Order's high-level meeting
"... In short, the above is the entire process of my actions in the Prison Mountain Realm alongside the 'Feng Shui Master'."
"Interesting... I knew 'Feng Shui Master' Jian Cunyi was here, and I roughly guessed that your actions were related to him, but I didn't expect that you would actually go to the Prison Mountain Realm with him to fight against the 'Diviner'."
On the tablet, the "professor" in the video call listened to Lin Yu's statement and then pondered before speaking.
Now, Lin Yu's room is filled with almost all of the high-ranking members of "Order" in Shenzhen.
"Good Night," "Paper Kite" who had returned to her original appearance, and Lin Yu stood in front of the sofa in the room.
Opposite the sofa sat two "Tier 4" masters, "Grandmaster" and "Swordsman." While "Grandmaster" was sitting properly, "Swordsman" was more like meditating with his legs crossed.
Behind the two, "Ren Gu" and "Dionysus" stood like two door gods.
On the table were two tablets, each connected to a video call from the "professor" and the "secretary," respectively.
"Because the matter was of great importance, and the 'Feng Shui Master' did not want me to report it to the organization beforehand, after careful consideration, I decided that I should go and take a look no matter what, which is why I decided not to report it immediately..."
Lin Yu looked at the professor's screen and explained.
"It's alright. Although upon closer examination it does seem to be a violation of Discipline, the outcome is good," the professor said. "Besides, even if it wasn't reported... it wasn't a major disciplinary violation."
The secretary nodded, "That's right. After all, objectively speaking, you thwarted the conspiracy and activities of the reactionary forces led by the 'Diviner' and the 'Marauders' in the Prison Mountain Realm, and prevented the Demon Ancestor Gantuo from leaving the mountain. If you count it... you still deserve some credit."
With both the professor and the secretary speaking, Lin Yu's "unauthorized activities" can be considered to have been definitively defined in a certain sense.
The Grandmaster also spoke up, "To be honest, I often act on my own initiative too. As for organizational Discipline, it's just a matter of following the rules depending on the circumstances..."
Yin Lan was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Is that so?"
Of course not!
The professor immediately interrupted them, "What are you two talking about? Paper Kite is still here. Are you saying this to encourage him to continue acting on his own?"
The meditating Swordsman couldn't help but chuckle softly.
The Paper Kite stood at attention. "Reporting, I have seriously reflected on my actions."
The Party Secretary sighed softly, "You'd better be, Comrade Qi Han."
"Alright, but today isn't the time to talk about you," the secretary paused, "This time we'll mainly discuss... the intelligence that Comrade 'Director' risked his life to bring back from the Prison Mountain Realm."
Although Lin Yu obtained much of the information afterward by cooperating with "Schreiber" as "Yayu" to extract it from the "Diviner," he naturally couldn't reveal the source of this information. Instead, he mixed it all into his experiences in the Prison Mountain Realm, pretending that he had deduced it from some Spider Silk.
For example...
"So, according to your view this time, the true purpose of the 'Marauders' is not to elect someone close to them as the new President of the 'Player Mutual Aid Society,' nor is it to seize the [Item] left behind by 'Benevolent King,' but to severely damage the vital forces of our 'Order' and even the 'Night Watcher,' is that right?"
The secretary said in a deep voice.
Lin Yu nodded. "That's right. Based on what I've observed, the 'Diviner's' departure from the Prison Mountain Realm after I assisted the 'Feng Shui Master' in reinforcing the Formation was far too decisive..."
"Furthermore, I was fortunate enough to glimpse some of 'Cold Cicada's' past Memory using the [Fragment of Fate]. Combined with the 'Feng Shui Master's' assessment of the 'Diviner,' I can be fairly certain that the 'Diviner's' arrangements in the Prison Mountain Realm this time are a 'open conspiracy' that will inevitably bring him positive benefits from the moment he began to arrange them, regardless of whether they succeed or not."
"After the 'Feng Shui Master' and I destroyed the Formation in the Prison Mountain Realm, the unidentified 'Player' from the previous version, who was supposedly cooperating with him through 'Cold Cicada,' will completely side with him and participate in the 'Diviner's' 'all-out All-Out Assault's against 'Order' and 'Night Watcher.'"
"Based on the information I've gathered, primarily the 'Diviner's' own account and the level of power I actually felt when I faced that 'emperor'... the other party should indeed be a genuine Deity who wields Authority."
Lin Yu spoke softly, reporting his "conclusion."
This conclusion, even for these high-ranking members of "Order," was somewhat too heavy a burden.
The already solemn atmosphere became even more somber.
The first to break the tranquility was "Ren Gu".
