Apricots

Qi Yinming looked left and right, somewhat hesitant.

Qin Yang noticed his indecision. "Big shot, don't worry. Someone will stay in the dorm, Yuan Chen and I can keep an eye on things."

He smiled bitterly. "Neither of us is that capable. Going along would just be getting in the way."

And...

He swallowed his selfish thoughts in time.

For someone like him, lurking in a safe fortress like this to rest and freeload, leaving the charging to others—that was actually the better way to survive.

Qi Yinming swept his gaze over Yuan Chen and Qin Yang.

His ability level was high enough to cover both players' levels, enough to see through their sincerity or deceit.

"Fine." Since they weren't his own people, Qi Yinming's tone was cool. "No matter what, don't open the door. We usually won't come back alone. But if someone does come back alone..."

Qi Yinming thought of the Hunter that had suddenly appeared in the room earlier.

That thing's disguise ability was too strong.

At first, he hadn't even recognized it wasn't Zhu Zeyu!

"It'll most likely be the Hunter or Zhu Zeyu." Qi Yinming shrugged. "If it's the former, you're on your own."

"We'll do our best to hold the dorm." Yuan Chen said grimly.

"Haha." Qi Yinming let out a dry laugh. "I hope so too. But if the Hunter shows up, none of us are holding that dorm."

Three minutes later.

Yang Zhanbai swiftly chopped a mimic into five pieces and strode toward the eye-catching sign of Lazy Artisan Shop.

"Closed?" He furrowed his brows, reading the sign hanging on the door, then craned his neck to look inside.

That dragonfly was still there—

It had set up a rocking chair in the middle of the shop and was lying on it, doing who knows what.

Yang Zhanbai decisively knocked on the shop door.

"Boss, open up!" He called out. "I'm here to bring you money. You want it or not?"

...

Zhu Yan stopped for the second time at the same marker.

This corridor, tiled in white, was filled with fresh bloodstains, the smell of blood, and disinfectant—but there wasn't a single door.

It seemed like nothing but an empty circular hallway.

But that couldn't be—

The Kitchen couldn't just be a decoration, and this place couldn't be empty of anyone.

Zhu Yan furrowed his brows, a little troubled.

If this was the case, how was he supposed to deliver the picture frame to that "porcelain doll, Xingzi"?

"Feels a lot like a backrooms game," Zhu Yan muttered softly, rubbing the gray mist that had turned into a calico cat in his arms.

"What do you think? Can you find where they are?"

The calico cat didn't change back into a Cat.

Instead, it nuzzled affectionately in Zhu Yan's hands, then separated a wisp of faint white smoke, floating ahead with a somewhat proud air.

Zhu Yan pulled up his hood and followed after it.

He had already logged into the Player Forum. On his retina, a private message from Yang Zhanbai flashed urgently in red.

"Zeyu, are you alright? Stay safe. Reply when you can. We're heading to Lazy Artisan Shop to scout for info."

Hmm, Lazy Artisan Shop.

That dragonfly probably wouldn't say much.

If they could manage to get the floor-changing password for the Print Shop, they might discover something.

His soft-soled boots made almost no sound on the tiled floor, leaving only the faint rustle of his clothes.

But then again, if the dragonfly really did have a loose mouth...

Zhu Yan thought for a moment, then replied: "The Hunter is on this floor. I haven't clashed with him head-on yet."

"He got the Changing Menu."

"More later."

Back in the dorm, when the dragonfly had been facing Zhu Yan—who was of a lower level and lacked weapons that could harm it—it could have easily kicked him while he was down and enjoyed the show. Yet it had still chosen to conceal the Hunter's identity.

That was enough to show the dragonfly's attitude—

It really wouldn't easily leak the information of who the Hunter was.

But at the same time, it might indeed divulge that the Hunter had taken the menu from it.

Zhu Yan figured this reply was safe enough.

That way, even if the dragonfly did spill about the menu being taken, the clues and the situation on both sides would still match up perfectly!

On his retina, a new line of red text popped up.

But Zhu Yan didn't bother reading Yang Zhanbai's reply, because the wisp of smoke from the calico cat had stopped in front of a certain tile.

Zhu Yan closed the private message window and logged out of the forum.

Yang Zhanbai could just fill in the gaps with his own imagination!

"Here?"

He quietly confirmed with the calico cat. The wisp of smoke quickly formed a checkmark, then instantly dissipated, slipping back under Zhu Yan's cloak.

Zhu Yan raised his hand and gently tapped the tile.

Five seconds later, he finally got a response.

"No unauthorized people allowed in!"

The tone was strange, slick and sharp but a bit rough.

"What are you here for?"

Zhu Yan said, "Bringing the Changing Menu. Where's Xingzi?"

Xingzi was the name of that porcelain doll. The dragonfly had told him.

So far, everything seemed fine.

According to the Half-Face Woman, these were all just small fry.

He wondered what level this Xingzi was.

"The menu, huh."

The eerie creature inside changed its tone, softening a little.

"From the Print Shop? Hold on, I'll find Miss Xingzi."

Zhu Yan hummed in acknowledgment, staring intently at the white tile before him.

Before long, the tile clicked open.

A face, plastered stark white and shiny, poked out. The cheeks were very full, smeared with bright red glaze on each side, matching the red flower pinned to its black porcelain hair.

"Bringing the menu?"

It extended a hand with a white porcelain texture, palm up, reaching toward Zhu Yan.

"Just hand it over to me. You can leave."

This must be Xingzi.

By sight and feel, Zhu Yan could tell the thing wasn't high-level—something he could handle.

Zhu Yan took a step back, carefully studying every detail of Xingzi's expression while thinking about how to trick it into opening the door.

Killing Xingzi and then pretending to be Xingzi to enter the Kitchen was the most convenient method.

"Sorry, Miss Xingzi."

Zhu Yan shook his head.

"This item is rather valuable. The owner of Lazy Artisan Shop embedded fifty-two types of treasures around it."

He casually pinned the blame on the dragonfly.

"He cares deeply about how the final product turns out, so before I brought it here, he and my boss agreed that you must come out to inspect the packaging."

"He wants his work to be flawless, in every single step."

Zhu Yan thought the logic in his speech was a bit shaky, but it didn't matter.

He activated his abilities—Bringing Glory to Ancestors and Having an Affair—and beneath his hood, his face shifted into the form of Feng Yaozu.

"Please, come out and inspect it, Papa. You're such a good girl..."

The porcelain doll paused, then furrowed its brows.

"What are you babbling about? I'm just a porcelain doll."

Although it looked displeased, it still bent down and pushed the tile open, exposing its entire body to Zhu Yan.

"Is this a puppet the dragonfly made specially?" It frowned. "This puppet's talking nonsense. Is it old and broken?"