Appeared

A boy pulled Chen Zhaoxing.

"Don't stay outside, we'll be found eventually."

He looked pale towards the direction the footsteps were coming from.

As luck would have it, their dorm was also in that direction.

There was no going back!

"Go to Lao Wang's dorm," another boy lowered his voice. "He just shared his location with me. This way!"

The group tip-toed away, trying their best to keep their clothes from rustling.

Slap, slap.

Behind them, the toad's footsteps, along with a slimy, filthy, and chilling aura, were getting closer and closer!

Slap, slap.

Zhu Yan calculated the positions of these people, taking his time, perfectly mimicking the grand entrance of a high-level thriller creature.

He swaggered past those tightly shut dorm doors, boldly putting on a show.

"Where is the [Hunter]?! I can smell the [Hunter]'s scent here, but why has he disappeared?!"

A dorm door opened a crack, and several people from Boyang University immediately filed in.

"No," Chen Zhaoxing hesitated for a moment. "How about you guys hide first. I kind of want to watch the show. If I can't watch the drama, I'll seriously scream—ouch!"

Xu Tongguang pulled him in and covered his mouth.

"It's just a door," he said, sweat sticking to his bleached blonde hair that looked like dry straw. "It won't stop you from watching the show. Plus, I don't want to die."

Chen Zhaoxing thought of Xu Tongguang's ability level and stopped talking.

He curled his lips. Outside, the toad was getting closer.

Its hoarse voice penetrated the door as if it weren't made of steel, but just an opaque piece of cling film.

"I offered a bounty of nine hundred bone coins! A full nine hundred!"

"To get his whereabouts this time, I paid three hundred bone coins!"

Inside the dorm, the group exchanged glances.

"Three hundred bone coins?"

One person repeated in a low voice, a burning desire in his eyes.

He had a buzz cut, wore only sweatpants and a tank top, and had exceptionally well-built, bulging muscles.

"What do you guys say, if we take the initiative to join it, and go out to help this frog find the [Hunter]..."

"Don't act rashly," Xu Tongguang advised in a low voice. "These thriller creatures are not what you imagine."

The boy didn't speak.

He gripped his phone tightly; the messages on the screen were still flashing.

"Who got the 300 bone coins?"

"Too strong, everyone should just hide well and stay quiet."

"Why hide? If we hide to the end, everyone will die! It's rare for a frog to come and deliver clues; I still want to go out and take a look."

Seeing that someone shared his thoughts, a gleam flashed in the boy's eyes.

"If we just hide, we might lose a chance for nothing," he said rapidly. "This frog issued a bounty."

"If we take the initiative to join it, and if the [Hunter] is still on this floor, if we find him."

"Maybe we can use the frog's power to throw the [Hunter] into the main trunk."

Chen Zhaoxing tilted his head to look at him, his eyes also lighting up.

He raised the corners of his mouth, wearing a smile that showed he didn't mind things blowing out of proportion as long as there was a good show.

"You want to use this method to get information on the key fragment?"

Outside the door.

The empty corridor was silent; only a gentle breeze swept past, making the small electric fan in front of the supermarket sway slightly.

A sense of vigilance rose in Zhu Yan's heart.

The corridor was enclosed, so where did the wind come from?

Was he... recognized?

"Three hundred bone coins to catch a thief!"

Zhu Yan shouted, almost making himself sick with this voice.

He didn't know what level the thriller creatures here were.

Either way, it was a gamble.

Zhu Yan closed his eyes, planning to just throw out a huge bluff.

"Where is the [Hunter]?! What are you creatures even good for?!"

Inside the door.

The boy nodded. "We all think this is a safe floor, with only supplies and the hidden [Hunter]."

Just like the previous messages said.

That [Hunter] wasn't even on the player leaderboard yet. Compared to them, he probably wasn't much stronger.

"The broadcast said that as long as we throw the [Hunter] into the main trunk, we can get information about the key fragment."

The boy clenched his jaw, sweat on his forehead.

"There are risks. But this is indeed one of the few opportunities the game has given us."

"What if we can get the frog's help?"

Chen Zhaoxing looked at the boy encouragingly, his face showing only heartfelt sincerity.

"Brother, I support you. I also think we should seize the opportunity."

Xu Tongguang tugged at Chen Zhaoxing's sleeve, but failed to stop him at all.

Chen Zhaoxing's eyes narrowed into a smile.

With a flick of his wrist, he quickly pulled the door open, then raised his foot and kicked—

The boy only had time to curse, "Holy shit," before he stumbled out the door and fell flat on the ground outside with a thud.

The door closed behind him. The boy tried to get up and curse, but as luck would have it, the door to the next dorm opened.

Two people in student uniforms stepped out cautiously, gripping a kitchen knife and a baseball bat.

Seeing the boy on the ground, the two exchanged a glance and helped him up.

"Hey, Qin Yang? Are you also here to fish for clues?"

"What's your ability? Let's team up temporarily."

It was all that weird hat guy's fault!

He could have walked out himself, why did that guy have to kick him?!

Qin Yang glared resentfully at the closed door.

He was about to speak, but the toad's voice came from in front of them, making the three of them look grave.

"My huge [Hunter] was lost by you low-level thriller creatures?!"

It had been so long, and there was still no movement in the corridor. Zhu Yan was truly out of ideas.

He adjusted the little apron on the toad and shouted at the top of his cracked voice.

"Get the hell out here and talk! Where are my three hundred bone coins? You guys owe me my bone coins!"

To his delight, there was finally some movement in the corridor.

First came the distant clanking sound of metal snapping.

Then came the rustling of clothes as someone got up from a recliner, mixed with the creaking of the chair rocking.

They were coming!

Zhu Yan suppressed his rising smile, inevitably feeling a bit nervous in his heart.

He didn't know what level these thriller creatures really were.

Not far away.

Qin Yang and the others froze in place simultaneously.

"What is that toad saying?"

"Thriller... creatures?"

Cold sweat seeped out from under Qin Yang's skin, drop by drop.

"Isn't this place supposed to only have supplies and the [Hunter]..."

"Where did thriller creatures come from?"

Tap, tap.

A completely different set of footsteps approached from behind them.

It sounded like metal striking a stone path.

Lacking any vibrant human presence, yet getting closer and closer, it was clearly something walking!

Tap, tap, tap.

Qin Yang swallowed hard.

"Sh-should we run?" The boy holding the baseball bat was a bit spooked.

Qin Yang gulped.

"But, it's so rare to have a chance to catch the [Hunter]..."

He gritted his teeth, looked behind him again, and took the lead, striding towards the toad's direction.

"Let's go. Let's go ask that frog. It probably needs a hand anyway!"