Upon hearing this, everyone followed the Burly Man's line of sight and saw a three-story wooden lodge faintly visible, half-hidden within the lush, dense forest.
As they drew closer, they discovered it was an abandoned lodge.
Xu Xi observed that the sign hanging outside the lodge had been worn down by ti, making the specific characters on it illegible. However, he had a similar premonition to the Burly Man: the the of this instance was absolutely tied to this abandoned lodge.
It wasn't just the two of them. The other three also had the sa thought upon seeing this lodge.
"Should we go in?" The short-haired girl, who had been walking for a long ti without rest and whose physique wasn't particularly strong to begin with, was now struggling to regulate her rapid breathing. She subconsciously pushed up her glasses, which had slid down to the tip of her nose, and asked in a small voice.
"We've walked so long and only just seen a lodge. Even if there's no one, we should go in and investigate," the Refined Man said unhurriedly.
"Who goes in first?" the short-haired girl blurted out.
But she regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth.
Although they had to uncover clues related to the instance and find a way to clear it, none of them were novices experiencing their first instance.
Every instance held dangers of varying degrees, both overt and covert. Who knew what the situation inside this lodge was? No one wanted to be the first one to step forward.
The short-haired girl, fearing that her speaking up might lead the others to push her in to be the first cannon fodder, moved closer to the other woman in the team out of fear.
The High-Ponytailed Woman gave her a faint, indifferent glance, her expression cold.
No one responded. The short-haired girl bit her lip, her heartbeat gradually quickening, her palms breaking out in a cold sweat from fright.
Right at that mont, a sudden clap of thunder bood across the sky. A silvery-white lightning bolt tore through the horizon, followed imdiately by a torrential downpour.
The rain ca without warning, instantly drenching everyone to the bone.
They certainly couldn't take shelter under a tree; they didn't want to get struck by lightning.
Gritting his teeth, the Burly Man said, "Let's go, everyone in together!"
Since no one wanted to be the first to enter, and they couldn't stay outside getting soaked forever, they might as well all go in together.
Even if there was danger inside the lodge, whoever got hit first would just be unlucky.
Xu Xi naturally understood the implied aning, glancing subtly at the Burly Man's back.
The ti was short, but the journey had been enough for him to make a preliminary judgnt of his teammates' personalities.
The Burly Man had a hot-tempered and dominant personality, having naturally and unquestioningly taken on the team's leadership from the very beginning.
The Refined Man also wanted to be the team leader. However, after suffering a setback from the Burly Man, he had temporarily given up. He didn't seem to hold the slightest resentnt towards the Burly Man, but Xu Xi felt he was just bottling up that frustration.
The High-Ponytailed Woman remained aloof and indifferent. Like him, she neither voiced opinions nor joined conversations, being one of the only two silent mbers of the team. Xu Xi found her sowhat inscrutable.
Finally, the short-haired, bespectacled girl's temperant was sowhat similar to Li Kang's from the last instance. She spoke in a small voice every ti, but her experience seed greater than Li Kang's.
In short, this ti's teammates were not to be underestimated.
He didn't know how many instances these four had experienced, but it probably wouldn't be fewer than his own.
While Xu Xi was lost in these thoughts, the others did not object to the Burly Man's command either.
They all understood the Burly Man's additional implication and agreed with the move.
The one who breathed the biggest sigh of relief was, of course, the short-haired, bespectacled girl.
After all, if everyone entered together, even if there was danger, whoever encountered it could only be considered unfortunate, their fate unlucky. One could only bla their own bad luck.
As for a total party wipe... The instance had just started not long ago; it probably wasn't that extre yet.
Harboring similar thoughts, everyone cautiously stepped through the lodge's main door.
Behind them, the rain not only didn't lessen but grew even heavier.
Xu Xi looked back thoughtfully at the pouring rain outside the door, feeling that the instance was deliberately guiding them.
Shaking off the thought in his mind, he began following his teammates to observe the lodge's interior environnt.
However, the sky outside was gloomy and overcast, making the inside of the lodge exceptionally dark and blurry.
The sound of the pouring rain outside broke the indoor silence. The group carefully paused for a mont, and seeing no opening ambush, they dispersed slightly.
Xu Xi was just barely trying to discern directions when he suddenly heard a "click" sound.
A cluster of fla abruptly ignited ahead.
Xu Xi looked over in surprise and saw the Refined Man standing by what seed to be the front desk, holding a candlestick in his hands.
Clearly, he had lit a candle, making the interior a bit brighter.
Seeing everyone's gaze fall on him, the Refined Man showed no discomfort and explained gently, "I was just trying to find the light switch for this lodge, but I couldn't find it. Fortunately, I discovered candles and a lighter on the counter, so I lit one. It'll do for so light."
The Burly Man had a hot-tempered and dominant personality, having naturally and unquestioningly taken on the team's leadership from the very beginning.
"One is enough for now. We don't know if there are other candles, so we need to conserve them," the Refined Man said, not intimidated in the least.
If it was about competing for team leadership, he could yield a step. But this matter concerned their lives; he couldn't let the Burly Man act recklessly.
Although dissatisfied, the Burly Man also knew the other man made sense. So he just snorted coldly and gave up on lighting the other candle.
The first floor of the lodge wasn't large. The Refined Man placed the candlestick in the center of the reception desk. The flickering fla barely illuminated a small half of the indoor area.
Only then did everyone truly see the layout of the first floor.
The simple furnishings were laid out in plain view. Besides the reception desk in the middle, both the left and right sides were lined with dining tables and chairs, all in disarray and covered in a thick layer of dust, clearly visible in the dim, yellowish light.
To the left of the reception desk hung a heavy cloth curtain. Lifting the curtain revealed a passage leading to another unknown area. To the right of the desk was a spiral staircase, and beyond the staircase lay yet another area.
"Let's look around first to see if there are any clues."
Everyone moved within the range illuminated by the candlelight, each being very careful, afraid of triggering so trap.
Xu Xi naturally walked around, looking and following the search for clues.
There was a wall with so papers stuck to it. He walked closer to look; the writing on them had faded to the point of being almost unrecognizable.
【*** Rules】
【1. At night ***** door, if you hear ***** ignore it】
【**** believe ***** person】
【3. Absolutely must not ***** discover you *** them】
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