Xiao Nian

Seeing the drink in Xiao Nian's hand and thinking of President Paris, Lin Yu naturally realized that he needed to find an opportunity to release Stiller and have him approach Paris in advance under the guise of "Schreiber".

But...

Given the commotion "Good Night" caused earlier, and the fact that I'll be alone in a room tonight, I'll have quite a few opportunities like this.

He himself essentially had most of the night to himself.

While the other members of "Order" thought it was just another of "Good Night's " usual erratic behavior...

But Lin Yu didn't think so.

Because he is indeed more familiar with "Good Night" than the other members—this time, Captain Good Night seems to be doing something abstract and clowning around, but in reality... he seems to be deliberately trying to create an opportunity for himself to be alone.

At the same time, Lin Yu couldn't help but sigh that, given his "natural performance," he might not have noticed any flaws if he hadn't been familiar with Captain Good Night.

Of course, Lin Yu didn't intend to rush to ask Good Night for her reasons.

Because...

Based on his understanding of Good Night, he knew that Captain Good Night would soon come to him to "take credit."

And he should soon tell me what his plan is for leaving himself alone.

So Lin Yu diligently cooked in the kitchen—stir-frying the beef, searing it to a crispy crust, adding seasonings and stir-frying until the surface was coated with flavor, then transferring it to an electric pressure cooker and pressure-cooking it together with the prepared braising sauce.

While the beef stewed, Lin Yu also began preparing the ingredients for the other dishes.

Meanwhile, at Lin Yu's food stall...

The kitchen sliding door was opened again.

"Hey, Xi Ba, that smells amazing! Is there any left to eat? Give me a piece!"

As expected, Captain Good Night's voice rang out.

Lin Yu turned around and looked at Good Night, who was carrying a beverage bottle. He spoke loudly, pretending to be relaxed, and then closed the kitchen door.

He took out half a cucumber and looked at Good Night.

"Do you want some cucumber?"

Good Night shook his head. "Forget Xi Ba cucumbers, they don't keep you full... I'd better find some snacks and fruit instead."

As she spoke, Good Night opened the refrigerator door, using it to shield half of her body, looked at Lin Yu, and lowered her voice to speak.

"Hey Director, I managed to get you a Xi Ba room, how about that... not bad, right?"

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise, and said, "Oh? So that was you pretending to get me a private room... I thought you just wanted to torture 'Paper Kite'!"

As Lin Yu spoke, Good Night pouted, "Xi Ba, don't make me laugh... I don't believe you didn't notice."

As she spoke, Good Night found a mango in the refrigerator, peeled it like a banana, and looked at Lin Yu.

"You know perfectly well that I did it on purpose."

Lin Yu no longer hid anything. "I did realize that... but why are you doing this?"

"Of course it's to make things easier for you. I know you well enough," Good Night Xi Ba. "You little rascal, I'm sure Xi Ba 're plotting something in the dark. You've always done this... The comrades who came with you this time aren't as familiar with you, and their skills are even higher. It won't be easy for you, Xi Ba, to bypass them and do something."

Upon hearing Good Night's words, Lin Yu gave a thumbs-up while chopping vegetables. "Thank you so much, Captain. I'm so lucky to have a leader like you."

Good Night felt quite comfortable being called "Captain" and said in a low voice, "Hey, Xi Ba... I can't be your leader for much longer."

"And to be honest, before we came, 'Professor' had Xi Ba hinted to me that I should cooperate with you more... I knew then that you must have Xi Ba secret mission on your side."

Lin Yu said in a low voice, "It's not a secret mission. The professor didn't tell me to do anything special."

Good Night Ye nodded. "Yeah, I understand, I know Xi Ba, it's a secret!"

Lin Yu said helplessly, "What's there to keep secret... I really wasn't assigned any tasks by the professor."

"The professor, just like you... realized I was planning to do something extra, so he gave me some autonomy and also hinted that he supported me in doing so."

Lin Yu explained.

Good Night peeled the mango and took a bite. The mangoes at home were obviously specially supplied for the Xiao Nian; they looked plump and juicy. However, when she bit into one, there was no messy or tragic outcome.

"Wow, Xi Ba, that's sweet... So, the 'Professor' really doesn't have any secret missions for you?"

Good Night asked.

Lin Yu nodded. "Yes, no -- but then again, even with the 'professor's' hint beforehand, Captain, you're quite astute."

"I've always been positioned as a strategist with both courage and wisdom, Xi Ba, don't underestimate me," Good Night pointed to his head, then paused, "Besides, back in Shenzhen, Li Hua and I had a brief chat... about you, Xi Ba, he also mentioned some things."

Li Hua said, "Given your talent and drive, we should grant you as Xi Ba 'autonomy' and 'freedom of action' as possible, allowing you to unleash your creativity; that will yield unexpected results..."

