You really came up with that reason," Li Nian crouched beside the dog, watching Lin Yu who was pretending to examine the canine, speaking in a low voice, "Aren't you afraid my parents might notice something's off... Coming to check on pets at home sounds way too unreliable."
"Most human judgments are based on experience—they'd struggle to imagine what else I could possibly be here for if not to examine pets," Lin Yu said calmly, "Besides, I really am a veterinarian."
Li Nian sighed: "So, why did you absolutely have to come find me offline?"
"Partly to tell you that I've officially joined the Psychological Society now."
As Lin Yu spoke, Li Nian looked somewhat surprised.
"That's quite efficient... But seeing your account got removed from the forum, I kind of figured as much."
Hearing Li Nian's words, Lin Yu asked directly.
"You got removed from the forum ages ago, how can you still see announcements?"
"Bought it from the Hunters' Association. Since you're removed now, I can tell you this... Many players secretly compile forum messages into brief reports—hot posts, ranking changes, things like that—specifically selling to us removed members and the three named organizations," Li Nian said calmly, "It's already a well-established industry chain... If you need it, I can refer you."
"Of course, this is considered a relatively mainstream channel."
Lin Yu wasn't surprised by this answer.
He knew such methods definitely existed, though Lin Yu hadn't expected... it would really be this straightforward.
"Better not, I have my own channels too—Anyway, I wanted to ask, how exactly can I meet the 'public withdrawal' requirement among the Free Alliance's joining criteria?"
"Just announce it in some crowded dungeon? Or go to the Hunters' Association holding my ID for a post?"
Lin Yu said jokingly, while Li Nian rubbed her chin.
"There's no definitive answer on that... But it definitely has to be the kind that causes 'a huge uproar'."
"Among us, the Undertaker and the Chef met this condition—you can use them as reference."
"The Undertaker withdrew from the Marauders—she slaughtered the entire Yucheng branch of the Marauders while still a member, then publicly claimed the Hunters' Association bounty and sold all the confiscated [items] at auction for ridiculously low prices."
"Through the auction's message feature, she fulfilled this condition..."
"'I won't keep degrading myself by staying in a boring, cheap organization'—those were her exact words."
"Because of this, some within the Marauders now see her as even more detestable than Order... Anyway, if she goes to the southwest now, she'd probably get hunted down relentlessly by Marauder members there."
As Li Nian spoke, Lin Yu was quite surprised.
He hadn't met the Undertaker using his Zhu Ming identity yet, but he did remember her.
That girl who came to Jiangcheng last time, wearing gothic style, speaking softly, with very pale skin.
She did seem somewhat ruthless... but he hadn't expected her to be this extreme.
"Really impressive, I can reference this approach."
As Lin Yu spoke, Li Nian sighed.
"Though I knew you might like this method, please don't reference it!"
"Anyway, listen to how the Chef did it... his method is gentler."
"This guy's former organization was Order, so his approach was to directly inform the General and the Secretary—basically the number one and number three figures in Order—about the letter-sending."
"While mailing the letters, he simultaneously published them on the forum and the Hunters' Association—though the forum post got deleted later, he posted a bounty at the Hunters' Association, randomly selecting three players who replied to his post to receive edible [items] he personally made, top quality."
Lin Yu sighed: "It does sound gentler, but that probably worked because he was already quite famous, right?"
Li Nian nodded: "True, by then he was already a very famous Chef player... The [items] he made were hugely popular at various gatherings."
"But you're not completely unknown either—especially since we matched with Furbollo in the last dungeon. With that super loudmouth around, I feel it's only a matter of time before you become widely known through his bragging."
Li Nian reminded him.
Lin Yu paused, then reluctantly admitted: "You're right!"
Even the near-indestructible nature of May May's abilities as a Doctor owed at least one-third credit to Fu Luo.
"Now that you mention it, there is some reference value..."
Lin Yu said quietly.
Li Nian said cheerfully: "Worried now? I told you earlier—Brother Wang and I could just recommend you and be done with it."
"No, joining the Psychological Society is something I absolutely must do," Lin Yu said casually, "Because I hold grudges."
Li Nian paused, then sighed: "Seems you're leaning toward the former approach after all."
She had already sensed it...
Lin Yu would likely screw over the Psychological Society hard.
"Fine, when you're ready to move, remember to notify me in advance."
"What, you're going to help me?"
Lin Yu looked at Li Nian in surprise. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
Li Nian shook her head seriously: "No, I'm going to stay far away... Don't get blood on me."
As she spoke, Lin Yu chuckled wryly.
"Relax, I won't make a move until it's absolutely foolproof."
Li Nian sighed.
"I'm gradually starting to understand why you came to tell me this offline."
"Discussing these things online really isn't reassuring."
Lin Yu smiled: "Yeah, as my 'fake death' becomes harder to hide, now both Order and the Psychological Society, and even others, have started staking out my home."
Li Nian stiffened: "And you still came to my house! Isn't that redirecting trouble to me!"
"I'm already unlucky enough living in Jiangcheng, having hidden my identity this long—I really don't want to get exposed."
She said helplessly, while Lin Yu laughed.
"I did it on purpose... Just kidding, just kidding."
"There's no way I'd let anyone track me personally."
Every time before switching [False Face], Lin Yu would wander around extensively, disrupting his route for a long time, finally choosing places with almost no surveillance to complete the identity switch.
Even after switching, Lin Yu wouldn't emerge immediately, but would move covertly using the same methods for a long time.
In a massive provincial capital city—one where urban construction and planning were already chaotic—Lin Yu felt that even if someone occasionally spotted him once or twice under these circumstances, they'd just assume those already "connected" identities were meeting up.
But since Li Nian had brought it up...
Lin Yu simply asked the most important reason he came to find Li Nian.
"So, what exactly is so special about Jiangcheng?"
Lin Yu went to find Li Nian, partly to inform this connection and mouthpiece between him and the Free Alliance that he had now joined the Psychological Society, and the plan was underway.
On the other hand...
Lin Yu also wanted to cross-verify the information he had just heard from Order.
And Li Nian's explanation was indeed quite similar.
"There's an unspeakable, unimaginable horror in this city that can't even be mentioned. I can only tell you it's roughly related to the forum, beyond that I don't know either."
Lin Yu got the answer he wanted.
And since the time for pretending to examine the dog was about up, Lin Yu gave the conclusion that "the dog is fine" and once again swaggered out of Li Nian's home.
This home visit gave Lin Yu an unexpected gain.
"Li Nian seems quite... reverent and fearful toward her parents."
He originally thought her family was relatively relaxed and hands-off, but now it seemed that although Li Nian's father appeared very gentle, he actually held absolute authority at home.
This not only greatly deepened his understanding of "Xia Yue."
He also filled in quite a bit about "Li Nian's" character profile.
"Maybe if I encounter troublesome situations in the future, I could borrow her identity to use..."
Lin Yu thought to himself.
If he needed Thief abilities, he already had the "Old Yao" identity.
If he were to use Li Nian's identity, it would definitely be for her status as a Free Alliance member and her reputation as a Master Thief!
As for whether it would cause trouble for Li Nian...
Although their relationship had somewhat become half-partners by now, Lin Yu still didn't mind much if this girl suffered a bit.
Even though it was intentional and he returned it afterward, this little rascal did actually steal his bicycle!
She'll cause trouble herself anyway.
Lin Yu thought without any psychological burden.
After leaving Li Nian's home, Lin Yu temporarily had nothing else to do.
"Zhu Ming" had joined the Psychological Society, "May May" had joined Order - Lin Yu's operation this time could be considered complete.
Next...
He needed to hurry up and review.
There were two more exams on Monday and Tuesday!
President Shen Bingmiao had said there would be many performance opportunities during summer vacation.
Although after joining the Death Game, Lin Yu was practically forced to perform every day, honing his acting skills on the spot.
He still wanted to perform on stage and systematically learn more acting techniques.
After returning home, Lin Yu was surprised to discover...
Even though it was clearly a weekend afternoon, Lin Zhao seemed to be home.
When he left in the morning, the living room window was open, but now it was closed.
"Huh? Sister, you're home?"
As he spoke, Lin Zhao came out of the kitchen wiping her hands: "Yes, I'm back!"
"Not opening the shop today?"
Although Lin Yu often wished his sister would rest more, seeing his always-busy sister actually resting at home still surprised him.
Lin Zhao smiled and said: "Not opening today, since you're almost done with finals, I'm making something to nourish your brain and body."
Lin Yu sniffed hard - the air indeed carried the fragrance of stewed fish.
He loved eating fish.
However, Lin Yu couldn't help but complain: "Sis, since you rarely close the shop, you should at least rest instead of still being busy at home..."
"This is just finals, not the college entrance exam!"
Lin Zhao put her hands on her hips: "So finals aren't important?"
"Picking on my words isn't fun, did I say finals aren't important?"
Lin Yu defended helplessly.
"Ah, it's just that I've seen you running out so much recently, unlike previous semesters," Lin Zhao waved her hand, "Both earning money and managing studies, I'm being considerate of you."
"And..."
Lin Zhao pointed to the shelf nearby.
There was a paper bag placed there.
Lin Yu was somewhat stunned.
"Huh? What's this?"
"Your classmate, the drama club president, came by," Lin Zhao said with a smile, "Said it was sponsored phones, everyone in the drama club gets one... Then she told me to keep an eye on your studies, absolutely don't let you fail, said you have very important touring performances this summer."
