Bouncing Up and Down

The Head Chef carefully watched Zhu Yan’s expression.

The player before him raised an eyebrow, offering a half-smile that didn’t reach his eyes, a grin that was all teeth and no warmth, sending terror rising like a tide from the chef’s chest.

Instinctively, the Head Chef lifted a hand to grip the blade and shouted toward the intercom on the tile wall.

“What’s the rush, huh?”

“I’m pickling vegetables—don’t you know a chef’s work can’t be interrupted? If you slip up, the flavor of the dish changes!”

Its trembling eyes widened as the palm was sliced open, deep red ooze dripping from the wound drop by drop.

Outside the door.

Corpse Stick twisted its head stiffly.

“Hard to please, that Head Chef,” it muttered under its breath, before quickly adjusting its tone.

“Sir, time is short. Could you tell us when you or one of your subordinates will be coming?”

“You wouldn’t want to defy the boss’s orders, would you?”

Inside the kitchen.

Shhh—

The blade pushed forward with force. As the knife fully pierced the Head Chef’s body, Zhu Yan stepped closer until he stood right before it.

“Ask them for me,” Zhu Yan said in a low voice. “What items do those things outside have?”

The Head Chef’s eyes rolled downward, catching sight of the army knife buried entirely in its chest and the bloody handle exposed outside.

Fear made its lips quiver uncontrollably.

After a few seconds, the Head Chef suppressed its intense emotions and twisted its face into a fawning smile.

“Coming right up. But I ought to warn you.”

Its voice still trembled.

“The boss said earlier that a ‘Hunter’ is in here. Do you have any items on you?”

Corpse Stick didn’t catch the connection between the two sentences.

It felt something off about the comment, but since a higher-ranked horror creature like the Head Chef had requested it, reporting some items didn’t seem odd.

Corpse Stick replied, “We have weapons. A long-range Bone Spike Gun, Grade Eight. Why?”

Nice haul.

Zhu Yan’s appetite was whetted.

If all those items were his instead of being used against him... that would be satisfying, wouldn't it?

“Tell them you’ll send a subordinate soon,” Zhu Yan whispered. “Two minutes.”

He had asked everything he needed.

Leaving the Head Chef alive was still too risky.

The Head Chef saw Zhu Yan’s smile and its body froze again.

But it had no choice but to obey. Facing the tile, it forced its tone steady.

“I’ve already sent a subordinate. He’ll be there in two minutes.”

Corpse Stick pressed relentlessly. “What kind of subordinate? What will they be wearing?”

“We wouldn’t want to make a mistake, sir.”

“A high-level demon,” Zhu Yan murmured. “And stress this again—tell them to watch out for the ‘Hunter.’ Say it’s very cunning.”

Those things outside would easily see through his ‘role-playing.’

Only the ‘Demon Cloak’ and his ‘Mist’ form would work here.

Anyway, those things were as good as dead.

Zhu Yan planned to use misdirection to trick them into wasting all their long-range Bone Spikes.

“A high-level demon!” the Head Chef repeated hastily.

Its blackened eyes fixed on Zhu Yan. Once it confirmed he wanted the warning about watching out for the ‘Hunter’ included, it added the clarification.

“Let me repeat: be careful of the ‘Hunter.’ It’s high-level, very cunning, and our boss has confirmed it’s already inside.”

“Understood.”

Outside, Corpse Stick replied politely.

“Tell them,” Zhu Yan continued, smiling as he threatened the Head Chef, “that when the door opens, anything that doesn’t look like a ‘high-level demon’ should be hit with items immediately. Don’t hold back.”

His body could scatter into pieces, and he had puppets he could control—that made things very convenient.

Open the door with a thick fog first, let these fools fire their Bone Spikes into the mist, then he’d collect them.

At the same time, he’d use his puppets—since the enemy couldn’t see but the fog was his vision—to slaughter them in the haze.

Two birds with one stone.

The Head Chef had no idea what Zhu Yan was plotting.

Was this player telling it to say those things because it made him sound more upright, more like one of their own?

Either way, maybe it could survive now!

Trembling and servile, it repeated Zhu Yan’s words back to the tile intercom in the sternest tone it could muster.

Outside.

Not only was the Head Chef baffled by Zhu Yan’s moves, but Dragonfly was too.

This was clearly the Hunter’s idea, but what was the actual plan?

This Hunter had even specifically told them to use their items immediately.

It seemed meant to make him look more like a horror-creature ally...

But... but...

Wasn’t the part about using items a bit too much?

Still, that didn’t stop Dragonfly from showing its loyalty to the Hunter.

Who cared if it was overkill? As long as it didn’t mean trouble for Little Dragonfly, everything was fine!

“I’ve seen the Hunter!”

Dragonfly quickly shoved Corpse Stick aside and howled at the tile.

“I know what items he has. I know him very well.”

On the other end, Zhu Yan fell silent.

Dragonfly’s words reached him clearly, stirring a flicker of tension.

What was this supposed to mean at such a tense moment?

The mention of “what items” was obviously pointing at the Demon Cloak.

Those words clearly indicated it knew who the Hunter was.

But Dragonfly’s tone was overly excited—like a child begging for candy. Zhu Yan couldn’t detect any threat in it.

If anything, there was a hint of... flattery?

“However!” Dragonfly ignored the surrounding Corpse Sticks, puffing out its chest.

“Head Chef, if you think I’m going to spill the Hunter’s details to these things outside, you’d be sorely mistaken.”

Huh?

Zhu Yan was a bit stunned.

So that was it? It was just openly declaring its allegiance?

He remembered Dragonfly had a grievance with him.

Was Dragonfly really sucking up, or was it brewing something bigger?

“As I said, ‘The Lazy Man’s Artifact Shop’ never gets involved in factional or sect disputes.”

“So, no matter what happens, I won’t interfere. And I won’t say a single word!”

Dragonfly’s frantic explanation left the surrounding Corpse Sticks staring in shock.

This wasn’t right.

The lead Corpse Stick scratched its own head, a flicker of confusion passing over its stiff face.

This Dragonfly usually kept out of conflict—that was well known across all of ‘Carnival Paradise.’

Why did it have to shout that out loud at a time like this? What was its deal?

Baffled, Corpse Stick answered the Head Chef as usual.

“Rest assured, sir. Please have your subordinate hurry—time is tight.”

“When the door opens, we’ll follow your instructions to the letter.”