Just as mentioned earlier, in darkness, other senses, including hearing, become sharper.

However, sometimes there’s a phenomenon where if this sharpness doesn’t receive even the slightest visual feedback for a long time, it may instead breed confusion.

In Fu Qian’s judgment, the other two promising young individuals have already reached such a state.

Under the torment of pure Darkness, even if Ice’s position didn’t precisely correspond with his own, they probably wouldn’t notice it much.

The evidence is that even though the leader showed unusual signs of losing composure, their breathing actually became somewhat calmer.

It seems that my middle-school syndrome has indeed imposed a substantial psychological pressure on them.

Facing this subtle change, Fu Qian naturally reflected on it.

In the current situation, it’s impossible for the three newcomers to not pay attention to each other.

And it’s obvious, although unspoken, that since earlier, his overly calm demeanor has made them feel uneasy.

Fortunately, under this exponentially increasing pressure, "this disguise" finally couldn’t hold up.

And this change from his companions was like a shot in the arm, giving them a slight boost.

...

In fact, as a practical player, Fu Qian never minds sacrificing a bit of false reputation to provide such help.

Unfortunately, the current problem is that even with this help, it’s still just a drop in the ocean.

Under the exponential growth of doubt and confusion, the three people still quickly couldn’t cope.

Even Lady Ice’s performance was not at all stronger than the others.

Amidst the heavy breathing that rose and fell, Fu Qian seemed to feel a mix of bad emotions pulsating in the darkness, ready to collapse at any moment.

Meanwhile, Fu Qian was very sure, the Gold Coin underfoot didn’t, as Ice described, exchange for a "Weapon" crafted by the Vacuum Flower.

Is it that the time hasn’t arrived, and scrutiny from a special being is still ongoing?

A reasonable deduction, at least what supports those two young people, should be such belief — snap!

In the next moment, accompanied by a soft sound, the Darkness, heavy like a mountain, was suddenly pierced by a strand of white light.

...

What’s that saying again?

I could have endured the darkness, if I had not seen the light.

Although the light wasn’t very strong, I believe nothing else is more impactful than light blooming in such circumstances.

At that moment, the two youths even forgot to tremble, staring at the spot where the light bloomed, the center of the entire square space, their consciousness evidently plunged into void.

Did it succeed?

Of course, it was just for a moment, closely followed by ecstasy rising in their hearts, even ahead of the restoration of their vision.

"You—"

And accompanying the return of vision was a shout from Lady Ice, questioning her own life.

What?

Instantly drawn in, without even checking the Gold Coin underfoot, the two slightly recovering their vision simultaneously turned to the spot where the light shone.

How could it be...

And this move successfully plunged them into an even more exaggerated stiffness than before.

The special location, never before seen in its true form, was evidently a cube, entirely cast from silvery sand-colored metal.

At this moment, the undecorated walls reflected a peculiar luster under the light.

But the source of that light was far from some imagined incomprehensible creation; instead, it was a robed figure.

The light piercing through the darkness came directly from his hand...

"What are you doing—"

And indeed living up to the identity of a group leader, Lady Ice’s next question was finally roared out completely.

...

Yes, the person standing there was Fu Qian.

As for the light piercing the darkness, it was naturally the lighting equipment he had casually bought on the way, which had performed marvelously in the past.

Combined, the two actions finally converged into this highly impactful scene.

As for why he did it?

Fu Qian’s gaze swept over the three of them, each carrying the same question, finally landing back on Ice’s face, smiling coldly.

"Good question, I also want to know what I’m doing, could you tell me, Lady Ice?"

"...What do you mean?"

Noticing from the corner of her eye that the other two had also slightly snapped out of it and were listening blankly to this conversation, Ice’s gaze softened a bit, staring at Fu Qian’s face and retorting.

And from the other party’s furrowed brows, Fu Qian easily interpreted the regretful thought, "This guy is indeed strange, we shouldn’t have risked letting him join."

"Vacuum Flower..."

Fiddling with the light source in his hand, Fu Qian certainly felt no embarrassment.

"A bunch of rats, I really underestimated your incompetence."

The next moment he even snorted coldly, his eyes filled with undisguised disgust.

"Gold Coin, test, Workshop, smelting... I can’t imagine what kind of fear the Night Watchman brought upon you, that you relentlessly perform these clownish acts step by step."

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Ice’s mood seemed quite unfavorable as well, and facing Fu Qian’s remarks, her tone turned harsh.

It even seemed she might shoot a dark red beam from her visor aimed this way, tearing apart any obstacle ahead.

"Is there really a Vacuum Flower here? And does it forge ’Weapons’ for us in the darkness?"

Unfortunately, Fu Qian, the only one knowing the stakes, was also the one least acknowledging it.

And his expression at this moment was quite the look of someone who had endured hardships on a pilgrimage, only to find a bunch of thieves and petty rogues.

"Just a metal box... Did you plan from day one of its construction, hoping that when the Night Watchman found it, they’d jump out and laugh, claiming it was all a joke?"

"Are you saying I’m deceiving you... that the so-called power to hunt Deities is just a joke? That you, chosen ones, are also a joke?"

Seeing Fu Qian’s line of questioning leave the other two in silence, seemingly trapped in some internal struggle, Ice let out an odd laugh.

"No, you are the joke."

Fu Qian instantly shook his head.

"I’ve said before, I am utterly certain that moment I was chosen by destiny, without any doubt..."

"I just didn’t expect that you, who were supposed to guide me to that destiny, have become so cowardly as to even cover the true destiny with such clownish acts."

"Unable to perceive, unable to understand, what a perfect description, and even now, it could be explained away as that being still not having watched enough time, so the smelting hasn’t started?"

Amidst his impassioned words, Fu Qian surveyed his surroundings, and in the next moment, his attitude turned utterly scornful.

"But now there’s a problem, with my current rude words and deeds, why doesn’t the esteemed Vacuum Flower jump out to beat me up?"