Offense and defense reversed, the Chancellor's true identity

"Your Reinforcements aren't 'Order'?"

Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, the "Chancellor's" first reaction was that he found it somewhat amusing.

Reinforcements for this "Order" member didn't come from "Order" itself, where else could they have come from?

However, he could also sense from Lin Yu's relaxed expression and tone that the other party was not joking.

The "Director" standing opposite now seems genuinely confident.

"He seemed to think that he wasn't just sure he was safe, but also that he was absolutely certain we'd fallen into some kind of trap."

The Chancellor muttered to himself, glancing at "Cold Cicada" beside him.

Have you noticed anything unusual?

"It's obvious this is your first time 'directly interacting' with this guy," Cold Cicada said, looking at the Chancellor, before answering his question, "I didn't notice anything unusual."

As Cold Cicada spoke, she pulled out a palm-sized hexagonal jade box from her bosom.

The jade box was carved with a relief of fish playing in a lotus pond. It was sealed with layers of red thread, and a string of copper coins hung from the end. At the bottom of the coins was a folded yellow talisman.

"But..."

Cold Cicada, holding the jade box, spoke again.

The Chancellor was somewhat surprised. "But what?"

"However, I think we can call it a day, Chancellor," Cold Cicada said, snapping the red thread with her fingertips. The copper coin, along with the red thread and yellow talisman, clattered to the ground. "The Emperor's goal is now impossible to achieve—we can't kill him this time."

"Therefore, our cooperation has also come to an end."

As Cold Cicada spoke, he opened the lid of the jade box in his hand a crack, releasing a refreshing aura that enveloped his entire being.

The Chancellor looked at Cold Cicada: "Why halt the operation when there's nothing unusual? What are you doing right now?"

Cold Cicada patiently answered the Chancellor's questions.

"Because based on my previous experience, it was too late once something seemed amiss."

"Chancellor... I wish you Good luck."

As she spoke, the Pure Qi emanating from Cold Cicada suddenly receded inward, and her entire body transformed into a bluish-green speck of light, instantly vanishing without a trace.

Cold Cicada...

They vanished from the spot.

The Chancellor was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant.

"Ran away? Why?"

Just as the Chancellor was puzzled, Lin Yu's soft voice rang out again.

"Because now is the time to run... To be honest, he was decisive enough."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that he seemed to have chatted with you for a bit. The moment I finished speaking, he had already prepared to 'escape'... Otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to get away."

The Chancellor looked at Lin Yu in front of him; the man was still standing there, his body still bound by the Hand Order...

"Um?"

The Chancellor noticed something subtly amiss.

The Hand Order on Lin Yu's body, the Hand Order he wrote himself, now has a few words missing.

The power of the Hand Order was thus rendered incomplete.

How could this be?

The Chancellor was quite surprised.

Behind him, a cheerful girl's voice rang out.

"Guess... an antique wall lamp."

The Chancellor turned his head and saw a girl wearing a bright fluorescent green windbreaker, exaggerated star-shaped sunglasses, and a side ponytail.

The other person was chewing bubble gum, and when they saw the Chancellor turn around, they blew a light green bubble.

"Hiss--Crack!"

The bubble burst, sticking to her lips, and she slowly ate the gum.

The Chancellor looked at the other person's hands, which were stained black with ink, and said in shock.

"The 'Master Thief'... the 'Master Thief' of the 'Freedom Alliance'!"

"You actually managed to steal the power of my 'Hand Order'?"

Standing not far behind the Chancellor was none other than the "Master Thief," Li Nian.

Hearing the Chancellor's words, she chewed her bubble gum and grinned, "Otherwise what? If I couldn't do it, why would I be called 'Master Thief'?"

"To be honest, this thing is kind of sticky and smells pretty bad... I don't really want it."

After responding to the Chancellor's question with a provocative gesture, Li Nian turned slightly to the side, pulled down her sunglasses, and looked at Lin Yu.

"Heh heh, isn't this the 'Director'? He's stooped to begging us for help—that 'help' call just now was really good, shout it again."

Lin Yu looked at Li Nian, who seemed completely relaxed, and nodded, "No problem, you even came all this way to help me... Help, help—anyway, thank you so much, A Nian."

Seeing Lin Yu so compliant, Li Nian was also stunned for a moment, then sighed helplessly.

"Wow, if you put it that way... then it's no fun... really."

Why are you like this! When did you become so flexible and adaptable?!

Lin Yu simply smiled and thanked them again, "After all, you came to save my life."

Li Nian, on the contrary, felt even more embarrassed. "Oh, what kind of talk is that... we're all family..."

Upon hearing this, the Chancellor finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"You, a member of the 'Freedom Alliance,' and him, a member of the 'Order'... what kind of 'insiders' are you?"

