What is Meant by Sinister

In a single breath, Zhu Yan understood the sinister intentions of the [Carnival Paradise].

Snatching the only key from their own kind was much easier than collecting fragments from the "police officers" again.

Masked Man hesitated a bit: "Brother Bai, look—"

Zhu Yan saw a look of weighing options linger on Yang Zhanbai's face for a moment.

"Let's not talk about this right now."

Only for a moment.

Yang Zhanbai decisively interrupted him, taking the lead to squeeze himself into that crack in the wall.

"Follow me. Opening the flower shop door is more important."

Indeed.

Prioritizing urgency, saving time was paramount.

But, where was the "keyhole on the wall"?

"Do you know where the keyhole is?"

Zhu Yan asked loudly, turning back to quickly check the flower shop's door lock.

This door lock really had no keyhole—

When it touched Zhu Yan's fingers, it actually started writhing, like an iron worm biting its own tail.

"Come quickly!" Yang Zhanbai urged through the crack in the wall. "We've checked this flower shop. I told you before, we found something... remember?"

Zhu Yan remembered.

It was just that at the time, he was in a hurry to get them out to find clues, so Yang Zhanbai didn't have the time to explain.

He squeezed into the crack behind Masked Man, finding that it was even narrower here, with the front and back almost pressing tightly against his body.

Over the sound of rustling clothes, Yang Zhanbai explained loudly.

"There's a wall inside that's not right."

Zhu Yan squeezed out of the gap.

He followed the group to a rough wall and looked down along Yang Zhanbai's pointing finger.

"Right here."

This was a narrow crevice edged with brass. The copper skin was hidden in the shadows of the rough texture; without looking closely, it was almost invisible.

Yang Zhanbai motioned for him to come closer and used his phone flashlight to illuminate the tiny writing on the copper.

It was a very clear instruction.

"Please insert the key to [CC Flower Shop]. It can hold a maximum of three keys at a time."

"Originally, we planned to look for clues for the [Key]."

Yang Zhanbai crouched down, carefully laid the assembled golden "key" flat, and pushed it into the narrow slit bit by bit.

"Then you talked about buying things... We got it without any effort."

He let go of his hand and stood up.

Zhu Yan saw the narrow crevice contract and expand, sucking the golden ticket inward with a chewing-like crunching sound.

This step was faster than he had expected.

If he hadn't miscalculated, there should still be five or six minutes left.

Zhu Yan's gaze drifted over Yang Zhanbai.

He couldn't delay, because he still had to use these five or six minutes to arrange the subsequent matters.

"By the way, did you get a new slip of paper?"

Zhu Yan immediately spoke up to prompt him.

"Yes." Yang Zhanbai took the note from his pocket and unfolded it. "Six minutes and ten seconds left."

"Fuck." Bespectacled Man cursed. "Brother Bai, why didn't you announce the time earlier?"

Right then, the chewing sound abruptly stopped.

The brass-wrapped crevice began to stretch and deform, and then it started speaking, opening and closing like a mouth.

"We're open! We're open!"

It was an old man's voice, but with a childlike shrillness.

"Dear guests, please move to the front hall. Otherwise, I'll eat you all!"

As soon as it finished speaking, the walls on all four sides began to rustle and squeeze toward the center.

The crack in the wall started to narrow at a visible rate, terrifying Zhu Yan into sprinting over, taking two steps at a time.

"Holy shit!"

Yang Zhanbai squeezed in behind him, and the group frantically moved outward.

Zhu Yan felt his ribs being squeezed by the increasingly tight barriers on both sides; he was almost unable to breathe.

Just two more steps—!

Zhu Yan had to turn his face sideways, swiftly shifting to the edge of the gap.

He forcefully yanked his body out, then reached out and gave Yang Zhanbai, who was behind him, a hard pull.

Air carrying a cloyingly sweet scent filled his lungs once again.

Zhu Yan rested his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to suppress the restless thrill stirring in his heart.

