Li Nian

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Li Nian (黎念)
Alias(es)	A Nian; Divine Thief 73 262
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Freedom Alliance 191 224
Occupation/Role	Senior-high student; Thief Player and freelance Instance guide 73 224 587
Status	Active; her soul was restored after being split across the Gray Domain and reality 991 1036 1223
First Appearance	Chapter 73 — introduced through Lin Yu's investigation 73

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Tier 2	229	Had only recently entered Tier 2 during the Despair Train Instance. Her Tier 2 permissions allowed certain Instance gains to be taken out, and she later confirmed she had concealed this rank from Zhu Ming 229 230 742

Background

Li Nian is the daughter of two university professors; her father also works as a research-and-development consultant for a major international company. Her family is wealthy, and she lives in a villa, but her father holds strong authority in the household. Despite knowing she often leaves at night, he maintained security measures around the house, including a Rottweiler 73 107 303.

She entered the Death Game while still attending school. She has used suffocation with plastic wrap as an entry method and habitually slips out at night for Instances. Her father once responded to her request for sick leave with only, “Overcome it yourself” 107 993.

By the time Lin Yu began investigating her, she had already gained a prominent reputation as the “Divine Thief” and joined the Freedom Alliance. Her theft is not financially motivated; she treats it as a personal interest, a source of excitement, and a practical answer to problems 73 107 1044.

Appearance

Li Nian is a youthful-looking schoolgirl with a neat bob haircut, bangs, lively nocturnal-looking eyes, and a faint dimple. Her ordinary student appearance contrasts sharply with her notoriety in the Death Game 73.

• Often wears sunglasses, including during Instances 107 619.
• At school, wears black-rimmed glasses and a standard uniform; she appears notably studious during math class 587.
• Her school persona is restrained enough that Lin Yu initially wondered whether the focused student he saw was her twin 587.
• Favors practical clothing and keeps a utility knife on hand 107 728.

Personality

Li Nian is playful, bold, and easily bored by routine. She was excited rather than frightened when someone infiltrated her home, immediately preparing to confront the intruder and wondering what level of opponent had come for her 107. She enjoys needling people, gossiping about perceived romances, and making trouble for the sake of amusement 228 1039.

She is exceptionally proud of her own intelligence. When she reconstructed Lin Yu’s deception of the Psychology Society, she treated the deduction as proof that she had passed his personal assessment perfectly 225. Her confidence can become bluster—she jokingly calls herself the strongest Tier 2—but she will acknowledge danger and cooperate when necessary 1223.

Beneath her mischievous behavior, Li Nian is attentive to people she accepts as allies. She investigated Zhu Ming’s family after learning of her fake death, helped protect the employer during a dangerous caravan investigation, and lent Zhu Ming protective clothing despite suffering immediately from the heat herself 742 644 645.

Abilities & Skills

Thief Profession

Li Nian’s core skill is extracting or stealing a target component without conventional dismantling. Against non-living constructs, she can remove the object’s “core” and disable it immediately.

• Removed the cores of seven Hate Sentry robots, leaving them unable to act 229 230.
• Took a thief’s card while swapping positions with him during a chase 231.
• Can rapidly pilfer weapons, scrolls, money, and other carried objects without targets noticing 262 627 643.
• Requires a suitable target: her ordinary ability is ineffective on living cargo and other living beings 230 630.

Living-Target Extraction

After developing new methods, Li Nian extended her theft-based techniques to living targets. She used a secret technique to remove the hearts of Mountain Demons in combat.

• Extracted five Mountain Demon hearts almost instantly while evading their attack 624.
• Used the technique repeatedly to thin a demon horde without relying on consumable Items 624.
• Her use against living targets has a detectable activation period; an alert opponent with sufficient perception can interrupt or avoid it 624.
• Her gloves and Limit Breaking Jade appear to be central to this extension of her abilities 624 630.

Mobility and Evasion

Li Nian combines light-footed movement with short-range spatial displacement.

• Can exchange positions with another person in close quarters 231.
• Possesses a reusable short-range [Blink Scroll] capable of instant single-person teleportation 684.
• Moves with exceptional agility, including standing securely on near-vertical rock faces and evading simultaneous attacks 262 624.

Lockpicking and Infiltration

Li Nian is a highly skilled infiltrator who favors direct, unconventional solutions.

