I Have a Meeting

"I have no problem with that."

Yang Zhanbai agreed at lightning speed before the boy could speak, taking a step to stand right beside him.

He threw his right arm affectionately over the boy's shoulder and winked at Zhu Yan.

"Bro, it's all a misunderstanding. Arguing won't solve anything."

Yang Zhanbai flipped the knife in his hand with a grin, the blade hovering right next to the boy's carotid artery.

"You won't have a problem with it either, right?"

The boy's eyes were fixed on the knife, his lips pressed together in displeasure.

Yang Zhanbai was annoying, but Zhu Yan's proposal was quite to his liking.

"Fine, we'll wait here for the results to be announced," the boy said coldly, his gaze bordering on venomous.

"If something's wrong, you'll die just like you deserve to!"

This guy's mental state was clearly abnormal.

Zhu Yan knitted his brows.

Once "the standout" backed down, the tense crowd relaxed slightly.

Sporadic whispers replaced angry questioning, and the players' fiercely downturned mouths returned somewhat to normal. They were no longer rooted to the spot like nails.

Zhu Yan heard the boy with glasses let out a soft sigh, his tone carrying a tremor of surviving a disaster.

"Hey man, are you really going to look for the Officer? Why don't you..."

"I really am," Zhu Yan answered directly. "Just hide yourselves well and leave me alone for now."

Until he determined whether these people were trouble or tools, they needed to keep their distance.

Zhu Yan didn't delay; his gaze quickly locked onto an "Officer" on the outskirts of the crowd.

This "Officer" was exactly the one on duty at the station whom Zhu Yan had threatened.

Among the "Officers" still alive, it was the one most familiar with his strength.

Furthermore, it was the one who gave him the note.

The probability of it obediently cooperating with his act was much higher than the other "Officers"!

He immediately clutched the note and dove into the crowd, squeezing his way toward the "Officer."

"Hey, wait!"

A voice quickly caught up from behind, accompanied by low gasps as the crowd was forcibly parted.

It was Yang Zhanbai.

He grabbed Zhu Yan's arm again, squeezing to Zhu Yan's side with considerable agility.

"What's the situation at the police station?" Yang Zhanbai asked in a low voice. "How did you escape?"

Zhu Yan squeezed through the last layer of the human wall, with Yang Zhanbai following closely, his voice dropping even lower.

"I want to go take a look too. It's daytime now, and my ability can directly kill an Officer."

The volume of the last sentence was so low it was almost transparent, but Zhu Yan still heard it clearly.

Good lord, such a highly offensive ability...

His footsteps paused slightly, and he finally turned his head, giving Yang Zhanbai a look.

"Listen to me."

He couldn't let him follow him right now.

With the overall situation still uncertain, Zhu Yan couldn't possibly reveal his trump cards.

He frowned at Yang Zhanbai, softened his voice, and put on an earnest tone.

"Their levels aren't low. I tested them with my Level 3 ability. The Officers are all Level 3, and that Captain should be Level 4 or 5."

Zhu Yan told a lie, hiding his true ability level.

"Your ability is innately Level 3?" Yang Zhanbai missed the point entirely, filled with awe. "I've only reached Level 3 after completing a round of the game. I can handle the Officers—"

"What about the Captain?" Zhu Yan asked softly. "What about all these Officers combined?"

A serious expression slowly crept onto that eager face.

Zhu Yan shook off Yang Zhanbai's hand and continued to persuade him earnestly.

"I rebelled openly and have already been targeted. It took a lot for me to escape, and now I can only hide."

"You just acted as the standout, but you wrapped it up well, so they shouldn't make things too difficult for you."

Zhu Yan concluded seriously, "I advise you to leave me alone and let me go by myself."

"...Holy crap."

Yang Zhanbai was stunned, that look of gratitude and being touched covering his eyes once again.

"You're a true righteous brother!"

He turned his head to glance at his teammates, then turned back, asking Zhu Yan in a low voice.

"What's your name? If you die, I'll definitely erect a monument for you!"

Damn it.

Zhu Yan gave him a shocked look.

Good thing the name on his ID card was a fake.

"...Zhu Zeyu."

