84: Chapter 84: Thank you to the great Mr. Lin Rui for providing us with food in this dungeon.

The four of them stepped through the portal.

After the familiar sensation of dizziness, the scent of sea breeze instantly drifted to the tips of their noses. Salty and damp, with a faint fishy smell, mixed with the scent of sun-baked wooden planks—it was the smell of the sea.

Su Wan subconsciously felt her pocket to confirm she had already taken the seasickness medicine. The experience on the Ghost Ship last time still left her with lingering fears; the swaying deck, the eerie green Light, and the painful memory of vomiting until she was exhausted—thinking about it even now made her stomach churn.

This time she had learned her lesson and swallowed the pill before the Hydra fight; by now, the medicine should have taken full effect.

The four of them opened their eyes, and the scene before them made them breathe a sigh of relief.

This time, it was finally a normal sailing ship.

The white sails billowed in the gentle breeze like a giant, blooming lily. The mast towered into the clouds, and the deck was paved with sun-bleached wooden planks. Stepping on them produced a faint creaking sound—a distinct noise of wood dried by the sun, completely different from the rotting groans of the Ghost Ship.

"A normal sailing ship!" Su Wan cheered, spinning around in place, her skirt fluttering. "Finally, we don't have to ride that crappy Ghost Ship anymore!"

Zhou Wen was clearly experiencing a boat ride in an instance for the first time; he was like a curious cat, tapping and looking at everything.

He patted the mast with his palm, looked up at the towering sails, and ran to the ship's rail to peek at the rolling waves below. The sea breeze messed up his hair, but he didn't care at all, instead revealing a near-childlike expression of excitement.

"So, you can see scenery like this in an instance…" he muttered to himself.

Finally, he pulled out his communication terminal, made a "V" sign at the sea and the sailing ship, and took a few silly selfies.

"Stop taking pictures and come help." Lin Rui shouted at him without looking up.

Zhou Wen put away the terminal and walked over, feeling a bit embarrassed. He found that Lin Rui and Hu Jinsi had already skillfully arrived at the center of the deck. The two of them took out some wooden planks from their backpacks to place on the deck, then retrieved a gas stove, a pot, seasoning boxes, tableware—a whole set of camping equipment—everything was there.

"This is…" Zhou Wen's eyes widened.

"Hot pot." Hu Jinsi said simply, starting to pour water into the pot.

"Eating hot pot in an instance?" Zhou Wen's voice changed pitch.

"What else?" Hu Jinsi raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think I dragged Lin Rui over to help? It was for his wallet and backpack."

Zhou Wen was clearly not used to this pace and asked directly, "Isn't there supposed to be combat? Didn't you introduce before that every so often, skeletons would be thrown onto the ship by seabirds? You guys are way too relaxed, right?"

Su Wan walked over with a smile and pressed Zhou Wen into the seat next to the table. "You still need to get used to the rhythm of this instance. Maybe in a few minutes, you'll understand how we feel."

"But…"

"Just sit and watch."

The first wave of skeletons arrived faster than expected.

A sharp cry suddenly came from above the sea surface, and several seabirds resembling seagulls flew over, flapping their wings, clutching skeletons in their claws. Those skeletons were thrown down from high altitude, falling onto the deck with a clatter like dumplings being dropped into a pot, the bones making a clacking sound as they collided.

A dozen skeletons rolled into a heap on the deck, some hitting the ship's rail, others crushing each other. They wobbled as they stood up, eerie green flames burning in their eye sockets, their bone claws making a harsh, grating sound.

The moment Zhou Wen saw them, he wanted to stand up and join the fight. His hand was already on his staff, and he began to chant spells silently.

But Su Wan held his shoulder and shook her head gently. "Just sit and watch, these skeletons are weak as hell."

Su Wan took a deep breath, crossed her hands over her chest, and began to chant.

Her singing was distant and calm, as if it were coming from a great distance away, or as if it were resonating directly in the depths of everyone's heart. It was an ancient Requiem Chant, the melody simple and melodious, yet it seemed to reach straight to the soul.

As her singing spread, a circle of faint golden Light spread outward from her, quickly enveloping the entire ship.

[Requiem Chant].

