Chapter 23: Hidden Dungeon!

Nick glanced at Sally, not particularly surprised by her decision. To be precise, Sally had no reason to refuse.

With Nick's current overall strength, he wasn't even capable of dealing with all the dangers in this perilous dungeon world, let alone her.

With just a rolled-edge short sword, she could hardly contend with ordinary dungeon creatures.

"Since you've agreed to join the team, let's discuss the distribution of the team's gains."

Nick's face became much more serious. For him, forming a team not only provided him with a helper to handle trading issues, but also offered significant assistance in exploration.

In the Dungeon Survival Game, there were only 10 digging attempts per day. Once these attempts were exhausted, one had to wait for the next day for them to refresh.

If acting alone, after the attempts were used up, one could only wait for the next day to continue digging and exploring. Teaming up solved this problem perfectly.

After his digging attempts were exhausted, Sally's 10 digging attempts would come into play, greatly accelerating the exploration progress and allowing them to improve their strength more quickly.

And after choosing to team up, the most important issue of distribution came to the fore.

"It's up to you."

Sally handed the decision-making power to Nick. With her current strength, she was only capable of taking a beating even when facing dungeon creatures. Just surviving was a problem.

In contrast, Nick not only possessed Rune weapons, but also carried a pet. The strength of the two was simply not on the same level.

Even if Nick took all the gains for himself, Sally wouldn't say anything. Compared to those external things, survival was obviously more important.

"..."

Nick pondered for a moment. Since they had formed a team, if they wanted it to last, they had to carefully consider the distribution of resources.

Right now, Sally's strength was limited by her equipment. If she also had Rune weapons, the strength she could display should not be too bad.

After making his decision, he slowly said, "There are only two of us in the team now. For the overall resource gains of the team, let's temporarily set it at a 70/30 split. I get 70%, you get 30%."

"!?"

When Sally heard Nick's words, she fell into a brief moment of contemplation. Her current strength couldn't be of much help. Being able to get 30% of the gains with minimal effort, she had no reason to refuse.

"Are you serious?"

Nick rolled his eyes and said helplessly, "Do you think I'm joking with you? Improving your strength will make it easier for me when we face dungeon creatures..."

"But at this stage, I'm definitely just giving you empty promises."

Her deep eyes fell on Nick. Seeing his calm expression, she nodded gently and said, "You really are a weirdo..."

"I should say the same to you."

For this self-conscious girl, Nick twitched his lips. When it came to overthinking, no one could beat her.

Apart from being a bit sharp-tongued, Sally's character was at least decent. If her conduct was also questionable, Nick would definitely not have contacted her.

Finally, he sighed and said, "Alright, my good teammate... Let's explore the nearby dungeon. While the impact of the dungeon creature riot isn't too severe."

"Improving our own strength as much as possible to cope with the world level increase is the most important thing."

"Mm..."

Because they had only interacted briefly, Sally looked a little reserved. She held the rolled-edge short sword in her hand and followed Nick's footsteps.

The Pangolin Python, quietly lying beside Nick, cast its intelligent eyes at Sally. Only after confirming that she had no ill intentions did it look away from her.

Nick came to the wall and looked at the three directions that could be dug. The next moment, a semi-transparent hint that only he could see appeared before him.

[Dig 3 meters to the left, and you will find bullet bees. If it stings you, you will feel the most thorough pain!]

[Dig 8 meters upwards, and you will waste your efforts.]

[Lady Luck is smiling. Dig 11 meters down, and you will enter a hidden dungeon. It comes with greater risks, but the risks and rewards are absolutely proportional!]

Of the three hints that appeared in front of Nick, apart from the two dangerous and useless directions, only the hidden dungeon below was most worthy of exploration.

Sally, beside him, saw Nick standing still, thinking he was just relying on luck to find a safer direction to dig.

Finally, Nick picked up the shovel on the ground and said, "Let's dig down... I feel like there should be some good stuff down there."

"Okay, Captain."

Although she didn't know where Nick's confidence came from, since she had joined the team, she had to obey the captain's arrangements. Even if there were dungeon creatures below, if the sky fell, there would be someone taller to hold it up.

After Sally finished speaking, she swung her shovel and started digging downwards.

Nick stood quietly to the side. He could have helped Sally dig with the shovel, but he wasn't sure if this would consume digging attempts.

If they dug simultaneously and both their attempts were consumed, it would be a bit of a loss...

The 11-meter distance to the passage below was dug through by Sally in just fifteen minutes. It made her, who was already covered in dust, look even more like a little wildcat.

Sally blinked at Nick. In the dungeon world where survival was extremely difficult, she didn't care about her disheveled appearance.

Nick naturally took the lead. He jumped lightly and arrived in the cave below, followed closely by the Pangolin Python curled up into a ball.

Finally, when Sally arrived at the current dungeon, with a brief vibration of the wall, the passage back and forth had returned to its original state.

Nick held the Rune Bow in his injured hand, and using the faint light, he surveyed the unfamiliar environment. The area alone was nearly a hundred square meters.

Even during the day, visibility was still very poor.

He glanced at Sally beside him. At this moment, she was holding the short sword tightly in both hands, her face wearing a serious expression.

With the previous encounter with the Sand Wolf as a lesson, Sally was very cautious in her every move when she arrived in this unfamiliar dungeon.

She was afraid of a sneak attack by dungeon creatures in the dark.

According to the hint, there were definitely dangers lurking in this large hidden dungeon. He had to remain vigilant at all times to respond in time.

And Sally, with the help of the faint light, took in the scene of the dungeon in front of her. Unlike the caves she usually explored, the area alone was not on the same level.

Not only that, but what also caught her eye were the mostly collapsed buildings.

"..."

Sally finally turned her gaze to Nick. She had explored many caves, but this was the first time she had encountered such a large-scale architectural ruin. She took the initiative to ask, "Captain..."

"Why is this dungeon different from the ones I usually explore?"