"Based on the fingerprints and other biological data left on Train G3075, we can confirm that this is a real, living person, not some supernatural creature from the players' stories."
The officer held up a sealed evidence bag containing collected fingerprints and a single strand of hair.
"No matter what the suspect's motives were for coming here, he has brought this unknown, life-threatening element into Anwu City."
Guan En recalled the words echoing in his memory: "You owe your life to me."
He thought back to the entire process of the instance, feeling that this official narrative wasn't quite right.
But... as a police officer, he couldn't overstep his bounds.
Looking at the officer on the podium, Guan En swallowed his urge to speak up and add his piece.
"We suspect that the Novice Instance experienced by Guan En and his colleague was triggered precisely because of this person's escape, which subsequently led to today's tragedy."
This referred to Guan En and his superior.
Guan En pressed his lips together. Unable to interrupt, he had no choice but to focus and keep listening.
"In the future, these deaths and sudden fatalities caused by unknown forces will only increase. We must catch this person before the situation becomes severely distorted."
"For his own selfish desires, he has brought a survival crisis to the people of Anwu City!"
The words were spoken with absolute conviction.
The officer frowned slightly. The police department could show no mercy to someone who might stand against all of humanity!
...
Outside the police station.
A taxi sped past. The enthusiastic driver glanced sideways at the brightly lit office building and casually gossiped with Zhu Yan in the backseat.
"The folks at the police station are swamped. That incident this morning probably gave them a run for their money."
Oh?
Zhu Yan's internal alarms instantly went off, and his previously scattered focus sharpened.
He asked casually, "What incident?"
The driver was taken aback. "My goodness, you haven't heard? Someone died on a high-speed train at the North Station today. A ton of cops surrounded the place, and someone even took a video."
If even the driver knew about it, it meant the situation had escalated rapidly during the ten or so hours he had been asleep.
Zhu Yan remained impassive, listening to the driver talk on and on.
"I even have it saved on my phone. That police officer died a gruesome death; his head was completely gone."
"Man. I have a relative who works in the government. He heard through the grapevine that a special task force has already been set up. The whole city went under martial law this morning, and no one is allowed to leave."
"Wow, you really don't know anything at all?"
Zhu Yan smiled bitterly, shook his head, and told a lie.
"I really had no idea."
However, the driver's words did bring Zhu Yan up to speed on the latest developments outside.
Regardless, he needed to be more cautious lately and keep a close eye on the situation.
After all, even though erasing his name and appearance had made tracking him much more difficult, there were still fingerprints, hair, his ID number, and his address to worry about.
"I'm a college student. I just slept in my bed from morning till night."
If the police department really believed what the Hidden and Unissued app said—that he was some sort of contagious source of danger to humanity...
Then they might mobilize a massive police force to screen the residents using the biological data they had gathered.
"Ah, right, you do look like a college student." The driver glanced at Zhu Yan through the rearview mirror before looking back at the road.
"Do you go to school out of town? That's going to be a hassle. There's traffic control right now, and everyone has to stay put."
"They aren't letting anyone out of the city now, and a lot of people are raising hell over it."
"Go look online. Earlier today, I could still find posts complaining about it, though I don't know if they've been deleted by now."
Zhu Yan unlocked his phone and scrolled through it.
There was nothing on the trending searches, and the few sporadic posts he clicked on showed error messages.
If something as massive as traffic control wasn't even trending, it meant the authorities were deliberately suppressing the information.
"It probably won't last too long," Zhu Yan replied casually. "It is a city-wide lockdown, after all..."
The taxi came to a halt.
The towering shopping mall was brand new and beautiful, its first-floor street-facing display windows looking spacious and pristine.
"Who knows," the driver said. "But you can forget about leaving for the next five days, anyway. Take care!"
As Zhu Yan pulled the car door open, the driver's quiet muttering drifted into his ears.
"How can a guy be so handsome yet have such a generic face? I've been looking at him this whole trip, and I can't remember a single feature of his..."
Zhu Yan pushed open the mall doors and followed the escalator down, bathed in the blindingly bright, warm-toned lighting.
