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

"The Lost Altar..."

Lin You stared at the newly appeared golden marker on the minimap, and her drowsiness instantly dissipated.

Lost Altar

[Distance from current location: Approximately 3.5 kilometers]

[Note: An ancient altar of the gods, which seems to still retain some divine power, is open for exploration.]

"Never mind, I'll go tomorrow."

Lin You yawned and rubbed her sore eyes.

I'm so tired today.

From continuously battling over a dozen waves of undead invasions to achieving a perfect score in the Abyss Dungeon.

There's also mining, collecting, smelting, and crafting... the whole day is almost non-stop.

Although my physical strength is still healthy in terms of numbers, the mental fatigue is real.

"Yanling, Vivian, get some rest tonight. We have important business to attend to tomorrow."

Meow~

Flame Spirit curled up on the cushion next to the control panel, her eyes closed.

The cushion was made by Lin You using rags and slime gel, and the little guy quite liked it.

Goodnight, Master~

Vivian flew to her favorite spot on the ceiling and fell asleep hanging upside down.

Its wings folded up, like an upside-down blue flower bud.

Lin You leaned back in her seat and took one last look at her strategy points before closing her eyes.

Strategy Points: 3850

"If I save up a bit more tomorrow, I can exchange it for a high-level Eye of Insight..."

His consciousness gradually faded, and a heavy drowsiness enveloped him.

……

In a hazy state, Lin You heard a rustling sound.

It sounded like someone was talking.

"Are you sure there's something here? It's all dark to me, there's nothing there."

"Keep your voice down! Didn't you see that mining cart?"

"Is that a cat, or some kind of monster? Why is there a ball of fire on its tail?"

"It looks like it's staring at us!"

"Don't move! Don't move!"

Lin You gradually regained consciousness and opened his eyes.

He noticed that there were indeed two blurry figures outside the mine cart.

Flame Spirit was crouching at the entrance of the minecart, its tail ablaze with flames.

Its golden pupils were fixed on the two figures, and a low "gurgling" sound came from its throat.

Vivian also woke up, hiding in the shadows behind Lin You, only her bright eyes showing.

"Flame Spirit, come back."

Lin You stood up, stretched her stiff neck, and walked to the mine cart door.

Upon hearing the command, Yanling extinguished its flames and jumped back into Lin You's arms, but its eyes remained wary.

The two figures finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew...that scared me to death, I thought I was going to die here."

"Brother, are you the owner of this minecart? We accidentally dug this way while excavating; we didn't wander in on purpose."

Lin You glanced at the two of them.

A tall, thin man wearing glasses, who looked refined and cultured.

Another short, stout man carried a copper pickaxe, looking like a professional miner.

The two men's mine cart was parked not far away, with some scratches on its body, indicating that it had been through quite a fight.

"It's alright, this isn't private property."

Lin You waved her hand, indicating that they didn't need to be nervous.

The player wearing glasses breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze falling on Lin You's face, when he suddenly froze.

"Wait...you, you are...?"

He rubbed his eyes, looked at them carefully again, and his voice trembled.

"You're Lin You?! The Lin You who wrote the walkthrough?!"

The short, chubby player's eyes widened, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg.

"Holy crap! It really is Lin You! I've seen your profile picture before! Oh my god, I actually ran into the real person here!"

Lin You's lips twitched, and she subconsciously wanted to deny it.

But before they could even speak, the two were already so excited that they were incoherent.

"Wow! I'm a die-hard fan of yours! I've read every single one of your guides at least three times!"

"Hey bro, can I take a picture with you? Just one! I want to post it on the forum and brag about it!"

"Yes, yes, yes! I want to take a photo too! Please, boss!"

Lin You looked at the two players in front of him who were so excited they were about to jump up, and sighed helplessly.

"Okay, just one."

The two were so excited they almost hugged each other, and immediately moved closer to Lin You.

The short, chubby player activated the game's built-in screenshot function and snapped a picture of the three of them.

"Okay, okay, we're done filming."

The player wearing glasses immediately opened the forum posting page.

[I'm so excited! I actually ran into Lin You in person! He's super nice and even took a photo with us!]

The post included a screenshot of a group photo of the three of them.

Within a minute, the comment section exploded.

"Holy crap! I'm so envious! I want to take a picture with them too!"

"Lin You, the big boss, is actually nearby? Report his location! I'll dig over there immediately!"

"Calm down upstairs. The big shot definitely has his own things to do. Don't bother him."

"Lin You looks so young in the photo, I thought he was an older man."

"By the way, what's that cat next to Boss Lin You? Is it a pet? It's so cool!"

Lin You looked at the rapidly growing comments on the forum, and several black lines appeared on her forehead.

"Um... I have something to do, I'll be going now."

The player wearing glasses quickly grabbed him.

"Don't rush, boss. We've finally met, let's chat a little longer, okay?"

The short, chubby player chimed in.

"Yes, yes, we still have plenty of mushrooms here, we can grill them and eat them together!"

Lin You shook her head, her tone hardening.

"No, I really have something to do. You all be careful too, the monsters on the second level of the underground are much stronger than those on the first level, don't let your guard down."

After saying that, he turned around, got back onto the mine cart, and started the engine.

The drill bit rotated, and the minecart slowly drove towards the direction marked on the minimap.

Lin You yawned and muttered to himself as he operated the mine cart.

"The fans' enthusiasm is simply irresistible..."

"Thank goodness Yanling is here, I can sleep peacefully."

Flame Spirit lay at his feet and let out a smug hum.

Lin You leaned back in her seat, closed her eyes for a short rest, but this time she didn't fall asleep.

About twenty minutes later, the mine cart emerged from a narrow passage, and the view suddenly opened up before them.

A vast underground space appeared before Lin You.

The light from the mine cart lanterns shone in, illuminating only a small part of the iceberg.

Collapsed stone pillars, broken statues, and moss-covered ground are faintly visible all around.

"It's like a dilapidated temple."

Lin You jumped off the mine cart, holding a torch and looking around.

The size of this space far exceeded his expectations; it was at least the size of two football fields.

The ground was paved with huge stone slabs, with weeds and vines growing in the gaps.

The walls on both sides are carved with indistinct reliefs depicting some kind of ritual or war scene.

But the passage of time has eroded it so severely that it is now difficult to recognize.

In the very center of the space, there is a relatively well-preserved circular altar.

The altar is made of grayish-white stone, about five meters in diameter, and half a meter above the ground.

Its surface was covered with intricate runes, which gleamed with a dark red luster under the torchlight.

Several broken stone pillars lay scattered around the altar, their shafts riddled with cracks, threatening to collapse at any moment.

Lin You walked to the edge of the altar, squatted down, and carefully examined the runes.

His eyes warmed slightly, and his intermediate-level Eye of Insight activated automatically.

[Additional Information: This is an altar belonging to the "God of Slaughter," and it still retains some of his divine power.]

[God of Slaughter: The god who rules over battle, bloodshed, and conquest, whose altars reward challengers in the form of "trials"]

Activating the altar will summon a large number of monsters. Defeating these monsters within the altar's area will earn you "Tribute Points," which can be redeemed for rewards after the trial ends.

[Note: Once the trial is activated, you will be unable to leave the altar area until the trial ends or you die.]

……