The Chancellor couldn't help but ask.

However, despite asking this question, the Chancellor had no intention of taking action.

Although he recognized Li Nian's identity and called her by her code name "Master Thief," he also knew that Li Nian was only a "Tier 2" cultivator.

A "Tier 2" opponent is certainly not a particularly big threat to him.

But...

The Chancellor still did not make a move.

Clearly, he knew very well...

The fact that "Master Thief" Li Nian appeared before him with such ease meant that... she was definitely not alone.

Lin Yu also noticed the Chancellor's caution and prudence, combined with his ability to recognize Li Nian's identity earlier.

Now, although the power of the Hand Order on his body has not yet dissipated, Lin Yu, who has regained control of the situation, has even taken the initiative to ask the Chancellor questions.

"Chancellor... as a member of 'Copper Furnace,' according to my intelligence, you should be a 'Player' from the 'Previous Version,'" Lin Yu said, pausing slightly, "But... it seems you know a bit too much about this version as well."

Listening to Lin Yu's words, the Chancellor stroked his beard and said, "I can interpret this as 'knowing yourself and your enemy, you will never be defeated' being my consistent Principles in dealing with the world, and that is indeed true... But I feel that this explanation may not be enough to convince you."

Lin Yu nodded. "Of course, that might explain why you know about the members of the 'Freedom Alliance'... but it's not enough to explain why you were willing to come here."

"You seem to know a little too much about the personnel distribution of 'Order' and 'Night Watcher' —and you're very timely in updating your information."

The Chancellor looked at Lin Yu: "You might as well speak your mind."

"You're a member of 'Order,' aren't you? A member of 'Order' who disguised himself, changed his appearance, and deliberately made himself look like an ancient official," Lin Yu stared at the Chancellor. "And, which member am I familiar with...?"

The Chancellor laughed, "Is that so? Perhaps... But, among the 'Player,' none possess such exquisite 'disguise' skills that they could fool you, 'Director.'"

Lin Yu shook his head. "You don't need to use such flattery to fool me... I know more about the Previous Version than you think."

"In the Previous Version, a 'Player' named 'Makeup Artist' also survived. I don't know if he's a member of your 'Copper Furnace', but even if he isn't, they should be cooperating now... At least, you've exchanged a lot of information and intelligence with him."

After all, when the "Makeup Artist" Xiao Yuan disguised herself Paper Kite and met him last time, she didn't seem to be clear about the connection between the "Director" and "Lin Zhao".

But...

Just a day later, when he was impersonating Shen Bingmiao underground to rescue the First Generation Jung, he not only learned that he was Lin Zhao's younger brother, but also guessed that he was trying to Resurrection Lin Zhao.

Furthermore, Xiao Yuan even tried to use this incident to persuade "Zhu Ming" to leave the "Director".

Based on this change and the other party's act of rescuing the First Generation Jung, Lin Yu could easily deduce that Xiao Yuan had most likely reached some kind of agreement with "Copper Furnace" and thus obtained this information.

Of course, it's also possible that Xiao Yuan was informed of this information beforehand, which is why she participated in "Copper Furnace's" operation.

Regardless, Lin Yu was quite certain that the "Chancellor" before him... was definitely a member of "Order" whose appearance had been altered by Xiao Yuan.

Even so, Lin Yu was still somewhat surprised.

"Honestly, your 'acting skills' are excellent... You were right about one thing; most people really can't hide from my 'superb skills'."

"It's not about the 'disguise' of appearance, but about... the acting within."

"So, your acting is really good. Even now, I still can't figure out who you are in 'Order' based on your Microexpressions and your little habits... well, it's probably not someone I know very well."

"I'm sure I've seen you before, but we're not close. Besides, you're qualified to know most of the arrangements for 'Order,' and most importantly, you haven't shown yourself to anyone and won't arouse suspicion..."

The Chancellor laughed, "How terrifying, 'Director,' you seem to have narrowed down the possibilities... Just a little more elimination and you'll be able to figure out who I really am."

At this point, the Chancellor was essentially acknowledging Lin Yu's conjecture.

"But you don't seem to care much... It seems you're very confident that I won't completely recognize you."

"Of course, after all, while your reasoning is very threatening,... you might not even have the chance to complete it and report it to the organization."

"You won't live past today," the Director. "You won't have the chance to report your findings to the organization."

The Chancellor stroked his beard again and spoke.

Lin Yu looked at the Chancellor and raised an eyebrow. "Is that so... But the current situation seems to contradict what you said."

"Chancellor... you are the one in danger now; you are the one who needs to counter your moves."

"My escape skills have passed your test... Now, it's my turn to test your survival and Escape abilities."