"Ah, your president is so sweet-talking, calling me sister this and sister that, even complimented me on looking young and gave me skincare products..."
Looking at Lin Zhao's beaming face, Lin Yu could roughly imagine how Shen Bingmiao had charmed his sister.
"Senior really does have high emotional intelligence."
Then, Lin Yu picked up the paper bag and went into his room.
"Said there wasn't a phone for me, but there actually is?"
Lin Yu took out the phone box from the paper bag.
"Latest model FruitPhone... and the top-tier ProMax version too."
Lin Yu looked at the box with some emotion.
There was a sticky note attached to the box.
"To my dearest 'Ace' - yours definitely has to be two levels higher than theirs > w< " Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel★fire.net
Looking at Shen Bingmiao's scribbled handwriting and emoji doodle, Lin Yu curled his lip.
"So she was afraid differential treatment would cause dissatisfaction among others."
Although what he told his sister about "high emotional intelligence" was somewhat joking, now Lin Yu had to admit...
Shen Bingmiao's approach was indeed high emotional intelligence.
"This is way too extravagant."
He opened the phone's outer packaging box, but then Lin Yu realized something was wrong...
This wasn't just two levels higher.
The phone inside the box was completely transparent in appearance... it looked almost like something from the future.
Or...
maybe it was just a glass slab?
"What is this?"
Lin Yu curiously picked up that phone, and then before his eyes popped up...
An item prompt.
[Item·Cyber Ghost's Electronic Coffin, Bound!]
[Cyber Ghost's Electronic Coffin: Hey there, feed me your electronic products and other items!]
[Description: Created by a certain god unwilling to reveal their identity, a growth-type item, currently nothing particularly special.]
[Note: Attention, it will forage on its own!]
Looking at this [Item] with its three-line blood text introduction, Lin Yu realized...
"Senior, you're truly generous!"
This wasn't just an [Item] that simultaneously had both [Description] and [Note]!
And within the three lines of description, it even revealed this thing was created by a god and had growth potential.
The value of this thing...
Lin Yu felt it might be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of... points!
He only felt his scalp tingling.
"My dear Senior Shen Bingmiao, just who exactly are you?"
This was absolutely not something a Third Tier player could casually take out and simply give away!
Although those powerful Third Tier players Lin Yu had seen also had items that looked very valuable, like Fish's dual pistols, Li Hua's dice, Phantom's top hat...
They would never use those things as gifts.
After thinking, Lin Yu picked up his phone and sent a message to his senior.
"What kind of thing did you give me?"
But before he could wait for Shen Bingmiao's reply...
That transparent glass slab on his desk suddenly generated a huge suction force, pulling his phone over!
My phone!"
Lin Yu stared at the glass panel that had absorbed his phone and instinctively cried out in shock.
Even though Lin Yu now owned many phones and had enough savings to buy plenty of high-end flagship models.
After all, all this had only happened in just over a month, and Lin Yu hadn't gotten used to it yet.
Seeing his phone disappear, Lin Yu's first reaction was still heartache.
"You'd better actually be useful after eating my phone."
He looked at the transparent panel in his hand, gritted his teeth, and began examining the new changes in this panel.
Like other [Items]...
This thing called [Cyber Ghost's Electronic Coffin] had a soul connection with Lin Yu.
So when Lin Yu focused his senses, he seemed to feel that this previously functionless panel had developed some new capabilities.
With a thought from him, the transparent panel flashed with a strong, cyber-style ghostly blue light, then transformed into Lin Yu's original phone.
"Is this what it means?"
Lin Yu was somewhat stunned, then began testing it.
This phone could still function normally.
After seeing this, Lin Yu thought for a moment, then took out several other phones and tablets.
Then, he placed them next to the transparent panel...
The [Cyber Ghost's Electronic Coffin], just like before, absorbed these electronic devices too!
And next, just as Lin Yu had anticipated...
With just a thought from him, this item could transform into the appearance of any electronic device it had consumed and function normally!
It could even maintain one device's appearance while replacing the content with that from another phone.
In other words...
Lin Yu could now hold 'Zhu Ming's' phone while viewing content from 'May May's' or "other people's" phones.
He could even view them simultaneously—this item could project content from any electronic device directly onto Lin Yu's retina, visible only to him.
"Senior really is quite generous."
Lin Yu let out a breath.
This perfectly solved his trouble of needing to carry multiple phones, allowing him to travel light from now on.
But...
This didn't make Lin Yu feel relaxed; instead, it made him feel some pressure.
How did Shen Bingmiao know he needed this?
Could she have noticed something?
And Lin Yu couldn't easily go ask Shen Bingmiao for confirmation!
After all...
What if Shen Bingmiao just gave it to him because it looked like a phone and she happened to have it on hand?
Or perhaps...
Shen Bingmiao only had some suspicions.
If he went to ask, wouldn't that just expose himself?
So after careful consideration, Lin Yu decided to maintain his current position.
Even if he wanted to test Shen Bingmiao, he absolutely couldn't do it right now—that would be no different from walking into a trap.
Lin Yu felt that at least Shen Bingmiao wouldn't harm him.
He decided to continue testing this [Cyber Ghost's Electronic Coffin].
All electronic devices had been fed to it...
Now it was naturally time for [Items].
Lin Yu thought for a moment, then took out the [Multi-function Screwdriver].
This was equipment he obtained from killing 'Heavenly Artisan'.
[Multi-function Screwdriver: As you can see, it has the functions a screwdriver should have. Simultaneously, it can also be a back scratcher, ear pick, nail clipper, and microphone.]
Although it seemed quite practical, Lin Yu hadn't found a use for it so far.
So...
If he had to sacrifice an item now, Lin Yu felt this one was quite suitable.
Moreover, its quality didn't seem particularly high.
Although the [Death Game] only had simple classifications for [Items]—[non-exclusive item], [Class Item], [Exclusive Item]—without any quality grading...
Based on whether they had "descriptions" and "notes," and whether they looked mass-produced and their functions, you could still roughly determine their levels.
If this [Multi-function Screwdriver] had quality classification, it would absolutely be the most common white-quality item.
Lin Yu picked up this thing and placed it next to the [Cyber Ghost's Electronic Coffin].
But this time, the panel didn't generate the strong, powerful attraction it had with electronic devices.
Only when Lin Yu actively made them contact each other and generated the thought of "devour" did the [Cyber Ghost's Electronic Coffin] swallow the [Multi-function Screwdriver].
Then...
The entire transparent panel flashed with pale golden light.
A line of golden text appeared on the transparent panel: "Charging completed: 0.02%... Please continue charging."
Then it returned to silence.
Lin Yu stared at it, momentarily stunned, then exclaimed about being cheated.
"It just flashes one line of text after eating a screwdriver item? Is it really this scammy?"
"And it only charged 0.02%... I'd need to feed you 5,000 more screwdrivers to complete the charging."
"This thing won't even tell me what happens after charging is complete."
Lin Yu helplessly held his forehead.
He now somewhat felt like he'd thrown meat buns at a dog—gone forever.
But fortunately, he'd fed it the [Multi-function Screwdriver], so he didn't feel particularly heartbroken.
Saying he felt no heartache at all would be a lie—after all, this item could probably still sell for a few dozen points at a "gathering."
Of course, the good thing was that this screwdriver most likely couldn't actually be sold.
After all, it was 'Heavenly Artisan's' item... If someone from the [Marauders] who was familiar with him, like 'Almond' or others, had seen this [Item], that would be troublesome.
"So, in the future, can I handle items I can't use and aren't easy to sell this way..."
Lin Yu stroked his chin as he contemplated.
Although he felt such opportunities wouldn't be particularly frequent.
After all, Lin Yu had too many identities. If a certain [Item] became deeply bound with a specific identity, it would be difficult for other identities to use it.
So in the future, he might still need to equip different identities with various [Items] for use.
Currently, the [Items] he had on hand weren't even enough for his needs!
"I'll ask Senior next time I get the chance, though I have a feeling she probably won't tell me either."
Lin Yu thought this as he transformed the transparent panel into his phone's appearance, then sent a message to Shen Bingmiao.
"Thank you, Senior, the phone works very well." Orıginal content can be found at novel•fire.net
No matter what...
After absorbing those electronic devices, it had indeed provided very practical functionality.
Lin Yu put away the panel, then returned to sit at his desk.
Even though Senior's gift had truly surprised Lin Yu, studying still needed to be done.
Or rather...
Precisely because Senior had given him such a valuable gift, Lin Yu felt he should study even harder.
Although he didn't think he would fail any courses...
Lin Yu always felt he needed to do something, otherwise he would somewhat let down his Senior.
You did very well, Furbollo."
"I thought you might crack under pressure and confess!"
While Lin Yu was studying hard, Fu Luo was sitting upright in a private room at an internet cafe in Jiangcheng, watching the blinking cursor on the screen and the text that appeared out of nowhere in the notepad, his expression serious.
He spoke softly into the microphone.
"How could I, sir, how would I dare betray you?"
As Fu Luo spoke, new text appeared in the notepad.
"Hehehehe, you'd better remember that, otherwise you know exactly what I'm capable of!"
"Now I have a new mission for you."
Fu Luo looked at the two lines of text and spoke while bowing and scraping: "Just say the word, I guarantee I'll complete it, I'd go through fire and water without hesitation!"
"..."
"Good. Right now, the Psychological Society's S-class executive 'Fluoxetine' is in Jiangcheng. I'll send the location to your phone."
