Alright

This was nothing more than a crude little folding table.

Two unremarkable players, a man and a woman, sat behind it. The man had a round face and the unmistakable air of a petty hustler.

Jin Rongxu stood behind them, his eyes lowered slightly. No one could tell what he was thinking.

“Sit.”

Zhu Yan sat down. Two players in uniform immediately took up positions behind him.

They stood close enough to reach out and touch him, presumably so they could restrain him at once if anything went wrong.

“Name?” the man behind the table asked.

“Zhu Zeyu.”

“Hold out your hand.”

It was an order. The man did not bother explaining what he intended to do.

But that was fine.

Whether it was his memories, abilities, or items, Zhu Yan had prepared everything thoroughly.

To prevent them from searching the ring he normally used, Zhu Yan had even picked out an empty ring from Feng Yaozu’s pile of spoils. He had placed the fake Level 13 military saber inside, along with some commonly used potions and a dagger purchased from the Online Store.

Zhu Yan obediently held out his hand. The man lowered his head in silence.

His eyes widened. Several parasite-like tentacles burst through his eyeballs and slowly wrapped themselves around Zhu Yan’s wrist.

Zhu Yan shifted uncomfortably. At once, a threatening hand pressed down on his shoulder.

“Relax.” Jin Rongxu raised his eyelids slightly, not even bothering to maintain a patient tone. “It’s standard procedure. Everyone here is a Level Six player or higher. We can handle you.”

Zhu Yan endured it.

He watched the man’s expression nervously—first calm, then frowning deeply, and finally flashing with a fleeting look of surprise.

This must be the player who could read memories.

Zhu Yan guessed that reading memories was probably like watching a movie. The man’s expression changed far too dramatically, and whenever he reached a critical moment, he even muttered several variations of “Holy shit.”

By the time the tentacles withdrew, the man’s head was covered in sweat.

Even the way he looked at Zhu Yan now held a trace of admiration.

“Young and fearless. Most people go through dungeons to stay alive. You go through them like you’re trying to die.”

“Fuck, you actually survived that? That’s fucking incredible!”

Zhu Yan began to wonder whether he had changed some of the details too much.

For example, when facing the Hunter, he had supposedly refused to submit even at the cost of his life. The Hunter had torn out part of his appendix, yet he had endured it without making a sound.

“…You flatter me.” Zhu Yan smiled shyly. “Can I leave now?”

“Oh, right. Right.”

Only then did the man come back to himself from the Hunter’s brutality and the young player’s battle of wits and courage.

“—Go sit over there, brother. Damn it, if we weren’t strangers, I’d really want to swear brotherhood with you!”

The man watched Zhu Yan obediently move to the side and honestly hand over his ring. He was deeply shaken.

He had gone through several dungeons himself and seen more than enough of humanity’s ugliness.

A young player like the one before him was truly rare.

He had backbone, along with a somewhat foolish sense of justice.

More importantly, this player had given him a chance to make a good impression in front of his superiors.

There were a few scattered clues and fragments concerning the Hunter in those memories. If he reported them and helped with the interrogation, he might even receive a small bonus.

At the thought, the man stood up and began giving Jin Rongxu a report in an extremely low voice.

Five minutes later.

Zhu Yan handed over the Level 13 military saber and was personally led into the venue by Guan En.

“After the welcome ceremony, Director Jin would like to meet with you.”

Guan En said, “Young Zhu, I’ve heard about what you did. Your fighting style is far too reckless.”

“From now on, when you enter a dungeon, could you stay in contact with me or your teammates at all times?”

There was about a month left.

That month was critical. This little sapling absolutely could not run into any trouble.

What would happen to his ability if he died in a dungeon?

Zhu Yan smiled bitterly. “The Hunter could have killed me at any moment. I wanted to contact you, too, but the situation was urgent.”

Guan En nodded without saying anything.

Zhu Yan could feel him deliberately slowing his pace, as though he intended to delay Zhu Yan’s entry into the venue.

“What about your parents? Where are they?”

Zhu Yan did not know why he had suddenly asked that.

Recalling the information he had obtained from the Narrative Platform, he answered cautiously, word for word according to the prepared script.

“My parents went abroad recently to visit a distant cousin of my father’s. They haven’t come back yet.”

“Things should be much safer overseas than in our district.”

That matched the information Guan En could find.

For an instant, his mind grew hazy, as if some contradictory or awkward detail had flashed past.

Fortunately, the Happy Paradise was extremely good at altering things in this area. That sense of wrongness vanished as quickly as it appeared.

“Can you still reach them?”

“Yes.”

Guan En nodded and said nothing.

Zhu Zeyu was a kind person, and so was Yang Zhanbai.

Unfortunately, in this world, people as pure as them were destined not to survive.

Guan En glanced at Zhu Zeyu’s face.

Originally, the only thing he could do was contact the Logistics Department and the Settlement Department after the young man’s death and have them allocate a few more supplies to Zhu Zeyu’s parents.

But since the man’s parents were abroad, what he could do had changed into concealing the news of their son’s death one month from now.

For some things, not knowing was gentler than knowing.

…But he certainly did not want his own parents to receive that kind of “gentleness.”

“At the welcome ceremony, Director Jin will personally announce your promotion.”

Guan En concealed the bitterness that flashed through his eyes and smiled.

“You’ll officially be recruited into Jin Rongxu’s action team. You’ll have to enter a dungeon in a few days. Can you take leave from school?”

He had actually already asked Yang Zhanbai whether the school allowed students to take leave.

But some formal courtesies still had to be observed.

“I might not be free in a few days,” Zhu Yan answered honestly. “I’m exhausted. I need to rest.”

He would die if he didn’t enter the dungeon Where Is Mom?

After all, he had already accepted his Hunter mission.

Guan En frowned, then smiled again.

“I know you’re tired. But didn’t you ask someone to take you along last time? Weren’t you eager to improve?”

Zhu Yan was eager.

But having two things happen at once was a sweet kind of trouble.

What if he brought all these people into the Where Is Mom? dungeon?

Guan En casually draped an arm over Zhu Yan’s shoulder. “Young Zhu, the higher-ups have placed great hopes in you. Besides, this dungeon is an important opportunity for the team to get used to working together.”

“There are seven players in total. According to the information we’ve gathered, there’s practically no pattern of conflict between the seven players. It isn’t a guaranteed death.”

“In fact, the odds of survival are quite high.”

When he heard the words “seven players,” Zhu Yan turned his head.

Could it be a coincidence?

The Where Is Mom? dungeon also had seven participants.

“Are you going?” he asked Guan En abruptly. “Do you know the dungeon’s name?”

Guan En froze.

“Let’s attend the meeting first,” he said. “After the welcome ceremony, I’ll give you the detailed information on the dungeon.”

“I’m not going on this run. I may be Jin Rongxu’s deputy team leader right now, but I’m also in charge of training recruits. I have to take the rookies into a dungeon.”

The rookie was a hot-tempered heir from a wealthy family who had a good relationship with Jin Rongxu. Their fathers could be considered members of the same faction.

Not long ago, this second-generation heir had opened an account at the [Hall of Mourning]. Judging by the timing, it had been about two days before the [Metabolism Module] dungeon began.

Zhu Yan neither agreed nor disagreed. “Thank you, Officer Guan.”