Entering the Store

Zhu Yan stared at his palm and logged into the Player Forum.

Sure enough, Yang Zhanbai had sent him a few private messages updating him on the situation. The content was simple:

"The Dragonfly has a closed sign up. We knocked a few times, but it hasn’t answered yet."

"Zeyu, no need to reply if it’s inconvenient. Just check in every now and then to let us know you’re safe."

"The Dragonfly is definitely in the shop, but it won’t acknowledge us no matter what."

"Huh? Chen Zhaoxing says he has an idea…"

The latest message was sent just a few seconds ago. It sounded like Yang Zhanbai and the others still hadn’t managed to get inside the shop.

Zhu Yan thought for a moment and typed out a few replies.

"I’m inside the Kitchen now. The Hunter is here too, but I have no idea what form he’s taken."

"Security is tight. After I got in, something out there seemed to get snatched away by a horror creature."

I was thrown in as an ingredient. The horror creatures are holding a meeting now, and they don’t seem to be paying attention to me.

Yang Zhanbai replied instantly.

"Stay safe, no matter what!"

"Looks like Chen Zhaoxing’s trick worked… I’ll send you a video."

Zhu Yan was just turning into one of the corridors.

This place was still pure white, splitting off into a dozen small passageways.

Unlike the area outside, each of these small corridors had a yellow number posted by the entrance.

A new message popped up on Zhu Yan’s retina, the video thumbnail taking up most of his field of vision.

He stopped in front of an empty corridor labeled No. 2, stared at the thumbnail for a few seconds, and tapped into the video.

…

Meanwhile, on Floor 108.

A young man lounged lazily in a soft oversized swivel chair, staring at a computer screen with irritation.

"Damn it! How did I get stuck with useless teammates again? What a loss!"

He lifted his head in frustration, shaking the bangs that almost covered his eyes.

The young man looked about seventeen or eighteen, pale-faced with delicate features.

He was wearing a faded blue-and-white high school track jacket, originally lined with fleece, but he’d taken the liner out and draped it loosely over the back of his chair.

Everything seemed normal—

If you ignored the long stitching scar across his neck and the barcode-like marks on his wrists.

"The enemies are idiots," the doppelgänger standing behind him said sharply. "Boss, let’s queue up again. If Q zone doesn’t work, let’s try micro zone. We’ll find teammates who aren’t idiots eventually…"

The young man shot it a glare.

"Shut up," he snapped irritably. "I haven’t been dead that long, and I don’t want to be pissed back to life. I’m calling the Lazy Craftsman Shop."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking annoyed.

"Seriously, wasn’t death supposed to mean I don’t have to deal with morning runs, evening study sessions, teachers, and parents anymore?"

The doppelgänger thought for a moment. "Boss, the Hunter isn’t your father."

"Shut up!" the young man roared. "I came here to be emperor! I don’t want to deal with the Hunter either—what’s the difference between him and my father?"

The doppelgänger fell silent.

The young man leaned back and reached for the phone on the table.

He stalled for a moment, idly stroking his chin.

"Let me think… let me think."

"The Hunter hasn’t made any moves yet, and I’ve completely sealed off the Kitchen. No one is allowed to see the chef."

"If he didn’t manage to sneak in, then there’s no way he killed five level-14 horror creatures."

"If he’s smarter than I thought and did manage to get into the Kitchen…"

The young man grinned, revealing a small canine tooth.

He dialed the Lazy Craftsman Shop, waiting for the first ring to sound.

"…Then let him rot in the Kitchen."

…

Outside the Lazy Craftsman Shop.

Chen Zhaoxing was shouting praise at the window display.

"Oh my God, this carousel carving is incredible! The gem inlay work is so exquisite!"

His tone was shamelessly exaggerated, and as he spoke, he kept peering into the glass.

On the recliner inside, the Dragonfly puffed out its chest with pride but still refused to move.

Yang Zhanbai waited nervously for Zhu Zeyu’s reply, keeping an eye on Chen Zhaoxing’s progress at the same time.

"Is this going to work?" he whispered.

"Not a peep yet," Chen Zhaoxing said, squinting. "Just wait, I’m making my move. But I’ll say this now—if this plan doesn’t work…"

He pulled out a cockroach, giving Yang Zhanbai a regretful look. "President Yang, looks like you’re fated to never upgrade your weapon and go help Brother Zhu."

Yang Zhanbai shrugged.

"Even if the Dragonfly just gives us some intel, that’s good enough."

Chen Zhaoxing shot him a glance and held up the cockroach.

"Ah, what a shame," he said, his tone dripping with regret. "The details on this carousel aren’t great. The texture of the horse’s mane is lacking, and the material of the saddle is so unclear I can’t even tell what it is."

Inside the glass, the Dragonfly lifted its insect head to look in their direction.

What kind of creature dared to criticize its work?

What was wrong with the saddle it had carved?

The Dragonfly’s compound eyes locked onto the short player in the horse-riding hat standing outside, but the guy wasn’t intimidated in the least. He raised his cockroach-like it was nothing and launched into a rant.

"Oh, the details are really subpar."

"From mediocre to brilliant, I’m giving the Lazy Craftsman Shop a ‘passable’ rating for this NPC."

"The overall shape isn’t bad, but the details just can’t withstand close scrutiny!"

Chen Zhaoxing spoke loudly, even grabbing Xu Tongguang and pulling him in front of himself as a shield.

"This isn’t even as refined as my cockroach. My cockroach has realistic form, lifelike expression, and rich detail—I give it a perfect score."

The Dragonfly stood up.

What did this guy mean by giving it a "passable" rating for itself and a perfect score for its cockroach?

Standing outside its shop, blathering on like that—this was disgusting.

It was going to chase this awful player away and never take his orders again!

The Dragonfly clattered over on its silver legs, and Chen Zhaoxing proudly flashed Yang Zhanbai an "OK" sign.

"I told you it’d work," he mouthed silently.

The door flew open with a bang, and the Dragonfly reached out one insect leg, shoving Xu Tongguang hard!

"Get lost!" it roared. "Get the hell out of here!"

Smack!

A hard little object flew straight into the Dragonfly’s face, making it flinch backward.

Its insect leg shot out instantly, catching the tiny thing with precision.

"A bug?!" it shrieked. "How dare you throw something in my face—what is this?!"

While the Dragonfly was distracted, Yang Zhanbai stepped forward and walked straight into the Lazy Craftsman Shop.

Chen Zhaoxing scrambled up from behind the fallen Xu Tongguang, grinning. "It’s my cockroach."

He looked at the Dragonfly earnestly, pulling a few bone coins from his pocket and offering them over.

"When I saw the carousel in your window, I was utterly captivated by your exquisite craftsmanship."

"I wanted nothing more than to discuss it with you! I’ve hit a creative block while carving cockroaches…"

Chen Zhaoxing’s eyes welled up with tears.

"But you were closed, so I resorted to desperate measures… I’m so sorry!"

The Dragonfly turned the chocolate cockroach over and over in its grasp, smacking its lips.

“Interesting,” it said, turning its gaze to Chen Zhaoxing.

“Fine. Come in. I’m willing to discuss craftsmanship with you, but…”

Dragonfly let out a cold laugh.

“I’m on hiatus right now. I won’t take any orders, nor can I reveal any specific client information!”