"Go eliminate 'Fluoxetine'!"
When Fu Luo saw this line of text, his face turned deathly pale.
"Eliminate the Psychological Society's S-class... me?"
Fu Luo immediately stood up, slapped the table, and jumped up!
Then he aimed himself at the camera in front of the computer, precisely jumped onto the sofa chair in the private room, and then knelt in front of the computer.
"Sir, great 'Hacker' sir, it's not that I'm unwilling, it's just that my abilities are truly limited!"
"I have elderly parents above and... I have two elderly parents above, I really can't go."
As Fu Luo spoke, he wiped his hands over his eyes, and tears instantly streamed down.
If Lin Yu had been there to see it, he probably would have marveled at Fu Luo's acting talent.
With skills like this, even without performing on stage, he could make a living as a professional mourner throughout the local villages.
New text appeared in the notepad.
"Haha, just kidding."
"I still have uses for this 'Fluoxetine' person."
Fu Luo wiped the corner of his eye and said with a bitter smile: "Even if you had no use for her, I still couldn't kill her."
"But I do need you to cause trouble for someone."
Fu Luo looked at the new text in the notepad and said: "Just tell me, as long as it's not 'Fluoxetine'... uh, as long as it's not someone too strong."
The notepad's cursor blinked for a while, making Fu Luo nervous.
"'Hacker' sir, it's not really a top expert, is it..."
He gritted his teeth.
"Anyone below 'Third Tier' is fine, anything higher I really can't handle!"
The cursor continued to blink.
Fu Luo's face turned pale: "If it's just causing trouble... if I find some helpers, 'Third Tier' might be worth trying, as long as they're not on the leaderboard!"
Hearing Fu Luo say this, the notepad finally moved.
"Hehe!"
Fu Luo's tears immediately fell again: "Please stop messing with me, they're really on the leaderboard?!"
"You already have a grudge with him anyway."
New text appeared, and Fu Luo nearly wet himself in fear.
"What? I have a grudge with a player on the leaderboard?! Which one?"
A single character appeared in the notepad: "'Twenty'".
Fu Luo was stunned, then said: "What the hell? He's on the leaderboard, and he's 'Third Tier'?! You're joking!"
"I'm not joking. He's an anonymous player, ranked 77th."
Seeing the text in the notepad, Fu Luo instead calmed down.
"If it's that guy... it might be worth trying."
"After all, that guy doesn't kill people, and... 'Hacker' sir, you'll assist me too, right?"
The notepad closed.
The next moment, sweat beads reappeared on Fu Luo's previously calm face.
"Sir... sir, don't run away, sir!"
...
Peaceful days passed in the blink of an eye.
At noon on Tuesday, after finishing his open-book exam, Lin Yu stretched lazily, eating in the cafeteria while watching the blood-red text floating before him. Orıginal content can be found at NoveI~Fire.net
『Less than 24 hours remain until the latest start time of the next game!』
『Before midnight tonight, find a dark and enclosed environment, use methods to limit your oxygen intake through breathing, and wait to enter the game.』
Lin Yu let out a breath.
"Here it comes, this time it's near-suffocation..."
But that wasn't important. What was important was...
"Why hasn't the prompt for the 'Second Tier' Promotion Trial appeared?"
Lin Yu felt somewhat strange.
His 'First-Tier' Promotion dungeon was in the third dungeon [Frostpeak Mountains].
According to experience summarized by previous players, the 'Second Tier' Promotion dungeon should be in the sixth dungeon.
But...
This blood-red text contained no information about promotion.
Logically, it should have appeared when he returned, but it still hasn't appeared...
"Most likely, there really won't be a 'Promotion'..."
Lin Yu muttered to himself.
However, Lin Yu wasn't too concerned, feeling it was within normal expectations.
Promoting to 'First Tier' in just three dungeons was already somewhat outside normal expectations...
So, not getting 'Second Tier' in the sixth dungeon was within expectations.
"Maybe it's better not to promote now..."
Lin Yu let out a breath.
Nowadays, he didn't have such an urgent need to become stronger—although it was still urgent, it wasn't to the extent of "must promote as soon as possible."
Having more time to prepare and ensuring everything was foolproof was most important.
His only worry now was...
What if the 'Second Tier' Promotion Trial follows a completely different process from the 'First Tier' one?
Right now, he had no channels to inquire about 'Second Tier' promotion matters—even though he already knew many 'Third Tier' experts, given his current identities... none of his identities were anywhere near ready for 'Second Tier' promotion.
Lin Yu couldn't verify this.
He could only proceed with preparations carefully, operating under the assumption that "what if I really have to promote immediately upon entering the game?"
Of course...
There wasn't much special preparation he could do anyway.
He just ate a massive meal in the cafeteria and activated several particularly useful BUFFs.
Besides [Miserly Wealthy One], the Immortal Brew buffs currently stored in the Immortal Brew included [Closed Mind] and [Ice Blessing].
[Closed Mind (remaining 12 hours): Immune to all mental and soul attacks, blocks all attempts to peer into the soul.]
[Ice Blessing (remaining 3 hours): Movement speed increases fivefold, gain ability to move ignoring terrain, while reducing temperature within five meters to freezing point.]
Besides these three blessings, Lin Yu also had several small buffs enhancing his physique, which collectively boosted his physical attributes to about half of what the [Soldier] enhancement provided.
"Alright, even if it really is the second 'Promotion Trial', there's nothing to fear."
Lin Yu let out a breath, then felt somewhat emotional.
But then again...
Thinking about it carefully, even during the dungeons when he wasn't 'Promoting', weren't the difficulty and intensity completely high too?
In the first dungeon, he faced off against someone with S-level potential, and he was on a very unfair team.
In the second dungeon, he encountered a god.
In the third dungeon, during promotion, he encountered the monster 'Chate' created by the Truth Corporation.
The fourth dungeon... he encountered a god again!
The fifth dungeon, he encountered the 'Free Alliance' team-building event, and again came to the "Truth Corporation's" territory.
Recalling his past experiences, Lin Yu suddenly felt emotional.
"From now on, I should probably prepare for every dungeon as if it were a Promotion dungeon..."
Compared to the previous methods of releasing water and jumping off buildings, Lin Yu's entry condition for this game was much simpler.
He just needed to put a plastic bag over his head and tie it off.
And this time... Lin Yu chose the identity of 'May May'.
After all, he had just obtained the 'Order' identity certificate, so he might as well use it.
Moreover, that badge had considerable credibility to some extent.
For ordinary 'Players', Lin Yu could use this thing to better utilize his 'Fraudster' abilities.
"Whoosh—"
Squeezing the air out of the bag, Lin Yu sat in the room's chair, feeling his consciousness gradually fade.
The clock hand rotated, about to reach 12 o'clock.
And blood-red text finally appeared before Lin Yu's eyes.
[Entering Game Soon—]
[Game Name: Escape from the Madhouse]
[Clear Condition: Leave the "Island"]
[Number of Players in This Game: 3]
"A madhouse... but why suffocation?"
"What does the clear condition mean?"
"But... there are quite few players this time."
The familiar feeling of weightlessness appeared, then...
Everything suddenly went pitch black!
The suffocating feeling from the plastic bag became even more intense, and the thing covering his head seemed heavier and sturdier.
Obviously, he had now entered the game!
But...
What's going on?!
What did this dungeon put on my head right from the start?
Lin Yu instinctively reached to remove the hood from his head, but unexpectedly discovered...
"Why are my hands restrained too?"
His hands were firmly tied and pinned behind his back.
Not only that, after careful assessment, he found his entire body seemed tightly secured, with extremely limited mobility.
But fortunately, even in this situation, it wasn't a complete dead end for Lin Yu.
"Hannah... release me."
"Ribbit! Received!"
As Lin Yu summoned her, he felt Hannah land on his shoulder.
But before Hannah could execute the command, Lin Yu suddenly stopped the little octopus.
"Wait, Hannah."
"Ribbit, what is it, Director?"
"First maintain stealth, observe if there are any unfriendly beings around, then tell me what environment I'm currently in."
Lin Yu said calmly.
Although he was having some breathing difficulty now, he wasn't completely suffocating yet.
The thing covering his face was stretched tight, but still allowed some air exchange.
Based on the current situation... Lin Yu estimated it would take at least an hour before he reached oxygen-deprived unconsciousness.
And there was even more time between oxygen-deprived unconsciousness and irreversible brain damage and death.
So...
After calming down to think, Lin Yu felt he didn't need to rush to escape.
Ordinary new players might be frightened by starting in such danger with restricted movement, desperately trying to break free.
But Lin Yu's mental fortitude and experience with various scenarios were simply too extensive.
So he felt that rather than escaping immediately, preventing potential traps was more important.
And just as Lin Yu expected, Hannah's feedback came quickly.
"Ribbit, Director, you appear to be in an isolation room."
"You're tied to a chair, wearing a full-body restraint suit. The room walls and floor are padded, and the lighting is very dim."
"And... there's a being wearing a white coat with its back to you, probably a 'Doctor'."
"Ribbit, that doctor is about three meters tall with shoulder width exceeding one hundred fifty centimeters. Probably not human... He seems to be preparing injection medication right now."
Hearing Hannah's feedback, Lin Yu exhaled.
"A three-meter-tall doctor with 1.5-meter shoulder width? That really doesn't seem human."
"But, how would you estimate his strength?"
Large size is a relatively intuitive indicator of strength, but in the 'Death Game', strength isn't only about size.