"Is this even possible? Putting aside the identity of the Previous Generation 'Player,' for a 'Deity' to exert influence on any world, especially our world, would require a great price. Although this is the first time I've heard of this 'emperor''s existence, he shouldn't have reached a level beyond the 'limitations of Deity.'"
"Otherwise... the general would have noticed his presence."
Ren Gu spoke in a low voice, then added, "Especially now, the 'Administrator' went to the Divine Realm and used the Authority of 'Rule' to set new Rule Divine Realm... It's almost impossible for Deity to cross the Wall of Rules and interfere with reality."
As a high-level "Player" who is very skilled at using the "Profession abilities" of "officials" themselves, Ren Gu has demonstrated his advanced application of the power of "Rule" more than once.
Moreover, Lin Yu had seen him use something similar to "Rule Code," which was suspected to be some kind of [Item] product, to enhance his own abilities. Lin Yu could tell that such a thing was undoubtedly closely related to his Senior Sister.
Therefore, Ren Gu naturally has a lot to say about the "rise of the 'Wall of Rules' in the Divine Realm".
Of course... although he knew about the changes in the Divine Realm, he didn't know anything about Shen Bingmiao herself.
Among those present, only Lin Yu and "Grandmaster" Gu Mo were aware of Shen Bingmiao's change. The others could only sense to varying degrees that the "Administrator" or "Hacker" had entered a state similar to seclusion and was temporarily unable to contact her.
It's not surprising that this "forum" was vandalized and shut down at this time.
After all... the fact that Shen Bingmiao, or rather the "Administrator," is actually a "Deity" is not a big secret to these high-ranking members of the "Order" who are closest to the core of power.
It would be incredible if a Deity could roam freely in the Real World.
This is common sense.
"With the Wall of Rules Divine Realm rules in place, the influence of 'Deity' on the Real World should indeed be minimized," the secretary said. "But... that unidentified 'emperor' might have other means of transmitting power—perhaps, that 'Cold Cicada' is his Chosen of God."
"One is a 'Tier 3' Chosen of God one, but that's not enough to be a 'Diviner's' trump card or source of confidence. It's not worth all this trouble," Yin Lan retorted. "Your general idea might be correct, but... I could probably handle that 'Cold Cicada' myself."
"Even with home-field advantage and the Snake Yaoguai's help, he couldn't do anything to the 'Director,'" the Swordsman errant whispered. "This certainly doesn't seem like a 'decisive force.'"
The Grandmaster glanced at the Swordsman: "Don't use 'Director's' achievements as a benchmark. This kid can't be judged by common sense... Although 'Director' just said it as if he only achieved anything by clinging to Jian Cunyi in the Prison Mountain Realm, by luck fooling the new Demon Lord of Nine Cold Mountain who protected him, and by picking up Master Wei Jian on the road..."
"But in reality, he probably did a lot of work... When this kid was at the 'Tier 1,' he managed to hold out against the 'Diviner' on his own until I arrived. You didn't see the actual situation he faced in the Eternal Prison, but I did."
"To be honest, that 'Cold Cicada' almost succeeded against him, which proves that she is 'not to be underestimated'."
Grandmaster spoke, the professor chimed in.
"Then... should we use this 'Cold Cicada' as a starting point to find him and take him into custody?"
Ren Gu responded, "Actually, we've been doing this ever since we took control of 'Penglai'... but unfortunately, 'Cold Cicada' is even harder to find than we imagined."
"His methods of concealment are too formidable. Currently, the 'Administrator' is temporarily repairing the forum and restricting the activities of other Deity in the Divine Realm, making it difficult for us to find him in a short time."
At this moment, Lin Yu's voice rang out. "I think... we don't need to pay too much attention to that 'Cold Cicada' —because he may not be the key to bearing the 'Emperor's' power."
"I believe the 'Diviner' truly possesses a method to enable that 'emperor' to exert full power in the Shenzhen, wielding the authority of a 'Deity being.'"
"Just as Dionysus said..." Although "Cold Cicada" was the intermediary who established the connection between the "Marauders" and the "Emperor," he couldn't possibly be the key to getting the "Emperor" to act in Shenzhen —he must have had another mission.
As Lin Yu spoke, the professor frowned. "What is your basis for this?"
"Shadow..." "The Cold Cicada" is indeed Chosen of God, but he should be the Chosen of God of the God of Shadows,"Lin Yu said, "And the 'Authority' wielded by the 'Emperor' should be completely different from that of the 'Shadow'."
"After all, I faced the God of Shadows directly while I was in the Eternal Prison... so my judgment shouldn't be wrong."
The professor listened and pondered, then said, "A shadow... that can explain a lot of things. With the Authority 'shadow' protecting him, it is indeed very difficult to find his whereabouts."