Darkroom

Meanwhile.

The Toad squeezed into the tiny storefront of [Auntie Jin's Braised Noodles], raising its head and sniffing around.

"This is the place," it said. "He was here. I smell a very strong scent!"

The shop was far too cramped, so the Toad waved its claw, signaling the Supermarket Boss not to disturb it for now.

The Supermarket Boss stood at the door submissively, but the excitement in his eyes was completely unconcealed.

That player was still here.

He was going to tear this damn [Hunter] into pieces!

At the same time.

On the other half of the corridor, a tree exuding a strong stench of rotting flesh crushed everything in its path.

As it approached the [Auntie Jin's Braised Noodles] shop, the previously cowering Auntie Jin suddenly stood up and screamed with hatred.

"It's him! I recognize him, he is the [Hunter]!"

The sharp screech instantly pierced the quiet air of the corridor.

Auntie Jin raised several of her insect legs and pointed forward with all her might.

She saw it—

Greasy, sparse black hair clung limply to the head, and insect skin sagged in overlapping folds.

Even the expression on his face was the familiar cruelty, brutality, and hypocrisy she remembered.

Auntie Jin accused like a madwoman.

"He is the [Hunter]!! He tricked me out of my key! Boss, kill him!!"

The petal-like fleshy mouth on the tree trunk opened and closed for a moment, locking onto the position of the Supermarket Boss.

Weak, not strong enough, and radiating the aura of a thriller creature all over.

However, this useless cicada accused him of being the [Hunter].

The tree spirit's arthropod limbs clicked and clacked against the ground.

This was worth being wary of.

The [Wanted Poster] stated that the [Hunter] excelled at transformation, and the low-level [Demons] he turned into couldn't even be recognized by the frog.

The frog—oh wait, the Toad—was a level 14 thriller creature!

The petal-like mouth on the trunk opened and closed, letting out a cold sneer.

If he could transform into a [Demon], of course he could transform into this Supermarket Boss, whatever that was!

...

Auntie Jin's voice was extremely piercing, and the Supermarket Boss heard it immediately.

Hunter?

Where?

He immediately turned his head to look around, but there was nothing there.

Hearing the voice, the Toad sneered even more: "Yes, the Hunter. He was here before, but at least he's not here now."

The Supermarket Boss squeezed further out and strained to look ahead, suddenly spotting the pillar-like tree standing in the middle of the corridor!

The voice shouting "Hunter" came from the bug next to it.

The bug's level was very low, nothing but a jumping clown.

But the dead tree...

The Supermarket Boss licked the corner of his lips with his scarlet tongue.

He couldn't determine the other party's level, but it should be about the same as Mr. Frog.

Was such a creature actually looking for the [Hunter] too?

The Supermarket Boss couldn't help but want to go over and communicate.

Heaven was truly helping him.

This [Hunter] had offended so many big shots.

His revenge would probably be completed much faster than he had imagined!

In the distance.

The tree spirit extended a branch to probe the direction of the Supermarket Boss, and then carefully probed Auntie Jin's head.

The player aura on Auntie Jin was quite rich.

That Supermarket Boss, on the other hand, was a genuine thriller creature.

It had no eyes.

However, it could tell that the thriller creature accused of being the [Hunter] was approaching their direction.

But this was not important.

The trunk swayed for a while, letting out a few hoarse murmurs.

His ability level could fool a level 14 thriller creature, yet he happened to leave a faint scent on Auntie Jin.

Who knew if this was the [Hunter]'s sleight of hand?

Deliberately getting close to them, who knew if this was some strange little trick?

Whether it was or wasn't, the principle it adhered to had always been to crush them into scum first and ask questions later.

Anyway, crushing a low-level thriller creature wouldn't be a mistake, right?

Beside it, Auntie Jin was still stomping her feet: "Boss, don't let him get away! The [Hunter], I swear that's the [Hunter]!"

She turned her head anxiously and finally saw the motionless tree spirit move.

Those arthropod limbs, sharp enough to instantly pierce her body, darted forward rapidly. The tattered red robe was swept up by the wind, and a silent shudder invaded the entire space.

Auntie Jin felt her blood boiling all over, and even the pain in her body lessened by half.

"Kill!" she shouted as she jumped, "Kill him!!"

...

Inside the room.

Zhu Yan activated [Telekinesis] and retrieved a golden key floating in the center of the box.

"Thank you, Daddy. Daddy, do you know where the door this key opens is?"

This box looked too disgusting; he didn't want to touch it directly anyway.

But after a few calls of "Daddy," this thing seemed a bit tipsy.

Seeing Zhu Yan take the key, it not only wasn't angry but rubbed against Zhu Yan even more affectionately, desperately nuzzling Zhu Yan's pant leg with its rough body.

It was as if what Zhu Yan took was not the treasure it was guarding, but a carefully prepared gift from it.

Hearing Zhu Yan's question, the box became even more enthusiastic.

It slid forward on the branches at the bottom of the box and quickly stopped beside a deep crevice. The box faced Zhu Yan and enthusiastically clicked open and closed twice.

Zhu Yan walked over, brought his phone's flashlight close to the gap, and illuminated it carefully.

"Thank you, Daddy."

The crevice was filled with dirty red mud.

Zhu Yan pulled out that level five dining knife and dug at it little by little.

The gap was incredibly narrow.

After a full minute, he finally managed to see a bit of metallic reflection deep within the crevice.

It was a keyhole!

It was embedded deep in this crevice at an unbelievable angle, almost completely covered by the cement bricks above, leaving only a slight reflection on the edge.

Zhu Yan furrowed his brows, wanting to swear.

Fuck.

What kind of hellish difficulty was this [Carnival Paradise]?

A keyhole deep in a crevice that couldn't be seen without a light, a crevice stuffed full of mud, a box that was clearly a thriller creature placed on top of the crevice, and an even higher-level thriller creature on top of the box.

If they were all novice players, how were they supposed to pass this level?

Unless they found a [Hunter] with a much higher level than them!

Zhu Yan found the right angle, aligned the golden key with the keyhole, pressed it in with effort, and then gave it a twist.

Clack!

The ground trembled for a moment.

He stepped back, and by the white light of the flashlight, he saw the crevice on the ground continuously expanding with the keyhole as the center.

Crack—

Crack—

The ground trembled violently, and scattered gravel kept bouncing around.

About a few seconds later, the gap completely cut the ground into several pieces.

Zhu Yan held the dining knife tightly and nervously glanced back towards the door.

He didn't know if this commotion was loud or not, or if it was loud enough for the thriller creatures outside to hear.

This was the final step.

At the very least, he had to successfully get the key fragment, right?

He withdrew his gaze and stared intently at the ground.

The stones cut open by the crevice were silently disappearing, revealing the hidden room below.

Zhu Yan held his breath.

Two seconds later, he finally saw it—

A tiny white microchip, floating silently in the center of the hidden room!