And Hannah had learned from Ka since childhood, with exceptionally sharp judgment.
In this situation where he couldn't see, Lin Yu naturally trusted Hannah's assessment.
Hannah's voice quickly sounded: "Ribbit, Director... in my opinion, this guy probably only has combat and physical strength. In close combat, he might be slightly stronger than you."
"Slightly stronger than me?"
Lin Yu had a plan in mind.
He immediately chose to summon his other "pet" besides [Tiny Chef Apprentice]—[Truth Corporation Security Department Delta Team Leader].
"Take him down, Stiller."
Lin Yu released Stiller from his [item space].
"Thud!"
The sound of tactical boots stepping on padded flooring was muffled and calm.
"Oh... so this is what you call a [dungeon], right?"
"But Director, you need me to handle just this big dumb oaf?"
Stiller's voice carried a mix of coldness and slight arrogance.
Before Lin Yu could respond, he heard a low, hoarse roar from the other side. Updates are released by n0velfire.net
"Grah—Grah!"
Like intimidation and threat, accompanied by clattering metal impact sounds.
Sounded like that three-meter giant was roaring while grabbing something from a metal tray.
"Ignorant fool!"
Lin Yu felt Stiller leap over him, followed by a dull collision sound in the air.
"Thump!"
Stiller's cold laugh came again.
"Turns out it's not even ignorance, just an empty shell?"
"How pitiful!"
Then...
Lin Yu heard two sounds: "Squelch" and "Crack."
Probably Stiller inflicting serious damage on that three-meter-tall thing.
Next came the sound of Stiller landing again, boots stepping on the floor.
"This level of opponent is indeed good for warming up."
Stiller said, then walked over to Lin Yu.
"Miss Hannah, step aside—let me untie the Director."
He said, then Lin Yu felt his neck loosen.
Then...
"Whoosh!"
Fresh air and a cool, relaxed feeling washed over him, along with not-too-bright, perfectly appropriate lighting.
"Excellent, Stiller."
He turned his head to look at the blue-black giant lying on the floor with a rusted, stained surgical knife stuck in him, feeling somewhat emotional.
Although Stiller with his home field equipment couldn't previously defeat Wang Yuyang and his wife, Lin Yu had to admit...
The Truth Corporation Security Department Delta Team Leader, President Paris's trusted subordinate, was definitely no ordinary person.
His previous loss was purely because that couple was too strong, even rare among the player population.
Stiller also snorted lightly, continuing to take out the dagger from his waist and cutting through the restraint straps on Lin Yu one by one.
"That guy had strength but no intelligence. Even if you broke free yourself, killing him probably wouldn't be difficult."
"But... this guy's condition feels quite familiar, seems like some company file recorded this phenomenon."
"I only remember the name—seems to be called 'Soul Dissolution into Body'."
Dissolving Soul into Body?"
Just hearing the name, Lin Yu could roughly guess the symptoms.
But that wasn't important...
What was important was...
"Could this be the world where 'Truth Corporation' is located again?"
Lin Yu muttered to himself.
According to the information he had gathered from the forum and various organizations, almost all dungeons in the Death Game were distributed among the seven currently known worlds.
Of course, some players claimed they had reliable information about something called the "Ten Realms" mentioned in certain high-end dungeons.
But no one had discovered those remaining three worlds yet... Even though there were some unclassifiable dungeons, none could be confirmed as belonging to brand new worlds.
These seven currently known worlds were relatively independent, yet not completely separate—it seemed that due to the existence of Players and gods, the highest-level beings across different worlds had already begun exchanging resources.
For example, the world where "Kirishima" was located and the world where "Truth Corporation" was located were not the same.
However, on Truth Corporation's "Despair Train," Lin Yu had been able to find a bottle of aged wine produced by Kirishima Vineyard.
So...
Although Lin Yu suspected this was the world where Truth Corporation was located, he couldn't be certain.
And sure enough...
His conjecture was refuted by Stiller.
"To be honest, it doesn't feel very similar," Stiller muttered. "I don't sense any emotional energy... In such a large building, and a 'hospital' at that, there are no emotional collection devices, not even any remnants—it's simply unbelievable."
Hannah also chimed in: "Mm... This person's flesh texture is quite different from the flesh texture in Stiller's world."
Lin Yu nodded: "I see."
He trusted their judgment.
And... this isolation room was indeed quite crude.
Even the Great Wasteland of Truth Corporation had a somewhat near-future style.
But this room... The padding in the isolation room was made of artificial leather, the metal door looked rusted and mottled, and the lock was very simple.
Even compared to Lin Yu's real world, this would be considered somewhat outdated.
Since this wasn't Truth Corporation's territory, things would be slightly easier to handle.
This dungeon only had three players, and he didn't know who the other two were.
But this time, there was no team formation, nor any reliable Second Tier experts to rely on.
Even though he wasn't using the Zhu Ming identity, with Stiller following him and carrying various legacies inherited from Vale Valetti and Baron Coleman... he would still be somewhat conspicuous in the eyes of Truth Corporation's higher-ups.
While they were talking, Stiller also cut the last restraint binding Lin Yu.
"Done."
Lin Yu freed himself from the chair and stood up.
"Now... it's time to get out of this room and take a look."
Although he didn't yet know what the "island" mentioned in the mission completion conditions referred to, the basic premise of this dungeon should be to escape this facility that was probably a mental institution.
Based on how easily Stiller had dealt with the situation earlier, his "bodyguard" should be able to handle most enemies that appeared in the early stages of this dungeon.
The monster that spawned in the starting room could be instantly killed, indicating that this dungeon's difficulty might not be very high.
Lin Yu even found himself feeling somewhat optimistic.
Just as he was about to study how to open the door...
The sound of the lock turning suddenly came from the door.
Lin Yu slightly furrowed his brows, waved his hand, and instructed Hannah: "Disguise Stiller and have him hide for now."
Even though this wasn't a Truth Corporation dungeon, Stiller was still too conspicuous.
Hannah jumped onto Stiller, and then an invisible disguise covered Stiller's body.
"Ribbit! Don't move, Mr. Stiller!"
Stiller also obediently stood in place, vigilantly watching the door.
And soon...
The door opened.
A woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with her hair tied up, and dressed in a loose black shirt, carefully pushed the door open while holding a hairpin in her mouth.
When she saw the fallen behemoth in the room and Lin Yu standing calmly, she was startled.
"Damn, bro... you're pretty fast?!"
"You've already freed yourself and taken down this terrifying guy."
The woman spoke with a melodious Xiangtan accent, opening the door a bit wider.
Seeing her attitude, Lin Yu naturally understood...
This person was a Player.
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow and said calmly: "You're not slow either, you've even managed to find me directly."
After Lin Yu showed willingness to communicate, the woman relaxed her guard somewhat, carefully slipped inside the door, and slowly closed it behind her.
Lin Yu also got a clear look at her appearance—her features were delicate and proper, in her twenties, with something of a celebrity look about her.
"Not at all, bro," the woman said in a lowered voice. "I purely used tricks... first, I'm a Thief, and second, I just ran away, didn't fight the big guy in my room!"
"He's still angrily wandering the hallway looking for me right now."
As she spoke, she let out a breath and showed a relieved expression: "But it's good to see you can handle things... This dungeon doesn't seem competitive, want to team up?"
"I'm from the Night Watchmen, a proper major organization, reliable character!"
As she said this, she pulled out a small black booklet from her chest and opened it.
It looked about the same size and style as a driver's license, but what was written on it was certification information for "Night Watchmen Star City Branch Executive." Orıginal content can be found at NoveIꜰire.net
Lin Yu casually took it—this thing was just like the Order's shield badge, it could even display [Item] descriptions.
[Night Watchmen Passport: Player-made item, produced by Night Watchmen.]
This was indeed genuine anti-counterfeiting proof. Formal members of large-scale "righteous path" organizations like Order, Night Watchmen, and Player Mutual Aid Association basically all carried one.
Lin Yu naturally believed her, then with a solemn expression, he also took out the badge he had just obtained.
"Hello comrade from Night Watchmen, I'm May May, member of Team One from Order's Jiangcheng Branch. This is my badge."
He also handed his badge to the woman.
When the woman heard Lin Yu's words, she initially showed surprised delight, and after receiving the badge and confirming it was genuine, her joy became even more apparent.
"Holy shit, a formal member of Order," she quickly returned the badge to Lin Yu, "This is solid now!"
"Hello comrade, I'm Max from Night Watchmen, First-Tier, Thief, advanced direction is [Wonder Pouch], skilled in infiltration and intelligence gathering."
But when Lin Yu heard the woman's introduction, he felt something was off.
"Eh? Why is your code name Max?"
"Aren't Night Watchmen code names all birds and beasts? Regular members use land animals, core members use flying ones."
Faced with Lin Yu's questioning, the woman who called herself "Max" seemed somewhat embarrassed, and her originally slightly accented Mandarin completely slipped into Xiang dialect.
"My name probably isn't very pleasant to hear."
She said sheepishly, but under Lin Yu's silent gaze, she still spoke up somewhat awkwardly.
"Comrade, my internal Night Watchmen code name is 'Wild Boar.'"
Max, where did you lead that big guy from your room just now? Are there any other dangerous-looking creatures outside out there?"
Given that the name "Wild Boar" really wasn't very pleasant, Lin Yu decided to respect the woman's opinion and call her "Max."
