Chapter 397: Chapter 397: Intimidation
Seeing this situation, Li Yao was also taken aback. No wonder these people didn’t dare to open the door themselves, but instead let the uninformed himself do it.

Obviously, they were sacrificing some strangers to uncover the mystery of this door.

The more dangerous the door, the more unwilling they were to leave, the more they believed there must be something incredibly valuable inside.

This is the normal psychology of people. Why would such an impressive door exist if there wasn’t something worthwhile?

In this circumstance, they were even more reluctant to leave.

That’s why so many masters and players gathered. Actually, they all had meticulous plans—let the uninformed open the door. If it can’t be opened, they’ll observe the door’s patterns and changes as they gain experience. If it does open, they can also get their share of the spoils.

As for whether there would be fights for the spoils, the masters whose minds were occupied by profits chose to ignore this issue.

“Master, I think we should retreat,” said Light Flower. “Right now the master is being targeted. Regardless of whether we can open this portal, once it’s opened, they will swarm in. Under such focused attention, it’s hard to get anything, not to mention we’re likely to be ganged up on.”

After finishing, the Light Flower quickly added, “I’m not afraid of death. I’ll just lag behind the other soldiers a bit, but the master has only one life.”

Li Yao nodded and said, “I’m well aware of that. But do you think they would let me leave now?”

Upon hearing Li Yao’s words, everyone looked around, only to see players and masters block all the passages on their left and right. Li Yao’s retreat route was cut off.

“Damn it, this is too cunning.” War Horizon said in anger, “Master, how about we break out?”

Li Yao replied, “You’re overthinking it. If we make any moves, I may be able to break out with my puppet, but you guys… Moreover, I’ve started to become interested in this door and actually don’t plan on leaving.”

Ephemeral Bloom was shocked. She knew who Li Yao was. Even though he was powerful, how could one person compete with so many masters when all of them were at a loss?

No matter how much a player knows, they have just recently entered the game. Even if they spent all day in the library, it would be impossible for them to know more than the NPCs. Moreover, she knew that Li Yao didn’t have that much time to read books.

“This door is obviously a trap. I think it’s better not to take the risk or else all of your efforts would have been in vain. Let’s pick another door.” Ephemeral Bloom voiced her opinion, “If it really doesn’t work, you should just break out by yourself. Don’t worry about us. As long as you’re alive, our mission won’t be considered a failure.”

“Yes, yes, as long as the master breaks out and opens the third door, we won’t be deemed as having failed,” War Horizons also reacted.

It was clear that they couldn’t retreat together now. If Li Yao died, they would be doomed. If Li Yao survived, even if they were killed, the rewards they would have gained would be enough to cover the losses.

“Alright, stop talking, I can sense that it’s not that simple. There might be a great secret in there, by then the rewards wouldn’t be short of you guys,” Li Yao recalled the situation when the Dwarf Master disappeared and had some insights after a long pondering.

“What are you guys whispering about? You must be thinking about escaping,” An old goblin sneered coldly. “Don’t waste your effort; none of you can leave.”

Although he had decided to stay, Li Yao wasn’t going to compromise. Just as rudely, he retorted, “A geezer on the verge of death who hasn’t even reached the second-tier, yet still acting important here. If you have the guts, come here, I can kill you with just one arm.”

“Boy, you’re too arrogant. Before you open the door, I’ll teach you a lesson with my puppet…”

The old goblin’s words were cut off when the female goblin hastily interjected. “Uncle, don’t! You’re no match for him. His puppet is of legendary quality. Besides, a second-tier middle-level risk investment expert died at his hands.”

The old goblin’s words stopped abruptly. The masters who were about to ridicule Li Yao all gasped in fear and hastily retreated.

Being one tier above them, it was almost impossible to defeat him, especially for those crazy combatants from the risk investment companies.

To them, a golden puppet of the same tier was unbeatable. However, more importantly, achieving such a challenge at a higher tier was not just due to the golden puppet. It required a strong combat will and skills.

A guy who was good at fighting, controlling a puppet which is unbeatable at the same tier, surely his strength would be too frightful. If a person like that went berserk, even if they combined to kill him, he could still pin down five or six of them at least. Once the fight breaks out, no one would guarantee that they won’t become the next victim.

“Well, old fart, didn’t you want to teach me a lesson? Come on, I’ll give you one hand as I promised. I always keep my word.” Li Yao was in no way threatened, instead, he stepped forward and provocatively surveyed the crowd.

The goblins, timid as mice, immediately backed away. The dwarves didn’t want to be the first targets either, also receded one after another.

The old goblin’s face turned ghastly. If he were good at fighting, he wouldn’t have lingered so close to death without reaching the second tier. He had an epic-grade puppet, but it was only to scare people off, and its actual combat strength was far from enough.

“Ahem, my good man, don’t get agitated; it was just a joke. No need to get so serious,” the old goblin managed a constrained smile.

Li Yao said with a nonchalant smile, “Alright, since I’m not the type who likes killing. Plus, I’m pretty reasonable. You just have to say aloud ‘I admit I’m a coward’ three times and ‘please, sir, overlook my fault and spare me this once’. This matter will then be forgotten. Otherwise, I really want to learn a thing or two from you.”

The old goblin’s face changed. He turned back and saw all goblins turning their heads away, pretending not to see.

A flicker of resentment and fear appeared in the old goblin’s eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, “I admit I’m a coward. I admit I’m a coward. I admit I’m a coward. Please, sir, overlook my fault and spare me this once.”

“Oh my, it was just a joke. I’m such a kind person, I always respect the old and love the young. I didn’t expect you to take it so seriously. I’m so sorry.” Li Yao spoke with an apologetic tone, but his face showed no remorse at all.

Although goblins were usually shameless, even the old goblin could feel his face burning. He slunk back to the back of the crowd, keeping his distance from everyone. Clearly, the recent incident had opened up a rift between them.

“Then let’s discuss the issue of this door,” Li Yao said. “It’s not impossible for me to open this door. I already have some clues, but I have a condition.”

Everyone’s face was filled with astonishment and joy as Li Yao spoke. They had given up on letting Li Yao open the door, in order to avoid pushing him into a corner. Little did they expect that he would propose to open the door voluntarily.

“Please tell us, brother. Any condition is open for discussion.”

“Yes, yes, any condition.”

Li Yao nodded and said, “It’s simple. When I’m opening the door later, you all have to follow my commands. Don’t worry, I won’t put you in danger.”

“Agreed, as long as there’s no danger, we can talk about anything.”

The others also expressed their willingness to cooperate.

A slight smile appeared on Li Yao’s face. He must open this door. Inside was related to a big secret—a big secret that was relevant to the main plotline.

After all, Li Yao was certain that this door had to do with a sealed ancient god. If this news were to come out, it would undeniably cause an uproar…

ps: asking for votes