils, carrying the unique richness of beef and the fragrance of spices, intertwining into an irresistible temptation.

These people had been hungry for a long time, and their rumbling stomachs protested.

Jin Yu's tears flowed uncontrollably from the corners of her mouth.

They were all Raiders, so why was the gap between people so vast?

She was like a stray dog, scurrying around, gnawing on grass roots, while others comfortably sat under the shade of a tree, slurping beef noodles…

Hmm? No, that's not right!

Where would braised beef noodles come from in the Desert?

So, this uncle's skill is to conjure braised beef noodles?

Damn, how can anyone compete with that? Who could possibly outlive them?

The more Jin Yu thought about it, the more despair she felt, only hoping that this uncle would give her a quick end.

Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man didn't even glance at her, eating his bowl of noodles with such focus, looking as if he hadn't eaten for days.

A short while later, a devastatingly handsome young man walked out from beside him. The middle-aged man stopped squatting and slurping his noodles, almost standing up to salute him.

"You eat. Recover your mental energy. We'll still need your skill."

Cheng Zhen, like an inspecting leader, patted Old Xu's shoulder before turning his gaze to Jin Yu.

Emmm… why is this girl still drooling?

Does this damn game not even spare the vulnerable?

When he looked closely and saw that these people's eyes were practically glued to the bowl, Cheng Zhen understood what was going on.

Well, good. He could seize the initiative again.

He activated his skill, and a large bowl of steaming hot beef noodles appeared in his hand.

Cheng Zhen looked at the eager eyes before him and asked with a smile, "Want to eat?"

Jin Yu hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"I ask, you answer."

Cheng Zhen raised a hand and pointed at Old Xu, spouting nonsense, "His skill can tell if you're lying, so I hope you can be honest."

Old Xu was stunned for a moment, then instantly adopted a fierce expression, "Little girl, if you cooperate, we can give you a way out. But if you tell even one lie, hmph hmph…"

Jin Yu gave a bitter smile. They were all opponents here; what way out could there be?

Never mind. Being a well-fed ghost wouldn't be bad either.

"Ask away. I'm already like this, there's nothing for me to lie about," Jin Yu said, her voice hoarse.

Cheng Zhen: "Are you leading these people to scout? Do you intend to attack here?"

"Attack what? I only have a few people left."

Jin Yu sighed and recounted her experiences.

"…After escaping, because we had no map, we could only pick a direction and go. We relied on it to help us find food along the way."

Jin Yu pointed to the Pencil-tailed Tree Mouse in her arms, "I just didn't expect it to lead me all the way to you."

After listening, Cheng Zhen and Old Xu exchanged glances.

Old Xu thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.

What the girl said didn't sound like a lie. After all, scouts usually sent one or two agile individuals to take a look. Who would bring their entire family and their leader to scout for information?

Moreover, this group looked very weak. Although Old Xu couldn't see the specific values of NPCs, he knew what the 'weakness + fatigue' debuff looked like, and it was exactly how Jin Yu's group appeared now.

If they had been premeditating an attack, they shouldn't have allowed their leader to bring people like this to be easily captured.

Who puts their 'king' at the very front when playing chess?

Old Xu guessed this, but he was still Cheng Zhen's captive, so he couldn't say much and merely cooperated with Cheng Zhen's act.

"But since you formed an alliance, why did he attack you so early? Isn't he afraid that others will unite against him?"

Cheng Zhen asked again.

"The water level of the Green Oasis has dropped. The instance is probably reducing water and food resources, so he acted to ensure his own people could live longer."

Hearing Jin Yu's answer, although Cheng Zhen had already anticipated the instance's despicable nature, he couldn't help but glance at Old Xu twice.

They were both in the Green Oasis, yet others had already discovered the problem, and you've been here so long and still know nothing? What are you even doing?

Old Xu awkwardly averted his gaze. After all, he had only relied on walkthroughs before and wasn't good at discovering new problems…

"Not only that, that fellow Xiao Xi also… also plans to use NPCs as…"

Jin Yu would not help conceal information for the enemy who had harmed her, revealing all the clues she knew.

Upon hearing about the 'Uncle Ba Cultivation Plan,' Cheng Zhen and Old Xu were both dumbfounded, never expecting someone to play so perversely.

After hearing all the information, Cheng Zhen frowned, feeling that this matter was a bit difficult to handle.

Of course, the difficulty certainly wasn't with Jin Yu.

According to the clues she provided, the triangular-eyed man named Xiao Xi had a very high level of physical enhancement, a state that didn't seem achievable with basic potions.

Moreover, from the look of that guy, he seemed quite knowledgeable about the rules of the instance and had planned to betray his allies early on. His skill also sounded quite powerful; Jin Yu had suffered several losses and still couldn't analyze what his tracking skill actually was.

In summary, that guy should be like Baldy and his group from the previous instance, using a [Degrade Card] to 'fish' in lower-level instances.

Cheng Zhen was able to carry in the last instance purely because the Mountain Child was a mechanic-based monster. If it were a one-on-one fight, Cheng Zhen couldn't beat an experienced veteran.

After activating the hidden panel by meeting special conditions, Cheng Zhen had confirmed that if he wanted to achieve the special ending in this instance, he would have to unify the world like Qin Shi Huang. It wasn't just about killing all opponents; he had to make them bow down and join his ranks.

For someone as desperate as Jin Yu, she would agree to clear the instance alive a hundred percent, requiring little effort.

But the veteran named Xiao Xi would most likely not agree. He had subordinates, good condition, skills, and cunning. He could betray allies just to get more food. If he knew about the special ending, it would be strange if he didn't fight to the death.

Unless Cheng Zhen endured him, just like he endured Old Xu, wearing down the opponent until they had no food or water and were on the verge of starvation, only then would there be a chance.

But that guy dared to implement the 'Uncle Ba Cultivation Plan.' Who knew how many people would be left in that tribe by the end? What if in the end there were no people left, or if the leader not surrendering meant the condition wasn't met? Wouldn't Cheng Zhen's desired special ending be ruined?

Many fishermen who have caught big fish find it uninteresting to catch small fish again. Cheng Zhen, who had obtained purple-grade items, genuinely couldn't be bothered with common items like [Ten-Year-Old Dried Cured Meat].

Working hard for a long time only to get some junk, Cheng Zhen wasn't happy about that. He couldn't miss the opportunity to get rare items!

Cheng Zhen's gaze swept over Jin Yu and the tribal Warriors behind her.

Perhaps they could be used for an experiment first? To test how many members of other tribes needed to submit, and whether the leader also needed to surrender to achieve the special condition.

Thus, Cheng Zhen gave Jin Yu a kind smile: "Don't worry, I keep my word. I won't kill you."

Jin Yu looked at that 'nuclear-level' smile and said with a mournful face that she truly believed him.

Then Cheng Zhen turned his head and offered bowls to the NPCs behind Jin Yu:

"Is there anyone among you willing to submit to my Sand Fox Tribe?"

"As long as you are loyal to me, you will no longer be plagued by hunger and thirst!"

The NPCs' eyes widened.

Jin Yu was also dumbfounded.

You're doing this right in front of me?

(*;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) You've got guts! You've got guts!!!