Since both Order and the Night Watchmen were legitimate organizations, Lin Yu and Max naturally formed an alliance.
Especially after Lin Yu used the Mind-Peeping Eyepiece to look at Max—ever since seeing Order's identity credentials, the only emotions emanating from her were trust, joy, and relief.
Facing Lin Yu's inquiry, Max naturally wouldn't hold anything back: "Hey bro, there are probably some monsters in the hallway, along with creatures wearing patient gowns who also don't seem quite alive. I didn't disturb them... As for where that big guy went, I don't know either—the outside corridor is shaped like a square with connected ends. I turned two corners and he lost me. Maybe he went upstairs or downstairs?"
As Max spoke, Lin Yu nodded slightly.
"It seems there are many miscellaneous monsters outside too... I wonder how their strength compares to the one in this room?"
Hearing Lin Yu's muttering, Max quickly spoke up: "Bro, I believe in you. If you can instantly defeat the one in your room, you can handle the ones outside too."
"It wasn't really me who instantly defeated it... it was my 'helper'."
Lin Yu said, pointing to a corner of the room.
That happened to be where Stiller was standing.
Simultaneously, Lin Yu communicated with Hannah in his mind.
"Get him to change into... change into a ninja outfit. Ask Stiller if he can imitate a ninja."
As Lin Yu spoke, Hannah's response came quickly.
"Ribbit! No problem, Director, I'll convey it!"
"Oh... Stiller says he can!"
After Hannah's reply, the area where she and Stiller were standing quickly manifested transparent rippling distortions—like some kind of optical change. Lin Yu knew this was Hannah being deliberate; with her camouflage skills, no "transition" was actually needed.
As the ripples changed, Stiller appeared in the corner of the room dressed in black clothing with a face mask, head covering, and a forehead protector.
A look of astonishment appeared on Max's face.
"There's actually someone else here?!"
Stiller brought his feet together and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "I am a ninja! Yoroshiku! Ninja!"
He stood perfectly straight and spoke with vigorous energy.
But Lin Yu could tell that Stiller's voice seemed to carry a hint of resentment.
Watching this scene, Max became even more astonished: "Damn, May bro, that's so cool... Is this a player teamed up with you?"
"This is my first time seeing someone with the Ninja profession!"
Lin Yu shook his head: "No, this guy is my... summon-type item."
Max grew even more surprised: "A sentient humanoid... Bro, just who are you?"
Lin Yu quickly waved his hand: "This is an unintelligent mechanical puppet that only follows simple commands and fights... The phrases it can say are just those few. If you don't believe me, watch."
He looked at Stiller and slightly gestured with his eyes.
"Ninja Number One, what did you eat for lunch today?"
Stiller looked at Lin Yu, his eyes revealing helplessness and a bit of irritation.
But seeing the threatening look in Lin Yu's eyes, Stiller reluctantly cooperated, though clearly displeased.
"I am a ninja! Yoroshiku! Ninja!"
He again clasped his hands in a fist salute and spoke in a very unhappy tone.
Max quickly applauded.
"Amazing, truly amazing!"
"This Ninja Number One is too impressive. It must be really expensive, right? This has to cost tens of thousands of points!"
Lin Yu didn't answer the price question and instead waved his hand.
"Alright, let's check my 'hospital room' one more time, then prepare to leave."
"Even though there are no mandatory conditions, if we stay in the room too long, it might trigger some unfavorable mechanics."
Max deeply agreed.
After Lin Yu quickly searched the room to confirm nothing was left behind, he signaled to Max that they could leave.
She swaggered as she opened the door, completely without the tension and caution she had when entering.
Outside was indeed a square-shaped corridor as Max had described.
Saying it was square-shaped wasn't entirely accurate—because through the windows and mist, Lin Yu could roughly determine this hospital wasn't four corridors, but some kind of polygon.
How many sides exactly... estimating from the curvature of one corner, Lin Yu thought if this polygon was regular, it should be a heptagon.
Old, somewhat blurry glass was set in aluminum metal frames. The floor was concrete, the walls were ghastly white.
The hanging lights overhead swayed back and forth, with exposed wires dangling from the ceiling.
Looking out the windows, they could see what was originally a garden but was now abandoned, filled with withered branches, fallen leaves, and weeds.
Faint gray mist floated in the air.
Lin Yu counted—his floor was probably the second floor. And from the outline visible outside the window, the entire building had five floors total.
Lin Yu muttered to himself as he surveyed the desolate, oppressive corridor.
"Not just an insane asylum, but an abandoned insane asylum..."
The corridor they were in was quite long, probably several dozen meters, with tightly closed room doors lining both sides.
Even with only five floors, this dungeon's area wasn't particularly small.
No wonder Max could lose the "Doctor" after just turning a couple corners.
Lin Yu observed that only two room doors were open.
Besides his own, there was another open door six rooms away.
"You came from there?"
Lin Yu asked, and Max nodded.
"Impressive deduction and observation! I did indeed come from there!"
Lin Yu felt helpless.
With only two doors open total, what did this have to do with deduction!
He looked around further.
"But I don't see any monsters."
As Lin Yu spoke, Max immediately pointed in that direction.
"Your section doesn't have any, but around that corner there's an activity area with several people wearing patient gowns."
Following where Max pointed, Lin Yu walked past the right-hand corner.
The two arrived at a brand-new corridor—this hallway had no rooms, so the area felt particularly spacious.
An old activity area was placed there, with many "people" wearing patient gowns wandering in the corridor.
Calling them "people" was generous—these creatures only roughly had a hominid framework: head, torso, limbs.
Their size was also roughly normal proportions between one and a half to two meters tall, not as exaggerated as the Doctor who earlier looked like a giant wheel cake that had gained sentience.
But looking at the details... these creatures still weren't human. For more chapters visıt N0velFire.ɴet
Some had all their joints reversed, some had only a single enormous eye on their heads, some had webbed hands, and some simply had heads that were giant oranges.
And yet they were acting like humans—sliding down slides, playing chess, stacking blocks, doing push-ups.
Everyone was busy with their own activities.
"Truly a gathering of demons dancing wildly..."
Lin Yu couldn't help but sigh.
These NPCs don't seem very aggressive, and they don't seem to communicate well either," Max lowered her voice. "That big doctor and them seem to maintain a relationship of non-interference."
Hearing Max's words, Lin Yu really wanted to test whether these NPCs truly couldn't communicate.
Of course, Lin Yu wanted even more to test whether these NPCs were truly non-aggressive.
After all, it would be Stiller doing the work, so he basically wouldn't face any danger.
It just didn't quite fit his persona as a member of Order.
So after thinking, Lin Yu spoke up.
"Anyway, let's ignore these 'patients' for now... dealing with that 'doctor' you released is more important."
"But since it's still nowhere to be seen and you have no clues about where it went... there should be another player in this dungeon. We should consider finding him quickly to join forces."
Lin Yu looked at Max.
"Could you help find someone?"
Max was even more surprised. "How did you know I have an item that can locate people?!"
Seeing Max's astonished expression, Lin Yu sighed.
"Because you found me before I even left my room."
"Before I saw all those doors in the hallway, I could have guessed that maybe there weren't many doors and you just happened to run into me."
"But with so many doors and only two opened... Comrade Max, do I look that stupid to you?"
Max showed deep respect. "As expected of May May! The forum says even though you're not a Detective, you're better than one. Even Furbollo speaks highly of you."
"Truly living up to your reputation, worthy of the name!"
As she spoke, Lin Yu rubbed his forehead.
"To be honest, everything I've said so far basically requires no deduction... Never mind, just take out your item."
As Lin Yu spoke, Max pulled out a golden miniature compass.
"Alright then... Heaven spirits, earth spirits, Jade Emperor spirits, Bodhisattva spirits! Odin spirits, Jesus spirits!"
"Good grief, your beliefs are quite eclectic... There's even a non-religious mythological figure mixed in there."
Lin Yu complained while Max chuckled. "When I bought this compass, they said it came with matching chants, but I forgot them... I can only randomly say a few phrases to comfort myself."
"So will it still work then?"
Max responded seriously. "Of course, those chants are for advanced use... The basic function is finding things!"
"As long as I think about what I want in my mind, I'll get directional guidance!"
After saying this, Max rotated the inner dial of the miniature compass. The dial spun the pointer rapidly, until finally...
The pointer pointed diagonally ahead of the two.
Holding the compass, Max quickly moved forward, silently passing through the group of strangely-shaped patients.
Lin Yu also hurriedly followed with Stiller.
Soon...
The two turned another corner and saw a double-door entrance.
Above the door hung a red light sign with five characters: "Unsafe Passage."
The glass on the door was completely covered in blood—even without these five honest warnings, Lin Yu knew this passage wasn't safe.
Especially since continuous low, hoarse roars and cries kept coming from behind the door.
Hearing these sounds, Max pressed against the door trying to peek at what was happening inside.
But the blood covering was too thick, and Max couldn't see anything.
"Bro, it sounds pretty wild in there... What's the plan? If we want to find someone, we seem to need to go through here!"
"Let's scout the situation first. Do you have any detection methods?"
Lin Yu asked, and Max nodded.
"I do, bro!"
"I've been through over twenty dungeons, I've got plenty of experience!"
She pulled out from her chest a black and white cat plushie that looked somewhat creepy in posture and expression.
Then, Max opened the door slightly, tossed the black and white cat plushie inside, and explained to Lin Yu: "This thing is called Cheese Kitty. It can attract people's attention and forcibly redirect attacks from low-intelligence and non-intelligent units."
