61: mediator

Due to the one-minute limit, Cheng Zhen couldn't get a detailed understanding of the situation, so he could only point them in the right direction so they could arrive early and rendezvous with him.

Afterward, Cheng Zhen had everyone lead the Warriors towards the No. 3 Oasis.

Cheng Zhen divided the team into three parts: he and Old Xu led two tribes in front. Since the Lesser Spotted Eagle Tribe was currently suffering from poison and injuries, their marching speed was slow, so they could only follow slowly behind.

Jin Yu led her people in the middle of the front and back teams, making it easy to follow Cheng Zhen and also to keep an eye on the Lesser Spotted Eagle Tribe's members to prevent any NPCs with low loyalty from deserting.

The overall marching speed of the group was not slow; the Vulture Chief and some poisoned NPCs were arranged by Cheng Zhen to be carried by others, which did not delay their speed much and even slightly increased the loyalty of those poisoned Warriors.

Seeing the red dots on the map getting closer and closer, Cheng Zhen also perked up, ready to deal with the pursuers the scout mentioned.

"Leader, I see them!"

The Warrior at the very front rushed to report.

From a distance, clouds of dust rose from the dunes, and a group of people were rushing towards them.

After seeing their team, they seemed to be momentarily stunned, because Cheng Zhen's side also had Old Xu's Tribal Warriors, and there were quite a lot of people.

Cheng Zhen contacted them again using long-range communication, and only then did a dozen Sand Fox Tribe members relax and walk towards him.

"Le-leader..."

The scout gasped for breath, almost collapsing.

Cheng Zhen subconsciously glanced at the attribute panel of these few people: hunger, thirst, fatigue, over-exertion... several debuffs had stacked up.

He quickly told them to sit down and rest, then asked about the situation.

The scout drank some water, his throat no longer dry and sore, and he could speak more smoothly.

"Leader, we had a small accident on the way and were delayed a bit before reaching the No. 3 Oasis. Afterward, the Black Eagle Tribe occupying the Green Oasis discovered us as before..."

He seemed to want to elaborate, but he was interrupted—

"If possible, please allow me to explain the situation."

Not far away, the Black Eagle Tribe's leader spoke up.

They had initially kept a slight distance after rushing over, but for some reason, the other tribe's Raiders directly left his tribe and walked over, seemingly unafraid that others would attack him.

The Sand Fox Tribe Warriors around Cheng Zhen subconsciously picked up their weapons, aiming them at this approaching outsider.

Seeing this, the Black Eagle Tribe's leader spread his hands and said, "Don't be nervous, I mean no harm!"

Cheng Zhen observed the last Raiders. He had short hair, healthy wheat-colored skin, and a robust physique that looked very reassuring.

Due to the previous beast skin message, Cheng Zhen was very interested in this person.

He told the surrounding Warriors to put down their weapons, then greeted him: "Hello, what should I call you?"

"Hello everyone, I am Zhou Xing from Official Raiders Group Six, serial number GFS0615. This is my certification badge."

The Short-haired guy's answer surprised Cheng Zhen; he hadn't expected to encounter an Official Raiders right after rejecting Team Leader Men.

Old Xu next to him was even more surprised: "Oh? An Official Raiders? This is my first time meeting one, is it real or fake?!"

Zhou Xing was also stunned, not expecting the two of them to react like they were seeing a rare animal.

To prove his identity, he pulled out a small iron badge on a string from his collar, like a student pulling out their student ID to get on a bus.

He showed the iron badge in his hand to the two of them: "You can check the attributes of the certification badge to confirm my identity."

"This type of certification has a strategy guide on the forum. People who have cleared more than five instances will automatically receive a push notification. I couldn't possibly fake my identity to deceive you."

Old Xu looked embarrassed: "Uh, I always just use [Demotion Cards] for low-risk instances, so I didn't look at that push notification..."

Cheng Zhen spread his hands: "This is my second instance, so I didn't receive a push notification."

"Second?" Zhou Xing was surprised, "Then how did you get matched with this new Versus instance? Normally, most Rookies should enter low-star instances, right?"

Cheng Zhen shrugged: "Because I used a [3★+ Instance Card]."

At these words, the other two were stunned.

No, buddy?

Are you, a Rookie, that brave?

You're already pushing yourself this hard on your second instance?

Old Xu looked at Rookie Cheng Zhen and began to question his life.

Zhou Xing was also so astonished by this 'newborn calf not fearing the tiger' spirit that he didn't know what to say.

While they were both stunned, Cheng Zhen checked the certification badge in Zhou Xing's hand. The badge looked very similar to the one Team Leader Men carried, just a bit smaller in design.

"[Item: ID Badge]"

"[Quality: Excellent]"

"[When carried, Strength, Agility, Constitution increase by 5%]"

"[Note: This item is produced by the guild 'Official Strategy Group', product code: GFS0615.]"

Items with public attributes could be viewed by others. After Cheng Zhen and Old Xu confirmed it, they temporarily believed Zhou Xing's identity.

However, believing was one thing; Cheng Zhen still needed to figure out this person's purpose.

"This beast skin letter, was it from you? You seem to know something about this instance?" Cheng Zhen asked, holding the written beast skin.

"Yes," Zhou Xing, whose thoughts had returned, nodded and began to explain—

"My main job is to serve as a 'mediator.' That is, to minimize the 'internal friction' that occurs between Raiderss in various Versus instances."

" Raiderss exist to conquer dangerous instances and are valuable talents. They should not be buried by their own compatriots because of these damned game rules."

Zhou Xing said with a serious expression: "I am not demanding that you two must obey my will, but the situation in this new instance is quite special. Besides Raiderss, there are other enemies within the instance... And those enemies cannot be fought alone, which is why I sent word to you all."

He then looked at Cheng Zhen again, "However, most of the scouts I sent to deliver messages seem to have failed. The Raiderss within the instance are all very vigilant, and the actions of NPCs are difficult to persuade others."

Old Xu looked at the beast skin, always feeling a bit familiar.

It seemed like his own Warriors had picked up something similar, which he then used to light a fire...

The middle-aged man, afraid of the cold, looked elsewhere, pretending he knew nothing.

Zhou Xing had long anticipated the situation of hitting walls everywhere; the instance rules had turned everyone into porcupines, and the slightest disturbance would cause tension.

Cheng Zhen mused: "You know so much about this instance... did you obtain other people's strategies and intelligence?"

"Yes." Zhou Xing answered frankly, "It was another Raiders from our group. Although he saved a few people with his skills and cleared the instance, his method is not universally applicable. I am currently experimenting with a general solution suitable for everyone, and if you two are willing to cooperate..."

"Uh, I don't think you need to try anymore..." Cheng Zhen scratched his head.

Zhou Xing became a mediator because he didn't want to see compatriots kill each other. Seeing the young man in front of him not believing him, Zhou Xing immediately became a little anxious: "Student, I'm not deceiving you, and this instance is really..."

"No, no, no, I don't disbelieve you."

Cheng Zhen pointed behind him, and Jin Yu and Xiao Xi slowly crested the sand dune, their heads appearing.

"Because other methods, I have already successfully tested."

Zhou Xing: ????