Saving Dionysus, the One Blocking the Way

From Zhu Ming's perspective, Lin Yu shouldn't have gone to save Yin Lan —at least, he shouldn't have taken such a big risk to come to the center of the battle between the "Tier 4" and the Chosen of God Ones to save Yin Lan.

But...

From his own perspective, Lin Yu really didn't want Yin Lan to die here.

For the "Zhu Ming" dynasty, whether the "Dionysus" of "Order" survives or not is not important...

However, for the "Director," Yin Lan was a very important helper in the role that Lin Yu used the most and that was closest to his own true identity.

Certainly...

If it were solely from a "profit" perspective, Lin Yu wouldn't have chosen to take action.

It's not just because the act itself is "risky," but also because... during the performance, Lin Yu tries his best to respect the character he is playing.

Fortunately... Lin Yu wasn't incapable of finding a reason for Yin Lan by understanding the character traits of "Zhu Ming" and the character's internal logic.

First...

At present, "Dionysus" Yin Lan is in a state of temporary alliance with "Fishing Man" and is an important ally in their joint fight against "Celestial King".

Although Yin Lan appears to have burned out and temporarily lost her Combat Power, keeping her alive would definitely have a positive impact, at least in the short term, within the current [Instance].

Of course, this reason is not sufficient.

Therefore... Lin Yu also discovered the deeper motivation behind "Zhu Ming".

This character, based on the background of "Xia Yue," has a behavior pattern that is entirely driven by "interests"—and judging from her willingness to rescue "Li Nian" in the past, "Zhu Ming's" "interest-driven" behavior also has a strong "opportunism"—she is willing to make some high-risk, high-return long-term Investment Behavior.

As for "Dionysus" Yin Lan's attitude towards "Zhu Ming"... judging from the brief exchange just now, Yin Lan's "friendliness" towards Zhu Ming is at least neutral or slightly above neutral.

Furthermore... Zhu Ming was also able to determine that Yin Lan was a member of "Order" with simple Moral Concepts, whose values were closer to those of ordinary people, rather than the more extreme types within "Order" like "Gambler" Li Hua or "Paper Kite" Qi Han.

Therefore, she is very likely "grateful"—given that she already believed "Zhu Ming" was someone who could be exceptionally admitted into the "Order," if "Zhu Ming's" identity also showed her a "life-saving grace"...

Yin Lan might indeed remember this kindness.

Therefore, from this perspective, "Zhu Ming" saving Yin Lan is indeed a "high-risk, high-reward" act, and one that she is very likely to choose to do.

Not to mention...

Even setting all that aside, let's return to Lin Yu's primary motivation for rescuing Yin Lan —that is, Yin Lan's existence is a crucial asset for the "Director."

So, "Zhu Ming"... could have acted from the perspective of the "Director's" interests.

So...

"In conclusion... Zhu Ming's rescue of Yin Lan was indeed well-founded."

At this moment, Lin Yu had arrived at the side of the unconscious Yin Lan.

Although infiltrating the battle between the "Tier 4" and the Chosen of God was dangerous, Lin Yu was full of confidence in his disguise.

Although Yin Lan had lost consciousness, the effects of "drunkenness" remained—the perception of the outside world was still significantly distorted for everyone present.

In this situation, it would be much easier than usual to deceive the "Celestial King of Heaven's" eyes and ears.

Not to mention...

This is still Hannah's home turf!

In this Pure Void Seawater, Hannah's ink, which provides optical cloaking, can already exert an effect far beyond its usual capabilities!

At this moment, Lin Yu had completely concealed his form and almost blended into the seawater.

In addition, his own Soul Power and Mental Power were already sufficient to minimize his soul fluctuations and mental fluctuations...

Even someone at the "Tier 4" wouldn't be able to easily detect Lin Yu now.

Moreover, the battle between "Celestial King" and Kakashi has now reached a fever pitch—no matter how powerful "Celestial King" is, it's impossible for him to maintain a high-intensity scan of his surroundings while fighting a Chosen of God.

When people are focused, their vision and perception naturally become narrower!

Besides, "Celestial King" isn't exactly known for his sensory abilities.

So...

Lin Yu arrived at Yin Lan's side almost silently, right under the "Celestial King's" nose, and carefully took Yin Lan's body, which had been unconscious due to blood loss and alcohol poisoning...

They were gradually dragged away from the core battleground.

"It's done!"

Lin Yu helped Yin Lan swim slowly away from the "Celestial King," and his initial tension gradually eased as they moved further away.

