The surroundings fell silent once again.
"We found the [Hunter]."
Zhu Yan said, drawing his knife, ready to take control of the situation at any moment.
He wasn't worried about Yang Zhanbai making a move, but he didn't know the people on the other side of the shelves.
"However, we suspect this is a scam."
The breathing from the other side of the shelf grew uniformly shallow and rapid.
"...What do you mean?" Qi Yinming asked nervously. "First, tell us, who is the [Hunter]?"
Zhu Yan answered crisply, "Yang Zhanbai. But don't get worked up just yet."
That last sentence clearly didn't do much good, as several sharp intakes of breath could be heard from behind the shelves.
"Yang Zhanbai?!" the Bespectacled Man exclaimed. "That's impossible! It can't be him!"
"Why is it impossible?" another voice retorted. "Who is Yang Zhanbai? What makes you think this is a scam?"
Fairly calm, Zhu Yan assessed carefully.
At least they were still at the stage of verbal arguments and hadn't resorted to physical violence.
"Everyone, listen to my analysis first."
Zhu Yan waited for the noise on the other side of the shelf to die down before speaking up to stop them.
"Do you remember what the broadcast said?"
"The [Hunter]'s level is 0, and the player ID is Account Deleted."
"There's no problem with that, right?"
Zhu Yan chuckled inwardly.
This genius name, "Account Deleted", was simply too useful!
Qi Yinming said, "No problem. Go on."
"When the instance first started, Yang Zhanbai told me he had participated in a novice instance once."
These people had no idea that the [Hunter]'s level and the player's level were separate.
Zhu Yan unhurriedly blurred the concepts. "So first of all, his level isn't 0, it's 1."
"He should have a way to prove this."
Only somewhat heavy breathing remained on the other side of the shelf.
"You said he participated in an instance before?" someone asked. "Is he the Xuexitong who sent messages in the group earlier?"
"I don't think so," the Bespectacled Man said. "He denied it—"
"Yes." Yang Zhanbai gritted his teeth, interrupting the companion he had previously deceived. "It's me. I am Xuexitong."
The Bespectacled Man fell silent for a second before protesting, "You lied to me before?! You were playing us!"
Yang Zhanbai scratched his hair, decisively pulled up the page on his phone, and shoved it through the gap in the shelves. "It really is me. I was afraid you guys would backstab me earlier!"
As for now, the situation had come to this.
Getting stabbed to his face would be getting off lightly!
Yang Zhanbai watched his phone being taken away, then turned back, looking at Zhu Yan as if looking at a lifesaver.
At this moment, he desperately hoped that what Zhu Yan said was true!
What if...
What if all of this really was a scam?
The faint blue light of the phone screen illuminated the other side of the shelves. Several people nervously leaned their heads in and carefully flipped through the contents on the phone.
The phone was passed around among the dozen or so people. After a long few minutes, Qi Yinming shoved it back through the shelf.
"We've seen it," he said. "It proves he is Xuexitong. What next?"
In a spot Zhu Yan couldn't see, Qi Yinming silently exchanged glances with the people around him.
"Brother Qi," someone asked in a very low voice. "Do you think it's credible? Should I just make a move?"
Qi Yinming waited for Zhu Yan's answer, also lowering his voice and speaking extremely fast.
"Listen first, analyze later."
He looked at Zhu Yan through the shelf and silently activated his ability, [Meticulous Observation].
His enhanced vision could pierce through the darkness, allowing him to see every subtle expression of the two people outside clearly.
The cold sweat on Yang Zhanbai's forehead hadn't dried, while the unnamed young man beside him was much calmer.
Compared to Yang Zhanbai, this person seemed more like the leader!
Right now, [Meticulous Observation] hadn't given any warnings like "lying," so Qi Yinming stopped the players beside him.
His [Meticulous Observation] was level three.
Even if the opposing player was level one, it could completely overpower them!
"I believe that if Yang Zhanbai really is the [Hunter], he wouldn't need to expose himself as a veteran player after the game started and send messages to warn you."
"He'd have even less reason to gather the awake players and mobilize them to find clues together."
Zhu Yan slowed down his speech, explaining smoothly and methodically.
Speaking slowly makes people more inclined to believe you than speaking quickly, because it sounds more composed.
Anyway, it wasn't the first day [Carnival Paradise] had acted so treacherously.
Since the situation was this critical, he just had to use the rules it provided and, based on that, fabricate a new set of rules that benefited him!
"When I found him, he didn't hide the fact that he was the [Hunter] from me either."
"So I guess he probably wasn't the [Hunter] before. That [Hunter] mark suddenly appeared at night."
So smart. Using only logical deduction, he had reconstructed the truth of the incident.
Yang Zhanbai glanced at Zhu Yan and moved his lips.
"Yes."
He said, trying to calmly recount the entire course of events.
"...That's roughly it. After I came out, my [Hunter] mark appeared."
Towards the end, Yang Zhanbai's tone had become somewhat desperate.
Regardless of whether he was tricked or not, the [Hunter] mark on his right palm was an established fact.
He was going to die anyway!
On the other end of the shelf, the players looked at each other in dismay, none speaking first.
Qi Yinming frowned, staring intently at Yang Zhanbai.
His ability told him that Yang Zhanbai wasn't lying.
But if it was like what that "boss" said—whoever volunteered would be the [Hunter]—then Yang Zhanbai was still the [Hunter].
"Friend, what about you? Do you have anything else to say?"
This question was directed at Zhu Yan.
The strength this person had shown earlier was also impressive, and he had been calm the entire time.
In Qi Yinming's eyes, Zhu Yan exuded an aura of "reliability".
"The name Account Deleted, as far as I know, is the retained forum ID format for deceased players."
Zhu Yan continued his statement, building on the groundwork he had laid earlier.
"Moreover, the [Hunter]'s level is level 0. I just mentioned this, and it also came from the broadcast."
"Yang Zhanbai is a living, breathing person; his player forum name couldn't possibly be this. He has participated in one instance, so his level doesn't match either!"
"The only information that matches is the bow and arrow on his right hand."
Zhu Yan spoke with firm conviction, throwing out a shocking viewpoint.
"I was thinking, could the new rules the broadcast gave us actually be wrong?"
The people behind the shelf lost their composure. Zhu Yan heard the rustling of clothes and a few quiet murmurs.
He sneered and continued to output his fabricated "reasonable deductions."
"The Alpha Wolf has tried every possible means to stop us from reaching the finish line. How could it so easily provide such a simple option of trading a life for time?"
"Besides, Yang Zhanbai saw it too. Exchanging tickets is the first stage, the underground bar is the second stage, and there's also the entrance to the third stage."
"If killing the Hunters actually worked, why would they go through the trouble of setting up so many complicated trials?"
The way Yang Zhanbai looked at Zhu Yan completely changed.
A surging hope suddenly ignited from the depths of his heart. He clenched his fists, feeling an incredible lightness wash over his body.
Damn, he was fired up.
You are a miracle worker, Master!
A heavy silence fell behind the shelves.
Qi Yinming remained silent, his gaze slowly drifting toward Yang Zhanbai's open palm.
Under the moonlight, the crest of a bowstring and arrow silently reflected a faint glimmer.
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
