Facing Zhong Mu, Li Mo smiled and pretended to attack him. Zhong Mu immediately retaliated, showing off his bravery in driving away the monster in front of the players.
He only meant to pretend, but Li Mo took it seriously.
In a flash, the sharp axe swung across, severing Li Mo's arm. The arm fell to the ground and transformed into a writhing, black tentacle, startling Zhong Mu so much that his face turned pale and he froze in place.
Li Mo first intimidated the players, then covered his arm, which was dripping with black blood, and walked away, perfectly befitting a monster that had been driven away. But Zhong Mu was still frozen in place, staring at the writhing tentacle on the ground in a panic.
Oh no, I accidentally cut off one of the big boss's tentacles. Will he hold a grudge?
He was still frozen in place, but the players were excited and went up to Zhong Mu to express their gratitude, "Thank you! Thank you! We didn't expect there to be monsters on the island during the day. We thought we were going to be wiped out!"
"I finally found an underground hideout and survived the night, but I didn't expect there to be monsters coming up. My heart almost stopped."
"This dungeon is so dangerous... It's even more dangerous than the last one. They said the newbie survival dungeon would be easy."
Everyone is indeed a newbie, and the first thing to learn in the dungeon is self-preservation. Finding a reliable veteran to rely on among the newbies is the best way to protect yourself.
Having props and weapons, and not being afraid of monsters at all, this guy must be a pro!
Zhong Mu snapped out of his daze and reassured everyone, "It's alright, the monster is gone."
As he spoke, he turned around, picked up the tentacles from the ground, and put them into his storage space, already thinking about how he would kowtow and beg for forgiveness later.
The players stared blankly as Zhong Mu picked up the monster's tentacle, somewhat dumbfounded. "Boss... why are you picking that up?"
"That's a monster's arm! How terrifying!"
"Yeah, why would you pick this up?"
Under the players' staring gazes, Zhong Mu said with a straight face and a serious expression: "Collectible."
Players gasped in shock. A player who collects monster limbs as collectibles must be an incredibly powerful and abnormal player!
The players instantly became enthusiastic.
"Excuse me, but how many dungeons have you cleared?"
Zhong Mu glanced at the comments on the screen and lied without changing his expression, "Ninety-odd people, brought in newcomers, but the newcomers ran off and got lost during the day, and we're looking for them on the island."
Upon hearing the completion record, the players' eyes lit up. "A high-level player! We actually encountered a high-level player in this dungeon!"
"Hey boss, are you looking for new recruits? Could you mentor me?"
"How lucky to run into a pro in this dungeon!"
Among the enthusiastic players, there were bound to be a few who still had doubts: "Did you really complete that many levels? It doesn't look like it to me. You're lying."
Zhong Mu looked up at the few players standing at the very end who exuded a strong sense of hostility. They were clearly survival players who focused on robbery, and they didn't easily rely on or trust others. It was normal for them not to believe.
"I look pretty weak too, are you just pretending to be a big shot?"
"Where would we encounter a high-level player in the nineties in such a low-level dungeon, especially one who is bringing a newbie? High-level players know very well that newbies are the most troublesome, and bringing them along will only get in the way. So it's impossible for a high-level player to bring a newbie into such a low-level dungeon."
"Yeah, real pro players don't mentor newbies. You're not a pro, are you?"
Amidst a few sarcastic remarks, the live chat exploded with anger. Aren't they just remotely mentoring the newcomer?
Zhong Mu stared at them, deep in thought.
He was questioned and looked down upon. How would Brother Xiu react in this situation?
Only by simulating a real big shot can you achieve the most realistic counterattack effect.
He remained silent for a few seconds, staring intently at the group. Under their gazes, he silently tightened his grip on the axe in his hand and said slowly and coldly, "Whether I'm real or not, you'll know if you come and try."
The players instantly wiped the smiles off their faces. If the other player was truly a high-level player, they would be doomed if they went head-to-head with him. They might make sarcastic remarks, but they really didn't dare to gamble with their lives.
Seeing that the players remained silent, Zhong Mu narrowed his eyes, "If you don't come over, I'm going over there myself."
He stepped forward, and the player trembled instantly, his face turning pale as he denied it, "I just couldn't believe there would be high-level players in this dungeon. Everyone says the probability of encountering them is very low... so I had some doubts... please don't be angry, boss."
"Yes, yes...it's normal to have doubts...we didn't mean anything against you..."
Their eyes darted away, not daring to confront Zhong Mu head-on.
Zhong Mu didn't say anything, he just stared at them.
A big shot should have a big shot's attitude, that kind of arrogance that comes from having power above others. Even if the other party admits their mistake, they can't be let off easily! Put on a show first! Put some pressure on them!
Zhong Mu's coldness made the scene momentarily awkward, and the atmosphere became extremely heavy.
Those few stubborn players were terrified under Zhong Mu's watchful gaze. This big shot didn't say anything, just stared at them, as if killing or not killing was entirely up to him. The tense and heavy atmosphere made them break out in a cold sweat.
I don't want to struggle through several dungeons, avoid being killed by monsters, only to be mocked by a passing veteran who then gets upset and kills me, right? No way!
Several players who used foul language now wish they could slap themselves a few times.
Beneath Zhong Mu's expressionless face, however, lay a hint of anxiety.
Why isn't anyone giving them a way out?! If someone could step in and smooth things over, they could just let it go! Hurry up!
Finally, in the tense atmosphere, someone timidly and cautiously muttered, "Why don't you just let them off the hook, Boss? They were blind and accidentally offended you. Just apologize and don't take it to heart."
This big boss looks cold and has a very strange aura. One moment he seems approachable, and the next he suddenly turns icy. They are afraid that if the big boss gets unhappy, he might kill a few people and leave, which would mean they won't be able to curry favor with him anymore.
Yin Xiu should have just sneered, ignored them, and turned to leave, but Zhong Mu couldn't. His imitation was enough to serve as a deterrent; the next step was to keep them there.
"Fine, I'll let you off this time as a favor to my friend." He acted like a butcher who had reformed and was now eating vegetarian food, but the players had never seen a high-level player before, and they thought that all the big shots were like this, so they didn't take it to heart and were glad that the tense situation had eased.
The comments flew by at high speed, praising the message repeatedly.
"This Xiu-ge imitator is spot on! Even if he only captured five-tenths of Xiu-ge's aura, it would be enough to impress people!"
"Hahaha, it's really Brother Xiu here. He's even scarier than the one he was pretending to be. Brother Xiu's cold face is truly terrifying..."
"Zhong Mu is a good lad; we weren't wrong about him back then. He's a promising talent."
"His acting is also quite good. No wonder he's been close to Brother Xiu; he's really good at it!"
Seeing that the player base had no doubt about Zhong Mu's identity, their plan became much easier.
The next step involves falsifying identities and engaging in false advertising.
Under the influence of the Ye family's true teachings, the people in this small town, all veteran players, were able to skillfully and quickly devise a series of ways to coax people.
They know how to protect themselves, how to fight back, how to deceive, and how to threaten. The town is united and friendly, with simple and honest folk customs. They don't forcibly steal anything from other players in the dungeon.
If we put this group of people together in reality, they would all have some criminal records.