Don't underestimate Lin Yu's intelligence network

"Penglai", female, "Tier 2", "Profession" is "lawyer".

She's been a member of the "Player Assistance" group for a year now, which suggests her abilities are rather average; otherwise, she wouldn't still be stuck at "Tier 3."

Her campaign platform was also rather mediocre. Judging from the campaign materials she submitted, she seemed to intend to keep the "Player Mutual Aid Society" in the status quo as much as possible... but she clearly didn't do this as well as "Mikan," who focused on this aspect.

She wasn't even as pretty as "Mikan"; she just looked like an ordinary college girl.

The only thing this guy could be considered an "advantage" of was his seniority and his deep personal relationship with "Carrot," the former key figure in the "Player Mutual Aid Society."

But even so...

No one considered "Penglai" to be a legitimate candidate.

It's even possible that "Penglai" itself knows it's just there to make up the numbers.

Otherwise, her campaign team wouldn't be so meager, consisting of only that one person, "Cold Cicada".

"This 'Penglai' doesn't seem particularly special at all... but that's precisely why something seems off."

Lin Yu then looked through the information of the candidate, "Cold Cicada".

Then, Lin Yu narrowed his eyes.

"Oh... so the problem lies with this guy?"

The photo in the document shows a young, gentle-looking boy with delicate features that are somewhat feminine.

Unlike "Ling Xian," who at first glance might be mistaken for a girl, a closer look reveals that his bone structure indicates he is male.

However, her eyebrows and eyes were much prettier and more striking than Ling Xian's.

This was a face so beautiful that Lin Yu would never forget it if they had just passed each other at school.

But it was precisely because of this that Lin Yu realized the problem.

Because he really had no recollection of this guy.

He had seen "Penglai" before—he had seen it from afar in the rest area, and later when he met with people from the "Player Mutual Aid Society".

He was indeed an unremarkable guy who didn't talk much.

But Lin Yu was absolutely certain... he had never seen "Cold Cicada".

He was definitely not in the venue; he never appeared.

But the problems with the other party's information don't stop there.

The other party's "Profession"... is unknown.

In the information about "Order," very few people's "Profession" are unknown.

Even if you don't know their "Profession," you usually have some basic information about what abilities they are good at and what kind of signature [Item] they use.

But...

When Lin Yu opened the information about "Cold Cicada," it was like looking at the exercise book of the worst student in the class.

Vast expanses of... blank space.

Abilities unknown, [Item] set unknown, number of [Instance] cleared unknown...

All information about this "Tier 3" "Player" in "Order" is blank.

This... speaks volumes.

Especially considering that the candidate he supported suddenly and inexplicably topped the support rankings in the first round of voting.

Lin Yu was almost certain that something was definitely wrong with this guy!

After thinking it over, Lin Yu immediately sent a message to Li Hua.

What's the deal with "Cold Cicada" and "Penglai"?

He believed that someone as intelligent as Li Hua would surely realize that something was amiss.

Even... Li Hua sent him this information, most likely expecting him to ask about it.

Sure enough, Li Hua replied to the message instantly.

"I've already had 'Good Night' investigate; they went directly to ask the members of the 'Player Mutual Aid Society' why they voted for 'Penglai'."

"Although it's a secret ballot, it has the highest support rate, and it's easy to draw a vote for 'Penglai' even if you're random... According to 'Good Night's' feedback, most of the voters didn't consider 'Penglai' their first choice. Instead, after casting two out of three votes, they felt there wasn't much else to vote for in the third round, so they just gave it to 'Penglai'."

"Almost everyone has this mentality."

Lin Yu frowned as he looked at Li Hua's message.

"Does this mean that someone is secretly manipulating their consciousness?"

Li Hua's reply popped up.

"I think so too, but through mental evaluation and soul examination, no such methods were found."

Lin Yu then asked, "So, have you had any contact with 'Penglai' himself?"

"The 'Dionysus' went to make contact and there were no problems; she was even surprised by the outcome—in my opinion, she was probably being used too."

According to "Penglai's" own account, her campaign team consisted of only one person because "Cold Cicada" had encouraged her to participate in the election.

"Furthermore, 'Cold Cicada' promised her that he would help her become the President... although 'Penglai' herself wasn't very confident."

"These words were initially intended to be kept from us by 'Penglai,' but she only revealed them after 'Dionysus' activated some of her abilities."

Looking at Li Hua's message, Lin Yu fell into deep thought.

