Life Dungeon Game

"I thought that in the short one or two hours you spent together, it was unlikely that you would talk about things unrelated to work. I was just being presumptuous. To highlight the authenticity of Ye Yun's identity, I even made a point of talking about his sister."

He paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "So you became suspicious of me, and that's why you gave me your signature as a code when I suggested the secret code, to test me?"

At this moment, he finally figured out the key point: "So you started to suspect me when I mentioned 'sister'. I thought I was pretending very well. I have to say, He Ao, your vigilance is much stronger than I thought."

"You're also quite adept at exploiting people's wariness, aren't you? You suddenly agreed with me to use a code, wasn't it all for that moment just now?"

He Ao smiled and looked at him, "When people reunite after being separated and their identities are verified, their guard is easily lowered, which is the best time to launch a sneak attack."

Actually, when Ye Yun talked about her sister, it didn't arouse much suspicion from He Ao.

What ultimately deepened He Ao's suspicions about 'Ye Yun' was that the pollution he encountered after entering the core area was very low.

If you encounter low levels of pollution in the outer annular compartment, you can say you're lucky.

However, once inside the core axis, the pollution level remains low, which is somewhat strange.

After all, He Ao had seen the 'mist' that almost enveloped the entire central axis from that huge viewing window.

The core area, shrouded in mist containing traces of the gods, was surprisingly less polluted than the outer ring-shaped chamber.

It appears as if the pollution was deliberately spread out, as if to make way for the two men, allowing them easy access to the core area.

These reductions in pollution all occurred after encountering 'Ye Yun'.

Moreover, Ye Yun's sudden decision to set up a secret code was somewhat abrupt; it was reasonable, but still abrupt.

In addition, He Ao had been tricked by that B-level monster when he entered the ruins last time, so he was naturally much more wary this time.

Under the influence of various factors, He Ao chose to sign his name to 'Ye Yun' as a further test.

Shortly after exchanging the 'code,' Ye Yun was separated from He Ao due to the attack by the giant mechanical monster.

By that time, He Ao had basically determined that this 'Ye Yun' was an imposter.

However, he hadn't yet determined 'Ye Yun's' true identity, so he asked Dawn to help him collect information on the World Tree and the extraordinary individuals from Moonlight who had entered the ruins.

.

"I must say, you're very perceptive. Perhaps I shouldn't have chosen you as my target for deception in the first place."

David clapped his hands gently, "But I still have a question,"

His gaze was fixed on He Ao's face. "How exactly did you recognize my true identity?"

This was what truly shocked him.

After all, once the fake identity is exposed, it's exposed. There's no such thing as a perfect disguise in this world. But He Ao actually managed to uncover his true identity, which is a bit outrageous.

It's like two people dueling with guns. Not only can Heo see that his gun is no good, but he also knows that his gun is empty.

"It's actually quite simple,"

He Ao calmly said, raising a finger, "First, I need to know if you are involved in the pollution on this ship."

David looked up at him.

"The answer is definitely yes. Judging from the fact that the pollution decreased where you appeared, and the coincidence that we were chased and separated by the mechanical monsters, there must be a connection between you and these monsters. So, this leads to the second question,"

He raised his second finger.

"Are you free to travel between this ship and the real world?"

"The answer is no. If you can travel back and forth freely, then there's no need to gather so many people here. You can just move the things from the Navigator into the real world and start the plan."

"Based on the above two points, I can draw a conclusion,"

He Ao raised his head and looked at David. "You are one of the extraordinary individuals who entered the three major organizations of the ruins this time. This greatly reduces the range of those who can be screened."

"Judging from Iver's actions, he actually doesn't know much about this ship either, so he was just lured here by you as a 'pawn' to sabotage the gate."

"But he is an arrogant and wary person. To gain the trust of such a cunning fox, one must have an identity that is very close to him. Therefore, your identity is very likely that you are a member of the World Tree."

"At this point, the scope was further narrowed down to the few people who entered the ruins from the World Tree."

"And at this point, I encountered a third problem,"

He Ao's gaze swept behind David. Behind the gate, the dimly lit corridors were gradually shrinking and folding, and from the endless darkness came the loud, twisting sound of machinery. He Ao didn't stop; he continued speaking.

"The relic passage can only allow three C-levels to pass through. I, Ye Yun, and Iver have already taken up three spots. The rest are all D-level or E-level. So how did you, a 'C-level', manage to sneak in?"

"I didn't understand this problem at first, until I recalled a recent intelligence report from Dawn that said one of Dawn's leaders in the Western Region, 'The Painter,' had gone missing."

“This ‘painter’ is someone whose image is publicly available, but whose identity cannot be found. At that time, I thought that the identity used by the painter was likely fake, and that this painter was very likely a person who was very good at disguising his identity.”

He looked at David and said, "And in this world, there aren't that many people who are good at disguising their identities."

"So, you made the connection to me, who was disguised as 'Ye Yun'?"

"You've linked me to 'painter'?"

David looked at He Ao, "But you still haven't solved the problem of how the fourth 'C-level' person passes through the ruins passage. If I remember correctly, this 'Painter' is also said to be a C-level person."

