Survival in the Core: I'm writing a guide for the entire server.

"Roger?"

Lin You frowned slightly as she looked at the familiar name.

The first player to reach level 2 of the Earth's core once publicly sold the recipe he had published in his strategy guide on the market.

He didn't have a good impression of this person.

But after thinking for a moment, he accepted the friend request.

Roger: Lin You, I've heard so much about you.

Roger: I've read your strategy guide; it's indeed very well written.

Roger: But I'm not here today for pleasantries.

Lin You leaned back in her seat, tapping her fingers on the armrest as she replied slowly and deliberately.

[Lin You: What is it? Just say it]

The person on the other end got straight to the point.

[Roger: I'd like to ask you to remove the formula for the glowing potion.]

Lin You raised an eyebrow but did not reply immediately.

Roger sent another string of messages.

It seemed they wanted to force him to submit through sheer force.

[Roger: To be honest, I actually have some fluorescent tulip materials on hand.]

Roger: Currently, only the two of us can reach the second core of the Earth and create the fluorescent potion.

[Roger: Think about it, the Abyss Dungeon event is currently underway, and players in other regions desperately need this item.]

[Roger: If only we can make this, selling it for a few silver coins a bottle wouldn't be unreasonable, would it?]

[Roger: Let's team up and monopolize the fluorescent agent market. We'll definitely make a fortune in these three days!]

Lin You looked at these messages and a cold smile appeared on her lips.

He suddenly remembered why this person's name sounded so familiar.

When he posted his first strategy guide and revealed the Stone Age recipe.

Some people in the comments section called him a fool, saying that he was cutting off his own source of income by giving away the formula for free.

What was that person's name again?

It seems to be the person right in front of me.

[Lin You: So you've come to ask me to do business with you?]

Roger: Yes, it's a win-win situation, you wouldn't refuse, would you?

[Lin You: Why not?]

Roger was clearly taken aback for a moment.

Roger: What did you say?

[Lin You: I won't delete the recipe, please leave.]

Roger: Are you crazy? What good will this do you?

Lin You: You don't need to worry about that.

Anyway, even if the other side racked their brains, they probably wouldn't have guessed that Lin You actually had a system on him.

Roger's reply was clearly tinged with anger.

Roger: Lin You, I've come to you with good intentions to cooperate, don't be ungrateful.

[Roger: You think your strategy guide will stay popular forever? Once everyone knows everything, who's going to read your stuff anymore?]

Roger: The smart thing to do is to make a quick buck while you can.

Lin You shook her head as she read these words.

Different road non-phase plan.

[Lin You: I won't stop you from doing business, but don't drag me into it.]

After sending the message, he immediately clicked on Roger's profile picture and selected "Delete Friend".

[Note: You have deleted this friend. Neither of you will be able to see the other's online status or send private messages.]

"It's peaceful now."

Lin You closed the chat interface and let out a breath.

Flame Spirit seemed to sense the change in his emotions, and peeked out from his arms, calling out softly.

Meow~

"It's nothing, I just ran into a boring person."

Lin You rubbed Yan Ling's head and sat up straight again.

The mine cart continued its journey, the sound of the drill bit rubbing against the rock wall echoing in the darkness.

On the minimap, the area he selected was getting closer and closer.

Meanwhile, in another part of the newbie zone, number 25535, there is a subterranean space.

Roger sat in his mine cart, his face terribly grim.

His minecart is much more advanced than that of the average player.

There are also two carriages, which are clearly simple mining cars of level 6 or above.

"Ungrateful."

Roger gritted his teeth, his fingers pounding on the control panel.

He thought Lin You would be sensible enough to accept the cooperation, since no one would turn down money.

Unexpectedly, the other party rejected him so decisively, and even deleted him from their friend list.

"Writing travel guides? Helping others? Do you really think you're a savior?"

Roger sneered, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes.

He opened the event page and entered the temporary cross-regional chat room.

In the chat room, several players from the newbie zone were still enthusiastically discussing strategies for defeating Lin You.

