To be fair, Lin Yu still hoped to find a way to make Chen Zhuo realize that Xia Yue wasn't actually dead without having to kill him.
On one hand, Chen Zhuo's willingness to protect him even at the cost of his own life before Lin Yu used "Rewind" had left some goodwill in Lin Yu's heart.
Though it hadn't been particularly useful, this chubby kid was indeed loyal!
On the other hand...
Mainly because if the "Game Master" identity could become permanently established, Lin Yu felt it would ultimately be a good thing.
Furthermore...
Players like Chen Zhuo who were so straightforward and easily fooled, and who had already established natural trust with him, were quite rare.
Lin Yu still remembered that his first bucket of gold earned through the 『Death Game』 was accomplished with Chen Zhuo's help!
Without Chen Zhuo, those fake items couldn't have become real!
It was precisely because Chen Zhuo trusted him so much that Lin Yu felt there might be some room for manipulation.
So, Lin Yu cleared his throat lightly as a plan gradually took shape in his mind.
"Ahem, I have no objection to you finding someone, since it's within reasonable game rules."
"Of course, this doesn't mean I'll personally take you under my wing," Lin Yu waved his hand while looking at the shining Chen Zhuo. "If you're willing, I happen to know a player who has completed 『Promotion』 and cleared eight dungeons, and she's recently been short on money taking freelance work..."
Lin Yu paused before continuing to Chen Zhuo: "Moreover, she's an old acquaintance of yours."
Chen Zhuo asked curiously: "Eh?! My old acquaintance!"
Then, Lin Yu nodded.
"Yes, your old acquaintance."
Such a useful tool—if he hadn't died in the dungeon, having Lin Yu personally kill him would indeed feel somewhat heartless.
Lin Yu patted Chen Zhuo's shoulder.
"Then when school lets out at noon, I'll call her over."
"I'll wait for you at the school gate."
Afterward, Lin Yu left very casually, leaving behind an expectant Chen Zhuo.
And later...
Lin Yu also wandered around near Jiangcheng No. 6 High School's entrance, finding a fast-food hamburger joint to sit in for a while.
He casually ordered a set meal from this burger place that clearly targeted student customers—burgers that cost just ten yuan for three.
Although the burgers were pitifully small, given their price, Lin Yu didn't complain about them either, chewing each burger slowly and thoroughly.
Moreover, after Lin Yu swallowed the last bite of burger, he actually gained some unexpected rewards.
【Miserly Wealthy One: For the next 24 hours, any consumable items you use have a 50% chance of not being consumed. Any items and abilities with cooldown times have a 50% chance of not entering cooldown.】
【Remaining Duration: 24 hours】
He actually triggered a BUFF!
Seeing such a good thing, Lin Yu immediately made a decision and pulled out the 【Bliss Immortal Pot】 to activate its ability, turning this into immortal brew!
Although one already stored buff would be wasted, in Lin Yu's view...
The usefulness of this buff effect absolutely wasn't inferior to 【Sweet Luck】!
If it saved one use of 【Teeth of Prophecy】 or 【Tongue of Deceit】, that would be a huge win!
Or significantly shortening the cooldown of 【False Face】 and 【Counterfeit】 would also be good value.
Looking at this buff, Lin Yu felt greatly pleased, and along with it, his fondness for Chen Zhuo increased several notches.
"They say fools have foolish luck—this chubby kid might really be a lucky star, his face just radiates joy."
"Feels like I'm catching some of his luck just being near him."
Lin Yu felt even more strongly that keeping Chen Zhuo alive was indeed better.
After storing the buff in the form of 【Immortal Brew】, Lin Yu began coaching Hannah on new lines.
"Just say these few simple lines later, then exit stage right," Lin Yu communicated with Hannah through soul connection.
After being constantly exposed to it during this period, this little octopus had become much more proficient in using 【Illusory Ink】.
Originally, she couldn't even properly imitate her own sixth uncle with this skill—just creating superficially intimidating illusions.
Afterward, Lin Yu left very casually, leaving behind an expectant Chen Zhuo.
Hearing Lin Yu's instructions, Hannah looked serious.
"Quack quack! Understood, Director, I guarantee mission completion!"
Then Hannah began quietly muttering to herself, memorizing and practicing her lines.
Time quickly passed.
Chen Zhuo, who had been distracted all morning, rushed out of school and soon saw Lin Yu waving at him with a smile under the shade of a tree.
He casually ordered a set meal from this burger place that clearly targeted student customers—burgers that cost just ten yuan for three.
"Where's the expert you mentioned?"
Although the burgers were pitifully small, given their price, Lin Yu didn't disdain them either, chewing each burger slowly and thoroughly.
He had thought all morning but couldn't figure out which acquaintance of his was already an expert who had completed 『Promotion』.
It couldn't be one of his group chat friends, could it?
After all, Chen Zhuo had no real-life friends, only good friends in some anime group chats.
Even though his status at school had improved, Chen Zhuo still felt he couldn't connect with those bad scallions—though some of them watched anime and played mobile games too, Chen Zhuo looked down on them.
These people just treated beautiful anime as social accessories, only chasing popular IPs and overused memes, completely failing to understand the true beauty of anime culture!
But if there was an expert among his group friends...
Chen Zhuo couldn't help but fantasize about clinging to a powerful expert and soaring, then the two of them dominating dangerous dungeons together and building deep friendship...
Right, there were a few in the group who never used voice chat—maybe it was a really cute girl!
Just as Chen Zhuo was lost in his fantasies, Lin Yu before him spoke again, interrupting his daydream.
"Alright, she's here."
Lin Yu said softly. Chen Zhuo turned to look and indeed saw a girl who could be described as "pretty"—even "stunningly beautiful" in her delicate appearance.
Except she clearly wasn't one of his "group friends."
Though they had only met once, Chen Zhuo couldn't help but cry out in shock.
"Ah?! How is it you—you you you, didn't you fail the first dungeon?"
Though he didn't know her name, since it was the first "dungeon," Chen Zhuo remembered almost everyone's appearance clearly.
And regarding Xia Yue, he had additional memories.
"I know you... the Game Master said you were the one who killed the Lone Wolf!"
Or significantly shortening the cooldown of 【False Face】 and 【Counterfeit】 would also be good value.
"What's going on, Game Master? Didn't you say only I cleared it?"
Lin Yu smiled apologetically: "Sorry, this was also a white lie... because at that time this lady was standing right behind you covered in blood, she had 'almost mutually assured destruction with someone else'..."
"I was worried you'd break down in the 【Settlement Space】, so I didn't remind you to look back."
The delicate girl—the image of 『Veterinarian』 Xia Yue—spoke with a smile.
"Yes, little chubby, I was right behind you at that time."
"Nice to see you again."