Those skeletons that had just climbed up from the ground and hadn't yet had a chance to raise their bone claws froze instantly under the shroud of golden Light. Their skeletons began to tremble, and the eerie green flames in their eye sockets shook violently, like candle flames blown by a gale.

Then, clatter, one after another, they fell apart, turning into piles of broken bones, splashing one by one into the sea.

The whole process took no more than fifteen seconds.

The deck returned to calm, with only a few wisps of golden Light dust slowly drifting in the sunlight.

Zhou Wen was dumbfounded, and it took a while for him to close his mouth. He looked down at the unfinished spell in his hand, then at the empty deck, his expression complex.

"…It's over?" He looked at Hu Jinsi.

"The first wave is over." Hu Jinsi calmly dropped a plate of lamb rolls into the pot. The meat sizzling as it hit the water, the aroma overflowing. "The next wave is in about 20 minutes. What you need to consider now is whether to eat meat or vegetables first."

Alright.

Zhou Wen recalled Su Wan's lethality against undead monsters; he had witnessed it many times in the [Burning Village] instance. At the first boss, the Shadow Mage, swaths of skeleton warriors perished under the effect of [Requiem Chant]. He just didn't expect this move to still be so effective on this ship.

He stopped dawdling, sat next to the pot, and prepared the ingredients with everyone else.

Lin Rui took out various ingredients from his backpack: beef slices, lamb rolls, fish balls, shrimp paste, tofu, cabbage, enoki mushrooms, potato slices, vermicelli, winter melon… filling the table.

Finally, he also took out a bottle of sesame sauce, a bottle of chili oil, a small jar of fermented bean curd, and several pairs of disposable chopsticks, clearly carefully prepared.

"You even have fermented bean curd?" Hu Jinsi's eyes lit up.

"From home, there's half a jar left." Lin Rui handed the jar over.

Hu Jinsi opened the lid, sniffed it, and nodded with satisfaction. "Authentic."

The four of them started eating hot pot. Zhou Wen was a bit reserved at first, but was soon infected by the relaxed atmosphere. He followed Su Wan's example, swishing the lamb roll in the boiling water for three seconds, dipping it in the sesame sauce, and popping it into his mouth.

"Delicious!" His eyes lit up.

"Of course," Lin Rui rarely showed a hint of pride. "This sesame sauce was sent by my mom from our hometown, ground by hand."

"Auntie Lin's sesame sauce is truly top-notch." Su Wan agreed, chewing on a piece of cabbage.

Hu Jinsi, on the other hand, was eating meat and tofu, enjoying himself immensely. He added ingredients to the pot while eating, like a professional hot pot chef, mastering the best timing for each ingredient.

"Boss Lin is generous." Hu Jinsi gave him a thumbs up.

"Shut up and eat." Lin Rui was expressionless, but the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

The skeleton monsters coming every 20 minutes or so felt more like a timer alarm to the four of them at this moment.

Every time a wave came, the four of them knew about 20 minutes had passed, making it easy to judge whether certain ingredients that were hard to cook were done. Potato slices needed one wave of skeletons to become soft and glutinous, enoki mushrooms only needed half a wave, lamb rolls were cooked in three seconds, and shrimp paste needed to float to be considered cooked.

While eating hot pot, Zhou Wen finally asked the question he had been holding in the whole way.

"Why do I feel like your squad's combat style is so different from my previous squad's?"

As soon as this question was asked, the atmosphere at the table shifted slightly. Hu Jinsi put down his chopsticks, glanced at Zhou Wen, and a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"While you are thinking about this question, first you must think about our squad's class composition."

"What could it be," Zhou Wen asked, puzzled. "Soldier, Monk, Bard, they are all very common classes."

"Yes, they are all very common classes." Hu Jinsi nodded. "But they aren't the powerful or clearly defined classes in the conventional sense. Unlike your Mage—Mages have a very clear positioning in every team: control in the early game, and some damage output if capable. Basically, that's everyone's impression of a Mage. You wouldn't disagree with me, right?"

Zhou Wen nodded: "Stereotypes are indeed like that. But what do you mean by what you said?"

