Death Game: Starting as a fraudster, pretending to be a god.

Qianhuan and Lao Zhou were quite confident in Xiaoyun's abilities.

Although Xiaoyun's direct combat strength is not particularly outstanding, the "profession" of "embalmer" determines that Xiaoyun's abilities are very versatile and can adapt to various combat situations.

Within the entire "Freedom Alliance," this woman, who always seemed devoid of emotion, was undoubtedly among the top in terms of combat intelligence alone.

Both "Comedian" and "Inventor" have admitted that if they were still at "Tier 3", they might not be a match for Xiaoyun.

but……

That was when Xiaoyun was at the 'third level'.

If she were to truly face a fourth-tier opponent, the "qualitative" difference in their direct strength would make it impossible for Xiaoyun to have any chance of winning.

Even escape is an extremely low probability event.

Or……

It is rare for a 3rd-tier being to escape from a 4th-tier being.

"Of course he let me escape on purpose. I can't have escaped on my own," Xiaoyun said calmly from between the two in the tunnel. "I couldn't have done that at all... I don't even know what abilities 'Nioh' has."

She answered the question about how she was able to escape from Niou, which naturally raised a new question.

"Niou...why did you let you go?"

Qianhuan asked, puzzled.

“It wasn’t just that they let me go. Yan Guang from the ‘Player Mutual Aid Association’ was also there… He was going to keep me, but Niou stopped him instead—isn’t that strange?”

Xiaoyun added.

Even Lao Zhou was starting to take notice: "Could it be that the 'Player Mutual Aid Association' is plotting something?"

Xiaoyun shook her head: "I don't think it's a conspiracy. First of all, this happened by chance... Secondly, 'Renwang' hinted in his words that he knew I was a member of the 'Freedom Alliance' and that he expressed his unwillingness to fight against our organization's 'Fourth Order'."

"And... I'm starting to suspect that 'Niou' might have some connection with Ao."

Qianhuan frowned: "I haven't heard the boss mention anything about this... It's possible that the two have met, but where does the claim of 'having a relationship' come from?"

After all, Fang Qing seems to have dealt with all the current 'Tier 4' players. There are only a few 'Tier 4' players to begin with, so it's not surprising that they know each other.

Old Zhou stroked his chin and said, "'Player Mutual Aid Association' is a relatively neutral organization, so it's not surprising that Fang Qing and 'Nioh' have a personal relationship. I remember 'Nioh' is quite young, maybe the two of them have played games together?"

The three chatted as they made their way through the tunnel, which soon merged into a utility shaft.

Because Xiaoyun is quite clean, when Lao Zhou was digging a tunnel using the [Nether Alloy Pickaxe (Efficiency 4)] given to him by Fang Qing, he specifically chose to merge the tunnel into a fiber optic cable well instead of a sewer well.

They walked along the manhole for a while and soon found a manhole cover.

This manhole cover was also the starting point for their infiltration, located on a small road two kilometers away from the International Convention Center.

After pushing open the manhole cover, the three were about to climb out when they suddenly discovered...

A head peeked out from behind the manhole cover.

Qianhuan was startled: "Holy crap, someone's here!"

Old Zhou immediately put down the body bag in his hand, summoned his crutches, and prepared for battle.

As for Xiaoyun...

He took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.

Although it was afternoon, the people peeking out of the manhole were backlit, making it difficult to see their faces clearly for a moment.

However, when Xiaoyun shone a flashlight on it, she could see it clearly.

"It's you, 'Zhu Ming'."

Xiaoyun called out the other party's code name.

Qianhuan and Lao Zhou also recognized Zhu Ming squatting at the well, and both breathed a sigh of relief.

"It turns out to be you."

"Why are you squatting here so quietly...it's really startling!"

Old Zhou put away his weapon, picked up his black duffel bag again, jumped out of the manhole, then threw down the bag and pulled Xiaoyun and Qianhuan up one in each hand.

Lin Yu looked at the three of them and explained with a smile, "I didn't mean to ambush you. I was just passing by... but I suddenly realized that your 'exit' was here, so I came to take a look."

Xiaoyun blinked curiously: "How did you know we were here?"

Lin Yu pointed to an electric car parked on the side of the road.

“I saw this car in the Chef’s garage yesterday, and the license plate number is correct... So I guess you must have some kind of setup around here. A quick search didn’t find anyone, but we found that this manhole cover had been turned over. If we follow the path down, we can see a tunnel that has been dug next to this pipe. So with a little analysis, we can guess what’s going on.”

Lin Yu said seriously.

