The simplicity of this [Social] panel is exactly the same as the functionality of the [Items] backpack and the game entry prompts.
No matter which god is responsible for this area, they must be a minimalist.
After summoning the [Social] panel, there are only two sections.
One is labeled [Players], which is temporarily empty.
The other is labeled [Non-Players]...
Surprisingly, there's a name sitting inside it.
"Punkdo Von Valetti."
When focusing attention on this name, you can actually choose the outrageous function of [Locate].
And if you focus attention on the [Players] module...
Besides prompting Lin Yu to "add friends," fill out his own "profile," and determine a "code name," there are also two functions: [Trade] and [Chat].
If there are special Team Cards, you can even form teams remotely.
After seeing that this [Social] panel exists, Lin Yu instantly understood many things.
He understood why those organizations made apps, but made them so casually, and why you rarely see top players chatting inside them.
Lin Yu also understood why the 'Free Alliance' didn't make an app.
And why "gatherings" exist.
First, you have to accommodate players who haven't unlocked the [Social] function, and "group chat" and "auctions"... this built-in [Social] function doesn't have those.
Second...
Since it's just accommodating them, then making do with whatever works is indeed enough.
However, after unlocking this [Social] function, it actually gave Lin Yu a headache.
"How am I supposed to use this?"
Being able to create alt accounts on the forum was already something to be thankful for, but how is he supposed to create alt accounts now?
If he can't create alt accounts...
Which identity should he use this precious [Social] function for?
Lin Yu became conflicted.
There's no good answer to this problem for now.
So, Lin Yu chose to set it aside.
"Alright, cleared smoothly! Time to go home and play some GAL games!"
Right at that moment, Chen Zhuo's voice sounded, then he looked toward Li Nian and Lin Yu in the back seat.
"Thank you both... I gained a lot of items this time too, later I'll have my items sold through a consignor and pay you your share along with the originally agreed final payment."
Chen Zhuo said seriously, while Li Nian narrowed her eyes.
"Fine, but... don't try to skip out on it, okay?"
"Although you don't know my methods yet, if you try to skip out, I can make sure you find out exactly what they are."
Chen Zhuo immediately said: "How could I, sis? Integrity is what I value most!"
"Before the next dungeon, I'll definitely bring you what you want... If I fail to deliver as promised, you can just... just empty out my entire house!"
Chen Zhuo said earnestly.
Lin Yu gently patted the back of Chen Zhuo's car seat.
"I trust you—well then, pleasure working with you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Nian very naturally picked up the conversation and snapped her fingers.
"Let's bounce, Zhu Ming!"
Then, Chen Zhuo only felt the car suddenly become lighter.
The two figures actually disappeared directly without a trace.
Chen Zhuo was filled with deep respect.
"Truly experts! Even their exit is extraordinary!"
...
In the greenbelt outside the old folks' scooter, Lin Yu looked helplessly at Li Nian, who was panting heavily from exhaustion, and gently patted her back to help her catch her breath.
"Couldn't you just exit normally? Did you have to make it so flashy?"
Clearly, Li Nian had used some kind of item just now. Fınd the newest release on ɴovelfire.net
Using that item, she actually dragged Lin Yu directly underground.
Then, Li Nian pulled Lin Yu through the ground for several meters before emerging from the greenbelt.
Only after watching Chen Zhuo drive away in his vehicle did the two stand up.
Having caught her breath, Li Nian put her hands on her hips and declared with conviction: "Hey, this is emotional value, you know... This little fatty spent quite a bit of money, I need to make him feel like his money was well spent."
Then, Li Nian reached into her waistband and pulled out a bottle of foreign liquor that looked quite high-end.
"Of course, Mingming sis... Since you introduced me to such a good job, your referral fee won't be missing either!"
Li Nian's address was somewhat cringey.
Lin Yu was somewhat surprised.
"This is?"
"Kirishima Vineyard's 'Mourning' series, this bottle has the best vintage," Li Nian stuffed it into Lin Yu's arms, "Don't be polite, we're all one of us now anyway."
Ownership of the [Item] transferred to Lin Yu.
Lin Yu shook his head.
"No, I can accept the wine, but... aren't I still in the assessment period?"
"Although it was by chance, Brother Wang and I did go through an entire dungeon with you after all—I'd certainly be happy for you to join us, and I think Brother Wang's opinion should be quite clear too."
Li Nian said with a smile: "From here, you joining the organization is just going through the motions... And since we're called the 'Free Alliance,' we definitely need rules and regulations the least!"
"So, you're already one of our members now."
Lin Yu still shook his head.
"No no, I appreciate your kindness, but I don't plan to join the 'Free Alliance' under these conditions—I still want to choose the other option, join a top organization and then publicly announce my withdrawal."
"So... please help me relay to Brother Wang, ask him to request Pan Yuqiang to keep my matters 'confidential' for a while... I think Pan Yuqiang should be willing."
He said seriously, and Li Nian's smile gradually faded.
"Are you serious about this, Zhu Ming?"
A trace of concern appeared on Li Nian's face at this moment.
She guessed which organization Lin Yu wanted to join—it wasn't hard to guess.
Of course, the 'Psychological Society'!
Otherwise, why would Lin Yu mention Pan Yuqiang, this 'Citalopram'?
Lin Yu nodded calmly.
"You probably understand my past now, so I don't want to run away from it anymore."
Li Nian spoke urgently: "But that was just a misunderstanding, wasn't it? Fluoxetine didn't have any intentions against you."
Lin Yu responded gently.
"Knowing that all of this was just a 'misunderstanding' didn't make me feel any more at ease because of it."
"I clearly understand that Fluoxetine wasn't targeting me... but precisely because of that, I need to target her."
As Lin Yu spoke, his tone and expression were very calm.
But when saying such content, the calmer the expression and tone, the more insane it seems.
Li Nian looked at Lin Yu for a long time, and after realizing his determination couldn't be changed, she let out a breath, her expression suddenly becoming relaxed.
"Alright, if that's the case... then I'll just enjoy and look forward to your amazing adventures!"
She said, then pulled out a "magnifying glass" from her chest again.
"This is for you too."
"What's this again?"
Lin Yu took the magnifying glass, and the [Investigation Magnifying Glass] item name popped up, making him somewhat curious.
"Oh this isn't a gift... more like asking a favor of you."
"You and that 'Detective' Furbollo have a mutual friend, right? Help me give this to him—I couldn't resist on the train earlier and just took it casually."
After sending Li Nian off, Lin Yu returned home.
In this environment where he wouldn't be disturbed by others, Lin Yu could finally calm down and sort through the gains from this dungeon.
First were the two item descriptions he hadn't had time to examine carefully in the Settlement Space earlier - although Lin Yu earning the "double rewards" through his own efforts was a good thing, it did cause some trouble.
There were too many items, and the time to examine them in the Settlement Space was almost never enough!
In situations like this where he chatted with Fu Luo for a bit, he could only come out and examine some items later.
Lin Yu took out the two remaining items besides the Rage Spray and Corner of the Gloomy.
The Mind-Peeping Eyepiece and the Resentful Little Fish Launcher.
Just from the name alone, he could guess the general function of the former - combined with the abilities displayed by Baron Coleman encountered in the previous dungeon, Lin Yu could almost confirm what this thing did.
Mind-Peeping Eyepiece: When worn, the user can actively view the real-time emotional energy of targets within their field of vision and analyze it. Please try to maintain emotional stability during use, otherwise it may cause deviations in results.
The description was simple, and the function was pretty much what Lin Yu had guessed.
Most importantly...
This thing wasn't like Li Nian's sunglasses, which had a very obvious style.
Instead, it was an extremely thin and transparent contact lens.
Lin Yu took it out, placed it on his fingertip, then gently inserted it into his left eye.
He wasn't really nearsighted, but stage makeup for theater performances sometimes involved colored contacts, so this wasn't Lin Yu's first time wearing something like this.
But Lin Yu had to say...
"It feels like I'm wearing nothing at all."
He blinked his left eye, feeling almost no discomfort at all.
Looking in the mirror, he couldn't tell at all that he was wearing a contact lens. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on NoveIꜰire.net
"Truly worthy of a cutting-edge major corporation's core product, the user experience is quite good."
Lin Yu muttered, then looked at the Resentful Little Fish Launcher.
Compared to all the other three items obtained from this dungeon, this one looked somewhat different just in appearance.
The Rage Spray was a very futuristic metal spray can, while the Corner of the Gloomy was something similar to a hand grenade throwing device.
Whichever one, including the previous Fear Torch and Chate's Supplies, all had quite a futuristic and technological feel.
Only this Resentful Little Fish Launcher...
Not only did it have a strange name, but its appearance also resembled a plastic water gun.
The colors were very bright, using highly saturated red, yellow, blue, and green clashing designs, with coloring full of candy-like feel.
