Despair

Zhang Ze immediately asked, "Isn't that serial killer downstairs?"

"Didn't you guys come upstairs to hide from him because he killed someone?"

Li Ming vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

However, this middle-aged man had always been friendly; he had heard as much in the homeowners' group chat.

He shouldn't be a bad guy...

He looked at Feng Qiang uncertainly, a trace of hope in his voice. "Uncle, we're going to live, right?"

On the surveillance monitor, Feng Qiang stopped talking.

The elevator continued its silent ascent.

A few seconds later, Feng Qiang stepped out of the elevator, walked a few steps forward, and bent down.

From Zhu Yan's perspective, Feng Qiang was picking up the heart on the ground.

But from Li Ming and Zhang Ze's perspective, Feng Qiang was just bending over near the elevator, as if picking something out!

Li Ming held his breath and, taking Zhang Ze with him, cautiously took a few steps forward.

The floor was a mess.

Some pinkish soft tissue was spread out at Feng Qiang's feet, and a small amount of blood stained the dirty floor.

The sight caused their minds to go blank for a moment.

Then Feng Qiang slowly straightened up, turned around, and smiled at the two of them.

In his hand, he was clutching a bright red heart!

Zhang Ze's breathing almost stopped.

A second later, he reacted. Ignoring the massive tremor in his chest, he grabbed Li Ming and ran.

"It's him!! He's the—"

A sharp pain in his scalp brought his roar to an abrupt halt.

Outside the monitor room, Zhu Yan raised an eyebrow.

That old geezer Feng Qiang actually used his ability to grab Zhang Ze's hair, dragging him across the floor from a distance!

Zhang Ze didn't make a sound; he was completely scared senseless.

Li Ming stood to the side, slightly stunned by the sight.

In just that split second, he too was dragged to the ground, pulled an entire two meters away!

Damn it.

How was this Feng Qiang so strong?

He looked like a frail old man, yet he managed to drag two grown adults all by himself?!

"Don't run," Feng Qiang sneered. "I told you, you're going to help me find someone."

"If you dare to scream or resist, it won't be as simple as just dragging you back!"

Zhu Yan shifted his gaze to another screen and noticed that the bespectacled old man had entered the restroom and was carefully checking each stall.

Feng Yaozu's corpse was placed in the very last stall, and the old man had clearly noticed something amiss, craning his neck to look deeper inside.

It was time for his entrance!

Zhu Yan dragged the unconscious, limp staff member over, placed him in the chair in front of the monitors, and woke him up.

"Dad, delete today's surveillance footage, and turn off the cameras for me while you're at it."

The staff member's face was pale, but the moment he saw "Feng Yaozu's" face, he still revealed a soft, doting smile.

"Okay, no problem, my good boy."

Zhu Yan shuddered.

Holy shit.

Feng Yaozu's ability really was incredibly powerful.

But having to face that kind of gaze every time was true torture!

The staff member struggled to move his limp fingers and deleted all of today's surveillance records.

He then turned off the cameras one by one, forcing himself to stay awake until it was all done before passing out again!

Zhu Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

He ignored the staff member slumped in the chair, gripped his level-five dining knife, and strode briskly toward the restroom!

Meanwhile.

In the restroom, the old man cautiously pushed open the door to the last stall.

Sitting next to the squat toilet was a man with a familiar face.

Even though he was mentally prepared, the old man was still so frightened that his breath hitched, and his upper body reflexively jerked back!

The man looked extremely wretched.

His face was bruised and purple, his eyes were still open, but his pupils had already dilated.

His facial muscles were subtly frozen, still bearing a look of unbelievable shock, making him look particularly terrifying.

Was... was this that young man's ability?

A surge of hope suddenly rose in the old man's heart.

He adjusted his glasses and looked around vigilantly.

Seeing that the real man hadn't followed him, he carefully squeezed into the narrow stall and nudged the man on the ground.

"Hey, kid, it's me."

"Stop pretending, wake up, I know everything!"

The corpse on the ground didn't move at all, feeling cold and stiff to the touch.

The old man wiped away his cold sweat.

It was no good; it looked too real.

Since the arrival of the [Carnival Paradise], he had seen dead people and corpses before.

But coming into such close contact with one was a first.

This young man's ability was too strong.

There was absolutely no difference between this and a real corpse. If he looked at it any longer, his psychological defenses would crumble!

"Wake up. I know the one ripping out hearts is that volunteer."

"Don't worry, my mission aligns with yours."

The old man's tone grew anxious.

You have to wake up!

"I know that volunteer's mission too. Let's talk it over; maybe we can all survive!"

Not far away, footsteps approached from a distance, heading toward the restroom.

There's no time!

