A clever man

After stir-frying half of the tomatoes until they were slightly mushy, Lin Yu poured the beef brisket, which had already been pressure-cooked, into the wok and turned the heat to medium to start stewing.

As the aroma grew increasingly enticing, Lin Yu couldn't help but sigh.

"My cooking skills have definitely improved a lot because of that 'Make It Real' moment..."

Now, the cooking for dinner is nearing its end.

And at this stage...

After the "Good Night," the kitchen door opened once again.

Lin Yu turned his head and saw the person who had just walked in...

It is "Ren Gu".

"Hey," Director, the smell should be about right, right? Ren Gu said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work."

Lin Yu looked at the Ren Gu who were greeting him warmly and nodded slightly.

"It's almost done, it should be ready in about ten more minutes -- thank you for keeping you waiting."

Ren Gu waved his hand. "No, that's not true. It won't really matter if we skip a meal. After all, we're all at the 'Tier 3' now, and we've all improved our endurance to some extent."

Hearing Ren Gu's words, Lin Yu threw the potatoes and the remaining tomatoes into the pot.

"That makes sense... So, you didn't come to see me just for casual conversation, right?"

Lin Yu spoke softly, and Ren Gu nodded.

"Yes -- Comrades 'Xiao Nian' and 'Good Night' have already come before. Although I don't know what they said to you, I suppose they specifically chose this opportunity to come and 'chat privately' with you."

"Of course, there are things I'd like to discuss with you privately as well."

Lin Yu looked towards the Ren Gu.

"Really... So is there something you need?"

Ren Gu whispered, "Yes... it's about 'Hacker,' also known as 'God of Rules.'"

At this point, Ren Gu hesitated slightly.

"You should know this—you're so close to the 'Hacker,' you couldn't possibly not know her true identity is actually Deity."

Lin Yu nodded. "Yeah, although my Senior Sister didn't tell me at first... but after I saw through her act, she came clean."

"Just as I thought," Ren Gu said. "In short, as you can see, my 'Profession' is 'official,' a 'Profession' that revolves around 'Rule,' so... by chance, I can also be considered a member of the 'Hacker' family."

"Because of the special nature of the 'God of Rules,' she seems unable to choose her own 'Chosen of God,' so my status as a member of her kin is the most convenient way to borrow her 'Authority'."

"She also gifted me many [Item] that contained 'Authority' —you may have already seen them, they are also my trademarks, namely [Rule Code]."

Lin Yu stirred the beef brisket, tomatoes, and potatoes in the pot with a spoon, and said in a low voice, "I know all of this, so what?"

Ren Gu looked at Lin Yu: "You've had the aura of 'Rule' Authority appear on you several times... and it's an aura even closer to Authority than [Rule Code] -- I know you're very close to her, so the 'Hacker' will also provide you with means related to Rule."

"And granting this permission will inevitably allow you to establish some kind of connection with the 'Authority of Rules'... Although ordinary 'Tier 2' beings might not be able to perceive anything through this permission, I believe you should be able to."

"So, I wanted to come to you to confirm something..."

Ren Gu walked to the edge of the sink, picked up the piled-up vegetable baskets and the plates used during food preparation, and turned on the tap to help Lin Yu wash them.

"Director... have you noticed that the 'Hacker' is acting a bit strange?"

Hearing Ren Gu's words, Lin Yu was somewhat surprised.

He had, of course, realized that Ren Gu was actually very clever, and that the methods he used were related to his Senior Sister.

In the Shenzhen, when she appeared before Ren Gu as a Senior Sister, the other party's reaction confirmed this.

Therefore, Lin Yu was also aware that Ren Gu was most likely able to detect Shen Bingmiao Senior Sister's "abnormality".

Lin Yu was still somewhat surprised...

On the one hand, it's surprising that Ren Gu was able to come to him to "verify" this matter.

On the other hand, Ren Gu had already noticed that the "Hacker" was acting strangely and needed him to find someone to "verify" it as soon as possible.

After a brief moment of thought, Lin Yu didn't believe that "Ren Gu" was untrustworthy, but he also had no intention of telling the other party about it.

Therefore, he chose to give a vague answer.

"It does feel a little different than usual... Do you feel the same way? What are your feelings?"

Lin Yu gave a vague answer about Ren Gu, while asking a question in return.

Ren Gu sighed, "My feeling is that the Authority of 'Rule' seems to be very dormant now... even the 'Hacker,' that is, the God of Rules, seem to be very far away from us, and the connection has become much weaker."

