Subtle Clues

Zhu Yan had no objections, because the act of "contacting the police" wouldn't affect him.

There was indeed a chance that the police would verify the authenticity of that [HatersAreGay] person with Qi Yinming, or beat around the bush to ask for some information; but so what?

As long as the mark on his palm could be cleared up, coupled with the assistance of burner accounts on the [Player Forum], it would be enough to keep the police dizzy for quite a while.

Besides, the central figure, Yang Zhanbai, was by his side, so all of this could be completely manipulated.

However, Qi Yinming's observation was indeed very interesting.

It was indeed abnormal for that male clerk not to have returned so late.

Even if he was slacking off and sunbathing, there was no reason to bask in the hot August sun for over forty minutes straight!

If that Li Huisheng really successfully put his theory of "using the real world to clear the game" into practice, then the right hand Zhu Yan had his eye on might just fly away.

No.

This kind of thing absolutely could not happen!

Zhu Yan silently glanced in Li Huisheng's direction. The other party was stuffing large mouthfuls of meat into his mouth; anyone who didn't know better would think his stomach was a bottomless pit.

Yet those eyes kept drifting towards the door from time to time, as if expecting something!

"Little Qi, keep an eye on something." Zhu Yan spoke up to remind Qi Yinming. "This Li Huisheng isn't quite normal. I'm not sure how much sanity he has left."

Qi Yinming followed his gaze, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Are you worried he'll run out?" Qi Yinming's tone carried a hint of astonishment. "He's already like that, it doesn't matter if he runs out."

Zhu Yan said, "It's a human life, after all. Besides, we don't know what his ability is. What if he manages to survive this development period?"

Qi Yinming stopped talking, looking at Zhu Yan with profound respect.

"...Alright, I'll keep an eye on him," he sighed. "You are truly righteous, sir!"

The restaurant was filled with the aroma of food, and the cold, silent atmosphere gradually livened up.

Zhu Yan heard the people at the next table chatting about things outside of [Carnival Paradise], and some were guessing whether they would ever see their parents again.

Ten minutes later.

The yogurt he had been looking forward to for so long was finally brought over by the clerk. Three large bowls were placed neatly on the tray.

"We want the berry flavor," Yang Zhanbai hurriedly emphasized to the clerk. "Can you give us this flavor?"

The clerk smiled at him, a trace of awkwardness flashing across her face.

She looked at the four large bowls of yogurt on the tray and explained in a low, apologetic voice.

"Sir, we didn't have time to inform you earlier, I'm truly sorry."

"The berry-flavored yogurt bowls are temporarily sold out because we've run out of berries."

"So, we only made the other three flavors... The price is the same. Could we just substitute it with another flavor for you?"

Ah?

Sold out?

Zhu Yan didn't even have time to think carefully; he just subconsciously felt that this was no coincidence either.

Yang Zhanbai and Qi Yinming also quickly reacted. The three of them quickly exchanged glances, all seeing the doubt and surprise in each other's eyes.

"How can we buy the berry-flavored yogurt bowl?" Yang Zhanbai asked sharply.

The clerk looked a bit troubled: "The boss lady said this morning that the latest batch of berries won't arrive at the store until tonight."

"If you want to buy the berry-flavored yogurt bowl, you might have to wait until tonight."

Yang Zhanbai nodded, his gaze sweeping over Zhu Yan and Qi Yinming.

Seeing that the two seemed to have nothing more to ask, he said calmly, "Then please substitute it with an avocado flavor for us, thank you."

"Alright!" the female clerk agreed readily.

She placed the other three bowls of yogurt on a few other tables, while Zhu Yan watched her back and confirmed with Qi Yinming again.

"Those three bowls of yogurt just now, could you see any problems with them?"

"Is it convenient for you to go to the back kitchen and see if there are any other suspicious employees?"

The female clerk was indeed not a horror creature, Zhu Yan could clearly see that as well.

You just know when you've dealt with horror creatures enough—

Even the relatively high-level fake humans in the [Hall of Mourning] always had a sense of incongruity about them that differed from normal humans.

However, Zhu Yan hadn't forgotten the fake human lady working at the WE Coffee Shop either.

Not only did she enter the real world outside the instance, but she also ate a little boy in a bustling place like Wanxiang Plaza.

Therefore, Zhu Yan didn't dare completely rule out the possibility that the other employees in the store had been replaced by the horror creature [Comforting Mother Entity].

"No," Qi Yinming shook his head. "There is no problem with the yogurt. Problematic food is very obvious; a strange mist will float above it."

"The back kitchen... wait a minute. I might not be able to get in..."

Saying so, Qi Yinming still stood up from his chair and walked towards the back kitchen.

Just a minute later, he pulled out his chair and sat back down, a thin layer of sweat seeping out on his forehead.

He casually wiped it off and shook his head at Zhu Yan.

"There are very few people in this store. The back kitchen only has two aunties responsible for cooking."

"Neither of them has any problems. They are completely normal."

Zhu Yan nodded, indicating he understood.

Qi Yinming asked, "What does this mean?"

What did it mean?

Of course, it meant that [Carnival Paradise] was cunning.

Zhu Yan sighed softly, speaking slowly while sorting out his thoughts.

"When we first entered the instance, [Carnival Paradise] created a bunch of fakes, having horror creatures imitate real police officers."

"There weren't many students participating in the instance to begin with, and now... well, I don't know if there are any survivors left outside."

Qi Yinming and Yang Zhanbai exchanged a glance, their expressions grave.

This was Qi Yinming's first instance and Yang Zhanbai's second.

Both of their experiences were pitifully scarce, and they couldn't understand why Zhu Yan suddenly brought this up.

"What are you trying to say?" Yang Zhanbai asked straightforwardly.

"I was thinking," Zhu Yan's mind raced, "since they can imitate police officers, can they also imitate this store, and even imitate the boss lady...?"

This line of thinking was indeed a bit of a leap.

However, Zhu Yan couldn't think of a second possibility to explain the two coincidences of "the yogurt bowl that happened to appear in a human store" and "the berry-flavored yogurt bowl that happened to be sold out."

This was highly likely a "clue" given by the [Alpha Wolf] to increase the sense of participation—

Judging from his discoveries over the past half day, this [Alpha Wolf] thing indeed hadn't lied; there really were clues pointing to his residence.

However, the clues were also incredibly treacherous!

If this thing really was a clue, then it made sense.

"Do you mean," Yang Zhanbai immediately grasped Zhu Yan's speculation and followed his train of thought, "there is likely another identical small store outside, opened by horror creatures?"

"As long as we find that store, we'll have found the [Berry-Flavored Yogurt Bowl]?"

Zhu Yan nodded in agreement.

A scene quickly flashed through his mind—an identical storefront, identical warm lighting, but standing behind the counter was some fake human, smiling right at them.

"However, we'd better head out right now."

"Do you remember what the clerk just said?"

He sat up straight and repeated it in a low voice.

"The latest batch of berries won't arrive at the store until tonight."

"Which means, this berry-flavored yogurt bowl..."

Yang Zhanbai finished the thought, "...is only sold at night."

He briskly pushed back his chair and stood up.

"Let's go then. We're going out to take a look right now."