Musical barbecue

"I still think... it's unnecessary."

Hearing Lin Yu's words, Nightless Sky Yong Lian lowered her head slightly and said in a low voice.

"Anyway Fire Apricot has been awake the whole time, so it's no use what you think," Lin Yu said. "Consider it the price you pay for being less skilled—you didn't see through my trap, so you have to bear the consequences... That's normal in the City That Never Sleeps, right?"

"If all else fails, consider it another form of compensation."

Nightless Sky Yong Lian sighed, "Very well, Arthur, you have convinced me."

"Don't make it so difficult. Chatting with your daughter should be a pleasant experience," Lin Yu said, pausing for a moment. "Alright... since this is a rare opportunity for a heart-to-heart talk, I, as an 'outsider,' won't interfere."

As Lin Yu spoke, he walked towards the door.

He squeezed through the crack in the door to the archives room and then slammed it shut with his heel.

Standing in the corridor outside the door was Old Zheng had wisely left the archives earlier.

At this moment, Old Zheng, with a lit cigarette dangling from his lips, leaned against the doorframe, gazing at the sky outside the corridor window—the entire sky was filled with a bluish-green light, swaying gently like ribbons, due to the Alchemy Turbulence.

Lin Yu leaned against the door, following Old Zheng's gaze, and couldn't help but sigh.

"It looks pretty good."

"Alchemy Turbulence looks like this from afar; it's quite beautiful, like the aurora borealis," Old Zheng said, taking out his cigarette. "But once you get close, you realize it's not like that at all... because it's just Alchemy Energy in the air reacting on its own, essentially spontaneous combustion or exploding every second."

"This Alchemy Turbulence is quite intense, boss."

Lin Yu nodded. "Hmm... it's not a big problem."

"But Old Zheng, you used to smoke?"

Old Zheng chuckled, "This isn't a cigarette, boss... There's no such thing as proper tobacco in the Barren Realm. This is rolled with 'Heart-Clearing Grass,' similar to chewing gum. It has a calming effect, is sweet, and can clear excess Alchemy Energy from the body. It's not addictive at all, and in a sense, it even has medicinal value."

"I borrowed one from the Banquet Hall... want one?"

Lin Yu shook his head. "Forget it, I don't need 'calming' right now. I still need to get the 'Authority' technology for 'Supreme Evolution' later... Even Nightless Sky Yong Lian said it might be a bit dangerous, so it's probably not going to be easy."

Although Lin Yu felt certain he wouldn't die there, and was also confident he'd most likely acquire the "technology" today, but...

This doesn't mean Lin Yu thinks it will be an easy and smooth journey.

Old Zheng said, "Should we wake up the two people on the ground?"

He pointed to the guys lying sprawled on the ground.

The Old Zheng was referring to was definitely not one of the men of Nightless Sky Huo Ming who was on duty outside the data room, nor an employee of Truth Company.

Instead, he was a member of "Order" who mingled among the employees and survived the first round of Nightless Sky Yong Lian because of "Loquat Candy".

They remained alert and quietly made their way to the vicinity of the archives.

Only...

Although they could block Nightless Sky Yong Lian, they could only fall into a deep sleep under the "hypnosis" cast by Old Zheng and Lin Yu.

After all...

Just to be on the safe side, Lin Yu secretly implanted "Mental Power Seed" into everyone along the way.

As it turns out, Lin Yu's actions were correct...

Lin Yu could clearly sense that if he hadn't implanted the "Mental Power Seed" in front of him, it would have been very difficult to subdue "Loquat Candy" and "Xiao Nian" in the first place using only Mental Power hypnosis.

Even now, after learning the "advanced techniques" given by "Bai Ying," it's still difficult for him and Old Zheng to achieve the same level of skill.

The "Loquat Candy" possessed an unusually high level of mental and Soul Resistance; clearly, as a "Doctor," he deeply understood the importance of preserving his own life.

The reason it's called "Xiao Nian" is because... this guy's Soul State is indeed a bit special.

But...

Lin Yu did not intend to wake them up just like that.

"Let's forget about it and let them rest here... After all, we now know that the Core Technology of 'Supreme Evolution' back then actually had little to do with 'Secretary'."

"These technologies... were actually developed by Nightless Sky Yong Lian."

"It wouldn't be good if there were any messages left by my sister that 'Order' couldn't know about."

As Lin Yu spoke, Old Zheng seemed to be deep in thought.

"Yes... Anyway, with your current abilities, boss, you should be able to handle the dangers inside—going yourself will just be a bit of a hassle."

Lin Yu looked at Old Zheng: "Who said I was going alone... I still have you, don't I?"

Old Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then stubbed out his Qingxincao cigarette. "Boss, you're joking. How can I be considered a person... If you can't handle the danger, I certainly can't help you either."

"I might not be as useful as Lao Shi or Xiao Qin."

"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to be a scout for me," Lin Yu said, also whispering, "Besides, I was just joking. I do have a backup plan—that guy is stronger than all of 'Order' combined."

Old Zheng realized what was going on. "Oh... you mean, 'Conception'?"

Lin Yu nodded. "Hmm... 'Conception'."

As he spoke, he rubbed his face and used the [Mask] to transform back into the "Director" face.

"Let's go, Old Zheng, let's shout 'Conception!' and then get ready to leave."

The two walked through the long corridor and arrived at the entrance of the Banquet Hall.

"But boss... don't you want the people from 'Order' to know about your sister? Is 'Conception' enough?"

Hearing what Old Zheng said, Lin Yu shook his head.

"That's not it... It's just that, relative to 'Order,' the Conception doesn't really know what we're investigating in detail, and he's not that interested. Plus, this guy's thought process is quite peculiar, so it's easier to fool him."

At this point, Lin Yu pushed open the door to the Banquet Hall.

Beside the dining table, the subordinates of Nightless Sky Fire Apricot were also sprawled out on the floor, some lying in disarray.

Lin Yu stopped and then clapped his hands.

"Conception, Conception!"

Lin Yu shouted, which surprised Old Zheng.

"What... Director, the Conception was actually conceived in this Banquet Hall?"

Because Old Zheng knew that he was about to start playing the role of "Schreiber" in front of "Conception", he also changed how he addressed Lin Yu.

He unleashed his Mental Power, scanning the Banquet Hall, trying to find a way to Conception unconsciousness among the Truth Company employees who were in a coma.

However, it is obvious...

Old Zheng gained nothing.

The next second, the Conception popped out from somewhere Old Zheng never expected.

"Bang!"

The enormous roasted whole lamb on the table, as big as a camel, suddenly stood up.

Then, a deep and rapid string solo came from inside!