Every Day Is Just a Fuss

Zhu Yan didn't just wait foolishly for Guan En's reply.

After finishing his potato chips and washing his hands, he sent a message to the small group chat of players.

"How are things on your end? The boss hasn't returned yet, and I have a new development here."

The phone buzzed in his pants pocket.

Yang Zhanbai expertly cleaved through a lunging monster, wiping away the black mud splattered on his cheek with a backhand. The shrieks of terrifying creatures echoed incessantly around him.

"Forget about it—get in here quick!"

Someone screamed behind him. Qi Yinming pushed open the door of a shop, releasing a blast of cold air conditioning and the rich aroma of food.

Yang Zhanbai cleaved through a cloud of mist one last time, quickly turned around, and rushed into the small shop after the others.

"This place seems," Qi Yinming panted heavily as he looked around, pressing down on the leather seat of a booth, "seems like a normal shop..."

"It is a normal shop," the bespectacled man said, pointing toward the back of the store. "Look, there's even someone slacking off."

Yang Zhanbai shifted his gaze from the clean, warm-colored floor tiles and potted plants to see an employee asleep face-down on a table.

The young employee lifted his head, eyes bleary with sleep. Two seconds later, he leaped up from his chair.

"Holy crap, customers! I'm so sorry, what would you like to eat?"

He grabbed his phone and darted to the ordering kiosk. "Are you guys all together? We don't have tables big enough here, so you can sit separately and scan the QR code to order... Ugh, what's that smell..."

The employee showed a look of disgust but quickly caught himself and smoothed his expression.

"Oh, sorry about that. Um, just find a seat and order like normal. We also have power banks here."

He pointed to the row of bright yellow power banks behind him, then looked at the mess all over Yang Zhanbai.

"Let me get you some wet wipes."

This guy was far too lively.

Moreover, tech products like phones, power banks, and QR codes had never appeared in the shops of the Carnival Paradise.

The group quickly exchanged glances, and Qi Yinming even gave them an "OK" hand gesture.

"He's completely normal," he said in a low voice. His eyes swept over the employee's entire body, pausing for two seconds.

"My eyes didn't catch anything wrong with him."

The employee scratched his head in confusion. Yang Zhanbai was the first to react, hurriedly pulling the others further inside.

"Thanks, let's see what you have. Hey, what's the name of your shop again?"

He had to tell Zhu Zeyu that they had found a safe location where they could also buy food.

"David's Kitchen," the employee said. He turned his head and shouted toward the kitchen, "Auntie, time to cook! I'm going out to catch some sun and smoke a cigarette, someone cover for me!"

The dozen or so people quickly filled up the small space.

A tall, thin boy sitting next to Qi Yinming sharply picked up on this: "Catch some sun?"

This was the boy who had previously boasted about becoming a Hunter.

He turned his head and asked in a low voice, "Brother Qi, where would there be a sun in the Carnival Paradise?"

Qi Yinming subtly shifted slightly away. "I don't know. But you'd better just stay put and behave."

The boy narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me, did you just say you were going out to catch some sun?"

The employee found the question baffling.

He pointed at the sky outside. In the eyes of everyone else, it was pitch black out there, with only dim blue lights and flickering ghostly shadows.

"Yeah. The sun is strong right now, and the AC in the shop is too cold. My bad knees are about to freeze over."

Saying that, he pushed open the door and walked out without hesitation.

The boy hurriedly got up to look, then turned back and shouted as if he had discovered a new continent, "Holy shit, he disappeared!!"

Yang Zhanbai was scanning the QR code on the table to order. Hearing this, he merely lifted his head wearily.

The other players looked at each other in dismay. The bespectacled man was the first to stand up from his chair, pressing his face against the door to peer outside.

"Not a trace," the boy's tone suppressed his excitement. "He vanished the moment he stepped out. Do you guys think he might... might..."

"Do you think he walked into the real world?" a girl asked with certainty. "He mentioned the sun, so the world he sees is different from the one we see."

"Exactly." The boy took a deep breath. "What if we have the clerk take us outside, return to reality, and then walk to our respective schools in the real world? Could that be a hidden way to clear the game?"

