Go Find the Hunter First

The Supermarket Boss took a sip of tea, sticking out a tongue covered in white moss to lick its lips.

Zhu Yan really wanted to make a sarcastic remark about how its constitution was a mix of cold and dampness.

But realizing he was in an instance, he forcefully held it back.

"Is that so," the Supermarket Boss smacked its lips. "That's good then. You continue."

From the corner of his eye, Zhu Yan swept a glance over the few players cowering and shivering in the corner, a group of expressionless but rattling statues, and the boss's restless face, ready to shout "keep safe" at any moment.

He mimicked the toad's cruel expression perfectly and began the final step of his scam.

"Do you know about [Auntie Jin Braised Noodles]?"

To go to the floor where [Auntie Jin Braised Noodles] was located, one had to state a specific floor command.

What if the Supermarket Boss knew it?

If it actually said the command out loud, Zhu Yan could subsequently interrogate these statues who were also present and heard it.

Anyway, he knew that floors with terrifying creatures like [Auntie Jin Braised Noodles] wouldn't shift too quickly.

It shouldn't be too late for him to head over after the Supermarket Boss realized it had been tricked!

The Supermarket Boss slowly lowered the teacup in its hand.

"[Auntie Jin Braised Noodles]... I do know of such a place."

"However, as for which exact floor it's on, I'll have to make a call..."

"To ask!!"

The moment the word "ask" dropped, the corners of the boss's mouth suddenly split open all the way to its earlobes.

That white-moss-covered tongue shot toward Zhu Yan with lightning speed, and then—

It hit nothing but air!

Inside Dorm 303.

Zhu Yan landed with a thud, panting heavily.

The stench of saliva and the foul, fishy smell emanating from that tongue still lingered in his nasal cavity. Propping himself up from the floor, Zhu Yan couldn't help but dry heave.

He reverted to his original appearance and looked up.

Scattered on the floor were several empty bottles of [Universal Potion]; these potions were barely enough to treat the injuries caused by the level five [Humiliation], but Yang Zhanbai and Qi Yinming seemed to have recovered somewhat.

They had originally been gathered in front of the mirror, but upon seeing Zhu Yan, they adopted a hostile, ready-to-fight stance again.

"How on earth are you able to enter our dorm?"

Having suffered a loss once, Yang Zhanbai wasn't as impulsive as last time.

He held a short dagger produced by the [Online Mall] horizontally across his chest, his face looking absolutely terrible.

Zhu Yan couldn't be bothered to waste breath on them.

Faint roars from the Supermarket Boss were echoing in the hallway. Fragmented words seeped through the solid door and reached their ears.

"He ran away!... The food... ran away!"

"Eat him...! Eat him! What floor is he on?"

Zhu Yan glanced at the mirror.

The boss's figure wasn't within the surveillance range at all; it was hard to imagine what these two had just been doing.

"Is Zhu Zeyu about to die?" Qi Yinming suddenly asked.

He adjusted his glasses, trying his best to suppress the emotion in his eyes.

"Our door has absorbed our blood and acknowledged its masters."

"Just knowing the password wouldn't let you in at all."

"What did you take from Zhu Zeyu?"

He had just noticed this, which was why he had stared at Zhu Yan and pondered for a long time.

For a few seconds, he even suspected that Zhu Zeyu had deceived them.

But that was impossible—

Because Zhu Zeyu's player account was still glaringly active, completely different from a [Hunter]'s account.

Guan En had also given a clear reply: every player could indeed only have one player account; this was an unshakable rule.

Probably having fallen into a coma, Zhu Zeyu hadn't replied to the private messages the two sent through the [Player Forum] backend.

Yang Zhanbai sneered, "You know Officer Guan, right? He said you murdered your relatives' entire family and took the ability that can rip out a person's internal organs."

Zhu Yan wasn't listening at all.

He was trying to catch a shred of information from the faint noise outside the door that would be useful for assessing the situation.

