Despicable Middle-aged Man

Inside the dorm room.

Facing the questioning gazes of the others, Chen Zhaoxing nonchalantly pulled Xu Tongguang behind him to protect him.

"You all should be thanking me," he shrugged. "He wanted to go out himself, so I just helped him out."

"By helping him out, he attracts the attention of the monsters outside, keeping us safe."

The players silently took a step back, distancing themselves from Chen Zhaoxing.

"Why are there so many terrifying creatures outside?"

Xu Tongguang frowned, his already pale lips turning even more ashen.

"Didn't they say there was only the [Hunter] and supplies on this floor?"

"This..."

The players exchanged glances, all feeling a wave of lingering fear.

Especially the few who had gone out and walked a lap with Chen Zhaoxing; their expressions were completely off.

You have no idea, guys.

The fact that they just survived was purely a stroke of incredible luck!

Xu Tongguang made a "shh" gesture.

He locked the door and signaled for everyone to gather around and pay attention to the movements outside.

Outside the door.

Zhu Yan watched with satisfaction as a terrifying creature, indistinguishable from a middle-aged man, walked over holding that half-cup of hot tea.

This thing wasn't a fake human, nor was it any type of terrifying creature Zhu Yan had ever seen before.

The skin on its face was stacked in layers, its texture and patterns closely resembling a silkworm that hadn't yet cocooned.

This skin exuded a livid, blue-gray hue from the inside out, as if it could never be washed off.

It looked Zhu Yan up and down, the corners of its mouth hidden in the folds pulling outward, then eerily stretching wider and wider.

That familiar chilling cold closed in from all directions, seeping bit by bit through his skin and into his muscles.

He watched the terrifying creature before him alertly; however, a gust of wind mixed with the sound of human footsteps and hurried panting appeared, and several figures in uniforms suddenly rushed over and stopped right in front of him.

Zhu Yan swept his gaze over them and saw Qin Yang's hurried and panicked face.

Holy crap.

Where did these players come from?!

"Mr. Frog!" Qin Yang hurriedly called out, distancing himself from the nearby commissary boss, his whole body almost pressed against the wall beside him.

"I am a classmate of the [Hunter]. We... we can help you look for him together!"

Tap, tap.

The tapping sound behind them was getting closer. Qin Yang shrank back nervously again, tensing his muscular body.

A cyan leg gleaming with metallic luster appeared in Zhu Yan's line of sight, followed closely by another.

Zhu Yan's heart leaped slightly once again.

He knew what this was—

He had seen a carriage-like room in the corridor, filled with bronze sculptures just like this.

But he hadn't expected these dead objects to actually be living creatures, and moreover—

The sculptures stopped behind the supermarket boss, standing in two full rows and completely blocking the already narrow corridor.

Zhu Yan was petrified.

He just wanted to fish for some information; he wasn't even sure of the levels of these terrifying creatures in front of him.

Great, now even the players had been lured over.

If his cover was blown...

Zhu Yan muttered in his heart.

Players, you will just have to die!

Fortunately, the mouths of those bronze statues opened and closed, spitting out a uniform greeting.

"Hello, Mr. Frog."

The voices carried a metallic clanking and an unearthly, chilling coldness, yet Zhu Yan's heart suddenly relaxed.

They said "Mr. Frog".

His Roleplay ability was level six, so the levels of these things were below level six, falling perfectly within the coverage range of his Telekinesis ability.

Hopefully, they had a heart inside their bodies... or something else.

"We all heard that you came to inquire about the [Hunter]."

Zhu Yan glanced at the supermarket boss. The boss's mouth was fixed in a standard arc, revealing rows of fine, sharp teeth.

It sized Zhu Yan up with great interest, an interest much like a snake sizing up a scurrying mouse.

Zhu Yan felt that things were not looking good.

What did this expression mean?

The supermarket boss began to laugh hoarsely. Glistening saliva dripped down little by little, forming sticky strings.

"I like children's toys. Men are boys until death, and even after death, they remain boys."

Its murky eyeballs rolled around and, from behind its heavily drooping eyelids, locked accurately onto Zhu Yan.

"I love to play the most, and you happen to be very interesting. I plan to play for 5 minutes before I kill you, player."

Zhu Yan's relaxed heart instantly jumped back into his throat.

Alright, now he knew.

Between these two terrifying creatures, the statues were below level six, while the supermarket boss was above level six, its exact level unknown.

The supermarket boss ruthlessly exposed him, but—

He might still have five minutes.

Whatever.

The moment the supermarket boss made a move, he would immediately shout the password and hide back in the dorm room!

Furthermore...

Zhu Yan grabbed Qin Yang by the collar.

"Five minutes!"

He shouted loudly at Qin Yang, scaring all the color out of the other man's face.

What, what was going on?

Qin Yang didn't understand, and the other two players also cowered in place, practically about to wet themselves in fear.

Why was it developing like this?

This frog actually submitted to another terrifying creature so mercilessly...

Were they going to die in five minutes?

Qin Yang's heart began to beat violently, his mind filled with despair.

Zhu Yan sneered.

These players came at the perfect time. They were perfect scapegoats to ensure that both the players themselves and the bronze statues wouldn't suspect him of being the [Hunter].

"Just stay here."

Zhu Yan threw the pale-faced Qin Yang to the ground and threatened aloud.

"You're not allowed to go anywhere, otherwise you'll die immediately!"

Of course they couldn't run.

If they ran, who was he going to shift the blame to?

Zhu Yan decisively activated his Complain ability and turned to the bronze statues.

"A bunch of trash! Stop talking so much nonsense, where is my [Hunter]?"

He needed to test out the levels of these things.

The bronze statues were not affected at all; their bodies didn't even sway.

"We didn't see—" they said in unison, "Someone ran past our rest room, but we aren't sure if he was the [Hunter]."

"Trash," Zhu Yan cursed for the second time.

The bronze statues still weren't affected; however, the supermarket boss burst into loud laughter, its saliva flowing even more heavily.

"Interesting! Where did you get the nerve to extort information like this to obtain money?"

Zhu Yan was about to break out in a cold sweat, his back starting to feel clammy.

Pretending not to hear the underlying meaning in the boss's words, he remained expressionless and slowly turned toward the slumped Qin Yang on the ground.

"Why would my companion say that, player?"

Zhu Yan looked at Qin Yang's completely bloodless face and trembling lips, his mind racing.

Analyzing the supermarket boss's words, it didn't know that Zhu Yan was the [Hunter].

It thought he was merely a fraud trying to extort information about the [Hunter] in order to obtain 300—or 900 bone coins.

"Why would it say you are extorting information to obtain money?"

Zhu Yan stuffed one hand into his pocket and activated his Telekinesis ability.

He aimed at one of the bronze statues, feeling his hand being enveloped by a mire-like slime.

Zhu Yan didn't dare to hesitate.

He stirred through the mire and quickly grabbed hold of a beating, ice-cold...

"Mr. Frog!" the bronze statue suddenly spoke. Its tone remained completely flat, yet the chilling aura radiating from it grew increasingly oppressive.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything! Everything!"

Meanwhile, Qin Yang's face had drained of all color.

His entire body was trembling. He stammered for a few seconds, but simply couldn't force out a single word!