The night was deep and the bright moon had just risen.

At Jiangcheng Media University, in the drama club's activity room.

Lin Yu looked at the message on his phone from Shen Bingmiao: "I'll be waiting for you in the club activity room at 10 PM," and gently pushed open the activity room door.

The room was as messy as ever, with various performance props piled in cardboard boxes. Four desks pushed together were covered with open scripts filled with annotations and unfinished cups of coffee.

Right in the middle of the table stood a plastic stool, standing there like a throne.

This throne naturally belonged to the president of the "Drama Club"—Shen Bingmiao.

At this moment, Shen Bingmiao was wearing bright green athletic shorts and a sky-blue crewneck shirt, her bangs pinned up with a hair clip.

She sat cross-legged on that throne-like stool, flipping through the classic play "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller.

Hearing the door open, Shen Bingmiao placed the book upside down on her lap and looked at Lin Yu, her eyes smiling.

"Welcome back, my dear 'Ace.' Do you have something to ask me?"

Lin Yu pulled over a chair and sat down as well, looking up at the club president.

"Rather than asking, it's more like expressing gratitude—thank you for the phone. It helped me a lot."

Shen Bingmiao rested her chin on one hand. "You're welcome. I couldn't use it anyway, so it was better to give it to you as a convenient favor."

"So how were you so sure I would definitely be able to use it?"

Lin Yu countered.

Shen Bingmiao's expression remained normal. "You're a newcomer... Newcomers aren't picky about items. Having one is definitely better than not having one."

Lin Yu smiled again. "That's a reasonable explanation—but, Senior, I told you last time."

"Your acting isn't good enough."

He said calmly, his gaze fixed on Shen Bingmiao's face.

Even though he was looking up, even though the other person was looking down from above, Lin Yu at this moment still seemed to be looking Shen Bingmiao directly in the eye.

"Senior, I don't have many friends. In fact, you're the only one I consider a friend. So I hope you won't lie to me."

Cornered by Lin Yu's sudden pressure, Shen Bingmiao remained composed.

She picked up the book and used a corner of it to scratch the side of her cheek, smiling as she spoke. "Oh, why suddenly make the atmosphere so serious... Do you think I'm hiding something from you?"

"But what am I hiding from you... Am I hiding from you that I know about the things you're hiding from me? That's such a tongue-twister!"

Lin Yu didn't get sidetracked by Shen Bingmiao's counter-question.

"You really do know about my situation," he said without changing his expression. "I just didn't want to drag you into it. But if you tell me you don't want me to keep things from you, I'll be honest with you."

Shen Bingmiao looked at Lin Yu and stood up from the stool. "My dear junior, your acting is quite good, but these words really aren't very convincing."

"Would you really tell me everything?"

"The S-rank rating from the 'Psychological Society,' your 'Unique Class,' the 'Promotion' from three [dungeons], the dual identity of 'May May'... Which of these would you be honest with me about?"

"Or is it the parts even I don't know about! Tell me, Lin Yu!"

Shen Bingmiao asked loudly, as if reciting lines from a play.

She was aggressive, her words sharp and piercing.

Standing below, looking at the excited Shen Bingmiao, Lin Yu actually felt relieved.

He knew Shen Bingmiao too well—this posture of hers was still a "playful" mindset.

Moreover... the questions she asked, while all secrets he had hidden, were also what he himself categorized as "first-layer secrets"—secrets at this level could be exposed without issue, and could even be proactively revealed when necessary.

Just like what he had done with "Twenty" and Li Hua.

She hadn't touched upon any of the deeper secrets.

But...

"You see, you're still concealing things. You clearly know more than just this."

Lin Yu also stood up on his chair.

He had just exposed some secrets today, and Shen Bingmiao immediately mentioned those exposed parts.

The timing of her confession, the [item] she gifted—even without malicious intent, it didn't seem as ignorant as she appeared.

"Don't treat me like a fool, Senior—what you're hiding from me is no less, if not more."

"Why can an ordinary 'Third Tier' player arrange a meeting between me and 'Grandmaster'?"

"That [item] you 'couldn't use' is also definitely not something that can be casually given away!"

His gaze fell on the script in her hand.

"In this room, we haven't spoken ten minutes of truth!"

Lin Yu spoke a line from the seventh scene of the play.

Shen Bingmiao was stunned for a moment, looked at Lin Yu on the chair, and sighed as she spoke.

"Alright, let's each be a bit more honest... just like I said back then."

"Shouldn't we be each other's most trusted friends?"

Lin Yu crossed his arms. "Then you start first. What's your player code name, and what position do you hold in what organization?"

Shen Bingmiao sighed. "To be honest, I really didn't want to tell you this... But since you asked, I'll be honest."

"My code name is 'Carl Jung.' I'm the 'Interim President' of the 'Psychological Society.'"

Hearing the words from Shen Bingmiao's mouth, Lin Yu instantly felt a chill run down his spine.

"Sorry, since you already know my true identity..."

Shen Bingmiao reached out, and in her hand, a pitch-black gun barrel appeared.

Lin Yu turned around, wanting to jump off the chair and escape, but the moment he looked back, he discovered the club activity room door had disappeared—replaced by chaotic green code.

"Damn it!"

Lin Yu immediately made a judgment, turned back, drew his [One-Shot Pistol] and [Fear Torch], and simultaneously prepared to use [Corner of the Gloomy] to dodge the attack.

But...

It was too late.

"Bang!"

Shen Bingmiao pulled the trigger.

Just as Lin Yu's heart almost skipped a beat, he felt a cold sensation on his forearm.

Water soaked the clothes on his left shoulder and his forearm.

Shen Bingmiao burst into laughter. "Ahahaha, dear Ace, you won't say my acting is bad now, will you!"

"I tricked you—how could I possibly be from the 'Psychological Society'?"

As she spoke, Lin Yu rubbed his temples.

"You trick people this way, of course I'd be fooled."

"So... which organization are you really from?"

He asked this, and Shen Bingmiao smiled as she spoke.

"Do you really want to know? Even if the answer might not be something you like."

Lin Yu looked at Shen Bingmiao's smile. It seemed no different from usual, but he somehow felt a sense of...

Sadness.

But Lin Yu ultimately nodded.

"I want to know, even if the answer isn't what I hope for."

Shen Bingmiao still maintained her smile.

"Then your question is wrong, dear Ace. I really am not a member of any 'organization.' I didn't lie about that. I don't belong anywhere."

"But I lied to you elsewhere... I am not a 'Third Tier' player."

"I am not 'Third Tier,' and I am not a player."

She jumped off the chair, landing lightly on the table, stepping between the scripts and coffee cups, wobbling as she walked to the edge of the table.

Then, Shen Bingmiao reached out her hand toward Lin Yu.

"I don't belong anywhere... not just organizations, but also the world."

Shen Bingmiao leaned forward, and Lin Yu instinctively wanted to take her outstretched hand.

But, the moment their fingertips touched, Shen Bingmiao's hand became semi-transparent.

"Dear Ace, I am the prefix of the gift I gave you. I am what wanders in this world..."

She whispered, her entire body flickering on and off, emitting a pale blue light.

Lin Yu and she spoke the answer simultaneously.

It was a scene that could be described as beautiful and dreamlike, like the replicant standing before the projection in "Blade Runner 2049."

"—A cyber ghost."