It looked exactly like something a party clown would pull out.
Overall, it had the shape of a pistol, but the opening was like a horn.
As for the item description... it was even more baffling.
Resentful Little Fish Launcher: As the name suggests, launches a somewhat unhappy little fish!
"What the hell is this?"
Lin Yu held the gun, feeling that this might not even be a product from Truth Corporation.
He thought for a moment...
Then pulled the trigger aiming at the floor.
"Beep beep—woo!"
The horn-shaped muzzle actually made a sound like a small horn being pressed, startling Lin Yu.
"Splat!"
A soft, floppy bluish-gray fish was sprayed out from the gun muzzle, then directly fell onto the floor about one meter in front of Lin Yu.
He looked at the fish on the floor, and the fish on the floor also looked at Lin Yu, its eyes flickering with a strange light.
"What joy is there in life, what pain is there in death?"
The fish spoke, after uttering these eight words...
It transformed into a string of bubbles and disappeared.
Looking at this bizarre scene, Lin Yu fell into deep thought.
At first glance, this thing seemed useless, and in reality, it was indeed useless.
"Forget it... anyway, the double rewards were basically free, just consider it bad luck."
Lin Yu muttered, putting away this strange horn gun.
Although Lin Yu quickly accepted it, Hannah on his shoulder was somewhat sad.
"Gua ya, Director, that was a very, very good fish... just one look and you could tell it must have excellent flesh texture."
Lin Yu comforted Hannah.
"It's fine, there are plenty of fish with good flesh texture."
After comforting Hannah, Lin Yu focused on his item space.
Soon, he discovered he had overlooked one gain.
That was the most outrageous harvest from this dungeon.
Lin Yu looked at the item named Delta Team Leader in his item space and sighed.
"Damn it, the Collar's duration has already ended, why can this thing still be considered my possession and follow me out?"
Lin Yu never expected that the Fraudster ability combined with the Counterfeit imitating the Veterinarian's Collar would have such chemical reaction!
That Truth Corporation's Delta Team Leader had actually, like Hannah before...
Become his follower-type item!
Lin Yu thought that after returning to reality, with the Collar's duration ended, that Delta Team Leader would be happily released by him!
Now it seemed, that wasn't the case...
At this point, he could only look at Hannah.
"Um, Hannah, anyway, when I don't call you out, are you conscious?"
Lin Yu asked Hannah, trying to understand her state in the item space.
And Hannah's answer made Lin Yu breathe a slight sigh of relief.
"Not really, Director... that state is like being asleep, and sleeping quite comfortably at that."
"It's an unprecedented feeling of relaxation and comfort."
Lin Yu nodded: "Thank you, Hannah."
Then, he thought for a moment...
Decided to still release that guy!
After all, although the Collar had already expired, since that guy was now his possession, he might still be loyal to him!
At the very least... he probably couldn't harm him.
Thinking this, Lin Yu focused his mind.
Then, the fully armed Delta Team Leader appeared in his room.
This Delta Team Leader momentarily appeared confused, then immediately became alert.
"Damn bastard, what have you done to me! Where is this?!"
He growled lowly, about to charge at Lin Yu.
Lin Yu was startled.
"This is too damn unfair, why is there no sense of loyalty to me at all?!"
Just as Lin Yu prepared to put him back, the Delta Team Leader's movements suddenly froze.
Although his expression couldn't be seen, the Delta Team Leader's body language showed he was in extreme pain, his outstretched hand stuck in mid-air.
"You... what have you done? Why can't I imagine harming you!"
"Is it some kind of mental imprint? Or that brainwashing technique from before!"
"Damn it... then why did you preserve my self-awareness, is this your twisted preference?"
Facing the other party's accusations, Lin Yu sighed.
It seemed the situation was optimistic but not completely optimistic.
Subjective "loyalty" didn't exist.
But there were still objective hard constraints preventing him from harming Lin Yu.
"I don't have any psychopathic preferences, this was an accident for me too, okay?"
The other party calmed down.
Although Lin Yu had already ended his [False Face] disguise, because of the peculiar relationship between the two, this Delta Team leader could still recognize that the man before him was the "girl" who had brainwashed him earlier.
He sneered angrily: "So your psychopathy just involves disguising as a woman? That sounds like something those bastards from Supreme Evolution would do!"
"I'm not from any company in Sleepless City, and of course, not from the Great Wasteland either..."
Lin Yu tried to explain to him, but unexpectedly discovered...
He could suddenly talk about things like 『Death Game』 and 『Player』 with this Delta Team leader.
So, looking at the already quite unhappy and pained leader, Lin Yu decided to add more fuel to the fire.
"Listen to my explanation, I don't come from your world, and this isn't your world anymore either..."
Lin Yu spent about twenty-something minutes briefly explaining and used various phones and searched videos as evidence to help this outstanding Truth Corporation employee roughly accept this setting.
The tall armed man sat in the computer chair in front of Lin Yu's desk, holding his head in his hands.
"So, I'm just a game NPC?"
Lin Yu shook his head: "No, although from my perspective you're an NPC... based on my observations, these game dungeons should all be real worlds—it's just that compared to our world, your worlds are somewhat desolate, dangerous, and smaller in scale."
"Whether your world was created by gods or requisitioned, you're all genuinely living people, not just existing for the game."
Lin Yu explained.
The Delta Team leader sighed.
"But... I can't go back, can I?"
Lin Yu used the fresh [Mind-Peeping Eyepiece] to take a look.
The Delta Team leader's emotions were vividly displayed before him—a large mass of blue with some gray around his body.
Lin Yu couldn't understand it.
But fortunately, the [Mind-Peeping Eyepiece] had analytical functions.
"75% despondent, 13% confused, 10% sorrowful, 2% resentful."
Looking at these emotions, Lin Yu patted the other's shoulder.
"Don't be too upset, this unlucky game of mine is played once a week... if I'm lucky and randomly get near Truth Corporation's area, it'll be like you're getting home leave."
"Besides, you probably didn't have many relatives or friends originally anyway, right?"
As Lin Yu spoke, the Delta Team leader raised his head, somewhat annoyed.
But ultimately, because he couldn't harm Lin Yu, he could only angrily punch his own thigh.
"Whether I have relatives and friends or not is none of your business!"
"Of course it is."
Lin Yu was very calm: "What I'm actually more curious about is... what's your relationship with Pang Kedo? Clone? Imitator?"
As he spoke, Lin Yu stepped forward and, while the other couldn't resist, easily removed the helmet from his head.
What was revealed from under that helmet...
was a face almost identical to Pang Kedo's, just slightly younger and not as haggard and gaunt.
Lin Yu had actually learned about the existence of the "third injustice" earlier than Fu Luo.
Because as the holder of the [Ancient Notebook], he clearly knew that what was inside the notebook at that time definitely wasn't generated based on Baron Coleman's memories—this was something Baron Coleman himself admitted.
In other words, that face really did look quite similar to Pang Kedo.
Combined with Pang Kedo's memory loss...
Based on this, Lin Yu could boldly speculate.
CEO Paris most likely controlled someone who looked quite similar to Pang Kedo.
Even Fu Luo noticed that the wound on Reed's back wasn't from Pang Kedo's usual weapon, so how could Baron Coleman not notice?
He suspected that his close friend must have possessed some decisive evidence.
Like... footage or something similar.
An existence that had undergone the same modifications as Pang Kedo and looked almost identical.
And now this new Delta Team leader, Pang Kedo's successor and Paris's confidant, almost perfectly fit the criteria.
Although before removing the face covering, Lin Yu was only guessing.
But now the facts proved...
Lin Yu had guessed correctly.
"You bastard!"
After Lin Yu removed his face covering, the Delta Team leader "Pang Kedo" before him seemed somewhat angry, but aside from glaring furiously, he could do nothing to Lin Yu.
Lin Yu spoke calmly.
"Whether you're willing or not... in the future, the two of us will have to cooperate and coexist for a long time—and frankly speaking, this cooperation isn't equal."
"Because if I die, you will definitely die."
"If you die, I can still live."
"I've already been honest with you just now, and I'm showing my true face now... so, even if you want to keep your origins secret for now, at least tell me your name."
The Delta Team leader let out a long sigh.
Indeed, he was completely dependent on someone else now.
So...
"You're right, I am a new human created by Paris using Supreme Evolution's immature technology, secretly created from Pang Kedo's genes."
"In a sense, I can be considered his more perfect version."
"I don't have a special name, Paris calls me Zero-One... that's my serial number, you can call me that too."
At this moment, Hannah poked her head out.
"Then you can let Director-sama give you a name, he's really good at naming!"
But Lin Yu shook his head.
"No, he should have a name."
The Delta Team leader before him looked slightly surprised, then nodded. Content orıginally comes from ⓝovelFire.net
"Well, when I was in the Great Wasteland before, I had a name... called Stiller, which means tranquility in the Great Wasteland language."
