Who Would Notice a Hairpin

That works too.

As long as he could find the real [Mother of Solace], anything was fine.

Listening to the "woman's" description, this mouth should belong to the true body of the [Mother of Solace], right?

Just to be safe, Zhu Yan carefully confirmed it.

"Your mouth...? Your real mouth? You want me to push the [Hunter] into your mouth?"

"Of course." The "woman" nodded. "You'll know when you get there. A giant mouth that can fit ten people... hehe."

Perfect.

If this wasn't the true body of the [Mother of Solace], Zhu Yan would beat up the tuxedo cat outside the dungeon.

The "woman's" eyes looked warningly at the sharp knife in Zhu Yan's hand.

"To agree to this, I know you're not a good person either, but you'd better not try any tricks."

"You are not a [Hunter], so you are not protected by the [Carnival Paradise]."

...Wow.

Zhu Yan could only play along, putting on an honest and naive expression.

How could she judge him like that, tsk tsk.

How could he possibly harm Yang Zhanbai?

He just hid his true identity, that's all!

"It's only because we need to cooperate that I've temporarily held back my attacks."

"If I wanted to make a move on you—"

Those greasy, glass-like eyes rolled and locked onto Zhu Yan's face.

Zhu Yan finally saw a familiar hunger in them, even more intense than the fake humans outside, with a very subtle expression.

Just as the [Mother of Solace] had said through the "woman's" mouth, swallowed flesh and blood could be regurgitated, but the satisfaction brought by chewing was irreplaceable.

The "woman" opened her mouth, and the corners of her mouth slickly stretched all the way to her earlobes, taking up half her face.

"—I could take your life in ten seconds!"

What did that matter?

He would definitely flash his [Hunter] badge in the very first second!

Zhu Yan grumbled inwardly, but outwardly he nodded repeatedly, mimicking Li Huisheng's fawning smile.

"No problem, no problem. Don't worry, I just want to survive this dungeon."

This was the absolute truth, so Zhu Yan's expression reflected his inner thoughts, and his tone was exceptionally earnest.

"I will definitely bring the [Hunter] over!"

...And then exploit a bug to deal a critical strike to the [Mother of Solace] with the small butter knife and various abilities in his hand.

Seeing Zhu Yan's attitude, the "woman" felt even more contempt.

This human's level didn't look bad, but his character was quite mediocre.

People like this were even more delicious to chew on.

He wasn't a [Hunter] anyway, so why would the [Mother of Solace] let food that had come right to its mouth slip away for nothing?

The "woman" unconsciously licked her lips again and pointed out the route to Zhu Yan.

"There is a shop that has a slight difference from the others. Find this shop, then go through the wall of the back kitchen and keep walking to the back."

"What difference?" Zhu Yan asked.

"The children lining up at the shop entrance," the "woman" said. "The fifth child in the other queues all have two braids and a pink hair clip."

"The fifth child in that specific queue has a bright red hair clip on her head."

Such a subtle difference; in all honesty, if the "woman" hadn't pointed it out, Zhu Yan wouldn't have noticed.

Of course, he might have observed every "child" if he were driven into a corner—

But spotting the difference in the color of one person's hair clip among a row of so many "children" wasn't something easily done.

Heh.

The [Alpha Wolf] really did its homework to guard against him.

"How long do I have to walk to see this abnormal queue?"

The "woman" smiled and reached out a finger to poke his chest.

A horror creature making such a move definitely wanted to leave some sort of surveillance mark on him!

Zhu Yan subconsciously dodged backward, causing the "woman's" touch to miss.

"What are you rushing for?"

The "woman" didn't reprimand him; Zhu Yan's display of cowardice actually made it more satisfied.

"Oh my, I don't know exactly where this queue is either. I refresh randomly."

"I only know you have to walk in this direction—"

The "woman" pointed in a direction for him.

"If it's fast, five minutes; if it's slow, five hours."

"Anyway, you'll always be able to find it. If you can't find it, you won't be able to get out."

Fuck, why is it another dirty trick.

Hilarious. He was just a level 0 [Hunter], he couldn't possibly be that terrifying!

"Alright," Zhu Yan bid farewell to the "woman." "Goodbye. I'll persuade him to leave first."

He turned around and pushed open the back kitchen door to find Yang Zhanbai.

The "woman" revealed a smile at his back.

"It's not goodbye," it said. "Every one of me will be watching you!"

...

Meanwhile.

Qi Yinming was patiently explaining their encounter to the young police officer on the other end of the phone.

This person was precisely the player Guan En, whom the police department had specifically asked them to keep an eye on.

To be safe, Qi Yinming contacted Guan En directly through the [Player Forum] and simultaneously called the police department.

Just five minutes ago, Guan En had already greeted the boss of [David's Kitchen].

Qi Yinming originally thought the matter was over, but Guan En quickly called back using a private number, saying he wanted to understand the situation.

"...Yang Zhanbai has been with a player surnamed Zhu all this time?"

On the other end of the phone, Guan En confirmed again, his expression turning solemn.

He hadn't finished his meeting for long when he received a distress call from a player.

After getting a grasp of the situation, Guan En quickly zeroed in on this player with the surname Zhu but an unknown given name.

Could this person be the one who had saved his life twice?

Could he be the [Hunter] of this game?

Guan En's fists unconsciously clenched tight.

"Yes," Qi Yinming said. "That person is also very smart. He deduced the possible anomalies regarding the [Hunter] candidate all by himself, effectively saving Yang Zhanbai."

"...They went to look for the [Yogurt Bowl] now, and I don't know why they haven't returned yet."

"We've tried calling, but none of the calls went through."

"Officer Guan, what's wrong? Can you guys help them?"

Guan En gritted his teeth and fell into a rare silence.

If only Qi Yinming knew exactly how to write the three characters of Zhu Zeyu, he could have looked it up beforehand.

He had already reported the existence of the [Hunter], but he temporarily concealed those strange chat records.

This phone call would likewise not be monitored by the police department; it was considered his audacious independent action.

Because Guan En wasn't sure if this [Hunter] was the old cooperative friend he knew.

If he was, he didn't want this person to die.

If not, then the [Hunter]... a [Hunter] standing on the opposite side of humanity...

To him, catching the [Hunter] and handing them over meant not just a medal, but also justice!

"Keep in touch at all times and report the situation to me," Guan En said. "If possible, send a message to ask for Yang Zhanbai's [Player Forum] ID. Ask in a private message, not in the group."

"Also, ask how to write Zhu Zeyu's name. Just pretend you're asking yourself, don't mention me."

Yang Zhanbai went out with Zhu Zeyu, who was highly suspected to be a Hunter, and was now uncharacteristically out of contact. It was highly likely that he had met with foul play.

But it did not matter.

At the latest, once the instance ended, Guan En would personally head to Xishan University to pick up the freshmen who had passed the game.

When the time came, he would finally find out whether this Zhu Zeyu was the one he knew.

If he was, he would pretend he had not discovered a thing, treating it as repaying a life debt.

If he was not, then he would hand him over to his superiors to complete his assignment.

At such a young age, there was no one who did not thirst for merit and glory.