He didn't lie to any of the members of the "Freedom Alliance." He genuinely hadn't originally planned to stake out the three people there; he only figured it out after he happened to bump into the Chef's car.

Of course, this conclusion was only reached because Lin Yu saw Xiao Yun and confirmed that members of the "Freedom Alliance" had indeed infiltrated the venue.

Qianhuan was quite surprised: "Wow, that's amazing... 'Zhu Ming,' you're so perceptive."

“Luck played a big part,” Lin Yu’s gaze shifted downwards, landing on the body bag Old Zhou was carrying. “So you went to…steal a corpse?”

“Yes, because I heard there was a murder this morning, and a ‘candidate’ and several campaign team members died,” Xiaoyun said with a satisfied smile. “I checked the deceased’s information and found that although they weren’t particularly strong, I could use the ‘professions’ of two of them, and they happened to be two ‘second-tier’ individuals, so I came here first—also as a scouting trip, to prepare for infiltrating again in a few days.”

Lin Yu pretended not to know their infiltration methods and asked, "So, you infiltrated through underground pipes? Are these pipes connected to the convention center?"

"It's not connected, we just dug a little," Old Zhou said modestly. "With the [tools] Fang Qing gave us, it's still very convenient."

Lin Yu asked calmly, "If I want to sneak into the 'venue,' can I use this passage you dug? Is it safe enough?"

He showed interest in the passageway.

After all, if he could use the "Freedom Alliance" route, his safety level would be much higher if he sneaked back.

“It’s very safe. Even if we let the ‘Player Mutual Aid Association’ search, they probably won’t find it,” Qianhuan said confidently. “I disguised the entrance over there with ‘magic tricks’... No one in the venue can see through it now.”

“However… if you go, be careful. Although I don’t know what you do, I don’t recommend you go in now,” Qianhuan reminded her in return, “because there are quite a few experts inside—Xiaoyun was even discovered by ‘Niou’… Although ‘Niou’ kindly let Xiaoyun go, we are not sure if ‘Niou’ will let you go next time.”

Old Zhou nodded: "In addition to 'Nioh'... many 'Order' and 'Night Watch' 'Tier 3' experts have also come. Although 'Director' is indeed inside and can provide support for you, he may not have that much freedom of movement."

As Lao Zhou was speaking, Xiao Yun asked, "So you went in to find him?"

“Yes, it’s not urgent, but I do need to go there in person… Don’t worry, everyone, with the ‘Director’ covering for me, I’ll be fine,” Lin Yu said, looking at Xiao Yun, “But… Xiao Yun, you actually bumped into ‘Niou’ and he let you go?”

Xiaoyun nodded and repeated her analysis: "Perhaps the other party doesn't want to offend Fang Qing... After all, A Qing has probably fought against all the 'Fourth Order', and maybe he left some psychological trauma on 'Renwang'."

“That would be even better. If I really encounter ‘Niou,’ I will introduce myself, which will be an extra layer of protection,” Lin Yu said with a smile. “But speaking of which… why are there only the three of you? Where are ‘Chef God’ and ‘Comedian’? Why aren’t they with us?”

"The 'God of Cookery' is preparing food at home, and the 'Comedian'... as a 'Fourth-Order' he's too conspicuous. If 'Nioh' is present, and something happens, it would be easy for them to sense each other's presence if he uses his ability," Qianhuan explained. "However, last night he said he would drive to pick us up today and wait for us in the car, but something went wrong. This morning he sent us a message saying he had something urgent to attend to and left, and we still don't know what he's been up to."

Lin Yu was somewhat surprised: "Could it be that the 'comedian' has run into some trouble?"

“We can’t really help with a problem caused by a ‘fourth-level’ individual,” Old Zhou said magnanimously. “If there’s a real problem, he’ll call Fang Qing and Old Wu himself… Besides, judging from his evasive manner, it’s probably not a big deal, but rather some trivial matter.”

As Lao Zhou spoke, Qian Huan pondered and said, "If I remember correctly, the comedian seems to have a child here..."

Lin Yu looked surprised: "His kids are already in college?"

The comedian looks to be at most forty years old, or even in his thirties. Although he does look like an older man, his children are probably not old enough to be studying or working in another city.

Xiaoyun said in a low voice, "I do know that... he's divorced."

"The comedian's ex-wife lives in Shenzhen with her child."

Lin Yu was greatly surprised: "There's such a thing?"

Not only Lin Yu, but also Qian Huan and Lao Zhou showed expressions of surprise.

"What?! The comedian is divorced? And he has a child with his ex-wife?!"