Key Fragment with Serial Number 04

Zhu Yan wouldn't leave—

Because he simply wasn't a horror creature at all.

"Why are you nervous?" he said to the Half-Face Woman with a smile. "The [Menu of Changes] isn't ready yet. Aren't you going to enjoy it with me?"

The Half-Face Woman grew agitated. "I've changed my mind. It's too dangerous, I just want to be alone right now!"

The "puppet" before her didn't respond. It quietly, nonchalantly, kept sipping the drink in its hand.

That actually made the Half-Face Woman a bit more relieved.

If this were actually a human, drinking like that would have already driven them mad.

"Fine," she huffed angrily. "Fine. Watch it, then get out of my territory immediately."

"Why so hot-tempered?" Zhu Yan mimicked Dragonfly's mumuring tone, muttering to himself.

He had been pretending to casually drink, but hadn't swallowed a single drop.

Time was tight—Dragonfly could show up at any moment—but he had to wait.

If he didn't have a finished [Menu of Changes] ready, what was he supposed to use to knock on the kitchen door?

The Half-Face Woman ignored him.

Her little velvet high heels clicked, clicking over to the table to check on the progress.

"Almost done," she said irritably. "Just two more minutes!"

……

Outside the copper door.

Dragonfly's compound eyes pressed against the door, frantically trying to peer through the crack.

Unfortunately, the two bronze doors were sealed shut so tight they might as well have been one solid piece.

It could hear some sounds, but couldn't even dream of seeing anything!

"What's this?" Dragonfly grumbled, displeased. "This is the first time I've been dissatisfied with my own craftsmanship—Oh, these cursed soundproof doors with no gaps!"

Even the sounds it caught came in broken, fragmented pieces.

Just a moment ago, it had pressed its entire body against the door just to barely hear the Half-Face Woman mistakenly identify the [Hunter] as its puppet.

And then?

What now?

Dragonfly pressed harder against the door, but inside, things had indeed gone quiet.

"Alright, I'll give you another ten minutes."

It scratched its own head in frustration, desperate to take part personally.

"After ten minutes, I'll just— Well, honestly, there's not much I can do either..."

……

Inside the door.

The seated figures at the table all stopped working at once, and the Half-Face Woman leaned over, lifting the thick, neatly finished [Menu of Changes] to show Zhu Yan.

"Not bad, right?"

Originally plain, the menu now had hand-drawn golden inscriptions around its edges, perfectly complementing the gem-inlaid border.

Zhu Yan nodded absentmindedly.

It was indeed impressive—the only downside being that it wasn't his.

"Get out of here now." The Half-Face Woman waved her hand dismissively. "I need to wrap this up and deliver it to the kitchen."

"I don't have time to deal with you!"

"I have to get in there before they deliver that batch of ingredients—those creatures are incredibly picky!"

Oh?

Ingredients? What ingredients?

A horror creature's ingredients—that would be human players, wouldn't it?

Zhu Yan's interest perked up again.

After all, he was the one supposed to take the [Menu of Changes] to the kitchen.

And it seemed like there was still time before Dragonfly arrived.

Asking a few more questions, squeezing out a bit more intel—that couldn't hurt, right?

Zhu Yan put on Dragonfly's nosy, alarmist tone.

"What's the big deal if you delay a bit?" he asked. "Just a few minutes late—what's the worst that can happen?"

"What's the worst that can happen?"

The Half-Face Woman mimicked Zhu Yan's tone mockingly, rolling her eyes.

"What do you think? Those low-level grunts at level five or six can't do much directly, but they can report up the chain."

"And that means I'd be facing a fine!"

Zhu Yan immediately understood.

The Half-Face Woman was worried about her bone gold coins, but that wasn't the crucial point.

The key piece of information was—

Those level five or six grunts were probably the horror creatures handling "ingredient" and other deliveries.

Their ranks were low, so they could definitely be dealt with using his [Disguise] or other abilities.

And [The Kitchen] seemed to be a well-organized system—

These lower-level creatures even had superiors. That was the part Zhu Yan needed to explore further.

Either way, his first step was to get in.

Breaking in after securing entry was better than any reckless approach.

"Alright," said Zhu Yan.

He patted his fresh new [Demon Cloak], standing up from the worn wooden chair, ready to whip out his combat knife at a moment's notice.

"Then I'll take my leave."

From beneath his hood, his eyes remained fixed on the Half-Face Woman.

"Get lost," the Half-Face Woman snapped. "I don't have time to play games with you."

Zhu Yan's hidden hand flipped behind his back, the gleaming combat knife now clenched in his palm.

He faced the Half-Face Woman, making sure she couldn't see the weapon.

"[Lazy Craftsman's Shop]!"

Zhu Yan pronounced each word clearly, and in one sudden, unexpected motion, the knife cut through the air, tracing a smooth arc.

Shing.

A thin line appeared across the Half-Face Woman's neck.

For a moment, her expression was blank with confusion and shock; then her eyes widened abruptly—but a heavy blow from the knife's handle came straight at her face, and the tiny shop spun and swirled around her.

"No!!"

screamed the Half-Face Woman.

Her head rolled, thumping onto the floor beneath the table, while her puppet—

No, the [Hunter] disguised as a puppet—already with a clean, efficient strike, had hacked off the heads of the entire row of puppets by the table!

"This won't do!" The Half-Face Woman's severed head kept shrieking, even as her still-standing body flailed wildly. "This won't do! Get out! Get out!"

……

Outside the door.

Dragonfly was rubbing its limbs together in excitement.

"Holy crap! What's going on in there?"

Just moments ago, the Half-Face Woman's scream had pierced the doors' impressive soundproofing. It sounded like she'd completely broken.

Dragonfly's curiosity went into overdrive; it darted up and down by the bronze door, desperate to squeeze inside and see what was happening.

"Did the [Hunter] get the goods or not? My menu... Oh, will my menu make it to the kitchen on time?"

Just thinking about the carnage that might be happening inside made Dragonfly cackle aloud.

Half-Face Woman had always called it "Old Dragonfly"—now she deserved whatever came to her.

It had already decided:

If the [Hunter] could deliver its [Menu of Changes] on schedule without any trouble, then it would conveniently pretend to fall ill and put off the remaining orders.

Dragonfly's insectoid legs were about to spark from all the rubbing.

"Come on, come on. Dammit, when will he be done in there?"

……

The level 13 combat knife was incredibly effective.

Zhu Yan felt almost no resistance when he severed the Half-Face Woman's arms.

She was still screaming—or rather, the entire row of severed heads were all still screaming, forming a cacophonous symphony.

"Liar!"

["Hunter!"]

"I should have stabbed you the moment you came through the door!"

"I'll remember you! I'll remember you!"

The headless puppets pushed away from their chairs, groping their way toward Zhu Yan.

He didn't care.

His knife pierced cleanly into the Half-Face Woman's stiff corset with a schtick, then he ripped it open.

There was no blood, no organs inside—just like an oversized hollow doll.

Zhu Yan crouched slightly, calmly dodging another headless puppet's hand that swiped at his head.

And then he saw it.

Between the puppet's exposed ribs, a small, shimmering white fragment floated.

It's a key!