Calculate, Calculate, Calculate, Calculate

Zhu Yan added this sentence because he suddenly remembered the previous female player's task.

He couldn't remember the rest of the original text, only one key phrase: "Make up for its corresponding payment."

The "it" here, of course, had a high probability of being the [Demon].

Then, if the [Demon]'s claim was "no payment needed," Guan En naturally wouldn't need to pay with his life—

As long as he killed the [Demon] before it could change its tune!

Zhu Yan felt the dagger that had once killed the [Man-eating House] pressed tightly inside his pocket.

In the dark corridor, the [Demon] was submitting to him.

A sense of pleasure crept into his heart bit by bit, and a familiar tingling sensation spread from his heart to his limbs.

Zhu Yan pinched the palm of his hand.

This emotion appeared frequently, which was too bizarre.

He was immersed in it and felt addicted.

Addicted.

Was this normal?

The pain in his palm brought Zhu Yan back to his senses a little. He concentrated and continued to think about the current situation.

The current Zhu Yan was entirely capable of directly killing a Level 4 [Demon].

Even if it were Level 5, the ability [Complaint] could heavily injure it.

Killing the [Demon] before it changed its mind wouldn't be difficult.

Zhu Yan stepped aside, watching the cloak—half-deflated by [Complaint]—flow out through the crack of the door like water, brushing over the thick carpet in the hallway.

Finally, it stopped precisely in front of Room 1030 and vanished ethereally.

The moment the [Demon]'s figure disappeared, Guan En suddenly felt an intense wave of dizziness.

In that brief instant, he lost his balance and fell heavily onto the carpet.

The candles on the altar went out.

The next second, a hoarse voice mixed with a crisp female voice echoed in his mind simultaneously.

"Presumptuous...!"

"Player, you are about to enter the Instance [It]."

"How dare you bypass the [Witch] and make a wish directly to me?"

"Player, given the special nature of certain Horror Creatures, you do not have the right to choose whether to enter the Instance this time."

Guan En felt a splitting headache, his entire consciousness blurring for a moment.

The dizziness hadn't faded yet. Propping himself up by his arms, he sat up from the floor and bit down hard on the tip of his tongue.

Instance. Instance.

He needed to contact his companion!

"Please note, Player: you will enter the Instance [It] in 3 minutes."

"Horror Creature Levels: Lv.4 Witch, Lv.4 It."

"Instance Task: The Witch, carrying a cat, is on her way. Have her help you converse with It, and make up for the corresponding payment."

Three minutes.

Three minutes?!

Guan En grabbed his phone.

With no time to overthink, he dialed Zhu Yan's number with trembling fingers.

Time was too tight.

Had he arrived? According to what they said earlier, he should be here by now, right?

Zhu Yan leaned against the security door. While vigilantly keeping an eye on his surroundings, he answered Guan En's call and turned the volume down to the lowest setting.

"3 minutes," Guan En's voice came through the receiver, laced with anxiety and tension. "Are you here? Where are you?"

Zhu Yan was also startled by this timeframe.

Fuck, it was even shorter than the 5 minutes he had anticipated!

If he hadn't come upstairs early just in case, wouldn't they have been doomed?

Guan En gripped his phone tightly, the snow-white bedsheets blurring into double vision before his eyes.

In a blind spot he couldn't see, a long cloak swayed, emitting a hoarse chuckle.

That Lady was right indeed; this player had an accomplice nearby.

What a pity, though, that his accomplice would not be showing up.

The [Demon] looked down at Guan En, who was too dizzy to stand, and was swept by an unprecedented thrill.

Wow.

Was this what it felt like to have the help of a high-level Horror Creature?

This felt amazing!

"It and the Witch, both are level four. It is here with me."

Level 4, excellent.

An immediate death sentence!

"My task is to make up for the corresponding payment. The wording of the task is exactly the same as in that female player's post from last time."

Oh my.

Wasn't that a coincidence?

On the other end of the phone, Guan En rapidly rattled off the Instance information.

