8: Chapter 8 Sister? My father never mentioned you before he died.

The sound of Qin Weiwei falling to the ground was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the silence of the Fortress's front hall.

She looked up at Lin Chen with teary eyes, her expression a perfect mix of grievance and panic, enough to make any unsuspecting man feel pity. Clutching her bruised knees, the hem of her school uniform skirt was stained with dust, making her look even more pitiful.

"S-sorry, Brother Lin Chen... I was too scared, my legs gave out..." She choked out, carefully observing Lin Chen's reaction.

Lin Chen looked down at her with no trace of emotion in his eyes, only a faint hint of playfulness, as if he were watching a clumsy performance. He ignored her explanation and simply repeated the question from before, his voice flat and calm: "What is your name?"

"Qin... Qin Weiwei," the girl answered timidly. Then, as if gathering immense courage, she tilted her face up, her eyes filled with hope and a touch of uncertainty. "P-please, are you Brother Lin Chen? I... I am your half-sister!"

As soon as she said this, Zhang Hao's eyes nearly popped out, and his mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg. Su Qingyu also furrowed her brow, her gaze darting between Qin Weiwei and Lin Chen with scrutiny and doubt.

"Sister?" Lin Chen gave a light laugh, one that was cold and devoid of any warmth. "How come I didn't know that my father, who was so obsessed with face and valued the Lin Family's reputation more than his life, would leave an illegitimate daughter outside?"

The sarcasm in his words was blatant, piercing through Qin Weiwei's woven lies like a cold needle.

Qin Weiwei's tears instantly welled up and fell in large drops; her acting was top-tier. She hurriedly pulled out a carefully preserved but yellowed photo from her bosom and handed it over with trembling hands.

"I know... I know you won't easily believe me, Brother... but Dad really mentioned you often, saying you were his proudest son... This is the only photo he left me..."

In the photo, a young and handsome man, whose features were indeed sixty to seventy percent similar to Lin Chen's, held an infant in swaddling clothes against a blurred garden background. The photo looked quite old, and the aging marks appeared natural.

Zhang Hao craned his neck to glance at the photo, then at Lin Chen's cold profile, and couldn't help but mutter softly, "M-master... this photo does look a bit like you... and she's just a girl, it can't be easy for her out there..."

Su Qingyu spoke coldly, "Precisely because she is a girl, having survived in the apocalypse until now and just happening to find this place, she is even more suspicious." Her gaze was sharp, trying to find a flaw in Qin Weiwei.

Lin Chen ignored their argument. He reached out and took the photo, his fingertips lightly brushing its surface. His eyes were deep, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

He stared at Qin Weiwei's tear-streaked face for a few seconds. That silent pressure made the air in the front hall almost solidify. Just as Qin Weiwei's tears were about to run dry and she began to feel anxious, Lin Chen suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, but it instantly dispelled the previous coldness, as if sunlight had broken through dark clouds.

"Since you are my sister," his tone softened, even carrying a hint of imperceptible "kinship," "then stay."

Qin Weiwei's face instantly lit up with a mix of surprise and joy. She almost lunged forward to hug Lin Chen but seemed to remember the embarrassment of being avoided earlier and stopped herself, instead bowing repeatedly in excitement: "Thank you! Thank you, Brother! I knew... I knew you wouldn't just leave me!"

"Qingyu," Lin Chen turned to Su Qingyu and instructed, "take her to rest and arrange some light work for her, like the kitchen or cleaning."

"Yes," Su Qingyu replied, giving Qin Weiwei a complex look, her tone strictly professional. "Follow me."

"Thank you, Sister Su," Qin Weiwei nodded obediently, wiped away her tears, and followed Su Qingyu. Before leaving, she didn't forget to cast a dependent and grateful look at Lin Chen.

Once their figures disappeared at the end of the corridor, Zhang Hao immediately leaned in toward Lin Chen, lowering his voice with a fawning and shrewd expression: "Master, are we... really just letting her stay? Do you want me to go test her tonight? I guarantee I'll make her show her true colors!" He rubbed his hands together, looking eager to try.

Lin Chen didn't even look at him, simply uttering two words coldly: "No need."

He turned and paced casually to the window, his gaze fixed on the ruins outside shrouded in the Bizarre Mist. But from an angle Zhang Hao couldn't see, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

His consciousness sank into his mind, and the nether domain asset system interface, radiating a ghostly aura, instantly unfolded. He found the sub-column under Ghost Tycoon Exclusive Service — Ghost Tycoon Information Network.

