Li Nian: What a huge rap to take

"The final exit of this Underground passage... is it here all along? A manhole cover?"

Standing in front of a manhole cover outside the Convention Center, "Dionysus" Yin Lan picked up her phone and murmured to the person on the other end of the line.

On the other end of the phone, "Good Night" stroked his chin and said, "This Xi Ba Underground passage definitely didn't exist long ago. After all, we conducted a comprehensive assessment of this Convention Center before, and we didn't detect the existence of such an Underground passage at that time, so Xi Ba must have been newly dug."

"However, if this Xi Ba Underground passage is newly dug, then it's too regular... square, flat and smooth, almost like a corridor. This is definitely not the work of an ordinary Xi Ba 'Player'."

"We also have to consider that when this Underground passage was being dug, no one noticed any Xi Ba activity Underground passage."

Yin Lan glanced at her phone, opened another screen, and whispered, "You guessed right, this really isn't the work of an ordinary 'Player'... it's the work of a serious 'Player'."

"A message came from Headquarters: based on the results of the Database review, the closest known example of this method to our recorded capabilities is the 'Player's' [Item] group from the 'Freedom Alliance' —her [Item] can achieve this silently."

"At the same time, we checked the surveillance footage from nearby Street. Although we didn't directly capture images of 'Freedom Alliance' members entering or leaving this entrance, we did capture one of their vehicles parked not far from the manhole cover I'm standing on."

As Yin Lan spoke, Good Night sighed and said, "So now we can pinpoint Xi Ba... It was the work of the 'Freedom Alliance' of Xi Ba, right?"

"Seriously, as expected, the 'Marauders' and 'Player Mutual Aid Society' are all Xi Ba. It's impossible to expect them not to get involved."

Yin Lan said in a low voice, "It really does sound like something the 'Freedom Alliance' would do... I bet they've already called the 'Master Thief' over!"

"At this point, although we are severely short-handed, we can't just ignore the theft of 'Benevolent King's' [Item Set], so... we still need to send a team to track down the 'Freedom Alliance' members."

"Knowing it was them makes things easier. Although we don't know where they went after leaving the Convention Center, they'll definitely be unable to resist showing up again."

Yin Lan analyzed, and Good Night agreed, "Xi Ba, those bastards definitely can't possibly not show up again... Then you should track them down and try your best to find the 'Benevolent King's' [Item Set] -- but be careful."

Although the "Master Thief" isn't Xi Ba skilled, members of the "Freedom Alliance" rarely act Xi Ba in reality.

I'll send a team to support you later.

Good Night gave her some advice, and Yin Lan whispered, "Don't worry, although there are many experts in the 'Freedom Alliance,' there are only a few that I can truly be wary of!"

She said that, and then hung up the phone.

The strong wind whipped her umbrella around, and only half of the rain was blocked by the umbrella; the rest still blew onto her.

Yin Lan couldn't help but sigh softly.

"There aren't any of the Nine Treasures in this 'Benevolent King' [Item]... so what's the point of stealing them?"

"I just bumped into the 'Fishing Man' in the [Instance], and now I might see him again in real life... Seriously."

As Yin Lan spoke, she kicked the manhole cover back into place, closing the exit of the passage.

Although I have a bit of a headache, but...

It was precisely because Yin Lan knew that "Master Thief" Li Nian would most likely be accompanied by "Fishing Man" Chen Le that... she had no choice but to take on this task herself!

"Ah Qiu!"

Sitting in the passenger seat of the "Master God of Cookery's" grocery shopping van, Li Nian, who was playing on her phone, sneezed.

This sneeze drew the attention of the other four people in the car, all of whom turned to look in Li Nian's direction.

Old Zhou and Qianhuan, who were dozing off in the back seat after chatting all night, were startled awake by the sneeze. Xiao Yun, who was steadily applying eye makeup to herself in the bumpy car with a mirror in hand, also looked up.

Meanwhile, Old Wu, who was driving, glanced at Li Nian in the rearview mirror.

The Comedian, the Fishing Man, and the God of Cookery were not on the bus at this time, obviously because they had other plans.

Old Wu looked at Li Nian and asked, "What's wrong, A Nian? Did you catch a cold?"

"Is the car's air conditioning too high? Should I turn it down?"

Old Zhou stretched in the limited space of the back seat, then said, "Maybe I caught a cold after getting caught in the rain before getting in the car."

Hearing their guesses, Li Nian rubbed her nose helplessly and replied, "I'm not that fragile... My immune system isn't that weak, okay?"

"Rather than saying it's because of a cold and sneezing, I feel it's closer to something else... um, someone's talking about me behind my back!"

As she spoke, Li Nian closed her eyes, raised her index fingers above her head like an alien receiving a signal, and continued, "Hmm... based on my further intuition, it seems someone is trying to frame me! Someone is pinning something on me that I didn't do!"

