Wu Dalang Refills His Poison

Zhu Yan narrowed his eyes.

He quietly grasped the level-five dining knife in his pocket, wanting to test the waters again.

However, Yang Zhanbai's voice floated faintly from the tunnel above behind him, startling Zhu Yan into a shiver.

"Zhu Zeyu?" he called out tentatively. "Is anyone there?"

Zhu Yan stood completely frozen.

He looked toward the parade float and noticed it had gone silent too; only the frozen faces on its body revealed the Alpha Wolf's emotions.

Zhu Yan's brain was spinning so fast it was about to overheat.

He immediately took a step onto the float. "Run! He, he might be the player who can see the truth! W-why aren't you running?"

"Zhu Zeyu?"

Yang Zhanbai's voice was gradually getting closer; it sounded like he was inching his way down.

"There must be something on the float for me to move," the child's voice said viciously. "Now I have to change lanes. My stomach really hates horrifying creatures like you!"

Damn, it's good that you hate it, it's good.

Zhu Yan immediately felt the float move.

He crouched down and hid himself well among the clusters of flowers, the sound of the wind howling past his ears!

"Zhu Zeyu!"

The next second, Yang Zhanbai's voice appeared quite clearly behind him, echoing against the long, dark tunnel walls, yet revealing anxiety and helplessness.

"Hey!! Why did you get on the float alone?! Hey—"

Yang Zhanbai watched the float speeding off into the distance, his temples throbbing.

The Alpha Wolf had dug so many traps before; this tunnel wasn't necessarily completely safe.

He had originally thought that no matter what, he should stick with Zhu Zeyu and train his own abilities along the way.

In the end, Zhu Zeyu once again, without any suspense, chose to face the crisis alone!

Yang Zhanbai looked at the gradually disappearing colored speck of light ahead and let out a bitter smile.

He thought for a moment, then tentatively stepped onto the track.

After confirming there was no problem, Yang Zhanbai tightened his grip on his knife, focused his mind, and slowly trudged forward bit by bit.

......

The echo of that last sentence layered over and over.

Zhu Yan didn't dare to speak at all, only making sure he was tightly hidden among the flowers.

When the float had driven a bit further, he finally whispered to cover his tracks: "It seems this isn't the player who can see the truth."

"You bastard," the child's voice cursed. "Is that the point?"

Beside the esophagus-like tunnel wall, a small opening suddenly appeared.

The float made a sharp turn, causing Zhu Yan, who had just stood up, to fall back down.

"I think I need to settle a score with you."

The child's voice turned cold and sinister.

Settle a score?

Zhu Yan didn't care.

He just minded his own business, parting the flower bushes on the float and observing the wall behind them.

Its exterior was still painted steel, but it felt soft to the touch.

When Zhu Yan's hand gently touched it, it tensed and contracted like a muscle.

"Enough!" the child's voice said angrily.

Zhu Yan stayed his hand.

Just now, when he was fishing for information, he had said that the [Hunter]s were looking for the Alpha Wolf's heart and head.

The float was very afraid of being seen.

He just didn't know whether this was the Alpha Wolf's heart or its head.

"Dereliction of duty!" the child's voice said coldly. "To actually use such a stupid method to open the stone door, you almost let those players discover my true identity."

The float bumped along the winding tunnel. Zhu Yan looked ahead; in front of him was a darkness tinged with deep red, its bottom equally out of sight.

Ah, then there should still be time to tease it a bit more.

Whether it was the heart or the head, it was a vital spot either way.

Zhu Yan secretly curled the corners of his lips.

He hid the dining knife in his sleeve and calmly leaned closer to the moving wall of the float, ready to activate his ability Complain at any moment.

"How do you plan to punish me?" Zhu Yan asked perfunctorily.

"Punish." The child's voice repeated icily. "In just one day, those players have achieved such results. You do deserve to be punished."

"But before that, I want the [Hunter]'s life."

"Since we aren't sure who the [Hunter] is, we'll just kill them all."