Hu Jinsi tapped the three of them at the table with his chopsticks: "Take a look at our composition. We don't have a traditional tank, nor do we have traditional DPS or support roles. Although you can feel that the three of us have our own divisions of labor in combat, these were all figured out over the entire last semester."

"These three classes of ours aren't very popular classes for team building." Hu Jinsi continued. "Soldiers aren't as tanky as Shield Warriors, Monks don't have as high burst damage as Thieves, and Bards aren't as strong in damage output as proper Mages. We are either on the fringes of forming random parties, or we have to huddle together for warmth."

Zhou Wen kept nodding. Hearing this, he understood what Hu Jinsi was saying, but these answers hadn't directly addressed his question.

"And so?" He pressed. "What is the deeper meaning you want to express?"

Hu Jinsi asked back: "Zhou Wen, you are the one with the highest intelligence among us. So please answer me: if you were any one of us, at the very beginning, when three classes were forced to form a squad, how do you think you should break the deadlock?"

Zhou Wen was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously wanted to answer. But when the words reached his lips, he stopped.

Because the first answer that flashed through his mind was the current coordination method of the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad. But when he moved his thoughts away from the three familiar people, "Lin Rui, Hu Jinsi, Su Wan," and only substituted the three basic classes, "Soldier, Monk, Bard," he found that the situation was completely different.

It wasn't that they couldn't move an inch, but their situation in the early stages would definitely not be any more comfortable than his as a Mage.

Soldiers needed to attract aggro, but had no taunt, and no movement skills like Charge; as a tank, they were clearly unqualified. Monks could only scrape with a stick in the early stages, their damage pitifully low. Bards could only watch from the sidelines after casting four spells, basically having no presence.

The more Zhou Wen thought about it, the more his head hurt. He tried to find a solution from his own knowledge base, but every plan was missing something—no healing sustainability, no stable control, no burst output.

He could only shake his head: "I can't imagine how you guys broke the deadlock."

Su Wan smiled and said from the side: "Of course we didn't really break the deadlock. Because the first month after awakening, our performance in the [Blood Moor] was about the same as everyone expected. We couldn't say we were struggling, but we definitely didn't belong to the top of the class."

"We were so slow at fighting monsters back then," Su Wan recalled. "It would take forever to grind down one zombie, and if we ran into an elite monster, we had to walk around it."

Lin Rui continued: "The reason we later made you feel we were different was simply because we found our own path starting from [Goldshire]. It wasn't that simple pull-and-fight style, but flexibly applying our own class characteristics to improve combat efficiency."

"You should still remember," Lin Rui looked at Zhou Wen, "the 'Digging Pits to Trip Pigs' strategy that was all the rage in [Goldshire] was something we implemented and promoted first."

Zhou Wen finally remembered.

"Right, it was indeed you guys who proposed it first." He paused, his expression becoming a bit strange. "Such… a high-efficiency plan."

Hu Jinsi waved his hand dismissively: "It's fine, actually we felt it was a bit too much at the time too. But think about it, our three-person squad back then, dealing with the wild boars in [Goldshire], if we didn't use some means, we could only hack at them one by one. That efficiency would have fallen far behind."

"As a mage, you could cast [Grease] under a pack of wild boars to stop them from moving, then throw some Alchemist's Fire to roast them. But what about us back then? Su Wan is a Bard, she definitely couldn't cast [Grease]. So, we had to find a way to simulate that effect."

"In the end, we had to rely on digging pits to achieve it." Hu Jinsi chuckled, "Fortunately, Lin Rui's class is Soldier, and digging pits could barely count as a type of fortification, so our plan succeeded."

"That's why in later battles, we always thought about how to maximize our class characteristics to resolve fights, rather than using conventional methods." Hu Jinsi summarized, "After all, conventional solutions are prepared for standard Tank-DPS-Healer compositions."

"Even if other squads have variations, they can at least try to approximate the Tank-DPS-Healer approach. But for us, 80% of the problems couldn't be solved through conventional Tank-DPS-Healer methods, so we had to figure it out ourselves."

"Actually," he changed the subject, "If it were other specialized fixed squads, they would also have their own ways of handling things. For example, if the Gunpowder Squad faced a Wyvern, I bet they could turn its wings into a sieve before it even took off, making it unable to fly at all. They would turn an air-to-ground battle into a ground-to-ground skirmish."

