Chapter 845: The Gray Domain and the Kindest Lie
[A Nian: I'm dying laughing, Sister Xia, look at the group chat going crazy [grinning emoji]]
[Zhu Ming: Is this really okay? Looks like they're about to start throwing punches?]
[A Nian: It's fine, if they still have the energy to argue, it means everyone's alive and nobody's seriously hurt]
[A Nian: You can't just look at what they're saying, you gotta look at what they're NOT saying]
[A Nian: Nobody's bringing up Sister Xiaoyun, which means she definitely pulled her weight... when one person performs well enough to shut everyone up, that's a game-changer]
[A Nian: More importantly, this isn't the first time either. Every time we team up with more than three people for a dungeon, it ends up like this... At the end of the day, everyone's too strong-willed, which makes collective action and cooperation a bad fit]
[A Nian: So when it comes to the Free Alliance's group dungeon events, you better take it easy]
[A Nian: When there's danger, going to the organization for help will definitely keep you safe. But when you're safe, this B organization is absolutely the biggest danger]
[Zhu Ming: That's actually pretty interesting... the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward]
[A Nian: As expected of a former Psychological Society member, Sister Xia, I can't match that level of insight]
[Zhu Ming: Just kidding. It's only because the dungeons I originally had were each more troublesome and dangerous than the last]
[A Nian: That serious? How about I team up with you for the next dungeon and let the all-powerful Master Thief carry you?]
[Zhu Ming: Then I'll leave it to you. I'll go buy a Team Card right now]
[A Nian: [kowtowing] I was just shooting my mouth off, sis. Going into a dungeon together is fine, but definitely don't count on me]
Lin Yu couldn't help but chuckle at the emoji of a little figure desperately kowtowing that Li Nian had sent.
Shen Bingmiao watched Lin Yu chatting and suddenly leaned in close out of nowhere.
Lin Yu was a bit surprised. "What are you doing?"
Shen Bingmiao was even more surprised than him. "I thought you'd immediately flip your phone screen down so I couldn't see it?"
"This thing is your urn, what would be the point of flipping the screen down?" Lin Yu said helplessly. "Besides, there's nothing to hide here."
"Don't make it sound like I'm prying into your privacy. I can't even see your chat history," Shen Bingmiao said with waning interest as she sat down, glancing at the chat window. "Oh ho, you're teaming up with the Master Thief?"
"No such plan, but is there a problem with that?"
"Her next dungeon is in the Gray Domain."
Shen Bingmiao said calmly.
Lin Yu spoke in surprise. "You can predict the next world already?"
"No, it's because based on the data I've collected, she gets a Gray Domain dungeon once every four instances... That girl must be quite favored by someone in the Gray Domain. Counting it out, the next one should be it."
"She's only been around for a short while, but she's already one of the players who's visited the Gray Domain the most times..."
Lin Yu was shocked. "She's been hiding a secret like that?"
"Of course. The Gray Domain is a damn place I don't even understand well myself. It's too special... and because of that, it's also very dangerous."
Shen Bingmiao said seriously.
"What makes it so special, and what makes it so dangerous?"
Lin Yu asked curiously.
"The worlds of the Gray Domain can resist and interfere with the Death Game itself to a certain extent. The environment there and the native inhabitants are incomparable to the other six realms," Shen Bingmiao said calmly. "And... the Gray Domain worlds don't have a unified and stable power system."
"It has cultivators, superpowers, ghosts, magic, high technology... And the fact that all these powers can completely coexist within the Gray Domain is enough to show how chaotic its rules and origins are."
"Players who enter the Gray Domain, even if they make it out alive, will be affected by that world and lose most of their memories when they leave. That Master Thief is probably the same."
Lin Yu nodded.
"I see... So Senior, do you think I should go or not?"
"Of course I'd prefer you never go. It's a world where I can't help at all," Shen Bingmiao said gravely. "It's no longer a matter of danger... it's eerie."
Lin Yu nodded.
"I understand."
He'd always been one to take advice.
Although Li Nian seemed to have survived the Gray Domain multiple times, Lin Yu wouldn't develop a restless curiosity about it because of that.
Even though the things Li Nian had in her possession from the Gray Domain were quite tempting.
"Still, looking at it that way... the Limit-Breaking Jue probably wasn't stolen by Li Nian, but something she got herself in the Gray Domain..."
Lin Yu pondered.
Just the high return of that Limit-Breaking Jue alone was enough for Lin Yu to recognize just how high the risk behind the Gray Domain might be.
"Alright, it's about time. I should head back to my room. You get some rest too. We still need to keep moving tomorrow."
As she spoke, Shen Bingmiao walked back toward Lin Yu's door.
"Yeah, see you, Senior."
Shen Bingmiao waved at Lin Yu and pushed open the door.
A moment later, she closed the door again.
Lin Yu heard the sound of the door closing and realized Shen Bingmiao was still in the room, which made him curious.
"What's wrong, Senior?"
Shen Bingmiao's expression was extremely sour, which made Lin Yu tense up involuntarily.
Could it be some dangerous figure?
Who could make Senior look this grim and still come knocking with such confidence... Could it be one of the top ten on the leaderboard?!
Just as Lin Yu's thoughts were racing, Shen Bingmiao spoke up.
"We're screwed! There are juniors outside the door holding a cake and flowers, waiting! They want to celebrate your birthday!"
"It's just past midnight right now. They must have timed it to the minute. When I opened the door, they were about to knock!"
"But your birthday isn't today, right? What's going on?"
Lin Yu was also stunned. "My birthday definitely isn't today..."
But both he and Shen Bingmiao realized it at the same time. They simultaneously pulled out their phones and checked Lin Yu's QQ profile.
The birthday displayed on it was today!
"I filled that in randomly," Lin Yu said with a wry smile. "I really hate to disappoint everyone's good intentions... but I should probably open the door and explain."
As he spoke, Lin Yu opened the door.
Outside, just as Shen Bingmiao had said, was a group of juniors holding a cake and flowers.
"Happy birthday! Lin Yu!"
Although Shen Bingmiao's door opening had interrupted them, they still shouted their blessings in unison the moment they saw Lin Yu.
Lin Yu looked at the cake with "Happy 21st Birthday, Senior Lin Yu" written on it, with a crude cartoon figure drawn beside it, and for a moment, his explanation got stuck in his throat.
In the end, a warm smile spread across his face.
"Thank you, everyone... I'd even forgotten, today is my birthday!"
"I'm so touched that you remembered."
He lied, but this time he didn't put on a performance.
"Come on in, everyone, let's share the cake together!"
Suddenly, Lin Yu felt that the urgent and dangerous matters of the Death Game he'd been agonizing over just moments ago seemed to fade and recede all at once.
Even without performing, even off the stage...
"This is nice."
Lin Yu sighed with feeling.
However, that feeling only lasted a moment.
The junior holding flowers on the left spoke cautiously.
"Um, Brother Lin, are we really okay to come in?"
Another junior also nodded and asked, "Are we interrupting you and the president?"
Lin Yu and Shen Bingmiao looked at each other, then spoke in unison.
"You've got it wrong! We were just reading a new script!"