Lin Yu complained while Max chuckled. "When I bought this compass, they said it came with matching chants, but I forgot them... I can only randomly say a few phrases to comfort myself."
Max boldly pushed the door open.
Inside was a stairwell—except the walls were covered with various bloodstains.
Because Max moved so quickly, Lin Yu's question only came after she opened the door: "What if there's a high-intelligence unit hiding behind the door?"
Leaning against the doorframe, Max confidently smiled. "Then we'll just have to take the hit, bro! Nothing's ever foolproof, it's all about dealing with things as they come..."
Before she finished speaking, a bloodied tentacle reached out from behind the door, swiftly wrapped around Max, and dragged her inside.
"Bang!"
The door slammed shut heavily, and Max's piercing scream came from behind it.
"Save me, bro!"
Lin Yu sighed, pulled out the One-Shot Revolver with one hand and the newly acquired Rage Spray and Corner of the Gloomy with the other, then kicked the door open.
"Wait for my signal."
After giving the order to Stiller, the Corner of the Gloomy activated immediately.
Lin Yu instantly transformed into a shadow and rushed toward the corner behind the door—where he could clearly see the scene behind the door.
A humanoid monster wearing what appeared to be a security uniform had its limbs transformed into four tentacles, currently wrapped around Max's ankles, hanging her upside down in the air while shaking her vigorously.
It simultaneously emitted incomprehensible shouts.
"Shout... shout!"
Lin Yu exhaled and began mental communication with Hannah.
"There's only one monster behind the door. Have Stiller come in to deal with it... If it proves troublesome, I'll intervene too—I'm in a position to provide support at any time."
"Ribbit! Received!"
After Hannah's response, the next moment, Lin Yu saw Stiller kick open the other door, then crouch low, push off the ground to change direction behind the door, draw the dagger from his waist, and swing it out!
A dagger less than an inch long was actually swung with the momentum of a reverse kesagiri slash—and the effect was the same!
The tentacle-limbed monster was slashed by Stiller, spraying blood wildly while screaming incessantly, then released the entangled Max.
"Thud!"
Max landed headfirst, holding her head as she rolled on the ground once before getting up, grimacing in pain. "Ouch, sneaky attack, huh!"
Lin Yu lightly coughed and looked at Stiller.
"Ninja Number One, you did well!"
Stiller understood, somewhat helplessly standing straight and cupping his hands in salute. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel⚑fire.net
But this time he absolutely refused to deliver his lines no matter what.
Max's headache subsided slightly as she looked at Stiller standing nearby and also cupped her hands.
"Impressive, ninja... bro, your item is really powerful! Probably costs more than tens of thousands!"
Lin Yu also nodded.
This was the second time Stiller had nearly instantly killed a monster in this dungeon.
It seemed the monster strength in this dungeon really wasn't high!
Plus considering Max's earlier performance, Lin Yu became even more optimistic.
"It looks like in this dungeon, I can finally take it easy!"
Although there was only this one monster behind the door for now, after dealing with it, Lin Yu didn't feel the corridor was safe yet.
Judging by the sounds he heard earlier, there should be quite a few monsters in this stairwell.
"Up or down?"
Lin Yu asked while maintaining vigilance.
Max glanced at the compass in her hand, then spoke confidently: "Up!"
Although the compass was flat, Lin Yu had no idea how she could tell up from down. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novęlfire.net
But since it was the other's item...
Lin Yu chose to trust her.
The two looked at the stairs leading upward.
The lighting in the stairwell was much dimmer than in the corridor, with growls and shouts faintly coming from above, making Lin Yu's scalp tingle.
Max wasn't particularly afraid, though. Despite having just escaped a life-threatening situation, she seemed to have a carefree personality.
"Damn, the sounds from above sound fierce... Bro, let me scout again, alright?"
Max picked up the cow cat plushie from the ground, swung it in a full arc, and threw it upward.
"Go! [Cheese Kitty]!"
After Max finished speaking, a sharp cat cry came from upstairs.
"Meow!"
Hearing this cat cry, Max's expression turned serious.
"Only one cat cry... means it destroyed the cat instantly. The monsters upstairs must be pretty fierce."
As Max spoke, Lin Yu looked at Stiller.
"No problem, let Ninja Number One scout the path."
Stiller glanced back at Lin Yu, and after three seconds, he silently walked up the stairs.
At this point, he couldn't bother with ninja characteristics anymore—pressing against the wall, drawing his dagger, he maintained vigilance while climbing upward in a very professional posture.
But he hadn't taken more than two steps when a dull sound suddenly came from above everyone's heads.
"Boom!"
As if something heavy had landed.
Max jumped in fright: "Holy shit, they dropped the tomb-sealing stone!"
Lin Yu was about to retort that this wasn't an ancient tomb, so where would a tomb-sealing stone come from, when he heard the sounds from upstairs like continuous muffled thunder.
Stiller looked up and was utterly horrified.
"Run!"
He jumped down from the steps just as massive stones came rolling down from the upper stairs, crushing and carrying along fragments of many monster corpses, their momentum terrifying!
"There really are stones!"
Lin Yu was utterly shocked and quickly retreated from the emergency exit with the other two.
The boulders were huge, and their size happened to fit perfectly through the stairs—after reaching the corner, they collided with the walls twice before continuing to roll downward.
Fortunately, although the stones looked intimidating, they weren't very fast, and the three had already retreated outside the stairwell by then.
The boulder slammed into the door frame with a bang, then continued rolling downward.
As the stone got closer, Lin Yu realized...
Rather than rolling stones, they were more like stone spheres—these stones were unnaturally smooth and round, forming very standard gray spheres!
And precisely because of this, they rolled so smoothly.
The stone sphere continued rolling downward, and Max spoke with lingering fear.
"What the hell is this... Did we trigger some mechanism?"
Lin Yu stroked his chin: "Something's off, this thing's style doesn't match this asylum..."
Given this building's style, that thing earlier was a bit too "new"... Moreover, such a standard and smooth giant sphere was hard to imagine as something created at this world's technological level.
After all, everything in this building looked quite crude.
And...
Judging by the effect, this thing didn't harm them but instead cleared out quite a few monsters along the way.
After the stone sphere passed, the entire stairwell fell silent.
Lin Yu stroked his chin and looked up.
"This stone sphere also came from upstairs, perhaps..."
Before he could finish, the two heard sudden footsteps coming from the stairwell.
Max pulled out another new plushie, though this time it wasn't a cow cat but another feline creature.
"Bro, let me scout this—go, [Cheese Lynx]!"
Max threw the lynx out, after which human sounds came from the stairs.
"Ouch!"
But there were no other movements beyond that.
Max rubbed her chin: "Seems to have no malice or aggression."
Lin Yu nodded: "Then it's highly likely to be a Player."
The two returned to the stairwell, and Lin Yu waved his hand, giving Stiller an order.
"Maintain vigilance, Ninja Number One!"
"Understood!"
Stiller responded.
Max looked at Stiller with some confusion: "Why doesn't he say 'Hai'?"
"I set the language; I'm not Japanese."
Lin Yu said seriously.
At the same time, Lin Yu took out the gun in his hand again.
Even though the person coming from upstairs might be a Player, Lin Yu remained cautious.
After all...
You could never be sure.
And even if it was a Player, you still had to be wary.
The footsteps from upstairs gradually approached, until finally...
Suddenly, those footsteps also completely stopped.
The stairwell fell silent, as if the person coming from upstairs also realized there were still living people downstairs after the rolling stone and was wary of Lin Yu and Max.
Just as Lin Yu was thinking about how to break the deadlock...
A periscope slowly descended from above.
Lin Yu and Max looked at this brass viewing device, then at each other.
No mistake about it...
Most likely a Player.
Only Players would constantly pull out such stylistically mismatched items.
And while Lin Yu was still thinking, Max had already waved her hand.
"Hi, bro, can we talk?"
Her voice echoed in the stairwell.
The periscope quickly retracted, and soon footsteps sounded again.
Now that they were closer, Lin Yu could glean some information from the footsteps.
The footsteps were light, probably from a relatively thin male or an average-built female.
Soft-soled shoes, not fast walking frequency.
Not carrying anything particularly heavy or inconvenient to move with.
Lin Yu gripped the gun in his hand.
Soon, a silhouette appeared at the dimly lit stairwell corner—a girl wearing loose gray crewneck shirt and sweatpants walked down with her hands raised.
"You two, you two, I mean no harm."
"I'm also a Player."
A somewhat weak voice sounded, echoing in the stairwell.
Hearing this somewhat familiar voice, Lin Yu felt an ominous premonition rising in his heart.
Sure enough...
The next moment, the familiar figure emerged from the shadows at the corner.
"Um... hello! May I ask if you are..."
Looking at the girl with messy hair who seemed somewhat shy, Lin Yu sighed.
"Well then... looks like this dungeon's difficulty isn't that low either."
Although it wasn't appropriate to directly "recognize" the other person while using the 'May May' identity, Lin Yu knew he didn't need to speak up anyway.
Sure enough, Max beside him—'Wild Boar' from the 'Night Watchmen'—spoke up excitedly.
"'Robin'?! You're Teacher 'Robin'!"
"Hello, hello! Haha, so you're the last Player!"
Robin's capabilities were something Lin Yu understood well.
This "Painter" lady might appear timid and ordinary-looking, but she was genuinely "Third Tier" ranked.