Hearing Li Nian say this, Old Zhou was shocked. "That's amazing? How did you distinguish it?"

Qianhuan yawned and said helplessly, "Don't listen to her nonsense. Where would A Nian get such tricks? She's just playing tricks on you."

Old Wu laughed heartily, "Maybe it's accurate?"

Li Nian opened her eyes. "I wasn't playing tricks... What do you mean 'maybe' is accurate... It is accurate, okay?"

Xiao Yun nodded in agreement. "Don't underestimate a woman's intuition... especially a highly perceptive little girl like A Nian. Her guesses and intuition might be more reliable than the predictions of some precognitive [Item]."

Hearing Xiao Yun agree with her, Li Nian became even more smug. "See? You guys just aren't as knowledgeable as Sister Xiao Yun... I really can feel it!"

"The 'Order' faction definitely thinks I've stolen something again, you believe it or not."

Li Nian glanced at her phone screen and said confidently.

After hearing what Xiao Yun and Li Nian said, Old Zhou fell into thought, "Huh? Is it really that accurate?"

Qianhuan pulled herself up a little by holding onto the back of Li Nian's chair in the back seat, then laughed, "I knew it— Old Zhou, you'd be a fool to believe her!"

"Zhu Ming sent her a message... I don't know what it said, but it's definitely related to this."

"It's most likely that the 'Director' has some inside information."

A Nian, in the passenger seat, reached her hand over the back of the seat and poked Qianhuan's shoulder hard. "Why are you peeking at my phone screen!"

Qianhuan chuckled and sat back down, asking, "So, what did Zhu Ming say?"

Old Wu asked curiously, "What's this about 'Order' suspecting you of stealing something?"

Li Nian said helplessly, "Okay, this is quite a big deal... In short, the 'Director' saw the personnel changes in the 'Order' internal group and discovered that a group of people are tracking our whereabouts."

"Then, after examining the reason for the mobilization order, he discovered that the [Item] left behind by 'Benevolent King' had been stolen."

"Because the thieves used the Underground passage we dug, and because my 'reputation' is so prominent, 'Order' automatically attributed the crime to me..."

Li Nian scratched his head and said, "I haven't even gone to steal it yet... What kind of situation is this?"

Old Wu exclaimed in surprise, "The [Item] left behind by 'Benevolent King' have been stolen... Such a big thing has happened!"

Old Zhou slapped his thigh in frustration. "Damn it, 'Benevolent King's' [Item] is gone... then we've lost one of our spoils—and that thief was too cunning, using our passage to shift suspicion onto us."

Xiao Yun Leng Jing said, "The gains might not be small... After all, it's only been 'stolen' recently, which actually gives us the possibility of double-crossing them."

"Since they want to use us, then we don't need to be polite."

Qianhuan analyzed, "So... who did it? The 'Marauders'? The 'Psychology Society'? Or some independent individual?"

"It's entirely possible that one of the guys in the 'Player Mutual Aid Society' stole the money and impersonated us."

Qianhuan spoke, Old Wu tapped the steering wheel.

"This is certainly something to think about... However, since 'Benevolent King's' [Item's has been lost and 'Order' has been watching us closely, should we still go to the area around the Convention Center?"

"I don't think it's necessary to change the itinerary, but... I'd like to hear your opinions."

Xiao Yun said, "Of course we have to go— the Convention Center is bound to be the most crucial part of Shenzhen next, so whether it's helping 'Zhu Ming,' me collecting corpses, you finding someone to spar with... or even the 'double-crossing' I just mentioned, the Convention Center is the most likely place to achieve our goals, so we definitely have to go."

"What's more, 'Fishing Man' just sent me a message saying that the three of them have already arrived and are buried nearby."

Li Nian nodded. "I've received the news too... Moreover, something strange has actually happened in Shenzhen — Brother Le said that almost all the non- 'Player' on the streets are sleepwalking— 'Schreiber,' with the assistance of the Second Generation 'Freud,' hypnotized more than ten million people in Shenzhen in front of the 'Order' people... It's insane!"

Old Zhou was stunned. "Holy crap, that 'Schreiber' is that powerful? Are you sure it's the Second Generation 'Freud' assisting him, and not the other way around?"

Li Nian shrugged. "Anyway, that's what Brother Le said."

"He's got some ideas, I should have invited this 'Schreiber' to give it a try," Qianhuan remarked. "He sounds like he might be a very interesting person."

Old Wu also sighed, but his feelings were different from the others.

"Are all the ordinary people in Shenzhen sleepwalking? I was wondering why there were so many cars crawling along the road Heavenly Dao! Even in heavy rain, it shouldn't be this slow... It's so frustrating to drive like this!"