Lin Yu nodded calmly upon hearing Ren Gu's words.

"I feel the same way... but I think it's probably just from overexertion— my Senior Sister has been much more active lately, and she's been through quite a few tough battles."

"Furthermore, the destruction of the 'forum' server diminished her real-world influence, and she even erected a Wall of Rules herself... If you haven't felt any change because of this, then that would be a bit strange!"

Lin Yu explained.

Ren Gu frowned slightly. "That makes sense... but I still feel like something's not quite right."

"But the idea of erecting a 'Wall of Rules' in the Divine Realm actually makes me a little uneasy—because it's really not like the style of a 'Hacker'..."

"However, these reasons do make sense at the moment," Ren Gu paused, then continued, "Anyway, if I sense any new changes, receive any messages from the 'Hacker,' or uncover any results from my own investigation, I will share them with you."

Lin Yu was somewhat surprised. "You're planning to investigate this matter further?"

Ren Gu nodded. "Hmm... after this mission is over."

He placed all the washed cooking utensils on the drain rack and turned off the tap.

"Speaking of this mission... although I mainly came to you to confirm the situation with the 'Hacker'," Ren Gu said thoughtfully, as if organizing his thoughts, "There are also some things I need to confirm with you regarding this mission and 'Supreme Evolution'."

Lin Yu asked with some curiosity, "Supreme Evolution? You said I'm familiar with the 'Hacker,' and I can accept asking about her... But what's there to confirm with me about Supreme Evolution?"

"I don't know much about the Supreme Evolution... my knowledge is basically limited to the 'data' within the organization."

Ren Gu shook his head. "Ultimately, this is still related to 'Hacker'... or to be more precise, the reason why 'Hacker' can Becoming a God is because of some special 'Authority' technology—I know, she also came from the previous version of 'Player,' and her path to Becoming a God is different from that of 'generals,' she seems to have 'taken shortcuts' in some aspects."

"And we know about the 'Secretary,' who was also a 'Player' in the Previous Version, and the reason he proposed the 'God Creation Project' was because he knew of a certain technology related to Authority that could bypass 'Tier Advancement' to Becoming a God."

"I even suspect that it was precisely because of the existence of this successful case of 'Hacker' that the 'Secretary' believed the 'God Creation Project' was feasible."

"So here's the question—now we can basically confirm, based on the 'Professor's' judgment, that the 'Secretary's' origins in the 'God Creation Project' are closely related to the 'Supreme Evolution' of the Barren Realm..."

"At the same time, she vaguely revealed to me some of the foundations upon which 'Hacker' Becoming a God, which are also related to the Barren Realm."

"So I'm wondering... could the technology supporting the 'Hacker's' Becoming a God and the 'secretary's' 'God Creation Project' actually be the same set of technologies, or at least from the same source?"

"The technology we're looking for—the 'Supreme Evolution' —might actually be related to 'Hacker'?"

Lin Yu nodded calmly upon hearing Ren Gu's guess.

"My Senior Sister also mentioned this to me, but what I know is similar to what you know; I only know that she probably used some kind of 'method' in the Barren Realm to Becoming a God through a special means."

"So, I think what you said does make some sense," Lin Yu said in a low voice. "Therefore, our operation this time can indeed add another clue, based on the original plan, to look for clues that might be related to 'Hacker'."

At this point, Lin Yu looked towards the Ren Gu.

"But... I'm curious, why didn't you bring this up publicly, but instead chose to say it privately?"

"Because besides you, no one else knows what clues the 'Hacker' might leave in the Barren Realm," Ren Gu said. "I've seen the report about you... The part about 'Twenty' is top secret within the organization, but because of the 'Hacker,' I was able to read it."

"I know your relationship with the 'Hacker' is unusual, and not just because you seem to be classmates in real life..."

"Furthermore, your relative, your sister... was also a 'Player' in the Previous Version, and even participated in or Player the fall of the 'God of Destiny.' That's why the [Fragment of Fate] fell upon you—combining this with some of the things the 'Hacker' occasionally mentioned and her past experiences, I can conclude that... she's related to your sister, right?"

"And they are very close Partner, comrades."

Lin Yu looked at the Ren Gu, his expression turning serious, almost expressionless.

"I said, Ren Gu... you're really smart."

"Thank you for the compliment," Ren Gu said. "So... I think if there really are any relevant clues about the 'Barren Realm,' you'll definitely know."

"At the same time, I also feel... perhaps you don't want to make these things public."