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On the other side.

Guan En waited in fear and trepidation for a while.

Aside from the two candles going out, there were no other anomalies.

He calmed himself for a few seconds and carefully made a wish.

"I want two doses of a potion that can completely cure the plague brought by the [Plague Demon] Walter."

"If not, please make me and my friend—the player who participated in the [Devouring Villa] instance with me—completely healthy and immune to the plague forever."

According to the information that person had gathered, the [Demon] could fulfill almost any human wish.

With these two wishes as alternatives, either one would be enough to save their lives.

Inside the emergency stairwell.

The [Demon]'s hood suddenly lifted as if out of control, then immediately lowered in sheer terror.

"Apologies, Madam."

It spoke in a low, raspy voice that made Zhu Yan feel a bit uncomfortable listening to it.

He didn't let his guard down; he merely let out a sharp, cold snort.

Since just now, the collapsed pile of robes showed no intention of propping itself back up.

And halfway through the [Demon]'s report, it seemed to be interfered with by something invisible.

Zhu Yan guessed this was because Guan En had just made a wish in the room.

"Since you are here, you must already know everything, Madam."

"I am just a nobody here to collect payment..."

The [Demon], terrified of angering him, behaved exceptionally submissively.

"A player bypassed the [Witch] to summon me privately, and just made a wish to me."

Zhu Yan snorted arrogantly through his nose.

Yes, he knew everything. He knew it all too well.

But he wasn't foolish enough to spill everything.

He wanted to use the information he knew to bait out even more details.

"A pitiful player tormented by the [Plague] and his foolish accomplice."

Zhu Yan said coldly.

As soon as he spoke, the cloak-like [Demon] trembled like jelly.

"Yes, Madam." The voice, as hoarse as blowing sand, grated against Zhu Yan's eardrums. "But I... I only heard that player... It seems there is only one player this time..."

The implication was that it didn't know the player had an accomplice.

Zhu Yan calculated for a moment and didn't immediately relax his guard.

This instance was somewhat different from the previous three.

Judging from the timeline of that female player's forum post, only after the [Demon] arrived beside the player would the player hear the broadcast announcement that the instance had begun.

The [Demon] hadn't yet reached Guan En's room, so it was highly likely the female voice hadn't broadcasted yet.

The [Demon] probably hadn't received instructions on exactly how many players were in the instance either!

Zhu Yan narrowed his eyes. Thinking of what he had told Guan En earlier about there being ten minutes left until arrival, he decided to just deceive the [Demon] in front of him as well.

"Your level is too low."

He started contemptuously, and with a thought, directly activated his ability, [Complaint].

Zhu Yan didn't know the [Demon]'s level, but Guan En probably hadn't used his ability in the last instance, so his ability wouldn't have upgraded.

The doppelganger in the [Cat and Mouse Game] instance was level three, and that was Guan En's novice instance, so Zhu Yan estimated that the initial level of Guan En's ability should be around level 3.

Calculating it this way, Guan En's ability level up to now was roughly level 4.

Therefore, this [Demon] was very likely only level 4.

In short, it was within the coverage range of his level 5 ability [Complaint]!

"There is another player nearby with an ability above yours, you trash."

Zhu Yan cursed and bluffed at the same time, focusing his attention on observing the [Demon]'s reaction.

The smooth cloak wrinkled, as if the creature inside was rapidly shriveling up.

The [Demon] didn't know what Zhu Yan was doing, but it could tell that its power seemed to have been drained in an instant.

Was it because it was too useless that this high-level horror creature got angry?

Zhu Yan saw the end of the cloak collapse a large chunk further; the [Demon] seemed even more terrified.

"I am here to watch a show. Lately, the [Carnival Paradise] has been lacking a bit of fun."

Best to quit while he was ahead.

After all, the thing he wanted was still on the [Demon], and he had to trick it into fulfilling the wish for him first.

"I will help you block the other player," Zhu Yan lied through his teeth. "Tell me, what wish did you receive?"

Seeing that the Madam had put away her terrifying anger, the [Demon] felt as if it had been granted amnesty.

It confessed everything in detail: "Just a very small wish, Madam. They want something that can cure the plague demon's disease."

The plague demon's disease must refer to the plague.

The phrase very small wish made Zhu Yan feel relieved, but he quickly tensed his nerves again, continuing to concentrate.

Because the [Demon] was asking for his opinion in fear and trepidation.

"Madam, what kind of amusement do you wish for a lowly thing like me to offer you?"

"Usually, the [Witch]..."

The [Demon] quickly lifted its hood to check Zhu Yan's reaction, then hurriedly returned to its original posture.

"...the [Witch] first deceives and paralyzes the players' nerves, and I go to collect the payment, sucking their souls."

Zhu Yan feigned a dissatisfied and harsh tone.

"You just kill the players directly?"

"Y-yes," the [Demon] defended itself. "But we tease them first—"

Zhu Yan didn't give it a chance to finish.

"You didn't fulfill their wishes?"

The [Demon]'s hood shrank a bit.

"Y-yes. But we—"

"Why don't you shake your head and listen if there's the sound of water sloshing around in there?"

Zhu Yan activated [Complaint] again: "Is your brain capacity too small to hold water?"

The [Demon] wanted to speak, but was ruthlessly interrupted by him.

"Does this most direct form of despair even count as despair? Where is the fun in that?"

"I came all this way, and this is what you show me?"

The [Demon]'s cloak collapsed by half, and even its voice became a bit faint.

"Madam, what do you want to see?"

It was about time.

Seeing the cloak completely bow down, Zhu Yan retracted the ability [Complaint] again, and casually stated his plan.

"Fulfill their wishes," he said. "Give them what they want first, let them develop an illusion of... surviving a disaster."

The [Demon] had never thought of this route.

Currently, [Carnival Paradise] had just begun devouring this place, and the players assigned to it all had ability levels similar to its own.

If the players' abilities were slightly stronger, and things went wrong, it might go hungry.

The [Demon] wisely kept its thoughts to itself.

"I will do as you say."

This time, there was a high-level horror creature present, and this high-level entity had already helped them intercept the other player.

It could be considered a worry-free situation.

It bowed low and sincerely praised, "Madam, you are truly evil."

Zhu Yan accepted this praise, feeling a slight sense of relief in his heart.

He slowly stepped aside, signaling that the [Demon] could enter the room.

"These two players are very cunning," he said.

"After you enter the room, the player who made the wish will contact the other one hiding nearby."

"However, like I said."

Zhu Yan revealed an eerie smile; the mere thought of Guan En getting played by him along the way was enough to make him want to laugh.

"I will stop him."

The [Demon] submissively lowered its hood.

"Thank you, Madam."

"I will tell the [Witch]."

Hmm? That would actually save him some effort.

A thought stirred in Zhu Yan's mind as he suddenly remembered something else.

"Ensure that everything is spectacular."

He spoke casually, watching the cloak struggle to climb upward, only to freeze the moment he opened his mouth.

"I want you to take it a step further and work with the [Witch] to deceive the player."

"Lie to him and say that you don't need any compensation."

"I just love watching people get their hopes up for nothing."

The [Demon] respectfully complied.

"Yes, Madam."