After Lin Yu used the [Fear Torch] to ignite all the monsters in this space, Li Nian realized her intervention was no longer necessary.
And...
Since this wave of monsters was eliminated far faster than expected, no other immediate dangers would appear for a while.
Now she couldn't use the excuse of "bad timing" or "urgent situation" to avoid explaining things anymore.
So Li Nian walked over and sat down beside Lin Yu, crossing her hands behind her head.
"I thought you used that torch because you recognized this train's origins."
Hearing Li Nian's words, Lin Yu pondered thoughtfully.
But to maintain Zhu Ming's persona and ensure the figure's origin story held up, Lin Yu offered an explanation.
"This isn't actually my figure;
it's more like a friend gave it to me at a heavily discounted price... Actually, you just met him recently."
As Lin Yu spoke softly, Li Nian immediately thought of that "May May" she'd met a few days ago.
Then Li Nian looked impressed.
"Oh wow, that guy... He's quite generous, isn't he?"
The girl pulled down her sunglasses to look at Lin Yu, her eyes sparkling with intense gossip curiosity.
"So... what's the relationship between you two?"
Li Nian asked excitedly.
Lin Yu froze for a moment.
He had indeed been working hard to create the impression that the identities of "Zhu Ming," "May," and "Old Yao" were all interconnected, but...
He never expected that in Li Nian's eyes, the connection between Zhu Ming and May seemed suspiciously intimate!
This made even the usually unflappable Lin Yu feel somewhat awkward now.
So I'm having an affair with myself, is that it?
Even if people genuinely misunderstood him having some improper relationship with a girl, Lin Yu would typically just smile faintly and brush it off calmly.
Back in high school, because of his striking looks and outstanding performance in a school play, he'd been pursued by another attractive girl from a well-off family.
Both were exceptionally good-looking—him being the top student, her the young mistress—naturally sparking plenty of discussion at school.
Rumors inevitably spread that the two were already together.
But Lin Yu never felt the need to clarify—what did other people's opinions matter to him?
Besides, the girl didn't seem to care either.
Only today did Lin Yu realize...
His previous calmness was only because those rumors hadn't been too outrageous.
Now facing this kind of "misunderstanding" like "Zhu Ming and May are having an affair," Lin Yu actually felt somewhat uncomfortable.
But currently playing the role of "Zhu Ming," Lin Yu couldn't really explain anything.
He could only say somewhat helplessly.
"That's none of your business, is it?"
Hearing "Zhu Ming's" response only made Li Nian more convinced there was some secret relationship between them.
"How could it be none of my business? If you want to join the 『Free Alliance』, you can't hide things like this from us!"
"This is part of the organization's assessment process... While 『Order』 requires background checks, our 『Free Alliance』 has similar requirements."
Li Nian said with complete seriousness, but Lin Yu immediately called her bluff.
"No, you just made that up right now, didn't you?"
"The 『Free Alliance』 definitely doesn't have such joining rules... Anyone could tell just from your organization's name."
Caught in her lie, Li Nian couldn't help but click her tongue in frustration.
"Tch, what a shame, I was so close to pulling it off."
"I think you were actually quite far from succeeding... I could tell it was made up too."
Chen Zhuo couldn't help speaking up from the side.
"Don't interrupt," Li Nian glared fiercely at her employer, threatening him, "or I'll sneak into your house tonight and replace all your wife figures' heads with Kenshiro! And I'll copy your browsing history and post it in your class group chat!"
Chen Zhuo immediately fell silent.
Watching Li Nian—frustrated at missing out on gossip—taking her anger out on someone weaker, Lin Yu sighed: "We don't have that much time to waste. Let's get back to the main topic."
"A Nian, what's the deal with this train exactly?"
Asked again about the main subject, Li Nian glanced at the nearly consumed monsters in the carriage and quickly began explaining without further digression.
"I've never been on this 'Despair Train' before, but someone in our organization was fortunate enough to enter here once... This is a special express functional train belonging to 'Truth Corporation'."
"Truth Corporation?"
Chen Zhuo's face showed confusion.
"It's a company famous for 'alchemy,' with core technology centered around converting souls and the emotions they generate into physical substances and energy."
Lin Yu explained to Chen Zhuo based on his previous experiences in 【Frostpeak Mountains】.
His manner of answering made it seem like he was quite familiar with the company, just casually sharing information.
But Lin Yu knew perfectly well...
This was pretty much everything he knew about Truth Corporation.
However, just as Lin Yu expected, Li Nian supplemented his explanation.
"Exactly, Truth Corporation is one of the top-tier forces currently known across the Ten Realms, worshiped and protected by the 'God of Wisdom' and 'God of Miracles.' You can find their influence in most dungeon instances within the 'Secret Realms'," Li Nian added, then turned to Chen Zhuo and extended her hand, "Hey, fatty, pay me 200 points—that was all classified information from within the 『Free Alliance』. Since you're not a member, you owe me."
Then she looked at Lin Yu: "I'll consider this an advance for you too. No charge, but you owe me a favor now, Sister Zhu Ming."
Lin Yu said helplessly: "I never said I wanted to hear it... And how do you know I wasn't already aware of this?"
"Anyway, just remember you owe me one," A Nian turned back to Chen Zhuo, beckoning with her finger, "Hurry up, give it to me."
Chen Zhuo looked bewildered: "How am I supposed to give it to you right now..."
"Good point, then I'll just help myself!"
As she spoke, Li Nian turned her hand over, and a hexagonal gray metal block appeared out of nowhere in her palm.
"Oh, Hive Energy Shield—worth about 140 points... Consider us even."
Chen Zhuo's expression changed as he touched his chest: "When did you take that? How could you even take that?"
Seeing Chen Zhuo's panicked look, Li Nian laughed: "Just kidding, here you go."
She tossed the metal block back to Chen Zhuo.
Even though it was his own item, Chen Zhuo still instinctively said "thank you" when he caught it.
This made Li Nian pause for a moment, her expression suddenly becoming somewhat awkward.
"Why thank me? It was yours to begin with."
"So boring!"
After saying this, Li Nian pouted and stood up.
By now, the last invisible pufferfish had been completely burned away.
"Alright, get ready for the 'next wave of assessment'."