Departure

"Of course," Zhu Yan said.

The alpha wolf accepted his proposal—

This meant that in the impending sea of corpses and blood, this terrifying creature would raise its head as a mere spectator, unknowingly exposing its fragile neck to Zhu Yan.

A trace of twisted pleasure rose from his stomach, and Zhu Yan's heart clenched with excitement.

A tingling, weak current stimulated him to unconsciously contract his facial muscles, pulling the corners of his mouth upward into a smile.

He pressed the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth, feeling his highly focused thoughts and the joy of a hunter tangling together into a single thread.

"Goodbye, player," the female voice said cheerfully. "Carnival Paradise looks forward to your outstanding performance."

The broadcast stopped, leaving behind a vacuum-like silence.

Two seconds later, the faint warmth of the sunlight enveloped him once again. The slight hum of the air conditioner rushed back into his eardrums, and Zhu Yan's heartbeat returned to a steady rhythm.

He looked down and found that the milk tea in his hand was still hot, warming his palm.

Zhu Yan breathed a sigh of relief as the unique sense of security and groundedness of reality washed over him.

He refocused his gaze on the group chat, his fingers slowly scrolling through the page, carefully browsing through the chaotic messages.

The message from the police station had caused some people who originally hadn't planned to come to change their minds. There was also a considerable number of students fiercely opposing it, while others cited "parents disagree" as their reason for not attending.

Zhu Yan watched for a while, and after confirming there was no particularly important information, he decided to grab something to eat and catch up on his sleep.

He had gone to Carnival Paradise today, chatted with the art student for a long time after coming back, and then engaged in a battle of wits with the alpha wolf. His brain was on the verge of being overused.

With this in mind, Zhu Yan pulled a hot serving of mixed noodles from his ring, pierced his hot milk tea, and slid off the bed like a loach.

After finishing this meal, he would prepare for other things and go to bed at eight tonight.

The instance was starting at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, so he had to arrive early.

...

Meanwhile.

Inside a conference room at the police station's security bureau, it was packed with masked officers.

Compared to the ones in the main police building, this conference room was hardly spacious.

Aside from the leather armchairs originally in the room, some people had brought in plastic stools, densely packing every empty space.

The curtains were drawn, and the warm white light illuminated the deeply furrowed brows of most present.

At the very front of the conference room, a slideshow displayed a set of shocking data.

"Following official directives," a man with a steady demeanor spoke forcefully from the front of the cramped room.

"According to reliable sources, apart from the East Asian Zone, the South Asian Zone, the European Zone, and the North American Zone have all experienced the Carnival Paradise invasion."

The conference room fell completely silent.

The inside of Guan En's mask was a bit damp, making it hard to breathe.

The officer's voice smashed into everyone's silence like a heavy hammer.

"The population death toll is shown in the chart above." The man tilted his head slightly, gradually reading out a series of regions and their corresponding numbers.

"Currently, the erosion rate in the East Asian Zone is relatively slow. Only two cities in our zone have been eroded, and the instances have not yet spread beyond Bailu and Anwu."

"All of this is thanks to our zone's strict population mobility controls."

Indeed.

Carnival Paradise had expanded quite rapidly in other regions. Although the numbers were sporadic, the distribution range was incredibly vast.

Looking closely, the cause of this difference seemed to only point to the issue of population mobility.

"However, at present, our zone has the highest death toll. Not because of the instances, but because of an unknown plague brought by a certain player..."

The officer's brows lowered ever so slightly.

Guan En did not miss this micro-expression, and he couldn't help but hold his breath.

Numbers do not lie, but wasn't he also one of the culprits?

"This player is full of tricks. This morning, he vanished from his apartment right under our strict surveillance."

"Based on his reactions before disappearing, we have listed him as a prime suspect. It is highly likely that he is the main culprit behind the spread of this plague and the sacrifice of multiple officers."

Cold sweat broke out on Guan En's forehead. He felt the metal strip of his mask pinching his nose painfully.

He knew that the mysterious player, full of enigmas, had once again escaped in a way the police station could not comprehend.

As for the main culprit...

Guan En reminded himself to steady his mindset and not reveal any flaws.

The police station valued him.

