Old Zheng

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Old Zheng (老郑); Zheng Jianshen
Alias(es)	Freud; First Generation “Freud”
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Founder and former president of the Psychology Society
Occupation/Role	Mental Power specialist; Lin Yu’s divine artifact, advisor, and reconnaissance helper
Former Rank	Tier 3 Player; was one step from activating a Heart Domain 870
Status	Active as a materialized special lifeform associated with Lin Yu; no longer possesses Player status 1114
First Appearance	Chapter 381

Background / History

Old Zheng was the original holder of the Player alias “Freud” and founder of the Psychology Society. His long-term goal was to identify Players capable of confronting the “horrific end” of the Death Game; eventually, he lost faith that his own organization could achieve this purpose. He considered recreating a doomsday cataclysm as a large-scale trial ground to accelerate the growth of promising Players. 888 1134

On Mist Island, Old Zheng worked with the Lord of Mist Island before orchestrating that ruler’s downfall. He persuaded Morse, one of the Lord’s two trusted deputies, to betray his master by exposing the Lord’s ambition to steal or borrow divine authority. 876 888 Afterward, Old Zheng redirected roughly seventy percent of the fallen Lord’s resources and permissions to Princess Bai Yue, the rightful Ancient heir, enabling her to become extraordinarily powerful on the Sixth Island. 925

His plans and influence earned him a formidable reputation, but his direct combat ability was comparatively poor for a Tier 3. Fluoxetine, then a Tier 2 Player, ultimately killed him on his home turf. 870 929 His consciousness nevertheless persisted in an incomplete form, eventually becoming an item-like companion carried in Lin Yu’s Item Space.

Old Zheng initially withheld much of his Mist Island history and inheritance from Lin Yu. Lin Yu later claimed the complete set of Old Zheng’s core Mental Power items and exclusive item, becoming Old Zheng’s successor under the identity Schreiber. 848 919 922

Appearance

When manifested in a human body, Old Zheng is a pale, gloomy-looking man whose appearance contrasts sharply with his talkative and inquisitive nature. 1114

• Deathly pale complexion and pronounced dark circles.
• Usually wears a white coat and gold-rimmed glasses.
• Has a withdrawn, shut-in-like aura despite being a former psychiatrist and organization leader. 1114
• Often appears in a brain-like or glowing mental form when carried as an item. 1134

Personality

Old Zheng is cautious, observant, and highly pragmatic. He prefers misinformation, indirect control, and escape routes over any fair confrontation. He openly describes his greatest strengths as muddying the waters, playing factions against each other, sowing discord, and using others to eliminate threats. 870

He is also talkative, flattering, and occasionally evasive when discussing his past—especially his relationship with Princess Bai Yue or the questionable origins of his old possessions. 594 848 1318 Despite this, he is consistently cooperative when Lin Yu needs his expertise, and he comes to regard Lin Yu as the exceptional Player he had spent his life searching for. 1134

Abilities & Skills

Mental Power Perception

Old Zheng possesses exceptional sensory range and analytical ability, making him more reliable than conventional mind-reading tools against protected or experienced targets. 515

• Conducts wide-area Mental Power scans to locate people, trace residual power, and monitor battlefields. 1123 1125
• Can focus a broad scan on a particular area for detailed reconnaissance. 1125
• Reverse-traced a Tier 4-level observer in the Eternal Prison and identified spatial rifts at the target’s location. 1508
• Identified disguised assassins among Saint Orchid Kui’s bodyguards through sensory analysis. 515
• Provides real-time analysis of unfamiliar professions, items, and supernatural techniques. 445 669

Consciousness Link and Body Control

As a master of the mental domain, Old Zheng can communicate directly with Lin Yu’s consciousness and operate Lin Yu’s body when granted control. 569 1134

• Can use Lin Yu’s body, Mental Power, and inherited items with greater proficiency than Lin Yu in specific situations. 569 1135
• Took control during the Black Marsh World conflict to delay Lu Gu and disrupt his witchcraft. 1135 1136
• Returned control to Lin Yu at a critical moment when Lu Gu’s enhanced attack became too dangerous. 1136
• Requires Lin Yu’s consent or an open mental link for full control. 569 1134

Mind Matter Manipulation

Old Zheng is especially adept at using the Mind Manifestation Instrument, which stores thought-controlled Mind Matter that can be shaped into physical forms. 922

• Forms fine Mental Power-infused needles capable of striking spiritual or belief-based entities. 1135 1136
• Destroyed Lu Gu’s Ancestral Spirit Witchcraft by targeting its faith-based spirit body rather than Lu Gu himself. 1136
• Can shape Mind Matter into defensive shields against gunfire and other attacks. 1114
• The amount of available Mind Matter limits the scale of his constructs. 922

Stealth, Spirit Travel, and Escape

Old Zheng excels at evasion, infiltration, and building favorable terrain rather than defeating enemies head-on. 1500

• Uses the Gray Spirit Eye to enter Spirit Body mode and pass through physical barriers. 1499 1500
• Maintains Spirit Body transformation far more efficiently than Lin Yu. 1500
• Establishes Mental Power seed nodes through soul fragments to map terrain, observe an area, and improve escape routes. 1500
• Previously attempted to escape a dream-related deity after acquiring Mind Matter, though he ultimately paid a severe price to survive. 1500

Strategy and Psychological Manipulation

Old Zheng’s most dangerous skill is long-term planning through selective information, provocation, and manipulation.

