Goblin Dependency

Xia Nan and the others, having obtained the clue, began their action.

After all, time was limited, with the midnight activity concluding soon, leaving them less than ten hours.

Although it seemed they had some time to spare, there were only a hundred Deep Sea Resonating Stones in total— to be precise, ninety-nine, randomly hidden across a vast island. While it wasn’t quite a needle in a haystack, it was far from easy.

To maximize search efficiency and increase the possibility for each team member to meet the task conditions, the original four-person team divided into two groups.

Xia Nan went with Alton, who had already completed the activity task, to the south coast of Stodd Island, seeking the resonating stone said to be hidden among the rocks as told by the locals;

Meanwhile, Sasha and Ellison headed to other locations to search.

Once Xia Nan found the quest item or confirmed it was false information, he would go back to regroup with them.

Everything went smoothly.

Even though it was the first time for both of them to visit "Thousand Pile Island" Stodd, and they didn’t know the routes well, by casually stopping a passerby to ask a few questions at confusing crossroads or corners, they managed to find their destination.

It’s worth mentioning that on the way, they saw many adventurers obviously participating in the activity or just there to join the excitement.

Some were climbing onto rooftops to inspect every chimney, while others were painstakingly questioning shop owners for clues.

Adventurers with peculiar behaviors could be seen everywhere.

Evidently, the allure of winning battle skill and enchanted equipment prizes that Flynn mentioned was too strong for ordinary adventurers to resist.

Even those who didn’t participate in the first round and couldn’t join the actual lottery activity were determined to find the so-called "Deep Sea Resonating Stone" rock to sell it to a wealthy contestant for a satisfactory price.

It hadn’t been long since Flynn announced the event start in the central square, so most contestants and onlookers were searching in the blocks nearby.

Only a few like Xia Nan and Alton had a clear destination.

As such, when the two reached the south coast of the island, the area appeared particularly deserted, with scarcely anyone in sight.

All they could see were the white waves crashing against the rocks, the yellowish-brown soft sandy beach, the large platforms in the distance, and the Water Iron Wood forest stretching from the island’s depths to near the beach.

Xia Nan and Alton walked along the shoreline, close to the ebb and flow, scanning the rocks protruding from the water.

Although a local provided some clues, the exact location of the Deep Sea Resonating Stone was not precise.

They only roughly knew the stone was hidden between two rocks on the island’s south coast, with the hiding spot being midway, not too shallow or deep, exposed only during low tide.

Xia Nan planned to first walk around the beach to identify the rock areas that might hide the resonating stone, and then dive in to check more thoroughly.

As he contemplated, his gaze unconsciously drifted to Alton, who was squatting enthusiastically on the beach, playing with a starfish that had washed ashore, using a twig he’d picked up randomly.

Come to think of it, with the divine favor of the Goddess of Fortune on his side and their relationship, if he wanted to take the easy route, Xia Nan wouldn’t even need this much preparation. He could just let Alton casually pick a spot and perhaps find the resonating stone.

However, after spending so much time together, Xia Nan understood a bit about the personality preferences of the Goddess Taimola through Alton’s behavior.

Simply put, it was something Alton had once said to him— "Luck is conserved."

Just like how the little guy could always win with jaw-droppingly high odds at the casino, only to lose everything in one go afterward.

Sure, Xia Nan might easily find the Deep Sea Resonating Stone in the rock crevice with Alton’s help, but at what cost...

Perhaps a bowl of cream of mushroom soup with a disastrous taste from an off-day chef, or a misstep in battle.

Xia Nan resisted this feeling of being out of control.

Hence, when he was with Alton, he tried to avoid exploiting the divine favor of the Goddess of Fortune to do anything overtly strategic.

Of course, activities like fishing together wouldn’t matter.

In the midst of pondering whether Ellison and Sasha would yield any results, a commotion suddenly arose from the distant beach.

Looking over, he saw a few men who seemed to be adventurers.

Their equipment was uniformly good and their movements more agile and forceful than ordinary people, definitely at least seasoned adventurers, if not professionals.

From afar, Xia Nan found them somewhat familiar.

Especially the one leading them, whom he had just met.

The one with a large, conspicuous tattoo on his neck, a member of the "Wind Forger" ship group who had just bullied the civilians!

"What a coincidence?"

A strange expression appeared on Xia Nan’s face.

Notably, at that moment, the leading adventurer, as if discovering something, was crawling carefully on the moist, sharp rock, moving his body cautiously.

He crawled to the outermost part of the rock, pressed closely against its surface, while his right hand extended downward with utmost difficulty into the crevice.