"You need to hurry, I'm afraid there won't be enough time—"

Zhu Yan vigilantly scanned the area; neither the [Witch] nor the black cat had arrived.

Therefore, he decisively interrupted Guan En.

"It's already too late," Zhu Yan lowered his voice as much as possible. "The elevator downstairs is locked, and the emergency stairwell won't open."

He feigned a panicked tone and deliberately rattled the doorknob next to him loudly.

"Something has sealed this place off. I can't get up there."

"What?" Guan En sounded bewildered.

"Hello? Hello...?" Zhu Yan pretended the signal was bad, his tone panicked and urgent. "Wait... my phone seems to be acting weird too..."

Then, he neatly hung up the phone and long-pressed the power button to shut it off.

Judging from the information Guan En provided, there was only good news and no bad news.

As for Guan En's psychological state, wasn't this just perfect?

The volume on Guan En's receiver wasn't exactly low. By leaning in closer, the [Demon] could hear about eighty percent of it.

It sounded like the accomplice on the other end was just as frantic as the player right in front of it; both were out of options.

Of course, for it...

The [Demon] inhaled a breath of sweet air, waiting for the [Witch]'s arrival.

It lowered its head to admire Guan En's increasingly despairing expression, unable to resist frantically sending messages to the [Witch] who was still on her way.

This was quite exhilarating.

Given the current situation, they would all get to enjoy some sweet food!

Inside the emergency stairwell.

Zhu Yan waited patiently for a minute and heard the crisp clicking of shoes.

Just like the [Demon]'s initial rustling sounds, this noise appeared quite abruptly from two floors down, approaching upward through the hollow stairwell.

The difference was that the [Witch]'s footsteps were faster and more urgent, like someone rushing because they were about to be late.

Zhu Yan braced himself and watched as a blonde head appeared at the top of the stairs.

Compared to the [Demon]'s intense, freezing aura, Zhu Yan actually found the aura around the [Witch] to be quite warm.

It was even more exaggerated than what the female player had described in her post—

The [Witch] was like a gentle sun, brightly illuminating the dark corridor.

Zhu Yan had to pinch himself hard to remind himself that the other party was a Horror Creature.

The crisp footsteps abruptly stopped.

The [Witch] stood at the stairwell landing closest to Zhu Yan and lifted her head.

She—or rather, it—was extremely beautiful, with azure eyes like the sea meeting the sky.

Even its clothing made it impossible for Zhu Yan to immediately associate it with a Horror Creature; it wore a pretty light blue dress and a bright orange coat.

The only jarring detail was the black cat in its arms.

For the first time, Zhu Yan felt nauseated by a cat.

This thing was even uglier than in the photos. Its muscles were knotted, its face and mouth were pointed, and its scarlet eyes stared at Zhu Yan. It was more disgusting than a giant rat.

The aura of this black cat was spot on, though; it possessed the exact same freezing stagnation as the [Demon].

Perhaps the aura on Zhu Yan's body made it feel fearful. It shrank into the Witch's coat, its shiny short fur puffing up.

In just a moment, the [Witch] lowered her head again and gave him a deep curtsy.

"Beautiful Lady, thank you for gracing me with your presence!"

Well, its emotional intelligence was much higher than the previous [Demon]'s.

It was just that the voice sounded like freshly boiled industrial syrup, giving Zhuyan an unnatural, suffocatingly viscous sensation.

"I already know the purpose of your visit. The [Demon] has informed me."

The [Witch] spoke in a crisp voice, though Zhuyan detected an almost imperceptible tremble within it.

"Rest assured, we will certainly provide you with the amusement you desire. My name is River Clam, and you may also—"

Zhuyan interrupted, genuinely starting to feel a discomfort in the throat, as if it were clogged with mud.

"I have no interest in knowing whether your name is River Clam or Mussel."

The [Witch] fell silent, bowing its head deeply.

"Yes, Madam."

Zhuyan quickly swept a gaze over it and its cat, suddenly thinking of a possibility that had been overlooked.