Flaws

Ren Yi frowned, scanning the man from head to toe with a look of pure disgust, his tone blunt and unforgiving.

"You don't look like him at all, okay? Did you even need to ask?"

"Young man, it's no fun if you're going to be like that," Dr. Zhao said, blinking as his tone instantly turned leisurely, though a hint of danger lurked beneath the surface.

Ren Yi took a wary step back, only to feel his back hit something hard.

Glancing over his shoulder, he realized he had backed into another gambling table.

In front of him, Dr. Zhao's tone shifted again as he clutched his chest and spoke with mock solemnity.

"You should know, Little Lin actually took third place in the 'Imitate My Face' contest!"

Ren Yi felt like he truly couldn't keep up with this guy's logic—or rather, the logic of Heart Fiends in general.

What kind of contest was that even supposed to be?

Was a Heart Fiend contest just a competition to see who could be the most like a Heart Fiend?

Of course, Ren Yi felt it was more likely that Dr. Zhao was just talking out of his ass.

This man's ability to talk nonsense and play the fool was not a bit weaker than Dr. Lin's; in fact, his talent for pure fabrication seemed even greater.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you."

Dr. Zhao dropped his playful expression and leaned in closer, his tone remaining flippant. "Come on, tell me. I'm genuinely curious. Where exactly did I fail to look the part?"

Ren Yi stared at the familiar yet foreign face looming before him.

For some reason, perhaps based on what he knew of Dr. Lin, he felt that this guy didn't harbor any subjective malice. However, that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous.

To put it simply, the man was a total trap.

Ren Yi quickly scanned the situation.

Dr. Zhao was blocking the front, and the waitress was standing far behind him, completely unreliable. His back was against the gambling table, and his path of retreat was totally cut off.

The man surnamed Zhao stood very close to him—close enough to violate his social comfort zone—looking down at Ren Yi with an air of superiority.

It was clear that if Ren Yi didn't speak, the man would keep him pinned there indefinitely.

Ren Yi let out a sigh. "Fine, then I'll tell..."

Hearing this, Dr. Zhao stopped and put on a look of intense interest, ready to listen.

But before Ren Yi could finish even half a sentence, Dr. Zhao watched as the youth before him suddenly "collapsed."

The look of certain victory on Dr. Zhao's face froze completely.

He looked down and saw a cloud of white mist suddenly slap onto the floor. Several white tentacles wrapped around the cockatoo and slid through the gap under the gambling table.

It was a joke—there was no need to maintain a "form within human cognition" inside the entertainment city. How could a simple table with gaps on all four sides stop anyone?

"Seriously, young man? Was that really necessary?" Dr. Zhao's expression finally cracked, his mouth twitching.

On the other side of the gambling table, Ren Yi reformed into his humanoid shape and placed the dazed Wang Zhixin back onto his shoulder.

"Sorry, I'm allergic to dentists. You were too close, and I didn't like it."

He glanced down at his phone, paused for a moment, and then took the initiative to sit in a chair by the gambling table. "I never said I wouldn't explain. What's the rush?"

"Fair enough." Dr. Zhao raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and sat down on the opposite side of the table. "Fine, fine. I won't get close. I'll just sit here."

"So, tell me. When did you start suspecting me?"

"I've suspected you from the very beginning," Ren Yi said bluntly.

"Was it because my reaction was half a beat too slow when I first met you? But that could be explained. You could have just assumed the real Dr. Lin had snuck out to gamble and was stunned to run into you."

Ren Yi nodded.

Indeed, Dr. Zhao had many flaws at the start.

Whether it was the fact that "Dr. Lin," who originally hadn't exchanged any energy crystals, suddenly had chips, or the few subtle moments where he seemed to space out when they first met.

Thinking about it, Dr. Zhao probably just happened to run into him, and after being mistaken for Dr. Lin, he simply improvised and went along with it. Or perhaps he had some secret collusion with the entertainment city that led to the subsequent events.

Of course, as Dr. Zhao said, those small flaws could be explained and weren't enough on their own to justify suspicion.

"When I really felt something was off was when you said, 'This human is interesting'," Ren Yi continued.

"We've met him before," Ren Yi explained.

"I see. Was it after the first round ended?" Dr. Zhao said, realization dawning on him.

