Fake Surveillance

Zhu Yan took out the [Silver Ring of Storage] that had originally belonged to Feng Yaozu.

The ring had long since been emptied—there was nothing inside it anymore. The rest of the items were in other storage spaces and in the dormitory.

Zhu Yan had used it and Feng Qiang's ring to haul away a few corpses before, and he always felt the space inside was filthy.

He bent down, picked up a bone-spike launcher, and tossed it into the ring.

Using it to store food or daily necessities? He couldn't bring himself to do that.

But using it to store the bone spikes laced with the [Plague Ghost] virus? Wasn't that just perfect?

Five minutes later.

Zhu Yan carefully inspected the white tile floor, slick with mucus and scattered bones, making sure he hadn't missed a single spike. Only then did he walk over and nudge the limp, soft-bodied dragonfly with the toe of his shoe.

This guy's attitude—he'd seen it clearly just now.

But no. That wouldn't do.

"I know you're still alive," Zhu Yan said in a gentle tone. "Get up. Time to work."

The dragonfly's compound eyes didn't have eyelids like human eyes, so it couldn't physically close them.

It could only keep lying there, six legs pointed skyward, body stiff as a board, eyes and wings frozen, futilely pretending to be a dead insect.

Right. With its high tier, a light bump like that wouldn't have killed it.

What it was expressing now was pure attitude—hoping this [Hunter] would read the room and back off.

Zhu Yan crouched down, swallowing his disgust, and poked the dragonfly's soft, flabby insect body.

"Get up," he urged. "Or you're done for."

The dragonfly's compound eyes stayed fixed, as if this body were truly a lifeless husk.

Zhu Yan let out a cold laugh.

The dragonfly—it was the one the "boss" had sent over to install surveillance.

If he just let the dragonfly lie there playing dead, the "boss" might get desperate enough to come down personally.

That hurdle had to be cleared by the dragonfly.

Otherwise, how could the [Feast of the Monsters] begin smoothly?

The dragonfly stayed on the ground, playing corpse, showing no sign of moving.

Zhu Yan straightened up again, pressing on the dragonfly's weak spot.

"Look," he said, recalling the messages and videos Yang Zhanbai had sent him, speaking slowly and deliberately. "You told the boss such a huge lie."

"Said you were wounded by the [Hunter], pretended you knew nothing about the [Print Shop]."

What?!

The dragonfly's insect leg twitched slightly.

Damn.

It had almost forgotten.

The group that had come to its shop earlier—weren't they this [Hunter]'s roommates?!

Ugh. Without realizing it, it had been careless again.

Those players had actually run off to rat on it to the [Hunter]!

"You just didn't want to work," Zhu Yan said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, hitting the dragonfly right where it stung. "But if the boss found out about this behavior of yours—unfiltered—it would definitely think you're deliberately siding with the [Hunter]."

"Am I right?"

The dragonfly's leg quivered slightly.

The [Hunter] stood right beside it, looking down at it from above.

His eyes were like two pools of icy water, yet beneath them lurked a mad undercurrent that seemed to hold everything—including his own life—in contempt.

"Of course, you don't have to set up the surveillance. I respect your right to enjoy your vacation."

"But you see—if you don't set it up, the boss will come down personally and catch me."

The dragonfly felt a bad feeling creeping up.

"And before I die, I'll spill everything about your actions, just as they happened."

"You don't want to lose this body of yours again, do you—"

"Enough!" the dragonfly shouted in fury, its compound eyes trembling with rage.

It leapt up from the ground, its silver legs clattering loudly.

"You—you're shameless, despicable, underhanded, your methods are dirty—"

It extended one insect leg, trembling as it pointed at Zhu Yan, unable to even form a complete sentence.

Zhu Yan's eyes curved into a smile.

The dragonfly stuttered out a series of "you's" before finally landing on a verdict.

"You're a scheming, treacherous bastard!"

"I may be scheming and treacherous, but that doesn't change the fact that we're in the same boat now."

"I'm a dragonfly!"

"Then we're dragonflies in the same boat."

"..."

The dragonfly hopped up.

"Do I really have to do this job today?!"

"Yes," Zhu Yan said with a shrug, making a "please" gesture.

"Didn't you want a vacation?"

He looked at the dragonfly's compound eyes, crinkled like rippling water, and decided to offer a sweet carrot after the stick.

"When we exit this dungeon, I'll commission a weapon from you at ten times the normal price."

"To the outside world, you can say I ordered ten weapons. After finishing that one, you can take a nice, long break."

"Oh, and I'll pay you for this surveillance work too."

The wrinkles around the dragonfly's eyes slowly smoothed out.

It understood the meaning.

The [Hunter] was buying its time with money—giving it a paid vacation!

"For real?" the dragonfly asked hopefully.

"For real."

Zhu Yan released a thick fog, obscuring the dragonfly's vision as he tucked away his puppet.

Then, the blood mist re-coalesced into his own original body.

He generously displayed his player insignia.

"I'll pay 400 bone gold coins. I can transfer it to you right now."

To his surprise, the dragonfly agreed with delighted enthusiasm, leaning its compound eyes forward.

"Deal! A weapon worth 40 bone gold coins!"

A few seconds later, it tugged Zhu Yan along, bouncing with light steps toward the [Kitchen].

"Hehe heh—Head Chef. Although we've never met, the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the great Head Chef."

"..."

"Ah, if you're not the Head Chef, then your skills at deception have already reached a level I can't see through."

"..."

So this was the dragonfly's so-called "neutrality"?

"Hehe heh. Head Chef, I know of a type of surveillance camera whose feed can be... beautified. It lets your esteemed superiors see exactly the results they want."

Smooth.

Zhu Yan couldn't help but regard the dragonfly with a bit more respect. "Are you this fawning with everyone?"

The dragonfly let out a cold laugh. "Do you think just any horror creature can sit in the Head Chef's seat?"

Zhu Yan was genuinely impressed.

He led the dragonfly to the main chef's workspace, which was in total disarray.

The remains of the Head Chef lay silently on the floor. A thick, oppressive aura of terror hung in the air, making the dragonfly's insect legs tremble.

The conveyor belt was still humming along.

Roughly processed meat chunks, having bypassed proper procedure, were being carried here with no horror creature to collect them—thudding off the end of the belt and piling up into a messy little mountain of flesh, along with hastily handled intestines and organs.

Even though it had braced itself, the dragonfly couldn't help but shoot Zhu Yan a startled look.

Judging by the state of things, the [Hunter] truly had slaughtered his way through the entire [Kitchen], top to bottom.

Not even a single Pseudo-Human had been left alive!

It turned its insect head and looked the [Hunter] straight in the eye.

"So then—what image do you want your boss to see?"

"A scene of peace and harmony, or..."

Zhu Yan shook his head.

"Peace and harmony is too boring," he said. "Let's put on a show. A scene where the Head Chef cuts off the [Hunter]'s head and turns his body into sashimi."