"Like Paper Kite, it usually needs to be Xi Ba and only released when necessary; but someone like you, in all circumstances, should ideally have the greatest possible freedom—that's his exact words."

"I think... since it was said by 'Gambler' Li Hua, it can't be wrong—although I, Xi Ba, am a strategist, he's a pure advisor."

Good Night spoke, she took another bite of mango.

Lin Yu's hands never stopped chopping vegetables; the cleaver slammed against the cutting board, making a "thud" sound, like the hoofbeats of a galloping horse.

"Comrade Li Hua is indeed intelligent... and he truly understands me."

Then, Lin Yu added a sentence.

"He also knows a lot about 'Paper Kite'."

Good Night laughed, "Xi Ba, that's really true... If you ask me, although Li Hua already has a very high level of authority, being the head of the Xi Ba East China Region is still a waste of his talent."

Then, Good Night paused for a moment and said, "Oh right, Xi Ba almost asked... what did ' Xiao Nian 'Xi Ba talk to you about when he came in? He didn't give you any trouble, did he?"

"No, she's surprisingly friendly," Lin Yu, looking at Good Night and asking curiously, "Why do you think that?"

Good Night said, "Xi Ba, I always felt that the 'Professor' deliberately adding 'Xiao Nian' to the list was a sign that he didn't completely trust you... Although he outwardly hinted that I should cooperate with you, he probably still felt that there were suspicious points surrounding the 'Secretary's' death..."

"This time, they said Xi Ba came to seek technical support for the 'God Creation Project,' but I always felt," Good Night paused here, "That only represents my personal opinion... I suspect they're also looking for further 'evidence' that the 'Secretary' is an undercover agent—after all, for him, the 'Secretary' is a closer, longer-known comrade and Comrade-in-Arms."

Lin Yu shook his head after hearing Good Night's explanation. "Don't worry, the 'Professor' isn't that naive... From my several interactions, I've sensed that the 'Professor' is rational to the point of being almost 'cold-blooded'—as a member of the 'Order's' Decision-making Level and the one who makes decisions most of the time, he should be like that."

"Perhaps he does intend to find more 'evidence' that the 'Secretary' is an undercover agent, but that doesn't mean he still suspects me—the information and evidence we have are enough for him to accurately determine whether the 'Secretary' or I is the undercover agent."

"More evidence... maybe it's just to better appease those within 'Order,' to convince more people, more people who aren't as rational as him, to accept this fact."

As Lin Yu spoke, Good Night frowned.

"Xi Ba, is that so...?"

"Maybe I'm overthinking it. After all... only 'Xiao Nian,' the North China Region head, was personally selected by 'Professor'," Xi Ba Good Night said. "The others were selected through voluntary application by Xi Ba. You weren't in the organization's group back then. When you were still under investigation, the organization directly issued recruitment notices for 'Tier 3' and above tasks to the Many of regional heads, City Administrator, and Captain General."

"Me, 'Paper Kite,' and the two from South China were all selected from the Xi Ba Division... Yin Lan and Xiao Nian didn't sign up; they were added by you and 'Professor.'"

Lin Yu looked at Good Night, cut off a slice of ham, and picked it out for him with the tip of his knife.

Just as Good Night finished eating the mango and threw away the pit, he casually took the piece of ham and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Therefore, I always felt that there was something more to it than that you sought out Yin Lan and the professor sought out Xiao Nian."

Good Night said while chewing on ham.

"The reason I sought out Yin Lan is because she was there at the time, and she's really strong... and she's someone I completely trust right now."

Lin Yu also cut a slice of ham and put it in his mouth.

"And the reason why the 'professor' sought out 'Xiao Nian'... I think you're overcomplicating it, Captain."

"The house we're standing on is the best reason—it has coordinates and considerable connections in the Barren Realm."

Good Night hearing Lin Yu's words, Liang Ye patted his head.

"Xi Ba, that's true!"

"My problem is... Ugh, Xi Ba, I was prejudiced—after all, I've always thought Xiao Nian was pretty strange!"

Lin Yu echoed Good Night's words.

"While I don't think the 'professor's' choice of the Xiao Nian has any particular significance, I understand your feeling..."

"The Xiao Nian... does give off a strange feeling."

"She seems a bit too detached as a member of 'Order'..."

"But she didn't act like this back in the Nether Void Realm."

As Lin Yu spoke, Good Night nodded.

"Right? Actually, quite a few gay men feel this way!"

"Everyone's speculating whether it's related to Xi Ba's 'Alchemy Surgery,' since the Supernatural Power in the Barren Realm can indeed affect a person's performance... But the problem is, I also have similar modifications and [Item] sets, so I'm not completely ignorant about this area—even considering the element of 'Alchemy Surgery,' this girl is still very strange!"