"And us?" Hu Jinsi pointed at Lin Rui, "We have a carry."

Zhou Wen nearly choked on the fish ball in his mouth.

Hu Jinsi finally looked at Zhou Wen, his expression becoming a bit more serious: "You don't need to learn these messy tactics from us. You are a mage yourself, and the ways for a mage to deal with various enemies have already been summarized in great detail by everyone. You just need to follow the standard answers, deepen your own characteristics in combat, and that's enough. There's no need to be like us."

Zhou Wen didn't eat much during this dinner; he spent most of the time thinking.

Between conventional combat methods and the specialized combat style of the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad, which one is better? He didn't know the answer, but he knew that at least in this dungeon, the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad's method was more effective.

During the meal, three or four waves of skeletons arrived one after another. But every time the skeletons hadn't even fully boarded the ship, they were sent into the sea by Su Wan's [Requiem Chant]. The battles always started in silence and ended in silence.

Since Su Wan could handle the first half of the skeletons by herself, Lin Rui and Hu Jinsi discussed it and decided to take a nap first. They would wake up once Su Wan finished off the skeletons. The later battles wouldn't need Su Wan, so she could rest ahead of time.

Su Wan had no objections to this plan and sent Lin Rui and Hu Jinsi off to rest.

The two found a sheltered spot and dozed off against the ship's railing. The sea breeze blew in gusts, the sound of waves was faint, and the sunlight spilled warmly onto them, making one feel drowsy.

When Lin Rui was awakened, the sky had already turned completely dark.

The night sky was filled with stars, a crescent moon hung in the horizon, and silvery Light fell upon the sea, shimmering like shattered silver.

Su Wan cast [Light] on Lin Rui and Hu Jinsi, and the pale white glow enveloped them, illuminating a small area around them. Then she ignored the two, returned to her resting spot, pulled out a sleeping bag from her backpack, and prepared to take a nice little nap.

"The rest is up to you." After saying that, she crawled into her sleeping bag.

Lin Rui and Hu Jinsi were clearly not in a hurry, because they knew the Elite Murlocs wouldn't arrive until at least half an hour after the skeletons ended. The two got up leisurely, not rushing to warm up, but instead made some hot water and brewed a cup of coffee to warm their stomachs and refresh their spirits.

The aroma of coffee drifted in the night breeze, carrying a hint of bitterness. Occasionally, fish jumped out of the water on the distant sea surface, flashing silver before quickly disappearing back into the water. Above the firmament, the Milky Way spanned across—a scene absolutely impossible to see in the city.

"It's so quiet." Zhou Wen said softly.

"It won't be quiet once the Murlocs come up." Hu Jinsi smiled, "Enjoy it while you can."

Hu Jinsi noticed that Zhou Wen hadn't rested yet and was sitting by the ship's railing, staring blankly at the night sky. The moonlight outlined his thin profile, making his skin look even paler than during the day.

"You should hurry up and rest like Su Wan," Hu Jinsi advised, "Lin Rui and I can handle the upcoming battles."

Zhou Wen shook his head: "I want to watch and observe the combat style of these Elite Murlocs. After all, I can't stay with you in this dungeon for long, and I don't want to easily pass up the opportunity to get firsthand observation data."

Seeing his determined attitude, Hu Jinsi didn't insist further. Having an extra person to help wasn't a bad thing.

It wasn't until Lin Rui finished his third cup of coffee that the first batch of Murlocs slowly jumped onto the ship.

But unlike last time, there were actually four of them that jumped up this time.

Hu Jinsi and Lin Rui exchanged a glance and frowned at the same time.

"Four?"

"It was three last time." Lin Rui said in a low voice.

Clearly, it wasn't a miscount because of the darkness. There could be many variables: the squad size was different, the ship was different, and the time on the ship was also different. There was no way to rule out these factors for now, but fortunately, even with four, these Murlocs weren't too big of a problem.

The battle broke out quickly.

