After Li Nian announced her name, the previously friendly atmosphere of negotiation vanished instantly.
However, when Li Nian took action, the atmosphere became friendly again.
The trio on the other side chose to believe Li Nian's claim of 'no malice'.
After all, they had no other choice.
"'Thief God,' your reputation is indeed well-deserved and lives up to its name!"
Little Fire Dragon sheathed his longsword and clasped his fist in salute.
Deadshot also nodded: "You are much more formidable than ordinary 'thieves'."
Typically, a 'thief' couldn't possibly steal someone's held [item] with their own ability.
But… the 'Thief God' before them had done it, which was enough to prove that her title wasn't just for show.
This person was indeed much more powerful than an average 'thief'.
At the same time, this made Little Fire Dragon and Deadshot realize…
If the opponent could steal their weapons silently and without any apparent movement or warning, did that mean Li Nian could do the same during a fight?
In any case, Li Nian had solidified the trio's thinking with just one encounter.
Dealing with just this 'Thief God' alone would be difficult, so it was best to negotiate!
At the same time, the three were also a bit relieved—thankfully, they had followed the 'Player Mutual Aid Association's' guidelines and chosen to talk first, even in a potentially [Competitive Instance].
Otherwise, they would have almost clashed head-on with the 'Thief God'... and that would definitely not have been a good thing.
Subsequently, Little Fire Dragon spoke again: "Would the other two care to introduce themselves?"
Lin Yu nodded slightly: "I'm just an unknown nobody; my profession is 'Veterinarian'."
"Might you also be a member of the 'Freedom Alliance'?"
Deadshot asked warily.
After all, it wasn't hard to notice that among Lin Yu's group of three, the two women seemed closer.
Lin Yu waved his hand: "Of course not."
Although his Zhu Ming identity was practically the same as joining the 'Freedom Alliance,' he hadn't officially joined yet.
Just as Deadshot was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Lin Yu said with a smile.
"I am 'Clozapine' from the 'Psychological Society'."
The emotions of Deadshot, Little Fire Dragon, and Squirtle, which had just relaxed a little, tensed up again.
"'Psychological Society'?"
Li Nian said with a grin: "That's right, an executive specialist from the 'Psychological Society'."
Then, she looked at Lin Yu and said in a lowered voice: "But seriously, Sister Zhu Ming, Clozapine is such an awful name… why didn't you choose something nicer?"
"The two above and below aren't much different, magnesium valproate and lithium carbonate," Lin Yu said helplessly, "Just make do with it; I won't be using it for long anyway."
"That's true…"
Li Nian didn't dwell on it any further.
While Li Nian could whisper with Lin Yu here, the trio on the other side wasn't so optimistic.
A 'Thief God' from the 'Freedom Alliance' was scary enough, but now there was someone from the 'Psychological Society'?
And an 'executive specialist' at that—which meant this guy was 100% skilled in combat, and not some logistical or decision-making personnel.
Little Fire Dragon's expression was heavy.
He no longer had much hope for achieving a win-win collaboration.
After all, although the people from the 'Freedom Alliance' acted strangely, they could still be reasoned with in a [Competitive Instance]; perhaps they weren't planning on a fight to the death either.
Especially since the 'Thief God,' although she liked to steal things, was considered to have a relatively good reputation among the known members of the 'Freedom Alliance'—upon careful recollection, he hadn't even heard of the 'Thief God' killing people for no reason.
She liked to steal things, but she only liked to steal things.
The 'Psychological Society' was different; every member was keen on increasing the difficulty of the game for everyone in the [Instance], hindering everyone's progress in the name of 'accelerating screening to help growth'.
Hoping that these people would choose to cooperate in a [Competitive Instance] was like hoping for pies to fall from the sky!
However, as a member with a deep recognition of the 'Player Mutual Aid Association,' Little Fire Dragon chose to temporarily ignore Lin Yu's identity and continue with the process.
"Then what about this one," Little Fire Dragon looked at Flying Knife, a forced smile on his face, "What is your identity, sir? Don't tell me you're from the… 'Marauders'?"
Hearing the other party ask so tentatively, Flying Knife quickly raised his hands: "Heaven and earth, I have nothing to do with those three organizations! My ID is 'Flying Knife,' a 'Second Order' verifiable on the forums, a 'Referee'."
"I just posted a commission on the 'Hunter's Guild' to find someone to carry me through the [Instance]; I didn't expect these two great gods to come," Flying Knife grinned, almost crying, "And… I only just found out that there's someone from the 'Psychological Society' here!"
"I thought they were both from the 'Freedom Alliance'."
Flying Knife said very aggrievedly.
Li Nian crossed her arms: "What are you afraid of? Don't worry, we're taking your money to do a job; we'll definitely carry you through the instance honestly."
Lin Yu also nodded: "Don't be so prejudiced. Even if I'm a member of the 'Psychological Society,' the fact that I'm taking on this job means I won't deliberately mess things up."
Then, he looked at Little Fire Dragon and his group: "Since you're here to discuss cooperation, let's exchange our respective clearance conditions first."
"What our group must do is go to Willow Town."
Little Fire Dragon was stunned: "What? You're also going to Willow Town?"
Deadshot immediately frowned: "Then that's strange; could our predictions be wrong?"
A six-person instance, divided into two groups of three, starting in different locations based on team affiliation—this was a fairly standard [Competitive Instance] beginning.
But… this was just likely a [Competitive Instance].
Like something with a flat beak swimming in the water is likely a duck, but it could also be a platypus.
The six people inside the instance were all veterans; based on their own experiences and the guides they'd seen on the forums, they subconsciously thought this was a [Competitive Instance].
But that wasn't actually the case.
Flying Knife looked at the trio opposite him, stunned: "Your clearance condition is also 'reach Willow Town'?"
Seeing the three nod in unison, Flying Knife breathed a sigh of relief: "We all misunderstood; although it looks like a [Competitive Instance], it's actually not a competitive type…"
"It seems it should actually be a [Survival] type."
Just as Flying Knife was becoming optimistic, Lin Yu interrupted him.
"Don't be happy too soon, employer," Lin Yu put his hands in his pockets and looked at Little Fire Dragon, Squirtle, and Deadshot, "Excuse me, the three of you, can one of you repeat that again?"
