Finally Checking the Ability Level

Yang Zhanbai frowned, ultimately saying nothing more.

The bus began to navigate through the deserted streets.

Zhu Yan finally found a moment to stare at his left palm, entering the [Player Center] to check his level-up progress.

Fortunately, [Carnival Paradise] had not treated him poorly. The three mini-instances this time had boosted him by two levels, going from level five to level 7!

Awesome.

Zhu Yan exited the [Player Center] and glanced at his empty right palm.

He wondered if the [Hunter] mark would pop up before he opened his account.

When the time came, frantically calling out to the [Carnival Paradise] broadcast in his mind shouldn't be a problem, right?

Perhaps there would be a response?

Praying silently, Zhu Yan turned his gaze out the window.

The situation outside seemed to have grown more severe. He saw rows of closed shops and the occasional passing patrol car.

The plague issue seemed to have eased. In just a few days, the uniformed members of the [Human Alliance] on the streets were no longer wearing masks.

Forty minutes later, the bus passed through two checkpoints and stopped in the open space in front of Wanxiang Plaza under the watchful eyes of several soldiers.

The busload of players filed out one by one. Zhu Yan couldn't help but look up at the mall he hadn't seen in a long time.

The mall's exterior was still new and luxurious, though it had been artificially "fortified" all around.

Green wire mesh surrounded the tall, transparent glass, and the perimeter of the mall was filled with checkpoints. Every few meters, there were Alliance members standing guard or patrolling.

Guan En lowered his head and double-checked the paper list in his hand.

The dozens of surviving players from Xishan University were actually all present.

There was no one who hadn't come to open an account—

Except for the three who were killed by Tu Shan yesterday.

Moreover, the family backgrounds of these people were completely clean and clear at a glance.

None of them had any ties to Bailu City!

"Every kid, hold out your right hand," Director Jin said amiably. "Everyone knows about the existence of the [Hunters]. This is a necessary step in our inspection."

He looked around with a dark, hidden gaze, feeling inevitably a bit nervous inside.

He hadn't mentioned checking right hands earlier just to make any [Hunters]—those despicable thieves—who might be hiding in the crowd lower their guard.

Wanxiang Plaza was filled with experts dispatched from Bailu City.

If they were discovered now, the probability of them successfully escaping was very small.

Zhu Yan looked at his empty right palm.

Damn it, this was really putting him in a tough spot.

Why was the hidden duration of this mark so awkward?

He could indeed avoid the current inspection, but after entering the [Hall of Mourning], he might be pulled into an instance.

Oh god!

"What are you agonizing over?"

Guan En's voice suddenly rang out. "Aren't you perfectly fine? Hurry up, since you're first, lead the way in."

Zhu Yan then realized that while he was spacing out, the players had spontaneously lined up behind him.

Guan En was smiling at him very amicably. "Why are you just standing there?"

Zhu Yan couldn't resist acting a little. "I was wondering if Hunters really exist outside of instances."

Seeing Guan En remain noncommittal, Zhu Yan didn't press the issue.

He passed through the double glass doors and found that the inside had completely changed.

The WE Cafe had been pushed up from the first basement level—

The edge of the white brick floor surrounding it didn't connect with the rest of the ground. It bulged out, uglily exposing the pitted, highly irregular concrete cross-section beneath the bricks.

The mall's main lights were probably broken. Two rows of emergency lights were simply laid out above their heads. One bulb had a bad connection, flickering with a buzzing electric sound.

Miss Doppelganger, dressed in a neat work uniform, was smiling at Zhu Yan.

The smile was very forced.

Once Guan En approached with the group of people, she immediately complained loudly, "Damn players! Hateful players! You're making me lose my facial collagen!"

Zhu Yan fought the urge to talk back, but Yang Zhanbai was curious. "What do players have to do with your facial collagen loss?"

"I don't have any protein to eat," Miss Doppelganger said angrily. "I can't replenish my collagen."

Yang Zhanbai asked again, "Is your body made of protein? What kind of protein?"

"The kind of protein that needs to eat human flesh." Miss Doppelganger grew even angrier. "If you aren't going to give me meat, then shut up!"

Yang Zhanbai hid behind Zhu Yan.

Zhu Yan, on the other hand, curiously asked Guan En, "Have you guys ever tried feeding this doppelganger?"

Miss Doppelganger was like an NPC character.

When Zhu Yan first came here to open an account, he had tried to fish for information without giving any bribes.

But he didn't believe the police department hadn't tried feeding her.

After all, human limbs were sold right there in the mall.

"Someone tried," Guan En said, then spoke the password for this time to the doppelganger.

"The living are all but passing travelers."

He signaled for Zhu Yan to repeat the password. Only after everyone else had filed into the nauseating air of the WE Cafe did he reveal the results of their experiment.

"It was useless," Guan En said. "Feeding her is worse than threatening her. She doesn't care about humans trying to curry favor."

"It's like a chicken giving you a cooked chicken leg. At most, you'd just think the chicken is trading its companion's leg for its own life."

"Their way of thinking is pretty much the same."

Zhu Yan understood.

Yang Zhanbai quickly followed up, "Does it attack people?"

"There are rules against attacking players."

Yang Zhanbai immediately snapped his fingers.

Miss Doppelganger shrieked and covered her skin in terror. "What are you doing?!"

"Seeing what level you are," Yang Zhanbai said.

He glanced over Miss Doppelganger and didn't see any wounds on her.

"At least level five... sigh."

Zhu Yan was dumbfounded.

Did this reckless fool just directly attack the doppelganger with his ability?

The doppelganger looked extremely displeased.

She walked behind the counter, pressed down her finger, and said with a dark face, "Only 10 players can ride at a time. Who's going first?"

The first ten would go first.

Zhu Yan decisively stepped forward.

The moment he stepped up, he felt his right palm start to itch.

It was the mark—he didn't have to enter the mini-instance!

Zhu Yan felt a surge of joy in his heart.

Twenty minutes later.

He took the second black card engraved with a bow and arrow from the puppet behind the counter. With a thought, he stored it away in his ring.

Everything went smoothly.

They processed their business normally. Yang Zhanbai and Qi Yinming, who were visiting the [Hall of Mourning] for the first time, curiously asked about "VIP levels" and other strange questions.

Guan En also normally led the other players down wave by wave.

When Zhu Yan stood up from his chair, he happened to see Tu Shan. He was bowing and scraping to Guan En, looking utterly sycophantic and like a bully who cowered before the strong.

"Those who have finished making their cards, gather here."

Another young man in uniform raised his right hand.

"Those on the [Human Alliance] candidate list, come over. We'll go do the ability verification test first."

Zhu Yan walked towards him and asked an extra question.

"Why is it called a verification test?"

This was something not specified on the form, and Guan En hadn't mentioned this process beforehand.

The abilities Zhu Yan possessed absolutely could not be exposed under any circumstances.

He planned to take Complaint or Humiliation and pass it off under a different name, registering it as the sole ability of his alias, Zhu Zeyu.

"Basically, we have to make sure that everyone joining the Human Alliance isn't hiding anything and is telling the absolute truth."

The young man explained patiently, "This is to ensure the stability of the Alliance. To that end, the Central Bureau has specially dispatched a Level 6 player from Bailu City to conduct the verification."

Zhu Yan's heart skipped a beat.

"His ability allows him to see through disguises and lies, though it relies on a questioning process."

"As long as your player level isn't higher than Level 6, that is."

What?

How was an ability like that so overpowered?

Too bad for them.

Just yesterday, Zhu Yan had leveled up to Level 7!