"Nice to meet you, Stiller."
Lin Yu smiled and extended his hand to the other.
The one named Stiller, who looked almost identical to Pang Kedo but with a sharper and more flamboyant expression, hesitated for a moment, then slowly extended his hand as well.
"Okay... Director, right?"
Their hands clasped together, then Stiller released his grip.
"I have one last question—what is that talking pink mollusk next to you? A special intelligent lifeform from your world?"
Stiller looked at Hannah and asked suspiciously.
Lin Yu shook his head: "No, this is Hannah, like you, she's from some dungeon... probably not from the same world as you or me."
"Although our world has octopuses too, they don't talk."
Stiller found this even stranger: "Octopus?"
"A type of marine creature, don't you have them where you're from?"
Hearing Lin Yu's words, Stiller showed a puzzled expression on his face.
Finally, he had a sudden realization.
"So your world has oceans—in Sleepless City and the Great Wasteland, those are already almost mythical legends!"
From Stiller's statement, Lin Yu also unlocked new information related to the Sleepless City dungeon.
That world seemed to have no ocean.
Although he didn't know what use this information from Stiller would have for now, Lin Yu remembered it.
Afterwards, after temporarily establishing a subtle "cooperative" relationship with Stiller...
Lin Yu put him back into his item space.
This guy followed orders but not declarations—even though he seemed submissive now, Lin Yu didn't dare gamble that he wouldn't have second thoughts in the middle of the night.
As a mere mortal with a physical body, he still needed to sleep.
This artificial human had also undergone strange modifications—what if he slipped out to kill and set fires in the middle of the night?
Putting aside everything else...
Even if Lin Zhao in the next room saw him, it wouldn't be easy to handle.
How would Lin Yu explain to his sister why there was suddenly a murderous-looking foreigner in the room?
As for whether Stiller himself liked being stored in the item space...
That was a different matter entirely.
After putting Stiller away, Hannah leaned on the table and spoke.
"So he's an artificial human, no wonder his energy and soul felt so strange..."
Lin Yu looked at Hannah, quite surprised. "You can see human souls too?"
"No, but I can sense them," Hannah gestured with her tentacles in front of her. "Anyway, if Uncle Ka saw him, he'd be overjoyed—this is premium ingredients!"
Hannah casually uttered some rather terrifying words.
Lin Yu instantly thought of that deeply memorable dish—"A Victor's Blood Runs Ever Sweet."
He rubbed his temples.
"Although I had some expectations, formally knowing that your diet includes intelligent beings still makes me feel a bit uncomfortable..."
Hannah scratched her head. "Sorry, Director..."
"No, it's not your fault, just a difference in perspective."
Lin Yu sighed.
If possible, he still hoped that eating "humanoid creatures" wouldn't happen again.
What he ate in that dungeon didn't cross the bottom line—at least that monster seemed to have no intelligence and couldn't speak. For more chapters visıt novel~fire~net
"Enough, no more thinking about this nonsense. Next, I need to start checking messages."
Lin Yu muttered and began another important activity he did every time he returned, besides taking stock of gains.
Handling the messages accumulated across various identities.
He first took out "Zhu Ming's" phone.
Since he had been active as Zhu Ming this time, of course he needed to check if there were any messages on Zhu Ming's side.
Four minutes ago, there was a text message from Li Nian.
"Made it home safely!"
Looking at Li Nian's text, before Lin Yu could reply, another new message popped in.
"About what you mentioned, Sister Pan agreed. Don't forget what I arranged for you either."
Seeing this message, Lin Yu nodded slightly.
Although his contact with Pan Yuqiang had been brief, Lin Yu intuitively felt she was trustworthy.
Afterwards, he put down Zhu Ming's phone and picked up Old Yao's.
He checked the Jiang'an Hall APP—no activity there either, only a private message from Tycoon telling him they planned to promote him to team leader the day after tomorrow.
Lin Yu replied in an extremely flattered tone with "I'm deeply honored and will definitely live up to expectations," adding two cupped fist emojis.
After replying, Lin Yu also set aside this phone.
He picked up the one belonging to "May"—preparing to contact Fu Luo.
On one hand, to fulfill Li Nian's request and arrange a time to deliver the items to Fu Luo.
On the other hand...
Lin Yu also remembered there was another new suspicious point about Fu Luo.
Something he couldn't investigate using Zhu Ming's identity, but that really bothered Lin Yu.
"Who exactly is investigating 'Fluoxetine'?"
"Is he unwilling to expose this matter in front of 'Citalopram,' or... was his forum account hacked?"
"It can't be multiple personality disorder, right?"
As Lin Yu pondered, he finally opened the forum intending to send Fu Luo another private message to contact him.
But the moment he opened the forum...
Lin Yu suddenly saw a prompt pop up on his phone.
A prompt from the forum.
"Detected that you have unlocked [Social] privileges. Would you like to link them to your forum account?"
"Please complete the linking confirmation as soon as possible. Otherwise, after 72 hours you will be unable to use the forum's advanced functions normally."
Lin Yu was stunned.
And if it were just a prompt popping up on his phone, that would be one thing.
But besides this prompt appearing on his phone...
Lin Yu also saw blood-red text popping up before his eyes.
A prompt from the Death Game itself—the [Social] privileges were actually being affected by the forum at this moment and automatically activating!
A message popped up.
["Forum Assistant" has been added to your social list.]
Lin Yu watched as a account named "Forum Assistant" appeared in the [Social] friends list. Focusing his attention on it, Lin Yu discovered that the menu that popped up wasn't the normal chat, trade, team-up functions.
The available options were Visit, Search, and Settings!
Through the "Visit" function, he could actually directly access and browse the forum from there.
However, since Lin Yu hadn't bound his account yet, he couldn't post for now.
At this moment, Lin Yu finally understood why Tycoon had said that after unlocking "privileges," he would hold the forum in even greater awe.
This was just too unbelievable!
Lin Yu now somewhat suspected that the forum's creator might be some deity, like some "God of Watering and Trolling" or something!
"This is just too ridiculous!"
After collecting himself, Lin Yu sent a message to Fu Luo.
"Your stuff got stolen, I already retrieved it for you—find some time to arrange a location, I'll deliver it to you."
After sending the message, the distracted Lin Yu had no patience to wait for Fu Luo's reply. He hurriedly picked up his original phone.
After some contemplation and internal struggle, Lin Yu made a decision—while keeping the May phone still on and in his hand, he also opened the forum interface on his original phone!
Then...
"Detected that you have unlocked [Social] privileges. Would you like to link them to your forum account?"
"Please complete the linking confirmation as soon as possible. Otherwise, after 72 hours you will be unable to use the forum's advanced functions normally."
The same prompt popped up again.
Only this time, Lin Yu's [Social] privileges seemed to have glitched out!
His [Social] template first gained an identical "Forum Assistant" account.
But the blood-red prompt had just appeared when it immediately vanished.
Then, a second "Forum Assistant" account kept popping in and out of existence.
Finally...
Under Lin Yu's tense observation, he felt that this [Social] privilege that originally existed in his mind seemed to have malfunctioned, and then...
It split into two.
Looking at the two [Social] panels, one on the left and one on the right, Lin Yu was completely shocked.
The forum was absolutely several times more mysterious and powerful than Tycoon or any other player could imagine.
Because from what just happened, Lin Yu felt he had discovered a fact that probably only he could verify.
The authority of this forum APP that existed in reality seemed to be even higher than the blood-red prompts of the Death Game itself!
An APP reportedly developed by a certain player could actually influence the blood text that almost represents the will of the Death Game itself, and even affect players' [privileges]. This sounded almost terrifying.
But looking at the final outcome...
Lin Yu could accept it.
After all, the problem that had been troubling him most since obtaining the [Social] privilege was unexpectedly solved by the forum's reverse input into the [Social] panel.
He now had two [Social] panels.
And these two [Social] panels naturally allowed Lin Yu to input different IDs.
The problem that had long plagued Lin Yu was suddenly resolved.
Next, Lin Yu conducted more experiments and discovered...
He could indeed expand different [Social] panels through different forum accounts.
Except for Heavenly Artisan's account which didn't work, Lin Yu quickly set up four [Social] panels for Old Yao, Zhu Ming, May May, and his own Director account!
It seemed that any identity he "originally created" could be easily activated.
"Now it'll be even more difficult to figure out that these are all my fake identities!"
Lin Yu exclaimed with emotion.
He was quite certain that his phenomenon of simultaneously possessing multiple [Social] panels was probably unique!
Though he didn't know whether it was because the God of Change's concealment allowed him to deceive the forum, or because the [False Face] item was too overpowered...
Or perhaps there were other reasons.
Anyway, since it benefited him, Lin Yu had no complaints.
