As You See

The door to Room 106 hadn't been fully closed.

Zhu Yan kicked it open, the door slamming against the nearby bed frame, startling everyone inside into a freeze.

The boy with glasses quickly shouted, "Boss!"

Chen Zhaoxing yanked Xu Tongguang over, furtively glancing under the bed, as if weighing whether to crawl beneath it.

But Yang Zhanbai was faster.

He snapped his fingers at Zhu Yan in a flash—

Yet nothing happened.

Zhu Yan raised an eyebrow, looking at Yang Zhanbai.

This outcome clearly caught Yang Zhanbai off guard as well.

"You..." he stared at Zhu Yan in stunned disbelief, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously.

To be fair.

In that instant when Yang Zhanbai snapped his fingers, Zhu Yan did feel faint threads of power trying to slice through his flesh, but they failed.

It was just a slight sting of pain.

Zhu Yan had checked Yang Zhanbai's ability before, in the Nightmare Bookstore—it was [Shang Yang], a highly aggressive type.

The name was hellish enough, yes, but the effect wasn't half-bad—too bad it was only Level 4.

How could a Level 4 ability stand up to a Level 7 player?

"Me what?"

Zhu Yan sneered, reaching out abruptly to grab Chen Zhaoxing, who was behind Xu Tongguang.

He couldn't be bothered to argue with Yang Zhanbai. Activating [Humiliation], he decisively chopped down with his hand.

Chen Zhaoxing went limp and fainted, the two explosive cockroaches dropping from his palm to the floor.

Zhu Yan dragged Chen Zhaoxing out the door, but Yang Zhanbai lunged at him, the Level 4 dagger aimed straight for his back.

"I'll take one down if I can!"

Zhu Yan kicked again without hesitation.

This kick was perfectly measured. Yang Zhanbai staggered back a few steps, crashing with a clatter onto a messy bed, unconscious.

"Anyone else?"

Zhu Yan, mimicking Tu Shan, narrowed his eyes.

"Not a bad point you made—I'm indeed a [Hunter] now."

He let out another cold laugh, then delivered another hand chop to Qi Yinming's neck.

As Qi Yinming slowly crumpled to the floor, Zhu Yan struck a dignified pose and scanned the others with a fierce glare.

"But do you know how much reward a [Hunter] can get?"

Never mind, Zhu Yan was just making it up as he went.

He needed to cover his tracks, to explain why "Tu Shan" had suddenly spiked in strength.

After all, Tu Shan was already dead.

Slapping this blame squarely on Tu Shan was perfect timing.

"[The Carnival Paradise] forcibly boosted my player level and ability level.

How do you plan to fight me now with your current strength?"

The glasses-wearing boy swallowed hard, exchanging glances with the others.

Then he looked at "Tu Shan" with a hint of awe, shrinking his neck.

Right. There was no way they could beat Tu Shan.

But how were they supposed to survive?

"B-Boss, wh-what about the game clue..." the glasses-wearing boy mustered his courage to ask.

"You know, catching the Hunter—"

Boom!

Zhu Yan, having achieved his goal of shifting the blame, mercilessly kicked again.

This time, he used about eighty percent of his strength. The boy flew backward, hit the bed frame, and slid down limp, his head lolling to one side, motionless.

The others were too scared to speak. Someone scrambled toward the door, but Zhu Yan wasn't letting them off.

He activated [Humiliation] and laid into them—punching, kicking. Soon, bodies littered the floor in disarray.

Some fell right into the still-damp patch of blood, the red staining dark, mottled blotches onto their uniforms.

Of the dozen or so people in the room, only Xu Tongguang was left standing.

To Zhu Yan's surprise, Xu Tongguang looked at him with a glimmer of hope.

He even stepped forward on his own, and that "Tu Shan" actually released the fully unconscious Chen Zhaoxing, grabbing him instead.

But to Xu Tongguang's disappointment, this bully didn't hit him. Instead, he kicked Chen Zhaoxing's prone form one more time.

Zhu Yan did this because Chen Zhaoxing's level was higher than the other players', and he wasn't sure when the guy might wake up.

As for Xu Tongguang...

A blood-stained military knife pressed mercilessly against his neck.

Zhu Yan truly didn't dare touch Xu Tongguang—he only dared to drive him into the eerie creature's lair and let the creature handle him.

Good grief, this ability was way too overpowered.

Plus, Xu Tongguang was from Baily City; there was no telling if his ability level had hit Level 7 or not.

"Move," Zhu Yan ordered coldly, gripping Xu Tongguang's arm with deliberate restraint.

"Walk ahead. Don't even think about running."

Double the gripping force rebounded onto Zhu Yan's own arm, and it felt like his arm was being clamped down by iron pincers.

Zhu Yan immediately knew what was what.

If his own player level was Level 7, then Xu Tongguang's ability had to be at least Level 7 as well.

Good.

He hoped that eerie creature's level was also below seven.

If that were the case, Xu Tongguang would be Zhu Yan's sharpest blade.

The two of them stepped back into the cold, damp hallway.

Barely a few minutes had passed, yet the moisture in the air had thickened; even the stone walls on both sides were beaded with water.

The chill crept deliberately into their collars. Zhu Yan was fine enough, but Xu Tongguang couldn't help shivering.

"Wh-where are you taking me?" he asked timidly. "Why aren't you hitting me?"

This "Tu Shan" wasn't as dumb as he'd imagined.

He and Chen Zhaoxing had pulled this trick on plenty of people—Chen Zhaoxing would provoke, and Xu Tongguang would step up to take the beating.

But today was different.

Even though Chen Zhaoxing's provocation had worked just fine, this so-called Tu Shan just wouldn't lay a hand on him!

Xu Tongguang swallowed nervously.

"I'm a [Hunter]."

The sinister voice of "Tu Shan" hissed at his ear.

The low murmur sent an uncontrollable shiver down Xu Tongguang's spine.

"After that capped player tricked me, [The Carnival Paradise] gave me a hint. I know what your ability is."

"Forward!"

Zhu Yan kept pushing Xu Tongguang onward, moving far faster than cautious, slow-pacing Tu Shan ever had.

The cold soon seeped through their shoes, sending a chill all the way up their feet.

Zhu Yan could feel Xu Tongguang trembling faintly.

And that thick, churning mist was just ahead—

Xu Tongguang's footsteps faltered noticeably.

"C-classmate, this is...?"

If Chen Zhaoxing were here, Xu Tongguang wouldn't hesitate to charge in; with health regen and control over his HP bar, he wasn't afraid.

But the problem was, Chen Zhaoxing was knocked out back in that room.

Going in alone would be suicide.

Zhu Yan had no idea what this thing was either.

The emergency light in the corridor dimly glimmered through the thick haze, struggling to outline a cloaked figure below.

That eerie creature was inside.

Zhu Yan didn't know its level either.

But no matter what, there would always be a way.

"This is the hallway," he said coldly, forcing Xu Tongguang into the mist.

"Just as you can see."