run

Zhu Yan handed the grade-four [Demon Cloak] to Dragonfly, and tossed him the supermarket owner's hide as well.

"So, this is also a decent upgrade material, right?"

One at level ten, the other at level fourteen—how many levels could they raise the [Demon Cloak] to?

"I can add some money," Zhu Yan said. "I need this thing right now."

He was heading to the print shop at Donghua University.

The print shop didn't serve human players, so Zhu Yan would either have to activate [Roleplay] or use the [Demon Cloak].

But [Roleplay] was only level six—not necessarily safe in this environment.

With an upgraded [Demon Cloak], he'd at least feel a bit more secure.

Dragonfly's huge compound eyes fixed on Zhu Yan, rotating slightly.

"Fine," it said. "Forty bone coins. I can have it done in twenty minutes."

"You'd better hurry—don't delay me from finishing the [Changing Menu]!"

Zhu Yan immediately flashed his player token to pay.

He watched as Dragonfly carried the two hides into the workshop, then patted the Tuxedo Cat on his shoulder and moved a little further away.

"Waow," the Tuxedo Cat murmured softly.

That was its way of asking if Zhu Yan was planning something, and Zhu Yan understood perfectly.

"Yeah," he whispered. "In a bit... I need you to turn into mist, and then..."

...

The brand-new [Demon Cloak] was tossed onto the counter.

It was no longer a tattered, dark gray rag. Instead, it was made of pure black fabric with a high-end silk-satin sheen, neat stitching along the edges, and even embossed leather-like patterns near the hood's rim.

The pattern was bird feathers, blending leather and satin smoothly, with a natural gradient that complemented each other perfectly.

Zhu Yan wanted to touch it, but Dragonfly kindly warned, "Drop a drop of blood."

After he pricked his fingertip and the blood quickly seeped into the cloak's surface, Dragonfly explained slowly.

"It looks just like silk, right? But it's not," it said, rubbing its insect legs together. "That's toad venom on the surface. Its poison sac is empty, but there's still a little residue... thank the Elysium!"

"So it can poison people?" Zhu Yan asked curiously, feeling the fabric—the texture was nothing special.

"When necessary, it will," Dragonfly said. "Oh—glorious me! This cloak is a full fourteen levels!"

Zhu Yan was genuinely delighted this time.

It was no longer a low-level [Demon Cloak]. That meant even if he wore it openly, he could plausibly deny being a [Hunter], since a fourteen-level [Demon] wouldn't count as a low-level demon under the [Wanted List].

He could actually use this for the rest of the instance!

Dragonfly was thoroughly pleased with Zhu Yan's reaction.

"You may leave now, honored guest." It raised an insect leg, watching Zhu Yan stow the new [Demon Cloak] into his ring.

"My task is done. Don't expect me to reveal anything more."

Zhu Yan nodded curtly, picked up the Tuxedo Cat, and left.

"Okay."

This was the time to play it cool.

Zhu Yan's plan was to pretend to leave first, lowering Dragonfly's guard; then have the Tuxedo Cat, transformed into mist, sneak back in to keep watch.

Once the job was done, he'd use [Telekinesis] to grab the item and run.

That would make everything perfectly clean.

He pushed open the door of [Lazy Artisan Shop] without a second glance, stepping into the messy hallway.

Inside the shop.

Dragonfly stared dumbly at the closed door and the figure of decisive departure, scraping its bald head with its insect legs to produce a soft creak.

"...That's it?"

A rich disappointment flickered in its huge compound eyes. It didn't notice at all a faint wisp of mist slipping back through the crack in the door.

"Seriously, that's way too underwhelming!"

Dragonfly kicked its silver leg in annoyance, grumpily pulling open the bottom drawer of the counter and fishing out a thin sheet of rigid metal.

The Tuxedo Cat, now a thin mist, carefully hid under the counter, compressing itself as flat as possible.

"Oh, my Elysium, what kind of [Hunter] is this?"

"He didn't even bother to ask me a single question... and just walked off!"

Dragonfly felt annoyed.

Where was its fun?

Where had its big source of entertainment gone?

When this [Hunter] was downstairs, wasn't he doing everything to pry information out of it?

And then he went through all that trouble to come back here...

Dragonfly pulled out a large box of jewelry and trinkets, stomped into the workshop, and tossed them along with the thin metal plate onto the worktable.

The trinkets clattered against the wooden box with a rattle.

Dragonfly began hammering and working in a fit of frustration, muttering and complaining nonstop.

"Damn it, this is so annoying!"

"He worked so hard to get me to bring him up here, just so he could corner and question me, didn't he?"

"And I worked so hard pressing my leg against his arm, just to see the disappointment when I turned him down!"

A wisp of mist crept up to the ceiling above Dragonfly's head, peering down curiously.

Dragonfly remained oblivious. "How could he just walk away without a word, like that?!"

...

Zhu Yan found a secluded corner and waited, having already contacted the office using the red telephone.

The password for the print shop floor at Donghua University was "No Visitors Accepted."

Now, as soon as Dragonfly finished, he could make a quick escape.

Suddenly, Zhu Yan felt a cool sensation in his palm.

He quickly positioned his arms, one above the other, to form a cradling shape, and the next second, the Tuxedo Cat materialized warm and fluffy in his arms.

"Waow," it said. "Aowwuwaoh."

It was a strange, soft mumble.

In essence, it meant that Dragonfly was nearly done with the work, just embedding the final few jewels on the frame of the menu.

Zhu Yan listened carefully, then immediately set off, treading lightly toward the shop.

"You'll need to distract it for a while," he whispered to the Tuxedo Cat. "Make sure it's safe, and try to string it along as long as you can."

The Tuxedo Cat flicked its tail, its big round eyes fixed on the door of [Lazy Artisan Shop].

With a pop, it dissolved into a patch of mist. Part of it coiled around Zhu Yan's neck, while the other part swiftly darted back into the shop.

Zhu Yan hid outside the window, peering through the gaps between the carousel horses. He saw—

Dragonfly had already set the last jewel in place and was admiring its masterpiece with satisfaction.

But then, an almost entirely black cat leaped nimbly onto its workbench and flicked a paw.

Crash—

The jewelry box fell, scattering its contents everywhere in a cascade.

"Hey!" Dragonfly was startled.

It glared at the cat that had appeared out of nowhere, but the cat agilely jumped again, its claws landing squarely on Dragonfly's compound eye.

"Hey!!" Dragonfly shouted.

Zhu Yan didn't waste a second.

He quickly opened the shop door just a crack, stretched out his hand, and used [Telekinesis] to feel the heavy, jewel-encrusted "menu" snagged precisely in his grip.

Now!

Zhu Yan telepathically stored it into the ring. He watched the insect legs lunge at the Tuxedo Cat with incredible speed, only to stab straight through empty air.

The Tuxedo Cat had once again transformed into a wisp of thin mist.

Zhu Yan muttered under his breath, "No more visitors allowed!"