Nian's Hiding Place

"Oh dear, as expected, news of that Rakshasa has already spread far and wide..."

"I'm afraid even the important figures in this world outside of the Glory Festival have started discussing this matter now."

"That's incredible, Moro!"

Fern easily killed the tall wolf in front of him with her longsword, plucked one of its eyes and put it into her pouch, muttering to herself as she did so.

"Very good, very good. Adding the two that Moro gave me before, I have enough to Clearance Conditions... From now on, I just need to keep a low profile... Should I change my identity? It doesn't seem necessary!"

"But after hanging out with Moro Rakshasa for a while, I wonder if I've caught their eye... Tsk, while NPCs' attention isn't necessarily a bad thing compared to Player, is it good or bad that this world is getting attention in this way at this point in time?"

She muttered to herself, then tapped her head with the hilt of her sword.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore, A-Ju. This Instance isn't that simple... Although I thought I could easily mess with those simple-minded guys once we got to the Black Marsh World, it seems there are some really formidable Player among them this time."

"The Arrogant Tongue of the 'Psychology Society' has appeared... tsk, and that guy from the 'Psychology Society' is actually being manipulated. That's incredible."

"And that guy in the Combat Suit... Why did he deliberately mention Rakshasa when he went to find that Furnace Fire? Although Moro didn't explain it to me, could that guy have also reached some kind of agreement with Moro? If so, he's really a daring guy—just not very clever at deception."

"Be extremely careful around these two, A-Jue. You've already kept a low profile for fifty-five Instance; you absolutely cannot attract attention among the Player!"

Her rambling grew faster and faster, and then...

"Snap!"

She heard faint footsteps behind her; something had broken a small branch behind her.

Upon hearing the sound, the fern paused for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

"I knew it... By the time I realized something was wrong, it was too late."

She turned around and saw a Player.

An ordinary man, dressed in sportswear.

At first glance, the other person seemed normal, except that their eyes appeared somewhat unfocused compared to a normal person's.

It was as if I was in a sleepwalking state.

"Hey, wanna team up?"

Fern looked at the other person, one hand on her hip, the other hand holding her sword protectively in front of her.

"Hey, you're the guy who caused chaos in the Healing Place, aren't you? Don't think I don't recognize you."

The Player spoke with a smile.

"Yes, I had no intention of hiding or deceiving anyone."

"In that case, if we're going to team up, shouldn't the original body come?" Warabi cautiously declined, "What if you're planning to possess me?"

"You can rest assured about that, Miss," the other party said politely. "To show my sincerity, I can tell you directly the principles and methods I use to manipulate others... The answer is to Entering Dream."

"I can invade other people's dreams and Gambling Duel and play Game with them within those dreams. Only when they lose to me in Game will they temporarily lose control of their body and soul for a period of time."

"And the right to decide whether or not to play this Game is even in the hands of the other party."

Upon hearing the other person's calm words, Fern spat.

"That makes you even more terrifying, okay? It shows you can use some kind of rhetoric to Deception these guys into willingly giving you their bodies, and then they die without even knowing why!"

"You're already this strong, why are you still asking me to cooperate...? What's your purpose?"

Fern asked with even greater vigilance.

The other person laughed.

"Of course, it's out of respect for your abilities."

"It's less of a collaboration and more of a question I have for you."

Fern raised an eyebrow. "About that Rakshasa? I can only tell you that I only used him temporarily, or perhaps we were mutually exploiting each other... I don't know much about him."

"No, it has nothing to do with that Rakshasa."

The manipulated Player spoke again, "What I really want to ask is, how much do you know about that Player who struck up a conversation with the Furnace Fire at the Healing Place and then mysteriously disappeared?"

"I believe... he should also be in a cooperative relationship with Rakshasa!"

Fern was quite surprised, then nodded. "I knew it, you think so too."

"Great minds think alike."

The Player looked slightly disappointed. "It seems you're not very familiar with him either."

"Of course, that guy seems to have Split Personality," Fern waved her hand dismissively, "It always feels like his tricks are good one minute and bad the next..."

"So, even though you're not familiar with him, do you have other 'Player' you're working with? Teammates, allies... or something like that?"

Fern looked at the other person and flexed her wrist.

"No... Why are you asking that?"

As Fern spoke, the Player interjected, "I know there's a Player I know in this [Instance], or rather, I came here specifically to see him."

"But so far, I haven't found any trace of him."

Fern raised an eyebrow. "So, you're looking for him?"

"Yes... and you weren't very honest with me just now."

The Player calmly stated, "You lied to me... You were an 'accomplice' of other Player in this [Instance]."

Fern's expression changed slightly, and then she slowly raised the longsword in front of her.

"Ha... You came for me, huh? You should have said so earlier."

"Although I don't know when you started targeting me, it seems... I have no choice but to leave you here."

With that, she drew her sword and charged at the Player.

"Sizzle!"

The longsword slashed through the opponent's throat, and the Player collapsed to the ground with almost no resistance.

Blood flowed out, and Fern frowned.

"As expected, the puppets don't care... killing more is pointless."

"We still need to find out where that guy's real body is!"

She murmured to herself, then took out the Crow's head again, bit her finger, and smeared the blood on it.

"I choose to sacrifice one 'Change' in exchange for one 'Truth': Respected and great God of Change, tell me... where exactly is that guy hiding in the shadows in this [Instance], constantly using hypnosis to Entering Dream?"

Not far behind the fern, Lin Yu, camouflaged, crouched on a tree, watching this scene with a sigh.

"As expected, the number of problematic Item related to that Crow wasn't just two..."

"Moreover—this Item isn't just for asking questions."

But no matter what...

Now, the hiding place of Twenty was obtained without any effort.

After all, Lin Yu was particularly adept at playing the role of the fisherman who catches the bird, unaware of its prey