"Lin You from District 25535 is amazing! She drew the entire map of all five floors by herself!"

"And he even revealed the recipe for the glowing potion; this stuff is incredibly useful in secret realms!"

"Why don't we have any big shots like that in our area? I'm so envious."

Roger's expression grew even more grim as he listened to the discussion.

He opened his friends list and scrolled down a few names.

These days, he has added many skilled players from other newbie zones through cross-zone chat rooms.

They are all top-ranked players on the leaderboard, and their skills are quite impressive.

These people are all his potential "clients".

But now, he has a new idea.

Roger opened Andrew's private chat window and typed a line of text.

Roger: Andrew, I'd like to discuss a business deal with you.

[Andrew: What kind of business?]

[Roger: Do you want the map to the Abyss Dungeon, and the recipe for the Glowing Potion?]

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

Andrew: These things probably aren't cheap.

Roger: Heh... You should have seen the name at the top of the leaderboard by now.

[Andrew: Lin You? You want me to deal with him?]

[Roger: It's not about fighting, it's about fair competition. He's number one now, don't you want to dethrone him?]

[Andrew: ...What exactly do you want to do?]

Roger's lips curled up slightly, and a hint of smugness flashed in his eyes.

Instead of replying to Andrew immediately, he opened the private chat windows of other experts.

The same messages were sent out one after another.

Some people expressed interest, some refused outright, and some were still hesitating.

But Roger wasn't in a hurry.

He knew that if even one of these people succeeded, Lin You's "invincible halo" would shatter.

Once his aura crumbles, will anyone still read his guides?

Can he still maintain his "master of seduction" persona?

"This is what happens if you dare to refuse my cooperation."

Roger leaned back in his chair, gave a cold laugh, and closed the chat interface.

……

At this moment, Lin You was standing in a newly arrived space in the Earth's core, looking around.

This space was more barren than any he had ever been to before.

Scattered copper veins are exposed on the ground, but not many.

However, the space is very large and the terrain is complex.

Everywhere there are protruding rocks and hanging roots, like a natural barrier.

"This is it."

Lin You nodded in satisfaction.

Although this space is resource-poor, its complex terrain makes it perfect for farming undead invasions.

He walked to an open space and took out a newly made spirit-summoning lantern from his backpack.

"Flame Spirit, prepare for battle."

"Meow!"

Flame Spirit sprang out from beside his feet, its golden pupils gleaming with excitement in the darkness.

Vivian then flew to the top of the minecart to watch the battle from a distance.

The Flower Fairy disliked fighting, so Lin You didn't force her.

"Let's begin."

Lin You raised the spirit-summoning lantern high and slammed it to the ground.

"Snapped!"

The lantern shattered, and a ghostly green flame seeped into the ground.

On the minimap, countless red dots began to appear.

One, two, three... the number quickly broke through double digits.

The undead in the second level of the Earth's core are slightly stronger than those in the first level.

The skeleton soldiers' health has been increased from 45 to 50, and the zombies' health has been increased from 60 to 70.

But for Lin You, this improvement was negligible.

"call."

With a thought, Lin You summoned twenty skeleton soldiers from the Magic Card Encyclopedia.

A pale blue light flashed, and the army of the undead lined up before him, engaging in fierce combat with the enemies that crawled out from the ground.

[Killed a "Skeleton Soldier", experience points +1]

Killing a "zombie" grants +1 experience point.

Although experience points increase slowly, they are plentiful.

Over time, Lin You's experience bar slowly increased.

Experience points: 950/1000

Experience points: 970/1000

Experience points: 990/1000

……

After the seventh wave of undead invasion ended, Lin You's experience points finally reached the maximum of level 9.

1000/1000.

But the anticipated upgrade did not happen.

The dark golden light did not appear, nor did the upgraded feeling of comfort come.

Instead, a new system notification appeared.

Your experience points have reached the current level cap.

[Advancement quest triggered!]

[Complete the advancement quest to reach level 10 and unlock new class skills and attribute growth caps.]

……