Time to Solve the Riddle

"Huff... huff..."

In a low-rent room in a village within Shenzhen, a naked middle-aged man sat up from an old bathtub filled with Ice Cube and water, breathing heavily, his face contorted in pain.

He sat in the bathtub, his chest heaving like a bellows being pulled.

"Damn it... damn it... what time is it now?"

He pressed one hand against his eye socket, while the other fumbled for the mechanical watch on the plastic stool next to the bathtub, glancing at the time.

The clock ticked away, and the man shook his head, his nose dripping blood into the bathtub, spreading out like iced coffee with condensed milk.

He climbed out of the bathtub, the Ice Cube making a clattering sound, and swayed as if he were drunk.

Although his physical condition is still very poor, it is clear that he does not intend to wait for his health to "recover".

"Time is running out... we need to leave Shenzhen immediately..."

"My Doppelganger is destroyed; I can't afford to fall into the Ten Realms again... I need to find an opportunity for myself to appear here before I can reveal myself."

"However, the 'Beast Master' and 'Schreiber' might very well think I'm dead... and the Second Generation 'Freud' isn't exactly known for his meticulousness... If that's the case, this is actually a chance to clear my name for now."

"But we can't be so optimistic. We have to be prepared for the 'Beast Master' and 'Schreiber' to discover that I'm not dead... They are not simple characters, and it wouldn't be surprising if they saw through my disguise."

"No matter what," the Director "must die this time... If he lives, I'll definitely be exposed... And he's getting more and more dangerous..."

The man muttered to himself intermittently, picked up a disposable bath towel from the towel rack, roughly wiped the ice water off his body, and then laboriously tore open the waterproof bag, taking out a brand new but plain set of clothes—gray shorts and a white T-shirt, without any patterns or decorations, like the default outfit in an online Game.

He struggled to control his somewhat out-of-control limbs, stuffed himself into the clothes, and slowly walked towards the shower room, supporting himself against the wall.

And just as he was slowly walking...

"Knock knock."

There was a knock at the door.

The man's expression turned serious.

"It seems... to be happening faster than I expected."

He muttered to himself, but did not answer the knocking.

He knew perfectly well that it couldn't be someone like a delivery driver knocking on the door.

After all, the knocking came from outside the bathroom door—and to knock on that door, one would have to get past two security doors.

The first floor has a large security door for the shared apartment, and the second floor has a password-protected door that was added later to my own low-rent apartment.

Before the man could respond, the doorknob turned gently by itself and opened completely.

A handsome young man stood behind the door, wearing a long black trench coat and slim-fit jeans, with a dark Linen Baseball Cap on his head.

"A good way to escape," Chancellor.

The other party praised him.

The Chancellor looked at the man before him and sighed, "But you still managed to find me, 'Director'... The fact that you're here at this time shows you were already certain that 'The Beast Master' couldn't keep me."

Lin Yu said in a low voice, "No, it's not that. I really didn't expect you to be able to 'fake your death and escape'... I just arrived relatively quickly."

The Chancellor shook his head. "Based on my estimation of time, the fact that you've realized I'm here is quite impressive... How did you find this place?"

Lin Yu shrugged. "You know, I have a pretty good relationship with the 'Hacker,' and... I don't believe you don't understand how outrageous the 'Hacker's' abilities are."

"I understand, that's why I'm puzzled, because I've taken ample precautions," the Chancellor said in a low voice. "There's no physical device in this room that could 'receive signals' or 'connect to the network,' not even in the neighboring rooms above, below, or to the sides—is it the lack of Electronic Device that makes you suspicious?"

"But that doesn't make sense... In low-rent housing like this, if it's not rented out, there are no electronic facilities inside, and you shouldn't even notice them."

The Chancellor analyzed the situation, but Lin Yu remained silent.

The Chancellor paused, shook his head, and said, "Regardless, you now know this is my Safe House... Although you still haven't seen my true face, if you continue investigating these houses, there's a great risk of discovering my identity—both morally and logically, I can't let you continue living."

As the Chancellor spoke, he raised his trembling, somewhat pale and wrinkled hand.

Lin Yu sighed.

"That's a very valid reason, but you've got one thing wrong."

The Chancellor looked at Lin Yu: "What?"

"The Karma and effect... Admittedly, this house without any electronic facilities is quite intriguing, but that's not why I discovered your Safe House," Lin Yu took out his phone. "When I said I got your information from the 'Hacker,' I didn't mean I investigated who owned these houses, but rather that I checked which properties you own... Well, although your transactions are very cautious, involving offshore companies, Intermediary, and anonymous identities, you know, to Hacker, these are like Candy in a box—open the clasp, peel off the wrapper, and you can see what's inside. It's no harder than peeling a banana."