But...

Lin Yu never completely relaxed.

Because he knew that even if he dragged Yin Lan back to "Fishing Man" Chen Le's side in this complicated and chaotic situation, it couldn't be considered absolutely safe.

It's like...

Now!

Beside Lin Yu, the subtle currents of the seawater changed direction.

With his meticulous mind and highly focused attention, Lin Yu immediately noticed this sudden change.

Because... although the change was subtle, it seemed quite abrupt to Lin Yu.

This is not a change that would occur naturally or according to common sense.

This shift in flow is less a consequence of the battle or an energy fluctuation...

It felt more like a master of stealth was silently approaching.

Without any hesitation, Lin Yu immediately unleashed his Soul Power, scanning the suspicious direction.

And soon...

Lin Yu noticed something amiss!

In that empty, transparent place in the seawater, there was a figure that was also completely invisible to the eye.

Moreover, the opponent's life activities, energy fluctuations, and soul aura were all suppressed to the bare minimum.

If Lin Yu hadn't used his Soul Power to scan, assuming "there must be someone there," he might have missed this being that was following him!

The other party instantly realized that Lin Yu's Mental Power had locked onto them, and then revealed their form in the water.

This figure was not unexpected...

It was the plain-looking girl that Lin Yu had seen before, the one who had always stood behind the "Celestial King".

After the battle broke out and the situation became chaotic, the enemy disappeared without a trace.

While it might sound like a simple matter of leaving this troublesome place to avoid being caught in the crossfire, it seems now...

She simply concealed herself, waiting for the right moment to support the "Celestial King," or... do something else.

For example, the action of those who disrupted the "Freedom Alliance" to save "Dionysus" Yin Lan.

"You spotted me," said Zhu Ming of the "Freedom Alliance." "After revealing themselves, they didn't show any further intention to attack, only speaking politely, 'Although they're only " Tier 2 "... you're really perceptive.'"

Hearing the other person's cheerful and sunny voice, though slightly low in pitch, Lin Yu stopped in his tracks and looked at them.

"I'm not exactly perceptive enough... After all, you seem to have been following me for quite some time."

The other party nodded slightly. "I have indeed been following you for a while... but I'm quite confident in my disguise and tracking skills. It should be the norm for someone like you, a 'Tier 2', not to be detected."

"But you not only discovered it, you discovered it very quickly, which is enough to prove that you are indeed extraordinary."

As the unassuming girl spoke, Lin Yu coldly replied, "Enough with the nonsense... Stop trying to get close. If you want to make a move, then hurry up and do it."

The plain-looking girl shook her head. "Don't be in such a hurry, and don't assume I'm only here to attack you... Zhu Ming, I want to ask you a question."

Lin Yu did not show any willingness to answer the other party's question, but the other party continued talking on their own.

"As a member of the 'Freedom Alliance,' why did you proactively offer assistance to members of 'Order'?"

"This is clearly the perfect opportunity to weaken the 'Order's' power and cause the deaths of their key members here—and shouldn't the weakening of the 'Order's' power and the deaths of Order top experts be a major boon for your 'Freedom Alliance'?"

Lin Yu listened to the plain-looking girl's words and shook his head. "What you said does make some sense, but... you've got one thing wrong."

Whether the power of "Order" is weakened or not, especially whether its top combat power is weakened, is not very important to the "Freedom Alliance".

"Furthermore... we, the 'Freedom Alliance,' don't operate like you 'Marauders' or other organizations, treating ourselves as an 'organization' or a whole—although we are an 'organization,' as you know, we only have about ten people."

"The biggest advantage of this small-scale organization is that my choices and actions don't need to be accountable to a metaphysical, abstract 'organization.' I only need to be accountable to the dozen or so friends I know and to myself."

Lin Yu paused, then added a sentence.

"Moreover... you have a preconceived notion that I'm here to save her—admittedly, objectively speaking, I did drag her away, taking the unconscious 'Dionysus' away from a dangerous environment."

"But how come you didn't know... I was planning to use her as a 'Hostage,' as a bargaining chip?"

"After all... even 'Dionysus' herself tested it just now; she didn't come here on her own—she was merely the first 'Order' member to arrive."

"Furthermore... many more experts from 'Order' will arrive here—judging from the confidence 'Dionysus' showed me during our conversation, those 'Order' members who come will definitely be strong in some aspect, both in terms of quantity and quality, to the point that even 'Dionysus' can rest assured!"