Gathering and Going Solo

Li Hua, the "Gambler," was extremely vigilant and perceptive. Therefore, Lin Yu was not surprised that Li Hua could make the same decisions and judgments as him even with less information.

"Currently, the members of 'Order' and 'Night Watcher' are not too scattered. Apart from a few Field Team, the rest are basically concentrated in a few main 'battlegrounds'... The 'Diviner' pulled all the 'Player' in Shenzhen into this 'Replica City,' but it didn't change their 'physical location,' so my instruction to 'Good Night' was to gather nearby first, and then move closer together in large groups."

As Li Hua spoke, Lin Yu nodded.

"That's certainly feasible... After all, it will probably take some time for the 'Diviner's' 'friends' to appear here; at least for now, I haven't sensed any high-ranking beings from the Ten Realms appearing in this city."

Li Hua said in a low voice, "But we don't have much time left, and this fog can interfere with most 'conventional communication' methods. Even communication methods that are almost impervious to interference, such as the [Soul Gold Brooch], are now showing some degree of distortion."

"The actual 'efficiency' of the gathering might be even lower... and many members of 'Order' and 'Night Watcher' who are in 'battle' can extricate themselves with the help of other members, but... the 'Diviner's' primary targets, the strongest of them, are still trapped in a battlefield from which they cannot escape."

Outside the window, Lin Yu and Li Hua looked up and could still see the vast expanse of golden light in the sky through the mist.

That was the most important battlefield in Shenzhen, the location of the "Feng Shui Master," the "Grandmaster," and the "Emperor."

Three figures were still faintly visible, seemingly engaged in a fierce battle that had not yet ceased.

This is clearly not good news.

Even without new allies of the "Diviner" joining the battlefield, or even without the "Diviner" joining on their own, the change in environment alone will make the battle increasingly unfavorable for the "Grandmaster" and "Feng Shui Master".

Because everyone in this Shenzhen could clearly feel that the "Emperor's" power was constantly increasing—his efficiency in drawing energy and wielding Authority was becoming higher and higher.

Lin Yu was not at all surprised that the "Emperor's" Divine Kingdom would suddenly descend upon this independent space that no longer belonged to the Real World.

"At this rate, let alone 24 hours, I'm afraid we'll have trouble even lasting another 4 hours."

As Lin Yu spoke, Li Hua whispered, "Indeed... the only solution I can think of is to integrate everyone else and then free up the other 'Tier 4' members to try and help them."

"Regarding this [Instance], you said you obtained some other intelligence. Have you found out any 'loopholes' that can be exploited?"

Li Hua asked, Lin Yu shook his head.

"The intelligence I've gathered is... this [Instance] is completely impossible to breach structurally; we must adhere to its [Clearance Conditions]."

"Although it was created by the 'Diviner' using the Living Soul of the Lord of Mist Island, even if we destroy the Living Soul of the Lord of Mist Island in the 'Diviner's' hands, it's impossible to make this [Instance] disappear or end prematurely—this is already a [Instance] recognized by the 'Death game'."

Li Hua pushed up his glasses. "As expected..." The "Diviner" wouldn't leave any flaws, at least not flaws that we could spot at a glance.

"Now, we have no choice but to play by his Rule."

As Li Hua finished speaking, the security door to the room opened again.

As Lin Yu and Li Hua stepped out of the bathroom, they heard an urgent voice coming from the doorway.

"Gambler, what's going on? Why are you in Shenzhen, saying there's an 'emergency' here...? There's a severe shortage of people at the Convention Center right now!"

Yin Lan's figure appeared at the door of the old house along with her voice.

Behind her followed "Robin" and another young man—the young man had a buzz cut, wore black-rimmed glasses, was a little shorter than Robin and Yin Lan, and had a kind face.

Although it was the first time Lin Yu had seen it, he could guess from Li Hua's previous words that it was probably a "Carrier Pigeon".

Li Hua adjusted his glasses and said, "Because my situation was indeed more urgent just now... The 'Director' and I found the 'undercover agent' lurking within our organization, and during the confrontation, he almost killed me."

"However, the 'Director' and I teamed up... and killed him instead."

Li Hua spoke, Yin Lan was stunned.

"There really is a mole. Who is it?"

Li Hua pointed towards the bathroom, and Yin Lan went over and saw the ice-sculpted corpse.

"It's the 'Secretary'."

Li Hua spoke first.

Yin Lan's expression changed drastically, and she turned to look at Li Hua: "What the hell are you doing! Gambler... You fucking killed the 'Secretary' with the 'Director'?! The 'Secretary' was an undercover agent?! Are you kidding me?!"

Yin Lan looked at Li Hua with disbelief and even shock on her face.

