Barbecue Party

Watching Conception carry the Bass Guitar away, Lin Yu, after confirming that the other person was far away, also untied the rope binding Ren Gu from the Cross and let him down.

Thump!

After being released, Ren Gu collapsed onto the Stage, ripped off the tape sealing his mouth, and sighed.

"This 'Conception' is absolutely insane... I need to go back and update the organization's internal data; this guy's danger level is much higher than I imagined."

After lying down for a while, Ren Gu got up from the ground.

"However, this time we owe a lot to 'Director' Comrade's negotiation skills, otherwise... although this guy probably wouldn't actually hurt either of us, he would have definitely wasted more of our time."

"Now, thanks to your persuasive words, 'Director,' he has become a great asset to our operation... truly admirable."

Ren Gu exclaimed in solemn admiration.

Lin Yu waved his hand. "Not at all, I'm just taking it one step at a time and going along with what he says... After all, I can't beat him, so I can only try to negotiate."

Ren Gu spoke up, "Successfully negotiating is also a demonstration of your personal ability... Did you think that after I was tied up, before you arrived, I didn't try to negotiate with him? And you saw the result..."

"To be honest, I didn't even understand his thought process at first. It was only after listening to your conversation with him that I roughly understood how this guy perceives the world."

"And you not only understood this in a short time, but you even followed his line of thought and persuaded him to help us within his worldview and the context of his words... This is definitely not something an ordinary person can do."

Lin Yu smiled silently upon hearing Ren Gu's words.

"There was probably an element of luck involved, after all, he had to be willing to listen to so much of what I had to say..."

"He always thought I was special, which is why he gave me so many opportunities to speak."

Ren Gu nodded. "In any case, it's always good to have such help... and you even gave him 'money' at the last minute, which can be considered treating him to a meal."

"Originally, I might not have thought he was very reliable, but now that we have this relationship, we might actually be able to count on this 'Conception' guy at certain times."

"After all... although the organization's records about him are few and incomplete, this guy does seem to have a very distinct 'gratitude' personality."

"It seems that people who share food with him always receive his kindness—even though yours was indirect, his gratitude just now was definitely genuine."

Lin Yu nodded after hearing Ren Gu's analysis.

"That's true... However, even so, because his modus operandi and worldview are different from ordinary people, even if you get his help, in the end you'll only have another 'henchman' who can save your life in critical moments."

"In the actual investigation process, this guy wasn't of much help... besides, he was already an unregistered resident in the City That Never Sleeps."

As Lin Yu spoke, Ren Gu smiled.

"That's true... After all this delay, we still need to check out the remaining two outposts and also analyze the data we obtained from this one."

"Oh, by the way, regarding the 'Creator' mentioned in the 'Conception'... what are your thoughts? Should we really be wary of the possibility of the Creator's 'Resurrection' during our subsequent investigation?"

Lin Yu shook his head. "That's definitely not necessary. I'm quite certain the 'Creator' is dead. I have my own information channels..."

"But... as a 'Tier 4' Conception, I feel we can't just ignore his intuition. So even though the 'Creator' himself might not be able to Resurrection, I think we still need to be wary of... something like a 'Second-Generation Creator'."

Lin Yu said earnestly.

Ren Gu nodded in agreement. "That makes sense... After all, the Remnants of 'Supreme Evolution' are still so cohesive and able to continue operating under the high pressure of the City That Never Sleeps after the entire company was destroyed. They must have a leader and a core group of support now."

"It's not impossible that the 'Creator's' confidant from back then has transformed into the Second Generation 'Creator'!"

In the Outer City, at a "Sealed Location" of the Universal Trade Association, which has been expanded into a new Outsourced Research Institute.

At the restaurant on the top floor of the research institute, "Dionysus," "Loquat Candy," and "Paper Kite" had already enjoyed a hearty meal, thanks to the warm hospitality of the contractor's manager.

"The food was really good," Yin Lan said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Although I guess the reception wasn't as grand as Xiao Nian's and the Director's, they probably couldn't have eaten as well as we did."

After all, the contracting company here was just celebrating its achievement of exceeding its first-quarter performance target with a feast of all kinds of barbecue.

Ribs, neck meat, brisket meat, shoulder meat, leg meat...

Although the meats aren't of the highest quality, grilled meat, as long as it's hot and freshly grilled, and you can eat as much as you want, is a great experience.

Paper Kite nodded. "Those two are probably from rather sophisticated business bureaus, and they're probably not getting enough to eat..."

"However, after spending the whole morning eating, drinking, and having fun, just drinking tea and eating snacks wherever we went, and even having a barbecue, we really haven't found anything useful."

The Paper Kite sighed, clearly feeling a bit anxious because of this.

Loquat Candy patted him on the shoulder. "Don't be too anxious. We've checked more than ten outposts and haven't found what we want. How can this not be considered a gain?"

"Moreover... although we didn't have any information related to 'Supreme Evolution' and our mission 'progressed' so little, we certainly can't say we 'got nothing' after visiting so many outposts."

As Loquat Candy spoke, Paper Kite somewhat confused.

"So what did we get out of it? A bellyful of snacks and roast meat, huh?"

Yin Lan, however, realized what was happening.

"Oh... indeed, wherever we went, we used the guise of 'Headquarters' spot checks to look through and record the logs and reports of these research institutes, Warehouse, and outposts. Although there wasn't much information about 'Supreme Evolution,'... this stuff should be useful to the organization, right?"

Loquat Candy nodded. "That's right, these places are all located in the Outer City, some are even outsourced... However, these detailed logs actually accurately reflect the shift in the 'macro strategy' of the Three Great Corporations in the City That Never Sleeps."

"Especially now that the City That Never Sleeps is at a critical juncture of 'Transfer of Power'... These 'real reactions' from the grassroots, if brought back to the organization for analysis, could very well help us seize the initiative in the upcoming changes in the Barren Realm!"

"Especially for people like Xiao Nian and the Director who already have connections here, this information could be very helpful!"