The island was vast, and finding all five treasure locations wouldn't be easy. Even if they did, deciding who got the silk scarf would be another problem.
For players paired with NPCs, it was simpler - they just needed to snatch it from the NPC's hands.
But when both were players... this was bound to become a brutal competition.
This was precisely Tian Jianmu's current predicament. After sneaking countless glances at the woman beside him, she finally spoke coolly: "If you have something to say, say it."
He rubbed his nose. "About that silk scarf... how should we split it later?"
Yu Li answered without hesitation: "Rock-paper-scissors. Winner takes all."
But her words gave him a new idea.
His eyes lit up. After glancing at the referee supervising behind them, he cleared his throat.
"Ahem... I wanted to ask - as long as we have the scarf when time's up, that counts, right?"
The referee looked at him and slowly replied: "Correct."
Tian Jianmu's mood improved dramatically, his steps becoming lighter as he scanned their surroundings for treasure locations.
Then something occurred to him, and he eyed the girl suspiciously.
Wait... had Yu Li intentionally given him that idea?
Just as he was about to ask, rustling sounds suddenly came from the bushes around them.
"Wait!" Tian Jianmu hissed, raising his hand to halt their movement as he warily surveyed their surroundings.
Following the noise, his gaze landed on a particular shrub that shook twice before a green figure slowly emerged.
The creature was humanoid yet not human - its body composed entirely of twisting green vines that struggled to maintain balance, covered in sticky green ooze. Faceless, it emitted low growls from within as vine-like limbs dragged it closer.
Tian Jianmu prepared to strike when a familiar cold mechanical voice spoke behind them:
"Now announcing the hunting rules."
"To test participants' teamwork and coordination, each person attacks in turns. During your attack round, the monster will only target the other participant. The defender may only block - attacking during defense constitutes a rules violation."
So they could only attack once before switching?
What kind of absurd rule was this?!
Taking a deep breath, he looked at Yu Li.
Her shadow creature could devour anything - that ability should handle this monster easily. The question was how many times she could use it.
If there were usage limits... they'd be in trouble.
He watched the monster's movements warily, but then it abruptly changed direction - heading straight for Yu Li.
Tian Jianmu froze. He was up first?
His expression hardened as purple lightning gathered in his palm, crackling with energy - just as he prepared to strike, the mechanical voice spoke again:
"Are you certain you want to help her?"
Turning, he saw Referee 11 speaking calmly: "Next round, the monster will attack you. If she doesn't help in return, you're doomed. Consider carefully whether she's a teammate worth trusting before acting."
Tian Jianmu hesitated.
Was Yu Li... trustworthy?
That woman hated their Peace faction, was endlessly tricky, and completely unpredictable.
Narrowing his eyes, Tian Jianmu slowly lowered his hand, giving 11 an inscrutable look.
"You... seem unusually invested for a referee."
Normal referees didn't talk this much - even Bo Jingmo hadn't been this chatty with Yu Li during matches.
With that, he suddenly raised his hand, sending the lightning bolt straight at the vine monster before Yu Li.
BOOM— The creature instantly turned to black ash.
Tian Jianmu calmly retracted his hand.
Besides, if he killed the monster in one hit, Yu Li wouldn't need to act at all.
Watching the disintegrating monster, Yu Li lifted her gaze toward Tian Jianmu.
So his ability was lightning?
[Damn that was cool - one-hit annihilation into ashes!]
[Tian Jianmu's advanced player rank isn't just for show - the man's legit.]
[Why's this referee stirring trouble? Claims it's testing teamwork but clearly wants Tian Jianmu to stand down.]
[And he's especially targeting Yu Li. BS - making our Pear seem shady when she helped Tian Jianmu earlier or he'd have been eliminated already.]
[Wears the same outfit as Bo Jingmo but somehow infinitely more annoying.]
[Not just him - those NPCs too. They were chatting fine with other players until Yu Li showed up, then instantly clammed up.]
[Are they seriously isolating her? Shameless - this segment's about mutual understanding! They ignore her arrival after making her wait.]
[Definitely that yao ghost's doing. Ugh - Bo Jingmo was the one who initiated contact, why target our Pear?]
[Bullying the seemingly weak - can't beat Bo Jingmo so takes it out on Yu Li after their forced cooperation.]
[And after the vine incident? That ghost must be fuming, waiting for payback.]
[If Tian Jianmu can one-shot these, what about others? Their skills... seem pretty useless.]
[Blasphemy! Calling Heavenly Luck useless? You ignorant child!]
[Not that... I meant Yu Jiao.]
[Not necessarily - her skill might seem weak but she's still an advanced player.]
[But what if she draws defense duty?]
[...They're screwed then.]
As fate would have it, Yu Jiao was indeed the defender.
After hearing Bo Jingmo explain the rules, she glared at the approaching monster, then at the motionless Fang Wenlin beside her, her expression darkening.
"Fang Wenlin, attack already!"
The man shook his head fearfully: "N-no, I'm scared too."
Yet a closer look revealed not fear in his eyes, but lifeless stillness.
Yu Jiao gritted her teeth and bought a longsword from the shop for defense.
The problem was Bo Jingmo watching from behind - attacking would mean death by rule violation.
Not attacking meant death by monster.
At this realization, she turned to look back.
The man stood as straight as ever, hands at his sides, his calm eyes showing complete detachment.
Meeting her gaze, he simply repeated tonelessly:
"Do not break the rules."