476: Taking a risky move

Then, she straightened up, the bone bell letting out a faint tinkling sound with her movement. "Alright, keep watching!"

Chen Yu waved to the Ghost Messengers in the booth, her gaze sweeping over their greenish-black faces. "There will be afternoon tea later. I've ordered Ginger Milk Curd and Almond Tofu from Fengdu Restaurant to replenish your Yin energy."

Hearing this, a bit of life finally returned to the Ghost Messengers' haggard faces. Zhao Yun pushed up her reading glasses and said in a raspy voice, "Thank you for your consideration, Lord Prefectural City God."

Liu Shuo slumped in his chair and chuckled. "As long as there's milk to drink. I've been craving it for half a month."

Chen Yu said no more and turned to leave the booth. The moment the door closed behind her, the relaxed look on her face vanished completely.

Walking through the long corridor of the Wangchuan Internet Cafe, the dim lighting stretched her shadow long.

Her bare feet stepped on the cold floor tiles, every step silent. The bone bell had been temporarily silenced by her magic, making it feel excessively quiet now.

She needed to see Her Majesty immediately.

Not through a communication jade slip, but in person.

Automated programs don't make mistakes, don't get tired, and don't have emotional fluctuations. This meant all their previous probing might not even qualify as background noise in the opponent's eyes.

Just as humans don't care about every speck of dust they inhale while breathing. Chen Yu quickened her pace, her white hair fluttering slightly behind her.

Calming incense burned in the inner hall of Jiaotai Palace.

The smoke spiraled and curled, weaving into a pale green gauze within the halo of the dim palace lamps.

Shang Wan Ning reclined on a soft couch by the window, holding an open ancient book, yet her gaze was fixed on the night scene of the Netherworld outside.

Ling Qi sat behind the desk opposite her, writing a budget request for the maintenance of the Research Institute.

The cinnabar traced smooth curves on the jade slip, occasionally pausing with the brush tip hovering over a number, contemplating for a moment before descending.

The hall was very quiet.

Until Chen Yu's figure appeared outside the hall doors.

She didn't even knock, simply lifting the bead curtain and walking in.

This was a privilege held by only a few Yin deities.

Her bare feet stepped onto the carpeted floor, leaving faint wet marks—moisture brought from the banks of the Wangchuan River.

"Your Majesty," Chen Yu stopped three paces from the couch, her red eyes looking directly at Shang Wan Ning. "The private message replies for 'Candle Shadow Shaking Red' are an automated program."

Shang Wan Ning looked up.

The ancient book snapped shut between her fingertips with a soft sound.

"Are you certain?"

"I'm ninety percent sure."

Chen Yu stepped forward two paces, pulled the jade slip recording the data from her Storage Ring, and offered it with both hands.

"The reply frequency, wording patterns, and timing are all as regular as if it weren't a living thing. Star's judgment is that it's a puppet consciousness derived from a formation, responsible only for handling trivial daily interactions."

Shang Wan Ning took the jade slip and immersed her divine sense into it.

Those smooth curves, precise timestamps, and wording so neat it was flawless.

[Indeed, it's too clean.]

Clean like a meticulously woven net, filtering out all real emotions, accidental slips, and the chaos inherent in 'life'.

She handed the jade slip to Ling Qi.

The Secretary-General took off her glasses and rubbed her brow before taking the jade slip for a closer look. Her eyes behind the lenses scanned the data stream quickly, her brow gradually furrowing.

"If it's just a puppet consciousness managing the account..." Ling Qi spoke, her voice slightly raspy from work, "then it means our half-month of probing hasn't even touched the boundaries of Zhulong's attention."

"Yes," Chen Yu nodded, her ears drooping slightly under her white hair, showing a bit of frustration. "The main body probably hasn't even looked at these private messages."

"It's like keeping a spiritual pet in the palace. There are maids to feed and clean it every day; you wouldn't ask how much food the maid poured or how many times she wiped the floor today."

Shang Wan Ning rose from the couch. The hem of her casual robes swept across the floor as she paced to the window, looking at the vortex of Yin energy clouds above.

So, the probing failed.

No, perhaps it wasn't a complete failure.

At least they had figured out the pattern of the opponent's surface defense mechanism. But if they couldn't reach the main body, all this data was just a meaningless pile of numbers.

She needed Zhulong's "attention".

She needed that soul, residing high in the Profound Ice Palace of the Source Realm, to cast its gaze upon this tiny human livestreaming platform, toward the backend of the account named "Candle Shadow Shaking Red".

Even if only for an instant.

"Your Majesty," Ling Qi's voice came from behind, "if we want to catch the main body's attention, the private message content must break through the puppet consciousness's filtering mechanism. It must either touch His core interests or pique His curiosity."

Shang Wan Ning turned around.

The palace lights cast deep shadows on her profile, her eyes, usually lazily smiling, were now as calm as an ancient well.

"What content does the puppet consciousness filter out?" she asked.

"According to the existing data—" Ling Qi tapped the jade slip, pulling up the analysis report, "collaboration invitations, spam, and fanatical confessions are completely ignored."

"Technical discussions, emotional venting, and mild provocations enter the pending queue, but the reply patterns are fixed and don't involve substantive communication."

"In other words..." A very faint curve appeared at the corner of Shang Wan Ning's lips.

"We need a private message that won't be filtered by the puppet and will make the main body feel it's 'necessary to take a look personally'."

A glimmer of light suddenly sparked in Chen Yu's eyes as she asked, "What kind of private message could achieve such an effect?"

Shang Wan Ning didn't answer immediately.

She walked back to the couch and sat down, her knuckles lightly tapping the edge. The calming incense smoke swirled around her, blurring the expression on her face.

After a long while, she finally spoke, her voice soft yet every word clear: "Impersonate the Abyss Church of the Ativi Continent and send a private message in the name of the High Priest."

The air in the hall suddenly froze.

Ling Qi's hand, holding the brush, stopped mid-air. Cinnabar dripped from the tip, blooming into a small, startling spot of red on the jade slip.

Chen Yu gasped. "The Ativi Continent? Your Majesty, does Zhulong know about that plane?"

"He should know." Shang Wan Ning looked up, a certain glimmer of light flashing in her eyes. "The God War back then between Sabrina and Nasta Arabella shook all divine beings."

"Although Zhulong is an Eastern Great Demon, it's impossible for him to have no perception of a planar disturbance of that magnitude."

"Now, my Abyss Church has taken root on the Ativi Continent. Although it can't compare to Astrea's Church of Light, it's still a first-rate organization. Besides, impersonating the High Priest has two benefits."

"First, it's unfamiliar enough. Zhulong's understanding of the Ativi Continent won't be very deep, which gives us room to operate."

"Second, it's valuable enough. A church with a territory of faith must possess many secrets, resource channels, and may even involve the mysteries of the gods."

"An active contact from such an external power is enough to pique the interest of any divine being."