Not just "Third Tier," but a "Third Tier" who had participated in the "Mad Banquet Beyond Heaven."
Moreover...
Based on fragments of information from the dungeon, Lin Yu knew that in the "Night Watchmen's" mission assignments, this "Robin" was specifically deployed to counter "Fluoxetine" alone.
And "Fluoxetine's" strength was sufficient to defeat "Good Night" from the Top 100 Rankings in a direct confrontation.
In other words...
Miss Robin's true combat power should be slightly superior to Jiangcheng's future Chief Captain, Good Night.
Even disregarding all that, just the abilities Robin had displayed were frightening enough.
Take that rolling boulder from earlier—Lin Yu, combining it with Robin's performance in the "Mad Banquet Beyond Heaven" dungeon, could easily guess it was probably something Robin had drawn.
Therefore...
The difficulty of this dungeon was likely no lower, and possibly even higher, than the previous "Express Train of Despair."
But Lin Yu wasn't particularly distressed.
After all, Max's displayed optimism had its reasons...
At least "Robin" was a senior member of the "Night Watchmen," and her character was reliable.
Following her should mean getting some guidance; even if the dungeon difficulty was high, she probably wouldn't abandon the two of them or even work against them.
It was definitely better than encountering experts from the "Psychological Society" or the "Marauders"!
Still, compared to Max, Lin Yu would have preferred a dungeon difficulty he could handle completely on his own.
However, Lin Yu had already accepted reality.
Since "Robin" had appeared, he would just have to raise his vigilance to the maximum.
Meanwhile, Max up ahead had already started introducing Lin Yu to Robin.
"Teacher Robin, I am 'Wild Boar' from the 'Night Watchmen' Star City branch, my class is 'Thief,' First-Tier rank, my superior is 'Cuckoo'... Over there is from 'Order' Jiangcheng Team One, the recently quite famous 'May May,' a First-Tier 'Doctor'!"
Facing Robin, Max's Mandarin had become noticeably more standard.
Robin also seemed to have some impression of the name 'May May,' offering a stiff smile and greeting Lin Yu softly.
"Hello... 'Doctor' May."
As she spoke, Lin Yu responded: "Hello, Teacher Robin, I've long heard of your great reputation. I've heard of you."
Though unsure if it was an internal "Night Watchmen" habit, Lin Yu followed Max's lead and also addressed her as 'Teacher.'
Seeing the introductions complete, Max placed her hands on her hips.
"Haiya, two 'Night Watchmen' and one 'Order'... and with Teacher Robin leading us, this is great!"
"Teacher Robin, you came down from above. What's the situation up there? Anything valuable?"
As Max asked, Robin shook her head.
"No... I came down from the fourth floor. There were only some patient rooms... and some monsters in the corridors," Robin said quietly. "I cleared them out and then came down."
"Usually in psychiatric hospitals, the upper floors are mostly patient rooms, with offices and such on the lower floors... So I thought I'd check downstairs first. I was clearing monsters in the stairwell on my way down when I ran into you."
Max nodded: "I see, it's about the same for us... He and I came out of a patient room and didn't find anything useful."
Lin Yu, however, looked at Robin with surprise.
"You seem quite familiar with psychiatric hospitals?"
Robin lowered her head, picking at her fingers, and said somewhat sheepishly: "Yeah... I stayed in one for a while... I wasn't sleeping well during that period."
Lin Yu wasn't particularly surprised by this.
Max, on the other hand, exclaimed dramatically: "Huh? Teacher Robin, you've had such an experience? That must have been really tough!"
Robin seemed somewhat awkward dealing with Max's enthusiasm, offering an embarrassed smile: "It... it was alright."
Lin Yu gave a light cough and steered the conversation back to serious matters with Robin.
"So why are you confident that the layout here is the same as psychiatric hospitals in our world?"
Robin paused for a moment, then said: "I'm just trying it out, really... but it's definitely the same."
"Because this should be the Misty Sea Archipelago, though I don't know which island specifically," Robin said softly. "Ah, right, you guys are only 'First-Tier,' so it's normal you wouldn't recognize it... Anyway, this is the realm with the highest similarity to our world—it has electricity, machinery, internal combustion engines... and various technological products are similar too, feels like Earth around the mid-20th century."
"So, for most things you encounter here, you can treat it as our world... but a version where paranormal events are happening."
As Robin explained, Lin Yu understood.
"So this is the Misty Islands... the Misty Islands of Kirishima Vineyard?"
"Yes," Robin nodded, "but it's an archipelago... The Kirishima Vineyard you mentioned is on the main island. We're probably on one of the smaller islands; I don't know which one specifically yet."
"I can only rule out that this isn't the main island... because if we were really on the main island where Kirishima Vineyard is located, the situation would be terrible."
Max also understood now: "Oh, no wonder the clear condition is to 'escape' the island... We not only have to leave this building, but also leave the island this asylum is on!"
As she said this, Robin nodded.
"Mm... So in a way, this asylum is just the first barrier. We still need to act quickly."
"In this kind of dungeon with no time limit, no clear stages, high freedom allowing independent exploration and movement, the longer we delay, the worse it gets."
"We haven't even found the rule prompts yet. Our progress is already quite unfavorable."
Max nodded in deep agreement: "Teacher Robin, I believe what you're saying... So what should we do?"
Although Robin was already Third Tier and likely held considerable status within the "Night Watchmen," she seemed very uncomfortable with giving orders.
The analysis and suggestions she had just provided were probably the extent of what she usually said.
Hearing Max's words and seeing Lin Yu quietly waiting for instructions beside them, Robin actually seemed to lack confidence.
"Then... shall we continue going down?"
Robin pointed downward, and Lin Yu immediately agreed.
"Sure, let's go." Dıscover more novels at NoveI-Fire.ɴet
After all the analysis Robin just provided, of course they should go down!
However, expecting this gentle, soft-spoken girl to issue commands was still too troublesome.
So once Robin gave an order, Lin Yu immediately acted on it.
"Ninja Number One, scout ahead!"
Lin Yu once again commanded Stiller, then looked at Robin.
"Teacher Robin, this is my [item], a ninja puppet."
The slight feedback of "belief" coming from Robin allowed Lin Yu to breathe a small sigh of relief.
It seemed Hannah's disguise was still exquisite; at least Robin hadn't seen through it either.
Under Stiller's scouting, the group quickly reached the first floor.
They didn't encounter any new monsters along the way.
Robin's stone sphere was simply too effective—it was literally a dimensionality reduction strike against the monsters wandering in the stairwell.
Looking at the flattened monsters and fresh bloodstains on the ground, Lin Yu grew increasingly uneasy.
These monsters were indeed quite weak.
But Robin was genuinely a true expert.
According to the excellent mechanism where dungeon difficulty basically matches the players' level within it, the weaker these monsters were, the more uneasy Lin Yu felt.
This indicated that within this dungeon, there was some aspect Lin Yu hadn't yet discovered that contained difficulty matching the level of third-tier players.
What made Lin Yu most anxious was that he had absolutely no clue which aspect contained the difficulty!
Lin Yu couldn't even determine what type of dungeon this roughly belonged to.
Puzzle? Survival?
Lin Yu wasn't the only one feeling this unease.
He could sense that Robin walking ahead also seemed quite unsettled.
The reason was probably exactly the same as Lin Yu's: she could also feel that the parts of this dungeon currently revealed were too simple for her.
When things go abnormal, there must be something strange.
But probably because she was the one "carrying the main responsibility," Robin's sense of duty prevented her from showing this unease.
The three stood at the stairwell entrance about to enter the first floor. Robin took out a pencil and sketch paper, casually made a few strokes, and the massive stone sphere blocking the doorway slowly dissipated, revealing the door that had been slightly deformed from the impact.
Stiller stepped forward and pulled open this door—still no danger.
The three cautiously exited the stairwell and arrived on the first floor.
The corridor here was still long and spacious. The room doors on both sides of the corridor, unlike the sheet metal doors upstairs, were all made of wood.
The spacing between doors was also quite large, from which it could be inferred that these rooms should be more spacious than the "patient rooms" upstairs.
"These are likely offices, pharmacies, or examination rooms," Robin said while looking around. "Let's search for anything useful... preferably searching carefully."
As she spoke, Max raised her hand.
"Teacher Robin, wait! Let me try!"
Then, Max again manipulated the compass in her hand and began chanting.
"Bodhisattva bless Zeus bless! Amen Amitabha!"
Watching the continuously spinning compass, Max looked up and pointed to the nearest door on the right.
"Let's start with this closest one!"
Lin Yu was somewhat curious: "Your compass hasn't stopped spinning yet, has it?"
Max chuckled: "Yeah, so it didn't come to any conclusion... When questions are too vague and known conditions too few, it tends to not reach conclusions, so I picked one based on gut feeling."
Lin Yu felt helpless: "You picked based on gut feeling?"
This Thief lady was just too optimistic!
Robin covered for her junior from the same organization: "It's actually not a problem. There are only four rooms in this corridor total, we can search them one by one."
"After all, this floor looks different from the other floors, being careful won't hurt."
Saying this, Robin reached out, gripped the doorknob, and shook it up and down.
"It's locked," she said unsurprisingly, looking toward Max beside her.
"Do you have lockpicking methods?"
Max nodded: "Of course—although my Lockpicking Pins are on cooldown, since it's a wooden door, I still have ways."
Max said confidently, then pulled out...
a red fire axe.
