Xu Youyou grew more and more enthusiastic as he spoke.
“And if players want to complete the main quest, 【Investigate the Truth】, they must complete those three steps.”
“As for whether discovering the surface truth will let them skip the other two layers and complete the main quest directly—that definitely won't work.”
“I looked this up on the forum beforehand. When setting up a plot, a dungeon boss can explicitly define which steps must be completed to count as finishing the main quest.”
“Brother An, when you submit your application to open the dungeon, you just need to submit the complete steps along with it.”
Xu Youyou finally let out a sigh of relief.
He was finally finished talking.
Honestly, this was the first time he had spoken so much, and it felt pretty satisfying.
Now, not only Zuo Lin'an, but everyone else around them, including An Mu, stared at him in shock.
Xu Youyou waited for a moment, but when he didn't hear anyone praising him, he scratched his head in confusion.
“What is it?”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?”
An Mu shook her head, looking a bit dazed. “No, no, no, you didn't say anything wrong. I just think you explained it so well—so well that it doesn't really fit your personality.”
Xu Youyou frowned, instantly feeling displeased.
“What do you mean by that, you ugly woman?”
By now, An Mu had likely learned through certain channels why Xu Youyou had such an annoying personality. She didn't want to argue with a kid whose mental age was barely under ten.
She simply shrugged indifferently.
“It means exactly what you think. I've always thought you were very... well...”
“You know, simple-minded.”
She placed heavy emphasis on the word “simple-minded.”
“I didn't expect you to be able to map out such a complex plotline. But...”
An Mu's expression turned slightly conflicted.
“Why does this plot sound so familiar to me? It feels like I've heard it somewhere before.”
She knitted her brows in deep thought, as if trying to recall something.
Zuo Lin'an expected Xu Youyou to jump up and start arguing with her, but instead, he noticed the guy's eyes darting away guiltily.
“Familiar? Don't talk nonsense. I came up with all of this myself.”
Zuo Lin'an found it strange.
What was going on?
Was there really something fishy?
An Mu suddenly slapped her thigh.
“Oh, I remember now!”
“Isn't this the plot of that super popular TV drama lately?”
“No wonder you suddenly got so smart. You just copied it from a TV show!”
Having been exposed, Xu Youyou immediately cast aside his guilty look and instead adopted a self-righteous attitude.
“So what? As long as it works!”
“Besides, I found that TV drama through the forums.”
“The original poster said that these dramas with highly convoluted plots might seem like they're for ordinary people, but in reality, they secretly provide a reference for dungeon bosses like us.”
“I'm just making good use of my resources.”
“Besides, I'm not the only one doing this.”
He looked at Zuo Lin'an.
“Brother An, what do you think?”
Zuo Lin'an combined his own previous plot ideas with what Xu Youyou had just described.
“It sounds pretty good.”
“Then it's settled. Does anyone have anything else to add or modify?”
Bai Yuan shook his head. “I think it's already quite solid. Even if there are any shortcomings, it's best to fine-tune them gradually through practice.”
“That way, it will fit your dungeon even better. But since you need to set a path of survival quest, have you thought about where the path of survival will be located?”
Zuo Lin'an pondered for a moment.
“The path of survival should definitely be related to the younger brother. After all, in the players' eyes, the specter the younger brother turned into is the dungeon boss.”
In other words, his specter body.
Song Yangxia muttered from the side.
“The path of survival... the path of survival is always what the specter desired most when they were alive.”
“So, combining that with the plot we just discussed, what did the younger brother want most before he died?”
Xu Youyou chimed in, “Good health?”
Song Yangxia glared at him.
“That's not wrong, but it needs to fit the plot and the dungeon's requirements.”
Bai Yuan swayed his head side to side.
“Based on the younger brother's character concept, he definitely wanted his older brother to live a good life.”
“Because of this, he didn't even hesitate to commit suicide just to free his brother from being burdened by him. Before he died, he must have been thinking that once he was gone, his older brother could leave this place and start a brand-new life.”
“Why don't we set the path of survival at the edge of the dungeon's boundary? Specifically, at the end of the road leading away from the old house, near the white mist. What do you think?”
Zuo Lin'an naturally had no objections.
“Alright, let's put it there. That location fits both the plot and the younger brother's personality.”
He had to admit, brainstorming with more people made things much easier.
Although the plot wasn't perfect yet, they could start working on it soon.
Just then, Zuo Lin'an suddenly thought of something.
“Right, I have a very important question.”
Bai Yuan stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth.
“What is it?”
Zuo Lin'an asked, “At the end of the day, the established plot is fake.”
“When the time comes, my identity and the younger brother's identity will also inevitably be fake. What if there are players with Lie Detection rules, or players who possess specter items with Lie Detection capabilities?”
“When I'm playing out the plot, will the things I say be flagged as lies?”
Bai Yuan immediately shook his head.
“No. Once you've set up the plot and the dungeon opens, all characters, events, and spoken words related to the plot will absolutely not be considered lies.”
Only then did Zuo Lin'an feel at ease.
“Alright, then... let's leave the plot discussion at that for now.”
He pointed to the delicious food on the table.
“Come, help yourselves.”
No one stood on ceremony; they dug in as invited.
In truth, none of them actually needed to eat or drink. They had gathered here for a barbecue to celebrate Zuo Lin'an becoming a Two-Star boss, but that was merely an excuse.
The celebration was secondary; their real purpose was to offer him advice and assistance.
Meanwhile, Xuan Jiu and Feng Xingyun could only watch the lively scene from afar. Their status meant it would take a long time of getting along before they could slowly integrate.
At that moment, Feng Xingyun suddenly turned to look at Xuan Jiu.
“Xuan Jiu, when the young master's next dungeon opens, I'll be going into his dungeon to act as the butler. Well... basically, to work. Do you know what that means? Like having a job.”
Xuan Jiu was slightly puzzled and turned to look at him.
“Is that so?”
Feng Xingyun continued.
“The young master said earlier that as long as I work hard, once he gets stronger in the future, he'll get me an official identity certificate for the supernatural world.”
“When that time comes, I'll be able to enjoy a certain level of freedom.”
“What about you? Has the kid on your end promised you anything?”
Xuan Jiu lowered his head and fell silent.
To be honest, as the master who held his life and death in his hands, Xu Youyou... was truly childish. His words and actions often carried an air of immaturity.
He didn't look like a twenty-year-old adult at all.
On the other hand, his friend, Zuo Lin'an, was highly rational and composed—so mature, in fact, that he didn't seem like a twenty-year-old either.
Rate on N.U.
