Chapter 79: Testing the Waters
Among the intelligence he'd gathered in the intelligence room over the past two days was a note: multiplayer missions are related to the number of refreshes.
The first default story world is most likely to become a multiplayer instance, and is also very likely to be an instance where the Core Fragment is lost.
The more times the current instance is refreshed, the greater the probability of entering a new single-player story world.
Marcus carefully recalled that the first default Hellraiser world he entered was multiplayer, but perhaps due to its difficulty, its Core Fragment was not obtained by anyone.
He had refreshed the second and third Tomie worlds.
Especially the third Tomie world, which he refreshed a full three times. No wonder the Core Fragment was still there despite the difficulty of that instance; it turned out to be related to the number of refreshes.
Marcus looked around. Besides him, there were two other people in the space.
An old man wearing a black mask, with a short beard and white hair, and his exposed forehead and eyes filled with a sharp awareness, was slowly opening his eyes. Seemingly uncomfortable with the sudden change in light, he slightly shielded his eyes with his hand.
"My name is Old Lamp."
The old man opened his eyes and immediately looked at Marcus, nodding in greeting and introducing himself.
"Doctor,"
Marcus replied, then turned his gaze to the third figure.
It was a petite girl.
She had her eyes closed, seemingly still recovering from the shock of the teleportation.
She had her hair tied in two buns, her long, smooth hair parted into two ponytails on either side, and she wore a pink T-shirt that covered her thighs, with only white knee-high socks on her legs, dressed casually.
While Marcus was observing her, the girl woke up.
"Hahaha, I'm finally in! I'm a participant now! That's great!"
The girl blinked as soon as she woke up, glanced at the surroundings high above her, and instead of being afraid, shouted excitedly.
"You're awake. You're the least disciplined one in our group!"
Marcus's voice rang out calmly. He was carefully observing the girl. From her first sentence, he could tell that she seemed to have just entered the Crossroads and knew a lot about the Crossroads and participants.
But this impulsive personality could very well cause trouble.
According to the information he gathered in the space, the "Competition Mode" caused by the loss of the Core Fragment is essentially a team mode. Several teams have the same mission, but only one team can complete the story mission, and the entire team shares the rewards.
Moreover, teams are not divided according to strength, but according to world factions.
Although this situation might result in 10 people entering a story world, with 9 of them in the same team and the remaining one in another team, no one cares except for that one person.
The Crossroads doesn't care, and neither do the other 9 people.
"Huh, disciplined? Shouldn't it be the one with the worst ability?"
The girl, who was excitedly looking around, paused for a moment upon hearing this and asked in confusion.
"Then it's the one with the worst ability!"
Marcus was testing the girl's attitude, whether she was a spoiled second-generation participant, or a sensible and obedient teammate who could cooperate to complete the mission.
The girl seemed taken aback by his words, as if correcting Marcus hadn't been a good thing. She shrank back and whispered,
"I was just so excited about the invitation that I forgot to bring the items my brother gave me. I'm not lacking anything!"
Was she not angry? And she really was a second-generation participant; her brother must be a participant, though it was unclear whether he was an ordinary one or a Keeper. She just seemed a bit naive; perhaps she was faking it.
"Since you're a newcomer, let me explain."
"You've been chosen by the Crossroads to enter the Crossroads Space. Upon entering the space for the first time, the story world information is deep within your mind. Think about it, and you'll understand."
"You need to experience the story world at least once a month."
Marcus paused here, looking at Old Lamp.
Since it was Competition mode, everyone was teammates, and their backgrounds were still unknown. There was no need to monopolize this part of the survival point explanation.
Moreover, he deliberately paused, letting Old Lamp continue, also wanting to analyze Old Lamp's attitude from his next words.
Old Lamp saw Marcus's gaze and instantly understood that he was sharing the survival point explanation with him.
He initially felt that Marcus had woken up a moment earlier and was probably stronger, so he hadn't planned to compete. However, since the other party was willing to share, he found the doctor in front of him more agreeable.
Someone who could be called a doctor must be a kind and capable person!
Especially since the doctor, despite wearing a mask, exuded confidence and wore tactical gear, inspiring a sense of trust.
"The story world has a main plot. Only by exploring the main plot can you obtain enough survival points to become stronger."
"After completing the plot, you can choose to return to reality or the Crossroads, so don't panic."
This old man, at this point, clearly deliberately omitted explaining that one could complete the basic tasks without exploring the plot.
Marcus secretly guessed that this person was a proponent of action.
If that's the case, then things are much easier!
Hearing this, the girl's eyes brightened, and she replied,
"It's exactly as my brother said! No matter how long you stay in the story world, it's only a moment after returning, right? Everything matches up, hehe!"
As soon as the girl finished speaking, Marcus received a notification from the seal.
"I gained 100 survival points."
"I gained 50 survival points."
"Wow, I also gained 50 survival points!"
Three voices rang out simultaneously.
Marcus and Old Lamp looked at the girl. Could this even be possible? She explained things to herself and then gained survival points.
The little girl felt a little uneasy under their gazes:
"Excuse me, did I steal your survival points? I'll give them back to you when I get out. My name is..."
The girl paused, seemingly thinking about what name she should use.
Looking down at her shirt, she saw a white cartoon sheep printed on the chest and said,
"I'll just call myself Little Sheep!"
"Doctor."
"Old Lamp."
The girl was slow to wake up, so the two introduced themselves again.
"This story world has seven people, and we only have three. I don't know if we've split into two or three teams. What are your thoughts on this story mission?"
Old Lamp glanced at Little Sheep first, then turned to Marcus and asked. It was obvious that he didn't care about Little Sheep, a newcomer, and mainly wanted Marcus's opinion.
Marcus already had a guess about Old Lamp's attitude, but ignoring a teammate who acted rashly would only disrupt his plans.
Therefore, he had to correct Old Lamp before entering.
"Does the old gentleman have any plot information?" Marcus asked, glancing sideways.
"No!"
"Does the old gentleman have the power to eliminate supernatural threats?"
"No!"
"Does the old gentleman have any strategies for planning?"
"No!"
Marcus spread his hands: "Then what else can we do? Hide and wait for the end, for the next opportunity."
"Not taking a gamble?"
Old Lamp's breathing was slightly rapid, imperceptible to ordinary people, but not to Marcus's eyes.
He looked at Marcus with some reluctance. Old Lamp did want the three of them to cooperate to find the plot; if given the chance, he would rather eliminate the people from other worlds.
(End of Chapter)
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