"Jiang'an Hall?"
Hearing that name, Seagull stroked his chin. "That sounds vaguely familiar..."
"It's Tycoon's organization."
Snowy Owl's memory was clearly better than Seagull's, so she chimed in to remind him.
Immediately, Seagull's expression turned respectful. "Oh, oh, so you're a member of Brother Tycoon's organization. My apologies for not recognizing you sooner!"
Lin Yu was a bit surprised to see Seagull acting so deferential. "You know our boss?"
"Of course... I don't," Seagull said with a grin. "But Brother Tycoon is one of our Night Watchmen's major sponsors. He's been a huge help to our organization!"
Snowy Owl nodded. "Tycoon's reputation in Jiangcheng is indeed well-known. Since you're from Jiang'an Hall, that means you should be trustworthy."
"My two teammates here are Seagull, who's from the same organization as me, and High Mountain from Order."
"Seagull, High Mountain... I've heard of you. Just call me Old Yao."
Lin Yu cupped his hands in greeting, but High Mountain, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.
"Old Yao, are the three of you also in a team?"
"No, he and I are teamed up," Lin Yu said, glancing at High Mountain before immediately adding, "This is Flying Knife. He hired me to guide him through this dungeon."
Flying Knife was about to say something, but Lin Yu continued. "As for the other one... she's Ah Lian. We only met her after entering the dungeon."
Even if Flying Knife was slow on the uptake, he finally caught on after hearing Lin Yu's words. He shut his mouth and stayed quiet.
High Mountain, however, gave Li Nian a cold look and said, "Ah Lian, is it? She's no Ah Lian."
"This is the Master Thief from the Free Alliance. I've seen her before!"
At High Mountain's words, Seagull and Snowy Owl both turned to look at Li Nian, then immediately put away the weapons in their hands.
Lin Yu nearly laughed out loud at their reaction.
Whether it was the Trio from the Player Mutual Aid Association or these two Night Watchmen plus one Order member, every notable figure's first reaction upon seeing Li Nian was to stow away their items.
But this time, Li Nian wasn't powerful enough to directly steal from these three in a head-on confrontation.
Snowy Owl, Seagull, and High Mountain were far stronger than Little Fire Dragon, Squirtle, and Deadshot.
Of course...
Since Lin Yu had noticed this reaction, he wasn't just going to make a mental jab.
He deliberately turned to look at Li Nian with an expression of shock, quickly putting away his torch and pretending not to know her. "You're the Master Thief?! You lied to me?"
Seeing Lin Yu's act, even Li Nian was taken aback.
If she hadn't personally used the Team Card, she would have almost believed that this guy really didn't know her.
Li Nian understood, of course. Lin Yu had probably realized that someone in the group recognized her, so he was cutting ties with her in advance.
It was just...
"Her acting skills are way too good, Sister Zhu Ming..."
Li Nian sighed inwardly, but her mouth cooperated with Lin Yu's scheme.
"Oh dear, I've been found out. Can't be helped," Li Nian said, tucking her hair behind her ear with a feigned helpless expression. "Who would have thought... the world is so small. Running into High Mountain of Order here."
"That's right, I'm the Master Thief. But you don't have to be so tense. This dungeon is already in such a state," she said, pointing at the spiders and spider silk around them. "In a situation like this... do you really want to 'secure the interior before expelling the external threat'? Come on, I'm not the Diviner or Wundt!"
"Besides, I think I've shown plenty of good faith, Sister Yao. At the very least, I've protected you and Flying Knife the whole way here!"
Li Nian said, and Lin Yu's expression softened.
"Mm, that's true. You do have a point. Now really isn't the time for infighting," Lin Yu said, taking advantage of their seemingly opposing identities to speak up for Li Nian. "You three, she hasn't stolen anything from Flying Knife or me the entire way here. Thanks to her, we've managed to avoid these spiders' attacks."
"Even though she's from the Free Alliance, perhaps our first priority should be working together to clear this dungeon."
Lin Yu finished speaking, and High Mountain, the Order member, thought for a moment before nodding.
After all, although the Master Thief of the Free Alliance had a notorious reputation, that very notoriety meant everyone had heard of her exploits. And coincidentally, Li Nian's misdeeds had never been particularly extreme.
High Mountain had been a policeman. He was a textbook Order member who abhorred evil and believed in "order above all." But precisely because of that, he was able to reach a conclusion based on Order's regulations...
"According to Order's rules, when encountering a wanted player inside a dungeon, we don't necessarily have to fight to the death depending on the circumstances. And while you frequently disrupt order and harm other players' interests, you haven't actually done anything too harmful to the player community or the real world."
Since even an Order member said that, Snowy Owl and Seagull naturally had no objections.
"Don't steal from me. Even after this crisis is over, don't steal from me," Snowy Owl warned warily. "Otherwise, I really will hunt you to the ends of the earth."
"Oh, you don't know me well enough. Everyone who's met me knows my biggest trait is being a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong," Li Nian said bluntly. "How would I dare steal from the lords of Order and the Night Watchmen? Especially you lot, who are either strong Second-Tiers or outright Third-Tiers!"
"I'm the Master Thief, not an idiot!"
Snowy Owl snorted coldly but didn't respond.
However, Seagull questioned Li Nian's claim. "That's not right... if I'm not mistaken, the singing statue in your hand should be my good brother Chris's item. Isn't that the Siren's Blessing?"
"Chris is a Third-Tier too, and you still managed to steal it from him."
Hearing this, Li Nian spoke with some displeasure.
"Hey hey hey, how can you talk like that? Just because I'm the Master Thief, does that mean every item in my hand is stolen?"
"Your friend's items aren't your items. How do you know I stole it from him? Isn't that like suspecting your neighbor just because you lost an axe?"
"There are plenty of items that look the same or similar. You're a veteran player, you should know that! Besides, did your friend tell you he had something stolen?"
"And furthermore, this isn't the Siren's Blessing at all. This is a Mermaid's Lament that I bought myself... Don't slander my good name without proof."
Li Nian spoke with absolute conviction, her rapid-fire rebuttals full of force.
Seagull was intimidated and spoke somewhat apologetically.
"Sorry, I might have been mistaken..."
