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"Thank you, Boss!!"
"Boss, should we keep exploring the lower realm, or head back to the base?"
"Let's head back first, alright? Everyone's bags are full. If we keep pushing and something blows up, this whole trip would be for nothing."
The players, worn out and ready for a break, quickly agreed.
Hearing their chatter, Yun Li thought it over before speaking. "Let's drop everything off at the outdoor lab. Then we can take a break before coming back to continue exploring."
Since the founding of Cloud Soar Guild, confidentiality had always been top-notch. They'd even set up an outdoor lab far from the guild's main base, serving as a hidden research hub. In this secret base, some of the guild's think tank lived and worked, focusing on key projects.
This was one of the main differences between a big guild like Cloud Soar and the smaller, unaffiliated guilds; secrecy. If they developed something like a "Footwork booth," they wouldn't be out flaunting it like Xiao Po. Instead, they'd quietly perfect it.
The players from Cloud Soar Guild didn't question Yun Li's decision—they knew these were the guild's rules, and they understood the importance of keeping things under wraps.
———
Meanwhile, Xu Yuan was about ready to pull his hair out. "They're this careful?..."
He had to admit, as the head of a more casual guild, he was worlds apart from someone like Yun Li. Just on the level of confidentiality alone, Yun Li left him in the dust. While Xu Yuan also tried to keep the Footwork Station strategy under wraps, he couldn't resist showing it off a bit on the forums.
Yun Li, on the other hand, was extremely thorough. His secrecy extended even to his own guild members, only letting the core members know what was really going on.
But Xu Yuan understood; back when he ran his own guild, he'd encountered plenty of spies from rival groups. Growing a guild wasn't just about strength; keeping your information locked down was equally vital.
Xu Yuan's only experience was with Triumph Guild, which was more casual. He'd thought other guilds were the same—how naïve he'd been.
Yun Li and Xiao Po were complete opposites: one didn't care at all, while the other thought of everything.
Sighing deeply, Xu Yuan muttered, "Points are hard to earn, food's hard to get..."
"Guess I'll keep following them."
He had overheard Cloud Soar Guild's members discussing their next steps. They weren't heading back to their base just yet, but to some outdoor lab. So, while he couldn't trace their base for now, he could just keep following them—eventually, they'd have to return.
Although he knew their guild base was around here somewhere, searching on his own would be futile. It could be east, west, north, or south—the range was too vast. Wandering around blindly would only waste time. Better to let this crowd lead him there naturally.
Xu Yuan controlled his clone to shadow Cloud Soar's players closely while his real body stayed hidden near the Netherworld portal back in the main world.
———
After about an hour, the Cloud Soar members reached the portal, and Xu Yuan watched them enter it one by one. He waited a few moments, then sent his clone through as well.
As soon as Xu Yuan's clone emerged in the main world, he immediately burrowed underground, trailing them carefully while his real self continued observing from a nearby hiding spot.
He followed them for another hour, until they finally arrived at the so-called "outdoor lab."
Calling it a lab was a stretch—it was just an open field with a few boxy buildings that looked like temporary housing for players. Some Footwork Stations had also been set up around these makeshift shelters.
On the northern edge of the plain, a group of about ten players was gathered in a tight circle, deep in discussion. As Yun Li's group approached, the other players quickly turned toward them.
"Vice President, you're finally here!"
"We've been examining that wither skeleton skull for ages, and we think it might be a summonable creature. Now that you're here, we can finally try it out!"
"Did you gather enough Nether blocks? We'll probably need them."
The think tank had been waiting impatiently for Yun Li to arrive with the actual materials; a photo wasn't enough to work with. The moment he handed over the wither skeleton skull and the Nether blocks, they were ready to dive in.
"You guys take your time with the research. We're going to rest up a bit first," Yun Li said.
———
Hearing Cloud Soar Guild's chatter, Xu Yuan couldn't help but sigh.
"Looks like I'll need a backup plan…"
By the looks of it, they weren't going back to their base anytime soon. So, Xu Yuan left his clone hidden nearby and began scouting the area himself to try and locate their base.
...
Days passed, and Xu Yuan continued his search for Cloud Soar's base but found no leads. It was like they'd vanished into thin air. Just as he was starting to lose patience, his clone finally caught a break.
...
"What does the guild even pay you for?! It's been days, and you still can't figure this thing out?!"
"Use your brains, will you?! Do you think every creature's lower half is going to look like a snow golem's? Can't you think of any other possible combinations?!"
"How hard can it be to try different Nether blocks?!"
Yun Li grumbled as he continued experimenting with the wither skeleton skull, trying it on various Nether blocks. He'd thought this would be a quick discovery, but here they were, still stumped.
"Get creative! This is the Nether—hell, basically!"
"What kinds of creatures come from hell, huh?"
He pointed at one of the guild's senior players, who scratched his head nervously before answering.
"A…a three-headed hellhound?"
Seeing his hesitation, Yun Li gave a nod of approval. "Exactly!"
"Up until now, you've only tried one head. Isn't it reasonable that a monster might have three?!"
Yun Li's gaze fell on a T-shaped formation of soul sand blocks. The player who'd arranged it had been trying out a scarecrow design. Yun Li grabbed two more wither skeleton skulls, placing them on either side of the middle one.
Still, nothing happened. Annoyed, Yun Li muttered, "Ugh, what a waste of time… a three-headed hellhound? Ridiculous."
"These are skulls! Get back to brainstorming!"
Just as he turned to leave, the players behind him suddenly froze, their eyes wide with shock as they stared past him.
"B-Boss…it's moving… it's alive!!"
"We did it!! We actually did it!!"
"What the…?! It really does have three heads!!!"
Yun Li spun back around to see the wither skeleton skulls starting to come to life. The soul sand beneath was shifting, morphing into a white ribcage with a partial spine attached. Within seconds, the blocks transformed, forming a towering, twenty-block-high creature with three heads.
When the transformation completed, a name appeared above the creature's heads: Wither.
Currently, the Wither was in its initial form, with half its health. It wasn't moving yet, though it was temporarily invincible. Once it reached full health, it would explode and begin flying.
Yun Li hadn't expected this at all. "This monster… it looks seriously powerful!"
"A purple name? So it's not neutral or hostile?"
In games, the color of a creature's name usually indicated whether it was neutral or hostile.
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