Hoarding and Entanglement

Zhu Yan exited the player homepage, feeling a bit dizzy.

Fortunately, the sunlight quickly dispelled this discomfort.

He searched for the keyword "Demon" again, and after confirming that he found nothing, he decisively closed the player forum.

It was known that a magic ritual could summon a "Demon," which in turn would attract a "Witch."

This was indeed a way to avoid racking his brains to find a "Witch," but no matter how he looked at it, the risk was incredibly high.

The "Demon" would come knocking to collect its fee, and the "Witch" would take advantage of the situation to rob him.

The "Demon" fed on human spirit and vitality, while the "Witch" directly consumed flesh and blood.

The slightest misstep would result in him dying in a trance like the female player in the post, not even knowing how he lost.

Zhu Yan rubbed his ears, letting himself relax a bit first.

The bus announcement sounded right on time.

Zhu Yan got off the bus. The coming and going crowds and the sun-warmed ground made him feel safe; a genuine sense of reassurance filled his heart once again.

He walked decisively toward the bustling and imposing large supermarket, deciding to buy some fresh groceries while pondering his countermeasures.

......

Meanwhile.

Inside the city center hospital.

Screams mixed with the sound of things being knocked over pierced through the tightly closed doors of the consultation room. Then, a thick purplish-black liquid seeped out from the gap under the door and spread into the corridor.

"Ah!"

Someone in the corridor started screaming, and a panic-stricken uproar erupted from the crowd.

Emergency call bells and the loud cries of doctors for help were mixed within. A young nurse rushed out of the consultation room and ran forward.

"Resuscitation cart!" she shouted. "Consultation room 12, resuscitation cart!"

The door to the consultation room was left open, revealing the gruesome scene inside in its entirety.

A blurry humanoid figure lay on the simple hospital bed; blood had already dyed his unbuttoned police uniform a purplish-black.

Large chunks of black rotting flesh were peeling off the person. From a distance, he looked like a piece of chocolate rapidly melting down to the skeleton.

Even louder screams erupted from the corridor.

"Someone died!" someone yelled. "It looks like an infectious disease, run! Everyone get out of here!"

The crowd began to surge toward the emergency exits.

"There seems to be another one downstairs!" another voice loudly warned from the crowd. "I saw it when I just came up. I saw a lot of police officers following them; it seems the patient is also a police officer."

"What kind of disease is it? Are the symptoms the same?"

"The same symptoms," the voice said. "Better wear a mask. That blood spilled all over the floor, and the lobby was a mess earlier too..."

Zhu Yan knew nothing of this.

He was busy stuffing a bunch of chocolates, compressed biscuits, and convenience foods into his shopping cart.

He stuffed some in, and reached deep into the shelves to silently steal some for free.

His ring already held quite a lot of rice, flour, grain, oil, seasonings, and a small amount of fresh food.

Online shopping was also an option, but considering the erosion speed of "Carnival Paradise," it was safer to come to the supermarket to buy some first.

As Zhu Yan grabbed the items, he thought about the plague.

Another way to find the "Witch" was to go directly down to "Carnival Paradise" from the "Hall of Mourning" in Myriad Forms Plaza.

But could his pitiful level 5 ability "Roleplay" really withstand the scrutiny of all the monsters in "Carnival Paradise"?

Zhu Yan absentmindedly took down a bag of tomato-flavored potato chips.

They took up space, but they were delicious; he could poke a hole in the bag to let the air out and throw them into his ring.

Bought!

Hmm...

Then if he knowingly walked into the tiger's den, looked up some information to set up an altar himself, or spent some money to rent an altar to attract a "Demon"...

Zhu Yan reached deep into the shelf and absentmindedly stole a few more bags.

Should he buy a generator and some small appliances?

Alright, he should think about serious business.

If he insisted on heading into the tiger's den, there would be another major problem.

The levels of the "Witch" and the "Demon" would be level 5, and, according to what Zhu Yan coaxed out of the Plague Demon in the previous instance "Devouring Villa"...

As the bosses of this instance, the "Witch" and the "Demon" would definitely know the exact number of players.

Judging from the female player's post, the "Witch" was not stupid.

On the contrary, the "Witch's" vigilance was very high.

Zhu Yan highly suspected that the initial conversation it used to close the distance and pretend to be harmless was specifically to prevent players from using abilities on it.

Assuming that was really the case...

Zhu Yan took a jug of mineral water and stole several more.

Assuming that was really the case, if both the "Witch" and the "Demon" knew there was only one player, and the "Demon" locked onto his location one step ahead of the "Witch," running over to scold him for overstepping...

No matter how much he disguised himself, could he really fool them?

Zhu Yan didn't dare to bet on it.

Moreover, the "Demon" fed directly on human vitality and spirit.

"Roleplay" didn't have any defensive functions.

If the "Demon" ignored his disguise and audaciously continued to suck his vitality...

He would be exposed immediately!

Just thinking about it made Zhu Yan feel doomed.

He curled his lips and pushed the fully loaded shopping cart toward the daily necessities section.

Towels, toothpaste, water cups, bedding—he really needed to prepare more of everything.

The warm white lighting and neat shelves of the supermarket were reassuring.

If "Carnival Paradise" hadn't suddenly descended, he absolutely wouldn't be here hoarding goods right now.

For a moment, Zhu Yan felt a mix of complex emotions.

In less than ten days, his life had been turned upside down, and yet he seemed to have accepted it quite directly and calmly. Aside from the initial panic caused by not yet adapting, he didn't have much worry.

Was this considered a strong point?

Zhu Yan grabbed two towels and stealthily packed away two pillows.

Alright, the "Witch" and the "Demon."

If he could have a player with a lower level than him as an assistant, things would be much easier to handle.

He could have that player follow the procedure to conduct the ritual and attract the "Demon," while Zhu Yan pretended to know nothing and just wandered around outside.

This way, the instance wouldn't involve Zhu Yan himself.

The levels of the attracted "Demon" and "Witch" might even be something that the level 4 "Complaint" and the level 3 "Humiliation" could handle!

Waiting until three minutes before the instance started, he would transform into some kind of terrifying creature and enter the instance right on time.

At that time, he might be pulled into the instance and become a player who had to participate, or he might not.

The only difference between the two was that instance players received rewards, while non-instance players did not, nothing more.

Zhu Yan stared at the instructions on the back of a toothpaste tube in a daze for a moment.

Hmm...

Non-instance players didn't get any extra rewards, but in life-or-death situations, it wasn't the time to fuss over that.

As long as the other player explicitly demanded that the "Demon" give Zhu Yan a healthy body, or some kind of item that could eliminate the plague, that would be enough.

This method sounded a bit more reliable than the first one.

The biggest problem was that he lacked a player with aligned interests to be his teammate.

Zhu Yan stuffed several tubes of toothpaste and a pile of toothbrushes into the shopping cart, conveniently grabbing two mouthwash cups along the way.

What else did he need to buy?

Guan En was probably the only other poor sap who shared this need.

But Guan En seemed far too righteous, and besides...

Zhu Yan let out a heavy sigh.

And most importantly, Anwu City was simply too big; he had no way of finding him.