Back to Reality

Below the task prompt were the last few lines of small print on the tab.

"Task detail: Follow the instructions of the [Alpha Wolf], and together with your colleagues, harvest the lives of the players."

"The task will last for 3 to 5 days. You must harvest at least 5l per day."

That spine-shaped 'l' was probably a fixed unit of measurement in the [Carnival Paradise].

In other words, after accepting this task, Zhu Yan would have to kill 5 people every day.

A bright ember floated in front of Zhu Yan's eyes.

Under the gentle light, the tab was blindingly white, making Zhu Yan feel sick to his stomach.

When merging with [Shivering Pleasure], Zhu Yan had naturally thought about killing people.

But when the concrete quota actually appeared before his eyes, he still felt his psychological defenses take a hit.

Perhaps sensing his mood, the cat jumped down from the counter and walked over, meowing softly.

Zhu Yan understood; it was probably the cat's unique way of comforting him—

Human, the cat needs to eat. The human can watch the cat eat.

The cat looked up at Zhu Yan. Zhu Yan took out his phone, snapped a photo of the tab, and stood up holding the cat.

"I'm leaving," he called out to the [Vine Cage Girl].

Sitting here in a daze wouldn't change the reality that he was about to kill people.

Rather than doing that, it would be better to visit the address on the art student's small card as soon as possible to see if he could gather more information.

If there was truly no other way, he would just have to bite the bullet and do it anyway.

The [Vine Cage Girl] called out, "Wait a moment. There is an additional hint strip regarding your situation here."

It pointed to the small label printer beside it, which was buzzing and whirring as it worked.

Zhu Yan walked over and took the newly printed slip of paper from the [Vine Cage Girl].

"Good luck, Hunter." It stroked the cat on Zhu Yan's shoulder. "I like your little cat."

"Thank you," Zhu Yan replied politely. "It likes you too."

A brief paragraph was printed on the paper.

"Police officers broke into your house and found it completely empty."

"Text messages will tell you the rest. Please modify your ID documents as soon as possible and leave through the passage located at the [Recitative Stage]."

There was a passage at the [Recitative Stage]?

Zhu Yan was momentarily surprised.

Just as he was about to ask the [Vine Cage Girl], the other party nodded as if reading his mind.

"I can see the contents of the note in advance," it said crisply, raising a rotting arm.

"The passage is on the wall to your right, right by that little bump."

Zhu Yan looked in the direction of its arm, and sure enough, there was an inconspicuous bulge on the pitch-black wall to the right.

"Thank you," Zhu Yan said.

"See you next time." The [Vine Cage Girl] waved unnaturally. "Remember to bring the little cat."

Zhu Yan nodded in agreement.

He walked quickly to the wall and pressed his right hand against the bulge.

The wall began to heat up and then melted into liquid like snow.

Zhu Yan stepped onto the stairs and turned his head to ask one last question.

"Where does this lead?"

The map only showed passages in the [Uncorroded World]; he really couldn't see their corresponding locations in the [Carnival Paradise].

"It should be near Xishan University," the [Vine Cage Girl] said. "I remember it being called that."

Xishan University, that was perfect.

He remembered there was an address on the art student's card: "The stairwell of Teaching Building C at Xishan University."

"Goodbye," Zhu Yan said.

He quickly walked up the rough stone steps and turned on his phone's flashlight.

The melted door solidified behind him, gradually sealing off the light from behind.

This time, Zhu Yan was no longer afraid of the dark.

He turned and sat on the stairs, letting the cat watch his back.

The cat leaped lightly from his shoulder and sat back-to-back with him.

The warm fur gave Zhu Yan a slight sense of security. With a thought, he took out his ID card and the art student's tiny printer from his silver ring.

The ID card was pushed into the slot again. Unexpectedly, a piece of paper flew out once more, fluttering down onto the steps in front of Zhu Yan.

By the light of his phone's flashlight, Zhu Yan read the words on it clearly.

"Are you coming? It looks like the outside is going to be locked down soon. Can you bring more of the food I like? I can give you something for hoarding items!"

Unlike the previous aged handwriting, the ink marks on this paper were still fresh.

Zhu Yan reached out and touched it; the blue-black ink actually smudged into a tail.

Huh?

Real-time communication?

The outside is going to be locked down soon, what does that mean?

Zhu Yan couldn't help but turn his head to look behind him.

In the little piece of intel given by the [Vine Cage Girl], he was advised to keep an eye on his text messages.

However, inside the [Carnival Paradise], his phone had no signal.

It had only been three hours since he came down here.

In such a short time, what had happened to his world?

A plague...?

A warm ID document was spat out by the printer into the palm of his hand.

Zhu Yan flipped it over. The new name had become the completely unfamiliar "Zhu Zeyu".

The attached photo had been modified based on his own appearance; the facial features were still eighty percent similar, but the aura was completely different.

Zhu Yan put away the ID and then successively fed in his admission letter, property deed, and household register.

While the printer worked tirelessly, he opened the "Letter to Students" that had been mailed together with the "Admission Letter," reading it by the faint light of his flashlight.

"Dear Freshmen:

Seeing this letter is like seeing us in person; may it bring a smile to your face..."

Zhu Yan skimmed through the lines. Aside from introducing the school's ethos and history, the letter was full of nonsense about how university is different from high school and requires full utilization of one's subjective initiative.

He pushed through to the final paragraph and finally discovered the hidden message.

"The group number for Xishan University freshmen is as follows: 757134128."

"Students, please join the group promptly before the semester begins. After joining, add the teachers of your respective colleges according to the group notes, and follow the instructions for subsequent operations."

Zhu Yan took a picture of the group number.

Out of habit, he read the letter two more times.

After confirming there were no hints related to "wolves" or "instances," Zhu Yan still carefully put the letter away, placing it back into the ring along with the modified documents.

This passage was longer than the one at his home.

It took Zhu Yan 15 minutes to reach the end.

The exit was similarly above his head and sealed shut.

Praying that this passage wouldn't open up right on a main road, he took two steps back and pressed the mark on his right hand against it.

The stone slab gradually disappeared, and some dirt crumbled down from around the opening.

Zhu Yan looked up. Intense sunlight spilled over the ground at his feet, forcing him to raise a hand to shield his eyes.

Several lush shrub branches slanted across the edge of the circular opening.

Zhu Yan walked up two steps and found himself in the middle of a green lawn, surrounded by dense shrubs.

He adjusted to the light for a moment and carefully observed through the branches.

This wasn't the middle of the road, but the area between the sidewalk and the university wall.

Yet, abnormally, there was no one on the sidewalk.

Relieved, Zhu Yan stepped out of the passage and caught the cat as it leaped onto him.

He waded through the thriving shrubs and stepped onto the sidewalk.

His phone, having regained its signal, began to vibrate non-stop.

Zhu Yan freed up a hand to check his missed text messages.