Lin Rui stood at the very front with his shield, attracting the Murlocs' attention. His shield shimmered with a cold Light under the moonlight, and every Block emitted a crisp metallic clashing sound. The Murlocs' sharp claws left scratches on the shield's surface, but they could never break through his defense line.

Hu Jinsi circled around to the flank, his long staff striking in succession with the sound of wind, each blow accurately hitting the Murlocs' joints. A triple [Flurry of Blows] was launched, and the staff shadows wove into an impenetrable net in the night sky. The Murlocs that were hit let out sharp hisses, their figures stumbling.

Zhou Wen stood in the distance, his hands quickly forming seals. The 2nd-level spell [Shattering Sonic Wave] was released from his palms, and the massive sound wave exploded in the night sky, knocking two Murlocs flying backward, crashing heavily against the ship's railing. Immediately after, three [Magic Missile] spells were fired in succession, the pale blue Light orbs trailing behind, automatically tracking and hitting the Murlocs' vital points.

"Nice coordination." Hu Jinsi shouted to Zhou Wen while fighting.

Zhou Wen didn't reply, focusing on spellcasting. But he smiled unconsciously.

Over an hour passed, and three waves of Elite Murlocs were dealt with. During this time, Zhou Wen gradually figured out the Murlocs' attack patterns: they mainly relied on agile movements and sharp weapons, having no special skills, but when their numbers increased, they would coordinate with each other to form pincer attacks.

After the third wave of Murlocs disappeared into motes of Light, no loot chest appeared.

"There's a fourth wave." Hu Jinsi said.

Sure enough, after another half hour, four Elite Murlocs jumped onto the ship again. After finishing off these enemies, the loot chest finally appeared where the Murlocs had vanished.

It was already past 10 PM. Hu Jinsi quickly collected the items from the chest and urged Lin Rui and Zhou Wen to go rest immediately.

The two didn't decline any further; after all, it was getting late, and they had to continue their day of mountain climbing the next morning.

The next morning, Zhou Wen was awakened by the aroma of food.

He climbed out of his sleeping bag, initially confused as to why the "bed" was swaying, but then he immediately woke up, realizing he had slept on the boat last night. The sea breeze blew in through the gaps in the tent, carrying the coolness unique to the early morning.

Looking up, Hu Jinsi was using a gas stove to boil a pot of fragrant wontons.

The pot also contained instant noodles, eggs, seaweed, and preserved vegetables. Although he didn't know what school of culinary combination this was, the aroma emitted by the food still gave Zhou Wen a huge appetite.

The wontons rolled in the boiling water like little chubby elves. The aroma of instant noodles and the umami of the seaweed mixed together, greatly whetting one's appetite.

"Awake?" Hu Jinsi didn't even look up, "Wash up and get ready to eat."

"This pot of stuff..." Zhou Wen leaned in to sniff, his expression complicated, "Can it be good?"

"You'll know once you taste it." Hu Jinsi ladled a bowl and handed it to him, "When I was in Daibei City, there was an old lady selling this at the entrance of the Wandering Isle dungeon. I ate it a few times and learned how to make it when I got back."

"You know how to cook?" Zhou Wen was a bit surprised.

"Only this." Hu Jinsi confessed, "And strictly limited to throwing ready-made ingredients into a pot and boiling them. I can't make complex dishes."

Zhou Wen took the bowl with half-belief, blew on the steam, and cautiously took a sip of the soup.

Then his taste buds gave him an extremely excellent evaluation.

"...Delicious."

Zhou Wen got up and found that the boat had reached the edge of the beach, with the bottom slightly grounded on the sand. The waves gently slapped against the ship's railing, making a rhythmic sound. Sure enough, Hu Jinsi's plan was as reliable as ever. One night of rest had brought them to the starting point of the sixth stage.

After washing up, Zhou Wen returned to the deck. Hu Jinsi handed over a bone staff.

"This is one of the drops from last night." He said, "The remaining drop is a shield, which has already been given to Lin Rui."

Zhou Wen took the staff, and upon holding it, he could feel a damp chill, as if he were holding a stone just fished up from the seabed.

[Tide-Caller Bone Staff]

[Type: Implement / Short Staff]

[Cantrip Augmentation: When the wielder casts a cantrip with a "Water" or "Cold" descriptor, its range is increased by 3 meters.]

