Lin Yu left the office under the guidance of President Paris's driver.

Although Lin Yu's final words sounded like he was about to snitch, the very fact that he said them out loud made President Paris certain he wouldn't.

That seemingly teasing and joking remark was actually a signal of goodwill.

After all, President Paris had just engaged in negotiations with Lin Yu out of goodwill as well.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have told Lin Yu so much of the information he possessed.

"This mysterious guy's origins are unclear. Although Miss Huo Le trusts him, whether there's someone else behind him, and who that might be... is truly hard to say!"

Of course, Paris could sense that Lin Yu had been deliberately probing and even fishing for information from him just now.

However, Paris naturally didn't think Lin Yu was fishing because he didn't know these things.

He simply assumed the other party wanted to understand how much he, Paris, grasped about the current power struggle among the nobles.

"Who wants to understand me or win me over... Excluding Mr. Huo Shu, could it be someone from the Autumn family?"

"The worst-case scenario might be that Miss Huo Le has grown suspicious of me and deliberately sent him to test and warn me..."

Paris pondered, feeling only that it was extremely troublesome.

Ordinary people thought he now held a high position of power, standing atop the peak of Sleepless City.

But Paris understood clearly that even if he couldn't currently be described as treading on thin ice and had some foundation, ultimately, he still lacked deep roots!

Precisely because he stood at the mountain's peak, he could look up and see that oppressive, dark sky!

On ordinary days, it was fine, but now, with three of the five great noble families undergoing power transitions, this terrifying vortex would undoubtedly swallow the lives and fortunes of countless commoners.

Even though Paris carried far more weight than those lower-third or middle-third residents, he was also much closer to the center of this conflict than ordinary people.

"However, perhaps because of this, this 'Detective' came to me to signal goodwill," Paris took a bite of the orange in his hand, letting the juice splash onto the table as he muttered to himself, "Saying he owes a favor is essentially trying to trade and cooperate with me..."

"Having pretended to be a coward and a waste for so long, only now, with the situation in chaos, does he bare his fangs—for so long without revealing a flaw, I couldn't see through it, and I imagine few in Sleepless City know this side of him... Looking at it this way, he seems like a more remarkable figure than I imagined."

Recalling their brief negotiation, Paris seemed to see an ambitious schemer full of ambition.

"'Hatred Copper,' 'Jadeite Laurel,' 'Heart Vein Stone'... These things probably aren't baseless rumors either. I should still keep an eye out for him."

"Truth Corporation's 'Emotional Energy,' Divine Power Group's 'Life Conversion,' Universal General Chamber of Commerce's 'Fusion Implantation'... Dabbling in three forbidden alchemies at once, tsk, only these mysterious outsiders would dare to do it. If they can achieve some results, that wouldn't be bad either."

Thinking this, Paris waved his hand.

Another hidden secret door opened, and footsteps stopped behind Paris.

"You watched the whole process just now. What do you think of that guy? Is he trustworthy?"

The response to Paris was a stretch of silence.

Paris turned around to look at the newcomer and said unhappily, "What's wrong? Did you lose your brain after being out of contact in the Great Wasteland for a while?"

"I'm asking for your opinion—didn't you also cross paths with him on the train? Can't you even give an evaluation of someone you've met?"

Standing behind Paris, Stiller sighed.

"I don't know. I just feel he's... a completely different person from when he was on the train."

Paris nodded. "So he really is quite good at pretending."

Stiller really wanted to remind Paris that it probably wasn't an act, but that they were genuinely two different people.

But he hesitated and ultimately didn't speak up. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

After all, Stiller couldn't very well explain to Paris how he discerned that the other wasn't the original person, but someone else perfectly disguised as him.

He had hidden from Paris the fact that he had become a certain "Player's" subordinate, only saying he had been in the Great Wasteland before.

On the other hand, although before meeting Paris and while following Lin Yu's activities, Stiller had firmly believed he still prioritized loyalty to Truth Corporation and President Paris.

After all, everything he had was given by Paris.

His status, wealth, even his skills and life itself, all originated from Paris.

But...

When he saw "Furbollo" walk into the hidden security room and spent a few seconds confirming it was Lin Yu...

Stiller instead fell into a dilemma.

Because of that connection with Lin Yu that superseded everything else, Stiller couldn't do anything to directly harm Lin Yu.

But this didn't mean Stiller had to prioritize Lin Yu's interests in every situation.

Yet, even when Stiller had a choice...

In the end, standing before President Paris, Stiller still didn't reveal the truth.

"Probably... Lin Yu won't act against Paris either..."

Stiller thought, only opening his mouth to remind President Paris.

"That, President... I think you still need to be prepared. He might use this 'favor' very soon."

Stiller said.

"And that guy might very well cause major trouble immediately."

As he spoke, President Paris laughed. "Then I'd like to see just how much trouble he can cause!"

Seeing President Paris so confident, Stiller suddenly gained some insight.

Right...

What was he worried about?

Both Lin Yu and Paris were extremely intelligent figures, far surpassing himself.

His worrying back and forth here was completely unnecessary!

"Let things take their natural course!"

Stiller thought, entering slacker mode.

...

In the sedan smoothly driving along the roads of Sleepless City, Lin Yu once again closed his eyes to rest.

"Successfully found a channel to meet Sleepless Sky Huole through Paris, and also found a reason to meet Sleepless Sky Huole..."

"More importantly, now I have a basic understanding of Sleepless Sky Huole. After meeting, adapting on the fly shouldn't reveal any flaws... This counts as exceeding my goals."

"Stiller has probably already met Paris. Given our interactions during this period, this guy will at least remain neutral... It was still too rushed. If it were a bit later, he might have completely sided with me."

Lin Yu pondered, then felt somewhat emotional.

"In short, I've done everything possible to the extreme... Next, it depends on luck. I hope everything goes smoothly."

"No matter what, I really owe it to Fu Luo's loose tongue last time."

"Of course, I'm not using his identity for free—at the very least, Fu Luo will discover next time that his relationship with President Paris has also improved!"