"I didn't announce the time earlier," Yang Zhanbai dragged Bespectacled Man out of the wall, explaining breathlessly, "because the fucking sky could go dark at any moment—"

A patch of warm yellow light suddenly lit up not far beside them, rippling into a halo in the somewhat murky air.

Murky?

Zhu Yan straightened up.

The sky was growing increasingly dim, and a suspicious thin mist occasionally drifted past their location.

It flowed slowly close to the ground, carrying the sweet fragrance of cotton candy.

Was it a sign of evening, or something else?

Zhu Yan didn't have time to think deeply; his thoughts were interrupted by his companion's exclamation.

"The flower shop!" Masked Man took off his mask and rubbed his eyes. "Damn, it really opened!"

Zhu Yan turned his head.

The inside of the flower shop was actually quite clear to see. The display stands were filled with large, exquisite bouquets, a beautiful ocean mixing pale orange and blue-purple.

A female clerk wearing a brown dress was smiling at them; the corners of her mouth paused unnaturally as they turned up.

A fake human.

Zhu Yan immediately made a judgment in his heart.

He walked up to Yang Zhanbai and spoke first.

"Yang Zhanbai should enter the flower shop first. This arrangement is more appropriate."

Yang Zhanbai was highly capable and adaptable, and having accepted Zhu Yan's groundwork for so long, he was easier to utilize than the others.

This [Bar], he had to bring this guy inside.

Yang Zhanbai looked at Zhu Yan in surprise.

He didn't dare underestimate human nature. Originally, calling for everyone to open the door together was a matter of prioritizing urgency, and also a measure of expediency.

But now, Zhu Yan had given up the entry ticket so easily.

Open and upright.

It actually made him look despicable in contrast!

A touched expression appeared on Yang Zhanbai's face, while the other three exchanged hesitant glances, wanting to speak but stopping themselves.

Bespectacled Man asked, "Brother Bai, then what do we do?"

Yang Zhanbai was like a lone boat carrying their hopes.

Zhu Yan's words shattered them with a massive wave of insecurity.

Masked Man's fingers unconsciously gripped the hem of his clothes: "Brother Bai, I—"

Before the words could leave his mouth, Zhu Yan cut him off.

"The big picture is what matters."

Zhu Yan saw their panic and, without any psychological burden, heaped praises on Yang Zhanbai.

"Yang Zhanbai is the most capable, and he understands horror creatures better than any of us."

"If he goes, it's the most efficient, and there's a greater chance he'll figure out the rules inside."

He glanced up at the sky above the block. The colorful [Floating Clock] grotesquely split open its red lips, seemingly silently counting down to dusk.

Zhu Yan's heart spun.

At the very least, before it gets dark, he must bring Yang Zhanbai into the [Bar]!

"We split up. Yang Zhanbai is responsible for keeping time and entering the flower shop."

Zhu Yan calmly maintained a tone of certainty, turning decisively to Bespectacled Man and the other two.

"The four of us will move together. We'll start from the candy store and beat the others to collect the second set of fragments."

Having Yang Zhanbai keep time also left an out for himself.

The owner of the second note was still Zhu Yan; the [Floating Clock] couldn't respond to Yang Zhanbai immediately.

He could use the excuse of checking on Yang Zhanbai's situation to leave "temporarily."

If the sky unfortunately turned dark, he could conveniently complete the [Hunter] task of harvesting 5 liters of human lives on the way.

"Let's go." Zhu Yan nodded goodbye to Yang Zhanbai and threw an arm over his companion's shoulder.

"My ability is more than enough to deal with the police."

The other three did not argue any further, and the Masked Man cast a grateful look at Zhu Yan.

"The rest of us are all Level Two, and our abilities have weak offensive power."

"We are counting on you this time, man."

Zhu Yan pulled them along through the sparse crowd, breaking into a light jog.

"Hurry up," he urged. "Once it gets dark, it will still be safer indoors than outside."

From behind them, Yang Zhanbai's loud voice rang out with a question.

"What's the time, Mr. Wolf?"