The expert thief

"Bang!"

The revolver bullet struck the gray stone, creating a deep crater and cracks.

Then, the magic power that erupted from inside the bullet instantly lit up all the Sealing Circuit on it.

Lin Yu was somewhat surprised by this attack.

The power of this [Item]... was greater than he had imagined.

After all, although this "Sealed Stone Box" doesn't contain any second seal or any Divine Artifact, it is indeed a creation from Previous Civilization Sea Eye Venerable treasured, used to seal something.

The hardness of such a "container" used to seal a mysterious object is self-evident.

Although Lin Yu knew that "Fishing Man" Chen Le was a very strong guy, he didn't think that the thing the other party pulled out, called "Auxiliary Landing Net Tool," could be that powerful.

But now it seems...

Lin Yu had indeed underestimated the importance of nets.

If this shot were to hit a "Player"... it would be something no ordinary "Tier 3" player could withstand.

"Although I told him to attack with the intensity needed to deal with a normal 'Tier 3', it seems that 'Fishing Man' understood it to mean... preparing to kill a 'Tier 3' with a single shot."

Lin Yu thought to himself, "That's what I'm complaining about."

Chen Le, who fired the shot, was also somewhat surprised.

Because after the magic power from the bullet dissipated...

Inside the stone box, some ancient, old, yet mysterious and powerful energy actually emerged.

This energy is not used by any common Supernatural System in the Ten Realms —although it is somewhat similar to the magical power used by the Eight Races within the Nether Void Realm, it is also slightly different.

This energy is purer... and even contains a kind of Law -like, secondary energy that seems to originate from some Authority.

However, compared to the power of Authority or the power wielded by Chosen of God or Deity, its status does not seem to be that high.

If I had to put it in a way, it's somewhat like the power bestowed by the Abyssal Lord by the high-ranking Demons of the Night Valley Realm, or the energy fluctuations that erupt when the powerful figures of the Three Great Sects on the human side use Divine Art.

Regardless of the true nature of this energy, it is currently spreading and increasing continuously.

In Chen Le's perception... he connected it with what Lin Yu had said earlier, and naturally an idea came to him.

"There really is such a thing as a 'Divine Artifact'?"

Lin Yu shrugged. "Otherwise what... I can't possibly be lying to you, can I?"

"No, I don't think you're lying to me. It's just that I didn't believe the 'Sea God Divine Artifact' had really survived before. I thought it was at most a creation of a powerful Lost Kingdom that had been passed down through generations," Chen Le said thoughtfully. "But now, judging from these energy fluctuations... it might actually be a Divine Artifact."

Lin Yu nodded. "If I say there will be a 'Divine Artifact,' then there really will be Divine Artifact."

His tone was incredibly confident.

However...

Lin Yu knew very well that, let alone Divine Artifact, there wasn't even anything from the Lost Kingdom that Chen Le had speculated about.

The "Sealed Stone Box" was indeed empty.

The energy fluctuations that erupted after the bombardment...

It was Lin Yu released it.

Lin Yu was using the [Sage's Emblem] to draw upon his own power to simulate the energy fluctuations that resembled those of the Pure Ruins Ancient Energy.

The reason he had Chen Le bombard the "Sealed Stone Box" was twofold: firstly, to complete the charade, and secondly... because he needed Chen Le to create "energy chaos" so that he could place the node for releasing his energy inside the stone box.

The reason Lin Yu was able to simulate the energy fluctuations of Ancient Spell from the Pure Ruins Lost Kingdom Period... was naturally because he possessed an [Item] from that era.

Moreover, it's a high-ranking [Item] that's genuinely related to Deity.

[Shadow of the Void God's Attendant: The residual power of an ancient Divine Attendant after the passing of Deity, sealed within a seashell by ancient Scholar. Upon release, it will unleash indiscriminate attacks until its power is exhausted, at which point it will return to the seashell to slumber. It will regain its mobility after 72 hours.]

Although this thing is not Divine Artifact, it allows Lin Yu to clearly understand what the powers related to Deity were like in the ancient times of the Nether Void Realm.

Therefore, he can easily simulate similar fluctuations.

And...

The more knowledgeable and discerning an expert is about the Pure Ruins, the more likely they are to be misled into believing that "Divine Artifact" truly exist within!

"In that case... those guys will definitely be attracted here," Chen Le kicked the "Sealed Stone Box" at his feet, "But... we need to hurry, after all, the Banquet Hall isn't too far from here."

"Whether it's the 'Celestial King' or the 'Order,' if they want to come over... it should be an instant."

Chen Le said, then looked at Lin Yu: "But... are we really going to give them this 'Divine Artifact'?"

Lin Yu said, "Of course, you have to give to receive—this thing might not be of any use to us."

"Let's prepare to retrieve those three of the Nine Treasures first."

Chen Le said, "Well... those three items should be in our hands by now."

"Got it?"