[Tide Call: As an action, summon a damp area (1.5-meter radius) on a dry surface within 10 meters, lasting for 1 minute. Creatures entering this area are considered to be entering difficult terrain. 1 Charge. Recharge time: 6 hours.]

[Item Description: A short staff polished from the spine of a large fish, with a phosphorescent bead that still emits a faint blue Light embedded at the top. The staff body is carved with sloppy wavy incantations, and holding it in hand, one can feel a damp chill.]

Zhou Wen was very satisfied with this staff.

Mages actually have quite a few cantrips related to "Water" or "Cold," such as [Ray of Frost], [Four-Element Method], [Control Water], and [Frostbite]. These are just public cantrips; those niche schools and factions might also have some secret cantrips. With this staff, his cantrip range will be greatly increased, and his flexibility in combat will also increase.

"Before eating," Hu Jinsi suddenly put down the spatula, pressed his hands together, and looked solemn, "We need to perform a ritual."

Everyone seemed a bit confused.

"Let us thank the great Mr. Lin Rui," Hu Jinsi's voice was as solemn as a prayer in a church, "for bestowing upon us the food in this dungeon. Praise Lin Rui!"

Lin Rui, who was beside them, was quite embarrassed by this goofy act, his face turning red; he held his bowl, not knowing whether to put it down or continue eating.

As for Su Wan, she was laughing so hard she was doubled over, nearly unable to hold the bowl in her hand. She had to place it on the deck and then lay on the deck to continue laughing wildly, her shoulders shaking.

Zhou Wen looked a bit at a loss, clearly unaware of the inside story between the three that he didn't know about.

Lin Rui found a way to step down, taking the opportunity to explain to Zhou Wen: "It's mainly because I took too much equipment in the last dungeon, so I promised to cover all food expenses for this dungeon. This includes last night's hot pot, as well as the food for this morning and the next few meals, all of which were prepared in advance. That's why they have this way of making fun of me."

He paused and added: "Right, yesterday's drops weren't just this short staff of yours; there was also a Light shield. That shield is with me now; do you need it? If you do, you can take it first."

As he spoke, he showed Zhou Wen the attributes of that shield.

[Shipwrecked Helm Shield]

[Type: Light Shield]

[Defense Bonus: +2]

[Disarm Jam: When you are hit by a melee attack, you can cause the attacker's weapon to become jammed between the shield's spokes. If the attacker's Strength is not greater than yours, their weapon is temporarily disarmed.]

[Restriction: Disarm Jam can be safely used once per day; excessive use carries the risk of damaging the shield.]

[Item Description: A wooden round shield made from the broken helm of a ghost ship. The edges are reinforced with rusted iron rings, and a skull fragment bleached by seawater is embedded in the center. A broken spoke remains on the shield face, which can be used to jam an opponent's weapon.]

Zhou Wen knew exactly why the three of them hadn't immediately handed it to him the moment he read the shield's description.

Given his Strength, unless he was facing a Slime, he wouldn't be able to jam the weapons of most monsters at the same level. This shield was basically useless to him, and the key point was that it looked ugly—the skull fragment embedded in the center gave people goosebumps just looking at it.

But clearly, Zhou Wen was concerned about something else.

He quietly tugged on Lin Rui's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Then, can I sponsor the food for next week's instance?"

"Huh?" Lin Rui looked at him with surprise. "I've never heard of someone proactively offering to sponsor food."

Zhou Wen said somewhat bashfully, "Well... mostly just to thank you all for thinking of me first this time and giving me a hand. Also, I have a small request. I wonder if you could consider it?"

"What request?" Hu Jinsi, who had also leaned over, asked with curiosity.

Seeing that everyone's attention was on him, Zhou Wen gathered his courage and said, "Since the squad is currently four people, there should still be one safe slot left without increasing the instance's difficulty. Since Su Wan asked Liu Betti before and she doesn't plan to clear this instance for the time being, can I recommend a friend to join?"

"I know you all don't plan on clearing this instance for too long, so I just want to bring him in to learn the strategies together. That way, if you all clear other instances later, the two of us can continue to lead friends to fight in this instance."

