Cocoa Ballet tastes awful, gross.

Only when the golden cage carrying Yang Zhanbai slowly disappeared from sight did Zhu Yan turn around and stride toward the corridor beneath the floorboards.

According to the rules, a day in the instance lasted 24 hours, split entirely between day and night.

From this perspective, the night of the first day would last well over twenty hours.

With plenty of time at his disposal, Zhu Yan was not worried about failing his harvesting task.

To facilitate his actions for the following day, he decided to head down to the third level and take a look.

Gripping the Level 5 dining knife capable of dealing with the Alpha Wolf, Zhu Yan carefully stepped onto the first stair.

Compared to the special passage Carnival Paradise provided for Hunters, this corridor was much wider. The space inside could accommodate two people walking side by side, and the stairs were made of neat stone steps.

Zhu Yan turned on his phone's flashlight and felt his way down bit by bit.

However, the female broadcast voice abruptly rang out, startling him so badly that his hand jerked, and his phone dropped to the ground with a clatter.

"Congratulations, Player!"

"You have performed exceptionally well, delivering a brilliant performance for the audience of the Court of the Masses."

A new term. Zhu Yan forced himself to quickly calm down.

He knew of the Eye of the Abyss Club, and he knew of the Carnival Paradise Supreme Power Committee.

But what in the world was the Court of the Masses?

Zhu Yan's train of thought always seemed to wander off in irrelevant directions at crucial moments.

If his actions had been a performance from the very beginning, did that mean his previous disguise as "Madam" had also been exposed?

That wouldn't be very good.

The female voice giggled.

"Player, you need not worry," it said leisurely. "Not all instances are worthy of being presented on the grand stage."

"In the segment belonging to you, you created intense dramatic conflict."

"The viewer Silent Dance has tipped you a small prop worth 10 bone coins."

Viewer. Tipping.

Zhu Yan narrowed his eyes as a mix of absurdity and the feeling of being evaluated swept over him.

He couldn't help but tighten his grip on the dining knife, not even bothering to bend down and pick up his phone.

Well, at least he got a prop out of it.

10 bone coins, that was equivalent to 1,000 bucks!

Given the cheap prices in the Demon Department Store, what kind of good item could possibly be worth 1,000 bucks?

A crisp bell chimed in the empty corridor.

Ding—

A silver dragonfly materialized in midair and fluttered lightly toward Zhu Yan.

It was about half the size of a palm. It wasn't a real living creature, but rather an exquisite piece of craftsmanship.

Zhu Yan caught it with his left hand and noticed the text engraved along the edges of its translucent wings.

"This product is passionately crafted by the Slacker Craft Shop"—

It was this shop again.

Zhu Yan untied a small package from the dragonfly's leg. The item wasn't even half the length of his pinky finger.

The dragonfly fluttered its wings and vanished once more.

Zhu Yan brought his attention back and opened the inconspicuous little cardboard box.

Inside was a tiny squeeze tube, looking very much like the disposable toothpaste found in hotels.

"Congratulations on receiving the tipped item, Copy Paste Ointment."

The female voice cheerfully provided the instructions.

"The Copy Paste Ointment is specifically used to duplicate special markers, such as Player markers and Hunter markers."

Holy crap.

Zhu Yan's hand trembled slightly.

Good stuff.

Even though he had already laid the groundwork with his lies, what if something went wrong?

"Apply the ointment to the location of the marker, ensuring that the marker is completely covered."

The female voice steadily broadcasted the usage instructions.

"Wait until the ointment is completely dry, then press the marker you wish to copy onto the corresponding position to complete the duplication."

"Once the duplication is complete, the dried ointment will fall off on its own."

Zhu Yan understood.

For instance, if he wanted to scare Yang Zhanbai to death, all he had to do was wait until the man was unconscious, then press the ointment-coated marker onto the palm of Yang Zhanbai's right hand.

Perfect. It was quick and convenient, though it required very specific timing to pull off.

