Lin Yu bid farewell to Chen Zhuo, who had now fully regained his confidence. After experiencing the "brink of death" and the bizarre Death Game, Chen Zhuo had already undergone a transformation. However, his "habitual mindset" had still prevented him from fighting back.

With Lin Yu giving him that little push—even though the potion had been used up and even though those school bullies might not accept defeat—Chen Zhuo would likely never be bullied again. Lin Yu felt quite satisfied with this outcome.

"Although the initial goal was to complete the 『Deception』, looking at the results... it turned out to be a good deed!" 

Of course, compared to Chen Zhuo, Lin Yu himself had gained even more! The telescopic baton and potions in his backpack had, thanks to Chen Zhuo's belief, transformed into genuine 『game items』! Lin Yu even felt somewhat fortunate that he had arrived at just the right moment, stumbling upon Chen Zhuo being bullied. Otherwise, Chen Zhuo might not have so easily believed this 『Deception』 of his.

After all, if Lin Yu had no reason to give Chen Zhuo game items out of the blue, it would have been far too suspicious! Even if Chen Zhuo might not have outright disbelieved him, harboring doubts would have significantly weakened the 『belief』, and the 『manifestation』 effect might have been poor. In such a case, it might not have been possible to turn all the items real! 

Because Lin Yu could sense... Chen Zhuo's 『belief』 was already stretched thin just converting all the items in the backpack into real ones. 

"It seems this 'gathering' is a must-attend. Besides Chen Zhuo... I'll need to find other gullible players to exploit their trust in the future!" Lin Yu muttered to himself.

......

Soon, Friday night arrived. The player gathering in "Jiangcheng" was about to begin! 

Following the hints from the "guide," Lin Yu put on a face mask, a baseball cap, and sunglasses, parked his bicycle far from the abandoned restaurant, and walked the rest of the way to the gathering location. 

Many players in the "Death Game" had already had their psyches twisted by the successive games. For them, robbery and murder were commonplace tactics. 

In recent years, with the rise of the 『forum』 and 『Order』—two just and righteous organizations—they had jointly established some customary 『Player Rules』 and created the "Administrators" organization to punish those who violated them. 

The content of the 『Rules』 was straightforward—for example, prohibiting players from using their abilities to commit crimes in reality or from killing each other outside the game. 

The emergence of the Rules and the Administrators had significantly improved the atmosphere among "players," with malicious incidents greatly reduced. 

But one could never be too cautious! 

A reduction in malicious incidents didn’t mean they had been completely eradicated. 

While 『forum』 and 『Order』 were widely recognized as powerful, and the "Administrators"—their subordinate organization—was composed of high-level experts from both groups... they still weren’t strong enough. 

At the very least, they hadn’t reached the point where no one dared to break the rules! 

Thus... most guides still recommended concealing one's identity when attending offline "gatherings." 

In fact... unless you were powerful enough to be confident, it was best to keep your identity as a player hidden in most situations. 

And once you began acting as a "player," you had to take every precaution to avoid exposure. 

Lin Yu took this advice seriously, so before attending the gathering, he naturally disguised himself thoroughly and planned his route carefully. 

He left home a little after six... but by the time he arrived at the abandoned restaurant he had visited a few days earlier, it was already around eight in the evening. 

Lin Yu noticed many people dressed similarly to him, moving furtively around the area. 

People with faces concealed by scarves, masks, or even full head coverings were silently making their way toward the restaurant. 

Lin Yu understood immediately. 

These were definitely all "players"! 

Blending into the crowd, he walked silently until everyone naturally formed a line at the entrance. 

At the door stood two tall, burly men wearing ski masks and tank tops, holding scanning devices to "check in" attendees. 

The scan was, of course, for the backend QR code of the "forum" app. 

Since no one was making noise, the process was highly efficient. 

The line, which had seemed quite long, moved quickly, and soon it was Lin Yu's turn! 

Mimicking those before him, he pulled up his personal QR code from the "forum" app's backend. 

Then... 

"Beep—" 

The machine, which resembled a supermarket payment scanner, emitted a sound indicating "approved." 

A label printed out from the top of the machine. 

"Nickname: Director" 

This was Lin Yu's forum ID. 

The burly masked man at the door tore off the label and stuck it on Lin Yu's chest. 

"No fighting inside. Set up your own stall at any table. Don’t lose the label, or you’ll be kicked out." 

The man, who looked like a bandit, seemed to sense that Lin Yu was a first-timer and gave him a quick reminder. 

Lin Yu nodded, then entered with his backpack. 

The abandoned restaurant, which had been clean but desolate a few days ago, was now bustling with activity. 

Clearly, most people here were seasoned players. Many had already set up their stalls on tables, laying out the items they wanted to sell and waiting for potential buyers. 

A few players who were primarily there to "buy" were wandering around the scattered stalls, some already haggling over items they fancied. 

"Boss, how much for this toolbox?" 

"Fixed price, 15 points!" 

"Damn, that’s daylight robbery... I’m a student, can you go lower?" 

"Hah, even if you were livestock, no! That trick won’t work on me!" 

Hearing these down-to-earth exchanges, Lin Yu couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head. 

Though he had been a little nervous at first... 

Once inside, Lin Yu realized— 

This so-called "gathering" wasn’t all that different from the small merchandise street he had visited earlier in the day! 

After all... it was just people selling things. 

With this realization, Lin Yu relaxed considerably and found an empty table. 

He began laying out his telescopic batons and potions one by one. 

Then, mimicking the other stall owners, he sat leisurely behind the table, waiting for "customers" to approach. 

But... 

Lin Yu had barely settled in, about to kill time on his phone, when— 

He heard an eager voice asking: 

"Bro, how much for these batons?" 

"If I buy them all, can you give me a discount?" 

Lin Yu looked up and saw a masked young man with burning enthusiasm in his eyes. 

"10 points each... cash preferred, I’ll give a discount for that." 

"Damn, 10 points? I’ll take everything here!" 

The masked young man’s eyes practically glowed. 

But before he could pull out his phone to pay, another voice urgently cut in: 

"Don’t sell to him, bro! I’ll pay 13 points each! Cash, no discount needed!" 

Almost immediately, a man wearing a mask and a fisherman’s hat rushed over!