Of course...
Lin Yu wasn't in a hurry to use these different panels to add people from their respective social circles.
From Tycoon's previous statements and the fact that most First-Tier players he encountered, including Heavenly Artisan, hadn't unlocked the [Social] privilege, Lin Yu could easily draw a conclusion...
Those who could unlock [privileges] were in the minority among First-Tier players.
After all, this was also related to "reputation" in the dungeon world.
Players like Lin Yu who gained reputation so quickly were truly rare among the rare.
Most would probably need to go through several dungeons even after Promotion to accomplish this.
And the evaluation standard being "reputation" also meant that... Orıginal content can be found at novel(ꜰ)ire.net
It must be because of outstanding performance in some dungeon that one could unlock [privileges].
Lin Yu's reputation value was accumulated through different identities—including even the time he impersonated Fluoxetine.
If he rashly claimed his "reputation" was sufficient too quickly, it would easily raise suspicions.
So even though he had unlocked "privileges"...
"I'll have to wait at least another week before I can use them."
Lin Yu sighed slightly.
Fortunately, he had always been patient.
Just then, the social panel belonging to "May" popped up with a notification—Lin Yu directly accessed the forum APP through the [Social] panel and saw in his mind the message Fu Luo had sent.
[Furbollo: Whoa, thanks so much bro! I hadn't even noticed I'd lost it, and you already got it back for me!]
[Furbollo: Are you in Jiangcheng? I'll come find you to pick it up. When would be convenient for you!]
Looking at Fu Luo's excited reply, Lin Yu gave a concise and clear response.
[May May: I'm usually in Jiangcheng, just let me know when you arrive.]
[May May: I'm basically available anytime.]
He replied very politely.
Soon after, Fu Luo sent another message.
[Furbollo: Alright bro, I'll message you when I arrive—I'm checking train tickets now!]
[Furbollo: Barring any issues, I should reach Jiangcheng the day after tomorrow!]
Looking at Fu Luo's reply, Lin Yu nodded slightly.
Good, he could meet this guy the day after tomorrow.
Regarding the previous investigation about Fluoxetine, Lin Yu of course planned to ask Fu Luo in person.
Although the forum's ability to directly connect to the [Social] panel made Lin Yu feel the possibility of "account theft" was greatly reduced.
But since the problem occurred online, it was better not to ask about it online.
What if someone could actually monitor his chat with Fu Luo?
Moreover, Lin Yu had just thought of something...
Although his guess about Fu Luo having multiple personality disorder was random, what if he had actually been subjected to methods like "hypnosis," "brainwashing," or "memory loss"?
Among the [items] produced by Truth Corporation, there might well be this type.
And if the Psychological Society had a bunch of "psychologists," who's to say they wouldn't have such methods?
By asking in person, if Fu Luo had really encountered these "cognitive" interference methods, Lin Yu felt he might be able to detect some clues from his expression and state.
"Regardless, I still need to be cautious after meeting the day after tomorrow."
"I'll start by probing about Truth Corporation matters... that's also a good pretext."
Lin Yu muttered to himself as he turned off his phone.
The night was deep, and it was already time to sleep.
He still needed to continue reviewing for final exams tomorrow—although only two days had passed, for Lin Yu, going through a dungeon consumed too much mental energy, and he had almost forgotten what he reviewed earlier, so he needed to consolidate it promptly.
Lin Yu drifted into dreamland.
...
While Lin Yu was sleeping...
In Zheng City, Henan Province, Fu Luo lay on his bed, happily buying a ticket to Jiangcheng.
After putting down his phone, Fu Luo took out a [pipe] and happily put it in his mouth.
This [pipe] was naturally the detective's First-Tier item!
Its effect was quite simple.
[Professional Item·Pipe: After each use of ability to discover correct "clues," gain one usage "charge," maximum storage "three times." After use, removes all negative status effects, heals all injuries, and provides significant energy boost.]
The Detective's two [professional items] were the [Pipe] and the [Lens].
After reading the [Pipe]'s item description, Fu Luo didn't even bother checking what the [Lens]'s function was and directly chose the [Pipe].
Are you kidding? Up to three chances to heal yourself and save your life—could there be a more suitable item than this?
"Taking that risk was definitely right! Temporary bravery is for better cowardly development!"
Fu Luo exclaimed with emotion.
Then, he happily opened the forum and posted a new thread.
"Let the haters speak! I, Furbollo, have successfully promoted! What do you think about that?!"
Then, Fu Luo added three laughing emojis.
After that...
Fu Luo opened his own [Social] panel.
"Alright, time to add some friends now!"
That's right...
Because the main reason for his previous Promotion failure was being too cowardly, Fu Luo's reputation was actually quite high—after all, at Truth Corporation alone, he was almost on equal footing with Paris.
Therefore, once he successfully achieved Promotion, he immediately unlocked the [Social] privilege!
Friday.
Today was a very important day for Lin Yu.
He was supposed to meet with Fu Luo, try to figure out how to contact 'Fluoxetine', and before that...
Today was also Lin Yu's "Western Art History" exam day.
Arriving at school early in the morning, Lin Yu spotted Shen Bingmiao at the school gate.
Watching Lin Yu jump off his bicycle, Shen Bingmiao approached with a smile.
"Bonjour, dear ace—how's your exam preparation going?"
Hearing Shen Bingmiao's greeting, Lin Yu was somewhat surprised: "I say, senior, you're not actually worried about me failing, are you?"
"After all, you just joined the game recently, I'm afraid you might struggle to balance your life," Shen Bingmiao said with a grin, "so... here, take this."
Shen Bingmiao pulled out something that looked like a band-aid.
"What's this?"
Lin Yu took the band-aid, and surprisingly, a [Item] prompt popped up.
[Secret Communication Patch: A communication device disguised as a band-aid, capable of mental communication with another secret communication patch user, featuring vision sharing functionality.]
"Stick this thing on your forehead, and I'll be able to see the test paper," Shen Bingmiao said seriously, "If you encounter questions you can't answer, I can search for the answers for you!"
Lin Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I thought even if you were worried, you'd just cheer me on."
He stuffed the [Secret Communicator] into his pocket.
"I appreciate the thought, senior, but I've reviewed thoroughly... How could I possibly fail Western Art History?"
Shen Bingmiao looked serious: "Then I want to ensure you pass with one hundred percent certainty—our club has activities planned for summer break, and I don't want you spending your summer reviewing and dealing with make-up exams if you fail."
"Club activities during summer break?"
Lin Yu said with surprise, and Shen Bingmiao nodded.
"Of course, we're organizing a tour, although the specific details aren't finalized yet, it's pretty much settled... Surprised, aren't you!"
"I've already consulted with the club members, and about ninety percent are willing to participate."
Lin Yu thought back—indeed, the drama club had quite good classmates, enthusiastic and friendly, but so uniformly sacrificing summer break time for club activities...
"What benefits did you promise them?"
She stuffed her hands in her pockets and puffed out her chest: "Credits! They'll get credits and practical experience points!" Follow current novᴇls on novel(ꜰ)ire.net
Lin Yu felt something was off: "The school is willing to give credits for this kind of activity? Are these credits obtained through legitimate means? You're not planning to hack into the academic affairs system, are you!"
Shen Bingmiao put her hands on her hips and spoke indignantly, looking like an angry fish ball: "Don't assume I'm always breaking rules! I worked hard to negotiate this with the school leadership!"
"Sorry, senior... It must have taken tremendous effort to persuade those old-fashioned school leaders at Jiangcheng Media."
As Lin Yu spoke, Shen Bingmiao nodded in deep agreement.
"Of course... I went through great trouble to hack into our vice principal's phone, found evidence that he was profiting from his position by constantly moving trees around to embezzle greening funds, and used that as leverage to make him agree to this."
Lin Yu covered his face: "I didn't wrong you at all—why not just report him!"
Shen Bingmiao made an OK gesture: "It's a simple matter—he should be arrested in a few days."
"He did what you asked, and you're still reporting him?"
Lin Yu said in shock.
Shen Bingmiao waved her hand: "Don't worry, I did it cleanly and neatly—I reported evidence of him bribing for professional title evaluations back when he was at another school."
Lin Yu remained silent for a long time, then gave Shen Bingmiao a thumbs-up.
Sometimes he really didn't know whether his senior was righteous or something else...
Anyway, as long as the outcome was good.
"Anyway... besides credits, I also promised them that accommodation, travel expenses would be fully covered, and each would receive the latest model FruitPhone."
Shen Bingmiao said proudly, and Lin Yu paused for a moment before extending his hand: "Do I get one too?"
"You don't."
Shen Bingmiao said definitively.
Lin Yu was somewhat displeased: "Aren't I the lead actor? Why don't I get one?"
"You're already a 『Player』, aren't you short on money? If you don't want to perform, you don't have to come. This time I've invited someone to provide guidance! A very famous actor!"
