The Bribed Slime

The student’s face wasn’t particularly distinctive, and Zhu Yan couldn’t remember who he was right away.

Clinging to the ceiling, he observed the boy and noticed that, unlike ordinary students facing a Slime, the boy showed no trace of fearful caution. Instead, there was a hint of curiosity in the way he sized it up.

The Slime’s eyes rolled around rapidly, clearly studying the human as well.

“Hello,” it finally said from its lofty position. “Wow. Using an ability on a teacher isn’t something a good student would do—especially since you’re not a student at West Mountain University, are you?”

Oh, this was interesting.

Remaining invisible, Zhu Yan leaned down a little farther.

Under the dim lighting of the Nightmare Bookshop, the boy’s face looked somewhat pale.

At those words, he lowered his head and casually straightened the school uniform jacket that was almost completely dyed red with blood.

“The Nightmare Bookshop doesn’t only serve students, does it, sir? Besides, you still haven’t answered my question.”

His dark eyes stared straight at the Slime, and Zhu Yan unexpectedly detected a trace of cruelty in them that didn’t belong to any human.

“What were you talking about just now? Am I the only one here?”

“Yes, of course,” the Slime replied.

It smacked its lips with a “tsk,” and a distinctly human look of regret appeared on its face.

The human before it was quite unusual too. If only it hadn’t driven that Hunter out—the scene would have been very entertaining.

At the thought, the Slime’s entire body sagged a little lower.

“Ah,” it said with certainty. “Yes, you’re the only one here now. So, what do you want?”

The student fell silent.

In the darkness, there came a sharp ripping sound, like fabric being torn apart with great force. The skin on his face visibly wrinkled, then rapidly sagged downward.

As though removing a layer of thick rubber skin, he peeled off the human hide along with the school uniform. As he did so, his height shot upward. It looked almost as if an entirely different body were “growing” out from inside the human skin.

Wow.

So this was that skin-suit ability?

Zhu Yan was practically bursting with excitement. Still invisible, he immediately descended to the floor and moved closer for a better look.

He knew he was a genius at predicting things.

Otherwise, how could Qiu Lingfeng have arrived just minutes after Zhu Yan had spent money sealing away a whole pile of items—the very Qiu Lingfeng he had been preparing to guard against?

Qiu Lingfeng looked different from what Zhu Yan had imagined. He didn’t appear particularly vicious.

The corners of his eyes drooped slightly, and his eyebrows had a gentle, rounded curve. His face and nose, however, had sharp contours. Rather than cruel, he looked slippery and cunning, like a rat spirit that had taken human form.

Qiu Lingfeng had not noticed Zhu Yan’s presence at all. He simply revealed the bow-and-arrow mark in the palm of his right hand to the Slime.

“I’m a Hunter,” he said coldly, his neck twisting stiffly to one side. “I learned some interesting information from my little brother, so I came here as quickly as I could. The Vine-Cage Woman told me that the Nightmare Bookshop at West Mountain University can provide some interesting information, and she was kind enough to tell me some of the conditions for making an inquiry. I haven’t come to the wrong place, have I?”

The Slime seemed to have thought of something, and its eyes froze in place.

“What would you like to look up?” it asked bluntly. “As long as we have the information here, we support paid inquiries.”

Qiu Lingfeng nodded but did not answer immediately.

Half of his face was hidden in the light and shadow. His dark eyes were set into those drooping contours, making him seem unfathomable.

“What can you find out? For example, if I look up someone who has died, can you find the person who killed them?”

Zhu Yan, listening from the side, immediately understood.

Could this man have come to investigate Hunter No. 1?

For someone like Qiu Lingfeng, finding the names of his dead aunt and Feng Yaozu would be easy enough. But Zhu Yan’s name had been erased.

Without a name to confirm, this was a faster method.

“We don’t really support inquiries concerning the dead,” the Slime said.

“Wow,” Qiu Lingfeng drawled lazily. “All right. Other than a name, what information can I use to make an inquiry?”

Heh heh.

Zhu Yan wriggled around beside Qiu Lingfeng.

This guy was actually very fast—only a little slower than Zhu Yan.

If Zhu Yan had slept for another hour in the car, Qiu Lingfeng might have succeeded.

Who said luck wasn’t part of one’s strength?

“We also support inquiries based on specific abilities,” the Slime said, not bothering to hide anything from Qiu Lingfeng. “If you know the exact names of the abilities your target possesses, we can try to find the relevant information.”

Qiu Lingfeng nodded. “All right. The abilities Light Up the Ancestors’ Glory and Telekinesis. Are those two enough to narrow it down?”

In theory, Zhu Yan should have felt a lingering fear, considering how narrowly he had escaped.

But when he thought about what Qiu Lingfeng was about to face, he wanted to laugh.

The Slime waved its bone spines with exaggerated solemnity.

“That’s enough to narrow it down,” it said. “However, searching by ability is more troublesome. The fee is 2,000 bone coins.”

Qiu Lingfeng extended his right hand without hesitation. The Slime accepted the money, then pretended to flip through the thick book.

“Oh—ah, dear me.”

Soon, just as Zhu Yan had expected, it began dragging out its words theatrically.

“I’m sorry, but we couldn’t find anything.”

Zhu Yan silently transformed back into Mist.

A human could make sounds, while the Invisibility ability had no way to conceal them.

He was genuinely afraid that he might burst out laughing and alert Qiu Lingfeng.

Qiu Lingfeng’s face remained expressionless.

“Why?” he asked softly.

“I’m sorry,” the Slime said regretfully, swaying its bone spines. “Our database isn’t very comprehensive at the moment. You know, the Nightmare Bookshop isn’t exactly an official institution of the Wildly Joyful Land—well, in any case, the two abilities you provided aren’t enough to identify the player.”

“In short, the database is empty!”

Qiu Lingfeng didn’t lose his temper. Instead, he merely let out a soft laugh.

“Then I’ll look up something else.”

He seemed completely unconcerned about being swindled out of 2,000 bone coins.

“I want to know whether anyone has looked up information about me before.”

“That one’s free,” the Slime said slowly. “Your name is—”

“Qiu Lingfeng.”

“Hmm.”

The Slime began pretending to flip through the book again.

Since it had already extorted quite a lot from Zhu Yan, it performed with particular enthusiasm this time.

“…Let me see. Before the open-beta dungeon began, several students came here. Among the people who made inquiries…”

The Slime’s bone spines moved carefully along the pages, line by line.

Zhu Yan floated behind it to take a look and discovered that the pages were completely blank, without a single word on them.

“…There’s no record of you,” the Slime concluded.

With a smack, it closed the book.

“Any other questions?”

“How much would it cost to seal away my information?” A playful smile appeared on Qiu Lingfeng’s face.

The Slime, having already been bought off, did not disappoint Zhu Yan.

“Can’t be sealed, sir. Those are the rules.”

Qiu Lingfeng nodded thoughtfully and stood there, lost in thought for a moment.

“Then how much would it cost to delete the record of my inquiry—or conceal the fact that I was here?”

“No amount of money would do,” the Slime said. “That can’t be concealed.”

Qiu Lingfeng nodded.

These were two tests.

If Hunter No. 1 had deliberately paid to conceal information and the record of his inquiry, these questions should have exposed it.

But judging by the terrifying creature’s reaction, the other party truly had never been here.

He lowered his eyes slightly and made one final attempt.

“Then how much would I have to pay to find out the name of Hunter No. 1?”

“No amount of money would do.” This time, at least, it was an honest answer that hadn’t been bought. “That isn’t a service we can provide!”