Oh no, it's the information cocoon—we're doomed.

The "Officer" hurriedly turned around, lifted the curtain, and stumbled out.

Through the dirty, yellowed thick plastic curtain, Zhu Yan saw it whisper something to another "Officer" before quickly walking away.

Three minutes later.

Several "Officers" filed in. They didn't dare look up at Zhu Yan, merely pressing themselves against the surrounding shelves in a rather cowering posture.

"Captain," the "Officer" from the post station said trembling, "Everyone on duty in the store is here. The others have to watch the ingredients."

The ingredients referred to the students outside.

Zhu Yan snorted, spotting the "Officers" on duty from the pharmacy and convenience store among this group of terrifying creatures.

The handle of the dagger grew warm in his grip.

Zhu Yan maintained a cold, distorted tone and got straight to the point.

"A player bought our items," he stated, his gaze piercing through every "Officer". "This is not a good sign."

None of the "Officers" spoke.

The two creatures from the convenience store and the post station bowed their heads deeply, their slightly shriveled hands trembling gently.

Zhu Yan calculated rapidly.

His current identity was their leader, a leader here to settle scores with them.

These creatures were afraid of him.

However, letting them remain silent wouldn't do.

He had to find a way to extract information as quickly as possible!

"You, and you." Zhu Yan raised his chin, pointing at the two obviously guilty "Officers".

"How much of the stuff in your stores did that player buy?"

The weird, stiff tone echoed in the small space of the post station, and the two "Officers" began to tremble in unison.

"All... all of it..." the "Officer" from the convenience store said, cowering. "I tried to stop him, but it was useless. Captain, he—"

"Shut up!"

Zhu Yan interrupted it at just the right moment and sneered.

He wasn't really here to interrogate them; this topic was just a starting point.

"To enter the next level, just buying things from two places isn't enough," Zhu Yan said coldly, his fingers hidden in his pocket rubbing the knife handle.

"However, it's a fact that our items are too easy to find."

The "Officers" turned their necks, sizing each other up with pitch-black eyes.

They seemed to be thinking about something, and the legs of a few "Officers" began to creak like broken wooden items.

"Captain," a skinny "Officer" stiffly looked up at Zhu Yan. "Do you mean you want us to change the placement of the goods without authorization?"

Without authorization.

Zhu Yan sharply caught the keyword.

What did "without authorization" mean?

Did it mean the placement of these goods was predetermined by higher-level terrifying creatures?

Zhu Yan stared into the "Officer"'s eyes, forcing himself not to blink.

That wasn't important.

What mattered was where the items were.

After collecting those fragments, what was the next level?

"You tell me."

He didn't follow up on the "Officer"'s question, his gaze continuing to wander among the room full of monsters.

"What are the items? Is the packaging inconspicuous? Did you put any effort into hiding them!"

His voice pierced the air like an ice blade, and the "Officer" from the post station trembled even more violently, barely able to lean against the shelf.

"Where are the items placed? With so many players in the store, who has rummaged for them, and was there any follow-up?"

Zhu Yan pointed to the "Officer" at the very edge of the shelves.

This one was on duty at the pharmacy; he had seen it when he went in looking for Yang Zhanbai.

"Starting with you, report in order!"

The "Officer" lowered its head slightly, the skin on its neck wrinkling up awkwardly.

It began to speak in a strange tone, fluently delivering the information Zhu Yan needed.

"Painkillers, syringes, and saline solution were all placed deep in the shelves and in inconspicuous corners as instructed..."

Holy crap, it was actually saline solution!

Zhu Yan's heart skipped a beat, firmly memorizing the term.

He shoved his hand into his pocket, unconsciously rubbing the items he had already obtained.

"...No players asked to buy them, Captain..."

The "Officers" began to confess one by one. To Zhu Yan's ears, this information was nothing short of heavenly music.

A special glass pot, rubber tubes, fruit-flavored smoking sticks... A clear list was instantly nailed into his mind.

Zhu Yan could hear his own heart beating fiercely. He wished he could rush out of the post station right away and buy the things he needed.

A hidden thrill flowed like a stream through every tiny blood vessel.

There it was again, the addiction.

Zhu Yan blinked, forcing his gaze and attention to focus on the last "Officer" to report.

This "Officer" seemed a bit smarter than the others.