Hearing Shen Bingmiao's words, Lin Yu's eyes lit up, then he sighed helplessly.
"Fine, just exploit me then... I'm going to take my exam."
"I'll need to discuss this with my sister too."
Listening to Lin Yu's words, Shen Bingmiao stroked her chin and said: "Hmm... you should indeed have a good talk with your sister about this."
"But I think your sister will probably agree."
Lin Yu nodded, then bid farewell to Shen Bingmiao and headed toward the examination hall.
Outside the exam room, classmates gathered in small groups to alleviate pre-exam anxiety, while only Lin Yu exchanged slight nods with a few male classmates before standing alone on the other side, appearing somewhat out of place.
This wasn't because Lin Yu was being isolated or anything—he just hadn't built particularly close relationships with his classmates.
Aside from a girl confessing to him last semester... most of the time, Lin Yu maintained a friendly but distant relationship with his classmates.
Friends like Shen Bingmiao whom he could joke around with were actually the "exception" for Lin Yu...
Soon, exam time arrived.
Lin Yu placed his backpack at the front of the classroom—it contained all his phones.
After the test papers were distributed, Lin Yu glanced over them and began answering with confidence.
The two-and-a-half-hour exam period passed in a flash.
After the exam ended, Lin Yu retrieved his backpack, planning to grab some food at the cafeteria and chat with Fu Luo about what time he'd arrive today.
But as soon as he opened his May phone, he saw that the forum messages were flooded.
Opening it and looking at the backend private messages...
Lin Yu discovered that Fu Luo had sent dozens of messages.
When opening the conversation, the forum's private chat would start from the earliest unread message.
The first message was from 9 AM.
[Furbollo: Bro, I'm here! I came by long-distance bus, rode half the night!]
[Furbollo: Bro, are you awake? Check your messages!]
Then followed many meaningless messages like "You there?" and "Hello."
As Lin Yu scrolled down, the time reached around 10 AM.
[Furbollo: May bro, looks like you're not up yet, I'll find somewhere to sit for a while]
[Furbollo: I'm near the bus station]
[Furbollo: I'll find somewhere to get breakfast, try some Jiangcheng specialties]
[Furbollo: [Picture]]
[Furbollo: This noodle is really awesome! Only eight yuan a bowl, with meat and sauce!]
Lin Yu chuckled helplessly.
He hadn't had time to check messages during his exam, and unexpectedly Fu Luo had started enjoying himself first.
That's fine.
Just as he continued scrolling down, preparing to see where Fu Luo was now...
He suddenly noticed the messages had taken a wrong turn!
[Furbollo: Help!]
[Furbollo: Help help help! I'm being chased!]
Seeing the message from Fu Luo, Lin Yu was quite surprised.
How did the situation change so suddenly?!
Fu Luo's ability to get into trouble was really something else.
His distress call was sent at 11:15... meaning it hadn't been long since then.
Scrolling up further, Fu Luo had sent a message around 11:00.
[Furbollo: I found a private cinema, I'll go in and watch a movie while waiting for you.]
Fu Luo sent Lin Yu a photo.
It showed "White Moon Cinema Cafe" - Lin Yu searched it up, the place was about a ten-minute drive from Jiangcheng Bus Terminal, located in a commercial area.
"Why did he go to that damn place."
Lin Yu frowned, immediately booked a ride on his phone, then hurried toward the school gate.
Although he knew Fu Luo was likely attacked near that area, beyond that, Lin Yu had no other information or clues.
Who attacked him?
The fact that he asked me for help probably means it wasn't a non-Player.
No matter how cowardly Fu Luo was, he was still a Player with [Items] for protection, and he had even completed his [Promotion].
To put it bluntly, the guy at least had size on his side!
In Lin Yu's view, considering this country had fairly good gun control, Fu Luo probably encountered an attack from a Player.
So...
Lin Yu immediately screenshotted this chat and sent it to "High Mountain."
"Brother Shan, could you please help me contact the [Order] here in Jiangcheng."
Then, he called Gao Shan with a voice chat and immediately hung up.
After getting in the car, Gao Shan replied.
"Notified them, someone will lead a team to check it out."
After Gao Shan's reply, Lin Yu felt slightly relieved.
With [Order] support, things would be much easier to handle.
But... how was Fu Luo attacked?
Lin Yu had checked the bounty on this guy in the [Hunters' Association] - it was only over five hundred yuan.
Seemed like it was all people he pissed off on the forum posting ten or eight yuan just to vent.
So, it absolutely couldn't have been bounty hunters.
Lin Yu speculated...
"Could it be people from the [Psychological Society]? After all, this guy said he offended the [Psychological Society] too!"
"But his trip to Jiangcheng was decided the day before yesterday for today, the only person who likely knew was me... even I just found out when he arrived."
"How was his location pinpointed?"
Lin Yu rapidly pondered in the car, the more he thought about it, the more suspicious points piled up.
But if...
If Fu Luo's [forum] account was really as insecure as he suspected?
Someone monitored Fu Luo's chat records with him, thus tracking both his and Fu Luo's locations in real time.
Even...
What if this distress call was fake, and it was actually targeting him?
Although Fu Luo didn't have any mortal enemies, Lin Yu was certain his identity as [May May] had enemies.
Not to mention the [Heavenly Artisan] he impersonated, the entire [Marauders] faction definitely held major grudges against him.
Lin Yu had to consider this possibility.
And precisely because of that...
Lin Yu set the car's destination to a shopping district entrance one intersection away.
And, after arriving...
Lin Yu didn't choose to confront them as [May May].
He found a public restroom, transformed into the dark, skinny appearance of [Old Yao], and casually sent a message to Tycoon.
"Big bro, my friend seems to be cornered around Xinbei Road, don't know the specifics yet, can you see if any brothers are available to help?"
After sending the message, Lin Yu then located the "White Moon Cinema Cafe."
The shop was on the second floor of street-side stores.
Contrary to Lin Yu's expectations...
There wasn't any noisy commotion inside.
Looking at the scattered pedestrians and dozing shopkeepers around, it didn't seem like any disturbance had occurred here.
Lin Yu boldly made two guesses...
One was that Fu Luo left silently.
The other...
Lin Yu walked into the "White Moon Cinema Cafe," bought a voucher on the app, and got a room from the front desk.
He took the key and went up to the second floor himself...
But didn't head straight to his room.
Lin Yu sneakily peeked around the corridor, looking through the glass on each door into the occupied rooms one by one.
He looked like a creep preparing to spy on couples, or a thief casing the place - which fit his current persona quite well.
And just as Lin Yu was carefully peeking and eavesdropping like this...
He actually saw what he wanted in one of the rooms.
Just as Lin Yu expected...
Although Fu Luo sent a distress call, he hadn't even managed to leave his room.
In the private room at the end of the corridor, the projection screen was playing a Detective Conan movie.
On the sofa inside, Fu Luo sat right in the middle.
And in the private room...
There were three people who had clearly taken Fu Luo hostage.
Two men and one woman.
Both men were quite tall, sitting on either side of Fu Luo, squeezing him in the middle of the sofa, not daring to move.
And the woman...
Although he only saw her back, Lin Yu recognized her.
"[Almond]... so it's the [Marauders] guys?"
Lin Yu pondered, then frowned.
Looking at it this way, it was likely indeed targeting [May May]... Of course, it could also be simply wanting revenge on Fu Luo.
After all, if you asked around about the [Heavenly Artisan] attack incident, you'd know this guy contributed significantly too.
But Lin Yu was curious why [Almond] would act alone on this matter without [Heavenly Artisan]. Official source ıs Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
And...
How did she know Fu Luo's whereabouts?
But Lin Yu understood that just thinking about it wouldn't provide answers.
So...
Lin Yu directly pushed the door open and entered.
After the door opened, all four people in the room naturally looked toward Lin Yu.
But before they could speak, Lin Yu took the initiative.
"Hey—what are you doing in my room!"
The appearance of "Old Yao" looking like an unemployed social loafer, with vulgar tone and manner, momentarily disrupted their train of thought.
Lin Yu continued firing off words rapidly.
"Oh... wait, did the shop make a mistake? Damn it, what's going on here!"
Lin Yu scratched his head, Almond frowned, made a subtle hand gesture to stop one of the men who wanted to stand up.
She seemed planning to resolve this through "negotiation."
But Lin Yu caught all these small movements, his observational skills wouldn't miss such details.
This was enough for Lin Yu to confirm...
[Almond] was indeed the leader of this operation!
If this woman could lead, it meant the other two's combat abilities were probably nothing special.
So...
Lin Yu made a decisive move, almost instantly pouncing forward, while simultaneously forming a small knife with [Counterfeit], directly pressing it against Almond's neck.
"Don't move!"
