After bidding farewell to Furbollo, Lin Yu continued forward as dawn broke and the snowstorm weakened considerably. Having gained experience throughout the night, Lin Yu's progress became increasingly smooth.
He quickly located the remaining five people at various outposts and successfully negotiated with them. The five additional professions he obtained were:
Enhancement Type 'Postman': The ability to maintain rapid movement regardless of terrain or environmental conditions.
Enhancement Type 'Enforcer': Improved reaction speed and combat technique bonuses.
Information Type 'Chef': Reveals locations and edible preparation methods for ingredients within the dungeon.
Skill Type 'Corporate Drone': Upon activation, enters a calm state that forcibly eliminates all negative emotions.
Rule Type 'Official': Can interpret and supplement a single "rule," altering its effective scope and implementation method.
None of the five people Lin Yu encountered questioned him too severely. Now possessing a full twelve 'Professions,' Lin Yu felt his survival pressure significantly reduced as he bid farewell to the last individual while holding his torch.
With the 'Postman' ability, Lin Yu could run more than twice as fast as before. Combined with the 'Chef' ability, he could directly spot edible items buried beneath the snow. The potatoes buried below... were actually already "cooked" and ready to eat!
To confirm, he observed carefully - whether vegetables or biscuits buried in snow, they all moved slowly, crawling beneath the snow's surface. This suddenly reminded Lin Yu of the initial hint from the map: "Near outposts are signs of wood and biological activity that will provide fuel and food."
Originally, Lin Yu thought this might be some "mislabeling" on the map. Now it appeared... even processed foods like these were actually living creatures! Of course, Lin Yu no longer found this particularly frightening - he'd grown immune to such things.
"At any rate, the first task is mostly complete." Now he just needed to avoid being exposed. Lin Yu didn't anticipate much difficulty here either. When impersonating each different 'Profession' during his deceptions, he had crafted distinct personas and demeanors tailored to each role!
This wasn't just to enhance persuasiveness and make them quickly believe his professional claims. Information exchange between people relying solely on language is inefficient and vague. Even if two people met and discussed the player they encountered last night, they likely wouldn't realize they were talking about the same person.
"A very friendly otaku" and "a teacher with excellent English" wouldn't be connected in their minds. The only common points would be generic traits like being somewhat handsome or not short. Lin Yu would absolutely avoid appearing before two people simultaneously - though given the game's inherent mechanics, this was already something to avoid anyway.
Unless some situation forced everyone to gather together, Lin Yu couldn't imagine how he might be exposed! With these thoughts, Lin Yu returned to his starting point and pulled out the map again. "Next, I should focus on completing the second promotion task."
This second promotion task... undoubtedly connected to all the "suspicious aspects" of this game itself. The unnaturally symmetrical distribution of "outposts" and the perfectly divisible map. NPCs who had "died" long ago yet all seemed identical. Similarly "dead" monsters named 'Chate.' And now, living food.
While other players didn't seem to have noticed yet, treating this as just a 'Survival' dungeon requiring only endurance against cold and caution against "snow monsters," Lin Yu knew better. This dungeon was profoundly abnormal. Though classified as 'Survival,' it seemed to conceal some "bizarre" underlying rules.
"Anyway..." "I should check the center point first." Lin Yu exhaled and looked at the map's "central point," where there happened to be an "outpost." Like the central star point on a Go board, it was impossible to ignore. Though extreme danger might lurk there.
Now bolstered by twelve professions, Lin Yu didn't feel particularly afraid! Moreover, it was daytime with reduced snowfall. Before the second night arrived, Lin Yu wanted to investigate quickly. Such places were best visited early when fully prepared!
After all, knowing something was wrong yet leaving it alone would make sleep impossible. He'd already stayed up all night traveling through snowstorms. Without the 'Otaku's stamina recovery and 'Soldier's enhanced physique, Lin Yu felt he should have collapsed by now.
"Ha—" Lin Yu yawned. "The sooner I uncover the truth, the sooner I can rest..." he muttered, trudging through snow toward the central point.
Comparing the map's terrain markings with other outposts, Lin Yu soon approached the central area. As he neared the center, snow accumulation grew deeper, nearly reaching his waist. Without the 'Postman' ability, he'd be completely immobilized now! But combining 'Postman' with 'Soldier' abilities, plus the ongoing deception effects on NPCs, allowed Lin Yu to maintain decent speed even in heavy snow.
Soon— Lin Yu spotted a small cabin almost completely buried in snow. "Huh..." He exhaled, squinting his eyes. "Definitely different."
After seeing about twenty outposts yesterday, Lin Yu had noticed they all looked basically identical - simple, aged, even somewhat dilapidated wooden cabins containing only basic stoves as furnishings. But this snow-buried cabin, while similarly small with wooden exterior, had some broken planks revealing what lay beneath - some kind of black matte metal.
If the others resembled temporary "wooden shacks," this one... might qualify as a shelter!