Lin Yu had originally thought this round was a wash.
With the remaining time, if everyone stayed on the move and he couldn't pinpoint their locations, it would be very difficult to complete the task within the time limit.
His mysterious grand prize was looking unlikely.
However, seeing Ruirui appear, Lin Yu instantly perked up.
Wasn't this the turning point he needed?
"Ruirui, I've got a stitch in my side. Can you come here for a sec?"
Lin Yu waved his hand, beckoning Mao Ruirui over.
Even if he hadn't given her a reason and simply told her to come, Mao Ruirui would have obediently complied.
Adding that excuse was entirely for the benefit of the others listening.
Over at the gathering spot by the living room sofas.
Du Ruxue was sipping coffee she had gotten from who knows where. She remarked coldly:
"A stitch? Looking at his condition just now, he certainly didn't look like someone suffering from a stitch."
"He really is quite the decent actor; you should all learn from him."
Xia Yiwei was the first to chime in:
"You won't find acting this good just anywhere. Little Master is Best Actor material!"
After saying this, she cast a meaningful glance at Ying'er.
If he didn't have some acting chops, how could he have kept up the charade of his identity as Zero for so long?
Even now, Maomao hadn't noticed anything amiss.
Xia Xiashan couldn't help but steal a glance at Auntie Ruxue.
It was just getting caught by Lin Yu, that's all.
It was such a small matter, yet Auntie Ruxue seemed to be brooding over it for ages.
As people were caught one after another and came downstairs, everyone gathered to review the game.
Auntie Ruxue was still saying that if she had come out to "sacrifice" herself just now, it might have been better than Xia Xiashan coming out to "die."
This level of seriousness about the game left Xia Xiashan truly at a loss for words.
It was as if this apartment possessed some kind of magic.
Outside, everyone had different personas and personalities.
But the moment they stepped into the apartment, they would be influenced, or even assimilated, by Lin Yu's style of doing things.
And everyone seemed to have no complaints?
They all looked quite willing to cooperate.
Seeing this in others, Xia Xiashan knew that she had been influenced just the same.
Lin Yu turned a deaf ear to the conversation over there.
Now was not the time to pay attention to them.
The focus wasn't on them at all, but on finding the remaining people as quickly as possible.
Mao Ruirui was the perfect breakthrough point!
"Little Yu, are you okay?"
"Did you... jump down from above just now?"
"Did you hurt yourself anywhere?"
Mao Ruirui asked with concern.
When Mao Ruirui had come downstairs, she had only been thinking about running out as fast as possible to avoid being discovered by Lin Yu.
As for how Lin Yu had gotten down, she wasn't very clear.
She had vaguely felt something suddenly drop down behind her.
Immediately after that, she heard Lin Yu's voice!
Lin Yu beckoned and led Mao Ruirui to the corner of the staircase.
Here, they were hidden from everyone's line of sight.
As for what the people inside might think, Lin Yu didn't care in the slightest.
It was a game, after all.
If they could band together to make things difficult for him, couldn't he use a little cleverness of his own?
"Ruirui, I'm not injured, I just feel like I can't run anymore."
"You guys are amazing; the places you hide are really hard to find."
"Counting you, there are still so many people I haven't caught. It looks like my mission is going to go down the drain."
Mao Ruirui lowered her head: "..."
Faced with Lin Yu's sudden heartfelt words, she didn't quite know how to respond.
It seemed...
Their advantage was indeed significant.
For a normal person to find over a dozen people upstairs and downstairs in a short amount of time...
Just running up and down a lap would be exhausting enough.
Not to mention the added requirement of writing greeting cards.
It was truly a massive test of stamina and mental focus.
It would be absolutely impossible for an ordinary person to complete easily!
"Then, I... is there anything I can do to help?"
"Little Yu, today is your birthday, so of course your happiness is the most important thing."
Mao Ruirui's words were exactly what Lin Yu wanted to hear.
When it came to cooking up wicked schemes, Lin Yu was a professional!
He placed both hands on Mao Ruirui's shoulders and said seriously:
"Ruirui, you were at the top of the stairs just now to keep a lookout for everyone, right?"
"Can you tell me where everyone is hiding?"
Lin Yu revealed his true intentions, directly tossing out the question he cared about most.
Without all the foreshadowing, asking the same question would yield the same answer, he knew.
But phrasing it this way would at least make Mao Ruirui feel a bit better.
It allowed her to realize that she was helping—helping Lin Yu!
And not simply selling out her teammates.
Even so.
Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, Mao Ruirui still revealed a look of panic and unease.
However, the heaven-defying effect of the Beast Token completely dominated Mao Ruirui's rationality.
Her lips trembled, as if she were struggling with all her might against an instinctual reaction.
She wanted to rely on her own willpower to hold the line and protect her companions.
Lin Yu: "!!!"
Hiss!
What strong willpower!
In the past, by this stage, Mao Ruirui would have long since been unable to resist speaking up and answering Lin Yu's inquiries.
She actually held out today?
Although she still looked like she might spill the beans at any moment, Lin Yu didn't have the patience to wait bitterly.
He placed one final straw onto the teetering camel's back.
"Ruirui, I know you have a kind heart and don't want to betray your friends."
"Everyone is just playing a game for entertainment; having fun is the most important thing, right?"
"Could it be that... I'm not as important as your friends?"
"Whisper it in my ear quietly. There's no one else here; no one will hear."
Mao Ruirui: "!!!"
Hearing these words, the coercive binding force thoroughly conquered Mao Ruirui.
She quickly leaned close to Lin Yu's ear and whispered the situation outside to him in full detail.
Lin Yu nodded knowingly as he listened.
After she finished speaking, Mao Ruirui stood frozen in place as if she had lost her soul.
She was so disappointing!
She had actually said it?
Everyone had trusted her so much to let her be the lookout.
In the end, not only did she fail to keep watch, but she had also become the traitor among them!
This made her feel...
"Mwah!"
Confirming it was safe, Lin Yu planted a heavy kiss on Mao Ruirui's forehead.
[Ding!]
[God-tier play! The Saint Son's ambiguous gesture has made the Dao Companion feel especially delighted!]
[Reward: 50 Spirit Stones]
Mao Ruirui: "!!!"
The sudden kiss left Mao Ruirui completely dazed.
Just a moment ago, she had been immersed in the guilt and self-blame of betraying her teammates.
But Lin Yu's move made Mao Ruirui feel that...
Little Yu was right. It was just a game, and everyone being happy was what mattered most.
Who would want to deliberately cause trouble for Little Yu on his birthday, right?
She had somewhat forgotten what she had just whispered in Little Yu's ear.
Did she explain clearly where everyone was hiding?
Should she repeat it to Little Yu one more time?
...
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
