After Old Zheng's comforting words, Lin Yu calmed down a bit.

Although Twenty had most likely already investigated and uncovered his identity, as long as it was "investigated" out, it was completely acceptable to Lin Yu.

After all, just as Twenty had definitely been misled by him, as long as the other party was still "investigating," Lin Yu had ways to interfere with and guide this process.

But what Lin Yu couldn't accept was the existence of beings in this world who could "dox" you just by looking at you.

"Come to think of it, even the 'Banquet God' couldn't see through my true face back then."

Having confirmed his relative "safety," Lin Yu once again adopted the mindset of an observer to appreciate the struggle between Twenty and Fern.

And just as Old Zheng had predicted, Twenty finally took out a transparent bag.

"Names!"

Twenty said in a low voice, then the darkness around him expanded, repelling all the long swords in that instant.

"Giggle, finally going to purchase additional services?" the black cat laughed. "So, all the names?"

"Thirteen... no, eleven will do," Twenty said coldly. "What's the price?"

"Fifteen pounds of fresh meat, thirty-three apples and oranges, one tablespoon of 'Shimmering Gold Powder.'"

The black cat spoke in human language.

Listening to their conversation, Old Zheng understood.

"So that's it, no wonder he's reluctant to use this move. He has a contractual relationship with this Nightmare!"

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow. "So he's not as strong as he appears?"

"No, on the contrary, only pure-blooded Abyssal Nightmares are qualified to form contracts with humans. Ordinary Nightmares would have been willingly subdued directly," Old Zheng said quietly. "This Nightmare is a shining elite, nobility among Nightmares."

"But the price doesn't sound that high either. Fifteen pounds of meat is only about thirteen or fourteen jin, fruits aren't hard to get... Could it be that 'Shimmering Gold Powder' is difficult to obtain?"

"Is Twenty just stingy or poor, making him so unwilling to part with it?"

If it were Lin Yu, if he only needed to pay with fruits, vegetables, and meat, he would have used it long ago.

Old Zheng shook his head. "The rarity of Shimmering Gold Powder in Night Valley is about the same as copper ore. Although not as ubiquitous as iron, it's still a cheap material."

"The key lies in how the Nightmare clan pays the 'price.' It can't be something you 'bought';it must be obtained by your own hands!"

"In other words, the meat must be hunted and butchered personally, the fruits must be picked personally... and he has to scrape the Shimmering Gold Powder himself."

Old Zheng said calmly.

"This is more like a ritual—by the way, don't forget to feed souls to your pocket watch."

"Won't forget," Lin Yu pressed against the [Repaired Fog Pocket Watch] heating up in his chest. "It's been reminding me of this within my soul!"

After using it earlier, Lin Yu found he couldn't put this thing back into his item space.

When he opened it, he discovered the previously stopped hands had begun to reverse—seemingly indicating a 12-hour countdown.

Then, Lin Yu felt information from this [item] being fed back to his consciousness.

Present a soul of an intelligent life within twelve hours, otherwise...

It would be completely scrapped, never usable again.

As an [item] whose cost is to "collect souls," it doesn't sound as tough as similar [items].

Other [items] might either gnaw at their owner's soul or go berserk...

But the thought transmitted by this pocket watch was essentially, "If you don't feed me, I'll starve to death."

Lin Yu couldn't bear to let it starve.

He had already chosen the soul to feed it.

"Alright, deal!"

Over there, Twenty also completed the transaction.

After Twenty responded, the black cat gracefully jumped onto his head.

The black cat's pupils and tail both stood erect, slowly sweeping through the air.

"Standard single-handed bronze sword, function is that of an ordinary sword."

"Quenched ancient blade, an ancient knife, but very hard."

"Federal soldier's sword, a ceremonial sword, but can also be used for combat."

...

The black cat calmly reported the names and functions of the "blades" surrounding Twenty, one by one.

And Twenty was writing furiously on the label of the bag.

Old Zheng couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"He and that cat are like that Light Yagami and Misa Amane."

Lin Yu was surprised. "You've watched Death Note too?"

Old Zheng's brain circuits flashed rapidly. "A little, a little."

Seeing Old Zheng's flashing frequency and that perfectly timed snarky remark just now, Lin Yu knew the other party definitely wasn't just "a little" familiar.

This guy might be the type who would have a lot in common with Chen Zhuo.

And while Lin Yu and Old Zheng were chatting, Twenty also finished writing!

Next, he transformed from Light Yagami into the Rhinoceros King wielding the Diamond Bangle.

With a shake that opened the sealed transparent bag, it instantly sucked in a long sword.

Then, he immediately shook the bag again with a backhand motion, and the long sword shot towards Fern!

"Swish!"

Of course, a single long sword couldn't hurt Fern either;she could easily kick the sword down from the air.

However, after kicking it down, Fern obviously couldn't manipulate that long sword again either.

Soon, the blades in the air were continuously sucked in and thrown out. Eleven of the seventeen blades were sucked away by Twenty!

And Twenty had a reason for reporting the number eleven.

Because for him, six blades were manageable!

"Swish!"

After the last "flying sword" was thrown out by Twenty, Twenty immediately followed up on his advantage, using the pitch-black "Nightmare Substance" to simultaneously entangle the remaining six blades.

The pitch-black substance, shaped like pythons, coiled around those blades. No matter how they struggled, they couldn't break free.

Watching this scene, Old Zheng let out an unsurprised sigh.

"Indeed, there is still an insurmountable gap between 『Third Tier』 and 『Second Tier』... Even without using [Exclusive Items], the difference in foundation brought by the disparity in [privileges] is terrifying enough."

Old Zheng's judgment was clearly correct—with Fern's main means of attack completely restricted, and both 『First-Tier』 and 『Second Tier』 [items] already used up.

This 『Fraudster』 clearly had no more tricks left!

Common sense would dictate that at this point in a battle between Players, the outcome was clearly decided.

But Lin Yu rarely refuted Old Zheng.

"What you say might make sense, but... it's not over yet."

He looked at Fern.

"What do you mean? Does she still have a trump card?"

Old Zheng was very surprised.

"I don't know what it is, but I know she has one."

Lin Yu replied calmly.

Although Fern also seemed shocked...

Lin Yu could tell that beyond the shock, she wasn't feeling despair or dejection. Instead, it was a relatively "troubled" expression.

The exact same expression happened to appear on Twenty's face at that moment—it was the look of someone feeling troubled about having to use a certain "trump card" they didn't want to use.

"Realized the gap in strength between you and me?"

Twenty looked at Fern and spoke arrogantly.

Fern sighed slightly.

"Alright, you are indeed harder to deal with than I imagined..."

Then, her expression underwent a subtle change.

Just as Fern's aura changed, Lin Yu finally reacted.

"I get it! Her 'trump card' is the 'abnormality' we've been sensing about her all along!"

Lin Yu said quickly, and Old Zheng also caught on.

"So that's it. She doesn't have Mania or bipolar disorder, nor is it paranoia. It's..."

Fern's muttering voice rang out simultaneously, overlapping with Old Zheng's voice.

"She has... split personality!"

"Algae... let's switch."