The Pseudo-human fixed its pitch-black eyes on Zhu Yan's ever-changing face and understood what he had said.
This fellow Pseudo-human could actually take on "Zhu Yan's" appearance. It defied reason.
Pseudo-humans generally had as many appearances as they had skins.
Could the level-one player it had been longing for have become someone else's skin in just a few hours?
The Pseudo-human simulated a disappointed expression.
Standing on the soft carpet, Zhu Yan watched the Pseudo-human's expression change, feeling a little nervous.
Please don't let anything go wrong.
Keep up with me!
The Pseudo-human stared at Zhu Yan, trying to figure out whether this was a trick of the "transformation" ability in the police officer's memories or whether the other party really was a fellow Pseudo-human.
"Sir?" Guan En was growing anxious. He went over and tugged at the Pseudo-human. "Let's go, sir. If we don't leave now, it'll be too late."
He wanted to give the female attendant a friendly warning.
Unlike him, this poor female attendant didn't know much about the instance.
She seemed to naively believe that Pseudo-humans were ordinary NPCs who replaced humans!
That wouldn't do.
As a police officer, he couldn't save Zhu Yan.
But he could use his level-three ability to save a player whose position aligned with his own.
With that in mind, Guan En tugged at the Pseudo-human again and called out a warning.
"Zhang Li, listen to me. Stay in car seven and wait for now."
...How could I do that?
Zhu Yan cursed him inwardly for meddling.
Without the information the Pseudo-human could provide, he doubted he could even get off the train!
Besides, if he got lucky, he could use the Pseudo-human to fool the officers a second time and distract them further.
Zhu Yan gave the Pseudo-human another clear signal, shaking his head slightly and mouthing, "Stay."
The Pseudo-human stared at Zhu Yan for a long while, then understood.
The female attendant before it had vacant eyes and subtly stiff muscles.
There was none of the human scent on her. Instead, she gave off a faint smell of rot and rubber.
She was unmistakably a genuine Pseudo-human, just like it!
However, the other party's language system seemed more flexible than his.
What was more, the other party possessed "Zhu Yan's" skin.
In the portion of memories it had inherited, "Zhu Yan" was a player who had definitely cleared the beginner instance and was at least level one.
This Pseudo-human possessed the skin of at least one level-one player. Combined with its natural acting and nimble reactions, its level was probably no lower than its own!
The Pseudo-human pursed its lips unhappily.
In the end, it obediently turned to Guan En and said, "Take the others to car fifteen first and secure the suspect."
"I'll go check the surveillance footage. That's all."
Zhu Yan was delighted.
Whatever else happened, his little trick had worked!
Guan En wanted to make one last attempt. "What about this attendant? Let her come with me. She—"
"What I say goes!"
The Pseudo-human's voice turned shrill, drawing looks from the passengers throughout the car.
"Go now! Right now!"
Guan En fell silent for a moment.
"All right."
He weighed his options for a moment, then gritted his teeth, turned, and headed for car fifteen.
His mission was to help his companions complete their missions. As things stood, both Zhang Li and the Pseudo-human counted as his companions.
Zhang Li's mission was [Assist the police department and catch the rat], which was closely aligned with both the Pseudo-human's mission and his own.
He wanted to keep casualties to a minimum.
As long as they completed their missions, they wouldn't die!
"Zhang Li, be careful."
Zhu Yan acknowledged him and hurriedly pulled the Pseudo-human toward car six.
They had made such a commotion that the officers standing guard outside were already craning their necks to look.
If he took the Pseudo-human straight into the restroom for questioning in front of them, he would be asking for death.
He had better go farther ahead.
"You stupid thing," Zhu Yan muttered, activating his talent, [Complaining].
"Why are you running around like a headless chicken? Are those folds in your head intestines?"
Zhu Yan pulled it quickly through car seven and opened the door to car six.
Car six was empty except for two police officers.
Zhu Yan jogged along, cursing under his breath.
"Having you in [Merry Happy Land] is like having shit in a pot of porridge."
"You've nearly gotten me killed. You'd better fucking know it!"
There was an unoccupied restroom at the junction between cars six and five.
While no one was looking, Zhu Yan swiftly shoved the Pseudo-human inside, slipped in after it, and pulled the door shut.
Because of the power of [Complaining], the Pseudo-human was in bad shape.
Its legs were bent like soft rubber, and aside from frenzied hunger, all that remained on its face was fear of Zhu Yan.
