The Victim Alliance

Zhu Yan's interest was piqued.

He immediately pricked up his ears and edged closer to the door, trying his best to hear more clearly.

"...And then, then Mr. Frog appeared and told me what the [Hunter] looked like!"

Auntie Jin angrily recounted her experience, once again extending a bug-like leg to point at the supermarket owner who was bound by the Treant.

The supermarket owner's originally plump body had deflated by half. Loose, bug-like skin drooped through the gaps in the branches, and its hands and feet were reduced to little more than thin, papery flaps.

It could still barely open its mouth to speak, but its previous vigor was entirely gone; its tone was now brimming with venomous resentment.

At this point, what was there left to misunderstand?

The [Hunter] was indeed here.

However, he and the players upstairs were definitely in cahoots.

They had colluded to lure it down, staging a play of murder by proxy!

"Hmph. What Mr. Frog? That was the [Hunter]'s trick!"

"I am just a wrongfully accused horror creature!"

Saying this, the supermarket owner thrashed and struggled with all its might, like a fish caught in a net.

"Let me go! Let me go! I'm going to kill him!"

"He did it on purpose!! My lord, let—"

The following word morphed into a shrill, endless shriek.

Within seconds, the supermarket owner's body rapidly shriveled up, like a deflated football.

Its exposed head lost its shape, as if the bones inside had melted away.

Only that pair of murky gray eyes remained embedded in the skin.

They stared coldly ahead, the resentment and malice within them almost materializing into something tangible.

A few drops of residual dark green liquid dripped onto the ground and were quickly absorbed by the extending roots of the large tree; the Treant's withered branches visibly gained a bit of luster, even taking on a somewhat metallic texture.

This scene frightened the horror creatures watching from the sidelines into absolute silence.

Auntie Jin cowered in front of a stall, slowly sliding down.

Fake.

It was all fake.

That Mr. Frog who promised to protect her, and the [Hunter] who stole her key, were actually the same player in disguise.

Then, then her little life...

She looked at the Treant, rubbing its branches in aftertaste, and then at the toad, which stared with scarlet eyes, turning a blind eye to all of this.

Both of these high-level horror creatures had rather indifferent attitudes.

Especially the toad...

The corners of its mouth curled up eerily, exuding an indescribable chill.

"Oh. So, that [Hunter] pulled the same trick again."

The toad said to the Treant, unable to hide the schadenfreude in its tone.

"I'm afraid your situation is now the same as mine. Is the thing you were guarding still okay?"

These words lashed at Auntie Jin's heart as fiercely as branches whipping a bug's body.

She didn't know what pulled the same trick again meant.

But she could roughly guess.

The [Hunter] came for the thing the Treant was guarding.

And judging by the frog's meaning, that thing was probably already lost.

Auntie Jin's insectoid mouth opened and closed, trembling.

It's over, she was done for.

Was she going to die too?

Auntie Jin struggled to prop up her body.

After resting for a moment, she spread her wings and struggled to fly in the direction of Auntie Jin's Braised Noodles.

A branch covered in thorns pierced right through her body.

This branch shot up from directly beneath Auntie Jin; it was part of the Treant's extended root system.

A final shrill screech echoed through the corridor, followed by the crunching sound of a hard shell being completely crushed.

The branches scooped up this pile of mangled remains and stuffed them whole underneath its roots.

After a long, silent moment, the tree finally turned back to the frog, its tone as deep and icy as ever.

"You worry too much."

"The [Hunter] only has the key to the outer main door."

"And before coming to find you, I closed the main door."

"If anything goes inside, I will know immediately."

The Treant turned around coldly and walked toward the door.

Having just consumed two horror creatures, its trunk looked a bit more vigorous. Beneath the bark, some tiny flesh buds stirred restlessly.

"Besides, even if he luckily gets in, and by some miracle gets the second key, it is impossible for him to find the keyhole to the secret room."

A keyhole hidden under the mud, wedged in a narrow crevice.

Who could find it?

The toad did not argue, only letting out a snort from its nose.

It raised its head high and sniffed lightly; waiting until the Treant stopped by the door, it gave a cold snort.

"I wouldn't be so sure."

This voice pierced through the door panel, reaching Zhu Yan's ears clearly.

Zhu Yan slowly slipped off his bracelet, once again allowing a sickly, morbid joy to fill his heart.

He pulled a cold sneer, took a step forward, and listened with satisfaction to the toad's final sentence.

"I smell it. There is a scent belonging to the [Hunter], and it stretches all the way inside the door."

"I suggest you break down the door, you foolish Treant."

Zhu Yan methodically smeared a bit of Erasure Ointment onto the palm of his right hand.

Bang!

This was the sound of branches whipping the main door.

However, the bronze door was exceptionally sturdy; under the loud crash, it only trembled slightly.

Bang!

A second sound.

The force this time was much greater than before; the bronze door deformed slightly.

Zhu Yan really wanted to sit here and see how long it would take them to break the door open.

But he couldn't.

It was too dangerous, and he was in a hurry to go back to sleep.

Bang!

A third sound.

The middle of the bronze door was battered until it bulged inward; it wouldn't be long before it was pierced through.

"Keep safe!"

Zhu Yan whispered, yanking off the Demon Cloak.

A massive pulling force violently yanked him.

The next second.

He crashed heavily onto his own bed again, making the mattress and the bed frame shudder violently!

"Who is it?!" a voice called out from under the bed.

A tuxedo cat poked its head out from under the covers, glaring at Zhu Yan with extreme dissatisfaction.

Zhu Yan gave it a pet, transformed back into Zhu Zeyu's appearance, and pretended to climb down unsteadily, as if exhausted.

"Me," he said weakly, "Zhu Zeyu."

Yang Zhanbai was stunned.

Zhu Yan shakily got down to the floor, gripping the ladder tightly with one hand, and leaned against the bed frame with a pale face.

He offered Yang Zhanbai a feeble smile, showing him his perfectly blank right palm.

"Sorry for making you guys worry."

Zhu Yan deliberately made his voice hoarse, looking from one person to another.

"I should be fine now. What about you guys? Are you alright?"

The not-so-small dorm room was packed with people, actually seeming a bit cramped.

Chen Zhaoxing and Xu Tongguang, whom he had knocked out; Qin Yang and another unnamed survivor, whom he had thrown out as meat shields; and Yang Zhanbai and Qi Yinming, whom he had deceived miserably.

Among them, Chen Zhaoxing narrowed his eyes to scrutinize him, then gave him a wicked grin.

Qi Yinming didn't say a word, simply turning and walking toward the kitchen.

Hmm, Zhu Yan nodded to himself.

The Victim's Alliance.

Yang Zhanbai's eyes grew moist.

"Damn, why are you back now?"

He patted Zhu Yan's shoulder, just as Qi Yinming returned holding a paper cup.

"I told you not to come back. That supermarket owner has his eyes on us, he wants us dead no matter what."

Yang Zhanbai smiled bitterly in helplessness.

Qi Yinming handed over the paper cup: "Glucose water."

Zhu Yan gratefully accepted it and took a sip.

"Brother, what kind of nonsense is that?"

He patted Yang Zhanbai on the shoulder, his hand still trembling slightly.

"We've been through life and death together. At a time like this, you expect me to just save my own skin?"