This was a universal information database where, by paying enough nether talismans, one could buy almost any intelligence from the ubiquitous Greedy Ghosts. In a sense, these Greedy Ghosts were the know-it-alls of the apocalypse; as long as the price was right, they would even sell out their own fathers.

Lin Chen entered the name "Qin Weiwei" into the search box.

The interface flickered, showing three blood-red options, reflecting the cold law of equivalent exchange:

[Query basic identity information for "Qin Weiwei": Requires 100 nether talismans]

[Query detailed background and affiliated organization: Requires 1,000 nether talismans]

[Query true purpose, abilities, and past achievements: Requires 10,000 nether talismans]

Without any hesitation, Lin Chen directly chose the most expensive third option.

[Ding! Payment successful! -10,000 nether talismans. Current nether talisman balance: 999,999,000]

Just as the system notification sounded, a massive flow of information washed over the interface like a bloody waterfall, condensing into lines of heart-stopping text:

[Target: Qin Weiwei (Alias)]

[True Name: Unknown (Requires an additional 50,000 nether talismans to decrypt)]

[Affiliated Organization: Thousand Faces Cult (Intermediate Member)]

[Current Mission: Infiltrate the Underworld Fortress, obtain the location of the Fortress's energy core, defense deployment maps, and core intelligence such as the ability assessment of the master, Lin Chen. Execute assassination if necessary.]

[Special Abilities: Advanced Disguise, Hypnotic Suggestion, Poison Mastery, Dagger Assassination]

[Remarks (Attached with some memory fragments): Has successfully infiltrated and destroyed three small to medium-sized survivor bases using methods like "lost relative" or "girl in distress," acting with ruthless coordination from within. No survivors were left. A Thousand Faces Mark has been planted in her body, serving as a remote communication and positioning beacon.]

Following the information were several blurry but identifiable memory fragments — showing Qin Weiwei with different faces in different locations, coldly watching survivors being slaughtered by Bizarre Monsters and cultists.

Lin Chen closed the system interface, his face showing no surprise.

Just as expected.

Thousand Faces Cult? It seemed some blind power had set its sights on him. The pawn they sent was quite interesting; her acting was good, and her abilities were lethal enough.

He turned around, his gaze seemingly piercing through the walls to land on the "younger sister" who was playing the obedient and pitiful role in front of Su Qingyu.

"Sister?" The corners of Lin Chen's mouth curled into a cold and dangerous arc, whispering in a voice only he could hear, "Then let me see how well you, my dear sister, can perform in this play."

He wouldn't just avoid exposing her; he would cooperate fully with her performance.

After all, a pawn in the open was much easier to control than an enemy in the shadows. Moreover, through her, he might catch an even bigger fish.

Just then, Su Qingyu, having settled Qin Weiwei, walked back with a hint of worry and uncertainty on her face.

"Lin Chen, I've arranged for her to stay in the small room next to the storage room near the kitchen." After reporting, she hesitated but couldn't help asking, "Do you... really believe her? I just feel her appearance is too coincidental."

Lin Chen didn't answer directly but asked her back, his eyes deep: "What do you think?"

Su Qingyu looked into his eyes, which seemed able to see through everything, and remembered his sudden change in attitude. A thought flashed through her mind. She was no fool and immediately understood Lin Chen's intention.

He didn't believe her at all! He was beating her at her own game!

A chill ran up her spine, but it was followed by a strange sense of relief. Fortunately, she was on his side.

"I understand." Su Qingyu took a deep breath, her gaze becoming firm. "I will 'take good care' of her and watch her every move."

Lin Chen finally showed a somewhat satisfied expression and nodded slightly: "That's the Su Qingyu I know."

Before turning to leave, he left a cold and realistic sentence that struck Su Qingyu's heart once more:

"Remember, here, acting on emotion will get you killed. What's useful is your brain and your value."

Su Qingyu watched his tall and cold back, smiling bitterly as she touched the Skeleton Mark on her wrist. Inside were the nether talismans she had worked hard to earn, the foundation of her survival here.

Yeah, emotions are useless.

Those who survive until the end are either freakishly strong like Lin Chen or... relatively useful like her.

And that self-proclaimed "sister," Qin Weiwei... Su Qingyu looked toward the end of the corridor, her gaze turning sharp — she would soon find out what the consequences of playing a useless "trophy sister" in this cold Fortress would be.