Staring at his phone, Lin Yu silently counted five minutes in his mind before replying to Li Nian again.
"Is this riddle about solving the time and location? Can't the entire Free Alliance figure it out?"
"I'm starting to doubt the wisdom of wanting to join you."
His words were undoubtedly aggressive.
But after directly encountering the Magician in the previous dungeon, Lin Yu didn't think showing this side of himself was wrong.
As expected...
Li Nian's next reply showed no anger, instead offering an explanation.
"The Free Alliance isn't an organization where everyone constantly works toward the same goal. This is just a commission from one of our members, the Magician."
"Currently, only me in Jiangcheng, along with Prisoner and Undertaker, have taken on this commission."
Lin Yu carefully pondered these code names.
"Prisoner, Undertaker..."
The Free Alliance only had nine confirmed known members externally, with only four code names publicly known: Master Thief, Magician, Chef, and Mountaineer.
Prisoner and Undertaker were code names Lin Yu was hearing for the first time.
Then, Lin Yu sent another message.
"I see, so it's just you and the Magician who couldn't figure it out?"
"Seems you two are a bit slow in this area."
Li Nian replied with a smiling emoji.
"If you can solve it, just say it! Stop beating around the bush being annoying!"
"Of course I can, just give me some time."
After sending this message, Lin Yu turned off his phone.
He certainly didn't plan to reveal the answer to Li Nian now...
Because the "timing" wasn't right yet.
Lin Yu sat in the back of the van, quietly switching to another phone.
The one belonging to Old Yao.
And just as he predicted...
Inside Jiang'an Hall's internal app, he also saw that same riddle.
[Tycoon: @everyone, friends good at solving riddles, quickly decipher the time and location this phrase points to! This is a commission from Order!]
[Tycoon: Whoever solves the riddle will receive 1000 points rewarded by Order and any one internal item from Order! Those providing ideas will also receive rewards!]
"This organization's decision-makers are more decisive and prudent than I imagined..."
Lin Yu murmured while looking at the messages.
This was the "timing" Lin Yu had been waiting for.
If he solved these riddles personally...
He would definitely claim all the rewards he could get.
If Free Alliance members learned the "location" in advance, they might expose it to Order through their movements!
So...
He planned to send the riddle's answer to every organization he could contact!
Lin Yu privately messaged Tycoon.
"I can solve it."
Three seconds later, Tycoon's reply arrived as expected.
"What's the answer?"
Lin Yu tapped his phone keyboard, casually replying to Tycoon.
Tycoon's "announcement" didn't mention Order having already solved the time.
Lin Yu believed this was intentional.
To further verify the "answer's" accuracy.
So, Lin Yu also re-solved the time issue.
Even more precisely.
"The time is Thursday evening at seven o'clock."
"The reason is 'thirty silver coins jingling' points to 'the Last Supper,' which occurred on a Thursday."
"This uses an allusion from the Bible..."
Tycoon replied with amazement.
"Not bad, Old Yao, you actually figured this out!"
Seeing Tycoon's concise and swift reply, Lin Yu became even more certain...
Order had indeed intentionally withheld the "time."
Those who could solve the time would naturally be more credible regarding the location's answer!
Tycoon quickly followed up.
"The time is confirmed, what about the location?"
"'Thirty silver coins' points to Judas betraying Jesus, the Last Supper..."
"Does this mean 'rainbow' corresponds to another biblical allusion, the 'Rainbow Covenant'?"
Tycoon inquired.
Seeing Tycoon's guess, Lin Yu wasn't surprised.
Tycoon probably wasn't the only one thinking this.
Because compared to "thirty silver coins" which clearly points to one allusion, "rainbow" is indeed a much broader image.
Influenced by the latter half, many would associate it with the "Rainbow Covenant" mentioned in the Bible!
After Noah built the ark to survive the great flood, God made an eternal covenant with Noah, "I set my rainbow in the cloud... I will remember my covenant between me and you"—this covenant was witnessed by the rainbow.
But...
Once interpreting the rainbow this way, it's hard to find a corresponding landmark in reality!
So...
Lin Yu gave a negative answer.
"Not so, boss. The rainbow has no relation to the Bible."
Tycoon quickly replied.
"Oh? Then what do you mean?"
Lin Yu didn't directly state the answer, first explaining his reasoning.
Of course, as the riddler, his logic was crystal clear.
"Although the latter half uses a well-known biblical allusion, the first half doesn't come from the Bible."
"But from another equally famous mythological system's most renowned allusion..."
"If just looking at the rainbow, we can't narrow it down, but there's a modifier before the rainbow."
"'Rainbow at dusk.'"
"Since the latter half already specifies the time, why emphasize dusk here?"
"The answer is obviously because... this 'dusk' and rainbow are inseparable clues about the location."
"It points to... the 'Twilight of the Gods' in Norse mythology."
"And the rainbow mentioned during 'Twilight of the Gods' is the Bifröst connecting Asgard and Midgard!"
Tycoon sent a shocked emoji.
"Bifröst... meaning... a bridge?"
"But Jiangcheng has so many bridges—which one could it be?!"
Seeing Tycoon's question, Lin Yu leisurely provided the final answer.
"In the Twilight of the Gods... the Bifröst is broken."
"Although Jiangcheng has many bridges, only one is broken."
"That bridge wasn't built over water."
"As a local, you should know this well?"
"That place... is also very suitable for players to settle disputes!"
Lin Yu looked out the window.
In Jiangcheng's southern suburbs stood an incomplete, abandoned urban expressway south section—left unfinished due to urban planning issues and collapsing once a decade ago from extreme weather...
Before Tycoon could reply, Lin Yu casually added.
"Boss, I didn't solve this myself, but you know... I have some connections."
"All this was solved by a 'friend' of mine—can the reward still count for me?"