The Thrill of Ecstasy Cannot Be Bought

Zhu Zeyu frantically jabbed the elevator button, looking as though he couldn’t wait to fleece the [Human Alliance] for everything it was worth.

Beside him, he heard “Qiu Dehai” struggling to hold back a faint hiss of pain, and couldn’t help shaking his head inwardly.

Qiu Lingfeng really wasn’t stupid.

But his patience was certainly in short supply.

“We’re here.”

The elevator came to a silent stop. Zhu Zeyu’s eyes curved pleasantly.

“Director Qiu, you first.”

Silver Bay City was far wealthier than Anwu City.

The underground research facility they had arrived at was actually somewhat larger than the Western Suburbs Shelter, with deeper levels and more comprehensive facilities.

The archive hall alone was a hundred meters long and wide. There were even places nearby selling coffee and milk tea.

At that moment, people were coming and going throughout the hall. A few windows had sparse lines, while others stood empty.

Several soldiers approached and saluted “Qiu Dehai” in unison before escorting them to the priority channel.

“Qiu Dehai’s” expression stiffened another notch.

These were orders he had given earlier. Every one of these soldiers carried high-level restraint items he had painstakingly scavenged, all for the purpose of making sure “Hunter No. 1” had nowhere to run and was forced to tear off his disguise.

Originally, he had thought there was a seventy-to-eighty-percent chance that “Zhu Zeyu” would be exposed.

But looking at things now, “Qiu Dehai” felt as if his face were burning with pain, while his anger was rapidly rising.

That idiot Zhu Zeyu not only had utterly shameless manners, he was also dragging him along without the slightest awareness of the situation, asking question after question.

“Hey! General Qiu, look over there! They have milk tea! Is it freshly made? Do you guys even raise dairy cows underground?”

“Heh-heh, General Qiu, since we’re already here, could you treat each of us to a cup of milk tea?”

“Oh, General Qiu, does that connect to a snack street? That’s so advanced! What do they have? Beef soup?”

“Can we have beef soup too?”

Zhu Zeyu’s eyes sparkled. The bright strips of light in the archive hall had shrunk into scattered glimmers within his black pupils.

He had just heard every one of “Qiu Dehai’s” thoughts and immediately seized on the important part.

Several of the soldiers were carrying high-level restraint items!

So Zhu Zeyu had no hesitation about using [Telekinesis] to snatch things left and right.

Naturally, he couldn’t take everything. If he did, he would give himself away.

But he could take the items from just two of them.

That way, even if the soldiers realized later that something was missing, they would ultimately only blame themselves for being careless.

“Qiu Dehai” could no longer force a smile.

The corner of his mouth twitched. He wished he could immediately drain Zhu Zeyu dry and turn him into a skin suit.

“Yes.” “Qiu Dehai” ground out the word through clenched teeth. “We have all of that. The snack street is only open to high-level players. If you want to go in, you’ll have to work harder.”

They had already reached an empty priority-service window.

A staff member respectfully stood and saluted, then pulled out a registration form that had clearly been prepared in advance.

Zhu Zeyu took a moment to glance at everyone else’s expressions.

His several [Walking Corpses] naturally showed no abnormality. Director Jin and Captain Zheng were absent.

Guan En wore the humble, inconspicuous look of an honest man. Although Yang Zhanbai hadn’t said a word, he was observing the exchange between Zhu Zeyu and “Qiu Dehai” with obvious interest, as if he were gleefully enjoying some juicy gossip.

Zhu Zeyu withdrew his gaze and reached out to touch the ordinary-looking registration form.

Under the column labeled “Intended Instance,” the words “Cooking School Interview Class” had been typed in standard Song font. The blank column after it asked, “Can qualification for participation be obtained?”

Zhu Zeyu picked up the pen and briskly wrote down his name.

Why not write it?

The result would only be one more pitiful no-show anyway.

But Qiu Lingfeng…

Zhu Zeyu looked at the word “Yes” that had appeared beneath “Can qualification for participation be obtained?” and shook his head inwardly.

Qiu Lingfeng, on the other hand, ought to start thinking carefully about how to evade the punishment imposed by his rules!

…

Elsewhere.

Zhu Yan admired the brand-new life-sized puppet and asked Feining for confirmation yet again.

“You’re sure the pain response has been turned off?”

This was a part of his deliberate performance.

[Manic Paradise] was not so easy to fool. Every detail and every piece of information had to look real.

“It’s off, it’s off.” Feining was growing impatient. “How many times are you going to ask? Really?”

Zhu Yan began to turn up the pressure. “Even if it gets its head chopped off, it won’t feel any pain? You have to tell me right now!”

At that, Feining narrowed its eyes.

“You said its head could get chopped off?”

The words clearly triggered a chain of associations. Understanding dawned briefly across its face.

It had known for a long time that Zhu Yan was the [Hunter]. Combining that fact with all the wanted posters plastered everywhere, the [Hunter]’s sudden visit today, and his inexplicable questions just now…

Feining felt that it had stumbled onto an enormous secret.

Could this guy be planning to trick the Eye of the Abyss…?

It hurriedly shook its head. “Even having its head chopped off wouldn’t make it feel anything! Absolutely not! You have to trust Dragonfly’s craftsmanship!”

No, it absolutely could not reveal that it had already guessed the truth.

This guy was practically famous for being ruthless. He treated clearing instances like child’s play.

If Feining dared show even the slightest sign that it had caught on, forget about its vacation—it might even have to sacrifice countless avatars!

Just thinking about it made Feining tremble.

“If there’s no pain response, then there’s no pain response!”

It shoved the puppet into Zhu Yan’s arms and began nervously driving him out.

“Go, go! Get out of my shop! From this moment on, nothing is allowed to interrupt my vacation!”

…

Zhu Zeyu had already received his dormitory key card.

Jin Rongxu had been called away by Qiu Lingxiao to go play, while Guan En still had to deal with some official business from the Western Suburbs Shelter.

A wisp of invisible [Mist] clung to “Qiu Dehai,” watching him hurry toward his office with a gloomy expression.

Only Yang Zhanbai, the one truly idle person among them, was curious enough to ask Zhu Zeyu a question.

“Do you have something against General Qiu? Why? And what exactly were you doing today—were you pretending, or was it real?”

“I just wanted to fleece him for a little more.” Zhu Zeyu told the blunt truth. “That Qiu Dehai looked incredibly rich. Isn’t it better to get a few more useful weapons?”

Yang Zhanbai looked at him as though he were an idiot.

Zhu Zeyu merely smiled and didn’t care in the slightest.

He followed Yang Zhanbai into the dormitory and lay down, placing all his attention on “Qiu Dehai,” who had returned to his office.

Perhaps because there was no one else around, Qiu Lingfeng had already removed the skin suit.

The thick, freshly flayed human skin lay crumpled pitifully in the corner of the carpet, still smeared with blood. Qiu Lingfeng kicked it viciously, as though venting his anger.

“Fuck that guy!”

His chest rose and fell for a while before he quickly regained his composure.

“Heh. What a strange run of luck.”

“First I run into a shameless bastard like Zhu Zeyu, and then I can’t even buy [Trembling Pleasure].”

“Tell me, is there some kind of luck-enhancing item I can use?”

Unable to buy [Trembling Pleasure]?

Zhu Yan couldn’t help leaning forward with interest.