Cordon

The scene outside suddenly flickered, and the bloodstains on the glass became increasingly dazzling amidst the alternating light and dark.

Then—

Snap.

All that chaos suddenly extinguished like a broken TV screen, leaving only a dense blackness.

The heavy breathing of the players rolled in from the darkness in all directions, stirring up a faint commotion.

Zhu Yan's internal organs felt slightly suspended; he gripped the short dagger tightly, suppressing the blankness that instantly swept through his mind.

Snap.

The lights came on.

Five meters away from them, a small cluster of white light shone down from above, illuminating the bright yellow police tape stained with minced meat and blood.

In the solid darkness, blood dripped from the bright yellow tape printed with the word Warning, becoming the only thing in sight.

Even the two ends of the tape extended into the unfathomable darkness, like a deliberately arranged stage set.

Zhu Yan did not dare to blink.

The handle of the dagger was slick with the sweat from his hands, and he wanted to quickly wipe it off.

Before he could make a move, another light suddenly turned on.

In front of the bright yellow police tape, a row of backs wearing police uniforms suddenly appeared, their epaulets reflecting brightly under the white light.

This even included Guan En.

He stood among the police officers, breathing heavily with them, his back rising and falling slightly.

A bizarre sense of incongruity occupied Zhu Yan's mind.

The police officers came in?

His lower eyelids subconsciously tightened. Zhu Yan took a step forward, wanting to see everything more clearly.

Under the light, the police officers had different stances, all showing a tense defensive posture.

But, something was wrong—

Their breathing frequencies were highly consistent. That row of backs and shoulders moved in perfect unison, like a pre-set program!

A trace of cold wind drilled into Zhu Yan's skin against his collar, chilling his heart.

How could more than a dozen normal, living people be so lifeless...?

He stepped forward again, wanting to look more closely.

However, the dark blue sky, along with pieces of city scenes, lit up one after another. Layered buildings and the roads weaving through them replaced the originally boundless darkness.

The waiting hall where the players were located also lit up with a dim, warm color, and the glass door that had disappeared in the darkness became clearly visible.

Zhu Yan's pale face was reflected on the glass. He was only a stone's throw away from the police officers outside the door.

In just two or three seconds, they had quickly changed their state, looking at each other in dismay and sizing up the surrounding environment like ordinary people suddenly pulled into an instance.

The crowd behind him finally erupted into overwhelmed screams and cries.

Through the glass, Zhu Yan saw many players slumped on the ground. Some people backed away in delayed realization, and one player vomited.

I want to go home! someone cried out. I don't want to participate in the game anymore! Where is the police department? I want to go home!

Calm down! another voice advised loudly. If you don't participate, you'll die!

Damn it, did you see that way of dying...

The noisy sounds imprinted themselves in Zhu Yan's ears, becoming a distinct but distant background noise.

He hurried to wipe the sweat from his palms clean in his pockets, gripped the dagger tightly again, and stared through his own reflection at the vivid police officers outside the glass door.

Guan En was the first to turn around, pulling the door open outward.

A cold air that did not belong to summer blew against his face. The thing whose back was exactly the same as Guan En's was clearly exposed in Zhu Yan's field of vision, smiling at him with a completely unfamiliar face.

Hurry up and go in, student, it said, one arm clamping Zhu Yan's wrist in a death grip, dragging him inside with a strength that did not belong to a human.

Don't worry, the police department will ensure everyone's safety.

Zhu Yan did not reply, watching it with rapt attention.

Compared to the thriller creatures he had encountered before, the curve of this thing's smile was more natural. Although its pupils were dark and lifeless, there was no obvious sense of hunger.

The only flawed part was probably the neck—

Just now, when it turned its head, the skin at the collar wrinkled unnaturally, as if a thin, fake skin mask had been put over its head.

Guan En sent Zhu Yan into the crowd and solicitously helped up the student who was bent over vomiting.

The police officers holding firearms filed in, accurately grabbing the crying or terrified shouting students in the crowd, gently stroking their backs like pinning down dying prey.

Zhu Yan moved to a corner no one noticed and quickly put his backpack into his Storage Silver Ring.

The bag was a thing used to deceive the real police officers.

Carrying it in the instance was very inconvenient.

Not far away, the fake Guan En settled the comforted student on a bench, walked to the open space in front of the glass door, and raised its left hand high.

In the center of its left palm, there was also a mark of a caged bird.

Please calm down, everyone. I am a police officer, and like you, I am also a player!

The sonorous and powerful voice reached Zhu Yan's ears. He wiped his palms on his clothes again and gripped the dagger tighter.

The surrounding crowd stirred. Many players wept tears of joy, and some pushed forward, wanting to get closer to the police officers.

Police officers! It's the police department!

Save us! We don't want to die!

Everyone be quiet! Everyone cooperate with the police uncles!

It was too natural; all of this was too natural.

If it weren't for Guan En's unfamiliar face, Zhu Yan would also suspect whether he had hallucinated during the two or three seconds when the lights came on.

He suppressed his violently beating heart, vigilantly moved to the edge of the crowd, and quickly ran through the instance rules in his mind.

Among them were two—

There is no sun in Anwu City.

During the daytime, thriller creatures look no different from humans, and they will not attack any players.

Outside the station, it was impressively a dark blue dusk.

But the Hovering Clock had not chimed the time; it was still considered daytime now.

Zhu Yan cast his gaze back to Guan En.

There were many types of thriller creatures, and right now he could not be sure what kind of creature this was, or what level it was.

The police uniforms on their bodies were the most powerful tranquilizers.

In the hall, the crying and panicked shouts gradually subsided.

What do we do now? someone asked with a sob. I don't want to die!

Guan En's left hand pressed down in an extremely humanized manner, simulating a realistic comforting tone.

Please rest assured, everyone. Since we were able to come in, our colleagues must have also been pulled into the instance!

It pointed behind itself, and Zhu Yan followed its gesture, seeing the distant skyline of Anwu City.

There were many shops with their lights on, vaguely reflecting the dim outlines of the building complexes.

Zhu Yan gave a soft sneer.

No matter what these things were, what was certain was that they were clearly digging a trap with premeditation.

In the real Anwu City, the police department occupied the shops on the inevitable path from Anwu North Station to the four schools.

In the fake Anwu City, they could of course disguise themselves as the police officers occupying the shops, cooperate with these police officers in the station, and tear the players apart to eat them.

Please maintain order, everyone, and divide into four lines according to your respective schools.

"Guan En" spoke with resounding force. Zhu Yan noticed a "police officer" not far away whispering something to a crying player.

It quickly pulled the player to the open space in front of "Guan En," turned around, and loudly announced to the rest of the crowd.

"Students from Boyang University, come here! Line up next to this student! Form three lines!"

"Do not panic, maintain order! Everyone, make sure you do not fall behind!"

The crowd began to shuffle forward.

"Hurry up, everyone! Students from Xishan University, over here!"

Another "police officer" urged, pulling a pale-faced player to a different spot.

"Hurry up! It could get dark at any moment! Monsters could come out at any time!"

Using the excuse of "it getting dark at any moment" to trick players into a trap was simply a thief crying thief.

Zhu Yan slowly backed away against the flow of the crowd, his mind racing nervously.

He was a Hunter; these terrifying creatures would not harm him.

However, his target was the alpha wolf, and he did not have any more time to spare than the other players.

Should he maintain his identity as a player and follow these things into the store first to see if he could find any clues?

Or should he simply avoid the main group, use his Roleplay ability, and test the internal rules of these terrifying creatures?