Tear-off Ointment

Now!

Just now, the moment the knife pierced the wall of the float, Zhu Yan realized this thing would be hard to kill.

How was he supposed to take its life with just a Level 5 table knife?

Aside from that, the only thing he could use was his identity as a Hunter.

The rules stated: Horror creatures must not harm a Hunter!

If the Alpha Wolf broke the rule...

Euphoria exploded within him, surging through his blood vessels to his entire body.

Zhu Yan laughed aloud, allowing the child's sharp nails to pierce his flesh, bringing a chilling sensation of torn meat.

Two roughly stitched plastic bead eyes stared straight at Zhu Yan. A streak of blood splattered onto them, leaving a trail of bloody beads on the velvet fabric.

"I want your life!!"

Zhu Yan had no intention of dodging. With a clean and decisive motion, he thrust his wrist fiercely deeper into the wall of the float!

A sluggish resistance enveloped the tip of the knife.

Accompanied by the sensation of piercing through a layer of hard rubber, the child's movements froze.

The parade float let out a mournful wail, its trembling suddenly intensifying.

Zhu Yan raised his foot and delivered a vicious kick, sending the nearly paralyzed puppet flying back into the room. Ignoring his injuries, he pulled out the Level 5 table knife and forcefully stabbed it again into the cluster of flowers that had begun to shatter.

Hmm, hard to kill indeed.

Even though they were both Level 5, why was the Alpha Wolf completely different from the Plague Demon from before?

The child, suspected to be a puppet, wasn't even dead yet, currently lifting its head from the floor of the room.

Zhu Yan climbed up from the float, turned off his Roleplay skill, and with a trembling wrist, used all his strength to tear another long gash across the body of the vehicle.

"Hello there, idiot," he Complained to the child. "You've been playing the jumping clown for so long, it must be quite good for weight loss, huh."

The child had already stood up.

Hearing this, its legs bent unnaturally for a moment before quickly straightening back up.

"Player."

It spoke icily, tilting its head to look at Zhu Yan.

"You are very smart. However, even if you found the float, it won't be that easy to kill."

The float had already withered by half.

Zhu Yan swept his peripheral vision over it and found that the side slashed by the table knife had become tattered. The decorative neon lights on it no longer flashed, and the flowers had all withered and shattered.

"I agree." Zhu Yan mimicked its posture, tilting his head.

A smile still lingered on the corners of his mouth.

The euphoria was strong; even though the pain in his chest had begun to spread in wisps, Zhu Yan still felt genuinely happy.

He glanced casually. The wound on his chest looked terrifying, but it was actually just a flesh wound.

On the child's neck, that velvet wolf head mechanically froze.

Agree?

He agrees?

Zhu Yan maintained his smile, keeping a close eye on the child while quickly pulling out the table knife.

"Sorry," he said, extending his right hand toward the child.

"I know you really want to live. But you have already broken the rules of the game."

That velvet head twitched ever so slightly, as if realizing something.

It slowly, slowly lowered, the plastic beads aiming at the palm of Zhu Yan's hand.

The symbol of a bow and arrow was exceptionally clear under the multicolored lights.

It wasn't the mirrored version like the one on that paralyzed hand.

It was a standard, correct, and clear bow and arrow!

The child jerked its head up.

"You are a Hun—"

It never got the chance to utter the rest of the word.

Searing flames suddenly flared up, and a boiling wave of air rolled over from one side of the float. The burning embers of flowers fluttered and fell before Zhu Yan's eyes.

The child's soul was hollowed out.

It fell stiffly forward, its two arms still tightly and rigidly pressed against the seams of its pants.

Those two plastic eyeballs were still facing Zhu Yan's direction, because the head it had just raised hadn't had time to return to its original position.

Unfortunately, that firework-like euphoria had already dissipated.

His wound began to throb with pain, and all the heat in his body seemed to drain away along with his blood.

"Congratulations!"

A female voice rang in Zhu Yan's ear.

Zhu Yan looked up, wiped away his cold sweat, took out the Universal Potion, and poured it over his chest.

"Congratulations. Under the thousand layers of schemes by the Alpha Wolf, you have managed to carve out a path of survival for yourself using tricky and extreme methods."

The Universal Potion could only heal wounds caused by players or horror creatures of Level 4 and below.

It was useless against the injuries caused by the Level 5 Alpha Wolf—

Zhu Yan sat down against the damaged and dim float. The intense pain left his forehead covered in cold sweat.

"It is worth mentioning that a portion of the audience in the Theater of the Masses placed bets on you. Your victory has earned them massive profits."

Fuck, what does that mean?

Not only do they give tips, but they also run gambling rings?

Just what kind of entities were they?

Was the instance just a colosseum-like stage to them?

"They are very pleased. Therefore, in addition to the high reward, you have also earned the privilege to request a tip."

"But don't be greedy, player. You can only ask for two tips!"

The tattered float actually began to move.

It mechanically returned along the track Zhu Yan had originally come from. It bumped and jolted along the way, making Zhu Yan feel the sharp pain in his chest even more intensely.

Two tips—this was already a surprise among surprises.

Clutching his wound, Zhu Yan stated his first request without hesitation.

"I need a potion that can heal wounds caused by horror creatures or players of Level 10 and below, 500 milliliters."

This was exploiting a loophole to demand an exorbitant price.

A bottle of Universal Potion was very small, only about 10 milliliters.

If he opened his mouth to ask for fifty bottles, it might be considered as 50 tips.

But 500 milliliters was a different story.

"Tip evaluation passed," the female voice said evenly. "Player, please check your reward."

That entirely luminous silver dragonfly appeared once again.

This time, a square cardboard box measuring about 30 centimeters in length and width hung from its tail, making its flight extremely strenuous.

Zhu Yan no longer had the strength to tear the tape off the cardboard box.

Whatever.

Yang Zhanbai was still outside anyway, wasn't he?

He would just let him help open this thing.

Gritting his teeth, he stated the second tip he wanted.

"I need an item that can permanently conceal the Hunter mark."

"Tip evaluation failed."

The female voice seemed to raise an eyebrow high: "We will automatically replace the reward with an item that can temporarily conceal the Hunter mark. Please use it well, player."

...That works too.

Zhu Yan closed his eyes briefly.

As long as it could last until the end of the instance, it would do!

After the instance ended, he could go to the Carnival Paradise to ask around, or find The Art Student to figure out a solution.

This time, the silver dragonfly dropped a tube of ointment directly onto his lap, shook its wings in disgust, and flew away.

Zhu Yan tremblingly picked up the ointment, and the female voice thoughtfully provided the instructions for him.

"Congratulations on obtaining the single-use item Peel-off Ointment."

"Please apply the Peel-off Ointment onto the special mark you wish to remove and wait for it to dry completely."

"Once completely dry, peel it off, and you will obtain clean skin without any marks."

"Note: A single tube of [Peel-Off Ointment] can only be used once per player. The effect lasts for three days."

"After three days, the special mark will be restored!"