Jue's Trump Card

After Old Zheng comforted him, Lin Yu calmed down a bit.

Although it's highly likely that Nian has already discovered his identity, as long as it's something that was "discovered," it's perfectly acceptable to Lin Yu.

After all, just as Twenty was absolutely misled by himself, as long as the other party was still "investigating," Lin Yu had ways to interfere with and guide the process.

But Lin Yu couldn't accept the existence of beings in this world who could "open your box" just by looking at you.

"Come to think of it, even the 'God of Banquets' couldn't see through my true colors back then."

Having confirmed that he was relatively "safe," Lin Yu once again observed the Struggle between Nian and Jue from the perspective of an outsider.

Just as Old Zheng had predicted, Nian finally pulled out a Transparent Material bag.

"Name!"

Twenty spoke in a low voice, and then the darkness around him expanded, at which point all the longswords were withdrawn.

"Hehe, so you're finally going to buy the extra service?" the Black Cat chuckled. "So, the full name?"

"Thirteen...no, eleven will do," Twenty said coldly, "What price do you want?"

"Fifteen pounds of fresh meat, thirty-three apples and oranges, and a tablespoon of 'Glimmering Gold Powder'."

The Black Cat spoke human language.

Listening to their conversation, Old Zheng understood.

"So that's how it is. No wonder he was reluctant to use that trick; he has Contract with this nightmare!"

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow. "So he's not as strong as he looks?"

"No, quite the opposite. Only pure-blooded Abyssal Nightmare are qualified to form Contract with humans. Ordinary Nightmares would simply voluntarily submit," Old Zheng said in a low voice. "This Nightmare is Glimmering Elite, Noble among Nightmares."

"But it doesn't sound like the cost is that high. Fifteen pounds of meat is only thirteen or fourteen kilograms, and fruit isn't hard to come by... Could it be that the 'Glimmering Gold Powder' is difficult to obtain?"

"Is he too stingy or just poor, unwilling to spend this much?"

If it were Lin Yu, he would have used it long ago if he only needed to pay for fruits, vegetables and meat.

Old Zheng shook his head. "The rarity of Glimmering Gold Powder is about the same as that of Copper Ore in Night Valley. Although it's not as common as iron, it's still a cheap material."

"The key point is the way the Nightmare race pays the 'price'—it can't be something you 'buy'; it must be something you acquire directly!"

"In other words, he has to hunt and butcher the meat himself, pick the fruit himself... and scrape off the Glimmering Gold Powder himself."

Old Zheng said calmly.

"It's more like a ritual—and by the way, don't forget to feed your pocket watch to the soul too."

"I can't forget it," Lin Yu pressed the [Repaired Mist Pocket Watch] that was warming his chest, "It keeps reminding me of this in my soul!"

After using it, Lin Yu discovered that he couldn't put it back into his Item Space.

Upon opening it, I noticed that the previously stopped hands started to turn backward—it seemed to mean a 12-hour countdown.

Subsequently, Lin Yu felt the information transmitted to him by this [Item] within his consciousness.

Offer up a soul of Wisdom life within twelve hours, or else...

It's completely unusable now.

It can only be used as a [Item] in exchange for "collecting souls," and it doesn't sound as ruthless as similar [Item].

Other [Item] will either devour their owner's soul or cause them to go berserk...

However, the main message conveyed by this pocket watch is "If you don't feed me, I'll starve to death."

Lin Yu couldn't bear to see it starve to death.

He had already chosen the soul to feed to the other person.

"Okay, it's a deal!"

The deal was also reached over there.

After Nian responded, the Black Cat gracefully jumped onto his head.

The Black Cat's eyes and tail stood on end, slowly scanning the air.

"The Standard One-Handed Copper Sword functions like an ordinary sword."

"Quenched Ancient Saber, an old sword, but extremely hard."

"Federation Soldier's Saber, ceremonial swords, but they can also be used in combat."

The Black Cat Leng Jing recited the names and functions of the "sharp blades" surrounding the 20, one by one.

Meanwhile, Nian was writing furiously on the label on the bag.

Old Zheng couldn't help but sigh.

"He and that cat are like Light Yagami and Misa Amane."

Lin Yu in surprise, "You've even read Death Note?"

Old Zheng's mind raced. "I know a little, I know a little."

Judging from Old Zheng's blinking frequency and his perfectly timed sarcastic remark just now, Lin Yu knew that the other party was definitely not just someone with a superficial understanding.

This guy might be the type who has a lot in common with Chen Zhuo.

While Lin Yu and Old Zheng were chatting, Nian finished writing!

He then transformed from Light Yagami into the Great King Ox-Demon King, wielding the Diamond Ring.

The sealed transparent bag was shaken open, and a long sword was instantly sucked away.

Next, he immediately shook the bag again, and the longsword shot towards the fern!

"Whoosh!"

A longsword, of course, couldn't harm Fern; she could easily kick it down from the air.

However, after being kicked down, Fern was clearly unable to control the longsword again.

Soon, the blades in the air were continuously sucked away and thrown out; eleven out of the seventeen blades were sucked away!

There is a reason why the number eleven was chosen by the 20th.

Because he could handle six sharp blades!

"Whoosh!"

After the last "Flying Sword" was thrown out by Nian, Nian immediately pressed his advantage, using the pitch-black "Nightmare Substance" to simultaneously entangle the remaining six blades.

A jet-black substance, shaped like a python, coiled around the sharp blades, preventing them from escaping no matter how hard they struggled.

Old Zheng watched this scene and uttered a not-so-surprising sigh.

"As expected, there is still an insurmountable gap between 'Tier 3' and 'Tier 2'... Even without [Exclusive item], the difference in their underlying strength due to the difference in [authority] is terrifying enough."

Old Zheng's judgment was clearly correct—when the fern's main attack methods were completely restricted, and both the "Tier 1" and "Tier 2" [Item] had already been used.

This "Liar" has clearly run out of tricks!

Common sense dictates that at this stage of the battle between Player, the outcome is clearly decided.

However, Lin Yu surprisingly refuted Old Zheng.

"You may have a point, but... it's not over yet."

He looked at the fern.

"What do you mean? Does she have any other trump cards up her sleeve?"

Old Zheng was quite surprised.

"I don't know what it is, but I know she has it."

Lin Yu answered calmly.

Although the fern seemed equally shocked...

Lin Yu could tell that while the other party was shocked, they did not show despair or dejection; instead, they had an expression that resembled "trouble."

The same expression appeared precisely on Twenty—the kind of expression one has when forced to use a "trump card" they don't want to use, and they feel troubled.

"Have you realized the difference in strength between you and me?"

Nian looked at the fern and spoke proudly.

The fern sighed softly.

"Okay, you are indeed more difficult to deal with than I imagined..."

Then, her expression subtly changed.

Just as the fern's temperament changed, Lin Yu finally realized what was happening.

"I understand now, her 'trump card' is the 'abnormality' we've always sensed in her!"

Lin Yu spoke quickly, and Old Zheng also realized what was going on.

"I see. She doesn't have mania, bipolar disorder, or delusions, but rather..."

At the same time, Fern's muttering sound rang out, overlapping with Old Zheng's voice.

"She has... Split Personality!"

"A-Zhao... let's switch."