"Who" / Fans.

The man who called himself Zero clapped at Lin, his pupils, obscured by the mask, reflecting Lin's wary figure. "You're the first... and perhaps the only one, Lin, to save your companion in your own way."

"... Why are you here?"

Lin lowered his body, ready to fight at any moment. Ling was the one who taught him the Great Void Sword Qi, but Lin had no trust in him whatsoever, and his purpose remained a mystery.

"Don't worry, we're entering the Imaginary Tree normally~"

Zero waved his hand smugly and said, "I made a deal with Kevin, and then Little Yan Luo and I came in."

"How did you get Kevin to agree to let you in?"

"Use love."

"..."

Ling chuckled and crossed her arms, "I'm not lying to you, I made him agree by using love."

It seems unlikely that this man, who talks a lot of flirtatious nonsense, will tell the truth.

"Did you, the Herrscher of Erosion, do what happened in the Imaginary Tree?"

Lin calmly stared into Zero's eyes, but compared to others, or those who calmly met his gaze or feared his eyes, Zero gave him a completely different feeling.

A very strong sense of inhumanity.

"Don't make it sound like I'm some kind of mastermind behind all the bad things. In reality, so far I've only played a supporting role in your development and have also prevented other factors from interfering with you, such as Otto Apocalypse."

Zero shook his finger, looking smug.

Sure enough, these were the two people who made the deal with Otto.

Yan Luo sent him Anna's information, and then learned from Otto that someone had made a deal around him, so Lin guessed that it was the work of these two.

Zero clutched her chest and sighed, "This time is no different. I'm heartbroken that the Herrscher of Erosion has become like this. Sigh, she's supposed to be Herrscher, but she's obsessed with men. The purity of the Herrscher has greatly decreased."

"... Then what is your purpose?"

"Good question."

Zero snapped his fingers.

"Little Yan Luo, explain it to him."

"..."

The silver-haired girl stared coldly and murderously at the unruly masked man.

"Haha... Don't be angry, I'm just giving you two a chance to interact."

The masked man wiped his sweat, chuckled dryly, and said to the other cold-looking guy, "Simply put, I'm doing something I couldn't accomplish before."

"Rita, I think I told you that."

Lin's pupils contracted, and he said in a low, hoarse voice to the completely indifferent Zero, "You are the former captain."

"The answer is somewhat relevant, but... wrong."

Zero made an X gesture and let out an extremely strange laugh, "He is me, but I am not him, and what I am going to do is actually very similar to what he... or rather, what you have done."

Lin was silent for a few seconds. Since Zero didn't continue, it meant he didn't intend to tell Lin his full purpose. So Lin turned to look at the other person. "And why are you with him?"

"Because we are partners, I convinced her that at least for now our goals are aligned."

Under Lin's gaze, Yan Luo nodded silently.

"..."

There's nothing more to say then. Lin began to mobilize Honkai Energy, and the activation of the Great Void Sword Qi was ready.

"Hey wait a minute, why are you fighting with us?"

Zero feigned a flustered appearance, but his eyes were filled with a cold smile. "We are not enemies. Didn't you cooperate with Yan Luo before? Moreover, your memory in the Imaginary Tree even asked Yan Luo to protect Raiden Mei. We don't need to fight at all."

"At least for now, not at all."

"You are no match for us at all."

In an instant, a sense of terror surged from Zero's body, and Lin held his breath, his entire body howling in agony at the aura emanating from him.

What is this...?

Chapter Twenty-One: "Who"

Lin had already experienced the man's terror in the Quantum Sea, but there was no doubt that this was just the tip of the iceberg. His terrifying aura was like a loaded gun barrel pointed directly at Lin's temple.

They will die.

They were killed without any ability to resist.

This was not a rational fear in Lin's mind, but a tremor from the depths of his soul.

What exactly is this thing?

"See? Fighting doesn't solve all problems."

The oppressive feeling suddenly eased, and the masked man covered his face and lowered his head again to prevent Lin from seeing his alien eyes.

"In short, let's get along amicably for now. You have your plans, and I have mine."

Zero yawned and relaxed immediately. "You can ask me anything except what I can't tell you. I'll answer as appropriate. After all, this is an era of respecting the elderly and caring for the young. Even players who strip each other of their household registration in the game will treat each other with brotherly respect offline. Let's be civilized if it's not necessary."

Judging from the current situation, he is right, and it should be considered that he has let Lin Yi go. What kind of existence is this mysterious guy, and what is his purpose in coming to Lin's world? It seems that we can't know now.

Since the other party said they could answer unnecessary questions, Lin didn't hold back. "How much do you know about the Imaginary Tree?"

"To put it bluntly, I know everything. I know more about the changes in the Imaginary Tree and the appearance of the Herrscher than an encyclopedia."

