A'yu: Thank goodness, Yayu, you're alive! Diviner (cold sweat): Thank goodness indeed

As night fell and the rain subsided, the faint glow of sunset and twilight could be seen on the horizon.

Lin Yu left the "God of God of Cookery's " house.

Although his original intention was simply to make an appearance for the "God of Cookery of Cookery," the unexpected appearance of the "Embalmer" brought Lin Yu some unexpected gains.

He obtained the Demon Ancestor Gantuo's "Inner Core"—and after a brief examination, Lin Yu confirmed that Xiao Yun was right.

Indeed, some remnants of the Demon Ancestor's soul and consciousness still exist within this "Inner Core."

"Afterwards, I'll use [Ancient Notebook] to access it; I'll probably find something... This thing seems pretty 'ancient'."

But...

Lin Yu wasn't in a hurry to do it now.

Because before that, he had more important things to do.

[Mask] changed again, transforming "Zhu Ming's" facial features into those of... "Yayu".

"Tick-tock--"

On the vast sea south of Shenzhen, a large fishing boat sails steadily through the wind and waves.

Although the Typhoon has passed and made landfall, there are still not many ships on the coastal shipping routes.

Inside the ship's cabin, in a room resembling a crew bedroom, a girl with Purple-to-Red Gradient Hair kicked aside a shard of glass on the floor and looked at the three people sitting in front of her.

"Celestial King," "Ling Xian"... and "Diviner."

With "A'yu" standing there, the highest level of the "Marauders" had now all gathered on this ship.

This was also a backup plan that the "Diviner" had prepared for the members of the "Marauders".

Judging from their current positions and the mess of broken glass on the ground, it's clear that... a significant argument had just taken place between them.

"Alright," I know how "Liuli" died, Celestial King... she really should be held responsible for the 'Pillar-level Demon',"A'yu said calmly, looking at Celestial King. "Although this Demons was also invited by Brother Zhan, it was indeed that Demons who acted on his own initiative... I will go to Night Valley to settle accounts with him myself."

"But... you said that 'Yayu' didn't die back then, so according to the calculations... she should also be in the [Instance]."

A'yu looked at the Diviner: "Brother Zhan, about the 'Yayu,' and the others, the other 'Tier 2,' 'Tier 1'... I want to know why they haven't come out."

The Diviner sat on a plastic chair, not wearing a blue robe, but a loose gray mandarin jacket with wide-legged trousers.

He held a long-stemmed pipe in his hand, took a light puff, and the smoke swirled between him and A'yu, obscuring his expression.

The Diviner whispered, "That [Instance]... encountered many unexpected problems. The 'Order' and 'Night Watcher' have more countermeasures than I do, so I had no choice."

"Is it unavoidable, Brother Zhan? Will you also be forced into something?" A'yu stared at the Diviner, her tone becoming more serious. "Who will be forced into something next time? Me?"

The Diviner remained silent, and the smoke between the two grew thicker, like hot oil being doused with cold water, the rising smoke both restless and scorching.

Ling Xian stood up and said, "Alright, A'yu... Brother Zhan isn't omniscient... He's also seriously injured."

"This time it was my fault. My planning and intelligence were flawed, misleading Brother Zhan and causing the operation to fail—we didn't get the [Item], nor did we succeed in making the 'passage' last forever... Isn't it normal for people to die when an operation fails?"

"Even if such an operation were to succeed, people would still die, wouldn't they?"

A'yu said, "I can accept their 'death'... but I can't accept their 'in vain' death— Brother Zhan, you saved my life, I'll remember this kindness for the rest of my life, you could kill me, I wouldn't object... but, but... this matter can't be confused."

"I know the 'Marauders' aren't a respectable organization, and I'm not a decent person... and neither are you."

"So, I'll just ask you one question—did you, from the very beginning, intend for them all to die there?"

A'yu questioned sharply, and the Celestial King patted the armrest of his chair.

"A'yu, what you're saying is a bit much."

A'yu looked at the Celestial King: "What you did went too far—your subordinates are all dead, all of them are dead. Aren't you sad?"

"Celestial King, Celestial King Sister, the girl who carried your bag while you were trying on clothes at the mall last week is dead, and Li Zi who found you foreign beauty videos is also dead. Don't you want to ask our beloved Brother Zhan, who's sitting next to you... Don't you want to ask him why this happened?"

The Celestial King remained silent.

After a few seconds, she finally spoke, "I believe Brother Zhan has his reasons..."

"Then just tell me! Tell me! There are three of us in this room. Does anyone think he'll laugh at us?"

A'yu looked at the Diviner, her expression a mix of questioning and pleading. "Brother Zhan, please... say something."

Another long silence followed.

After a long while, the smoke dissipated, and the Diviner finally looked up at A'yu with his Phoenix Eyes.

"Sorry."

"That's what the Diviner said."

