The Essence of Rank Advancement

"You're not Player of the 'Death game,' are you?"

Shen Bingmiao's words were like Ice Cube suddenly placed on the back of Lin Yu's neck, making him tremble involuntarily.

Is she Player?

No... I tried it before, but I couldn't tell Shen Bingmiao about those things before.

Did the Senior Sister only recently become Player?

When? Yesterday? The day before yesterday? Last week? The week before last?

Did the Psychology Society do this?

That's not right... Just a few minutes ago, I even had the idea of testing the president again!

However, until Shen Bingmiao spoke, he still couldn't confirm that the other party was indeed Player.

Looking at Shen Bingmiao in front of him, Lin Yu's thoughts were in complete disarray.

He instinctively took a step back, his back pressed against the glass of the hotel's floor-to-ceiling windows, which helped him regain some clarity.

"Senior Sister... when will you..."

Lin Yu suppressed the complex emotions in his heart and asked calmly.

"It was about the week before last. I noticed you seemed a bit distracted, so I started to have some doubts."

"Those guys you asked me to investigate later also made me suspicious."

Shen Bingmiao took a step back and sighed, "I just still can't believe it—you really are Player."

Lin Yu looked at Shen Bingmiao with a regretful expression, paused for a moment, and then shook his head.

"No, Senior Sister, you've misunderstood."

"I mean... when did you become Player?"

Shen Bingmiao chuckled softly, her tone suddenly becoming extremely gentle. "Ayu, do you know that asking a girl's age is very impolite?"

I didn't ask your age.

Lin Yu said earnestly.

Shen Bingmiao pursed her lips. "'Death game' is a Game that allows people to be reborn. When you ask when I became Player, you're asking about my age after my rebirth."

Lin Yu sighed helplessly, "What kind of twisted logic is this, President? If you don't want to talk about it, fine... But I'm quite puzzled as to why I couldn't successfully discuss matters related to the 'Death game' with you before."

"So before this, I didn't even think you were Player."

Lin Yu said with emotion.

"Oh, you read the guides on the 'forum' that teach you how to identify Player, right?"

Shen Bingmiao suddenly realized.

Lin Yu nodded.

"That's right, Senior Sister."

Shen Bingmiao plopped down on the bed, stretching her limbs lazily like a cat.

"Don't believe everything you read on the forum. The operators of these forums are consciously filtering the content. Some things may be applicable to ordinary Player, but for 'advanced' Player... that's not the case."

"After all, the forum's stance isn't absolutely neutral—it leans towards 'Order'."

"The method you just mentioned for quickly identifying Player is not applicable to high-level Player."

Hearing Shen Bingmiao's words, Lin Yu seemed to be deep in thought.

"Do advanced Player have a simple test like 'avoidance' as a method for Player?"

"So, Boss, you're a high-level Player... In other words, you've at least experienced..."

"Hey, if you keep trying to deduce the approximate time I joined the Game by counting weeks, I'll throw you off the building right now."

Shen Bingmiao said bluntly.

Although Lin Yu knew his boss was joking, seeing that the other party seemed to really care about it, he decided not to dwell on it anymore.

After all...

The moment you join the "Death game" is the moment you have "died once".

It's perfectly normal to have some lingering, unpleasant memories.

"Let's put the timeline aside for now, Senior Sister... what rank are you? And which organization have you joined?"

When Lin Yu asked her this, Shen Bingmiao didn't hide anything from him.

"I'm Tier 3, part of an organization... you could say 'Order'. I'm not a full member; I'm an outsourced member."

She said it casually.

"Tier 3?!"

Lin Yu was somewhat surprised.

Although I knew Shen Bingmiao might be very strong, I didn't expect her to be at the Tier 3!

Lin Yu originally thought that the Senior Sister would only be a slightly more experienced Tier 2.

In other words, she's on par with the high-level Player she encountered in the previous Instance!

And...

She's a member of "Order"!

Although Shen Bingmiao calls herself an "outsourced" worker, she is still very impressive.

Becoming an informal member of the "Order" might even be more prestigious than becoming a formal member!

However, Lin Yu also thought it made sense.

With Shen Bingmiao's talent and drive, she was certainly no ordinary person in the "Death game".

"So, how do advanced Player circumvent the 'Player detection' mechanism during conversations?"

As Lin Yu spoke, Shen Bingmiao responded somewhat vaguely.

"This involves the issue of 'Tier Advancement'... To be honest, I tend to agree with the forum's approach."

"It's not good to expose Newcomer Player to too much information about 'Tier Advancement' and 'high-ranking Player '."

Shen Bingmiao then changed the subject.

"However, since you're a junior I know well, it won't hurt to reveal a little to you."

"The question you just asked touches on the essence of 'Tier Advancement'."

Lin Yu was puzzled by Shen Bingmiao's statement. "Essence?"

"Yes... How many Instance have you completed? Have you Tier Advancement?"

Lin Yu hesitated for a moment after being asked this by Shen Bingmiao.

He was torn between lying to the guild leader about the number of Instance or about whether or not the Tier Advancement.

However, considering that many people would perceive "Lin Yu" as a "newbie soldier who has gone through four Instance," Lin Yu decided to maintain consistency in his character design.

"I've completed four Instance, but I still haven't Tier Advancement."

As he spoke, Shen Bingmiao nodded. "No wonder you're such a noob, you're a real newbie."

"Seriously."

Shen Bingmiao continued, "In short, if you go through a few more Instance and see the 'Tier 1' Rank Advancement Mission, you'll find..."

"The 'Tier 1' Rank Advancement Mission is unlike Instance completion quest you've ever experienced."

"Instance clearing missions are often just about 'surviving for a certain amount of time,' 'completing certain requirements,' or 'investigating certain Truth.'"

"It rarely allows you to have a strong 'interaction' with the Instance world you're in."

"But 'Tier Advancement' quests are different—you can tell from the Tier 1 'Tier Advancement' quests that they specifically point to a very important thing within the Instance."

"In other words, barring cases of intentional sabotage, even if a Player completes a dozen or even dozens of Instance, the impact on the world in which those Instance are located is likely to be negligible."

"But... as long as you complete one 'Tier Advancement' quest--"

"That will leave an unprecedented and indelible mark on another world, enough for that world to remember that Player forever!"

Shen Bingmiao paused for a moment at this point.

"That's the essence of 'Tier Advancement,' and frankly, it has some similarities with your favorite performances—"

"Tier Advancement is the process of making another world remember you."