If they were actually discovered, I'm afraid... none of them would survive!

The old man's forehead was drenched in cold sweat as he pushed Feng Yaozu even harder.

That Feng Qiang made it sound nice, saying he would spare their lives within the instance.

But the old man also knew very well that for a person like that, leaving survivors meant leaving loose ends.

If he didn't kill them now, Feng Qiang would definitely take their lives after leaving the instance!

The corpse's head tilted stiffly to the side, showing no intention of acknowledging the old man.

The old man wanted to keep trying to persuade him.

However, a lazy voice came from the restroom entrance, sending a chill down his spine.

"Oh my, the corpse has been found."

Zhu Yan stood smiling at the restroom door, going through the motions.

"Pretty creepy. Sorry for the trouble, old man. I'll go call Feng Qiang over."

He genuinely didn't mean to scare anyone; he was in a hurry to find Feng Qiang.

But to the old man's ears, this voice sounded like the Grim Reaper coming to claim his life!

He was going to die.

If that monster came, there really would be no chance!

Zhu Yan ignored the old man and quickly jogged off to find Feng Qiang.

In just a short while, Feng Qiang had already subdued Li Ming and Zhang Ze.

"Dad!" Zhu Yan smiled at Feng Qiang, activating [Bringing Honor to Ancestors].

"That old man found the player I'm supposed to kill."

Yes, he found him.

Too bad I already killed him.

"It seems he used his ability to turn into a corpse. He's lying right there in the restroom stall."

Hearing this, Feng Qiang burst into loud laughter.

"Alright, alright! Fantastic!"

Zhu Yan swept his gaze over Li Ming and Zhang Ze.

The two were clearly still in a state of immense shock. Seeing "Feng Yaozu" arrive, they stiffened up like frightened rabbits.

"With us father and son here, this instance is pretty much in the bag."

"I won't go into the restroom; I'll rip it out from the outside."

"As long as that person dies, we'll be safe and sound!"

Feng Qiang dragged Li Ming and Zhang Ze forward. The two were completely stiff, a wave of despair washing over their faces.

It sounded like that young man was the only person they feared within the instance.

They didn't know what had just happened upstairs.

But all the living people had already been captured by the serial killer.

Did this mean... they had absolutely no hope of survival left?

This whole thing sounds ridiculous. I actually know the fraud who set up the shrine for people; he's an incredibly self-righteous Middle-aged Geezer.

My friend knows both of us, but I came across as rather plain and simple in the beginning, and wouldn't talk to him about all that nonsensical stuff.

Plus, people had always been flattering the Middle-aged Geezer, saying how amazing he was. As for the Middle-aged Geezer himself, he genuinely believed from the bottom of his heart that he was some great master. He even subscribed to that brainwashing, deceptive garbage like "a good mindset is the best feng shui."

So, despite clearly knowing absolutely nothing, he volunteered to step in before my friend moved. He gave my friend a deity statue he had collected for years and went over to his house to point out where the shrine should be placed.

I found out about this last year. At that time, the statue hadn't been set up for long, and I told my friend to take it down first.

He said if he took it down, he wouldn't know where to put it. Besides, he felt it was a bit taboo, so he didn't dare to move it.

Later, I got into an argument with the Middle-aged Geezer. I couldn't hold back and scolded him, asking if he had any shame. He then went around telling everyone I was extreme, which made my friend too embarrassed to contact me again. So, things just stayed like that.

It wasn't until recently, when I was traveling around and met up with my friend, that we casually brought up feng shui over dinner. I figured since I was already there, I might as well take a look. I spotted the problem immediately.

It was hilarious. Because it was so last-minute, I even had to buy a compass and a feng shui ruler on the spot. The latest update is that I found a fellow Daoist to buy cinnabar, yin-yang water, and a calligraphy brush (there was really no time to make them myself). The Daoist didn't have ritual rice or ritual salt either, so I selected some medicinal herbs with very strong yang energy and ground them into powder to replace the rice and salt needed for the cleansing ritual.

Speaking of which, I actually think the effect of rice and salt isn't as strong as using these herbs together. If the herbal formula and the medicinal guide are used well, it will be absolutely incredible.

It wasn't just the deity statue. The Middle-aged Geezer also placed a bunch of things in my friend's house that suppressed his luck. All of these need to be cleared out and thrown away, which is a massive amount of work.

Oh, hahaha, I will curse the Middle-aged Geezer to everyone I know. How the hell can there be such a self-righteous person in the world, damn it.

He really caused a lot of harm. I did the math, and even if the shrine is removed, this lawsuit issue won't be resolved until July or August.

There should be a follow-up when I update the second chapter this afternoon. The next-day express delivery for the cinnabar and herbal powder hasn't arrived yet.