Under the mysterious man's instigation, the bounty hunter had already begun grappling with the two men who had caught up.

"Bang! Bang!"

Consecutive gunshots rang out, just as the mysterious man had said...

The bounty hunter really did have a gun!

Unfortunately, his firearm-type [item] wasn't very effective, at least not after two shots, as the outcome remained undecided.

Fern frowned as she watched the three men wrestling, her gaze shifting to the mysterious man and Stiller, but she ultimately didn't speak.

Lin Yu knew why...

Because the behavior of these three was off, as if they had been "instigated" and "bewitched."

Fern naturally suspected the two who were traveling with them but showed no abnormalities.

If the two of them were fine, then they were likely the source of the problem!

And compared to Fern, Lin Yu could also rule out Stiller.

"Truly impressive... what [item] effect is this?"

Lin Yu felt a bit envious and covetous inwardly.

This ability to interfere with people's minds and judgment—if he had it, wouldn't he be invincible with the right coordination?

At that moment, Old Zheng's voice sounded in his ear.

"Hey, kid, those guys aren't right."

"I know they're not right, I'm not an idiot," Lin Yu responded coldly in his mind. "Tell me what's off, how did that guy do it?"

He was certain that since Old Zheng dared to speak up now, he must have noticed something.

After all, from a technical standpoint, as the former leader of the 『Psychological Society』, the First Generation 『Freud』, who even used "cognitive confusion" and "memory modification" as his main methods to establish a psychiatric hospital on the Misty Islands, Old Zheng couldn't possibly be unfamiliar with similar techniques.

"The effect of this [item] is very similar to the 『Arrogant Tongue』 that our 『Psychological Society』 could mass-produce, which many field agents and committee members possessed... Simply put, it amplifies hostility and negative emotions in people's hearts, making them more prone to losing rationality."

"Similar? Are you sure it's not that?"

Lin Yu countered.

Old Zheng hesitated. "I can't be sure it's not... I can only say the activation method of the 『Arrogant Tongue』 is almost identical to this—if it really is the 『Arrogant Tongue』, you need to be careful. It can not only 'instigate' those who are clear-minded;those who are unconscious, comatose, or weak-willed, under the influence of the Arrogant Tongue, can be directly turned 'insane'."

Lin Yu nodded solemnly.

There were quite a few Barbarians and Blood Rakshasas here who were unconscious and seriously injured!

However, Old Zheng remained relatively optimistic.

"But this guy doesn't seem like a member of our 『Psychological Society』. At least during my time, there was no such person, nor does he resemble the type of member from my era."

"Everything he's doing... lacks strong purpose, and the methods don't match either."

Lin Yu nodded. "Indeed, the current 『Psychological Society』 doesn't seem to have this kind of person either."

Although members of the 『Psychological Society』 often scheme in the shadows, this organization would absolutely never operate by "fanning the flames" in such an opportunistic way.

Moreover... he was acting with the ultimate goal of "calming the situation."

Even if the scene became chaotic, at least his surface goal was still to get everyone to pass through peacefully.

If he were truly a 『Psychological Society』 member, he should have started "maintaining" that outcome the moment the Furnace Fire went out.

Just what identity does this guy have?

During their conversation, the two Barbarians over there also started fighting.

"Bastard! I knew you were plotting against Big Brother!"

"Calm down! I'm just saying the Healing Station is gone now, we can't withdraw from the competition just for your big brother!"

It was unclear what dispute those two Barbarians had, but they indeed began grappling, opening a second battlefield.

Not just these two NPCs.

Even many of the originally seriously wounded injured slowly woke up, dragging their broken bodies to start tearing at and brawling with each other.

Fern spat. "What's going on now?"

If earlier everyone was just being "incited," now most people on the field had fallen into "madness."

Old Zheng's voice sounded. "Now I can be certain—it is indeed the 『Arrogant Tongue』!"

"How certain?"

Lin Yu asked in his mind.

"One hundred percent, because I was the one who originally found the method to mass-produce this thing," Old Zheng said calmly. "It seems we guessed wrong;it really is the 『Psychological Society』... Should we try dropping 『Jung』's name? That guy is mysterious and eccentric, I'm quite familiar with him, we could use this to get closer!"

Lin Yu shook his head.

"No, he definitely is not from the 『Psychological Society』."

He was more certain of this than Old Zheng.

Old Zheng was stunned, then chose to believe Lin Yu. "Then what's his origin?"

"But in a sense, he should also be from the 『Psychological Society』."

Lin Yu said calmly.

"I know it doesn't sound logical, but..."

"Thanks to the 『Diviner』 showing me last time, I'm not limited by fixed thinking."

Old Zheng had been with Lin Yu in the last [dungeon], so he immediately understood.

"You mean... something like possession?"

"Could also be hypnosis, manipulation, consciousness modification. What a hassle. Under these circumstances, it's hard to prove this with conventional means, and it's also difficult to make the other party reveal any flaws or clues."

Lin Yu exhaled and smiled.

"But fortunately, in this [dungeon], I don't have to use conventional methods from the start."

As he spoke, he stepped forward.

"Bang!"

Lin Yu's immense power poured into his calf, propelling him forward like a projectile, instantly arriving in front of the mysterious man.

The other party was just about to say something when Lin Yu reached out, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him to the ground.

"Thud!"

The man couldn't utter a word, struggling painfully.

Although Lin Yu rarely played such a violent, straightforward role, it wasn't hard for him to handle.

Moreover, because Lin Yu himself often played roles that schemed in the shadows and hid his true self, he clearly knew what he would hate most if someone disrupted his own plans.

"This stage I painstakingly built can't just be handed over to you for free, letting it become your playground."

He stared at the other, his gaze cold.

"What exactly are you?"

The man coughed violently, a sickly smile appearing on his face.

"Cough, cough..."

"What a reckless guy... but it's strange, why aren't you affected?"

"Interesting—there are far too many abnormal people and things in this Healing Station!"

He didn't answer Lin Yu's question, just muttered to himself, and then...

"Shing!"

A gleaming dagger sprang from his left hand, slashing fiercely towards Lin Yu's hands!

Lin Yu instinctively let go, but then...

"Thud!"

The blade pierced the throat, blood gushing out.

The target wasn't Lin Yu's hands, but his own neck.

His gaze at Lin Yu was filled with interest. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"I'll remember you."

Lin Yu exhaled, watching the fleeting strange energy and black light on the man's body, already having the answer in his heart.

"Indeed, there aren't that many smart people in the world."

The one manipulating all this was already self-evident.

It was the one who had chased him into this dungeon...

"Twenty!"