“If it’s a studio, they can offer benefits that ordinary player guilds simply can’t match,” said Xi Xiaotian.

“I understand.” Lu Ke nodded. Studios and guilds were completely different entities. Guilds were essentially entertainment groups where players gathered, like social clubs. Even at the level of Polar Night, the benefits for players were mostly psychological, with limited in-game resources.

Studios, on the other hand, were profit-driven organizations with clear structures and divisions, paying their members real salaries. It was easy for them to recruit temporary employees from guilds with the lure of cash. Faced with such blatant self-interest, few could maintain their integrity.

“Hey, after all your analysis, do you have a solution or not?” Gu Fei asked.

“For a win-win situation, you heard what I meant by that, right?” Lu Ke said.

Xi Xiaotian smiled. “Wait.”

“Wait for what?” they asked, puzzled.

“Since you say this guy is truly capable, why not exploit his talents to the fullest? After winning the main city battle with his help, hire someone to pose as a vengeful member from another guild and launch a surprise attack on the core members. Of course, you can feign failure with people like your husband, but be sure to ruthlessly and thoroughly eliminate Duanshui Jian. Make him drop levels quickly. At that point, no matter how capable he is, without the support of a high level, he won't be able to convince the masses. I doubt any idiot would support a level 35 guy as guild leader, right? And as long as the person you hire doesn't slip up, I believe your husband won't suspect you. What do you think?” Xi Xiaotian looked at them after speaking.

“……” Gu Fei and Lu Ke were speechless. They had been focused on how to stop Duanshui Jian from carrying out his schemes. They had never considered using him to their advantage and then abandoning him like a stray dog.

“That’s a very satisfying idea,” Lu Ke said, nodding first.

“But, it doesn't seem to expose Duanshui Jian's wickedness to Shui Shen, which doesn't help mend your relationship?” Gu Fei was a little annoyed by Xi Xiaotian's suggestion and wanted to find fault with it.

“When you mentioned a win-win, I don't recall you mentioning repairing a relationship, did you?” Xi Xiaotian said.

“No, but if we could do that, it would be even more perfect.” After nitpicking, Gu Fei deliberately created a problem. To repair the current rift, they needed to show Shui Shen convincing evidence that Duanshui Jian was a major problem. But in an online game where it was impossible to track Duanshui Jian and difficult to gather evidence, doing so was much harder than making him drop a few levels.

“Ah, right! Do you have a solution for that, young lady? Winning the main city battle is completely unimportant; we don't need to bother with it,” Lu Ke said.

“I see! Then what would it take for your husband to believe Duanshui Jian's scheme?” Xi Xiaotian asked.

“That… that guy is sometimes very smart, but stubborn about some things. Honestly, no matter how much evidence we have, if he insists on not believing it, no one can do anything,” Lu Ke said.

“Does that mean even when everything is revealed, he'll still be like…” Xi Xiaotian grabbed Gu Fei's collar and shouted, “Brother, tell me this isn't true! You must have a reason for doing this, right!!! Uh, would he be like that?”

“Hey!” Gu Fei pushed her hand away.

Lu Ke, who had been keeping a straight face, finally chuckled and shook her head, “I don't know, it shouldn't be that cliché!”

“But it's difficult to do that, and the risks are high,” Xi Xiaotian said.

“So you have an idea?” Lu Ke was overjoyed.

“This Duanshui Jian probably has a studio background. So, we pretend to be from another studio and try to poach him, testing his tone in the process. We might be able to uncover something,” Xi Xiaotian said.

“Uh, and then arrange for Shui Shen to accidentally overhear your conversation nearby?” Lu Ke asked. She was confident she could manage such a coincidence for Shui Shen.

“I'm afraid this guy is too cautious and won't give anyone a chance to eavesdrop at the agreed location,” Xi Xiaotian said.

“Then what do we do? If Shui Shen doesn't see it, isn't it all a waste?” Gu Fei said.

“Have you guys ever heard of a spell called 'Memory Black Box'?” Xi Xiaotian asked.

Gu Fei, being a gaming noob, shook his head blankly. Lu Ke's eyes lit up. “I know! The spell can record the surrounding sights and sounds within a certain range and then seal them in a spell scroll. When the scroll is used again, it can replay the images and sounds from that time! You want to use this spell to record the conversation with Duanshui Jian.”

“There's such a thing? How come I've never heard of it?” Gu Fei asked, surprised.

“Hmph, you men only know how to fight. Would you care about skills unrelated to combat?” Lu Ke scorned him.

“This is just a backup plan. If you can let your husband see the scene, that's best. If there's no such opportunity, this is the only option,” Xi Xiaotian said.