As Lin Yu spoke, the Chancellor paused in surprise.

"You mean... you suspected I was an undercover agent first, so you investigated the properties under my name, which is how you found this place?"

"What if you're wrong... What if I'm not the 'Chancellor,' then you'll have come to nothing?"

The Chancellor said in disbelief.

Lin Yu sighed, "So, I'm not just doubting you, I'm certain you're the undercover agent."

The Chancellor spoke up, "Is that so? Then why don't you just expose me?"

Because I have no evidence.

Lin Yu said frankly.

The Chancellor immediately replied, "Then you... might be wrong, wouldn't you say?"

Lin Yu shook his head. "No, I'm not wrong. I'm certain of your identity comes from the riddle left by 'Sherlock' —a riddle that only I can solve, one that bypasses Cognitive Interference."

"But precisely because it's something only I can solve, it can't be used as 'evidence'—because although I'm quite certain I understood his meaning, if I were to explain it to others, it probably wouldn't be enough to 'convince' them, much less serve as grounds for 'Order' to Judgment you."

As Lin Yu spoke, the Chancellor frowned.

"The riddle left by Sherlock... How could his riddle possibly bypass 'Cognitive Interference' and point to me?"

Chancellor spoke, Lin Yu lit up his phone screen.

"'VII/120' -- This is the riddle from 'Sherlock' that points to you, the riddle that led me to your identity."

Lin Yu spoke in a cold voice. The Chancellor looked at the riddle, and even showed a puzzled expression as to the "answer" itself.

"What... does this mean? Roman numeral seven divided by Arabic 120? Or is it not divided by, but a 'separator'?"

"This can't possibly point to me. There's a 120 after it, which means emergency number. Maybe it points to 'Loquat Candy' instead."

Chancellor spoke, Lin Yu sighed.

"If 120 points to 'Doctor' and then refers to 'Loquat Candy,' do you think this level of puzzle can overcome Cognitive Interference?"

The Chancellor thought for a moment, then nodded seriously. "Hmm, it's most likely impossible."

Lin Yu said in a low voice, "Yes, so it's a bit more complicated and convoluted than you think... and it contains information that only Fu Luo and I know."

"This in itself is even a hint... To be honest, if I hadn't known that this was a clue sent to overcome Cognitive Interference, and that it was only sent to me and not to a group, I wouldn't have been able to unravel such a mystery so quickly—because it essentially limited the scope."

"First of all, this content must be based on my shared experiences with Fu Luo."

"Secondly, this puzzle contains 'knowledge-based content' that Fu Luo thought I would be familiar with; he chose a knowledge area that I am good at."

Lin Yu pointed to the content on his phone and began to explain.

Upon hearing this, the Chancellor sighed.

"Are you stalling for time or trying to prove something to me? You don't need to tell me all this..."

"I believe you know who I am, so—come on, let's get back to the point!"

Ultimately, matters between "Player" must be decided by the Player "Player themselves!

In the Chancellor's hand, a jet-black Short Sword materialized, and intense spiritual power began to surge from it.

However, just as the Chancellor stepped forward, ready to provoke a direct battle...

"Bang!"

Lin Yu reached out and pinned the Chancellor against the wall.

"You have to hear me out," Lin Yu said, his hand gripping the "Chancellor's" throat, veins bulging on his wrist, his eyes icy cold. "You have to hear me finish explaining the final mystery of 'Sherlock'."

"Don't you want to die knowing why? But I'll make sure you die knowing why... I'll make you realize how foolish your decision was to kill 'Sherlock.' The world's greatest 'Detective' will not lose the opportunity to expose your crimes just because you tried to silence him."

"I need you to know what the answer is to the final mystery of his life!"

Lin Yu spoke in a low voice, while the Chancellor's face twisted in pain.

"Cough, cough... why?"

His face was filled with confusion and resentment. "Why were you able to cut off the flow of energy within me?"

"I am a 'Tier 3,' a top-thirty super 'Tier 3'... What makes you think you're stronger than me? Even if I'm not in good shape right now... how... how can you suppress me?"

"Zhu Ming, Schreiber... you've met them one after another. You think you're safe just because you lost your body?" Lin Yu said sarcastically. "Karma poison, Mental Seed... all of these can remain in your body and work secretly. I just need to 'activate' them."

"It seems you're only good at macro-level decision-making, not necessarily clever at everything..." said the "Secretary."