"Indeed, I haven't resolved the fourth 'C-level' issue, but what if the fourth 'C-level' isn't actually a 'C-level'?"

He Ao smiled and looked at him, "There has never been any concrete evidence to prove that the painter himself is a C-level. The only thing that proves his strength is that he has defeated C-level enemies. Such a record can also be achieved by a D-level who possesses a powerful C-level extraordinary item."

"Am I right, sir painter?"

“Brilliant reasoning,”

David couldn't help but applaud.

"Now I'm even more curious about how you deduced this from me. I can't think of any connection between my identity as 'David' and a painter."

He paused for a moment,

"After identifying the World Tree, Class D, and the painter, the range of possibilities for filtering is already very small. Did you just guess by luck?"

“Normally, I wouldn’t choose to guess the result,”

He Ao shook his head and looked at David. "You're the leader of those extraordinary individuals in the Ruodan Restoration Organization, aren't you?"

David's expression changed when he said those words.

“I happen to know that Dawn’s ‘boss’ is none other than the former king of Ruodan, Jonati, who is also the true leader of the Ruodan restoration organization,”

He Ao slowly walked towards the gate and said, word by word,

"The 'painter' is one of the closest confidants to the 'boss,' and the 'boss' is someone who likes to appoint his own people. I have reason to believe that the 'painter' is also a Rhodan or someone from the Rhodan region, and that he is also in the Rhodan restoration organization."

"Coincidentally, the time of the 'Painter's' disappearance coincided with the time when the civil war broke out in the Ruodan Restoration Organization. So, how about it? Is the treasure left by the 'Boss' still useful, Mr. Leader of the Ruodan Restoration Organization's defectors?"

'David' is the only Rhodan among the D-rank World Tree members who entered the ruins this time.

When all the clues come together, the answer naturally becomes clear.

Without a logical chain of reasoning to support it, He Ao usually doesn't just guess based on pure luck.

"It seems I really do know too little about you."

David watched He Ao approach and chuckled, "Actually, I initially planned to impersonate you, but you have too many secrets and too little information that can be investigated, so I had to switch to impersonating Ye Yun."

He stared at Heo, "Iver's ultimate strength is somewhat beyond my expectations. I was even prepared for him to kill you and then come after me. But you were able to kill such a powerful Iver, which far exceeds my expectations of you."

He glanced down at his steel arm.

"What surprised me even more was that you were still able to maintain such a high level of combat effectiveness after experiencing such a powerful battle."

In fact, He Ao's overall strength was already at its limit at that time.

He merely forced out his power, and relying on his constant vigilance and preparedness, he caught David, the attacker, off guard, even startling him.

He lost an arm by himself.

However, He Ao did not seem inclined to explain the matter.

He looked at David, and as he spoke, the two pieces of flesh had completely fallen into his stomach, and the wounds on his body were rapidly closing up.

This is the effect of the extraordinary item 'Nutritional Canned Food' that Yang De specially lent him. Eating the two pieces of meat in the can will restore 80% of his injuries.

Although the message says "immediately," there is still a process of wound healing and recovery.

However, David did not back down when Heo approached.

Above their heads, the previously layered metal space had now fully unfolded, revealing a vast open area shrouded in a transparent dome.

Through the towering dome, He Ao could see the twinkling stars in the sky, as well as the four still-operating circular compartments at the rear of the spaceship.

"He Ao, you are indeed very smart and capable,"

David slightly opened his arms. "Unfortunately, you made the wrong choice at the turning point of your destiny."

Behind him, a gigantic robot, a tapestry of flesh and machine, rose like a mountain—the very same giant robot that had been chasing He Ao earlier.

"From the moment you boarded this ship, your fate was sealed, and none of you can leave this ship."

He looked at Heo, "But under the guidance of the gods, we are willing to give you a new chance. Join us and you will gain eternal life."

He glanced at his mechanical arm. "To be with the machine? I have no plans to become a robot for the time being."

"Flesh and blood are the root of suffering and weakness, while machines are the true eternal."

A glint of fanaticism flashed in David's eyes as he stared at He Ao. "If you don't care about your own life, perhaps you should consider the people at the research institute? I know that the people at your research institute value their comrades very much. For the sake of your comrades' lives, perhaps you can reconsider."

"Yuan Guo?"

He Ao's brow twitched.

It seems there are only three people from the research institute on this ship: Zhang Yusi, Shu Gui, and Yuan Guo.

The 'safe house' where Yuan Guo was located was built by 'Ye Yun'.

"Your companion's life is in your hands now."

David lowered his head and looked at Heo.

The enormous robot behind him also turned its gaze toward Heo.

He never actually expected He Ao to agree to his request. He was just using this method to coerce He Ao, disrupt He Ao's thinking, and provide an opportunity for his sneak attack.

But just as he was preparing to launch a sneak attack, Heo, who was standing in front of him, suddenly pointed to the top of his head.

He glanced in the direction He Ao pointed and, through the huge transparent dome, saw that a section of the fourth spiral chamber seemed to be burning with raging flames.

He quickly realized that it was the 'safe house' he had built for Yuan Guo.

"what is that?"