Accomplice

Inside the club activity room, Lin Yu and Shen Bingmiao sat side by side at the table.

"So... are you dead or alive now?"

Shen Bingmiao sighed, "That's really harsh of you, dear junior—I guess I'm practically half-dead."

Lin Yu couldn't help but sigh, "Your explanation isn't much better... So, you used to be Player?"

"Yes, I used to be Player," Shen Bingmiao didn't deny it, "And then I died unexpectedly in some Instance... But since I already had some skills back then, I used a method to preserve my consciousness—by changing my Life Form, I avoided an inevitable death."

"It sounds like a very sophisticated operation," Lin Yu said, stroking his chin, "But the phrase 'accidentally dying' is a bit too abstract."

Shen Bingmiao waved her hand. "Oh dear, don't worry about the details, my dear ace..."

"Then let's talk about something we need to be concerned about. So what exactly is your current 'half-dead' state?" Lin Yu looked at Shen Bingmiao. "You suddenly became transparent just now, but you still have Entities in daily life, right?"

"Simply put, I'm like a super artificial intelligence AI right now. I exist in the form of 'information'," Shen Bingmiao pointed to herself, "And what you see now is... just a body I created by manipulating 'information'."

"The virtual and the real can be freely transformed. If you were to dissect my current 'Entities' state, it would be no different from an ordinary human body."

As she spoke, Shen Bingmiao poked Lin Yu's lower back.

"But on the other hand, even if you stab me to death, I won't just die."

Lin Yu gently slapped Shen Bingmiao's hand away.

"Then why did you hide it from me in the first place?"

Shen Bingmiao looked at Lin Yu in surprise.

Why didn't I hide it from you in the first place?

Lin Yu was taken aback for a moment, then realized that he had indeed asked a rather stupid question.

Shen Bingmiao couldn't just suddenly tell herself, "Hello, actually I'm a half-dead digital life form..."

He sighed. "Okay... I understand."

"So, your understanding of me is also based on your Life Form, right?"

Shen Bingmiao nodded slightly.

"Of course! And I'm much better than you think!"

Lin Yu looked at the smug Shen Bingmiao and fell into thought, "Let me guess, you must be related to the forum, right?"

Shen Bingmiao was very surprised. "How did you know?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot, Senior Sister?" Lin Yu sighed. "Ever since I got involved with the Player community, I've gradually heard news about the 'forum,' especially from 'Order'... They generally know that there are intricate connections between the forum and Jiang City."

"And the [Item] you gave me has a similar function."

"So, once you know that you are a 'digital life' in some sense, you only need to think about it a little and use logic that can't even be called 'reasoning' to get to the conclusion."

"You must have something to do with the 'forum'."

As Lin Yu spoke, Shen Bingmiao gave him a thumbs up.

Even so, you're still amazing!

"The private message from Sherlock, it was actually sent to me by you, wasn't it?"

Lin Yu asked abruptly.

Shen Bingmiao chuckled and said, "There's no way around it. Although that 'Detective' has immense potential, it's still a bit of a stretch to ask him to find the information on the guy you're looking for."

Lin Yu nodded.

Just as I expected...

"So, are you the creator or administrator of the forum? Or both?"

He asked curiously, but Shen Bingmiao shook her head.

"No—rather than calling myself a creator or manager or anything like that..."

"In fact, I am the 'forum' itself."

Shen Bingmiao said it casually.

But Lin Yu, who was standing next to him, almost lost his balance.

Even though he had some idea that his "Senior Sister" was no ordinary person, he was still shocked the moment he heard the answer.

"You are... the forum itself?!"

Lin Yu said in surprise.

Shen Bingmiao laughed happily, "How about that? Isn't it even more amazing than you imagined!"

"However, even so, I'm actually working for someone else. You know, in the world of [the Instance], there are all sorts of Deity and other weird, high-ranking beings..."

"Those beings hoped for a 'forum'-like existence in this world, so I did it for them—that's why forums have such high privileges, even access to the 'Death game's' [privileges]."

"Then wouldn't you be able to do whatever you want? Like arbitrarily increasing or decreasing someone's points or something!"

Lin Yu said in surprise.

Shen Bingmiao shrugged. "Unfortunately, as I've already said, I'm working for someone else... so I can't violate the forum's basic Rule, nor can I directly attack Player or interfere excessively with their actions—ah, of course, I still have some discretion in this regard."

At this point, Shen Bingmiao revealed a sly smile, "And most Player... even those at the top of the Rankings, don't know this either."

"Whether they call me 'General' or 'Diviner,' they all just think I'm a slightly special Player, and that the 'forum' is just part of my 'Heart Domain' ability."

"Only the 'Grandmaster' could vaguely guess a bit of the Truth —but she didn't know the whole picture either."

At this point, Shen Bingmiao leaned closer and tilted her head to look at Lin Yu.

"So, my dear ace... I wasn't lying to you, you're the first person to know these secrets of mine."

"You might not trust Player, because Player always have a conflict of interest, but... since I'm not Player, why not give me a try?"

Lin Yu looked at Shen Bingmiao, at this familiar yet unfamiliar Senior Sister.

Finally, he pursed his lips. "Mutual trust isn't suitable for the two of us... After all, you've overlooked a very important point."

"Why me? It can't be because I know you, can it?"

"Of course not," Shen Bingmiao said with a grin, "Because you are the 'ace,' and I'm willing to place my bet on you—the things that can be won in this Game are not just about the chance to survive."

"I will continue to help you grow until we can together... glimpse and touch the Authority of the 'Deity'."

She spoke casually, as if joking, but Lin Yu knew Shen Bingmiao wasn't.

"That sounds like a very ambitious goal, Senior Sister."

"Would you like to become my companion?"

Shen Bingmiao countered with a question, her eyes flickering.

Lin Yu looked into the other person's beautiful eyes, which resembled a clear night sky in the suburbs, and shook his head.

"To be more precise, they should be called Accomplice rather than partners."

Shen Bingmiao was even happier. "Accomplice, huh? That's great, I like that term too!"

"Well... I hope we succeed, junior."

As she spoke, Lin Yu nodded.

"So, what are my benefits?"

"Since we've agreed to help, let's get down to business, Senior Sister!"

As he spoke, he extended his hand towards Shen Bingmiao.

Shen Bingmiao was taken aback.

"You're quick to change your mind, kid... Alright, within my 'authority,' I'll give you a little favor first!"

"On another note, do you really think those alt accounts you created would have succeeded without me?!"