Hearing Lin Yu's words, Sister Hua looked puzzled.

"What do you mean by that?"

Lin Yu turned to Sister Hua and asked, "Sister Hua, did you get the 'map'?"

"No, what map are you talking about?" Sister Hua replied, clearly confused.

Lin Yu understood now.

Indeed, the map item given by that burly man wasn't something every player had received.

"I got a map from the initial NPC," Lin Yu said as he pulled out the map from his pocket. "It shows the number of 'strongholds'."

He showed the map to Sister Hua.

"There are almost 100 strongholds marked here... you see? So although the monsters restrict us from 'acting together', the abundant supplies mean there's no absolute competition between us."

Lin Yu spoke seriously.

"I know you might think items should be kept for personal use first... but since you haven't retrieved any yet, those items must be difficult to obtain, right?"

"As a Soldier with enhanced physical abilities, if you trust me, why not share information about one or two items! If I get the chance, I'll retrieve them for you!"

His sincere attitude and reasoning moved the naturally warm-hearted Sister Hua.

"Young man, you make a good point—alright, I'll tell you about one that should be most useful to you."

Sister Hua pointed directly north.

"About three kilometers that way, there's an item called [Black Oil Torch] buried under a rock. That thing never goes out no matter what and provides constant warmth and light."

"With that item, it seems you won't be targeted by monsters even when active outside at night."

Once Sister Hua made her decision, she became much more forthcoming.

She shared detailed information about one item with Lin Yu.

Lin Yu nodded understandingly.

"Got it. If I obtain it, I'll come back to help gather some supplies as repayment."

He smiled as he spoke.

Then, Lin Yu waved goodbye to Sister Hua.

"Well then, Sister Hua—since the NPC already emphasized this point, we shouldn't stay together too long!"

As Lin Yu said this, Sister Hua nodded.

"Alright, A-Long, be careful on your way!"

Sister Hua waved back.

Then, Lin Yu walked into the snowstorm.

With the fivefold physical enhancement from being a 'Soldier', plus the lingering effects of deceiving the burly man, Lin Yu's movement speed had increased further.

His vastly improved stamina and endurance left him feeling no fatigue.

Even in the mountainous blizzard, Lin Yu moved as effortlessly as "walking on flat ground".

Having successfully found Sister Hua earlier, Lin Yu also believed his analysis of the map was correct!

So without delay, he headed straight for the next "sector area".

After searching two strongholds around the "central point"...

Lin Yu wasn't surprised to find a young man sweeping snow with a large broom.

Seeing a figure approaching rapidly through the snowstorm, the young man assumed the same defensive posture as Sister Hua.

"Whoa! Who's there?!"

Looking at the slightly pudgy man dressed like the Michelin tire mascot in a white down jacket, Lin Yu cleared his throat.

"Player—I'm a player!"

Even after Lin Yu identified himself as a player, the man in white remained wary.

"A player? Are you here to steal my firewood?"

"Not at all, brother. Why would I steal your firewood?" Lin Yu said with a smile. "I'm just looking for 'strongholds'—my forum ID is 'ForeverLoveAi', and my class is 'Otaku'."

"What threat could an 'Otaku' possibly pose? Besides, since I'm an 'Otaku', doesn't that prove how harmless I am?"

Hearing this, the man in white visibly relaxed.

"Ohhh, so you're an 'Otaku'," he nodded. "You scared me... seeing you run so fast through the snow, I thought you were a monster... My ID is 'Dolphin', class is 'Student', cleared six dungeons—how many have you done, ForeverLoveAi?"

Casually, Lin Yu replied,

"One less than you, Dolphin. This is my fifth dungeon."

"By the way, Dolphin, where'd you get that broom?"

Lin Yu asked enthusiastically.

Dolphin scratched his head, "I asked the NPC for it at the start. Makes it easier to find things buried under snow. He also gave me some food and water, and pointed out a few stronghold locations."

"Since I'm a 'Student', I got all these after using my ability."

Lin Yu acted surprised, "Dolphin, you're so decisive! Using your ability right away and getting so much—this is the first time I've seen someone use the 'Student' ability so effectively!"

"You're definitely set for this dungeon."

Flattered by Lin Yu's praise, Dolphin looked embarrassed.

"Ah, it's nothing really. I was just worried the NPC might leave and I'd never get to use the ability..."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but feel pleased with himself.

"Actually, you 'Otaku' types should do fine too," Dolphin said kindly to Lin Yu. "Pure survival dungeons like this suit 'Otakus' well... If you're looking for strongholds, I suggest heading east."

"The NPC pointed out a few strongholds that way—there should be two more. Go check them out!"

Then Dolphin sighed regretfully.

"Too bad the monsters in this dungeon seem to target 'groups'. Otherwise I'd really team up with you."

Hearing this, Lin Yu agreed,

"Yeah, Dolphin, what a shame!"

"I shouldn't linger. Neither of us has any combat ability—if we encounter monsters, we're done for."

Speaking sincerely, Lin Yu turned and walked back into the snowstorm.

Feeling the "belief" flowing in and his deception becoming 'real', Lin Yu exhaled.

"Hah, as expected. This 'Promotion Mission' is practically an advanced tutorial for the 'Fraudster' class."

Now Lin Yu recognized another strength of his Unique Class 'Fraudster'.

Because...

right now, he simultaneously possessed abilities from both the 'Soldier' and 'Otaku' classes.

Just by stopping movement, his stamina would rapidly recover.

Two completely "contradictory" lies could coexist as long as neither was exposed!

This was precisely Lin Yu's strategy to complete his first Promotion Mission.

He simply needed to claim different "identities" to each person!

If successful, this wouldn't just mean completing the Promotion Mission...

He could potentially gain twelve different identity classes in this game!