"A'yu, I'm sorry, this time I... miscalculated."

"In my opinion, both 'Benevolent King' and 'the Hacker' should be dead..."

"I originally wanted everyone to survive, but... I couldn't."

"I actually prepared Escape routes for them, ways to leave the [Instance] early, just like you... but... the people of 'Order' stopped me..."

Upon hearing the Diviner's explanation, A'yu pressed for further details.

What method is it?

The Diviner immediately said, "I also prepared some low-level beings from the 'Ten Realms' as a condition for early clearance... However, I don't know why it didn't work. The scene was too chaotic at the time. I was facing attacks from Deity and Demigod, and I simply didn't have time to attend to so many things—perhaps 'Order' took away what I had prepared for them, or perhaps an unexpected Chain Reaction occurred..."

Upon hearing this, A'yu interrupted the Diviner and suddenly spoke as if deflated.

"That's enough, Brother Zhan... stop talking..."

A'yu lowered her eyes and said, "'Order' has already sent a notification. Before I boarded the ship... 'Kui' sent me a message."

"The Order revealed the cause of death—all the lower-ranking members of the Marauders died from the spontaneous collapse of their souls. That was... your doing."

"Moreover, this is a 'Time Bomb' that you've already planted in their bodies."

"Brother Zhan... I really want to believe in you too."

A'yu spoke, she gently took a step back and leaned against the cabin wall.

The Diviner frowned. "'Order'... so quickly revealed the 'cause of death'?"

Listening to the Diviner's words, A'yu looked up and said with a hint of sarcasm, "What's wrong, Brother Zhan? I didn't expect them to be so efficient, managing to see me before I boarded the ship?"

"No, A'yu... this doesn't follow the 'Order's' procedures," the Diviner said thoughtfully, then suddenly realized, "I know, I know— 'Order' deliberately released the news so quickly to sow discord between you and me!"

"That's why, even though they were also in great danger, they prioritized killing our organization's 'Tier 2' and 'Tier 1' members... not only to wear down our manpower, but also because perhaps at that time, they had already devised a way to frame me."

The Diviner said, looking at A'yu, "You can continue to disbelieve me, continue to suspect me, but I... I really didn't kill them."

"But, A'yu —the report that 'Order' deliberately showed you, and the things I said... you have to choose which one to believe. Which one do you think is less likely to lie to you?"

A'yu hesitated, "Brother Zhan... I..."

She looked at the Diviner, hesitant. "I don't know. I also hope you didn't kill them, but..."

While A'yu was hesitating and struggling with her decision...

Thump!

A sound came from the doorway.

"Hey, you can't go in here yet..."

"Get out of the way!"

As a crisp female voice rang out, the door to the room was pushed open.

A woman, soaking wet and wearing only Sports Bra and Camouflage Pants, with a newly appeared, still-unhealed scar on her left cheek, walked in.

Water droplets dripped from her hair, and the two "Tier 4" and two "Tier 3" individuals in the room stared at her in astonishment.

The Diviner looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"You are that... 'Yayu'?"

"Yayu!"

The Diviner's surprised voice overlapped with A'yu's delighted voice.

A'yu rushed forward, stepping on the broken glass with a crisp "crack" sound, shattering a large piece of glass on the ground into even greater fragments.

Then, disregarding the seawater on her body, she hugged her tightly.

"That's great, that's great... You didn't die! You actually survived!"

Lin Yu felt A'yu's enthusiasm, and at first his body stiffened, then he patted A'yu with a slightly helpless expression.

"Yes, Sister Yu... I'm fine."

"Sorry."

As Lin Yu spoke, A'yu Lin Yu him, her eyes reddening.

"What? The first thing you say when you get back is an apology... I'm the one who should be apologizing to you."

Lin Yu shook his head. "No... it's my fault. I failed to protect 'Liuli' and caused her death..."

Don't say that, it wasn't your fault.

A'yu Lin Yu.

Just then, Ling Xian's voice came through. "Great, there are still survivors in the [Instance]... So she must know what happened— A'yu, if you still doubt the 'Diviner,' you can ask her, and things will become clear, won't they?"

A'yu paused for a moment after thinking about this, then nodded.

"Oh yes, oh yes... Yaya, since you're alive... you must know what happened in the [Instance], right?"

"Who exactly killed the others?"

Lin Yu looked at A'yu with a strange expression. "Sister Yu, why do you ask that?"

A'yu spoke up, "It's because... 'Order' said that it was Brother Zhan, killing the 'Marauders' members himself."

Lin Yu looked up and met the eyes of the Diviner sitting there.

The other person's Phoenix Eyes were calm as still water, as if they were devoid of any emotion.

The next moment, Lin Yu looked at A'yu, a faint anger appearing on his face.

"Damn 'Order,' how dare they sow discord!"

"Brother Zhan... how could he possibly kill members of our 'Marauders' on his own initiative?"