The female voice then laughed inexplicably.

Two seconds later, it cleared its throat and continued.

"The duplicated marker will last for 5 hours. Please manage your time well, Player."

Five hours.

Zhu Yan calculated in his head.

At his pace, five hours was enough time to do a lot of things.

It should be... enough, right?

"Additionally, the volume of one tube of ointment is enough for 2 uses."

"Best of luck, dear Hunter."

The female voice vanished.

Zhu Yan committed the name Silent Dance to memory.

Hello boss, thank you boss.

He was going to use this prop to wreak havoc right now!

Zhu Yan pocketed the ointment and picked up his dropped phone.

He gathered his wits and silently made his way down the steps, soon reaching the bottom.

At the end of the corridor was a stone wall.

The stone wall had been polished smooth. The white beam of his flashlight clearly illuminated three recesses and a small brass plaque nailed to the surface.

The three recesses varied in size and shape.

On the brass plaque, neat text was painted in scarlet red.

"Hello, Player! Welcome aboard the underground tram leading to the Alpha Wolf's residence."

"Within the Alpha Wolf's residence, there are express passages leading to four different endpoints."

"Once you enter the Alpha Wolf's residence, it means you can reach any of these endpoints within ten minutes."

Ah.

If that was the case, Zhu Yan would definitely have more than enough time.

"Before entering the platform, please submit the following items as instructed and place them into the corresponding recesses below."

Damn, how complicated.

Players had to struggle just to get past the "Boss," and now they had to hand over items down here too?

Zhu Yan focused his attention.

He quickly read further down, the red text becoming increasingly alarming.

"Please place the bones of the Bar Owner into Recess No. 1."

He actually had this; it was right inside the cabinet in the Bar.

But a novice player wouldn't necessarily have it.

The boss was Level 5, after all. How were people with Level 3 abilities at best supposed to kill it?

"Please place a right hand bearing a clear Hunter marker into Recess No. 2."

What a massive blow.

The Alpha Wolf's trap was incredibly devious. This was the smartest boss he had encountered so far.

The Bar Owner had the key and knew that this stage required its very existence as a sacrifice.

So no matter what, it would do everything in its power to stop the players.

Zhu Yan suspected that the bottle of Thrilling Delight, which cost 300 bone coins, was nothing more than a deadly smokescreen. If he hadn't taken on the appearance of a horror creature, he would have died if he lacked the strength to fight.

The requirement for the second recess was even more outrageous.

If someone could manage to get a Hunter's right hand, why would they go to such great lengths to seek out the Alpha Wolf?

Zhu Yan sneered.

This step was clearly designed to prevent a Hunter from coming here personally.

If it weren't for the Copy Paste Ointment prop, Zhu Yan would have had no choice but to chop off his own right hand.

He had only obtained the Bone-Mending Water potion because he had stocked up at the Demon Department Store.

If it were any other Hunter, losing their right hand would mean they couldn't even hold a knife.

Zhu Yan looked up, subconsciously trying to peer through the layers of the scenery into the unknown audience stands.

This prop had arrived at the absolute perfect time!

He collected himself and used the dim light of the flashlight to read the final line of text.

"Please place the berry-flavored yogurt bowl sold by the horror creature Solace Mother into Recess No. 3."

Solace Mother. A yogurt bowl.

Zhuyan recalled those addictive milk teas and candies, and a wave of nausea churned in his stomach.

This was definitely not a task he could finish today, as he hadn't seen a single store selling a berry-flavored yogurt bowl.

Besides, there was no telling what kind of hidden traps might be waiting for him.

Zhuyan sighed and took a picture of the requirements just in case he needed them later.

Then, he decisively turned around and sprinted toward the entrance of the corridor.

He still had that damn 5L harvesting task to complete. Once that was done, he had to find a place to sleep to ensure he had enough energy for tomorrow.

And also...

Whose palm should the Hunter mark be engraved upon?