"...Oden and cooked spicy hot pot are placed together, but only the oden is given out for free..."

With every sentence it spoke, it would roll its eyes upward to quickly observe Zhu Yan's reaction.

"...Only by buying a completely vegetarian spicy hot pot with no meat added, and buying three flavors all at once, can one get the fragment..."

"You have to ask for a receipt to get the new slip of paper."

"Oh, and meat can be added for free too!"

The "Officer" creaked its neck upward, indicating it had finished reporting.

Zhu Yan stared into its pitch-black eyes, feeling a cold wave of lingering fear replace his earlier joy.

How sinister.

Who would be crazy enough to buy three portions of all-vegetarian spicy hot pot at once when there was meat available?

And the receipt...

The first slip of paper was bought, but the second one actually had to be specifically requested?

Who would have thought of that?

Especially since Carnival Paradise had struck first, exploiting the students' trust to severely damage their minds...

The pad of Zhu Yan's finger gently touched the tip of the blade, letting a bit of sharp coolness suppress that cold wave as his brain spun non-stop.

This "Officer" was better at reading expressions than the others, and the content it reported was the most extensive, making it an excellent target for extracting information.

"Even if the arrangement is precise, they will still collect those items," Zhu Yan said sharply, imitating a Captain as he stared straight at the "Officer".

He thought of The Boss mentioned by the real captain before his death, and applied it on the fly.

"If it really reaches The Boss, what then?"

He wasn't sure what exact role The Boss played; this was the most ambiguous phrasing he could come up with.

The "Officer" understood and stiffly tilted its neck to the side.

"Hehe." It let out two strange laughs and said in a warped tone, "You mean the bar? Captain, don't worry."

The bar.

Zhu Yan silently repeated the word.

Did The Boss run a bar? Where could it be?

"Even if a player manages to collect all these items, there's still the flower shop level to get through," the "Officer" continued.

There was a flower shop.

Zhu Yan remembered.

But Zhu Yan recalled that the CC Flower Shop was closed.

"Tell me about it," he immediately bluffed. "I'm not at ease. We can't let the ingredients that are already in our mouths fly away."

The "Officer" giggled again.

"You forgot." Its pitch-black eyes rolled up again to look at Zhu Yan's expression.

"The fragments are the key to the flower shop. Those things are very stupid; they will only think the flower shop is the destination."

What did that mean?

The pieced-together fragments form the key to the flower shop, but what then?

The flower shop isn't the final destination. What does that mean?

"The Boss of the flower shop will guide them to the wrong place."

The "Officer" split his mouth into a grin, and soon after, the room full of "Officers" opened their mouths one by one, revealing two rows of neat, white teeth.

"Captain! Who would have thought they still need to buy a bunch of leaves in the flower shop!"

Damn it.

Zhu Yan felt a slight chill run down his spine.

But he couldn't—

He pinched the palm of his hand fiercely.

Now was not the time to get emotional!

"Just in case." He remained calm and collected, continuing to bait the "Officer" into revealing more. "We can't let our guard down out of carelessness! Review the flower shop's trap one more time. Not a single mistake is allowed!"

He was a [Hunter].

If he weren't afraid of being caught by Carnival Paradise, he would have just threatened them with death and killed all these things.

"We won't give away anything anymore. We'll tell them that none of the bouquets here are for sale."

The "Officer" stretched his mouth wide, his tone twisting into a hint of flattery.

"We hide the leaves behind the bouquets so they can only see the flowers..."

"Rest assured, Captain. They still have new notes to buy, and they have to report the time once more."

"As long as you go out and deny the time-reporting, they will become public enemies before dark!"

No.

He now had this information.

As long as he collected these things before dark, he could seize the initiative.

He subconsciously looked up. The thick plastic curtains separated the outside world into a blurry cocoon, reducing the chatting and laughing of the students to a muted hum.

Without his proactive acting, could the others really survive?

"Have you been keeping an eye on the [Hunter]?"

Zhu Yan focused his attention and asked one last question.

"Don't worry. He will be our next meal."

The "Officer" stretched his mouth even more exaggeratedly, a line of blood bursting from the corner of his lips.

"Hehe. According to the rules of the Alpha Wolf, this thing can't even enter the bar!"

These words were like a nail, wedging into him so sharply that his breath caught in his throat.