Death Game: Starting as a Trickster, Pretending to Be a God

Chapter 850: Clues Pointing to the Gray Domain

The next day, the bus slowly pulled away from the hotel. Lin Yu, sitting on board, let out a yawn.

Shen Bingmiao sat cross-legged, glancing sideways at Lin Yu.

”Didnʼt get enough rest last night?”

”How could I sleep soundly with such a hefty bounty on my head?” Lin Yu countered. ”So, who placed the bounty? Any results?”

”That bounty post was made by a rookie Player who hasnʼt undergone Promotion yet and has only cleared four dungeons. They were probably placed under a psychological suggestion. Their past four dungeon worlds were Pure Abyss, Misty Islands, Wasteland, and Pure Abyss. They likely picked up some kind of influence from within the dungeon. The other party probably knew Iʼd be monitoring those high-level Players closely at all times, so they deliberately chose this newcomer,” Shen Bingmiao said, resting her chin on her hand. ”This is fairly easy to do for anyone with a bit of experience among Players.”

Lin Yu was somewhat surprised by Shen Bingmiaoʼs account. ”In that case, could it possibly be that ʼhidden organizationʼ you mentioned?”

Shen Bingmiao shook her head. ”Not necessarily. Anyone trying to put a bounty on an Order member while hiding their identity would basically take precautions against me.”

”After all, the General and I have a deep working relationship. If he asked me to investigate something, Iʼd just directly do a point-to-point box opening for him.”

As Shen Bingmiao spoke, Lin Yu let out a breath. ”So, you donʼt have any leads for now either?”

Heʼd checked his messages again this morning. Both Li Hua and the Free Alliance had made no progress so far, no leads turned up.

After all, since the other party posted an anonymous bounty, they must have come prepared.

They definitely knew how highly the Director was valued. And given how generous that bounty was, the other party might even have some vague inkling of the strength Lin Yu was hiding.

Coming up empty after one night was only to be expected.

For Lin Yu, he wasnʼt in a hurry either. As long as his safety could be more or less guaranteed, he didnʼt mind waiting a bit.

But then...

Facing Lin Yuʼs question, Shen Bingmiao instead wore a smug expression.

”Ha! How could I possibly have no leads at all!”

She said proudly, ”Sure, I couldnʼt find a way to crack that Huntersʼ Association post, but that doesnʼt mean Iʼm completely clueless.”

”The Echo of Mu Continent, the Earth Scroll, and the Deed to the Twelfth Island. These three items are all quite precious and rare... By the same logic, these three items are much easier to trace than that post!”

”I spent last night pulling up all the past information about these three items... and I found some clues.”

”Although their appearances were all well-hidden, they only fell into Playersʼ hands in the past few months. The original owners probably had nothing to do with the poster. They were all Players with some experience, but not particularly strong ones.”

”Through layer after layer of transactions, these three items flowed into the market. And then, their last known appearances... were all in trades conducted within dungeons.”

”The location of those trades was the Gray Domain.”

Lin Yu frowned. ”Isnʼt the Gray Domain extremely uncontrollable for Players? Why would anyone choose to trade there?”

”Once the Player population grows large enough, even in that uncontrollable ʼGray Domain,ʼ there are always some formidable figures who can grasp certain patterns. Fully utilizing and controlling the Gray Domain is impossible, but knowing some of its rules well enough to use it as a trading venue isnʼt entirely out of the question.”

Lin Yu nodded. ”So... we absolutely have to go to this ʼGray Domainʼ?”

Shen Bingmiao rested her chin on her hand. ”Think a bit more flexibly, my dear ace. It doesnʼt necessarily have to be you going there in person!”

”Donʼt you know someone who frequents the Gray Domain?”

Shen Bingmiao asked, and Lin Yu paused for a moment before realizing who she was talking about.

”Li Nian?”

”Of course. Her next dungeon is almost certainly going to be in the Gray Domain. Have her see if she can gather some clues... I think sheʼd be more than happy to work for you. After all, sheʼs gotten along quite well with you through that Veterinarian identity of yours.”

Shen Bingmiao said teasingly.

”Thatʼs true enough, but didnʼt you also say she might suffer memory loss? Even if she finds something, thereʼs no guarantee sheʼd be able to bring it out... Besides, the Gray Domain is a complicated place. She might not even be able to find anything.”

As Lin Yu spoke, Shen Bingmiao snapped her fingers.

”Let me ask you, if you were going to a place like the Gray Domain where you lose your memories, what would you plan to do?”

”Iʼd use the Ancient Notebook, of course,” Lin Yu said without hesitation. ”That item is specifically designed to counter things that mess with cognition.”

In the asylum on Misty Islands, Old Zheng had also used the former Misty Islands Master and the islandʼs owner combined with his own residual abilities to create a mechanism that forced people into infinite cycles of memory loss.

So Lin Yu wasnʼt entirely inexperienced with this kind of situation.

Though the Gray Domain seemed to have the rules of the entire ”world” causing memory loss, its rank was certainly higher than Old Zhengʼs design...

Plus, the Gray Domain was a world capable of standing up to the Death Gameʼs rules, so its difficulty was easy to imagine.

But Lin Yu believed...

No matter how bizarre and unique the Gray Domain was, the Ancient Notebook in his possession was definitely no ordinary mortal item!

The more he studied it, the more extraordinary it seemed. It even functioned perfectly on the God of Judgementʼs turf.

The ”will not be lost, will not be damaged, will not lose recorded content” written in the item description by the Death Game was something Lin Yu felt he could fully trust.

Shen Bingmiao spread her hands. ”Then isnʼt the solution to this problem obvious? Just give her the Ancient Notebook.”

”After all, in the next dungeon, youʼre going to be playing a First-Tier Thief... You wonʼt need the Ancient Notebook anyway.”

”You canʼt catch a wolf without risking the child.”

Shen Bingmiao said, and Lin Yu nodded. ”Senior, what you said makes a lot of sense.”

Because Lin Yu rarely ever let items out of his hands, heʼd fallen into a habitual way of thinking and forgotten that his items could be traded and lent out.

As for whether Li Nian might not return it... Lin Yu wasnʼt worried about that.

Shen Bingmiao had just teased him about his relationship with Li Nian through his Zhu Ming identity.

But Lin Yu knew better. His relationship with Li Nian as Zhu Ming was far more than just ”getting along pretty well.”

Li Nianʼs trust and goodwill toward Zhu Ming was probably among the highest in the entire Free Alliance.

However, before lending out the Ancient Notebook, Lin Yu still needed to take some precautions.

After all...

He had used the Ancient Notebook quite a few times, and it contained many ”records” heʼd left behind in various forms.

Those absolutely could not be seen by Li Nian.