• Orchestrated the fall of the Lord of Mist Island through alliances and betrayal rather than force. 876 888
• Recognizes behavioral flaws in intelligent, arrogant opponents and uses their deliberate provocations as investigative clues. 1318
• Understands the Psychology Society’s ideology, operational methods, and internal divisions. 929 1365
• Can quickly infer troop movements, hidden motives, and battlefield priorities from limited observations. 1125 1318

Former Core Items

• Meme Cat — Pollutes the perception of everyone present through repetitive sounds and influences. 922
• Three-Scoop Ice Cream Box — Produces up to three daily ice cream scoops that restore Mental Power and apply flavor-dependent effects to it. 922
• Mind Manifestation Instrument — Stores malleable Mind Matter that can be shaped through thought and Mental Power. 922
• Dream Casket — Stores the user’s thoughts and ideas, as well as fragments of others’ dreams and unconscious thoughts. 922
• Gray Spirit Eye — Grants Soul Vision and Spirit Body transformation. 922
• Hypnosis Pendant — Old Zheng’s exclusive item; plants permanent Hypnosis Seeds in targets’ souls, allowing remote suggestion, manipulation, forced unconsciousness, and Mental Power transmission regardless of distance. Each seed permanently consumes part of the user’s total Mental Power capacity. 922

Relationships

• Lin Yu — Current holder and partner. Old Zheng serves as Lin Yu’s advisor, reconnaissance asset, and occasional body controller; he considers Lin Yu the rare Player capable of facing the Death Game’s true end. 515 1134
• Princess Bai Yue — Island Master of Mist Island’s Sixth Island. She held a one-sided affection for Old Zheng, while he admits that he loves her but fears provoking her severe mental instability. Old Zheng redirected Mist Island’s resources to her after the Lord’s fall. 873 925
• Fluoxetine — Former Psychology Society member who killed Old Zheng while she was Tier 2 and he was Tier 3. Their later reunion is marked by mutual curiosity, hostility, and unfinished questions. 929 1114
• Morse — Former deputy of the Lord of Mist Island. Old Zheng persuaded him to betray the Lord, but Morse later became wary of Old Zheng after learning of his doomsday-trial plans. 888
• Fu Luo — Initially distrustful of Old Zheng because of the Psychology Society, but later cooperates with him and accepts his role under Lin Yu. 1301 1318
• Second Generation “Freud” — A successor whose identity Old Zheng does not recognize. She mistook him for Schreiber and did not immediately kill him, allowing him room to maneuver. 1566

Story Role / Major Arcs

Lin Yu’s Advisor

Old Zheng becomes Lin Yu’s principal source of Mental Power expertise, combat commentary, and situational deduction. His reconnaissance proves particularly valuable in the City That Never Sleeps, where conventional emotion-reading methods are often blocked. 445 515

Mist Island Inheritance

Old Zheng’s concealed history becomes central to the Mist Island trial. Lin Yu uncovers Old Zheng’s role in the Lord of Mist Island’s death, confronts his connection to Princess Bai Yue, and acquires his complete Mental Power item system. 870 876 919 922

Black Marsh World

Lin Yu entrusts his body to Old Zheng during the confrontation with Lu Gu. Old Zheng counters Ancestral Spirit Witchcraft with Mind Matter needles, provokes Lu Gu into revealing more of his capabilities, and demonstrates the value of their dual-soul coordination. 1134 1135 1136

Eternal Prison

During the Eternal Prison crisis, Old Zheng guides Lin Yu through the Theater while evading divine pursuit. He uses Spirit Body movement, Mental Power nodes, and terrain analysis to create routes of escape, later surviving an encounter with the God of Shadows and the Second Generation Freud. 1500 1566

Notable Quotes

“My abilities are actually mainly reflected in muddling the waters, playing both sides, sowing discord, and using others to kill!” 870

“I think you have boundless potential, and... you’re practically a monster.” 381

“Calling ancestors? Then I’ll screw your ancestors!” 1135

Trivia

• Old Zheng was the first known Player holder of the Mist Island Soul Locator in the current version, later giving it to Lacan of the Psychology Society. 1318
• Despite his former Tier 3 status and fearsome reputation, Old Zheng considers direct combat a weakness and avoids fair fights whenever possible. 870 1500
• He once left his inheritance on Mist Island partly because its interrupted civilizations had developed unusually robust methods for preserving information and legacies. 888