Lin Yu shouted loudly, taking advantage of Almond being startled by the shout and the glint of the knife to pull her in front of him, aiming the knife tip at her carotid artery.
"Know what [Swift Blade] is? Be careful or I'll stab you to death!"
"[Marauders]... I advise you to be sensible and cooperate!"
Just as Lin Yu had predicted...
Once the knife was pressed against her neck, even though Almond didn't believe this was Swift Blade, she was still so frightened her legs went weak and her body stiffened.
Originally she had been putting on a tough big sister act while threatening Fu Luo, but now she was completely caving.
Her first words nearly made Lin Yu burst out laughing.
"Spare me, hero!"
Almond raised her hands and shouted.
Lin Yu held Almond hostage, struggling to suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth as he glared fiercely at the two burly men inside the room who were also holding knives to Fu Luo's neck.
Because of this... Fu Luo was also nearly scared out of his wits.
He was even more terrified than Almond.
"Don't kill me! Big brothers! Please don't kill me!"
According to what the "blood text" said, the condition for entering the Death Game was a strong unwillingness to die...
Lin Yu could clearly see that these two definitely met the criteria perfectly.
In contrast, the two burly men who were Almond's subordinates and Lin Yu remained very calm as they began negotiations.
"Who are you?"
The darker-skinned burly man on the left asked.
Lin Yu responded loudly: "Your granddad is from Jiang'an Hall. I know who you are - Marauders... How dare you cause trouble in Jiangcheng territory today?"
"And you dare lay hands on my friend!"
The slightly paler, chubbier man on the right became agitated upon hearing Lin Yu's words: "Jiang'an Hall? Damn you, release our big sister immediately!"
"Otherwise your friend is dead!"
Lin Yu sneered coldly: "If I release her, this guy will really be dead for sure."
After speaking, Lin Yu pressed the knife tighter against Almond's neck.
Almond quickly cried out: "Hey, hey! We can talk about this!"
"We didn't mean to harm your friend!"
Although Jiang'an Hall was deeply cooperative with Order, they ultimately weren't Order itself.
So...
These medium-sized organizations leaning toward the "righteous path" didn't have the same kind of kill-on-sight relationship with Marauders that Order did.
"Then what did you mean? You brought people to my friend's door just to chat with him?!"
Lin Yu demanded sharply. Almond spoke up.
"Actually, yes," she said very quickly, "We just wanted to get some information, we absolutely didn't mean to harm him."
"What information?"
Lin Yu pressed again.
"It's about his other friend, that very prominent First-Tier Doctor... We really didn't hurt him, even though he kept refusing to talk, you can see he doesn't have any injuries on him."
Almond said helplessly.
Fu Luo also shouted: "I'm really not being stubborn, I've already said everything I know! May and I are mostly just online friends, how would I know about his situation, strength, or relationships?"
Lin Yu understood clearly.
They really were after him!
So he sneered again: "What a coincidence, I know that guy too... Looking at things now, I definitely can't let you leave."
"You're here for revenge, right? Quite a few Marauders have died by his hand!"
Almond immediately refuted: "Absolutely not, absolutely not... Although some people in the organization hate him to the bone and plan to take revenge, I'm not among them."
As she spoke, she looked toward the two burly men.
"We came here just following an assignment delegated by the organization, completing a distributed task," Almond sighed, "Someone is investigating him!"
Hearing this answer, Lin Yu immediately understood why Almond would act separately from Heavenly Artisan.
Even though Heavenly Artisan was reliable, bringing him along would likely escalate a simple investigation mission into direct confrontation.
This was definitely not what Almond wanted to see. Orıginal content can be found at novel⚑fire.net
She was just a Driver, and this was an organization-assigned task... why risk her life?!
But for Lin Yu, although this explained things, he felt very uneasy.
Someone among the Marauders was trying to investigate him?
From Almond's use of the word "commission," this person must be quite high-ranking.
And it wasn't a public commission - if it were, he would have been able to see the posting using Heavenly Artisan's phone.
This meant someone had contacted Almond directly.
Not just investigation, but secret investigation.
Lin Yu immediately became concerned and pressed urgently.
"Who's investigating him?"
"I don't know either. Last night our Zheng City Branch leader directly told me that someone wanted us to investigate this Doctor," Almond spilled everything rapidly, "He just told us to come to Jiangcheng first, that we could intercept Furbollo tomorrow, then try to force information about that Doctor from him... strength, rank, commonly used items, relationships."
"But who the commissioner is, I really don't know!"
Although Almond was still frightened at this moment, her strong survival instinct made her report everything to Lin Yu very logically.
Lin Yu exhaled: "Why did they approach you?"
"I don't know that either. I'm just a very ordinary member among the Marauders... maybe because I've had some interaction with him before - the rest of the people are ones I recruited."
Almond said honestly, having basically confessed everything.
Lin Yu could tell she wasn't lying - the One-Statement Lie Detector confirmed this too.
In other words, this Almond really didn't know anything.
"There's nothing left to ask."
Lin Yu made his judgment internally, then spoke slyly: "So that's how it is... seems there really was some misunderstanding."
"I didn't plan to fight to the death with you anyway, but I still recommend you surrender peacefully - after all, this is our territory!"
Lin Yu said seriously. Almond sighed.
"Can't we both take a step back... you let us go, I let you go, and we pretend this never happened?"
Almond's words were very sincere; she hardly seemed like a Marauders member.
"I don't think so," Lin Yu still insisted, "If I let you go, it would cause big problems for me."
Before Almond could respond, the dark-skinned burly man spoke coldly.
"Don't get too arrogant, kid... even though you've got our big sister under control, trying to keep all three of us here won't be easy!"
"Besides... you came alone. Do you think there are only three of us? If you make a move, do you think you'll walk out of here alive?"
As his words fell, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
Lin Yu let out a long breath.
"Why would you think I came alone? Do I look like that kind of idiot to you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the door was pushed open again.
A man with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, wearing a black jacket and baseball cap, with stubble covering his face, walked in carrying two unconscious thugs.
"Hello, Old Yao from Jiang'an Hall."
"Let me introduce myself, I'm from Order's Jiangcheng Branch, codename Good Night... I'm here to help after receiving the message."
He spoke with a somewhat strange accent, then tossed the two men to the ground.
And the moment he finished dumping them.
"Thump, thump!"
Almond in Lin Yu's grasp and the two burly men all collapsed to the ground.
Under the White Moon Cinema Cafe, Good Night watched as members of Order and Jiang'an Hall busied themselves stuffing all the unconscious Marauders members and hired free players into the trunks of various vehicles, then stomped out his cigarette underfoot.
"Hehe, this is really great. It's only my first day in Jiangcheng and I've already scored such a fantastic achievement. Headquarters is going to love me."
He said with a smile, flicking the brim of his baseball cap, then turned to look at Lin Yu disguised as "Old Yao."
"Mr. Tycoon told me about you, said you're their organization's newest capable member. Seeing you in action today, you definitely have skills. I'll be counting on our cooperation going forward."
"I'm currently serving as the temporary captain of Jiangcheng Team One. You can call me sometimes."
As he spoke, he slipped a business card into Lin Yu's pocket.
After counting all the captured Marauders members and completing cleanup work at the cinema cafe and nearby shops, this new Order captain who had just arrived in Jiangcheng departed.
Lin Yu put away the business card, thinking the guy seemed pretty decent.
With the Order organization backing him, even though he littered cigarette butts, he probably didn't have any fundamental issues.
As for getting to know him better...
Judging from the silent Fu Luo nearby, this seemed to be someone he knew again.
It just wasn't convenient to discuss details with "Old Yao."
So Lin Yu also exchanged a few polite words with Fu Luo.
"Alright, looks like you're safe now."
Fu Luo looked at Lin Yu. Even though Lin Yu currently appeared dark, skinny, and suspicious-looking, Fu Luo showed no contempt. "So, who might you be?"
"Old Yao from Jiang'an Hall, also a friend of your friend," Lin Yu waved his hand, "He's temporarily tied up with something and asked me to help you out."
After Lin Yu finished speaking, Fu Luo became even more respectful.
He said sincerely, "Thank you so much. If not for you, I don't know what kind of inhuman torture I would have suffered from them."
After speaking, Fu Luo magically produced an opaque plastic bag from the backpack behind him.
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow.
"What's this?"
Fu Luo said seriously, "These are fried dough twists my mom made herself, and meatballs she prepared. She insisted I bring them when she heard I was meeting a friend... There were two bags total. I'm giving you one, the other was prepared for my friend May."
"Of course, this absolutely isn't enough to repay today's favor... If you ever encounter any puzzling difficulties in the future, just come find me, Furbollo!"
Fu Luo said, patting his chest.
Lin Yu found it somewhat amusing.
But this kind of simple, homemade gift from someone's parent was hard to refuse.
