Chapter 859: Exchange and Cooperation, Followed by a Sudden Mutation

After briefly exchanging information, Fu Luo spoke up again.

"Alright, everyone... Although we don't know what abnormalities await us on this airship, I suggest we stick together and avoid being separated."

"Even if there are no particularly dangerous monsters on this airship, we can hardly guarantee that those Marauders and Psychological Society bastards won't take advantage of us being alone to kill us."

"Strength in numbers is our only advantage right now."

King Vulture nodded. "Understood, Your Excellency Furbollo."

Lin Yu raised his hand.

"Comrade Furbollo, I'd like to go make contact with those two 'neutral' folks over there."

"Although there may be hidden dangers on the airship, at least before we reach the island, I want to try winning them over."

Although their primary mission upon boarding the island was to "send the Coordinate" and ensure their own high-tier Players could successfully locate the Sixth Island's position and reach it through external means.

Still, they also had to prevent the two low-tier members of the Marauders and the Psychological Society from directly obtaining the First Generation Freud's legacy and slipping away before both sides' reinforcements arrived.

Members of those two organizations would certainly not give up on attempting such a thing.

Fu Luo nodded slightly upon hearing this.

"Fine. If Old Yao, you're confident about this, you can give it a try."

Kitty had been about to say something, but seeing that Fu Luo had already agreed, she looked at Lin Yu with some surprise.

At this moment, Lin Yu was in Old Yao's form—that dark, skinny, nimble look with a clever yet slightly cunning air.

Kitty sized him up from head to toe before speaking. "Could it be that Old Yao, you're quite familiar with Furbollo?"

"He's helped me out greatly before, even saved my life, you could say," Fu Luo said in a measured tone. "In Jiangcheng territory, Old Yao's word carries a lot of weight."

Hearing this, King Vulture looked at Old Yao. "I think I've heard of you... Are you that famous 'Thief' in Jiangcheng lately?"

Lin Yu spoke seriously: "When you mention a famous 'Thief' in Jiangcheng, my first thought can only be the 'Master Thief' of the Free Alliance."

King Vulture rubbed the white snake on his body. "If she were here, that would be trouble..."

"Anyway, I'm probably not that famous. Whatever reputation I have, I've just piggybacked off my brothers and boss," Lin Yu said with a sycophantic smile. "I don't really have any skills myself."

"Alright... I'll go negotiate with those two over there."

With that, Lin Yu stood up and walked over to the hoodie-clad Fern, who was sitting in her seat with her eyes closed, resting.

"Hello, miss—the 'Director' asked me to convey his thanks to you."

As he spoke, Fern opened her eyes in surprise.

"Oh, you're friends with him?"

"Yes. He also told me you're quite an impressive figure," Lin Yu said sincerely, rubbing his hands together nervously. "I've come representing 'Jiang'an Hall' this time... Whether it's Jiang'an Hall or Order, our goal is to keep the Psychological Society from getting that legacy."

"The Director mentioned that your goal is to obtain that legacy, so... I can assist you."

Fern looked at Lin Yu, narrowing her eyes. "Rather than saying you've come to assist me, it sounds more like... you want me to stand on your side."

Lin Yu grinned. "You're just as sharp as Director said you were—but this holds no disadvantage for you, does it?"

"I'm not used to working with people from big organizations," Fern said in a low voice. "But... when the timing is right, I can indeed cooperate with you."

Lin Yu nodded. "That's enough then, sis... But I'd still like to recommend myself. Though I'm not great at direct combat, when it comes to 'acquiring things,' I do have some skill."

As Lin Yu spoke, Fern raised an eyebrow. "You're trying to squeeze some extra benefits out of me, aren't you?"

Hearing Fern's words, Lin Yu didn't deny it. He just leaned in closer and chuckled slyly.

"As the saying goes, people die for wealth, birds die for food. A nobody like me, taking such a huge risk to get involved in such dangerous business—naturally I need to grab as much benefit as possible to make it worth my while!"

"Besides, in this damned game... every bit of benefit is a way to increase my chances of survival... I want to live, sis."

Although his words were mercenary and self-serving, because his posture was low enough and his tone sincere enough, he didn't come across as annoying at all.

"If you really help me out, I certainly won't treat you poorly," Fern said leisurely. "Out of that legacy, I only need one item anyway."

"Whatever you need, I'll keep an eye out for it when the time comes."

Lin Yu said.

Fern didn't tell him which one she needed—after all, the guy hadn't fully earned her trust either.

The two had only reached a preliminary intention to cooperate.

After finishing his pleasant conversation with Fern, Lin Yu moved a few steps over to the person wearing the gas mask and dressed head to toe in military attire.

Because the equipment he was wearing was extremely professional and bulky, Lin Yu couldn't even tell his build—whether he was tall or short, fat or thin.

But since the man had spoken earlier, Lin Yu could roughly recognize from the muffled, distorted voice coming through the mask that this was likely an adult male.

"Um, sir—"

"Scram!"

The other party spoke with a hostile tone, and Lin Yu immediately put on a smile.

"You got it."

He quickly turned around and headed back to Fu Luo's side.

The three who had been watching him the entire time saw Lin Yu return, and King Vulture was the first to ask.

"Seems like the second guy wasn't too willing to cooperate?"

"Yeah, he had no intention of communicating at all. But the other one went quite smoothly. She's here for a specific 'item' from the legacy," Lin Yu reported while gesturing with one hand. "If our goal is to keep the Psychological Society from obtaining the legacy, she's someone we can cooperate with—and she's already expressed willingness to work with us."

"That's good. We just need to be wary of the possibility that she was bought off by the Psychological Society long ago and is deliberately pretending to be a passerby," Fu Luo said thoughtfully. "After all, those Psychological Society people are all quite treacherous."

"I'll keep a close eye on her when the time comes."

King Vulture said.

Fu Luo nodded again. "Then I'll leave that to you."

Watching Fu Luo like this, Lin Yu couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.

Say what you will, Fu Luo actually led the team quite impressively—if he hadn't known the guy's true background, he might have been won over by him too.

But just as Lin Yu was thinking this, a violent explosion suddenly rang out from outside the airship.

"BOOM!"

Beyond the porthole windows, a massive burst of fire erupted, as if something had exploded near the airship!

At the same time, all the lights inside the airship went out, plunging everything into darkness—only the faint glow filtering through the portholes illuminating the cabin.

As darkness fell and the explosion rang out...

"Ah!"

A scream rang out from right beside them.