As an ordinary Pseudo-human, its brain hadn't been very complex to begin with. Now it couldn't think at all.
The Pseudo-human classified this as "pressure from a higher existence," although it kept feeling that something was off.
Still, it didn't want to think about it any further.
It was very upset. Having offended such a formidable higher existence, it was bound to lose this meal.
"May I ask how I offended you?" the Pseudo-human asked weakly.
Zhu Yan didn't answer the question.
Time was short, and he wanted to extract as much information from the Pseudo-human as possible.
"You talk too much. Who's the person in charge of this operation in Anwu City?" he asked directly.
That first sentence was another little complaint, and the Pseudo-human grew a little weaker.
Zhu Yan's question puzzled it. It wasn't a question commonly asked in [Merry Happy Land].
Shouldn't he be warning it not to touch the food?
The Pseudo-human worked its simple brain and chose to answer truthfully.
"His name is Liu Mingli," it said.
"His exact position?"
"Chief."
"Has he come to the scene?"
The Pseudo-human shook its head. "No."
"Did he go out of town for a meeting today, or did he stay here to supervise your work?"
"He stayed here," the Pseudo-human said.
That made things easier.
Zhu Yan patted down the Pseudo-human and found a work ID and a phone.
"What are you doing?"
"None of your business." Zhu Yan put the work ID and phone in his pocket. "That beginner player will come looking for you in a bit."
"By the way, what's the new player's name?"
"Guan En," the Pseudo-human said.
Zhu Yan committed the name to memory and decisively handed Guan En over to the Pseudo-human.
"All right. Guan En is your food."
The Pseudo-human's stiff expression changed, and even its brain, weakened by [Complaining], felt considerably relieved.
Huh?!
I still get food?
Zhu Yan keenly caught the secret delight on the Pseudo-human's face, but he remained tense and didn't dare relax.
"Just keep acting as his superior. If he asks about me, tell him I only took you to check the surveillance footage."
The secret delight on the Pseudo-human's face grew more obvious.
It nodded, and its tone turned ingratiating.
"Rest assured, sir."
With the Pseudo-human in a good mood, Zhu Yan struck while the iron was hot and asked one last question.
He had realized that most ordinary Pseudo-humans were simple-minded.
They only looked frightening. They could think, but not very well.
"You know what's good for you," he said. "Give me a couple of compliments before I go. I like hearing them, and I promise I won't touch your food. Tell me, how did you recognize that my level was higher than yours?"
"You have skins. You can transform."
As soon as it heard "I promise I won't touch your food," the Pseudo-human hurried to flatter him.
"You have two skins, which means you've already been through two instances and eaten two players!"
...No wonder the Pseudo-humans in [Who Is the Crown Prince] were so respectful.
So they mistook me for the latter?
"You also have a natural tone, advanced, flexible expressions, and acting skills... Although you don't smell bad enough, ordinary Pseudo-humans can't compare to you in those other respects..."
Zhu Yan understood.
He nodded and gave his final order. "Stay in the restroom for now. In five minutes, if your food still hasn't come, go to car fifteen and find him."
"Then tell him something was found in the surveillance room and take him to the front of the train to check the footage."
These steps were all just to buy time.
He didn't know what the officer's ability was.
Nor did he believe that the Pseudo-human was necessarily the [companion] in the young officer's mission.
Zhu Yan's real mission was [Don't get caught by the police department].
Thinking in terms of consistent wording, if the young officer's [companion] really was a Pseudo-human, why didn't his mission simply say [police department]?
The "companion with a mission" could very well mean Zhu Yan, who was also a player!
Still, Zhu Yan had no need to warn him.
In the cramped restroom, the stale, foul air was suffocating.
Zhu Yan's state of mind was nowhere near composed. His internal organs felt suspended inside him from the tension, and his breathing grew shallow and rapid.
He would thank heaven and earth if he could stay alive himself. He couldn't worry about anyone else.
The light shone on the Pseudo-human's face as it used its stiff muscles to simulate a genuine smile.
"All right."
It agreed, its voice utterly distorted.
"Thank you. I'm completely captivated by you!"
"I'll take him to check the surveillance footage, then eat him."
Done.
Zhu Yan's suspended organs settled slightly, but his body remained tense.
He motioned for the Pseudo-human to stay there, then quickly pulled open the door and stepped out of the restroom.
The instant the door closed again, he transformed into a uniformed police officer making a phone call.