But...

She did not attack Li Hua, but instead chose to subdue Li Hua and Lin Yu.

Because clearly, while Yin Lan didn't think the "Secretary" might be an undercover agent, she also didn't believe that the "Gambler" and the "Director" killed the "Secretary" for some purpose and then framed him as an "undercover agent."

She stared at the ice-sculpted corpse for a moment, then looked at Li Hua.

"Li Hua, the head of the East China Region and a 'Gambler,' I demand that you produce 'evidence.'"

Li Hua reached out his hand, and a buzzing sound filled the room—soon, an Electronic Device that looked like some kind of testing instrument appeared in Li Hua's hand from the corner.

Li Hua tossed the instrument to Yin Lan.

"This is my [Card Counter], 'Dionysus.' It records the energy fluctuations of everyone we just fought... You can see that 'Secretary' has a hidden soul, a lot of unreported methods, and the characteristics and features of those methods should match those of a certain 'Copper Furnace' operating in Shenzhen. It even shows energy characteristics of borrowing the Authority of the 'Emperor.'"

Yin Lan was clearly not seeing Li Hua's [Card Counter] for the first time. She picked up the [Card Counter] and fiddled with it for a bit, feeling the "energy fluctuations" constantly emitted by the [Card Counter], her expression solemn.

"The energy fluctuations in Shenzhen just now were too 'chaotic,' causing your [Card Counter] to record many interference frequencies, but it's basically clear... what you said is true."

"But once it's out there, it still needs to be examined by the organization—is there any other cross-evidence?"

Li Hua pointed to himself and Lin Yu: "Next up are my testimony and the 'Director's' testimony."

Lin Yu said, "It's not just 'testimony'... I can recreate my Memory using my [Item], and then they can directly verify the authenticity of my Memory fragments. This is much easier to verify than my 'testimony'."

Yin Lan nodded. "Okay, I trust you—the situation is extremely urgent right now, and I can only trust you. I hope you two won't let me down."

As Yin Lan said this, she looked at the "secretary's" corpse again.

"But... could you tell me why?"

She said in a low voice.

According to his own account, he was a member of "Copper Furnace" from the very beginning, and a "Player" in the Previous Version. He only managed to act as a member of "Order" by sealing his own Memory... Once he remembered all his Memory, because of his experiences in the Previous Version, he would naturally identify more with the ideology of "Copper Furnace" than with the ideology of "Order."

Yin Lan remained silent.

"That's truly... a pity."

After Yin Lan finished speaking, the two "Night Watcher" who had been following behind her finally spoke up after seeing that the internal affairs of "Order" had been settled.

The Carrier Pigeon stepped forward and shook hands with Li Hua.

"Comrade 'Gambler,' it's been a long time. I never expected our meeting to be under such circumstances."

"To make a long story short, you've seen the changes in Shenzhen... or rather, our current situation."

The Diviner's words just now could be heard throughout the entire city. I imagine you and the Director didn't miss them because of your battle with the secretary.

"Although you called for our Reinforcements, the battle here has probably come to an end... because the situation has changed, and I think we don't need to return directly to the area near the Convention Center. Instead, we'll continue our operations together with you for the time being."

"What are your thoughts and plans next? My idea is that since the 'Diviner' claims he has 'helpers' from the Ten Realms who will appear here, we should gather with other reliable members of the 'Order,' 'Night Watcher,' or even the 'Player Mutual Aid Society' as soon as possible, and then consolidate our manpower to prevent being surrounded and attacked by the 'Diviner' and 'Marauders' and defeated one by one."

"Furthermore, this [Instance] contains quite a few members of the 'Psychology Society,' members of the 'Freedom Alliance,' and Bounty Hunter. They may not have made a significant impact in our previous confrontations with the 'Marauders,' but considering the conditions for leaving this [Instance], they will be a major destabilizing factor."

The Carrier Pigeon analyzed the situation, offered its own ideas, and began discussing them with Li Hua.

His thinking coincided with that of Li Hua and Lin Yu.

Therefore, Li Hua immediately nodded in agreement with the Carrier Pigeon.

"That's what I was thinking too. I just arranged for 'Good Night' to get the 'Order' members together as much as possible so that they can all eventually converge in one place."

"Therefore, our group can indeed work together and find some comrades nearby to assemble. After all, with your organization's 'Robin' and our 'Dionysus' present, our group's high-end combat strength is guaranteed to a certain extent."

Li Hua spoke, he and the Carrier Pigeon basically reached a consensus.

Just as the two were about to finalize their action plan, Lin Yu spoke up.

"Comrade Li Hua, Comrade Carrier Pigeon... I may not be able to continue operating with you from now on."

"I might need to... leave here first."