What does this "Xuexitong" have to do with me, Yang Zhanbai

Zhu Yan instinctively crumpled the note, his heartbeat skipping a beat.

Now he finally understood why that "officer" had dawdled for so long before handing him the last package.

If they dragged it out until dark, they could just start their feast!

00:09:49.

That wouldn't do.

Players could only trade items and obtain clues during the day.

Zhu Yan glanced at his bulging pockets, which contained the two fragments he had collected along with other miscellaneous items.

He needed to fight for more daylight to get more things!

But...

"Please shout 'Mr. Wolf, Mr. Wolf, what time is it' at the Hovering Clock within 00:09:45."

Shout.

Zhu Yan quickly scanned his surroundings. Many students were still wandering the streets, and the shops were not soundproof.

Shouting this would inevitably attract the attention of all the students and thriller creatures.

He could make up a story about the note's origin, but as a Hunter, his behavior would be far too conspicuous.

According to the rules, the Alpha Wolf would issue the mission to "Kill the Hunter" at dusk.

When that time came, who knew what kind of trap would be set for him.

Moreover, his ability "Roleplay" could only hide player markers.

He had no way to conceal the Hunter marker!

If the Alpha Wolf played dirty and made the fact that the Hunter had a marker public...

00:09:39.

Zhu Yan's gaze fell lightly on Yang Zhanbai inside the pharmacy.

The pharmacy was much brighter than outside. Under the warm lighting, the number of players around Yang Zhanbai had grown from one to three.

None of the four noticed Zhu Yan peeking at them.

Aside from Yang Zhanbai, who wore an effortlessly serious expression, the other three had varying degrees of terror and panic on their faces, looking completely out of place in the overall cheerful atmosphere.

00:09:33.

Zhu Yan made a prompt decision and strode toward the pharmacy.

Since it was inconvenient for him to ask the time, he would let Yang Zhanbai shout it for him.

There was no rule stating that this note was non-transferable.

Even if it really couldn't be transferred, Zhu Yan had a way to make Yang Zhanbai his perfect cover!

Coincidentally, this guy was gathering a group of clear-headed students.

He had plenty of ways to openly hand the note to Yang Zhanbai!

00:09:20.

Zhu Yan walked into the brightly lit pharmacy. An "officer" stood behind the counter, handing out free medicine to the students.

A long line had formed in front of the counter, and the ubiquitous smell of artificial snack sweeteners drilled straight into his nostrils.

No.

There were too many people.

Zhu Yan ignored the noisy chatter in the air and quickly bypassed several shelves crowded with the long line.

The deepest part of the store was empty. With a thought, Zhu Yan activated his ability, "Roleplay"!

00:09:00.

Time was a bit tight.

If it was just shouting "Mr. Wolf, Mr. Wolf, what time is it," 9 minutes was more than enough.

However, Yang Zhanbai's understanding of the instance wasn't as deep as his.

Just in case, he had to leave the other party enough time to think!

Zhu Yan turned around and walked from the deepest shelf toward the large glass window.

The glass was very bright, reflecting a "Captain" in a black uniform with a slightly stiff gait.

Zhu Yan strode closer. His deep black eyes, which looked like frosted glass, rolled and locked onto another cluster of reflections on the glass.

Yang Zhanbai and he were separated by only a single row of shelves.

"...Can we really not tell anyone else, Brother Yang?"

A voice reached Zhu Yan's ears. Although the volume was very low, Zhu Yan heard it clearly.

"Then they... will all... die..."

00:08:50.

"No," Yang Zhanbai interrupted decisively. "Look at that Xuexitong avatar in the group chat."

"Just because they posted an anonymous warning, they got cursed out by so many people."

?

Wasn't the Xuexitong avatar Yang Zhanbai himself?

He was putting on quite the complete act.

"...I only realized something was wrong after reading his message and logging into the player forum to see the post published by Guan En."

Yang Zhanbai spoke quickly, carrying an unquestionable tone of warning.

"We must keep a low profile. Save ourselves first, then worry about the rest."

"Do you guys remember that brother I mentioned who confronted the officer head-on?"

