Chapter 851: Exchanging Items
The Ancient Notebook had been in Lin Yu's hands for quite some time now, and he had long since figured out nearly every secret it held.
Soon, he manipulated the Ancient Notebook to erase all traces of his own past usage.
Then...
Lin Yu switched to Zhu Ming's social account and sent a message to Li Nian.
After thinking for a moment, he sent his opening line.
[Zhu Ming: A Nian, is there something you've been hiding from me?]
After he sent the message, Li Nian's chat box fell silent for a moment before quickly switching to the "typing..." status.
That "typing..." status disappeared before long, and then after a short pause, it appeared again.
After this cycle repeated three or four times, Li Nian finally sent a message.
[Master Thief Anian: Sister Xia, I was wrong. I actually did steal your boyfriend's bicycle before, and I even infiltrated his dungeon... but that was all before I met you.]
[Master Thief Anian: I only did those things because his rating in the Psychological Society was too high, so the boss wanted me to assess him!]
Looking at Li Nian's reply, Lin Yu couldn't help but find it amusing.
At the same time, he knew... his opening line had worked well.
So Lin Yu continued replying to Li Nian.
[Zhu Ming: I actually already knew about all of that. He told me himself.]
[Zhu Ming: Also, for the record, Lin Yu and I were never in a romantic relationship.]
[Master Thief Anian: What, he told you all of that?]
[Master Thief Anian: But aside from those things, I really can't think of anything else I've been hiding from you.]
[Zhu Ming: It's about the Limit-Breaking Jue and the Gray Domain.]
[Zhu Ming: After I got out, I did some investigating. Aside from you, no one else holds an item like the Limit-Breaking Jue. In fact, not even an item with similar functions has ever appeared.]
[Zhu Ming: And the Gray Domain is an extremely special world...]
[Zhu Ming: Be honest with me... are you actually very familiar with the Gray Domain?]
After confirming that his opening line had successfully made the other party feel guilty and flustered, Lin Yu immediately played all of his cards at once, creating the illusion and psychological suggestion for Li Nian that he already knew plenty and had evidence to back it up.
Sure enough, Li Nian immediately sent a string of three kowtow emotes.
[Master Thief Anian: [kowtow][kowtow][kowtow]]
[Master Thief Anian: Sister Xia, dear sister, I was wrong. I really didn't mean to deceive you.]
[Master Thief Anian: It's just that the Limit-Breaking Jue is too important, so I tried my best to keep its existence hidden. If someone really did find out about it, I would just say I stole it.]
[Master Thief Anian: Lying to you that day was just force of habit! I really didn't mean it!]
Looking at Li Nian's words, Lin Yu sent an angry emote.
Although it was an angry emote, the theme of the sticker was a red-faced, steaming little cat.
This sticker conveyed the atmosphere of "I'm a bit displeased, but it's not that big of a deal" perfectly.
[Zhu Ming: Even if it's a habit, hiding it from me of all people is going too far!]
[Master Thief Anian: [kowtow]]
[Master Thief Anian: Sister Xia, I'm really sorry.]
[Master Thief Anian: How about this... I'll find something nice to compensate you. Just tell me which item you've got your eye on and who holds it, and I'll definitely get it for you.]
[Zhu Ming: That won't be necessary. Honestly, I'm not that angry.]
[Zhu Ming: It's just that next time you go to the Gray Domain, I'd like to tag along and take a look.]
[Zhu Ming: I'm quite curious about that realm.]
[Master Thief Anian: Really... actually, my next dungeon should be the Gray Domain.]
[Zhu Ming: You can actually control when you enter the Gray Domain?]
[Master Thief Anian: No, I'm not that impressive. It's just that the timing of my entries into the Gray Domain follows a pattern!]
[Master Thief Anian: Anyway, do you want to team up with me for the next dungeon?]
[Zhu Ming: I have some personal matters to handle in my next dungeon, so that's a shame.]
[Zhu Ming: But... A Nian, I heard that the Gray Domain interferes with people's cognition after they leave the dungeon. Is that true?]
[Master Thief Anian: That is indeed a thing.]
[Zhu Ming: Then check your Social. I'm going to lend you something good.]
After that, Lin Yu opened his Social panel and sent Li Nian a trade request.
On the social app, messages from Li Nian immediately started popping up like crazy.
[Master Thief Anian: There's actually a good item like this?!]
[Master Thief Anian: Sister Xia, you're just giving this item to me like that?]
[Master Thief Anian: This thing would be super useful even outside the Gray Domain, right?]
[Master Thief Anian: This is way too precious!]
Lin Yu replied calmly.
[Zhu Ming: I'm only lending it to you for one dungeon. Return it to me after you're done.]
[Zhu Ming: However, you can come borrow it from me every time you go to the Gray Domain... Of course, I'm not giving it to you for free.]
[Zhu Ming: Just record what you encounter after entering the Gray Domain and let me know when you get back.]
[Zhu Ming: After all, like I said, I'm very curious about the Gray Domain.]
[Master Thief Anian: This trade is way too one-sided!]
[Zhu Ming: If you really think it's that unbalanced, then just help me look into a few things in the Gray Domain.]
Seeing that Li Nian had finally taken the bait, Lin Yu slowly revealed his ultimate goal.
[Zhu Ming: During my own investigation, I discovered that the three items from the Hunters' Association's new maximum bounty all last appeared in transactions within the Gray Domain.]
[Zhu Ming: So, maybe you could look into that while you're in there.]
[Master Thief Anian: Wait, what?! There's actually something like that going on!]
[Master Thief Anian: Don't worry, Sister Xia. I'll definitely get to the bottom of this for you. The Director is your friend, which means he's my friend too. I've got to find out who's putting a bounty on him behind everyone's back!]
Seeing A Nian's reply, Lin Yu typed again.
[Zhu Ming: Then I'll be thanking you in advance.]
[Master Thief Anian: What's there to thank me for... but oh, dear Sister Xia Yue, you just exposed yourself.]
[Master Thief Anian: No matter how distant you try to act with him, the moment he gets a bounty on his head, you're even more anxious than he is!]
[Zhu Ming: No, you've got it wrong. This matter benefits me as well.]
[Master Thief Anian: Hahaha, I get it, I get it... well, anyway, this favor doesn't cancel out you lending me the notebook.]
[Master Thief Anian: Don't forget... rooting out that sewer rat who posted the bounty is the goal of our entire Free Alliance in the first place.]
[Master Thief Anian: After all, it might be a rat living in the gutter, but it's a rat that's dripping with fat!]
[Master Thief Anian: So, as an exchange, I've decided to give you a pretty impressive item too.]
Soon, Lin Yu saw the item information that Li Nian sent over through the Social panel.
[Item Name: Light-Fingered Wonder (Limit-Broken)]
[Effect: When equipped, an ordinary player can use the basic ability of the Thief class once. Players who already possess the basic Thief ability will, after using the ability, be able to permanently keep one stolen item.]