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Elsewhere.

Jin Rongxu dug his nails into his palm, barely maintaining the smile on his face.

He could feel his roots and back growing sticky with sweat. The cold sweat glued the specially made undershirt beneath his clothes to his skin.

The expressions on the faces of the people before him were natural enough, and their eyes were lively—unlike the old man’s earlier, whose pupils had been dull and unfocused.

Even their inner voices sounded perfectly normal. But the avatars on the [Player Forum] couldn’t lie.

They were dead. Dead and gone.

It had only been a little over ten hours.

Yet every person he trusted had been killed without him noticing, transformed into terrifying creatures that now stood opposed to him.

Jin Rongxu’s face felt hot, and he was beginning to panic.

This was really going to kill him.

Apart from that bastard Zhu Zeyu, he had no one he could use right now.

No matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to rely on him.

He stared at Zhu Zeyu’s avatar for several seconds, suppressing the cold smile that nearly escaped the corners of his mouth, and sent two messages.

“Where are you?”

“You knew from the beginning that keeping the merchandise by your side would get you killed. Why didn’t you warn the others?”

The army medic’s voice suddenly rang in his ears, carrying the same respectful tone as always.

“Captain, are you still listening?”

“I was saying, the wedding feast is about to—”

“That’s enough.”

Jin Rongxu cut it off. On the surface, he showed no sign of fear.

These things kept emphasizing the wedding feast, and the feast was indeed a stage he had no choice but to attend.

But how could Jin Rongxu possibly go alone?

Zhu Zeyu—the man destined to take the knife for him—was nowhere to be found. Without him, Jin Rongxu felt uneasy.

“I know what you’re trying to say.”

The scene described by the Seer remained vivid in his mind. Jin Rongxu steadied his confidence and kept his expression under control.

“Where’s Zhu Zeyu? Find him. We’ll set out together.”

…

The woman rambled on, trying to placate her precious son, but Li Panlong remained impatient.

He tossed aside the watermelon rind in his hand and ordered the woman around.

“Mom, stop bringing me this garbage. I want meat.”

Zhu Yan’s [Player Forum] had never been closed. A private message from [Jin Rongxu] suddenly popped up.

Outside Old Man Huang’s small building, a wisp of [Mist] stirred.

Jin Rongxu had realized something was wrong.

But Zhu Yan didn’t reply.

He couldn’t reply—not while Li Panlong was still here.

Besides, the few “people” on the other side would need some time to find him. There should still be a little time to stall them.

Zhu Yan held his breath and listened as Li Panlong spoke again.

“What about that fried baby meat from this morning?”

“I remember there were three children in our village. I’ve only eaten one.”

What a monster.

Zhu Yan stared at the ancestral tablet, swaying slightly from side to side as he pondered.

After Li Panlong spoke to the tablet, the woman had appeared.

This tablet probably had some kind of “awareness,” didn’t it?

How could he get the thing out of there?

If he sent Tuxedo Cat to drag it away…

Would his cat get hurt?

And if the tablet really was aware, would the [Walking Corpses] that sensed something immediately come over once it was moved?

Would he still have time to drain Li Panlong’s vitality?

“Good boy, Mom will make you some if you want it.”

Below, the [Walking Corpse] rubbed his hands together and hurried away with a smile.

Zhu Yan looked around and found a relatively secluded thicket, far from the passing [Walking Corpses].

He waited for the right moment, then plunged down like a diver and slowly condensed into human form.

Tuxedo Cat emerged from Zhu Yan’s clothes in feline form and affectionately rubbed against his leg.

“Shh.” Zhu Yan lowered his voice. “Let me think.”

Unlike Zhu Yan’s [Mist] state, which was created through [Roleplay], Tuxedo Cat had fused with the power of [Mist].

In other words, it was true [Mist] and couldn’t be detected.

“In your mist form,” Zhu Yan whispered to Tuxedo Cat, “can you move things?”

Tuxedo Cat stared at him with round eyes and flicked one ear.

Zhu Yan wasn’t sure whether it understood.

He was just about to repeat himself when Tuxedo Cat flicked its tail and nimbly slipped out of the bushes.

It silently dispersed into a cloud of mist and darted toward Li Panlong!

“Hey—” Zhu Yan hurriedly lowered his voice to stop it.

Too late.

The little cloud of mist swiftly wrapped itself around the ancestral tablet. A furry cat paw reached out from the mist and, while Li Panlong wasn’t paying attention, quickly shoved the tablet toward the edge of the table.

Then Tuxedo Cat returned to its original form, leaped up, grabbed the tablet in its teeth, and sprinted away.

Zhu Yan was speechless.

Hey, he hadn’t even finished explaining!

If the tablet really was aware, wasn’t this the equivalent of launching an attack right in its face?

But now that things had come to this, hesitating instead of acting would only make matters worse once those [Walking Corpses] found him.

There was no time left to think.

Zhu Yan decisively [Roleplayed] the woman’s appearance and hurried over to Li Panlong. At the same time, he sent several strands of [Mist] into the air to monitor the movements of the [Walking Corpses].

“My dear.”

Zhu Yan simultaneously activated [Bring Glory to the Ancestors], clutched the prop, and unleashed a barrage of flattery at Li Panlong.

“Mom has money for you. Your mommy’s got money—do you want some?”

He knew this was completely OOC and didn’t fit the character at all.

But time was of the essence, and this method worked quickly!

Li Panlong turned to look at him, stunned. “W-What?”

“Sweetie, do you want money? I’ll give you five hundred thousand!”

Zhu Yan didn’t actually have any money to give, but his prop could provide currency.

That was one of the effects of the prop he had purchased earlier from the [Demon Department Store].

The prop could give players counterfeit currency. Once a player accepted it, their vitality would automatically become exposed.

“Son? Money…” Li Panlong pondered for a moment.

Zhu Yan held the [Walking Corpse] prop in one hand and the advanced [Straw Bottle] in the other, so nervous he was nearly sick.

One [Walking Corpse] had already noticed that something was wrong.

It was circling around from the back garden, and judging by its appearance, it was a high-level one.

“I want it!” Li Panlong said.

In an instant, the aura around him shifted subtly. Zhu Yan reacted with lightning speed and thrust the long straw into Li Panlong’s body.

The straw passed effortlessly through the man’s abdomen. The Level 14 [Straw Bottle] activated instantly, rapidly draining his vitality!

At the same time, a broadcast notification actually sounded beside Li Panlong’s ear.

“Congratulations, player Li Panlong, you have obtained 500,000 Bone Coins!”

“Holy crap!” Li Panlong was dumbfounded.

He looked at Zhu Yan in delighted amazement. “Mom, how did you do that?”

Zhu Yan stared at his face and counted the seconds nervously.

Three [Walking Corpses] were heading this way. The fastest might reach them in ten seconds—or perhaps five—once it made its way around the obstacles in the garden and caught sight of them.

The advanced [Straw Bottle] should work faster than the Level 4 [Straw Bottle], shouldn’t it?

If it ended up like what had happened with Li Huisheng back then, then…

The footsteps of the [Walking Corpses] were already close at hand.

There was no time!

Zhu Yan gritted his teeth, abruptly dispersed into dense mist, and slipped beneath the table.

“Son?”

The vegetation rustled. A middle-aged man’s voice followed close behind.

“What’s going on? What was it that moved my ancestral tablet?”

“What were you shouting about just now?”