"Alright then, I'll have a taste," Lin Yu accepted the bag and said, "By the way, May asked me to pass along a message... He wants you to wait for him at the Hua Yu Cafe on the east side of Changming Street." Newest update provıded by novel fire.net
Fu Luo paused for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, but there's one more thing I need to trouble you with..."
He rubbed his hands together, and Lin Yu asked curiously.
"What is it?"
Fu Luo said somewhat awkwardly, "It's just... you see, since these Marauders members have been captured, then the things I confessed earlier probably don't matter anymore... Could you please not mention this matter to him!"
"I was really forced by the circumstances at the time. The Marauders people were too brutal, I had no choice—and I was very conscious about protecting Brother May's privacy too."
Lin Yu looked at Fu Luo's embarrassed hand-rubbing appearance and sighed.
Was it possible that "May" already knew about this...
But he still nodded in his Old Yao identity.
"Small matter, I won't specifically bring it up with him... But how did you protect his privacy?"
Lin Yu asked, and Fu Luo chuckled.
"I mixed truth and lies, only sold information that wasn't very important—though I don't know why those Marauders were so interested in Brother May's connections, I told them he not only has excellent standing with Order, but moves easily through various organizations... He's even on close terms with the Free Alliance and has connections with the Psychological Society!"
"And the reason Brother May is so well-connected everywhere is completely because he's powerful, handsome, and has tremendous personal charm," Fu Luo gave a thumbs up, "He has female admirers in all those organizations!"
Hearing Fu Luo's words, Lin Yu immediately felt a headache coming on.
This was pure fabrication!
Fortunately, those Marauders guys had been captured—they'd probably be monitored and controlled by Order afterward.
They wouldn't be able to spread these messages around.
So, even though he felt somewhat displeased at being portrayed this way by Fu Luo, Lin Yu accepted it.
"Okay, that was thoughtful of you," Lin Yu even had to compliment Fu Luo, "Alright, I have things to do... You should get ready to go meet May."
After speaking, Lin Yu bid temporary farewell to Fu Luo and left.
This was indeed a temporary farewell for Lin Yu...
Because barring unexpected circumstances, he would be seeing Fu Luo again soon—in his "May" identity!
After leaving the area, Lin Yu began another round of disguise.
Waiting for False Face's cooldown while also changing into attire suitable for the May identity.
Of course, finding clothes and changing didn't take that long.
So while waiting for False Face's cooldown, Lin Yu also investigated the new problems that had emerged.
He checked through Heavenly Artisan about commissions within the Marauders... but found no leads.
After all, Heavenly Artisan wasn't exactly an important figure among the Marauders.
Trying to figure out who was investigating his "May" identity and for what purpose yielded absolutely no results.
Lin Yu still didn't even understand how the Marauders had pinpointed Fu Luo's whereabouts—from what Almond had revealed, the mastermind behind it had even broadcast Fu Luo's location in real-time.
Getting to the truth of the matter seemed to require waiting for new clues to emerge... Perhaps Order's capture of those people might yield some breakthroughs during interrogation.
Anyway, he was already on the radar of important and dangerous figures from the Psychological Society—one more wouldn't make much difference.
Especially since... they were targeting the fake identity of "May."
"This is the downside of being too famous—someone's always keeping tabs on you."
As Lin Yu spoke, False Face's cooldown ended, and he transformed back into the currently quite famous May who had gained recent notoriety in player circles.
Then he took a taxi to the meeting place with Fu Luo—the Hua Yu Cafe on Changming Street.
This was a very stylish, elegant cafe, somewhat famous online with many fashionable young women coming here to take photos and check in.
From a distance, Lin Yu spotted Fu Luo being pulled aside by a fashionable girl asking to take photos with him.
"Um, hello, could we take a photo together?"
He was tall and had exotic features, and even though his clothing was somewhat strange, on him it seemed like "style."
Of course... provided Fu Luo didn't open his mouth.
"Thank you, may I ask which country you're from? Europe or?"
"Damn your mother, I'm from Henan!"
His booming voice, heavily emphasizing "Henan," immediately scared the fashionable girl away at top speed.
A triumphant smile appeared on Fu Luo's face, as if he'd won some kind of victory.
Witnessing this scene, Lin Yu sighed helplessly.
He'd nearly been kidnapped by the Marauders just this morning, yet he'd adjusted so quickly.
This guy's greatest strength was his positive mindset!
position
"...At that moment, I threw a left hook followed by a right hook, and knocked that Marauders intruder flat on the ground. Then I stepped on her head and sternly demanded to know why she was investigating my brother. Ha! If the Order members hadn't arrived so quickly, she probably would have lost her life right then and there."
Lin Yu listened to Fu Luo's "account" of his encounter that morning while silently sipping his latte with double milk and double sugar.
"Is that so? Then why did you send me a private message screaming for help?"
Hearing Lin Yu's pointed question, Fu Luo's expression remained unchanged as he calmly replied, "At the time, I thought since they were ambushing me, there must be some real experts involved—possibly even one of those famous names on the Marauders' leaderboard. I never expected they'd only send a minor lackey... They really looked down on me!"
Fu Luo's tone was full of regret as he spoke.
Watching Fu Luo's nearly flawless performance, Lin Yu didn't think Fu Luo's acting was particularly good.
He just felt...
This guy probably actually believed his own story! Thıs text ıs hosted at novel⦿fire.net
After some consideration, Lin Yu decided not to expose Fu Luo's fabrication.
"By the way, speaking of Order members... I heard that Jiangcheng's Order recently got a new captain. You've been working with Order for a while now—do you know him?"
Fu Luo rubbed his nose: "Ah, Good Night? I know of him, but he doesn't know me."
Hearing Fu Luo's response, Lin Yu raised an eyebrow slightly.
"That famous?"
Fu Luo shook his head: "Not exactly famous. It's just that there was a murder case within Order before, and he was investigated as a suspect. I got hold of his files... Later it was proven he didn't do it."
"Anyway, that guy is pretty strong."
Lin Yu looked surprised.
"How strong?"
"Third Tier, and he was previously ranked 99th on the forum leaderboard before being pushed down by an anonymous user and Haicheng's bounty hunter, Chris," Fu Luo said, considering his words carefully. "I suspect Order transferred him here to fill Jiangcheng's vacancy for a chief captain."
As Fu Luo spoke, Lin Yu felt astonished.
"Top hundred level, future chief captain of Jiangcheng?"
He had actually encountered such an important figure without even realizing it.
"Yes, but it's hard to say for sure. Actually, he's a foreigner... or rather, an overseas Chinese. So it's not certain—he might just become the deputy to the future chief captain. While top hundred level would qualify him as chief captain elsewhere, your Jiangcheng might be different."
Looking at Fu Luo's distinctly Caucasian features with exotic charm, combined with what he was saying, Lin Yu felt a sense of highly sophisticated humor.
"Which country is he from?"
"South Korea, born there, but later returned to China with his parents. He even attended Yanjing University," Fu Luo said, taking a sip of his room-temperature Americano before grimacing. "Damn, even Americans like drinking fermented bean juice?"
Lin Yu ignored the comment about fermented bean juice.
"I see. So what's his Class?"
Lin Yu asked very detailed questions.
After all, this guy would likely be active in Jiangcheng's territory for a long time, so gathering more information was necessary.
Although Lin Yu was a law-abiding citizen, not all of his identities were.
Both the Zhu Ming and Heavenly Artisan identities would definitely need to be wary of this Order expert in Jiangcheng.
Besides... if the May identity joined Order, this person would likely become his direct superior.
Fu Luo didn't think Lin Yu had malicious intentions either, so he answered casually: "Oh, Corporate Drone—and when he was on the forum leaderboard, his evaluation was 'the pinnacle of corporate drones'... Although I don't know his advancement direction, his frontal combat power is fierce."
"Of course, this guy also has weaknesses," Fu Luo suddenly lowered his voice, speaking somewhat sneakily. "He's a womanizer!"
"Womanizer?"
Lin Yu heard a somewhat unexpected trait. Logically, Order's screening process was so strict that although members weren't all perfect, they should all have relatively high moral standards.
"Ah, not the kind of womanizer you're thinking," Fu Luo waved his hand, lowering his voice even further. "He definitely doesn't like bar-hopping or clubbing... This is something circulating within Order, something Brother Shan mentioned when drinking with us."
"This guy likes online relationships... and prefers girls with really sweet voices, preferably younger ones. 'Lolita' types, you know?"
"When you join Order in the future, you'll probably be under the jurisdiction of Jiangcheng Branch. You could try catering to his preferences!"
Fu Luo said with exaggerated facial expressions.
Lin Yu looked serious: "What nonsense are you talking about? Order is a very proper organization. How could anyone mess around like that... Even if someone actually tried such tactics, I wouldn't do something like that."