As soon as he said this, many people's expressions began to waver.

"That's a very unorthodox approach," someone commented. "But literally speaking, it doesn't seem to violate the instance's rules."

The boy gripped the door handle tightly. His other hand unconsciously reached into his pocket and squeezed a candy wrapper that had long since been emptied.

This method was possible, but the risk was too high. He wouldn't try it himself so easily.

If only he could trick someone into trying it out.

He swept his gaze over the crowd in the shop, each with different expressions, and cleared his throat.

"I'm thinking, could this be a more convenient path aside from becoming a Hunter?"

"Oh, I mean becoming a Hunter is the worst-case scenario," the boy hurriedly backpedaled to cover himself. "But this is different, I think the feasibility is extremely high!"

"Brother Bai, Brother Qi, what do you think?"

Along the way, the people everyone trusted the most were Yang Zhanbai and Qi Yinming.

The boy instinctively wanted to gain their support, but Yang Zhanbai was focused on ordering food, and Qi Yinming was looking down, replying to a message. Neither of them looked at him.

At the same time, Zhu Yan's phone vibrated twice in quick succession.

Qi Yinming: "What did you find? We found a safe place."

Zhu Yan replied instantly. Squatting under the counter, he casually snapped a photo.

Then he started lying.

"Remember those dining knives I took a picture of for you guys?"

"I got my hands on them. The broadcast just suddenly announced that there's a dining knife that can kill a level-five horror creature."

Qi Yinming: "Don't do anything rash. What are you trying to do?"

Zhu Yan looked up.

It was dead silent here, save for the distant shrieks of monsters, the thick smell of black mud, and a faint scent of blood.

It was the perfect setting to put on a one-man show of "Killing the Boss"!

"I can't go up," Zhu Yan sent a voice message. Shallow, rapid panting was mixed into his voice, simulating realistic fear.

"There are no other exits here. I have no way of fooling that monster in the flower shop."

Qi Yinming's eyebrows furrowed: "What are you trying to do?"

"I'll start a group voice call in a bit," Zhu Yan said intermittently. "That way, if I die, you guys will still be able to talk to the boss."

"You're in a position to hold your phone, right?"

Qi Yinming's brows knitted tightly together as he quickly nudged Yang Zhanbai.

"What the hell are you doing just eating, someone's about to die!"

Yang Zhanbai had ordered every single dish on the small shop's menu.

"My treat," he said. "We have to eat. It's best if we eat from morning to night, taking turns, so everyone gets some time allocated to sleep. What's wrong?"

Qi Yinming hurriedly replied to Zhu Yan, telling him to calm down first.

He no longer kept his voice down; it was loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear.

"That Zhu whatever-his-name-is, he says he can't go up. He says he's going to solo the boss!"

"Holy shit!" Yang Zhanbai dropped his phone.

This was a massive bombshell.

The screen lay face up, still lit. The red notification number on the "Contacts" tab was glaringly obvious, but Yang Zhanbai didn't even glance at it.

He snatched up the phone and hurriedly tapped to play the voice messages in their small group chat.

Instantly, Zhu Yan's voice captured everyone's attention; no one cared about the boy's speculations anymore.

"No, he can't die." Qi Yinming took a deep breath. "What did that guy just say? Let's tell him about that demonic cultivation method. We need to stall him and get him to come up here first!"

"Brother Qi, wait!" the boy yelled anxiously.

Qi Yinming turned his head, seeing the boy with a lowered gaze and tightly pursed lips.

"I don't agree with your approach," the boy raised his voice. "In this situation, we can't afford to be soft-hearted."

"It's actually a good thing if this guy goes to kill the boss. If he succeeds, our chances of survival will be much greater."

"And if he fails to kill him..."

A smile crept onto the boy's lips. "Then he trades his one life for all of ours, and we still get a chance to talk to the boss. Isn't that great?"

Yang Zhanbai's head snapped up, his glare slicing over like a knife.

Qi Yinming's hand pressed down on his shoulder, his knuckles turning white.