Not Him, Not Him

Zhu Yan looked up and saw the brightly lit [David's Kitchen] ahead.

A new line of red text jumped onto his retina; it was a message from Guan En.

"Go ahead."

"You and Yang Zhanbai have been moving together this whole time, right?"

A player could only possess a single [Player Forum ID].

With so many files in the police department, there were absolutely no exceptions to this rule.

Therefore, he could be certain.

That [MyTrollsAreGay] was definitely not [Zhu Zeyu].

Zhu Zeyu's suspicion was basically cleared.

Remembering that person's bizarre shapeshifting ability, Guan En sent another message to [Zhu Zeyu].

"Has any other entity been following you two?"

"Humans or thriller creatures, both count!"

Well, well.

Zhu Yan understood instantly.

Asking such a question meant that Guan En on the other side was indeed thoroughly confused.

The identity of "Zhu Zeyu" was highly likely cleared of suspicion.

Then next, all he had to do was continue feeding them false information and let the police department follow his rhythm.

"We have always been together as a duo, though we separated for a while, and I moved alone."

He replied to Guan En earnestly.

"There have always been thriller creatures around, though."

"There are constantly respawning mobs, as well as big bosses."

On the other end, Guan En's expression turned grave.

That person indeed had the ability to transform into thriller creatures.

If the other party had been following these two in the guise of a thriller creature, then everything would make sense.

But if that were the case, the difficulty of finding them would increase significantly.

What exactly was that person trying to do?

Guan En flipped through the documents at hand; this was all the information he had compiled regarding this instance.

"How did you become a [Hunter]?"

While flipping through the pages, Guan En sent a message to [Zhu Zeyu].

"Or rather, how did the [Hunter] mark appear on your palm?"

The rules stated that killing a [Hunter] would grant 48 continuous hours of daylight.

That [HatersAreGay] had told him that this rule was false.

However, after a long period of analysis and research, Guan En believed there was a high probability that the rule was true.

Because the behavior of bosses within an instance usually possessed consistency.

If the rule was correct, combined with the complex items required for the basement level, such as the "Hunter's Right Hand," the boss's actions clearly pointed to two objectives.

First, to make the [Hunter] and the players completely antagonistic!

Using the hands of the [Hunter], who was much stronger than the players, to deal with them, toy with them, and prevent them from reaching the end.

Second, to cause the [Hunter], who was also a player, to die a tragic death, forever unable to reach the finish line in one piece.

The function of the [Hunter] was also very clear: to deal with and kill players.

This also aligned with the "reaping lives" mentioned in the rules.

[Alpha Wolf] had designed a total wipeout scenario; these two objectives complemented each other and were very clear.

Moreover, it was simple, uncomplicated, and easy to understand.

But if the rule was wrong, everything would be different.

The [Hunter] and the players would still be antagonistic, and they could still toy with the players.

However, the mark could be swapped.

This meant the number of [Hunter]s was increased, and the probability of players finding a [Hunter] was also greatly elevated!

Players could kill the [Hunter] to verify the accuracy of the rule.

Even if killing the [Hunter] did not grant those 48 hours, they could find other items and relatively easily chop off the [Hunter]'s right hand.

Judging from the players' current performance, the survival rate should be higher than the previous setup.

All these setups had a strange sense of redundancy, going in massive circles only for the final effect to potentially be worse than before.

And the function of that [Hunter] was now unknown...

Judging from the actions of the group, aside from this [Hunter] being able to use their identity to provide convenience to the players and become a powerful aid to them...

There was absolutely no other function that fit the name [Hunter]!

Kill players?

They didn't have to kill; they received no missions and faced no punishments.

Antagonize players?

They didn't have to be antagonistic, because the [Hunter] changed hands quickly anyway.

I'll be it for the first half of the day, and it'll be your turn for the second half.

They could wait until the rotation landed on someone very annoying or incompetent before chopping off the hand, which would also allow the small group to trim the fat.

Thinking of this, Guan En actually laughed and reached up to massage his temples.

How the hell was this a running dog for thriller creatures?

This was simply a lucky star for humanity!

In his field of vision, a long reply from [Zhu Zeyu] popped up, detailing their encounter over at the [Solace Mother] very thoroughly.

Guan En quickly scanned through it. In the final paragraph of the message, [Zhu Zeyu] revealed his identity and asked a few questions.

"Previously, the [Hunter] mark was always in Yang Zhanbai's palm."

"Now, I have become the [Hunter], and the mark on Yang Zhanbai's palm has disappeared."

"Officer Guan, in a situation like this, do you guys have any experience with it?"

These words were said casually, but reading them gave Guan En a headache.

Damn it, it matches up.

It completely matched the claims of that [HatersAreGay]!

Guan En highly suspected that the marks on Yang Zhanbai and Zhu Zeyu's palms were both fake, deliberately created by someone to hide their own identity.

However, pulling off such a move was far too difficult.

And Guan En did not have any concrete evidence!

"Never encountered it."

Guan En replied quickly, only providing the safest answer for this situation.

"Student, the situation on your end is too complicated and confusing. My advice is to clear the instance as soon as possible and go find the [Alpha Wolf]."

This [Zhu Zeyu] also had a lot of potential.

He wasn't the [Hunter], but he was a good seed for joining the official ranks and becoming an excellent official player.

For such a person, having his right hand chopped off would be a bit too much of a waste.

Currently, the highest-level official player was a level-ten player in Bailu City.

And in the known highest-level player mall, there were no items capable of regenerating limbs.

Guan En sighed and added a sentence.

"Don't chop off your right hand just yet. Your strength is considered high, and the next level might still have to rely on you."

"Wait and see a bit longer."

"The time Yang Zhanbai's mark remained was roughly 5 hours."

"After 5 hours, see if the mark on your palm changes."

"Anyway, it's still a long way until dawn!"

If it was a temporary mark, it shouldn't last for too long.

But the [Hunter]... where exactly was the real [Hunter] hiding?

Was he actually the person he knew?

Guan En only felt that everything had plunged into a thick fog once again.

On the other side.

Zhu Yan pushed open the glass doors of [David's Kitchen], hiding the faint smile playing on his lips.

Hilarious.

That [Zhu Zeyu] account was surprisingly useful.

He had directly deceived Guan En, completely clearing the suspicion off his new identity!

"We're back."

Zhu Yan spoke up before Yang Zhanbai could, greeting the group with a solemn expression.

His gaze covertly circled around Li Huisheng.

Li Huisheng was staring gloomily outside. Catching Zhu Yan's eye, he forced a very strained smile.

"Brother Zhu, I heard you guys got the yogurt bowl."

"You don't actually expect a bunch of noobs like us to take the Alpha Wolf head-on, do you?"