Although Fu Luo was reprimanded by Lin Yu, he didn't take it too much to heart.
"I know you probably wouldn't use such methods anyway. I was just mentioning it—you can treat it as entertainment."
He said cheerfully.
Of course, although Lin Yu had righteously reprimanded Fu Luo, he had actually memorized this piece of information.
"The beauty trap strategy..."
However, Lin Yu didn't completely believe this information. Considering how Fu Luo had fabricated stories about him having numerous female admirers, it was hard to say how much of the information about Good Night was exaggerated.
"Anyway, thanks. I know you're telling me these things out of goodwill."
As he spoke, Lin Yu casually took out the item Fu Luo had lost from his inventory and placed it on the table.
"By the way, congratulations on your successful Promotion."
Lin Yu said calmly. Hearing this, Fu Luo was momentarily stunned before chuckling.
"I knew you had a special relationship with that girl from the Free Alliance! Well done, Brother May!"
He happily picked up the magnifying glass from the table.
Then, Fu Luo pulled a black plastic bag from the backpack placed on the chair beside him.
"Brother May, I don't have anything good to give you, so I can only offer this bag of fried dough twists and meatballs that my mom made herself as thanks!"
"In the future, if you ever have any difficulties... as long as I can help, I'll definitely do my utmost."
Hearing this, Lin Yu immediately spoke up.
"There actually is something I'd like to ask you."
Saying this, he took out his phone and opened the forum app backend.
"I spoke with Zhu Ming this time, and she said you hadn't investigated the Psychological Society members for me—but I definitely contacted you on the forum before."
Lin Yu opened his chat window with Fu Luo and scrolled up.
He showed the chat history to Fu Luo.
Fu Luo glanced at the chat record, stared at it carefully for a while, then mysteriously lowered his voice.
"Brother, that was indeed me, but... please don't spread this around!"
"At that time, the dungeon was full of Free Alliance members... How could I dare to admit it!"
Fu Luo spoke with a very sincere tone.
Hearing what Fu Luo said, the expression on Lin Yu's face relaxed: "So that's what happened! You gave me quite a scare—I thought there was some hidden secret!"
Fu Luo laughed: "Ah, brother, what hidden secret could there be? I'm just timid, that's all."
Lin Yu stood up and patted Fu Luo.
"Alright, then I don't have anything else to ask... Take care of yourself. I'll treat you to dinner if I have time tonight."
Saying this, Lin Yu left the café with a relieved expression, his steps remarkably light.
However...
Completely contrary to the ease he displayed, Lin Yu's heart felt as if weighed down by a thousand-pound burden.
"This is the worst possible scenario—can I not even trust Fu Luo anymore?"
Lin Yu knew very clearly that Fu Luo was lying.
Even though his acting skills were already quite good among the amateurs Lin Yu knew, Lin Yu could still see through it.
Fu Luo had just been lying.
The moment he saw the chat records, Fu Luo had almost instantly offered an explanation—but that wasn't because the explanation was true, but because Fu Luo was too clever and his mind worked too fast.
It was completely normal for a detective to be somewhat skilled in deception, after all, his actual job was to see through all kinds of excuses and lies.
Read ten thousand books, and your writing will be divinely inspired.
Hear enough lies, and telling them will come naturally.
And no matter how clever or swift the lie, it couldn't possibly fool Lin Yu.
Because the loophole Lin Yu caught was that most subtle emotional change before Fu Luo even spoke—something only Lin Yu could detect.
The moment Fu Luo saw the chat records, he first showed some surprise, then...
The surprise transformed into fear.
The investigation really wasn't done by him.
And Fu Luo should have almost instantly guessed who was using his account to send these messages he knew nothing about, and the identity of that "real culprit" put pressure on him that made him have to admit it.
So...
Apart from the already known facts that the Psychological Society had rated him S-level, and the Free Alliance, knowing about the Psychological Society's evaluation, had sent Li Nian to investigate him...
The identity of "May May" had also become complicated.
Not only did a big shot from the Marauders commission Almond to investigate him, but even another mysterious figure whose organization affiliation was unknown had used Fu Luo's account to send him Fluoxetine's information.
What worried Lin Yu the most was, if the other party could really tamper with forum accounts...
This big shot hiding in the shadows might not necessarily be targeting just the "May" identity alone.
Thinking that his performance might be completely under someone else's watchful gaze made Lin Yu feel somewhat uncomfortable.
He really enjoyed performing, really enjoyed the feeling of being watched... but not when it came to this part involving the Death Game.
"Right before I'm about to perform the most dangerous 'act,' getting this kind of news really doesn't feel good," Lin Yu said with emotion.
But...
The performance still had to continue.
After bidding farewell to Fu Luo, Lin Yu rode his bicycle to...
Beiqiao District.
Then, Lin Yu used False Face to transform into Fluoxetine's appearance again.
He sat at the entrance of the pet shop where Xia Yue had once worked in Beiqiao District, watched the passersby for a while, then casually stopped a somewhat attractive, stylishly dressed short-haired girl.
Her eyes were clear, she had an air of someone inexperienced with the world, and she was carrying a backpack—clearly a college student at first glance.
"Hey hey, sister, could you help me out?"
"Lend me your phone!"
Fluoxetine's face was very beautiful, the kind of stunning, dazzling beauty that captivates people at first glance.
Beautiful people always receive all kinds of preferential treatment, even from the same gender.
Plus young people are always warm-hearted and kind, so the college girl was stunned for a moment, and although somewhat confused, she subconsciously took out her phone.
Only after handing the phone to Fluoxetine did she stammer and speak. Googlᴇ search NoveI(F)ire.net
"What... what do you need the phone for?"
Lin Yu picked up the phone, turned on the front camera, pulled the college girl over, and took a selfie together.
"Just treat it as social practice or me losing a dare," she said.
After saving the photo, she opened the college girl's various social media accounts.
Moments, Little X Book, X Video, B Station, QQ Space... even X La posted this selfie.
The caption was...
"Time to fulfill the promise! See you there!"
After Lin Yu finished posting, she returned the phone to the girl.
"So good, thank you beautiful sister—please don't delete it, okay? Keep it for at least 24 hours!"
After saying this, Lin Yu stuffed ten bright red bills into the girl's hand.
The college girl was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, clutching the money while looking at Lin Yu.
"This... this is too much," she said, her face somewhat red, seeming a bit embarrassed.
"It's fine, this is payment for troubling you," Lin Yu gently scratched the girl's cheek, "and also a reward for your kindness and generosity, sister."
As Lin Yu spoke, the girl's face turned even redder.
Even though Lin Yu had already returned her phone and given her payment, the girl was reluctant to leave.
After lingering for a long time, she finally gathered her courage to speak.
"Um, little sister, how old are you... can, can we exchange WeChat contacts?"
Lin Yu shook her finger.
"Sister, if I had a phone to add WeChat, would I need to borrow your phone?"
The short-haired girl said: "Oh, right... then wait a moment!"
She took off her backpack, then took out a pen and a "Chinese Language and Literature" textbook from the bag, tore off a corner of the textbook's title page, and wrote down a phone number.
"This... this is my phone number!"
The short-haired girl stuffed the phone number into Lin Yu's hand, then ran off as if flying.
Watching the other's reaction, Lin Yu couldn't help but laugh silently.
He folded the note in half, stuffed it into his jacket pocket, then left Beiqiao District.
And not long after Lin Yu left Beiqiao District...
The selfie and ambiguous caption that the somewhat handsome-looking girl with quite a few friends had posted across various platforms quickly received many likes from friends and followers.
The algorithm also recommended it to more strangers who saw this message.
Although this was just a small ripple in the big data websites, even such a tiny ripple was enough to surge before certain people.
For example...
In the break room of a certain clinic, a young doctor lying on the bed who had ordered an inflated divine coupon 9.9 yuan takeout egg fried rice and was bored scrolling through short videos admiring beauties suddenly sat up straight while swiping through videos one by one.
"Wait!"
He shouted, swiped back three videos, looked at the photo of the two girls together, his pupils dilating.
"Holy shit, this is huge, Teacher Fluoxetine got herself a girlfriend!"
Chlorpromazine frantically pressed the volume button to take screenshots, then immediately sent them to a certain 50-member group called "Society Melon Eaters."
"Brothers, come see Teacher Fluoxetine's fresh new girlfriend!"
As soon as this photo came out, the originally somewhat quiet group where only a few people were asking if anyone wanted to game instantly exploded with dozens of question marks.
[Dolantine: What the hell is this? @Fluoxetine]
[Ritalin: Damn, you actually came across this]
[Lorazepam: Sister Ting, not coming out to explain?]
[Citalopram: Doesn't really look like a girlfriend though... what is this?]
At the end of the messages, the person in question's belated comment arrived.
[Fluoxetine: Oh my, what's going on here?]