"Simply put…" Penguin Assistant continued, "the highly intelligent beings in our universe possess the insight to 'perceive higher-dimensional beings.'"

Usami added, "And Hirata-kun… was the first to accomplish this."

"It's easy to go from 1 to 2, but going from 0 to 1 is as difficult as climbing the heavens." Penguin Assistant continued, "All of us are very grateful to Hirata-kun, it was he who allowed us to understand…" He gazed at Brother Jue and Xiao Tan and said, "…that above our world, 'you' exist."

"I see…" Feng Bujue responded, "But… why do you… call us 'players'?"

As he asked this question, Wang Tanzhi belatedly realized, "That's right… even if they know they are characters in a manga, what reason do they have to call us 'players'? According to normal logic, shouldn't they call us 'readers' or 'audience'? Calling us 'players' implies…"

"Because…" Hirata answered Feng Bujue's question, "Besides 'higher dimensions', we also discovered 'parallel dimensions' to our own."

"It was a nerve-gear game called Thriller Paradise that sent you here, wasn't it?" Penguin Assistant interjected, "No need to look so surprised…" He was naturally speaking to Xiao Tan with that remark, "Before you, we also encountered other 'players', and more than one group…"

Hearing this, the last bit of doubt in Brother Jue's mind was dispelled, and his expression instantly relaxed.

“…Compared to you, those people's actions could be described as quite rash, and it wasn't difficult to extract information from them.” Penguin Assistant continued, "The difficulty lies in… due to the difference in dimensions, verifying your identities requires the use of long-term, targeted planning."

"And also…" Usami added, "Even if we lock onto a target, we can't be 100% sure that the target is a 'higher-dimensional being'. Because there are countless guys like Xiong Ji in our world… whose IQ and EQ are full of flaws; when they do something unusual, it's hard to tell if they're being 'controlled' or just acting foolish."

"Brother Jue…" At this moment, Xiao Tan lowered his voice and said to Feng Bujue, "The situation is not good… it seems like we can't hide it anymore."

"What are you panicking about…" Feng Bujue also lowered his voice, replying in a voice only Xiao Tan could hear, "Did the system tell you that the main quest failed?"

"Not yet…" Xiao Tan replied.

"Then that's that." Brother Jue replied calmly, "Don't worry, wait for them to finish talking…"

After the two whispered these words to each other, Feng Bujue raised his voice again and said, "So… where were we just now?" He asked insincerely, taking the opportunity to bring the topic back, "Oh, right… that 'stalker letter', that was your first test, right? So, what was the result?"

"Very successful." Usami replied, "According to my observation, you…" He looked at Brother Jue, "...are a very smart and articulate person, and you have a considerable understanding of our world. If there is any obvious weakness, it is… that you have a very high opinion of yourself, even narcissistic."

"Wow… the great detectives are amazing! Their observations and analysis are so accurate!" Xiao Tan complained inwardly as he listened, "I'm a doctor myself, but being among you guys, I suddenly feel like my IQ isn't high enough!"

"I think, dealing with someone like you head-on would indeed be quite difficult." Usami's words continued, "However… retreating to advance should have a miraculous effect."

Penguin Assistant took over, "Therefore, on the result of the 'stalker letter' incident, Usami hesitated slightly… and chose to compromise."

…………

"I understand… looks like you're not just a simple peeping tom and violent guy, Detective Maosaburo from Beast Elementary School lives up to his name."

…………

At this moment, Usami's response at that time flashed clearly in Feng Bujue's mind.

It must be said… retreating to advance was indeed the best strategy to deal with Brother Jue. Usami's compromise made Brother Jue overlook many subtle anomalies…

"So, I gave up on calling the police." Usami continued, "I wanted to see your next reaction." He paused, looking at Brother Jue, "As a result… your personality underwent a significant change."

"Oh?" Feng Bujue asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Player-san…" Usami's eyes changed slightly, "Maosaburo, no longer controlled by you, his speech and tone are very different from yours." He pointed to Xiao Tan, "This is not obvious in the case of Hayatarō." He then pointed to Brother Jue, "But you… you are a very unique person, Player-san. If we divide the main character attributes in a gag manga into 'fool' and 'straight man' these two categories… you don't belong to either of them."

Hirata, who was next to him, added, "When you were defending Xiong Ji, you used the perspective of a higher-dimensional being to substitute yourself into a virtual character, and then used what you speculated to be 'the logic and way of speaking of our world' to solve the problem at hand."

"Although on the surface, it doesn't seem like there are any flaws…" Penguin Assistant added.

"But… there will always be a slight feeling of 'unnaturalness'." Usami said, "If you want to know where the problem is, it's probably… that your thinking will inadvertently switch between the 'fool' and the 'straight man'."

The three of them spoke one after another, answering the questions raised by Brother Jue in perfect unison.

"I see…" Feng Bujue still appeared very calm, "Based on the fact that the first test was very 'successful', you planned the 'death of Penguin Assistant' this good show, right?"

"That's right." Penguin Assistant himself responded, "After the first test, we gathered all the information we had obtained and discussed it. And we established a certain degree of friendship with the real Maosaburo and Hayatarō, and deepened our understanding… Then, we made an assumption…"

Usami continued, "When Xiong Ji does something that could lead to his arrest, and is about to turn himself in… 'you' (here, 'you' clearly refers to the players)… will appear."

Penguin Assistant added, "In order to verify this assumption, Usami, Sarukichi, and I used some props borrowed from the drama club to put on a show in front of you."

"And I felt guilty for so long…" Xiao Tan muttered depressedly upon hearing this, "So that monkey was involved too…"

"Wait…" Suddenly, Feng Bujue interrupted the other party's narration, "This show… you didn't discuss it with Xiong Ji beforehand?"