"Open for me!"
Max swung the axe in a full arc, and with a cracking sound, she hacked a gap in that sturdy wooden door.
Under Robin and Lin Yu's astonished gazes, Max swung the axe repeatedly, widening the gap further and further.
Then she reached her hand in, fumbled around for a moment—and soon, the door was opened.
Max spoke triumphantly: "How about that, my original lockpicking method!"
"As long as the door material isn't too hard, it can basically open anything."
Lin Yu looked at Max, pondered for a long time, then said: "What kind of Thief are you anyway? Do you open locks like this in real life too?"
Max said sheepishly: "Actually, I'm a law-abiding good citizen in real life... I have a proper job, I work as a front-end programmer at a company."
"Then how come your awakened profession isn't Corporate Drone but Thief?"
Hearing Max's earlier words, Robin couldn't help but ask.
Max answered honestly: "I've thought about that question too, because I've never stolen anything... but later I thought maybe it's because I never work overtime, so I'm not really a 'corporate drone' at all."
"And I frequently steal snacks from the pantry, slack off during work... my colleagues call me a 'salary thief,' maybe it's related to that?"
Max said seriously.
"Is that so?"
Lin Yu felt quite shocked.
"Indeed, profession awakening does have some relationship with self-identity," Robin said. "I don't make a living from drawing either..."
Hearing Robin say this, Lin Yu understood.
Thinking about himself, his Fraudster profession didn't match him at all either.
Although Unique Class was probably different from ordinary professions, possibly also considering potential or something.
"Anyway, let's first see what's in the room!"
Lin Yu said, and everyone entered the room.
This didn't seem to be some doctor's office, but rather belonged to some hospital administrator in an administrative position. Newest update provıded by NoveI-Fire.ɴet
A spacious desk, comfortable sofa, lush green plants, tall bookcases...
And a tall monster sitting behind the desk, looking startled.
A humanoid monster wearing a suit, with bluish-purple skin, sitting nearly two meters tall, was holding pen and paper writing something.
Seeing the uninvited guests who had barged in, the monster stood up and emitted incomprehensible shouting.
"...Shua!... Wei!"
It said, violently slamming the button on the desk before it.
Soon, alarm bells rang loudly throughout the office, with blinding red lights flashing.
Noisy footsteps came from outside the door.
Turning around, several teams of personnel wearing black security uniforms, waving tentacles, surged from both sides of the corridor, also shouting loudly.
"Hu! Hu!"
These security guards looked almost identical to the one Lin Yu encountered earlier behind the door who caught Max, but the difference was these appeared somewhat taller!
"So many!"
Max was also startled, holding the fire axe and looking bewildered toward the door.
And not just these security personnel...
The tall hospital management figure inside the room also stood up, pulling out a large, black shotgun from under the desk!
Although it was a shotgun in the hands of this over-three-meter-tall giant after standing up, from Lin Yu's perspective...
This shotgun looked almost no different from a door mortar!
When those monsters wearing security uniforms flooded into the room, and the original monsters in the room also raised their shotguns...
Lin Yu had just used [Corner of the Gloomy] and hadn't even launched an attack yet, not even Stiller had made a move.
Robin took down all the monsters in the room in just one minute.
The room's terrain wasn't very suitable for Robin to draw any large-scale weapons, so she demonstrated another ability that Lin Yu had also seen before at the [Mad Banquet Beyond Heaven].
She took out a notebook, quickly sketched a few strokes on it, then tore off that page, crumpled it into a ball, and poked it a few times with her pen tip.
All the monsters were crushed by an invisible force, then pierced through out of thin air.
The chaotic room instantly fell into silence, with only the dripping blood and twisted corpses on the floor bearing witness to the previous "crisis."
Max clapped excitedly.
"Wow, as expected of Teacher Robin! Teacher Robin is invincible!"
Robin shyly waved her hand. "Not at all, this is pretty standard for Third Tier..."
"It's just a method for quickly clearing out small fry. Most Third Tier members who join the organization get equipped with such methods, even if they didn't originally intend to."
Robin explained.
Then, she changed the subject.
"Alright, let's search this room!"
"And these monster corpses too."
As Robin spoke, the group began searching.
The security monsters on the floor yielded nothing, but on what should have been the asylum management personnel, Lin Yu found a manual and a name tag.
The name tag read "Director of Finance Office," which should represent his position and identity within the asylum.
The manual was titled "Thirty-Seventh Island Mental Disorder Assistance Center Medical Staff Code of Conduct."
"I think I found the 'rule hints' here!"
Lin Yu raised the manual in his hand and waved it at Robin and Max.
The two Night Watchmen girls came over. Before Lin Yu could open the manual, Robin furrowed her brow.
"Thirty-Seventh Island? That's quite high ranking, not good..."
She murmured to herself, then immediately explained to Lin Yu and Max,
"There are currently about three hundred known islands in the Misty Islands region. Besides the main island and a few specially named islands, the rest are numbered islands."
"Generally speaking, the smaller the island number, the more chaotic and dangerous it is, with more powerful creatures inhabiting it."
After Robin finished explaining, Lin Yu also felt somewhat uneasy. "Thirty-seven is indeed quite small."
"At least it's not in the top ten," Max remained optimistic. "Shall we see what this manual says?"
Lin Yu opened the thin manual, and the rules recorded within were presented before the three of them.
"First, do not trust any patients! Do not engage in any communication with patients!"
"Second, patients' activity time is two hours before and after lunch each day. They must remain in their wards at all other times."
"Third, patients must take or be injected with mist medication daily. The daily dosage and administration method must strictly follow medical instructions."
"Fourth, if patients violate rules two or three, immediate enforcement measures must be taken. When necessary, patients may be eliminated."
"Fifth, no medical staff or workers may leave the hospital area without reason. Anyone wishing to leave must obtain the director's approval."
"Sixth, under no circumstances should patients be allowed to know they are patients."
"Seventh, do not fear death. Madness is a more terrifying outcome than death."
Looking at these seven rules, Lin Yu felt his back teeth ache slightly.
"Hmm... This probably means patients are more dangerous than medical staff, right?"
In other words, those violent doctors who looked like giants, the security personnel with tentacles, and the finance director who just had a shotgun—none of them were as dangerous as the patients?
In summary, the main point of these rules was...
Don't mess with patients!
This made Lin Yu feel somewhat grateful that he hadn't provoked those patients when he was on the second floor.
Max spoke up: "Damn, bro, looks like this dungeon's difficulty is all about the patients."
"We're really quite lucky."
As Max said this, Lin Yu suddenly looked at Robin who was thinking beside them.
"Wait, Teacher Robin... when we first met, didn't you say you cleared out the monsters upstairs?"
"Those monsters... wouldn't happen to include the ones wearing patient gowns, would they?"
Lin Yu asked, and Robin nodded somewhat awkwardly.
"Yes, to be honest... I don't know why, maybe because I launched a surprise attack proactively, I didn't feel they were particularly strong."
As Robin spoke, Max optimistically said: "Probably because you're too overpowered, Teacher. Or maybe those monsters are the high-attack-low-defense type."
Robin whispered: "I hope so."
No.
Lin Yu felt something was very wrong.
There was a discrepancy between the content of these rules and the actual situation!
But regardless, Lin Yu didn't have any way to verify this for now.
So he could only focus on the fifth and seventh rules.
The seventh rule seemed like some kind of obscure hint, while the fifth...
"Does this fifth rule count as pointing out our way to leave?"
Robin nodded.
"Very likely."
"Find the director's office, obtain some kind of 'approval' document or leave permit, and perhaps we can leave this hospital."
Max raised her hand again.
"Hey, if that's the case, I think the compass can be useful now!"
She took out the golden compass again, rotated it while muttering incantations.
"Bore bore hallelujah jí jí rú lǜ lìng!"
This time, after rotating twice, the compass stopped.
Max carried the compass and walked out of the room.
"Quick, follow me!"
As she spoke, Lin Yu and Robin quickly followed.
Max moved quickly, with Lin Yu and Robin close behind. The three of them went around two corridors and soon arrived before a large door.
But unexpectedly...
This door wasn't the director's office door, but a sealed iron gate.
Through the gaps in the iron bars, they could see gray, thick fog outside, with faint sounds of ocean waves coming from beyond the fog.
This should be the exit of the entire asylum!
Next to the gate was a small structure resembling a security booth and reception room. The door was wide open, but no one was inside.
Lin Yu guessed that it was probably because the security personnel had gone to support the finance office earlier.
So...
"Wait, could it be that we can leave directly?"
Lin Yu asked, while Max optimistically said: "Looks like it!"
As she spoke, she walked into the reception room and soon pulled out a large bunch of keys. Fınd the newest release on NoveIＦire.net
"This key says 'Center Main Gate,' let me try it!"
Max said, walking to the iron gate-style main door, and then...
"Click!"
The door actually opened just like that.
Robin was also surprised. She took out her periscope and looked outside, concluding: "Oh... looks like we're quite lucky."
Seeing the easily opened gate and the scene outside, Lin Yu also nodded and said: "I guess the asylum part isn't the main difficulty?"
Although he also felt something was off somewhere, but...
They had come this far, they should at least go out and see.
After all, Robin's assessment seemed to indicate no danger, and Max had just casually thrown three dolls outside—the dolls were perfectly fine on the ground, with no changes whatsoever.
So...
"Let's go!"
With Max taking the lead, Lin Yu followed her out of the asylum!