Zhu Yan's footsteps halted.

It couldn't be him, could it?

"He was a good guy, just too high-profile." The voice behind the shelf suddenly dropped in tone. "That brother is probably dead too..."

...Dead my ass, your brother is here to scare you.

Zhu Yan glanced at the note. 00:08:30.

He quickly adjusted his aura, stepped onto the white tiles, and turned to the other side of the shelf.

Yang Zhanbai's head snapped up.

The moment he saw Zhu Yan clearly, the color drained entirely from his face.

A terrifying chill swept over him, and a cold current exploded from the top of his head, causing the hairs on his back to stand on end.

Compared to the other "officers," the "officer" in front of him felt far more inhuman.

The non-reflective black eyes, the stiff, cold expression, and the small patch of exposed red muscle below his neck all gave Yang Zhanbai an unprecedented sense of crisis.

Even if this thriller creature couldn't attack him during the day and he could unilaterally beat it up, he was probably no match for this thing at all.

Had it been here the whole time?

Why hadn't any of them felt a thing for so long just now?

Also, the things they had just been saying...

In just a few short seconds, countless thoughts raced through Yang Zhanbai's mind.

While rapidly thinking about what to do, he quickly adjusted his expression, forcing out a smile that was uglier than crying.

"Hello, Uncle Officer. I'm a student responsible for maintaining discipline. Do you need any help?"

What kind of garbage acting was this?

Zhu Yan silently counted the time in his head. There should be about 8 minutes and 10 seconds left now.

He kind of wanted to laugh, but considering the current urgency, he forcefully held it back.

"Help?"

Zhu Yan asked back coldly. His hand, hidden behind his back, quickly folded the note and stuffed it into a black envelope.

"You don't trust the police station, and you're secretly gathering student groups, wanting to violate discipline."

Those eyes, as dark and murky as a swamp, swept over the four terrified faces one by one.

"Is that right, student?"

The volume of these two sentences was neither loud nor soft; it was enough for Yang Zhanbai and his group to hear, but not loud enough to reach the line of students.

8 minutes.

This was the excuse Zhu Yan would use to slip Yang Zhanbai the envelope later, and not a single word could be omitted.

Yang Zhanbai's breathing became very light, and his body visibly tensed up.

Zhu Yan noticed that the hand he had hidden in his hoodie pocket seemed to be gripping something tightly. The soft, dark fabric of the pocket outlined the shape of a sharp knife.

Yang Zhanbai's level wasn't high enough to unlock weapons from the shop yet, so this was probably just an ordinary boning knife.

Even so, Zhu Yan secretly raised his guard.

"Not at all!"

Yang Zhanbai tried hard to maintain that smile that was uglier than crying, ruthlessly throwing the blame onto himself.

"We were just discussing someone chatting with a Xuexitong avatar. He is the real traitor."

"He posted reactionary—"

Zhu Yan had no time to listen to this nonsense; he was still silently estimating the time.

Extreme nervousness pushed Yang Zhanbai's speaking speed to an incredibly fast pace, clocking in at around seven minutes and fifty-two seconds, or maybe fifty.

Smack.

A light tossing sound cut off Yang Zhanbai's frantic defense.

The black envelope was thrown with pinpoint accuracy right at Yang Zhanbai's feet. Zhu Yan stiffly lifted his chin, gesturing for the man to pick it up.

"Congratulations on discovering the anomaly, player."

"You have triggered a hidden rule."

...What?

Yang Zhanbai froze.

There were hidden rules?

He stared at the terrifying, distinctly inhuman creature standing before him, then quickly bent down to grab the envelope.

Watching this unfold, Zhu Yan quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately turned around, retreating deep into the aisles of empty shelves, and shifted his appearance back to normal.

The item had been delivered, but that wasn't enough.

Zhu Yan sneaked forward stealthily, hiding close to Yang Zhanbai so he could eavesdrop on his reaction.

If necessary, he would disguise himself as another human to give things a little push.

He wouldn't be able to rest easy until he saw the Floating Clock successfully chime the time!