A trump card against Nightless Sky Yong Lian

"Clang, clang..."

Perhaps because Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's kicks earlier had caused some damage to her handmade "Fire Apricot No. 3," when Lin Yu sat inside the vehicle and restarted it, there were occasional metallic clanging sounds from outside as the outer shell struck the pipe walls.

Of course... because the Fire Apricot No. 3 does look quite "rough" and the interior riding experience is almost non-existent, Lin Yu can hardly find a comparable vehicle among the ones he has built.

Even an old-fashioned three-wheeled vehicle, a half-scrapped Santana sedan, or the rear economy class of a budget airline is more comfortable than the Fire Apricot No. 3.

The ride was almost as bumpy as a tractor, but the interior space was not as spacious, and it wasn't as well-ventilated.

If he had to put it into words, Lin Yu felt that his current experience was more like sitting in a lecture hall at Jiangcheng Media University, a place two years older than himself, taking an exam.

And it was winter, so with the windows closed, the air circulation was almost nonexistent, resulting in very low oxygen levels. There was also someone shaking their leg, causing the entire row of chairs to shake incessantly.

Especially after being kicked a few times, Lin Yu felt that the vehicle's shock absorption system must have been affected in some way.

However, the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot was no longer recognizable as she had been just moments before.

Wearing goggles and a helmet, she hummed a song lightly, swaying the lever left and right with her left hand, constantly flipping and closing switches with her Right Hand, and alternatingly pressing the six pedals under her feet.

It seemed that Nightless Sky Fire Apricot had completely forgotten what Lin Yu had just told her, and also forgot about her own behavior.

"Arthur, anyway... we'll be in the City That City That Never Sleeps in about forty minutes—do you want to go to the Outer City or the Inner City?"

"I forgot to ask, what brought you back this time? Is it still to Revenge 'Sherlock'?"

Lin Yu shook his head. "Not entirely... I'm here to clean up the mess."

"In short, the main task is to investigate the 'Supreme Evolution' —they possess some technologies that we need."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot turned to look at Lin Yu: "'Supreme Evolution'? Wow, that's such a distant concept. I feel like if someone mentions it now, they're probably just trying to scam funding."

Lin Yu looked at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot: "Really? I heard their Remnants are quite active, and there's even a recent record of them organizing attacks on the properties of the Three Great Corporations... Is the information I have incorrect?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot shook her head. "Not really, it's just that these guys are no different from the 'Great Wilderness People' now. Although they are dangerous, it doesn't mean they have any value."

"As the underground boss of the City That Never Sleeps, who integrates most of the Gangsters and mercenary groups in the Outer City, the 'Fairy Queen'... I can tolerate those Gangsters with extremely high risk of spiraling out of control being incorporated into my system, but I have never considered cooperating with the people of 'Supreme Evolution'... because there is absolutely no possibility of 'negotiation' or 'long-term cooperation' with them," Nightless Sky Fire Apricot shook her finger, "They are even terrible as short-term trading partners!"

Lin Yu, of course, understood.

After all, Gangsters and mercenaries are quite different from true "extremists."

Moreover, in the City That Never Sleeps... Gangsters and mercenaries are even legal.

As she drove, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot continued to explain.

"From a technical standpoint... the technology of the Supreme Evolution was almost entirely divided up by the Three Great Corporations back then, and the Remnants active outside have been purged time and time again. So, from a purely technical perspective, it's really hard to say which of the Three Great Corporations is the more Orthodoxy successor to the 'Supreme Evolution'."

"After all, preserving 'technology' requires time, manpower, equipment, and money—or you could say all three of the first three come down to the last one... money."

Lin Yu said, "Yes, so our main plan is not to contact those Remnants who still hold the title of 'Supreme Evolution' and are active outside—although we will definitely capture a couple to check on them or investigate their bases, but that's not the 'main' method of investigation."

"What we actually want to investigate... is the people from the Three Great Corporations."

"What I'm looking for is the technology that the Three Great Corporations inherited or shelved."

Upon hearing Lin Yu's "treasonous" remarks, Huo Xing of Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's eyes lit up.

"Wow, Arthur, you're really something! You come up with such an interesting plan right away—that's what makes unconventional thinking so fun."

Tell me about your first step!

Lin Yu said, "There's no real plan yet. We're still in the stage of taking it one step at a time. After all, I don't yet have a basic understanding of how 'Supreme Evolution' has been broken down within the Three Great Corporations."

