"Alright, junior... Now that we've been open with each other, let's stay in touch online. You can come to me if you encounter any difficulties in the game."
"After all, if I stay any longer in this luxurious suite of yours, my colleagues might start rumors about some rich young master taking a fancy to me... Then I'd have people borrowing money from me left and right, and I really don't want that."
Shen Bingmiao said as she patted her butt and left the room, casually taking along the complimentary skincare products and imported snacks from Lin Yu's hotel room.
With a click of the door closing, Shen Bingmiao was truly gone this time.
Only Lin Yu remained in the room, still processing everything she had just said—
The essence of Promotion is the process of making another world remember you.
This was genuinely information not found in the forums or even in the materials of the organizations he had joined.
Lin Yu had never even considered this possibility before.
"My perspective really was too narrow," he couldn't help but reflect.
His approach to each dungeon defied "common sense," so his methods of clearing them were equally unconventional, which was why he had completely overlooked this point.Knowing this now, Lin Yu felt that while the various "abnormalities" he had experienced weren't entirely clear yet, they did hint at some underlying "connections."
"Player potential, the gaze of the gods... coupled with the true nature of Promotion."
"After a few more dungeons, I might just figure out why the gods have their eyes on me and why I was rated S-class!"
Thinking this, Lin Yu felt considerably lighter.
The lingering tension from dancing on the edge of a blade in the last dungeon, surrounded by experts, gradually faded away.
To Lin Yu, Senior Shen Bingmiao wasn't entirely trustworthy either.
But she was still more reliable than a complete stranger.
Having a relatively familiar 'Third-Tier' expert and member of the 'Order' whom he got along with meant he could indeed turn to her for advice when confused in the future.
With that thought, Lin Yu turned to Hannah.
This little one was also a fairly trustworthy source of consultation.
"By the way, Hannah... What did you think of her earlier?"
Hannah pondered for a moment before shaking her head.
"Nothing, Director. Maybe I was mistaken!"
Lin Yu nodded and pulled out the several phones he carried with him.
Shen Bingmiao hadn't contacted him yet—perhaps she had gone back to start shaking her cocktail shaker and was too busy for now.
Lin Yu looked at the phones belonging to Heavenly Artisan and Old Yao.
The seeds planted in the last dungeon were already beginning to sprout.
On the Marauders' app, a pinned post appeared in the general discussion section.
The poster's ID was 'Fish.'
Her name was highlighted in red, and clicking on it revealed her title: "Deputy Head of Beijing Headquarters."
Without a doubt, this was the blonde girl Lin Yu had encountered in the last dungeon.
The post's title was eye-catching and very much in Fish's style.
"Urgent urgent urgent! Anyone good at riddles, come in!"
Opening the post, the content was exactly what Lin Yu expected.
"Brothers and sisters, help me solve this riddle! The answer should be a specific time and location!"
"'Above the rainbows at dusk in Jiangcheng, on a night when thirty silver coins jingle'—what does this refer to?"
"Big rewards for solving it! Urgent urgent urgent!"
The post was made an hour ago, shortly after the last dungeon ended.
Since Fish was a high-ranking figure within the Marauders, the post had already garnered significant attention.
Seeing this, Lin Yu couldn't help but chuckle.
"Of course she'd ask for outside help... But I didn't expect you to post so quickly, Miss Fish."
"Oh, congrats. Mind sharing which side you picked?"
The two available [First-Tier items] for [Veterinarian] were [Collar] and [Animal Medicine].
[Collar] temporarily converts a non-player creature into one's follower, with a failure chance for overly powerful or intelligent creatures. Followers do not respawn upon death.
[Animal Medicine] fully heals a non-player creature and can optionally send it into a frenzied state, with a 24-hour cooldown.
"I chose [Collar],"
Lin Yu replied.
"How interesting. I like your choice,"
Li Nian messaged back.
Lin Yu could almost feel Li Nian's distant 'belief' resonating with him.
But this wasn't his main objective.
He sent another message.
"By the way, A Nian, my intel network has picked up something."
"Jiangcheng might see major activity in the coming days, with experts from various organizations heading here... Be careful."
Li Nian received the message but, unusually, didn't reply instantly.
Only after a long pause did the response come.
"Noted. Your intel is sharper than I expected."
Lin Yu smiled and set the phone aside.
"Perfect. The acceleration on this end is complete too..."
Finally, he picked up the phone belonging to 'Doctor' May.
When the screen lit up...
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
This was the only phone flooded with messages.
99+ explosive notifications, all from a certain famous detective.
"Bro bro, emergency!"
"Call me back ASAP if you see this!"