ATPnovel 8 Who is the ghost?
8 Who is the ghost?
Qin Mian remained calm, neither making a fuss nor showing any excitement. He even pretended to be breathing heavily, occasionally wiping the sweat dripping from his forehead.
The others naturally saw their information as well, but no one spoke up or asked. They were all very discreet and did not want to reveal their identities too early.
Park Guk-chang adjusted his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses sharp as a knife, and slowly spoke: "Golden Moon-ban from the Kingdom of Goryeo and Mu Yun-ni from the Kingdom of Great Xia are missing here. I suspect that these two are not with us and may be playing villainous roles in this instance, possibly the 'ghost' mentioned in the hints. What do you think?"
Yamamoto Ichiro nodded. "Yes, that must be it. They're probably in an ancient tomb, waiting to ambush us."
Alice shook her head. "I don't think it's possible for us to find the 'ghosts' so easily in this dungeon. If it really is them, it would be too easy and doesn't match the three-star difficulty of this dungeon at all."
Scarlett crossed her arms, frowned slightly, and agreed: "I agree with Alice's point of view. This is the first three-star difficulty dungeon, so it's definitely not going to be easy. Finding the 'ghost' is likely one of the difficulties of this dungeon."
"That's right!" Andreev agreed with this view.
Qin Mian nodded in agreement.
Park Guk-chang smiled gentlemanly, as if he had already anticipated everyone's reaction. "Everyone, instead of trying to solve the mystery, why not take the initiative to reveal your identities? That way, the ghost's identity will naturally become clear. With the rest of us working together, dealing with two people will definitely not be a problem."
Yamamoto Ichiro immediately shook his head. "No, no, who can guarantee they won't lie?"
Park Guk-chang seemed to have anticipated this question, and said with a smile, "We all have our own unique abilities. As long as we state and demonstrate our unique abilities, we can't lie!"
"Hmm, if you put it that way, it does make sense!" Yamamoto Ichiro thought it made some sense and nodded in agreement.
Kia held his head high, looking down on everyone. "Hmph, foolish! How can you guarantee that 'Ghost' doesn't have other people's skills?"
This……
These words immediately silenced everyone.
Yes.
The hints didn't mention what skills the "ghost" had.
If they really knew their skills, then once their identities were exposed, chaos would ensue. They might even start killing each other before they even found the Jingjue Ancient City.
Even if you endure it for now, who can guarantee that your enemy won't resort to underhanded tactics?
With a knife constantly at their throats, the team is always on the verge of falling apart, which only complicates the situation further.
Alice continued, "And don't forget, not only are 'ghosts' a threat to us, but the Guanshan Taibao and the Mojin, Faqiu, Xieling, and Banshan lineages are also mortal enemies. Yin Yang Duan Gong, Jiuyou Yama, and Jushi Fawang also have grudges. Once our identities are exposed, due to our respective exclusive missions, I'm afraid we won't even be able to continue our initial cooperation smoothly, let alone clear the level!"
"Therefore, I suggest that we don't reveal our identities for now. Just keep it in mind. 'Ghosts' can't be completely flawless. Given enough time, they will inevitably reveal their weaknesses!"
Qin Mian had considered all the issues they raised, but he didn't say a word, intending to continue being a harmless nobody.
Park Guk-chang's eyes swept over the crowd from time to time, his gaze sharp.
Qin Mian strongly suspected that he had also thought of what everyone had just said. The reason he brought it up was that he wanted to find some clues about their identities from their behavior.
After all, this guy is a famous detective, so his insight is definitely not simple.
Andreev said, "No matter how much we discuss, we have to survive first. I suggest we check the items in our backpacks to make the most of them, and then follow the map."
Everyone agreed.
Upon arrival, everyone had a backpack, but we haven't had a chance to check it yet.
Everyone took off their backpacks and began to check them, but they all subconsciously avoided the gaze of others, afraid that there might be something inside that would reveal their identities and be seen by others.
Qin Mian opened his backpack and checked it.
Inside were some food and water, some basic tools, a black donkey hoof, and a printed map.
He glanced at the others, whose expressions remained unchanged. They all silently closed their backpacks, and one of them took out a printed map from his bag.
Alice glanced at the identical maps in the others' hands and said, "The backstory says that the tomb raiders obtained the map, but the gods were clearly careful and gave each of us a printed copy so that the tomb raiders could better conceal their identities!"
"What kind of crappy map is this? There are no markings at all. Who can understand it? Look at where we should go. We only have fifteen days. And judging from the food and water in our backpacks, even if we use them sparingly, the food will probably only last for eight or nine days. As for water, it will probably be consumed even faster in the desert. Let's stop dawdling here!" A-Ku-Ku said with dissatisfaction.
He simply threw the map away.
Yes, I really threw it away.
It's not that he's being arrogant; it's just that he can't understand the map at all, and it's completely different from their local culture.
Park Guk-chang smiled and said, "Andreev is an outdoor survival master, and Alice is an extreme challenger. They must deal with maps all the time, so this shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
This is a map of the desert. Almost every place is the same, marked only by a few thick lines and some triangles and squares. Other than that, there is nothing. Just as the description says, it is an extremely simplified map.
Qin Mian glanced at it a few times but was completely baffled and couldn't understand it at all.
Alice and Andreev studied the map carefully. Although the markings were unfamiliar, they were able to figure out some problems based on their experience.
Alice pointed to some thick yellow lines and said, "Before coming in, I did do some research. If I'm not mistaken, these lines should be the dried-up ancient riverbed of the Peacock River. According to the map, to find the ancient city of Jingjue, we must first follow this ancient riverbed!"
"After that, following the river, there's a square on the road. If I'm not mistaken, that should be the ruins of an ancient city. I think the reason they didn't prepare fifteen days' worth of food and water for us is probably because there are supplies inside this ancient city!"
Andreev nodded. "Yes, that's the same as my opinion. Right now, our most important task is to find this ancient riverbed. We are currently located here."
He pointed to the map and then looked around. "According to the map, we should head north. As for how far and how long it will take, we can't determine that without a fixed scale. We can only find it first and then estimate."
Immediately, no one objected, and they set off in the direction indicated by the two.
……