CHAPTER 367: CHAPTER 298: TURNING THE TABLES (ADDITIONAL 2/3 FOR JADE PENDANT)

Wen Nan guessed Yin Zhi’en’s special skill shortly after they met, after observing the character background introduction on Yin Zhi’en, Wen Nan became suspicious.

In that introduction, there was a part describing Yin Zhi’en’s specialties—

[As a student majoring in digital media, Yin Zhi’en is very skilled at modeling. He likes seeing the characters he designed by hand appear vividly in the game.]

In fact, the background introduction of each character often does not represent the surface situation of that character, but rather is a metaphor for a special identity, personality, or skill of each character.

Just like in Wen Nan’s introduction, it says he likes trading currencies, horseback riding, and fish farming; obviously, he doesn’t trade real currencies, ride real horses, or raise real fish.

In Yin Zhi’en’s introduction, it mentions he likes seeing characters he designed by hand appear in the game. This doesn’t mean Yin Zhi’en is genuinely good at modeling—

What this introduction implies is that Yin Zhi’en’s skill can build a new appearance for players or characters in the instance, allowing them to change appearance as Yin’s will dictates.

This also explains the question Yang Mingzhong posed earlier—

In this kind of camp-based confrontation instance, each player has a preset identity and appearance tailored for them, which does not allow appearance alteration using items or equipment, so why could Wei Zhe disguise himself as the Ghost Control Master Alliance’s Guild Leader?

Because his appearance wasn’t altered by equipment or items; he disguised himself using Yin Zhi’en’s skill.

Previously, after suspecting Wei Zhe wasn’t the Ghost Control Master Alliance’s Guild Leader, Wen Nan had questioned—

That President Carl was cunning and cautious enough that even though he got the message there might be clues on the Divine Staff Sheath in this instance, he didn’t show up personally but sent his capable subordinate to scout, and even transferred his most valuable Divine Staff Fragment to that subordinate.

However, wasn’t he worried about his subordinate failing to complete the instance?

In this instance, currently known, the only person who clearly has the [Traitor] identity card is Wei Zhe.

However, the difficulty of this instance isn’t the same for every player. For a [Traitor] to complete the instance, it’s much harder than for a [Loyal Minister] or [Assassin]—

A [Loyal Minister] only needs to protect the Queen, a [Assassin] only needs to attempt to assassinate the Queen, but a [Traitor] needs to eliminate the [Queen] and [Princess], and also all [Loyal Ministers], the difficulty is clearly higher than other factions.

President Carl rented his precious fragment to Wei Zhe, the [Traitor], wasn’t he worried Wei Zhe wouldn’t succeed in the instance?

Of course, he was worried, which is why he hedged his bets—by inserting his people into the [Loyal Minister] faction as well.

This can even be glimpsed in Yin Zhi’en’s character introduction, which included this line—

[Not long ago, he received a task, a task that required his absolute loyalty, yet couldn’t be completed by him alone, forcing Yin Zhi’en to wander through campus, constantly searching for allies.]

This description, at a glance, sounds like a description for a [Loyal Minister], but it is not—

In fact, a [Loyal Minister] has no need to seek allies, theoretically, a [Loyal Minister] only needs to confirm the Queen’s identity and ensure the smooth completion of the ceremony, there’s no need for [Loyal Ministers] to reveal their identities and cooperate with each other during the mission.

What this background introduction implies is that although Yin Zhi’en is a [Loyal Minister], because of his membership in the Ghost Control Master Alliance, he accepted the Guild Leader’s outside task to assist the [Traitor] in achieving victory.

Of course, Wen Nan didn’t plan to reveal these details one by one to Yin Zhi’en.

It’s now a fact, beyond argument, that the other party took a stance with the evil faction.

Evidently, Yin Zhi’en himself realized this too.

Furthermore, having come this far, even if his identity was uncovered, Yin Zhi’en had nothing to fear—

The President lent Wei Zhe that Divine Staff Fragment, giving Yin Zhi’en this impregnable cage, ensuring that the two could separately push their missions to completion within their respective factions.

And now, Yin Zhi’en’s mission was almost complete.

"Hahaha," Yin Zhi’en looked at Wen Nan, his face displaying a sinister laugh of a conspiracy achieved, "What’s the point of you talking to me now? I’ve already won! My purpose is accomplished!

"Ye Jiu, no matter how smart you are, what’s the use of guessing my stance and motives?

"Didn’t you, yourself, make the worst decision at the most critical time? Letting those two escort the disguised ’Wu Qing’ Li Fang to the ceremony while you personally escorted the real looking ’Li Fang’ Wu Qing into the enemy base, the moment you made that decision, you already lost!