Zhu Yan subconsciously hid his right hand.

He knew he should strike immediately and plunge the dining knife into this float.

But scamming was just so much fun.

If it wouldn't delay things, hmm, maybe he could string it along for a little longer...

"I'll go find the [Hunter] right away," Zhu Yan immediately promised in a weird tone. "I'll help you close the stone door. Even though I'm only level four, but, but I should be able to—"

"Able my ass!" the child's voice cursed, followed by a wet, sticky sneer.

"The first night hasn't even passed, and you've already caused such a huge mess."

"These players are almost all rookies, and our levels aren't high, but I've already set up so many traps!"

"If it weren't for your incompetence, how could they have discovered me so quickly?!"

What?

Zhu Yan felt the Alpha Wolf's words were very hurtful, so he repeated the correct version in his mind.

If it weren't for my extreme competence, how could they have discovered you so quickly?

"Then what do we do now, my lord?" he asked, shivering. "Are you going to kill me?"

"No," the Alpha Wolf said through gritted teeth. "You're coming with me. I have nothing else left to use."

Although this Captain was trash, it seemed he wasn't completely brainless.

The fact that he was able to get on the float at the critical moment just now showed that his reflexes were at least decent.

The situation was critical.

The Boss was dead, which meant the [Hunter]'s ability was level five, just enough to cover its level.

Taking this Captain out to act as a meat shield and expendable fodder was acceptable too.

The child's voice said, "When the time comes, you follow behind me."

Oh, ho.

Zhu Yan glanced at the still-winding path ahead.

It was getting narrower here, and the stone walls on both sides scraped against the decorative flowers on the float.

"Are you going to act personally?"

"Yes," the child's voice said indifferently. "Of course not personally. It will be my puppet."

A simple melody jingled a few times. The child's voice was still speaking mechanically, but Zhu Yan could detect a hint of secret delight in it.

"All they can kill is the puppet."

"Just an empty shell!"

Zhu Yan really wanted to mockingly mimic it, but he tactfully held back.

Mocking halfway was a lot like popping champagne at halftime.

Popping champagne at halftime usually led to problems.

With a thought, Zhu Yan activated his ability Complain.

Mocking halfway wouldn't do, but insulting halfway was perfectly fine!

"Yes, my lord," Zhu Yan praised. "You truly are like Wu Dalang asking for a refill on his poison!"

He looked ahead; ten meters away, a small patch of brilliant lights was flickering.

The spots of light reflected on the drab stone walls like multicolored gems.

The float rushed over and came to an abrupt halt at the finish line.

"What did you just say?"

A child's voice asked, but this voice wasn't as muffled as before.

Zhu Yan could now see clearly.

This was a small room, probably only 15 square meters.

A child was sitting in the center of the room.

He—it, was dressed in a neat white shirt and khaki pants, with a blood-red bow tie pinned crookedly below the collar.

But it had no head.

A wolf head made of plush fabric was sewn crookedly onto the neck with thick thread, a wisp of cotton leaking out from the seam.

The child tilted the wolf head, its two plastic bead eyes staring emotionlessly at Zhu Yan.

This must be the puppet.

"I say..."

Zhu Yan held the dining knife in his hand, ready to slip it out at any moment to deliver a fatal blow.

Feigning terror, he backed away until he pressed against the flower bushes covering the wall of the float.

"You're really like Wu Dalang asking for a refill on his poison—"

Shing!

The level-five dining knife flew from his hand with blinding speed, embedding itself firmly and precisely into the yielding wall of the float.

"—recklessly courting death!"

In an instant.

The float began to shudder violently.

The child frantically thrashed its wolf head. Its ear-piercing shriek penetrated Zhu Yan's brain, leaving nothing but a high-pitched ringing in his ears!

He had guessed right!

"Ahhhhh!"

The child lunged at him with a shrill scream, but Zhu Yan made no attempt to dodge.

Instead, he grabbed the hilt of the sharp knife backhanded, and with a loud rip, he used all his strength to slash open the wall of the float!