Return to the Flower Shop

"If the information about the [Hunter] is half true and half false, and the mark can appear at random..."

Zhu Yan silently calculated in his heart and glanced at the palm of Yang Zhanbai's hand.

The clearance conditions for the third level were blatantly carved on the door: the "Boss's" skeleton, a right hand bearing the [Hunter] pattern, and a "berry-flavored yogurt bowl".

The "berry-flavored yogurt bowl" couldn't be obtained so easily. He needed manpower; there was strength in numbers.

Moreover, he also needed to completely clear himself of any suspicion in front of this group of players.

The police department outside was still eyeing him like a tiger watching its prey.

Zhu Yan could be a wanted criminal, but Zhu Zeyu could not.

The true nature of this [Hunter] thing absolutely could not be known by the police!

"...Then is it possible that this [Hunter] thing itself is random?"

Zhu Yan picked up the thread of the conversation, downplaying the issue to smoothly cover up his lie.

"There could be more than one [Hunter], or, after a period of time, the mark might transfer from one person's hand to another's!"

Behind the shelves, Qi Yinming's eyebrows suddenly furrowed tightly.

This speculation made perfect sense, and was even highly logical!

If the rules were wrong, then the alpha wolf's goal was naturally to make them senselessly slaughter each other!

The few of them silently exchanged glances.

"What's down there in the third level?" Qi Yinming's throat tightened. "Have you seen it?"

He took the bait!

Zhu Yan rejoiced inwardly.

"I didn't have time." Yang Zhanbai wiped his cold sweat with lingering fear. "That Boss is too formidable. It's already a miracle that it was willing to let me come back..."

"Would it be convenient for you to go down there again?" Zhu Yan asked straightforwardly. "Go down and see what's in the third level."

Yang Zhanbai didn't necessarily have to go down; this was just an excuse Zhu Yan used to bring up the topic.

It would actually be troublesome if Yang Zhanbai went down, as the Boss's skeleton was still hidden in the cabinet.

Furthermore, Zhu Yan was afraid that in a moment of agitation after seeing the contents of the third level, he might chop off his own hand.

"I—"

Thinking of the task the "Boss" had given him, Yang Zhanbai felt his scalp tingle with numbness.

He could go down.

But...

"I can't guarantee that I'll come back alive," he told them truthfully. "That Boss looks very strange. It doesn't seem like a rule-abiding horror creature. It feels like it could kill a [Hunter] at any time."

"It wants me to bring it food, to bring players. It's night now, but I could go down during the day."

This was exactly the sentence he was waiting for.

Zhu Yan patted Yang Zhanbai's shoulder. "Between all of us here, the two of us are the strongest."

"How about this: the two of us go over and take a look first."

"It's also a good opportunity for me to verify and see if the [Hunter] can really be chosen at random, and if there's more than one."

Anyway, the "Boss" wasn't there right now.

Zhu Yan had already thought of an excuse to send Yang Zhanbai away!

If things went smoothly, the real [Hunter] mark on the palm of his hand could also be logically cleared of suspicion!

"You..." Yang Zhanbai turned his head to look at Zhu Yan, his expression complex.

Damn.

He originally thought he was fearless enough.

But seeing Zhu Zeyu today, he finally knew what a true hero was!

Admiration welled up in Yang Zhanbai's clear eyes.

"Brother, if I can survive this, you are my blood brother!"

Zhu Yan fell silent for a moment and didn't look at him.

He felt he was being a bit immoral, but...

He glanced at Yang Zhanbai's right hand.

Not taking the easy route of directly chopping off his right hand and then killing him to silence him was already quite benevolent for a [Hunter]!

"Let's focus on surviving first," Zhu Yan sighed, putting on an act. "We'll go first, and the rest of you stay put and see if you can keep in touch using your phones. Is that okay, Xiao Qi?"

Qi Yinming seemed nervous; Zhu Yan heard him take a very sharp, short breath.

"Alright," he said. "You guys go first. We will stay here for now and keep in touch."

Zhu Yan didn't hesitate. He turned around and walked away with Yang Zhanbai.

"...Are they really reliable?" a tall, thin boy asked. "Could they be horror creatures in disguise?"

Qi Yinming shook his head cautiously.

"It doesn't look like it. I've been observing them just now. The facial muscle movements and eyes of people disguised by horror creatures are vastly different from those of real people."

His observational skills could see these differences crystal clear!

The tall, thin boy crumpled a candy wrapper in his pocket, making the cellophane rustle for a moment.

"Brother Qi, tell me," he vaguely swallowed his saliva in the dark. "If it's really this easy to become a [Hunter], then wouldn't we have another way to clear the game?"

Qi Yinming turned his head to look at him, his eyebrows furrowing.

"You've only eaten one piece of candy," he reminded him. "The addiction isn't strong, you can hold it back. I advise you not to think about those messy things."

The boy looked around and swallowed his saliva again.

"It's not a messy thing." He didn't control his volume, and the people around him heard it.

"Brother Qi, what if the third level is very difficult?"

"The [Hunter] is the only loophole in this game."

He looked at Qi Yinming's expression, and a sticky, low laugh that sounded like it was coated in syrup rolled out of his throat.

"Why don't we go become [Hunters] too?"

"Anyway, you've seen the condition of those people outside. They won't live long, they are already monsters."

"If we really have to harvest lives, it's just harvesting these kinds of things!"

"Besides, our abilities aren't bad either—"

"Shut up already," Qi Yinming decisively stopped him.

In the darkness, the boy's face instantly dropped, his eyes unfriendly.

Qi Yinming subtly shifted to the side: "Drink more hot water, stop thinking about eating candy. No matter what, let's wait until the people outside come back."

He turned his head and looked around.

Seeing that everyone's expressions were still a normal kind of fear and hadn't shown the boy's frantic state, Qi Yinming lightly sighed in relief and shifted a bit further away.

"How about this, I won't stop you." Qi Yinming smiled at the boy. "If I try to stop you by force, neither of us will end up well."

"Wait until they come back. If the situation permits, you can go ask if you can become a [Hunter]."

"Good luck!"

...

On the other side.

Yang Zhanbai neatly cleaved the monster that lunged at him into two halves, and casually dispersed the thick fog swirling around them.

"You stay outside for now." He looked at the flower shop in front of him, then at the mark on his palm. "This mimic didn't come out to chase us before, most likely because there are rules restricting its range of movement."

A very good guess.

Zhu Yan nodded, carefully hiding his own right hand.

"What do you plan to say?"

"I'll say you're the food I brought," Yang Zhanbai said frankly. "I'll say you are the one the Boss specifically asked for, worth 300 bone coins."

"Wait until I confirm that the level-four mimic won't attack you, then you come in."

Yang Zhanbai took a step forward, suddenly thinking of something.

"Say, we both have level-three abilities. Can our damage stack?"

"Could we barely manage to fight this level-four creature?"

It was a great idea, but Zhu Yan simply did not have any level-three skills!

His lowest-tier skill was level four. Trying to force it would only lead the student astray.

"...Could you just ask about the main issue first?"