"To be honest, I should thank you for helping me so much—The President gave me such a solid treasure, not even Jun Wuming’s Root Breaking Slash could break it right away, but it had a big problem—it was so cumbersome to transport and set up, I was at a loss thinking how I’d fool the Queen into my trap if my scheme failed.

"As a [Loyal Minister], trying to attack the Queen would trigger a system warning with intense interference, making it difficult for me to eliminate the Queen directly, I was originally hoping the [Assassin] would act, who knew that he was colluding with you guys, purposefully delaying time!

"Originally, with Wei Zhe and my internal-external coordination, but that coward actually crumbled, failing the last mission himself, leaving me quite passive.

"Fortunately, you helped me at the most crucial moment—you came to this base, driven by suspicion towards me, wanting to see for yourself what I was plotting, huh?

"But alas, your intelligence worked against you, thinking you could reveal identities against me here? However, I had already swapped the Queen, and now the Queen is ensnared, forced to be trapped here with us.

"Even if you expose my identity now, so what?

"The ceremony is about to commence, the Queen can’t escape this cage, the [Loyal Minister]’s mission is doomed to fail.

"Even if you win verbally, what does it matter to you? You cannot complete this instance, wait for death, fool, hahahaha!"

Wen Nan looked at Yin Zhi’en’s despicable laughter after succeeding in his scheme, and instead of getting angry, he showed sympathy and a hint of pity, shook his head and sighed.

Seeing Wen Nan’s expression, Yin Zhi’en’s smile faded, angrily demanding, "What expression is that! You’ve hit your doom and still resist?"

Wen Nan looked at him somewhat helplessly, and countered, "Smart people trapped by their own wit, wouldn’t that description suit you more now?"

Yin Zhi’en’s complexion darkened suddenly, an unsettling feeling creeping into his heart, "You, what do you mean?!"

Wen Nan regardingly gazed at him, "You don’t honestly think that after I realized you’re problematic, I would be dumb enough to fall into your trap intentionally, do you?"

"... What??" Yin Zhi’en’s face turned from dark to pale, "You, you’re already caught in my trap!"

"Sigh, I thought you were quite clever before, how comes at this point, your mind goes dull? Or maybe all that wit before was just an act?"

Wen Nan sighed with a shake of his head, showing regret, "Do you honestly believe, this cage, is meant to trap the Queen? You’re too naive."

Then, Wen Nan laughed, waiting for a moment, his words drained the last drop of blood from Yin Zhi’en’s face,

"I played along with your act, up until now, with the intent to use your cage to trap you, young Xiao Yin."

Watching Wen Nan with that calculated aura of confidence, Yin Zhi’en sank into a state of confusion and self-doubt, and after a long silence, he shook his head,

"Impossible, you’re bluffing? What good does trapping me with this cage do? The Queen is here, you guys can’t possibly complete the task!"

Wen Nan calmly raised his hand, glancing at the runic pattern on his palm, saw a flash of golden light pass over the circular pattern.

Seeing that golden light, Yin Zhi’en’s eyes widened in shock, "A golden summoning runic pattern? You actually possess such a rare runic pattern?!"

After the shock, Yin Zhi’en chuckled again, "Hahaha, are you thinking of using this runic pattern to summon reinforcements?"

"Yes, the golden runic pattern does have the highest teleportation authority and can indeed summon those outside.

"However, I already told you, didn’t I? This cage was crafted with metal claimed to be integrated with the Divine Staff Sheath’s outer shell, indestructible, even if Jun Wuming came, it would take hours to break this cage. Even if you could get out, it would be too late for the ceremony! Admit defeat!"

Wen Nan looked at Yin Zhi’en with a generally puzzled expression, "Who said I intended to summon Jun Wuming?"

Yin Zhi’en was stumped, "Then why look at the runic pattern?"

Wen Nan shrugged, "Just to check if the ceremony is proceeding smoothly."

He then, indeed in front of Yin Zhi’en, messaged Yu Shujun, inquiring about the situation.

The reply came quickly: [The enshrinement is underway; everything is smooth, the ceremony is about to proceed.]

Wen Nan conveyed this message to Yin Zhi’en.

Yin Zhi’en roared furiously, "You liar! You and your servant conspired to deceive me! The Queen isn’t there, Li Fang that impostor, won’t be recognized by the throne, the instance system won’t judge that the ceremony is properly proceeding!"

Wen Nan looked at Yin Zhi’en with an increasingly mystified expression, "Who said Li Fang is performing the ceremony?"

Yin Zhi’en was speechless, his face confused, following up on the question, "If not Li Fang disguised as the Queen, then... who is it?"

"Naturally, the new Queen."

"What? A new... Queen?"