The mall looked like it had been built in the last couple of years. The ceilings were high, and the layout was grand, lacking the oppressive and dated feel of older shopping centers.
Looking down from the escalator, the first basement level was filled with trendy milk tea and pastry shops, along with dining bars that Zhu Yan never would have dared to enter in the past.
If it weren't for the map's guidance, he never would have guessed that the Hall of Mourning was located here.
He wondered if that police officer named Guan En had the mind to open his map and take a look.
If he had, the police department definitely wouldn't overlook this place.
Zhu Yan still remembered the female voice repeatedly emphasizing phrases like "keep moving" and "do not stop."
This time, the female voice hadn't given him any prompts, which meant the police hadn't taken action yet either.
This was a great opportunity to exchange currency.
In a good mood, Zhu Yan navigated the winding path toward the storefront standing right in the center of the basement level.
The dark brown shop was built in a bizarre, twisted cylindrical shape that reached straight up to the ceiling, reminding Zhu Yan of a massive tree root with its branches hacked off.
It looked incredibly out of place within the light-colored mall, standing like an isolated island amidst the pale yellow tiled pathways.
A giant WE neon sign hung diagonally across the "tree trunk," glowing with a faint, blood-red light.
Zhu Yan couldn't tear his eyes away. As he slowly approached, his body shrank back slightly from tension.
What could possibly be inside the Hall of Mourning?
Two dark glass windows were embedded in the main body of the shop. The interior wasn't bright, and Zhu Yan could only make out the flicker of candlelight.
He had to walk all the way around before finding the main entrance. Standing at the door was a pretty girl dressed in a brown skirt suit.
Upon seeing Zhu Yan, the girl gave him a somewhat stiff smile, doing her best to mimic a human tone.
"Hello, lovely sir. Care to come in for a cup of coffee?"
A pseudo-human.
According to the Level 3 pseudo-human on Train G3075, having a human skin meant it had survived at least one instance.
The girl stared at Zhu Yan, a deep, intense hunger leaking from her eyes.
Zhu Yan's eyebrows unconsciously furrowed. He felt deeply uncomfortable.
Were the customers who walked into this coffee shop really okay?
Reining in his thoughts, Zhu Yan calmly spoke the password.
"Silence is the only way home."
The pseudo-human's expression changed instantly.
Its mouth twitched in disappointment, and it finally turned to push the door open, inviting Zhu Yan inside.
"Welcome."
After the door closed, the pseudo-human looked around and stopped suppressing its voice.
"Please follow me, player."
The shop was filled with the heavy, stifling smell of rust, and there wasn't a single customer inside.
A massive but crude chandelier hung from the ceiling, with dozens of real candles mounted on it, burning fiercely.
Zhu Yan felt certain this wasn't something the fire department would allow.
He asked, "Have any other players come by today besides me?"
The pseudo-human shot him a dejected glance.
"No," it said. "You're actually the first customer. Goodness, I don't know why—such a prime location, yet not a single ghoul... uh, person!"
It's probably because the smell is too awful, Zhu Yan grumbled inwardly.
It was just like an uncleaned murder scene.
However, the fact that there was no one meant the police hadn't been here yet.
He followed the mimic girl behind the bar counter and watched as it opened a hidden compartment, reaching in to press something.
"Only I can press it," the mimic muttered. "Sigh, it's a pity I won't be able to press it soon."
The floor behind the bar gave a slight tremor, then began to spiral downward.
Zhu Yan steadied himself and asked curiously, "Why?"
"Because I'm starving to death," the mimic said resentfully. "According to the rules, I can't eat you right now. I hate you, Player."
Its hollow eyes stared intently at Zhu Yan's face, looking at him as if he were a dish on a menu.
Zhu Yan felt his stomach churn uncomfortably, fighting the urge to throw up his dinner.
He just wasn't sure what the difference was between the [Hall of Mourning] hosting horror creatures versus hosting players.
Moreover, [Carnival Paradise] had provided an online mall, which meant there were online accounts.
If he needed to open an account, he would still have to open a player account.
That was why he had maintained his player appearance to enter this place.
Otherwise, he would have definitely transformed into a mimic to barge in and completely kill off the mimic's desire to eat humans!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