Lin Yu looked at Chen Le with some curiosity. "When did you take it? I didn't see you make a move?"

"Do you also have any Summoned Creature?"

Chen Le scratched his head. "No, not really... it's just that you took a while to rescue 'Dionysus,' and it didn't take me long to lock onto that Sea Demon Governor with my [Super Fishing Rod]... so I used this spare moment to fish someone out as well."

"After all... she's quite good at stealing."

"Moreover, because her 'Divine Rank' is not high and her strength is not great, the cost of fishing her across worlds wouldn't be high, so I thought I'd just fish her out."

Lin Yu was stunned when he heard Chen Le say that.

"You got 'A Nian' over here?"

"Of course!" Sister Zhu Ming, aren't you happy and surprised to see me?

A distorted sound came from behind Lin Yu. She turned around and saw a small girl carrying a huge Black Bag, wearing goggles, and biting on Diving Respirator.

This is naturally... Li Nian!

Noticing Lin Yu's gaze, Li Nian stood up straight with a grin, put her hand in front of her eyebrows in a salute, and Gulu out a lot of bubbles.

Then, the Small Megaphone hanging on Li Nian's chest rang out, and Li Nian's voice came through again.

"The Nine Treasures here have all been acquired, and 15 other collectibles that caught my eye were also collected. Six of these are [Item], and nine have been identified as [materials]. The process took 9 minutes and 45 seconds, and left no trace. Please rest assured, organization."

Chen Le listened to Li Nian's report and gave her a thumbs up.

"That's an exaggeration, 'Master Thief'!"

However, Lin Yu, who was standing to the side, did not praise Li Nian, but instead his face darkened.

"What are you doing here?! This isn't a place for a 'Tier 2'!"

Seeing Lin Yu's stern face, Li Nian instantly shrank back in fright.

"Oh dear..." Zhu Ming, "Sister, I... I was just thinking I could help."

Lin Yu glared at Li Nian, then looked at Chen Le.

"She's young and doesn't understand. She doesn't know how dangerous this situation is. Don't you know either?" the Fishing Man. "Why did you bring her here?"

Faced with Lin Yu's questioning, Chen Le had no Desire to resist. He touched his nose and said, "I didn't think that much... I figured we were pretty safe... Besides, I had no other choice..."

Lin Yu wore an expression of exasperation, arms crossed, and asked, "Where's the 'almost'? Where's the 'no trick'? Where's the 'no trick'?"

Chen Le lowered his head and remained silent, like a student caught red-handed by the homeroom teacher, trying to get away with silence.

Li Nian spoke again.

"Sister Zhu Ming, dear sister, don't be angry anymore... Brother Le initially advised me not to come, but I insisted on coming. I saw in the group chat that you and Brother Le have already set off, and I suddenly became a little worried, so I used [Socializing] to privately message Brother Le to ask about the situation."

"After all, you said I, as a 'Tier 2' being, shouldn't be here... but you're only a 'Tier 2' being too."

Li Nian muttered to herself.

Lin Yu rubbed his temples. "I'm not like you... but if you're coming, you should at least tell me—or at least let me know when you arrive!"

"They've already stolen everything before telling me you were there too? Isn't that ridiculous?"

Lin Yu's tone softened slightly, but remained serious overall.

Li Nian sensed that Lin Yu was about to back down, and immediately said with a grin, "I anticipated that you might be angry... so let's finish this first -- don't blame Brother Le for this, I told him not to tell you."

"Besides, Sister Zhu Ming, don't worry too much—if it really doesn't work out, Brother Le can still lure other people over."

Lin Yu frowned. "The 'Swordsman' of 'Order' and the 'Celestial King of the Marauders' are both here. Even if the 'Inventor' and the 'Comedian' came, it might not be enough—don't forget, Fang Qing can't protect us all the time anymore."

Mentioning Fang Qing, Li Nian lowered her head, finally looking somewhat dejected.

"It's precisely because our Boss sister is gone that I wanted to do more for us..."

Lin Yu's tone softened further. "Alright, I know you meant well, just don't do it again next time."

"Your safety is the most important thing."

Then, Lin Yu looked at Chen Le: "After you lure them here... what are the conditions for their departure?"

"Those I lure will be temporarily bound to me... so A Nian and we are now sharing the conditions for leaving."

Lin Yu nodded. "Very good, now that we have the Nine Treasures... we should collect some Sea Beast Blood."

"However... I think that thing shouldn't be too scarce anymore."

As Lin Yu spoke, the next moment...

"Bang!"

The Museum ceiling collapsed with a crash, and the figure of a woman in a long dress appeared at the breach.

"Is it really a 'Divine Artifact' —two... uh, three of the 'Freedom Alliance' now?"

"Never mind, it's not important—anyway, I don't really want to kill you all," Ling Xian also said that keeping you alive would be useful, so... hand over the stuff, and I can let you leave!