Chapter 912: Lacan Appears, Heart Domain Unfolds!

Human beings are creatures prone to error, swayed by emotion, misjudgment, and slow reactions.

As an outstanding Actor who constantly studies "human nature" and "the finer details of human behavior patterns," Lin Yu understood this very well.

Whether in daily life or improvised performances under special circumstances, humans more closely resembled a "chaotic system."

The inputs and outputs were always fraught with uncertainty.

In ordinary study and work, even the most focused top student could not maintain absolute concentration without a single wandering thought or brief mental lapse.

There was always that tiny, infinitesimal moment when people would think about some trivial, irrelevant matter—this was a universal trait.

This commonality was so widespread that it could hardly even be called a "weakness of human nature."

To some extent, it was closer to a "natural phenomenon."

And this only accounted for instances of "zoning out" and "distraction" in daily life.

People also experienced "fatigue," "impatience," "giving up," "going crazy," "getting carried away"... and so on.

Especially in immediate combat and duels like this one, high-pressure tension caused people to develop many imperceptible problems.

Those ripples of "nervousness" and "excitement" stirring in the subconscious ocean would inevitably influence a person's actions.

Like right now...

Dolantine had fallen into a disadvantageous position. She should have felt "frustration" and "impatience." She should have felt "worry" and "fear" about the attacks she was about to suffer.

But those things...

None of them existed.

Lin Yu could see that Dolantine right now was spirited, sunny, proactive, optimistic, and calm. Her finest qualities were shining brilliantly, unclouded by any shadow.

And so, Lin Yu had already deduced the true effect of her 【Exclusive Item】, the one called 【Beautiful Expectations】.

"This thing should be understood literally. It elevates a subject to a 'perfect state' that conforms to the common definition of 'beautiful expectations.'"

"The name of this item, combined with her self-proclaimed effects and the changes she just underwent, might lead one to think it only erases her illnesses and flaws. But in reality, that isn't the core of this 【Exclusive Item】 at all..."

Lin Yu watched Dolantine and thought to himself.

One only needed to grasp a single concept to understand the true power of this 【Exclusive Item】.

【Beautiful Expectations】 indeed shaped a "perfect Dolantine"... but first, there was an obvious yet easily overlooked fact.

"Dolantine" was a "human being."

So rather than saying it was a "perfect version of Dolantine" currently fighting the Tycoon... it was more accurate to say...

It was a "perfect version of a human being."

One who did not feel discouraged, dejected, or self-doubting. Who faced battle in the best possible state, executing her objectives with unwavering calm and clarity.

This meant that...

In every battle, she maintained a level of positive thinking and self-adjustment that ordinary people could never achieve, continuously countering the Tycoon's attacks by seeking patterns and summarizing rules.

Of course...

Lin Yu knew very well that due to the enormous gap in their "stats" right now...

The Tycoon would ultimately claim the final "victory" in this battle!

It was just...

"This guy's goal isn't to win at all."

Every battle that had taken place in the main building of the research institute ruins on this Sixth Island of the Misty Islands, especially since Nineteen had made his move, had not been fought with the goal of "achieving victory."

Because neither side had all their personnel present, every battle...

Was fought with the goal of "stalling for time."

Lin Yu was stalling. Nineteen was stalling. And right now, Dolantine was still stalling!

She might not be able to defeat the Tycoon, but if this continued...

Before this duel's outcome was decided, someone from the 『Psychological Society』 would definitely arrive!

So, the options left to the Tycoon right now were actually only two...

Either accept the fact that he and Dolantine were locked in a stalemate.

Or, increase his investment!

And the Tycoon himself might not even realize this yet!

He only vaguely sensed something was off about Dolantine, without recognizing that he had to make a change.

The exchange continued. He maintained the upper hand, but his advantage refused to expand.

Finally...

The Tycoon realized that if this went on, Dolantine would absolutely stall until her reinforcements arrived first.

So...

"Additional investment of five hundred thousand! Continuous full enhancement!"

The Tycoon finally made up his mind and enhanced himself comprehensively once more.

But alas, it was too late!

"Boom!"

The Tycoon threw a punch, and Dolantine staggered back several steps.

But just as the Tycoon was about to press his assault...

The entire room suddenly dimmed.

A seemingly unremarkable man—not entering through the hole in the ceiling above, but through the main entrance—walked into the area.

A brown corduroy jacket, dark black trousers, grey flat shoes with loosely and crookedly tied laces, hair of neither short nor long length. His face carried a somewhat weary, troubled expression. He looked to be just past thirty, yet the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were pronounced, and deep nasolabial folds were etched into his face.

His features held almost no memorable qualities—not ugly, not striking, with only slightly thicker eyebrows than average above his forehead.

He looked like the kind of middle-aged man you might encounter anywhere, so nondescript that one couldn't even guess his profession—small company employee, government clerk, driver, teacher, salesperson, technician...

Every walk of life seemed to have someone like him. He was like background noise, a splash of muted color. You might suddenly run into him at someone's wedding banquet, exchange an awkward nod, chat about a few harmless topics, and finally end the conversation with his parting words of "Pretty good, pretty good."

A man like this seemed incapable of making enemies or starting conflicts with anyone. It was even hard to imagine him doing anything out of line.

But...

The moment the Tycoon saw him, his face turned grim.

"Lacan!"

He called out the other's code name.

Lacan raised his head, his gaze meeting the Tycoon's. He then nodded, as if greeting a colleague from work or an old classmate, completely disregarding the fury in the Tycoon's voice.

"Tycoon, Tycoon, from 『Jiang'an Hall』, right, I remember you. Long time no see. Last time should have been... should have been in Pure Abyss, wasn't it?"

"A lot of people died back then."

He muttered to himself, making it hard to tell whether he was talking to the Tycoon or simply thinking aloud.

But the Tycoon couldn't be bothered with any of that.

He threw another punch to drive Dolantine back, then immediately switched his focus and lunged at Lacan!

【Hayek's Invisible Hand】arrived before Lacan almost simultaneously with the Tycoon. Then, the frenzied fist and the massive hand formed a pincer attack, tearing through the air with the "clattering" sound of rolling money!

But this wasn't the Tycoon's true killing move. Just as the attack was about to land...

Dense strings of price tags suddenly materialized all around the Tycoon. The floor, the glass, Lacan's clothing, the Tycoon's rings...

Everything, absolutely everything, suddenly had a clear price and value attached to it!

And the Tycoon's piggy banks in the room began frantically spitting out phantasmal gold coins. As the coins landed on those objects marked with prices, they immediately emitted "pleasant" "ding-dong" sounds!

Then, the floor vibrated, glass shards flew up, rings turned razor-sharp—even Lacan's own jacket tightened and constricted around his throat!

Every tangible object in the room was aiding the Tycoon!

At this moment, the Tycoon's 『Heart Domain』, which neither Dolantine nor Nineteen had managed to force out, abruptly unfolded.

Its name was...

『Money Makes the World Go Round』!