However, Yang Zhanbai grew more agitated as he spoke, actually taking a step forward and pointing the tip of his knife straight at Zhu Yan.

"What did you rip out of his body? Why can you enter our dorm? Where is he?"

The hallway fell silent.

The mirror no longer displayed any images. Zhu Yan activated [Humiliation] once more, pushed the furious Yang Zhanbai aside, and gently, carefully turned the doorknob.

Now, the Supermarket Boss's voice, which had previously been completely isolated, reappeared.

"...I bet he couldn't have gone far."

That bizarre voice still carried an undertone of rage, followed by the sound of footsteps.

"Besides, there are still a few little snacks here to tide me over."

"Where could he go? At most, he'd return to his original floor, or..."

The Supermarket Boss walked back to its shop, picked up the phone next to the counter, and suddenly revealed a silent smile.

It figured it out.

Earlier, that player had indeed disappeared for a while, and then suddenly appeared disguised as a toad.

It was highly likely that he didn't have the ability to leave this place at all.

He was just hiding like last time—to escape death.

The call connected, and the Supermarket Boss couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter in a good mood.

"Hello—jie jie jie. I need to know the floor command for [Auntie Jin Braised Noodles]."

"Oh? Who am I? I am the boss of [Memory Supermarket]."

There were so many terrifying creatures on their floor; it wouldn't shift randomly.

But the floor with [Auntie Jin Braised Noodles] wasn't a sure thing. Moreover, who knew if the [Hunter] would suddenly leave?

It might as well head over there first and get those 900 Bone Coins.

Then come back and eat all these little snacks on this floor!

Thinking of Zhu Yan, the Supermarket Boss shook its head in a human-like manner.

Foolish player, what was the use of stalling for time?

He would lose his life eventually. Before dying, he even kindly provided a clue for 900 Bone Coins.

The Supermarket Boss laughed chillingly, its murky gray eyes rolling toward Qin Yang's direction.

Before leaving, it could grab a quick bite...

Zhu Yan didn't dare get too close to the boss, so he couldn't hear any of the phone conversation.

About a minute later, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from the center of the hallway, accompanied by the cracking of shattering bones and the sound of flesh and muscle being torn and ripped apart.

The next second, the world suddenly went quiet, and then the chilling aura seemed to dissipate for the most part.

Aside from the sudden explosion of metallic blood stench, everything indeed felt less suffocating than before.

Did it leave?

Zhu Yan tiptoed closer to where the sound had come from and heard Qin Yang's muffled crying.

"D-dead... He's dead..."

Oh.

Zhu Yan felt relieved and immediately activated his ability [Roleplay].

If this coward dared to cry out loud, the Supermarket Boss must have left.

The statues began to rattle.

"The boss left," they said in perfect unison. "Mr. Frog has also disappeared."

"So, may we enjoy the food?"

With a thought, Zhu Yan activated his ability [Telekinesis].

"Not yet."

He said coldly, reaching his hand into the sludge-like substance once more and grabbing hold of their heart.

Dorm 303 was behind the bronze statues.

Zhu Yan stood still, avoiding the blood pooling and flowing on the floor.

A player had died—

His corpse lay sprawled behind the legs of these statues, completely empty from the neck up.

"Tell me quietly."

Zhu Yan placed an index finger against his lips, facing the statues that were creaking as they turned back around.

"What did the Supermarket Boss say before he left?"

His gaze swept across the neat rows of dormitory doors on both sides as he emphasized his point once more.

"You have to whisper. The kind of whisper that a third player or a horror creature won't be able to hear!"

Inside a dormitory room nearby.

Chen Zhaoxing kept his ear pressed tightly against the dorm door, a look of frustration on his face.

"What on earth is going on?"

"Seriously, I can't make sense of this at all."

"Who exactly left? Why did that boss yell something like 'the premium food flew away'?"

"The food means the players. Did a player manage to escape from this place?"