Have you come into contact with "Cold Cicada"?

Li Hua replied, "No, if it weren't for the fact that this person is indeed listed in someone's [Socializing] panel and his existence is also shown in the 'forum' profile, I would even doubt whether this person really exists."

"What is certain at present is that 'Cold Cicada' is a very strong 'Tier 3' Player, and is very careful to conceal his whereabouts and information, a habit he has had for a long time."

"Moreover, his methods may include some kind of technique that influences people's subconscious, and this influence can bypass our current detection methods—which is why I doubt his existence, because it sounds like an alias of some expert from the 'Psychology Society.'"

"Or, it could be that 'Schreiber,' who's been making headlines lately, the guy who claims to be 'Freud,' the former leader of the 'Psychology Society.'"

Lin Yu, upon seeing Li Hua's message, was not surprised that Li Hua would resort to such methods.

After all... methods related to cognition, spirit, and soul are difficult to bypass the "Psychology Society".

But Lin Yu was quite certain that this "Cold Cicada" had nothing to do with the "Psychology Society".

And it's even less likely to be "Schreiber".

"Should I investigate this guy outside? It'll be easier for me to move around now."

Li Hua sent a reply.

"Not for now. Although the other party is unclear, this 'Cold Cicada' hasn't done anything particularly outrageous, so he might not necessarily be opposed to us. I've already entrusted the 'Night Watcher's' 'Carrier Pigeon' to investigate; he's quite professional and relevant."

"Of course, if you happen to be able to investigate this matter, or if you have any channels to find information, you can give it a try."

Lin Yu also sent a "received" emoji, ending his conversation with Li Hua.

As for information channels... Lin Yu certainly has them.

Although he wasn't sure if he could find out the identity of "Cold Cicada," Lin Yu still wanted to investigate.

Although Li Hua said he didn't need to worry about it, Lin Yu was still somewhat uneasy.

This sudden change gave Lin Yu a very bad feeling.

Especially considering the current internal attitude of "Order," they simply cannot allow certain specific "Player" to be elected as the President.

Lin Yu already has a specific candidate he hopes to support for the President.

Therefore, "Order" can turn a blind eye to the sudden rise of "Penglai." After all, although the matter of "Penglai" is full of strangeness, it is also "clean" in a certain sense.

Letting her take the lead for now isn't necessarily a bad thing.

It's not too late to investigate her after she actually becomes the President —after all, it's precisely because anyone can see that something is wrong with the "Penglai" votes that there's nothing to panic about.

In this way, if something goes wrong, "Order" has ample reason to refuse to recognize the election results and forcibly intervene.

This is the power of "Order"—as a "reputable sect" and a semi-official organization, although they need to consider the "public opinion climate," they only need to consider the "public opinion climate."

There are no legal provisions that truly supersede "Order" to constrain the organization's behavior.

However, Lin Yu's interests are not entirely aligned with "Order".

Despite his identity as "Director," which is deeply intertwined with "Order," Lin Yu is well aware that... sometimes the situation that "Order" hopes to see may not be the situation he himself wants to see.

So...

After ending his conversation with Li Hua, Lin Yu switched back to his other Socializing accounts.

Then...

Using the identities "Yayu" and "Zhu Ming", Lin Yu sent messages to "A'yu" of "The Marauders" and the Group Chat of "Freedom Alliance".

"Sister Yu, I just received a tip that the person with the highest support rate in the 'Player Mutual Aid' group right now is a guy named 'Penglai.' Who is this person? I've never heard of him before—my informants all seem to find this very strange."

"Everyone, the election report for the 'Player Mutual Aid Society' is out. In the first round of voting, someone named 'Penglai' is in first place. Something's not right about this person, is it? And her campaign team member 'Cold Cicada' is even more suspicious. Does anyone know what's going on? @All Members"

Then, Lin Yu quietly waited for a reply.

After all, if a person doesn't know or understand "Order"...

Perhaps the Three Major Organizations that were removed from the list are aware of this.

Although the identity of "Schreiber" has not yet been reintegrated into the "Psychology Society" and there is no one to inquire with... posting it in the "Freedom Alliance" Group Chat can be considered as indirectly inquiring about the "Psychology Society".

When Wang Yuyang sees the message, he'll definitely ask his girlfriend about it.

Soon after, the "Freedom Alliance" Group Chat, which had just finished reviewing their adventure in the Nether Void Realm and had been quiet for only a few minutes, became lively again.