"Donât worry, Nova. Based on my understanding of the dungeon, in settings like these tower climbs, climbers are often independent of each other. One key piece of evidence is that when we entered, we didnât find any traces left by that player from Xia Country, which suggests that we might not encounter him in the tower.
Of course, even if we do meet him, the one who should really be worried is him. With our combined strength, we definitely have an advantage over him, and the towerâs environment wonât be very open, which is unfavorable for the gunner profession..."
His reasoning quickly made the female Warrior realize that her worry wasnât a big issue; it could even become an opportunity. For example, if they encounter that gunner in some narrow space on a level, they could team up to kill him, seize his equipment, and gain extra benefits.
This is definitely not a wild fantasy. Previously, in the big market town, they didnât want to fight to the end because there were indigenous forces present, and more than one enemy player, making the situation too complex and risky. But in this black tower, itâs completely different; the space is definitely narrower than the outside, and thereâs no need to worry about native interference, giving them a significant two-to-one advantage.
"We canât rule out the possibility that the Assassin from Xia Country also entered the tower. If heâs here too, our advantage becomes less apparent, but even in this unfavorable situation, Iâm confident I can protect myself. You just need to do your best and not worry about me."
The Mage player finally mentioned a concern in his heart, glancing at the black towerâs exterior and the brass door as he spoke, then turned to walk towards the brass door, making his final decision.
"It seems like this is the most suitable option... letâs go inside and hide for a while first."
The female Warrior also glanced at the dire situation outside, understanding that without her companionâs protection, she feared she might be stuck in this desert forever. So without further hesitation, she followed him.
Thus, the two who had just left the brass door not long ago returned through it again, causing Wang Zhifan, observing from the top floor, to let a slight smile slip across his lips.
"Heh... as I thought, I grant you the freedom to leave, yet you donât want to leave... Then work for me honestly. Though thereâs no reward, there certainly wonât be any safety issues."
As he sighed, utilizing his authority as the master of the black tower, he checked the current settings again, confirming that no matter how many levels these players climbed, they wouldnât drop any rewards. The monsters arranged for them wouldnât be too strong either, to prevent the laboriously acquired testers from running away under pressure.
In fact, even if all of them ran away later, he wouldnât suffer any loss because their gathered data would definitely be valuable. From the perspective of him providing a temporary shelter for these people, itâs a mutually beneficial transaction, with no one losing out.
"Looks like I donât need to spend too much effort on these playersâ matters. Let them do whatever they want; I should hurry and cultivate the Wind and Thunder Heaven-Treading Skill to Lv3 as soon as possible."
At this point, Wang Zhifan stopped paying special attention to the players in the tower. Mainly because this is his absolute territory, where his authority is supreme, and thanks to the black towerâs high grade, he didnât need to worry about anyone threatening him.
More bluntly put, without his permission, these tower climbers could never meet him. Itâs unlikely they would realize the black tower they are climbing belongs to another player privately; they would tend to believe itâs a special building within the dungeon.
At the same time, on the third level of the black tower, a player from Xia Country sat on a tree trunk, chewing on something. Not far from him, a staircase leading to a higher level had already appeared, but he didnât intend to climb immediately.
"The gorilla that appeared earlier was much stronger than the mobs on the first floor, though I still shot it dead with one bullet. But giving no rewards is a bit excessive, not to mention not even leaving the gorillaâs body for me as food... However, this tree is intriguing; the leaves have a bit of juice, no different from real plants. Maybe there will be a clean water source on higher levels, in which case my survival strategy can continue... the Yin Realm Spirit Car really found me a safe place to stay..."
Unlike the other two foreign players, he had found this tower using a high-grade item he valued very much, naturally inclined to trust this place. After personally exploring a few levels, his conviction only strengthened.
The reason was that he found each level he had passed, although lacking in rewards, had environments that could be utilized, akin to latent benefits. He also discovered through practice that even if he didnât keep climbing upwards, there wouldnât be any forced mechanism triggering a level opening. Hence, he speculated that he could linger on a level for a long time without needing to continuously climb.
Compounded with the comparison of the black monsters outside the tower and the relentless indigenous forces searching for him, he understood why the Yin Realm Spirit Car brought him here, believing this peculiar place was the most suitable hideout for him.
He was so content with his current surroundings that he began to consider contacting his companion, the Assassin player from Xia Country, to bring him over.
However, when he pulled out a special walkie-talkie from a tech-based dungeon, he found it showed no signal, stirring a slight surprise in him.
"The description of my rare-grade walkie-talkie says it can contact targets within thousands of miles. Could Qiang now be over ten thousand miles away from me? According to the previous route shown by the Yin Realm Spirit Car, itâs definitely not that far! It must be this black tower thatâs blocking the signal transmission. Iâll contact him when I go out during the daytime."
Having decided to wait till morning to inform his companion about this place, he realized thereâs no certainty the other would come by even if told in advance. Besides, coming over at night would be far too dangerous.
Especially since he knew his partner well, who, being a top-level Assassin player, likely had the ability to hide from indigenous searches, not to mention his concealment skill had long been maxed out, and he reportedly completed some special awakening mission, making his concealment ability far superior to ordinary Assassin players.
After pondering all of this, he leaned against the trunk to pretend to sleep, setting several mini mechas to keep watch around him, avoiding unexpected situations, intending to try resting in this spot overnight.
What he didnât know was, at the same time, his teammate was fleeing at full speed. The high-level Invisibility Ability didnât let this player escape tracking; instead, under immense pressure, he chose to plunge straight into the treacherous desert.
"Report! The target has entered the Shadow Desert!"
Just as the Assassin from Xia Country dashed into the monster-infested Shadow Desert, more than ten battle mechas arrived with flames spewing from their tails. A special mecha pilot among them reported to the superiors via the mechaâs communication module.
This mecha pilot was special due to being a peculiar figure with a child-like short stature but a head nearly twice the size of an adultâs. His mecha was also particularly unique, custom-made specifically for him.
"Big Head, continue tracking the target with the team. Donât let him escape our sight. Iâll personally lead the team to support you later."
The communication quickly responded, sounding like a young manâs voice.
"Yes, sir!"
The mecha pilot with the massive head immediately responded, then led the surrounding combat mechas into the Shadow Desert without hesitation, heading in a certain direction.
"Attention! That guy is speeding up! Everyone, stay close to me!"
In fact, none of the other mecha pilots could spot any targets in the desert; it was only the pilot, nicknamed Big Head, who could secure a lock on the target player maintaining a high-level invisible state.
Because he was not only a mecha pilot but also a psychic specializing in sensory and detection fields, an A-level esper!