Inside Carriage 3.
Looking at Lin Yu's calm expression, Wang Yuyang lowered his voice again to ask.
"Are you trying to test Baron's control over the Despair Train while buying time and putting on a bluff?"
"Of course."
Hearing Wang Yuyang's question, Lin Yu felt inwardly impressed.
Indeed, this Designer was quite clever—he was the first among the players to grasp his intention.
Noticing Li Nian moving closer to listen in, Lin Yu continued explaining along Wang Yuyang's line of thought.
"Although this might expose our inability to immediately find that last player... there are benefits too."
"Regardless, Designer eliminated the Airport Gang, and I restored Pang Kedo's clarity while revealing his location—we've already demonstrated sufficient capability."
"But to negotiate cooperation, we need him to know not only what we can do, but also what we cannot.""In Baron's eyes, what identity do we hold?"
"He hasn't touched the realm of gods, so he wouldn't consider the possibility of 'players'—the world prevents him from forming such cognition," Lin Yu said softly. "So we're nothing more than just members of some faction within Sleepless City, including Truth Corporation."
"And he's most likely a former Truth Corporation executive—whether abandoned or exiled now, he's trapped on this train like these prisoners."
"We can't gain his trust through 'identity'—so to make him willing to cooperate, we must make this Baron believe that we genuinely need him too."
As Lin Yu spoke, Li Nian suddenly understood.
"And his greatest advantage on this train... is his familiarity with and possible partial control over the train itself!"
"Exactly. Since I used Pang Kedo's privilege card earlier, I've realized something," Lin Yu said calmly. "Those employees exiled here likely still have their privileges active... they remain valid on this train."
"In other words, that Baron would still cling to his superiority of 'being on home ground,' confident in holding higher privileges than us."
"If we also need his privileges, he'll feel more secure coming to the negotiation table."
Wang Yuyang looked at Lin Yu, unable to contain his admiration: "One link connecting another—what meticulous calculation."
Pan Yuqiang was even more astonished: "No wonder he's S-grade."
She added as if reminding her boyfriend: "You didn't even know Baron existed before... meaning these calculations emerged almost instantly just now."
"The plan itself isn't particularly ingenious, but you formulated the strategy while negotiating with Baron... truly astonishing."
Of course, improvisation is my specialty—Lin Yu thought this but couldn't voice such lines that clearly didn't fit Zhu Ming's persona.
He could only smile gently and modestly say: "My profession offers no decisive advantage in direct combat or survival, and I'm not particularly clever myself, so I can only rely on some 'quick wit'... frankly just some petty clever tricks."
"Besides, I initially somewhat intended to actually find that remaining player."
"Why?"
Li Nian instinctively asked.
"Because this dungeon's level specification isn't low. Setting aside backgrounds like Truth Corporation, just looking at the players who entered... we're a Second Tier, First Tier leading a team including Chen Zhuo who's unranked but has many items; Designer and his friend are two Second Tiers..."
As Lin Yu spoke, Wang Yuyang nodded.
"That remaining solo player is most likely highly skilled too."
"With such experts in this cooperation-oriented dungeon, temporary teaming would be ideal... if cooperation fails, early contact to detect clues would help us stay vigilant, avoiding being caught off-guard when confronting dangerous figures within the dungeon."
Pan Yuqiang also expressed agreement: "Indeed a good idea."
Lin Yu nodded: "Yes, unless that guy is very unlucky or used some special item, his strength should match this dungeon's level."
"Then the question arises," Li Nian voiced her doubt, "where should we look for him?"
Lin Yu continued analyzing.
"He boarded from Carriage 5 but didn't appear in Carriage 3, and he's not in Carriages 9 or 12 either..."
"Although theoretically Carriage 5 can't directly access Carriage 6, since they're adjacent carriages, perhaps we should check Carriage 6?"
This analysis gained approval from the others.
Wang Yuyang and Pan Yuqiang had arrived at Dining Car 3 very early but never saw the player who should have been in their same section.
So Li Nian waved her hand, calling back Chen Zhuo who had been responsible for finding topics to distract Pang Kedo.
The chubby boy cheerfully returned with Pang Kedo.
"Time to depart?"
"Yes, to Dining Car 6."
Li Nian looked Chen Zhuo up and down, noticing he seemed unexpectedly chatty with Pang Kedo.
Chen Zhuo's cheerfulness wasn't surprising, but Pang Kedo—this amnesiac Truth Corporation employee, this middle-aged man with a perpetually bitter expression—now looked quite relaxed, making Li Nian unable to resist asking.
"What were you two talking about?"
Pang Kedo looked at Chen Zhuo, quite moved: "He enlightened me with several profound yet simple allegorical stories and cautionary tales, resolving the confusion in my heart."
This shocked even Lin Yu.
"He enlightened you? Allegorical stories?"
As someone who knew Chen Zhuo fairly well, Lin Yu found this rather unbelievable.
Was this chubby boy hiding his brilliance?
Even Li Nian, Wang Yuyang, and Pan Yuqiang, who didn't know Chen Zhuo well, couldn't help looking at him with expressions of "Did I misjudge him?"
Seeing everyone's puzzled looks, Chen Zhuo couldn't help but chuckle.
"They're called allegories, but I just told this uncle about some anime character experiences that matched his vibe... and casually shared some famous anime lines."
"Like Fate/Zero, Death Note, Devilman, Ghost in the Shell, Berserk, Hellsing, Evangelion, and such..."
Chen Zhuo rattled them off like reciting a menu.
Li Nian couldn't help but facepalm: "Good grief, anime master! It would've been better if you hadn't mentioned these titles—now I'm even more convinced... which of these works are suitable for enlightenment? There aren't even any proper shonen ones among them!"
Chen Zhuo scratched his head: "I don't know either! You told me to chat with him about anything, so I started rambling, and then this uncle suddenly said he found these very interesting and helpful."
"Nobody ever talks about these with me in class, so when he said that, how could I possibly stop myself!"