Who Knows Who Appreciates Whom

Ji Xiting clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ground together, his hands twisting desperately in the fabric of his school uniform.

Humiliation. Utter, absolute humiliation!

What did she mean by "stupid"? This was an idea he had carefully crafted, so how could it receive such a verdict?

If that was Madam's attitude, then his Class D membership was definitely out of the question.

Zhu Yan glanced over at Ji Xiting, effortlessly taking in every bit of his discomfort.

Then, he turned and bowed deeply to the woman who had asked the question.

"The appetizer was admittedly dull," Zhu Yan conceded.

Not just dull—for Zhu Yan, it had been genuinely hard to swallow.

Ji Xiting's hands twisted even tighter, his eyes rolling upward, staring at Zhu Yan with a cold, venomous glare.

What was his game?

Was he trying to curry favor with Madam by using Ji Xiting's incompetence as a shield?

Madam let out a light laugh.

But then Zhu Yan straightened up, neither humble nor overbearing, and said, "However, I have prepared a complex main course for you esteemed ladies and gentlemen."

Complex—indeed, complex.

Unraveling the truth behind this dish would take a fair amount of effort.

"Complex?" another creature—this one with a cat's head—shrieked. "All you did was kill some weak little Hunter and plate it up. What's so complex about that?"

At once, several Horrors burst into laughter, leaving Ji Xiting at the edge looking like a flustered little mouse.

The Masked Killer raised his head, glanced briefly at Zhu Yan, then lowered it again to fork the last bit of fish into his mouth.

"Using a Hunter as a centerpiece plating alone isn't inherently complicated," Zhu Yan said, looking entirely unbothered.

Once the Horrors fell quiet again, he lightly tapped the silver platter through the velvet cloth.

"The complexity lies in the chain reaction this dish will trigger when placed on a human banquet table."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the rules of the dungeon [Metabolic Module] state that [Key Fragments] must be collected in sequence."

"To obtain Fragment 5, one must possess the first four—no exceptions."

As the words landed, several Horrors seemed to catch on, raising their heads with renewed interest.

Madam continued to chew on her fork with a slight smile; of all the Horrors, it was the only one that had barely touched the fish in front of it.

"Mmm," it said in a drawn-out, melodic tone, "go on. Let me hear if this gets interesting."

Zhu Yan glanced at Ji Xiting from the corner of his eye.

Ji Xiting seemed nervous—almost humanly nervous—trembling all over, his eyes fixed on Zhu Yan, red-rimmed and intense.

He looked like a student anxiously awaiting exam results.

"As you all know, the Hunter had already secured the first three Key Fragments," Zhu Yan said, smiling.

In just a few sentences, he had read the situation clearly.

Looking at their circumstances, this "Madam" had just dismissed both Ji Xiting and himself in one breath.

So, without a doubt, he and Ji Xiting were in the same boat.

For Ji Xiting to throw Zhu Yan under the bus would do him no good; and for Zhu Yan to kick Ji Xiting while he was down wasn't realistic either.

Zhu Yan wanted Ji Xiting dead.

More precisely, he wanted to kill every Horror he could possibly kill, leaving no loose ends behind.

But right now, he was too weak.

To kill Ji Xiting, he first had to let Ji Xiting speak on his behalf and convince these Horrors to hand over Key Fragment 5.

Then, once he escaped with Fragment 5 and the truth gradually came to light, Ji Xiting's death sentence would arrive.

"I killed the Hunter—on that point, Mr... I mean, Ji Xiting was a firsthand witness."

More Horrors lifted their heads.

Even the silent Masked Killer set down his utensils with a sharp clang.

It stared at Zhu Yan in the center of the open space, using its dinner knife to cut the gash of its mouth wider, making the entire mask look like it was grinning in a grotesque manner.

"That's right," Ji Xiting finally snapped back to himself. "That's right. Ladies and gentlemen, I saw it with my own eyes on the monitor—I... arranged for it to kill the Hunter!"

Zhu Yan could hear the desperation in his voice, so he turned and, with great poise, gave a slight bow.

"It is thanks to Mr. Ji's directives that the kitchen was able to make such a catch."

Ji Xiting's complexion finally improved a little.

With the tide turning slightly in their favor, he casually leaned back in his plush chair and let out a light chuckle.

"Go on," Ji Xiting said, lifting his chin proudly. "What else did I arrange for you?"

Zhu Yan inwardly rejoiced.

Good, good—what a delightfully naive little Horror.

Before he had even said a word, Ji Xiting was already claiming credit grandly.

Now, when Zhu Yan eventually asked for Key Fragment 5, he could simply pin it under Ji Xiting's name and borrow his credibility!

"You instructed me to retrieve the first three Key Fragments that the Hunter possessed," Zhu Yan said, mimicking the Horrors' mannerism—twisting his lips into an unnatural smirk.

"When the Hunter's corpse is placed at the center of that grand banquet table and passed down layer by layer, what will the players think?"

"At first, they'll be confused, shocked, and furious."

"But Mr. Ji told me he believed someone would soon catch on."

Ji Xiting's expression grew even more splendid, his look toward Zhu Yan now laced with a hint of appreciation.

"The sharpest among those players will think: the Hunter is dead, and before dying, the Hunter had acquired three Key Fragments."

With a sharp flick of his wrist, Zhu Yan pulled aside half of the red velvet cloth, revealing the silver platter beneath.

A sweet, meaty aroma seeped through the cracks of the platter, carrying a rich air of [Delicious Terror].

The Goatee Horror twitched its grayish face, squinting with blissful intoxication.

"Continue," it commanded. "This is getting interesting."

Ji Xiting's gaze softened further.

Now, nearly all the Horrors were drawn to the young chef at the center.

Ji Xiting himself could already guess what the chef was about to say—

The chef had only scratched the surface, but the unspoken core was what every creature was waiting for.

Ji Xiting narrowed his eyes.

This chef wasn't stupid at all.

In fact, he was cleverer than Ji Xiting had expected.

"That group of players will, of course, climb onto the table and search the Hunter's body. After all—what if they can dig out the first three Key Fragments?"

The Goatee Horror burst into raucous laughter.

"An interesting hypothesis," it remarked, "but far too idealistic to meet my expectations. How can you presume to predict human behavior? When I was human, human nature was the most fickle thing in the world."

Zhu Yan nodded to it.

"I can't predict them, but I can guide them."

With that, he yanked the red velvet cloth off completely.

On the massive serving cart sat two platters, one large and one small, placed apart.

Zhu Yan lifted the large platter to reveal a sweet-and-sour pork dish, the scent wafting out. The body—its chest hollowed out—had its hands pressed together in a pose of sorrowful reverence.

He then removed the small platter, revealing a fake "Zhu Zeyu" with parted lips and furrowed brows, as if weeping or screaming in silence.

"If we place the [Key Fragment] numbered 5 inside the mouth of the [Hunter]'s head, letting it hover there like this, and deliberately allow those greedy players to take it..."

"Then their desire to find the earlier [Key Fragments] will, of course, reach its peak."

"Sir," Zhu Yan turned around, smiling at the Goatee Horror, "would you say that when they get their hands on 5 but still can't grasp it, their desire to obtain 1, 2, 3, and 4 will reach its peak?"

"And if 1, 2, 3, and 4 are actually all in our possession, wouldn't the inevitable despair they'd feel be all the more pleasing to witness?"