• Opened the Despair Train’s Car No. 1 by removing the lock core and bolt without triggering its alarm 251.
• Stole an internal Psychology Society assessment roster to investigate Lin Yu’s identity 225.
• Infiltrated Zhu Ming’s home to investigate the safety of her family 742.
• Used school access and student connections to investigate people near Zhu Ming’s sister 591 1039.

Illusion

Li Nian has demonstrated illusion-based misdirection.

• Evaded an incoming attack by disappearing through an illusion, leaving Freedom Alliance Magician Qian Huan in her place 721.

Investigation and Deduction

Li Nian is an observant investigator whose deductions often uncover information others intend to conceal.

• Connected Xia Yue, Zhu Ming, the Psychology Society, a faked death, and Lin Yu’s plan to seek protection through the Freedom Alliance 225.
• Identified inconsistencies in Zhu Ming’s family story and correctly deduced that Xia Yang was her biological sister 592.
• Used her school network to trace Lin Yu’s past actions around Zhu Ming’s family and Kres’s protection of Xia Yang 1039.

Equipment

• White jade gloves — Thin gloves used with her Thief techniques, including her upgraded combat methods 229 624.
• Limit Breaking Jade — Her principal hidden trump card; she possesses more than two hundred pieces and uses them to amplify Items beyond their usual limits 684 851.
• [Blink Scroll] — Reusable, instant-cast, short-range teleportation scroll for one person 684.
• Soft Clothing — Lightweight clothing that regulates temperature and protects against extreme heat 644 645.
• Utility knife — A concealed everyday weapon 107 229.
• Paralysis potion and hidden blade — Used together to incapacitate a pursuing thief 231.
• East-meets-West item set — Used to frighten off a ghost in an elevator 1039.

Relationships

• Zhu Ming — Li Nian’s trusted partner and “Sister.” She invited Zhu Ming on paid Instance work, investigated her family out of concern, and believes Zhu Ming and the Director are romantically involved 592 742 1036.
• Director — Rescued Li Nian from the Gray Domain. She is grateful for the rescue, considers him capable despite distrusting his affiliation with Order, and continues to tease him over Zhu Ming 1035 1036 1039.
• Chen Zhuo — Client who hired Li Nian and Zhu Ming as escorts for the Despair Train Instance; she negotiated a 1,000-Point deal for her services 224.
• Qian Huan — Freedom Alliance Magician who acts as her protector. He intervened when others attempted to take Li Nian away and was visibly distressed by her Gray Domain condition 721 993.
• Fang Qing — Ally with whom Li Nian shares information and playful banter; Fang Qing cautions her against overestimating herself 1055 1223.
• Li Nian’s parents — University professors with a distant, restrictive family dynamic. Li Nian’s father knows about her nighttime absences but offers little emotional support 73 107 993.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Freedom Alliance Recruitment and Zhu Ming Partnership

Li Nian first encounters Lin Yu under various disguises and fails to recognize him as May May at a noodle shop. Afterward, she and Zhu Ming arrange Chen Zhuo’s escort contract, form a three-person team, and begin working together more regularly 191 224.

She later uncovers much of Zhu Ming’s false history through theft, research, and deduction. Impressed by Lin Yu’s deception but confident in her own analysis, she permits him to pursue entry into the Freedom Alliance 225.

Despair Train Instance

As Chen Zhuo’s paid escort, Li Nian provides intelligence on the Despair Train, disables Hate Sentry robots by extracting their cores, and uses a positional swap to steal an enemy’s card. She also opens the locked first car without activating its alarm 229 230 231 251.

Prison Mountain Realm

Li Nian accompanies Zhu Ming in the Prison Mountain Realm as a Tier 2 escort. During the caravan journey, she reveals her improved living-target extraction technique by slaughtering Mountain Demons, investigates suspicious cargo, distributes supplies, and protects the employer while Lin Yu investigates a distress signal 619 624 631 644.

She later helps Zhu Ming search Willow Town for Zhu Qiansi, using local observations, money, and her instinct for valuables to support the investigation 692 693.

Gray Domain Incident

Li Nian, a frequent visitor to the Gray Domain, is trapped after an Instance and returns to reality unconscious with half her soul missing. Lin Yu enters the Gray Domain to recover her, eventually reunifying her soul and returning her safely to reality 845 991 1035 1036.

After recovering, she immediately joins the Director in a reward Instance, claiming to supervise him on Zhu Ming’s behalf while demanding a share of the profits and protection 1037.

Notable Quotes

“I only steal from people I dislike.” 668

“Everyone, I’m here to help!” 624