Why Are You Still Lying

The head chef slowly turned his head back, trying to see who the player was behind him.

But the knife, still reeking of odor, pressed even tighter, nearly cutting into his flesh.

After a moment of thought, the chef scraped together a human gesture from his barren mind.

He slowly raised his hands in a “surrender” pose, a hint of terror slipping into his tone.

“【Hunter】? Are you—”

“Quiet.” Zhu Yan gave no clear answer. “Take off your clothes. No tricks.”

The chef didn’t move.

Fear—beyond the shock—was something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

This fear rose like steam, clinging stubbornly to his heart.

This was clearly the 【Hunter】.

But how could the 【Hunter】 be this strong?

The previous 【Wanted Notice】 hadn’t mentioned the 【Hunter】 having this ability either!

And that knife—it had a high rank, equal to his own, or even higher.

The chef let out a strange, guttural murmur from his throat.

The other had told him to strip.

Maybe he was afraid of some communication device hidden in the clothes, or maybe he simply wanted to take on his form and needed this outfit.

The chef cooperated, quickly undoing the buttons, then opened his mouth to bargain with Zhu Yan.

“You still need me,” he said. “I know what you’re after.”

The white clothes shed away, revealing a fresh, human-like body.

The color and condition of this body seemed brand new, yet carried a dead, rigid stillness.

It didn’t resemble a False Human.

What kind of creature was this?

Zhu Yan pushed the blade forward and stored the clothes into his ring with a wave of his hand.

“Ah, looks like you do know quite a bit,” he said. “Then you keep doing your work. I’ll just ask a few things.”

He stressed the word “just” heavily, but as he said it, the military knife pressed forward in a threatening manner.

Zhu Yan realized that once horror creatures reached a certain level, they weren’t entirely dense—like this head chef before him.

Faced with his threat, the other managed to keep his composure, lowering his head to slowly and steadily slice the meat on the plate.

“Go ahead and ask,” the chef said respectfully, fearing for his life.

“I know that the number 5 【Key Fragment】 is inside one of the dishes.”

Zhu Yan made no attempt to hide it, speaking with a casual air.

Under the pointed blade, the chef trembled slightly.

“The key fragment,” he murmured, his body shaking more violently, realization dawning.

“Yes, yes. You’re after that thing…”

“You’re the head chef,” Zhu Yan said, leaning idly against the table, dragging the knife tip across the chef’s body. “You’re in charge of cooking. So, which dish exactly is it in?”

The chef felt his already stiff body grow even stiffer.

Indeed, he knew something.

But, but… If he told the 【Hunter】 the truth, would he even have a chance to survive?

The chef stammered. Seeing his hesitation, the knife tip instantly pierced the skin on his back.

“I’ll talk.”

The meaning of this action was all too clear.

“Although… although I’m in charge of cooking, I don’t actually know where the number 5 【Key Fragment】 is.”

The chef said it with difficulty—this was the truth.

“They—the higher-ups—would never put something so important on me.”

Zhu Yan gave a faint “mm” in response.

The Human-Spider Supervisor’s hint also made it clear that Key Fragment No. 5 was located in the banquet hall, not in the kitchen.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to such trouble to pry for information—he’d simply kill the head chef and look for the key.

The head chef breathed a sigh of relief, seeming to regain some confidence.

“I am indeed in charge of cooking, but hiding the Key Fragment is a game played by those high-level beings at the dinner table.”

This statement was also true.

The head chef trembled for a moment, confirming that the knife hadn’t moved any closer, then nervously blurted out the lie he had just improvised.

“I’m the head chef. I only handle the cooking. Once the dishes are ready, you can disguise yourself as the pseudo-human serving the food and take the dishes upstairs to the banquet hall.”

The dishes were supposed to be prepared and brought up by him, the head chef.

But he couldn’t say that.

What if this Hunter decided to kill him and impersonate him? How would he survive then?

Better to feed a false lead and let this Hunter expose himself in front of those beings and the boss.

By using that as a weapon, he might even manage to slip away.

“Then, you… you could go upstairs and take a look at the situation.”

Zhu Yan, however, narrowed his eyes.

Pseudo-humans?

He had killed so many horrific creatures across several workshops, but only one pseudo-human—the logistics department pseudo-human who had escorted Porcelain Doll Xingzi.

What did the logistics department have to do with serving food?

“Oh, I see.”

Yet, Zhu Yan only nodded calmly and spoke in a flat tone.

“As you can see, my ability level is indeed relatively low—no higher than Level 7.”

In reality, it was no higher than Level 6.

“My ability can’t impersonate high-level beings.”

“If I rashly impersonated a high-level pseudo-human, I’d be found out. Besides, where would I get a serving pseudo-human?”

The head chef was probably lying to him.

But to be safe, he needed to probe further.

Zhu Yan’s tone was so natural that the head chef didn’t notice anything amiss.

He made up an explanation: “No, no, that pseudo-human isn’t high-level. Your ability is Level 6, and it’s Level 6 too.”

“Where does it come from?” Zhu Yan pressed persistently.

“From, from…”

The head chef hesitated for only a second.

He judged the Hunter with the worst possible intent: The guy had hitched a ride on the conveyor belt, wasn’t weak, and had probably already slaughtered all the creatures in the previous workshop.

Or worse—two workshops, three workshops—that was also very possible.

But the pseudo-human in charge of the logistics department wasn’t located in the workshops, but quite far from them.

The Hunter’s knife probably couldn’t reach it.

Dragging it into this, using it as a scapegoat—wasn’t that perfect?

The head chef hurriedly said, “Oh, oh, there’s a pseudo-human in a black suit. It’s in charge of that job. It’s a big shot around here, just like the other department heads.”

Judging by the Hunter’s reaction just now, he probably didn’t know this yet.

Zhu Yan let out another easygoing “Mm.”

It was confirmed now—the head chef was definitely lying to him.

He had attended the department heads’ meeting.

There was only one pseudo-human at that conference table.

“If those high-level horrific creatures ask, what department should I say I’m from?”

Zhu Yan blinked. “The Serving Department?”

The head chef believed he had been fooled.

He sighed in immense relief.

“That’s right. We have a dedicated department—it’s called the Dish Delivery Department.”

The lies were getting more and more absurd.

Zhu Yan had already mentally sentenced the head chef to death.

Besides, the dishes didn’t have to be made by the head chef.

Of the portions for five people sent by the Human-Spider Supervisor, how much had the Tuxedo Cat actually eaten?

Zhu Yan could easily pass off the leftovers as his own.

Still, he could turn up the threat a notch and see if he could squeeze out more information.

He swept his gaze over the thinly sliced meat laid out on the table and smiled.

“I see,” he said casually, as the saber pierced cleanly into the head chef’s body, deliberately missing the vital spots.

“Tsk. Why do you still keep lying?”