The squad members exchanged glances; clearly, they hadn't expected this to be the request Zhou Wen was making.

Hu Jinsi didn't think much about it and answered directly, "Of course, that's no problem. Whether it's 4 people or 5 people, it doesn't matter. One more person means one more source of strength, and besides, the monsters in this instance are no longer difficult for us."

He changed the subject, "But the friend you bring needs to solve the transportation issue first."

"No problem!" Zhou Wen quickly promised. "I will convince him to buy his own transportation. Anyway, he has a bit of a nest egg, so buying an all-terrain vehicle should be enough. If it's not enough, I can lend him some first."

"The second issue," Hu Jinsi continued, "You currently only have four 1st-level spell slots. Adding another person makes it a 5-person squad. Although I don't need the buff from [Longstrider], if all four spells are used up, there won't be any room for error when traveling."

"So, he must be required to follow commands and cooperate," Hu Jinsi's expression became serious. "I don't want the rhythm of the entire team to be disrupted because someone acts on their own."

"That's no problem," Zhou Wen nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. "He is very obedient and won't mess around. Also, for the [Minotaur Double-Edged Battle Axe] we obtained in this instance, could we not sell it immediately after leaving? I want to ask him first, because my friend's class is a variant of the Barbarian, and he might be interested in pole-arm battle axes."

Lin Rui nodded. "That's no problem, we're all acquaintances. If funds are really tight, we can sell it to him at a friendly price, or just deduct the corresponding share from his future instance earnings."

Zhou Wen nodded quickly, his expression clearly much more relaxed, and he even smiled.

For the remaining time, they ate breakfast and then continued their journey to the sixth level.

Before acting, the four of them put their heads together. Hu Jinsi said, "This time is a bit different from last time. We won't stop midway; we'll run straight from the beach to the foot of the cliff."

"Su Wan, you don't need to cast [Spider Climb] on everyone for now; it's useless on the beach. In a moment, just have Zhou Wen cast [Longstrider] on the three of us. Lin Rui doesn't need it; his all-terrain vehicle is fast enough on its own. Lin Rui will lead the way, and the three of us will follow behind. In any case, we won't stop until we reach the foot of the cliff."

Zhou Wen raised his hand and asked, "Why?"

Su Wan tugged on his sleeve and said, "You didn't come with us last week, so you don't know. The monsters on this stretch of beach are only Harpies and Gnolls. Gnolls are ranged attackers and might not be able to catch up to us, but the Harpies will chase us the whole way."

"The key issue is," Su Wan lowered her voice, her expression becoming somewhat gritted-teeth, "Harpies are too poor. So far, apart from feathers, we haven't gotten anything from Harpies. And when we went to sell the Harpy feathers last week, they only sold for two credits each. Just think about it, what a stingy monster this is."

"Two credits?" Zhou Wen's eyes widened.

"Two credits," Su Wan confirmed. "It's not even enough to buy the cheapest healing potion."

Hearing this, Zhou Wen understood.

It wasn't that the enemies were hard to fight, but that they were disliked. This was the first time he had heard in an instance that monsters were disliked because they were "too poor."

After preparing, the group headed straight along the beach towards the cliff.

Before setting off, Su Wan cast [Longstrider] on Hu Jinsi, Zhou Wen, and herself respectively. A pale green Light enveloped the three people's legs, and a feeling of lightness rose from the soles of their feet, as if every step could cover a greater distance than usual.

"Keep up," Lin Rui mounted his all-terrain vehicle and twisted the throttle, "Don't fall behind."

The engine roared, and the all-terrain vehicle rushed out like an untethered beast. The wheels kicked up a sky full of yellow sand, like a giant yellow dragon churning on the beach. The roar of the engine echoed in the sea breeze, startling flocks of seabirds.

Although it meant the three people following behind were somewhat likely to eat sand, it also provided them with plenty of cover. After all, with Lin Rui as such a big target in front, no one would notice the "three little ones" in the sand behind him.

Su Wan and Zhou Wen flew low on magic brooms, the tails of the brooms sweeping less than half a meter above the sand, leaving two thin trails of air. Hu Jinsi, relying on [Unarmored Movement], ran rapidly across the sand, his figure as Light as a dragonfly skimming across the water, leaving shallow footprints with every step, which were immediately smoothed over by the sea breeze.