Zero pushed up his eerie mask and replied meaningfully.

What is it?

"Want to know?"

Zero countered with a question.

"Think."

I won't tell you.

"..."

"I only told you to pique your curiosity, hehe, so what? Now you're even more eager to know what happened?"

Zero's previous terrifying aura has vanished, replaced by the exaggerated winking and grimacing of a primary school student who has managed to pull a prank in class without being caught by the teacher. However, behind the mask, he only looks like a clown gesticulating wildly.

Yan Luo glanced at him indifferently. "You really do have low moral character."

"Wrong!"

Zero corrected him seriously, "I have no moral character."

It seemed impossible to get the key information from Zero. Lin shook his head, turned and walked away, but Zero called after him, "Wait a minute, are you just going to leave like this?"

"... You're not saying anything, and you don't intend to do anything, so there's no need to waste time."

Lin responded coldly, his dark helmet revealing not a trace of human warmth.

"Oh dear, you're always seeing your new and old lovers, partying every night, practically wanting to hold a flute-playing competition at the Anti-Entropy base. Why don't you spend more time with Little Yan Luo? You know, it was me who... uh, got you two to strengthen your relationship."

Under the murderous gaze of Yan Luo, Ling changed his tune and said to Lin while wiping away cold sweat.

Does he know about Lin's involvement with Anti-Entropy?

Unbeknownst to Lin, he was being watched. He solemnly turned around and stared at Zero.

"Haha, I guess what you care about isn't Yan Luo, but what I said. Don't worry, I'm not spying on you, I'm just inferring what's happening to you based on some of your behavioral signs."

Even though Lin doesn't have any feelings for many people, and he rarely judges a person by likes or dislikes, he finds that he really hates Zero.

The abnormal tone is mixed with dangerous words, and when others try to analyze it, the speaker will stare menacingly at the person doing the analysis.

This time, Ling did not stop Lin from leaving.

"Why are you seeing him at this time?"

After Lin left, Yan Luo asked.

"The work is almost done, it's time to do some ideological work with him. A BOSS is not a qualified BOSS if there is no build-up before his appearance."

Zero removes the mask from her face.

But beneath that mask lies another smiling mask, one that can never be removed.

"Is that guy alright?"

After receiving the news from Eden, Mobius frowned, a look of doubt appearing on his delicate face.

"Raiden Mei spoke so seriously before, but now nothing's happened. Could it have been a trap?"

"No, I did see Lin, and I can confirm that it was him."

Eden refuted Mobius's guess, "However, what Mei said shouldn't be unfounded, so something did indeed happen in the Imaginary Tree that we don't know about. Perhaps we should consult with others..."

"Hmph, a bunch of self-centered guys, it's completely unnecessary."

The most headstrong green-haired girl snorted and said, "Bring Lin over so I can check him out. Leave the rest to Klein; she'll handle it."

"That's not what I meant, Mobius."

Eden shook her head slightly with a hint of helplessness. Although Mobius was one of the few people who could get along with her, he couldn't change his eccentric personality. She calmly explained, "It's not Lin, but the Imaginary Tree. You should have noticed that the data in the Imaginary Tree has changed recently. Lin has also noticed this and is investigating it."

Lin, deep in thought about what the appearance of Zero and Yan Luo meant, entered the next area. He planned to first investigate the areas of the Flame-Chasers, as data anomalies often first manifested in these places.

However, after walking only a few steps, he encountered another person.

Moreover, I had just met this person not long ago.

"Forest?"

Her long, wine-red hair brushed against her cheeks as Eden looked hesitantly at the man wearing a helmet.

"Didn't Mei say you were missing?"

"... You already asked that."

"Just now?"

Wrong.

Lin realized something was wrong. Eden was clearly surprised by his appearance, even though they had just met not long ago.

Where were you before?

Lin immediately asked.

"That's what I should be asking you, my friend. Since your disappearance, most of us have gone into the Imaginary Tree to look for you. We should go back and inform them."

Eden shook his head, but Lin felt even more uneasy about what he said.

Most of them entered the Imaginary Tree...

My previous encounter with Eden was also in the Imaginary Tree.

... Was what we saw before really Eden?

No, is this person in front of me really Eden?

Lin stared warily at Eden's back as he turned away, his whole body tense.

The events that occurred in the Imaginary Tree seem to have come to light.

"What's wrong, Lin?"

Eden hadn't heard any noise behind him for a while, so he turned around and asked.

"I've actually noticed some problems. We haven't seen each other for a long time, but not long ago, I went to find Phyllis and saw her in two different areas, but she disappeared very quickly."

A serious expression appeared on Eden's face.

"Perhaps the familiar people we meet are not the real ones."

Chapter Twenty-Two: Fans

"Don't come any closer."