You Need Medicine Too

Oh, not stupid.

Zhu Yan stepped onto the tile floor of the print shop and saw the full picture of the horrifying creature.

The upper half of this thing's face was a beautiful woman, but the lower half was nothing but a skeleton.

Its brown hair was braided and coiled at the back of its head, its eyes curved as if it were smiling.

"Let me take a look at the [Changing Menu]. What would you like to drink?"

Its two rows of teeth did not move. The voice came from somewhere in its chest cavity.

Zhu Yan handed over the "menu," which was as heavy as a picture frame, and mimicked Dragonfly's tone, answering with flawless caution.

"Same as before."

Though the door was impressive, the place wasn't large.

Aside from a massive printer humming and buzzing, there was only an empty tile floor and four or five horrifying creatures sitting facing the wall, working.

The Half-Face Woman took a good, long look at the menu. Zhu Yan followed Dragonfly's lead and started boasting.

Two minutes later, this thing finally passed the unfinished [Changing Menu] to the creatures by the wall, and throughout this entire process, Zhu Yan gained nothing.

He hadn't seen any clue about [Key Fragment 4]—

In fact, even just now, while this creature that might be the print shop owner examined the frame, he quietly used [Telekinetic Grab] to touch the inside of the printer.

Nothing at all!

"It'll be ready in ten minutes," the Half-Face Woman said to Zhu Yan with a smile. "Our design came out early this morning. Take a seat. Let's enjoy the finished product together and slack off a bit."

"I'll send it to the kitchen in a couple of hours."

Zhu Yan couldn't have wished for more.

He nodded in agreement, watching the Half-Face Woman turn around and fetch a beautiful porcelain cup from a small table in the corner.

So, where could [Key Fragment 4] be?

What level was this creature in front of him?

If it was under Level 13, maybe he could just take out a knife and slash it…?

Thinking this, Zhu Yan pulled his hood tighter, activated the ability [Impersonation], and shifted into "Feng Yaozu's" appearance.

Among the abilities he had snatched, there was a Level 5 one called [Deceitful Flattery]. It came in handy, and he could nurture it.

In this dungeon, he hadn't used [Deceitful Flattery] yet, and it was just right for probing the creature's level.

The Half-Face Woman brought Zhu Yan a cup of amber-colored, thick hot drink. It smelled like honey syrup.

"You're such a good girl," Zhu Yan recalled Feng Yaozu's attitude toward his aunt and activated the ability [Deceitful Flattery]. "Even if I'm just an illiterate fool, I still wanna be a burden to you for the rest of my life…"

The Half-Face Woman's eyebrows furrowed.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" it asked displeasedly. "I couldn't understand a single word."

Zhu Yan didn't feel that familiar channel of life force opening either.

The creature in front of him was like a rock—hard and murky.

"Something new?" Zhu Yan switched back to the role of "Dragonfly" and activated Level 6 [Ancestral Pride]. "I've picked up a whole bunch of human players recently. I learned this from them. What do you think, Dad?"

The Half-Face Woman raised an eyebrow, completely unaffected.

She mimicked Zhu Yan's gesture and reached up to touch her own hair bun.

"My paradise, Dad, did you learn this from those humans too?"

Ah, higher than Level 6.

So abilities weren't going to work on this one.

He wondered how it would compare to a Level 13 military knife.

Zhu Yan replied, "Yeah. Funny, right? That's nothing—I even did business with [Hunter]."

The Half-Face Woman looked at Zhu Yan with some suspicion.

[Hunter]?

As far as she knew, Dragonfly took all comers but was also quite protective of his own life.

Doing business with that infamous [Hunter], who killed creatures across levels, was a bit too risky, wasn't it?

"Aren't you afraid it'll kill you?"

For a moment, the Half-Face Woman became alert.

Was this right?

She began to doubt her earlier judgment—

Was the thing in front of her actually Dragonfly, or was it [Hunter]?

The Half-Face Woman "shhwipped" out one of her own ribs.

Just as she was about to jam it into the other's neck, Zhu Yan leaned back quite casually and took a sip of that sweet, thick drink.

"What's so hard about that?" he said, imitating Dragonfly's tone, grinning mischievously. "Have you forgotten that I have a bronze plaque certified by Paradise?"

Damn.

This drink was absolutely packed with [Thrilling Bliss]. One sip sent hot air burning from his stomach all the way to his ears.

Extreme pleasure surged up along this electrified warmth, and even the sandalwood bracelet could barely resist it.

He suppressed it with all his might, forcing himself not to tremble.

Fortunately, the Half-Face Woman relaxed.

With a click, she reattached the rib and sighed at her own overreaction.

Right, he had that thing after all.

Besides, Dragonfly had too many tricks and wasn't low-level either.

Who could get the better of him?

It was just…

Maybe it was because Old Dragonfly had suddenly swapped his puppet's appearance—everything should have been normal, but something just felt off no matter how she looked at it.

The Half-Face Woman sighed. "Oh, you should switch back to your old puppet next time. This one makes me feel like it's not you. Can't get used to it."

"Come on, what did [Hunter] want from you?"

Here it came.

Under the hood, Zhu Yan couldn't help but curl his lips slightly.

The concentration of [Thrilling Bliss] was too high. He forced his mind to keep thinking while carefully controlling his words.

"He wanted me to upgrade a knife. That's the only thing," he said, putting on a dismissive tone, glancing quickly at the door.

Dragonfly hadn't arrived yet.

He had to hurry.

"That [Hunter] wanted to upgrade the knife to Level 13."

Zhu Yan deliberately understated it by two levels.

He watched the Half-Face Woman's expression and noticed she was indeed displeased.

"Level 13?!" she exclaimed, then her face turned grim.

"You didn't do it, did you, Old Dragonfly? If you upgraded it for him, the super cool puppet you made for me is definitely doomed."

"He'll come cut me down!"

Good, that should confirm it.

But this thing was actually a puppet?

Where was its original body? Was it in the dungeon?

If Zhu Yan slashed this puppet, would the original body take revenge…?

Zhu Yan probed further: "You're just a puppet. Even if he cuts you, it won't do much damage."

"It won't cause any real harm—"

"No!" howled the Half-Face Woman. "If that happens, my task will be ruined! The things I oversee might get lost!"

Oh?

Zhu Yan instantly had a guess.

Cut her, and the things she oversees might get lost.

Could those things be hidden inside her own body?

As she spoke, the Half-Face Woman immediately went to check the door. With a click, she locked it tight.

"I'll face a fine! And no other creature will deliver my menu to the kitchen."

Oh, so the original body wasn't in the dungeon?

"If I delay the feast for those people from [Abyss Gaze], I'm really going to be screwed!"

"Anyway." The Half-Face Woman sat down sulkily and huffed.

"You've really screwed up this time, Old Dragonfly. You get back here right now, this instant — I don’t allow any horror creatures other than myself to sit in this shop!"