It was a seemingly short stretch of beach, but it still took the four of them half an hour to reach the entrance of the mountain trail.

Next, they definitely had to deal with the batch of Harpies and Gnolls following behind them.

The four of them stopped, turned, and prepared for battle. A cloud of sand rose behind them, and vaguely, more than a dozen dark shadows could be seen approaching rapidly—there were Gnolls running on the ground, and Harpies flying at low altitude. Their shrieks rose one after another, like a pack of hyenas that had smelled blood.

"Zhou Wen, you fall back," Hu Jinsi quickly organized the tactics, "Lin Rui, take the front and attract the Gnolls; Su Wan and I will handle the Harpies."

"Understood."

The battle soon broke out. The Gnoll archers nocked arrows and fired, the arrows whistling through the air, but most were blocked by Lin Rui's shield. He was like a moving fortress, advancing step by step, drawing all the Gnolls' firepower onto himself.

The Harpies dove from the air, their sharp claws flashing with cold Light. Su Wan's [Shattering Sonic Wave] blasted towards them, sending one Harpy flying backward, feathers scattering in the sky. Hu Jinsi leaped up, his long staff precisely striking the base of another's wing; the Harpy let out a miserable shriek and stumbled onto the sand.

From a distance, Zhou Wen cast [Magic Missile]. Three balls of Light automatically homed in, hitting the abdomen of a diving Harpy. It let out a mournful cry, fell to the beach, and dissipated into points of Light.

The final result was indeed as Su Wan had told Zhou Wen. The chasing Gnolls would at least give them some face, dropping some white-grade bows and arrows—although they weren't worth much, they were at least something.

But those Harpies, honestly, each one only dropped a few feathers after death. The average profit from eliminating one Harpy was only 10 credits, not even as good as skeletons. Skeletons at least dropped a few bones that could be taken to the alchemist to trade for some pocket change.

Zhou Wen did some mental math. The magic crystal for his magic broom cost 50 credits per hour. If he happened to be in an instance full of Harpies, he would have to pay out of pocket for quite a few credits after finishing the instance.

This absurd cost-performance ratio made Zhou Wen develop an instinctive disgust for Harpies. Looking at the colorful feathers on the ground, he didn't even have the interest to pick them up.

Clearly, this first-time experience left an indelible mark on him. For a long time afterward, Harpies were listed by him as his most hated enemy, bar none.

During the post-battle cleanup phase, Zhou Wen relentlessly searched the corpses of every Harpy that hadn't yet dissipated into Light, hoping to find something valuable.

Feathers.

Still feathers.

Nothing but feathers.

"I don't believe it..." He gritted his teeth while rummaging through the last Harpy's corpse, trying to pluck every single one of its feathers, "There should be something else, right?"

The result disappointed him.

Zhou Wen counted the feathers in his hand, twenty-three in total. According to the market price of two credits per feather, this battle earned him forty-six credits.

And his magic crystal consumption cost was fifty credits.

A net loss of four credits.

"..." Zhou Wen was silent for a long time, then raised his head and looked at Su Wan with an expression of near despair, "I can understand now why you all hate them."

Su Wan sympathetically patted his shoulder: "Welcome to the world of the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad. Here, poor monsters are more terrifying than powerful monsters."

Hu Jinsi laughed so hard he couldn't straighten his back.

Lin Rui quietly tidied up the loot, bundling the white-grade bows and arrows together, preparing to sell them to the recycler after returning to the city. Although they weren't worth much, they were still much better than the Harpies' pitiful few feathers.

"Let's go," Hu Jinsi stopped laughing and patted the sand off his body, "The enemies on the mountain are still waiting for us."

The four of them organized their equipment and looked at the towering cliff in the distance. The morning Light fell on the ridge, dyeing it golden. That was today's destination and the most challenging level in this instance.

But at this moment, after experiencing the "economic blow" of the Harpies, the four of them felt much more relaxed—at least they didn't have to worry about such stingy monsters anymore.

"Let's go." Hu Jinsi waved his hand.

The four of them stepped onto the mountain trail.