"What a brilliant and perfect performance, a terrifying level of insight! For a moment there, I genuinely thought you really were that woman, and that little girl really was your younger sister!"

"Moreover, you were never over-the-top throughout, showing great restraint, yet every single emotional shift was perfectly sensed by that thief from the 'Free Alliance.' It felt utterly natural... Boss, only now do I truly understand just how masterful your acting skills are—playing the Rakshasa or that 'Detective' before must have been far too unchallenging for you."

"When you disguised yourself as 'Robin' and tricked me back then, it really was to be expected... Honestly, Boss, have you really only been learning acting for two years? I thought you must have started as a child, a true veteran of the stage!"

After leaving the gates of Shengle Middle School, Old Zheng began talking incessantly.

This was unabashed flattery and sycophancy, delivered with such intensity it seemed he wanted to personally present Lin Yu with a lifetime achievement award the very next second.

But...

This time, Old Zheng's direction was spot on.

"A bit too exaggerated, tone it down."

Lin Yu called a halt to Old Zheng's over-the-top praise.

However, judging by Lin Yu's tone, he wasn't actually annoyed by Old Zheng's compliments.

Lin Yu himself knew Old Zheng was exaggerating, but...

He was indeed very satisfied with his own performance just now.

And Lin Yu naturally felt pleased when a performance he was satisfied with received praise.

After all, he wasn't some master of pristine, utterly sincere temperament, nor one whose enlightenment was so profound that he remained unmoved by external praise or blame.

Feeling happy when praised on point is simply human nature.

Although encountering Xia Yang was somewhat unexpected, and Lin Yu's evasion of Xia Yang was indeed a somewhat flustered move under the urgent circumstances at the time...

Subsequently, leveraging the sense of identification and familiarity created by "Xia Yang," by letting Li Nian perceive a different side of "Zhu Ming" and learn "Zhu Ming's" secrets and concerns, he successfully transformed the original "intrusive act" of coming to the school into a relationship where they shared each other's secrets, becoming closer than ordinary fellow 'Players' within the same organization.

Through this move, Lin Yu had indeed taken another step in drawing Li Nian closer to "Zhu Ming"!

The most crucial part was eliciting empathy within Li Nian's heart—Lin Yu's ability to successfully achieve his intended goal was greatly indebted to that brilliant piece of improvisational acting.

"Going forward, the identity of 'Zhu Ming' will become increasingly concrete, at least in Li Nian's eyes."

However, Lin Yu wouldn't let this go to his head.

"But the next [dungeon] involves leading someone again, and it's a 『First-Tier』 leading a 『Second Tier』... that still poses some challenge... right?"

Muttering to himself here, Lin Yu suddenly couldn't help but laugh: "Almost forgot... although 'Zhu Ming' is still 『First-Tier』, I'm actually 『Second Tier』 now."

"And a 『Second Tier』 with four [Specialized Items]," Old Zheng added again, "And even if you were just a normal 『Second Tier』, your acting skills alone are remarkable."

"Honestly, I now feel giving you an S+ potential rating wouldn't be excessive," Old Zheng said, "Truly worthy of being the one who holds me..."

Listening to Old Zheng's incessant chatter, Lin Yu couldn't help but pick him up and ask.

"Although I appreciated your earlier praise, starting from just now, your words have become excessively effusive. What exactly are you trying to say?"

Lin Yu looked levelly at Old Zheng's flickering crevices.

Old Zheng spoke again: "As expected, I can't hide anything from you... It's like this. There were some parts of your conversation with that thief earlier that I'm genuinely a bit concerned about."

"From what she implied... it seems this identity of yours is currently a member of the 『Psychological Society』?"

As Old Zheng spoke, Lin Yu remained calm.

He knew Old Zheng had heard; he hadn't intended to hide it from him in the first place.

So, Lin Yu casually transformed the electronic coffin into the 『Psychological Society』's Tablet Computer and showed it to Old Zheng.

"Yes, code name 『Clozapine』. My respects to you, the first-generation president, Your Excellency 『Freud』."

Lin Yu said teasingly.

Although Old Zheng had no eyes, Lin Yu could feel it was "staring" at the tablet at that moment.

This was the first time Lin Yu sensed Old Zheng's spiritual energy—partly because borrowing that power from Old Zheng at the end of the last [dungeon] had given Lin Yu some understanding of spiritual energy, and partly because... Old Zheng was too focused.

"Director, no, Boss, I..."

"No."

Before Old Zheng could finish speaking, Lin Yu answered him decisively.

Old Zheng was stunned: "But you didn't even hear what I was going to say!"

"I'm only using the 『Psychological Society』 as a stepping stone to meet the conditions for joining the 『Free Alliance』," Lin Yu said, looking at Old Zheng calmly, "So, I won't help you, and I probably can't help you either."

"I can guess what you want to ask of me: to convey greetings to old acquaintances for you, or do something within this organization, pass on some message," Lin Yu said in a low voice, "But no. I understand you have feelings for the 『Psychological Society』, but I also have feelings for the 『Psychological Society』—I hate this organization."

Lin Yu stated directly and frankly.

"I hope you can understand my feelings too."

Hearing Lin Yu's words, Old Zheng fell silent for a long time: "You hate this organization because it shattered your 'peaceful life,' right? So..."

"Don't psychoanalyze me."

Lin Yu interrupted Old Zheng again.

"I'm not. I admit I'm analyzing the reasons behind your words just now, but I'm not trying to dissect you. I'm just telling you a possibility. This possibility is indeed advantageous for me, but I don't mean to deceive you—you know that would be like showing off one's skill with an axe before Lu Ban the master carpenter in front of you, so you can listen carefully and make your own judgment," Old Zheng's speech speed picked up again, "If we assume there was no 『Psychological Society』, no 『Fluoxetine』, you were still destined to join the 『Death Game』? Your will to survive wouldn't shift with time. Someday in the future, when you died, you would still join this 『Death Game』..."

"Sophistry," Lin Yu said coldly, his tone carrying a hint of anger, "This is the doctrine your 『Psychological Society』 adheres to—but is it possible that I could have lived peacefully until a natural death, accepting the moment my life ended without any regrets?"

"Then..."

Old Zheng wanted to say more but suddenly fell silent.

The light within its neural crevices flickered frequently, somewhat glaring.

After a long while, Old Zheng finally spoke dejectedly.

"Now is not the time, but you will understand, 『Director』... You are different."

"You will understand—it wasn't the 『Psychological Society』 that created all this."

Lin Yu simply put Old Zheng back into his [item space]. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

He let out a long sigh.

"Great. Three 'summons,' and two of them are temporarily at odds with me."

He murmured to himself, and Hannah's voice chimed in.

"Croak... then, Director, would you like some soup?"