The "him" Ren Yi referred to was naturally the Battle-Damaged Guy.

He had spent a long time arguing with the real Dr. Lin, detailing the deal he had made with the Battle-Damaged Guy and how he had bought those stowaways.

Under those circumstances, Dr. Lin's way of referring to the Battle-Damaged Guy should have been "that stowaway you bought" or "that guy we just ran into." Those would fit normal speech habits.

"This human" sounded a bit too distant and foreign.

Clearly, the entertainment city either didn't intend to tell Dr. Zhao those details or didn't have time to, which caused him to slip up.

"But that's still a bit of a stretch, isn't it?"

Dr. Zhao raised his eyebrows, his brows slanting outward in a helpless expression that looked like a meme. "Maybe I was just too excited about the bet and said it on a whim?"

Ren Yi shrugged. "True. That's why I tested you a few more times after that."

"I'm all ears."

Dr. Zhao's eyes lit up as he made a "please proceed" gesture.

"First, Dr. Lin never told me that he loses every bet he makes. I made that up," Ren Yi listed as he explained.

"If he really lost every bet, given his personality, his reaction would have been, 'When did you find out about that?'"

"If he didn't, his reaction should have been, 'Don't talk nonsense and slander me! When have I ever lost every bet?'"

"But what you said was, 'That's just because other people set me up.' In other words, you accepted the premise as a fact."

"Well, actually, I don't know if Little Lin loses every bet or not," Dr. Zhao shrugged, his tone suddenly becoming mischievous.

"But anyway, whenever he gambles with me, he's never won once."

Ignoring Dr. Zhao's teasing, Ren Yi stared at him expressionlessly and continued.

"Furthermore, Dr. Lin warned me repeatedly not to touch the entertainment city's contracts, yet you turned around and said you'd teach me how to 'Pluck Peaches'."

If it could be said that Ren Yi had simply mistaken him for someone else at first and Dr. Zhao was just playing along, then from this point on, Dr. Zhao's joke had gone a bit too far.

"Cough, cough." Dr. Zhao clearly realized he was in the wrong and let out several very deliberate coughs.

"Oh, well, you know, this entertainment city isn't actually that bad. This guy, just as his rules state, won't actually scam a minor."

Heh, do I look like I believe you?

"Finally, there was the matter of the apples." Ren Yi crossed his arms, his tone slightly mocking. "Unfortunately, you got that one wrong too."

Across the table, Dr. Zhao didn't show any signs of frustration. Instead, his eyes lit up, and he asked with great interest.

"Hey, so, young man, I've been wanting to ask for a while. Has Little Lin really fallen so low that he's stealing and eating apples at a patient's house?"

Before Ren Yi could even answer, Dr. Zhao seemed to make some connection in his mind and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Oh man, I didn't know Little Lin was having such a hard time. If I'd known, I wouldn't have gambled so ruthlessly against him back then."

Ren Yi looked at Dr. Zhao, whose laughter was becoming increasingly undisguised, and then at the entertainment city waitress hiding far away. He fell into deep thought.

So, was this how Dr. Zhao and the entertainment city ended up working hand in glove?

The grudge between Dr. Lin and the entertainment city was that he had been tricked into coming here by his own kin and then lost everything?

Just what kind of "family relationships" did these Heart Fiends have?

Just then, Dr. Zhao finally finished laughing. He barely managed to stop, though his shoulders were still shaking.

As if suddenly remembering something, he asked with interest.

"Hey, but young man, there was quite a long gap between your second and third tests. Were you observing me that entire time?"

"No, I was already certain by then," Ren Yi shook his head.

Dr. Zhao looked confused. "Huh? Then why? Didn't you admit the reasons for the first two tests were a bit of a stretch?"

"Because you seemed to be having a lot of fun scamming me at the time."

Ren Yi spoke in a low voice, glancing at the Anomaly Web panel where his progress points had just gone up by another +1.

Dr. Zhao looked completely lost. "What do you mean?"

"Never mind that. Actually, it's because..." Ren Yi slowly raised his phone, his fingertip tapping the chat box on the screen.

At the same time, Dr. Zhao suddenly heard the sound of wind breaking behind his head.

Before he could even react, he heard Ren Yi's casual voice.

"I just asked Dr. Lin right then."