“The problem is, I haven't heard of anyone who knows this spell!” Lu Ke said.

“Even if someone did, it wouldn't work. There will only be Duanshui Jian and me at the scene, and if I cast it, it has to be a skill scroll,” Xi Xiaotian said.

“I’ll ask around,” Gu Fei said.

The two women looked at Gu Fei in surprise. Judging by his confident tone, did this guy have some amazing connections? But after only 20 seconds, they heard Gu Fei say, “Nope.”

“That was fast!” the two said, surprised.

“Uh, I just asked Xiyao Wu, and even she doesn't have it,” Gu Fei said.

“There's basically no demand for this kind of thing. Even if someone has it, they probably just use it for their own entertainment. There's no need to circulate it on the market,” Xi Xiaotian analyzed.

“Then what monsters drop this kind of thing?” Lu Ke asked.

“I'll ask around,” Gu Fei said again.

“Who are you asking this time?” The two women already understood Gu Fei's train of thought.

“Brother You!” Gu Fei answered calmly. Who else would he ask about this kind of thing? Sure enough, the two girls quieted down at the mention of that name. Brother You, who combined intelligence and gossip, could still hold the fort in some situations.

“Memory Black Box? What do you need that skill for?” Brother You wanted to know everything.

“It's very useful. Just tell me where it drops!” Gu Fei said.

“I didn't pay much attention to that stuff. I'll have to ask around,” Brother You said.

“Hurry!” Gu Fei urged.

“Okay, okay!” Brother You didn't find this kind of request annoying. He found joy in collecting information and relaying it to players who needed it. Having a player like Gu Fei asking questions gave Brother You a great sense of satisfaction.

“Wait here, I’m going offline to ask Qian Li about something,” Brother You said to Han Family’s Young Master, who was at the same table, after sending the message to Gu Fei.

“That guy? What does he want to know again?” Han Family’s Young Master frowned.

“Memory Black Box. He's probably working on what you mentioned,” Brother You said.

“Memory Black Box?” Han Family’s Young Master had obviously heard of it as well. “Is that guy trying to lure the snake out of its hole?”

“I’m off then.” Brother You waved at Han Family’s Young Master.

“Go ahead!” Han Family’s Young Master shook his wine glass as a goodbye.

“Brother You has already gone to ask around. I believe we’ll have an answer soon,” Gu Fei announced to the two women. If Brother You hadn't even heard of it, it might be difficult. But Lu Ke knew about this spell, and Brother You had obviously heard of it too, so it didn't seem to be anything too mysterious. The difficulty in obtaining it probably wasn't too high either.

“Alright, while we wait for news, tell me more about this Duanshui Jian,” Xi Xiaotian said.

“Isn’t there something more important to do before that?” Gu Fei said.

“Hmm?” The two looked at him.

“Has Sword Demon already made his move?” Gu Fei asked Lu Ke.

“Oh no!” Lu Ke slapped her forehead. Sword Demon had indeed entered the forest. She quickly sent a message to Sword Demon, and after a few exchanges, Lu Ke stomped her feet in anger. “That blockhead! He thinks I'm lying to him! If I didn't really have a plan, I wouldn't care if he lived or died!!”

“Where is he?” Gu Fei asked.

“He went to the forest, but no one told him Duanshui Jian's location. He shouldn't run into him so easily, right?” Lu Ke said.

“You only circled such a large area, it's hard to say. Never mind, I'll go find him. You two continue,” Gu Fei said, turning and running.

“I’ll help you find out Duanshui Jian’s location,” Lu Ke shouted.

“Okay!” Gu Fei replied, getting further and further away.

“Oh no!” Lu Ke suddenly slapped her head again. “I don’t have him as a friend!”

“Add him!” Xi Xiaotian said.

“He probably won’t have it open, right?” Lu Ke said.

“I'll notify him.” Xi Xiaotian sent a message to Gu Fei.

Lu Ke's friend list was already full, but she couldn't worry about that now. She randomly deleted someone and added Gu Fei. After finishing, she breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Xi Xiaotian beside her, she paused and remembered something, quickly saying, “Young lady, what's your name?”

“Xi Xiaotian.”

“I really need to thank you!” Lu Ke was very grateful.

“You're mistaken. I'm not helping for the sake of helping. I just think this is very interesting. I’m looking forward to tricking that guy named Duanshui Jian; it's my hobby, nothing more,” Xi Xiaotian said.

“Your hobby is quite unique… ha…” No one liked liars, but this young lady who claimed to be a liar was hard for Lu Ke to dislike, especially since she was indeed helping her.

However, to consider committing crimes as a hobby, is that a disease? Lu Ke thought to herself, but asked, “What do you want to know about Duanshui Jian?”