His current situation no longer allowed him to tell the truth.

"We just received a report that four universities will jointly open a large-scale instance, conservatively estimated to involve over twenty thousand people."

The officer suddenly looked up, his gaze shooting straight over and landing precisely on Guan En.

The slideshow abruptly changed, jumping from dense data to clearly listed game rules.

"The four universities include Xishan University, where the suspect is located."

"It is highly probable that the suspect will participate in this instance. We strongly suspect that this instance is an expansion caused by the suspect's actions."

The officer maintained eye contact, and Guan En had no choice but to look back in response, seeing a trace of solemnity and expectation added to the officer's expression.

"According to official requirements, we will clear the area in advance and screen every player entering Anwu North Station."

"Guan En, prepare yourself to participate directly in the game."

Guan En nodded, and the officer finally looked away from him.

"We have mapped out several mandatory walking routes from Anwu North Station to the universities. Our people will take over all the shops along the way."

To achieve this level of control required a massive amount of manpower.

But Guan En thought of the blurry face in his memory. He had a feeling that the mysterious player would scoff at this.

For some reason, a bad feeling rose from the bottom of his heart.

Guan En looked at the marked map on the screen. Several thick red lines stretched towards different destinations, like a bizarre claw reaching for the schools.

"Xiao Guan, you can go rest first to conserve your energy and maintain your condition." The officer nodded at him. "The rest of you stay. I will announce the specific arrangements for tomorrow, as well as the preliminary plan for the establishment of the Human Alliance branch."

Guan En exited the conference room almost like he was fleeing.

There was no light in the corridor; it was as dim as dusk.

The officer's voice was muffled by the heavy wooden door, sounding like a swarm of bees trapped behind glass.

Guan En suppressed his chaotic thoughts and walked away step by step.

...

Zhu Yan had comfortably finished drying his hair and was lying on his bedding.

He scrolled through the messages. The group was still arguing endlessly, and some people had already posted pictures of themselves getting on the train.

"The police said they're intervening, and a few of us came together, so this should be fine, right?"

How to put it? This was an unrealistic expectation.

Even if they could really enter the game, with Carnival Paradise's methods, they might not be able to intervene successfully.

After reading through the messages, Zhu Yan checked the current items in his Storage Silver Ring once again.

After confirming there were no mistakes or omissions, he pulled up the blanket, turned off the light, and set his alarm for six o'clock in the morning.

The cat purred beside him, pressing warmly against his side.

Zhu Yan rubbed its furry head, closed his eyes, and let his breathing flow evenly through his entire body.

A hazy drowsiness washed warmly over his consciousness. Zhu Yan sank into it, feeling safe and steady.

...

8:00 AM.

Zhu Yan sat in a corner seat of the subway, staring at the platform indicator lights.

The police department had announced their intervention, and it was highly likely they had already guessed that he would participate in this game too.

Therefore, Zhu Yan deliberately changed his mode of transportation and intentionally brought a large black backpack, making himself look like an ordinary novice player without a Storage Silver Ring.

The train car was filled only with young people about his age. They were huddled together, discussing topics like the police department and instances.

"The police have occupied all the shops along the street, so there shouldn't be any problems."

A thought flashed through Zhu Yan's mind, recalling his experience yesterday at the Declaration Terrace.

He had entered the Carnival Paradise from the old town. After walking a distance of merely two blocks within the Carnival Paradise, he had arrived at Xishan University, which was located far away from the old town in reality.

This meant that the Carnival Paradise could scramble space.

If they only conservatively occupied shops along a fixed route, it might not actually work.

"Of course, we also have guns and ammunition."

"Man, it's so good to have the police around!"

Zhu Yan looked over in the direction of the voices. These students weren't afraid at all; instead, they looked quite excited.

"I didn't tell my parents, I sneaked out. Hehe, it's fine, just trust the police!"

"Just follow the rules and fight monsters behind the police officers."

Zhu Yan sighed inwardly.

One look and it was obvious these were new players. Anyone who had experienced even a single instance wouldn't harbor such naive illusions.

The Carnival Paradise wasn't stupid. If he, as a Hunter, was subjected to hidden traps, the objective conditions faced by ordinary players would probably be even more severe.