Leave a Phone Number

Zhu Yan needed Guan En.

This time, there was no room for refusal.

He asked, "What clues have you found?"

Guan En smiled helplessly again, looking at the sky outside.

"Wanxiang Plaza is sealed off and won't open for another week. I can't go to the [Hall of Mourning], so I can't buy anything from the online store."

Zhu Yan understood.

Come to think of it, Guan En was now level two and had the clearance to buy the book Coexisting with Taboo Entities.

However, because he hadn't opened an account, he couldn't pay online with Bone Gold Coins.

In all fairness, Coexisting with Taboo Entities was an extremely useful reference book.

Without it, Guan En couldn't even look up the most basic information on [Witches], [Demons], or even [Plague Ghosts].

Even the name [Plague Ghost] was only known to him through the contract Zhu Yan had stuffed into his hands earlier.

He wouldn't have known about the [Plague Ghost]'s ability to spread disease until after the instance ended and he heard the broadcast.

Zhu Yan sighed softly, feeling a bit of pity for Guan En for the first time.

"After the instance ends, I plan to find time to visit the [Hall of Mourning]."

Guan En mentioned it briefly but didn't delve too deeply into the topic.

He cut back to the main topic, speaking rapidly as he shared the information he had with Zhu Yan.

"I could only ask my colleagues over in Bailu City to help check the existing files, but it seems there haven't been any creatures like [Plague Ghosts] appearing there."

"How is the situation in Bailu City?" Zhu Yan suddenly felt a bit curious.

In just a few short days, Anwu City had already turned into such a mess.

So, what about Bailu City, where the instances first broke out...

"The authorities have implemented some policies," Guan En gave him a deep look. "All the supermarkets, convenience stores, malls... every external food resource you can think of has been put under centralized control."

"The situation there is better than here because the police stations haven't fallen, and there is no plague."

"Although there are a large number of players, the estimated number of survivors is no more than five thousand. They have incorporated some capable players, surrounded the [Hall of Mourning], and divided the area into different levels of quarantine zones."

"In short, people are still getting by."

It sounded like a wartime centralized distribution system, which was indeed relatively orderly.

"I also looked into your aunt."

Zhu Yan cast a special glance at Guan En.

Guan En really needed his help; it seemed that aside from the instance, he had managed to gather all the information Zhu Yan wanted to know.

"She wants you dead," Guan En said bluntly. "But I calculated it, and her next instance should be coming very soon."

His aunt's abilities had already been stripped away.

How could an ordinary person with no abilities be lucky enough to survive a second instance?

Zhu Yan suddenly thought of the old house he had lived in for over a decade, feeling a complex mix of emotions he couldn't quite articulate.

So he nodded, pursing his lips, using this stiff reaction to express that he didn't want to continue this topic.

Guan En understood.

"I need you," he reiterated. "I came here today to try my luck."

"If you didn't show up, I would have had to drag things out for a week to go to the [Hall of Mourning], but by then, time would be far too tight."

Indeed.

Going to open an account, buy the book, and check the information a week later, and then finding out there was no solution even after checking, would truly leave him like an ant on a hot pan.

Zhu Yan looked at Guan En, not understanding why he was still sticking to the rules at such a critical moment.

If it were him, he would have risked being silenced and forced his way into Wanxiang Plaza.

"Fortunately, you showed up." Guan En managed a difficult smile. "Tell me. What do you need me for?"

"I will fully cooperate, on the condition that you let me live."

Zhu Yan only concealed the part about riding the [Monster Bus] and encountering the [Voodoo Doll].

He informed Guan En of the information regarding [Witches] and [Demons], patiently waited for the other party to finish reading the three heavily mentally-polluting forum posts, and then detailed his own plans.

Guan En listened with a frown, took out his phone, and scrolled through it very seriously for quite a while.

"If this person is in Anwu City, we could try to borrow the altar at the crime scene."

"But Anwu City is strictly managed right now, and so far there haven't been any cases of employees suddenly dying at companies or single women dying suddenly at home... However..."

He quickly tapped on his phone screen and started searching earnestly again.

"Anwu City is so big; there shouldn't be a small number of people engaging in these superstitious activities."

"I've roughly figured out their mindset and patterns..."

"Careful what you say," Zhu Yan couldn't help but warn. "They might chop you up into fine mincemeat."

Guan En didn't even look up.

"Not in pieces that big," he replied, showing Zhu Yan his phone screen.

"Found it."

It was a page on a secondhand app. Zhu Yan couldn't imagine what keywords he had used to find these things.

"Local pickup... crystal candles, magic wands, brass swords?!"

Guan En nodded.

"I looked through social media. These kinds of people are very obsessed with the altars they set up, so they definitely won't rent out their spaces directly."

"Most of what they sell are things like crystal candles, and some even require waiting."

"Finding someone selling a magic wand without having to wait for it to be made or shipped internationally is already pretty good."

Guan En took his phone back and glanced at it.

"Hmm... this magic wand looks very similar to the one used in the player's post. Some people embed large crystals into these things; those probably wouldn't work."

Alright.

In such a short amount of time, Guan En had already placed the order and arranged a pickup time with the seller.

Zhu Yan leaned over to look. All these various items combined had surprisingly cost Guan En over ten thousand.

"...Why is it so expensive?"

Coexisting with Taboo Entities was only two hundred.

His [Storage Silver Ring] was only a mere twenty thousand!

"They claim the energy is good. Can this attract horror creatures?" Guan En frowned. "It better not actually have good energy."

Zhu Yan wanted to laugh.

"So, do you know how to perform the ritual?" he asked.

The sky had already grown dark. The streets outside lit up, and the snack street was gradually filling with people.

Guan En glanced outside and handed Zhu Yan a pre-written note.

"My address. I don't know how to do the ritual, but I can teach myself on a video site."

"I suspect that as long as you're a player, just casually setting up an altar and faking it a bit will have a high chance of summoning a [Demon]."

"After all, according to your book and the [Witches] in the posts, the version of The Key of Solomon we can see is already full of errors."

"But if it's a non-player, that might not necessarily be the case."

A very reasonable guess.

Zhu Yan asked, "So the Lesser Key of Solomon and the Key of Solomon..."

"The Key is divided into the Greater Key and the Lesser Key," Guan En explained simply. "I just looked it up."

"I'm going to pick up the items right away, so I won't stay here any longer."

"Do you need time to prepare or rest?"

"No need," Zhu Yan shook his head.

Preparing at a time like this had lost its meaning.

When had he ever gone through an instance without just making things up as he went along?

"Alright," Guan En said, "I don't need to prepare either."

He pulled out a pen and a pad of sticky notes.

"Survival is what matters most. Let's not worry about the consequences for now."

"Leave me a phone number, just any number where I can reach you."

"As soon as I hear the broadcast, I will let you know immediately."