"So, I plan to use the identity of 'Arthur' to get close to President Paris... Well, since I'm not here alone this time, and I have some 'Partner' with me, my identity as Arthur is a secret from them. Therefore, I will have my stand-in use the identity of 'Arthur'."

Lin Yu said, looking at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot: "I'll leave it to you then... Let's work together."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot had no objections. "Alright, Arthur... but if your stand is boring, I might kill him and turn him into my collection."

Lin Yu smiled and said, "You're joking again."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot laughed too, "Yeah, it's because he was interesting that I killed him and made him into my collection—why would I collect boring corpses!"

Lin Yu nodded. "Then I must remind him to be careful. He's... quite an interesting guy."

Even so, Lin Yu knew that the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot was still joking.

While Nightless Sky Fire Apricot was often just sharp-tongued—although her actions were sometimes quite outrageous—after getting to know Nightless Sky Fire Apricot better, Lin Yu vaguely realized something...

Compared to her verbal skills, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot is actually quite principled in her actions.

"So, is your first stop in the city the Truth Tower or Paris's house...? Oh, by the way, that guy has a certain chance of spawning at the beverage factory inspecting the production line recently," said Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, grabbing an old-fashioned telephone receiver-like device from the control panel. "Let me find out for you first. Hello, hello, hello, the Queen is calling Pipi, the Queen is calling Pipi. I'm ordering you to take three clever guys down the sewers and check if President Paris's car, the orange limousine with the number '003,' is at the beverage factory in the Outer City or at his house."

From the telephone receiver, accompanied by a rustling white noise, came two "thump-thump" sounds and several unintelligible Raccoon cries.

After hanging up the phone, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot looked at Lin Yu.

"Pipi went to investigate for us, let's drive towards the Inner City first!"

Lin Yu nodded. "Thank you, Fire Apricot. Locating Paris's location will definitely save me a lot of trouble, and it will also demonstrate 'Arthur's' abilities... But my first stop shouldn't be to find Paris."

"I might need to go back to 'Arthur's' mansion first, and then from there create a 'path of movement' for Arthur... Also, before that, I need to make a trip to the Nightless Sky Family."

As Lin Yu spoke, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot looked him over suspiciously.

"Wow, what are you going to the Nightless Sky Family for? Are you looking for Huo Le?"

Lin Yu shook his head. "No, I need to see the Family Head... After all, I still need to report the matter of 'Sherlock' to her."

"The matter of 'Supreme Evolution'... maybe I can ask her about it."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot nodded. "Indeed, if anyone knows best about the whereabouts of the legacies of 'Supreme Evolution' back then, it's undoubtedly Mother... But I thought you would be conducting these investigations behind her back."

"Besides, I don't really recommend you do this, Arthur... In a sense, this is an action that could potentially harm the interests of Truth Company and the Nightless Sky Family," Nightless Sky Fire Apricot warned. "Perhaps you've had a pleasant working relationship with Mother in the past, but when it comes to matters like this, I still recommend that you consider it carefully."

"My mother is the kind of person who would abandon all emotions for the sake of profit—of all her identities, the highest priority is the head of the Nightless City family."

Lin Yu could certainly understand this as well.

He never truly considered Nightless Sky Yong Lian, as one of his own.

Even with several successful collaborations in the past, and even with the connection through "Sherlock"...

Lin Yu didn't think he could completely confide in Nightless Sky Yong Lian, nor did he think he could lower his guard even slightly in front of her.

"I know, I'll sound her out first, I definitely won't lay all my cards on the table right away," Lin Yu said. "Besides... if I really need her to do anything or provide any information, I'm already prepared for an equal exchange of benefits."

"Furthermore, investigating 'Supreme Evolution' while keeping it from her won't work. It would be better to see where the Family Head's bottom line is from the beginning."

Lin Yu said earnestly.

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot shook the joystick until it clicked loudly. "What if Mother absolutely forbids it?"

"As you just said, the Family Head prioritizes 'profit.' As long as the benefits offered are sufficient and the terms of exchange are compelling enough, there's no question of her 'holding on to the bitter end.' After all, I could never become an enemy of the Nightless Sky Family or a competitor of the Truth Company," Lin Yu said calmly. "My origin from another world means that we can completely avoid a zero-sum game, so there's always the possibility of negotiation."

"What's more, I have a trump card in negotiation skills."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot asked curiously, "What trump card... I'm really curious, what kind of 'negotiation skills' give you so much confidence when facing your mother?"

Lin Yu looked at the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot.

"You're coming with me to see her."

Upon hearing this, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot immediately pouted, "That's a devil's trump card—I'm not going!"