In the club activity room, Lin Yu and Shen Bingmiao sat side by side on the table.

"So... are you considered dead or alive now?"

Shen Bingmiao sighed, "That's such an unpleasant way to put it, my dear junior—I suppose I'm in a state of being half-dead and half-alive."

Lin Yu couldn't help but sigh as well, "Your description isn't much better... So, you were once a Player, right?"

"Yes, I was once a Player," Shen Bingmiao didn't deny it, "Then I died rather unremarkably in a certain dungeon, completely by accident... But since I already had some tricks up my sleeve back then, I used a method to preserve my consciousness—by transforming my life form to avoid the inevitable death outcome."

"That sounds like a highly advanced operation," Lin Yu said, stroking his chin, "But the phrase 'died completely by accident' is a bit too abstract."

Shen Bingmiao waved her hand dismissively, "Oh, oh, don't worry about those details, my dear ace..."

"Then let's talk about something worth worrying about. So, what exactly is this 'half-dead and half-alive' state you're in now?" Lin Yu looked at Shen Bingmiao, "You suddenly turned transparent earlier, but you still have a physical body in daily life, right?"

"Simply put, I'm now equivalent to a super artificial intelligence AI. I exist in the form of 'information,'" Shen Bingmiao pointed at herself, "And what you see now... is just a body I created by manipulating 'information.'"

"The virtual and the real can be freely transformed. If you were to dissect my current 'physical' body, it wouldn't be much different from an ordinary human body."

As she spoke, Shen Bingmiao poked Lin Yu in the lower back.

"But conversely, even if you stabbed me to death with a knife, I wouldn't pass away from it."

Lin Yu gently brushed away Shen Bingmiao's hand.

"Then why did you hide it from me at the beginning?"

Shen Bingmiao looked at Lin Yu in surprise.

"Why wouldn't I hide it from you at the beginning?"

Lin Yu was stunned for a moment, then realized he had indeed asked a somewhat stupid question.

Shen Bingmiao couldn't just suddenly tell him, "Hello, actually I'm a half-dead digital life form," could she...

He sighed, "Alright... I understand."

"So, your understanding of me is also based on your life form, right?"

Shen Bingmiao nodded slightly.

"Of course, and I'm much more powerful than you imagine!"

Lin Yu looked at the smug Shen Bingmiao and fell into thought, "Let me guess, you must be related to the forum, right?"

Shen Bingmiao was very surprised, "How did you know?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot, Senior?" Lin Yu sighed, "Ever since I came into contact with the Player circle, I've been hearing bits and pieces about the 'forum,' especially from the Order side... They generally know there are countless intricate connections between the forum and Jiangcheng."

"And the items you gave me have similar functions."

"So, after knowing you're a 'digital life form' in a sense, I just needed to use my brain a little, apply even what can't be called 'deductive' logical thinking to sort it out, and I could reach a conclusion."

"You must be related to the 'forum.'"

As Lin Yu spoke, Shen Bingmiao gave a thumbs-up.

"Even so, you're still very impressive!"

"The private message from Furbollo's backend, that was actually you who sent it to me, right?"

Lin Yu asked abruptly.

Shen Bingmiao said with a grin, "No choice. Although that Detective has limitless potential, asking him to find the information about the guy you wanted was a bit too much to ask."

Lin Yu nodded.

Just as expected...

"So, are you the creator or an administrator of the forum? Or are you both?"

He asked curiously. Shen Bingmiao shook her head.

"No—rather than saying I'm a creator or administrator or something like that..."

"It's more accurate to say that I am the 'forum' itself."

Shen Bingmiao said it lightly.

But Lin Yu beside her almost couldn't keep his balance.

Even though he had anticipated that his "senior" was no ordinary person, hearing the answer still shocked him.

"You are... the forum itself?!"

Lin Yu said in astonishment.

Shen Bingmiao laughed happily, "How about it? Isn't it even more impressive than you imagined!"

"However, that being said, I'm actually just working for someone else. You know, in the world over there with the dungeons, there are all sorts of gods and other messy higher beings..."

"Those beings wanted something like a 'forum' in this world, so I took on the task—that's also why the forum has such great privileges, even able to connect to the privileges within the Death Game."

"Then doesn't that mean you can do whatever you want? Like arbitrarily increasing or decreasing someone's points or something!"

Lin Yu said in amazement.

Shen Bingmiao shrugged, "Unfortunately, as I said, I'm working for someone... so I can't violate the forum's basic rules either, and I can't directly act against Players, or even excessively interfere directly with their actions—ah, of course, I do have some discretion in this regard."

At this point, Shen Bingmiao showed a sly smile, "And most Players... even those at the top of the rankings, don't know this."

"Whether it's the General or the Diviner, they all just think I'm a special kind of Player, thinking the 'forum' is just my Heart Domain ability."

"Only the Grandmaster can vaguely guess a bit of the truth—but she doesn't know the whole picture either."

Saying this, Shen Bingmiao leaned closer, tilting her head to look at Lin Yu.

"So, my dear ace... I didn't lie to you. You are the first person to know these secrets of mine."

"You might not trust Players, because Players always have conflicting interests, but... since I'm not a Player, why not try trusting me?"

Lin Yu looked at Shen Bingmiao, at this familiar yet strange senior.

Finally, he pursed his lips, "A relationship of mutual trust isn't really suitable for the two of us... After all, even after saying all that, you still omitted a very important point."

"Why me? It can't just be because we know each other, right?"

"Of course not," Shen Bingmiao said with a grin, "Because you are my 'ace.' I'm willing to place my bets on you—the things that can be won in this game are not just the chance to survive."

"I will continue to help you grow until we can together... glimpse and lay hands on the authority of the 'gods.'"

Her tone was light, as if joking, but Lin Yu knew Shen Bingmiao wasn't.

"That sounds like a very grand goal, Senior."

"Then, are you willing to become my companion?"

Shen Bingmiao asked in return, her eyes sparkling.

Lin Yu looked into her eyes, beautiful like the night sky over clear countryside, and shook his head.

"Let me correct that. Rather than companions, it's more like accomplices."

Shen Bingmiao became even happier, "Accomplices, is it? That's great, I prefer that term too!"

"Then... I hope we succeed, junior."

She said. Lin Yu nodded.

"So, what's in it for me?"

"Since you said you'd help, let's have something substantial, Senior!"

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand towards Shen Bingmiao.

Shen Bingmiao was taken aback.

"You switch gears really fast... Alright, then within my 'privileges,' I'll provide you with a little convenience first!"

"Come to think of it, did you really think those alternate accounts you opened would succeed without me?!"