"Alright." Yang Zhanbai nodded, memorizing the name. "I'll go check out that closed flower shop later."

"If you can make it back within twenty minutes, you can come find us there."

"Okay."

Zhu Yan turned around, and the earnest mask of "Zhu Zeyu" silently peeled off his face.

He pulled his clothes tighter and quickly passed through the dense crowd in front of the "Officer."

At this moment, these people were like slack puppets. Even though the problem had a solution, they were still sluggishly milling about in place, not dispersing into the various shops like before.

The "Officer" was also like a puppet.

When Zhu Yan walked up to it, it was still standing there, looking at the players like it was looking at roasting chicken drumsticks.

Zhu Yan gripped the short dagger tightly and shoved the crumpled note into its hand.

"You still recognize me, right?" he asked in a low voice, flashing the blade.

The "Officer" stared at Zhu Yan, its hungry expression vanishing for a moment.

Its face twitched stiffly with fear, and only after a full two seconds did it force a malicious smile at Zhu Yan.

"This note is invalid," it said vaguely. "You have to give it to someone else."

It raised a hand and pointed, the smile on its face spreading even wider.

"There, there's a duty booth up ahead. You have to explain to the Officers forming the perimeter and have them take you to hand it in there..."

Zhu Yan almost laughed out loud.

This thing couldn't deal with him itself, so it was sending him to the higher-level Captain, right?

What a pity, the Captain's skin was still on him.

But that was just perfect.

As the "Captain," he was just worrying about not having an excuse to come and question this "Officer."

Zhu Yan took a step forward, pressing the blade against the "Officer's" abdomen.

"You hold onto it for now," he said coldly. "I'm going to the duty booth right now."

The "Officer's" brain was probably very simple.

Upon hearing "duty booth," a gleam mixing cruelty and sluggishness flashed through its pitch-black eyes.

Zhu Yan withdrew his dagger and strode toward the other end of the street without a backward glance.

This "Officer" was low-level, so questioning it directly as a high-level player was theoretically feasible.

However, it had been dishonest time and time again, and Zhu Yan didn't dare take the risk.

What if there was something he hadn't thought of, and this thing found a loophole to screw him over...

Zhu Yan walked along the outskirts of the crowd, seized the right moment, and quickly ducked into an unlit corner.

What a joke.

Going to the duty booth would be way too much trouble!

With a mere thought, he decisively activated Roleplay!

Two minutes later.

The "Captain," dressed in a black uniform, emerged from the darkness, an unnatural, stiff smile hanging on his lips.

He swept his gaze over the players still gathered in the middle of the street and strode toward the "Officer."

The "Officer" stood in front of the station, slowly turning its head toward the transformed Zhu Yan.

Its face was positioned right between the station's pale light and the bright neon glare. Its two pitch-black pupils dilated with excitement, filling its entire eye sockets.

"Captain!"

As Zhu Yan approached, the "Officer" immediately called out to him in a bizarre tone.

Perhaps afraid that the surrounding players might hear, its voice was kept low.

"Did you see that food? Did you feed him anything?"

Zhu Yan glanced at the dumbstruck players. Many of them had started eating again, vacant smiles hanging on their faces.

"Let's talk inside," he said, pointing to the dirty plastic curtain of the waystation.

He was here to extract a confession, and it wouldn't be convenient out here.

The "Officer" immediately lowered its head in a respectful manner, holding up the curtain for Zhu Yan.

"Why does he have a note?"

Once the curtain dropped, Zhu Yan imitated the "Captain's" stiff cadence, asking in a hoarse voice.

"How much of our merchandise has been sold? What is left unsold?"

The "Officer's" face changed.

It lowered its head even further, its neck bone cracking as it bent all the way to its chest, exposing the bright red muscle beneath the skin suit on the back of its neck.

"I... I have sold three items here, Captain," it said tremblingly, its legs emitting the clattering sound of colliding wood.

"I-I don't know about the other shops, but the note was b-bought..."

"Useless trash!" Zhu Yan scolded harshly.

He felt a surge of amusement as he watched the "Officer" tremble even more violently, and waved his hand.

"Call back everyone who is watching the shops," he commanded in an unquestionable tone. "Tell them I am calling a meeting."