"What?"
His colleague immediately sensed something was wrong and stepped forward, grabbing the officer.
"Wait, explain yourself. When did our boss go out?"
"Little Guan just said the boss had been here the whole time, on the train!"
He turned to the Pseudo-human and asked, "Boss, what's this about Director Liu?"
The Pseudo-human's mind drifted aimlessly.
It was so hungry its stomach felt ready to disappear, and it had no desire to think about anything except food.
Director Liu, it knew, was Liu Mingli.
That very attractive, powerful Pseudo-human had asked about him!
But what did that have to do with it?
It couldn't make sense of it anyway!
The Pseudo-human stared blankly in the direction Guan En had run, then set off after him.
"What Director Liu?"
The words it left behind made the two officers on guard exchange startled looks.
"I don't know any Director Liu. Figure it out yourselves!"
The Pseudo-human strode across the soft carpet and quickly disappeared at the end of the business-class carriage, its uniformed figure unspeakably stiff from behind.
The officers on guard and their colleague exchanged looks, all three of them looking grim.
Two seconds later, all three spoke at once.
"Didn't the boss just go out a little while ago?"
"The boss told us Director Liu was coming!"
"Who did you let out?"
As soon as the colleague spoke, he got his answer.
He suddenly understood, and fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.
Fuck!
Zhu Yan!
A minute or two ago, Guan En had still been telling him that Zhu Yan had no reason to leave the carriage and must still be there.
Well, look at them now. His face hurt for Guan En!
"Guan En! Come back!"
The colleague gritted his teeth and dashed after him.
Elsewhere, Zhu Yan could barely lift his legs.
But he didn't dare stop running, and his forehead was already covered in sweat.
His ribs hurt even more, and every breath sent pain through his body.
It was as if little knives were embedded in his lungs, gouging at them until his face turned deathly pale and air could barely get in.
Fortunately, the finish line was close at hand—
It looked to be only fifty meters away!
Zhu Yan gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure the discomfort.
He simply held his breath and sped up again.
He hadn't entered this instance to die!
Guan En reviewed the surveillance footage frame by frame, a growing chill spreading down his back the more he watched.
The footage was intact. Zhu Yan hadn't touched a single frame.
The problem lay with Guan En himself.
He had been underestimating a high schooler who appeared to have no experience of society!
At four in the morning, Zhu Yan had gone to carriage fifteen and struck up a conversation with Zhang Li.
Fifty minutes later, a new "Zhang Li" had boldly stood at the entrance to carriage seven, calmly waiting for them to arrive.
Then he himself had been lured away by "Zhang Li" like a fool.
All the while, "Zhang Li" had brazenly manipulated the Pseudo-human right under his nose!
After that, Zhu Yan had become the boss, swaggered out of the carriage, and vanished from the surveillance footage.
"Fuck!"
Guan En cursed, the hairs on his body slowly standing on end.
Zhu Yan had reacted too quickly—
But the announcement hadn't sounded yet. Did that mean the other man hadn't reached the finish line?
There was still a chance!
He still had a chance to win the game and survive!
Time no longer allowed Guan En to dwell on it.
He spun around without hesitation, coming face-to-face with the drooling Pseudo-human as it pounced at him!
Guan En dodged to the side, not even having time to use his ability.
He shoved past the colleagues on guard and charged off the train, the rush of wind in his ears carrying his colleague's anxious shout.
"Guan En!! He lied and said Director Liu was coming!! Hey, wait for us—"
Guan En didn't look back.
He raced down the descending passage, and his colleague's voice abruptly faded behind him.
"Holy shit, he's fast!"
The colleague cursed, but his hands didn't stop moving.
"Quick, some of you stay here on guard. The rest, chase after him." He promptly directed the other officers, then, after they rushed out with their police dogs, turned to the Pseudo-human that had gotten back to its feet in the surveillance room.
"Boss, we need to—"
He couldn't finish, because the boss in front of him tore his mouth open in a manner that surpassed human limits.
His once normally sized mouth split his head straight down the middle, revealing several rows of sharp teeth trailing saliva.
The Pseudo-human was starving. The muscles around its eyes contracted tightly, squeezing down on those stagnant-pool eyes.
Food.
It needed food, even if it wasn't a player!
The colleague's eyes widened, and his heart skipped a beat.
Passengers screamed around him, and those who realized what was happening began to scatter, throwing everything into chaos.
In the instant the colleague stood stunned, the Pseudo-human lunged and bit down hard on his neck!
Scarlet burst out like fireworks.
Guan En couldn't hear the commotion behind him.
The underground passage wasn't very long. Running at full speed, he vaulted over the ticket gate and reached the waiting hall in just over ten seconds.
An eerie silence hung over the hall.
All the equipment was running normally, and the somewhat old billboards glowed brightly.
But the place was deserted—
Except for one figure running with all his might toward the station exit!
"Zhu Yan!!" Guan En roared furiously, sprinting after him as if his life depended on it.
In Guan En's eyes, Zhu Yan was already very, very close to the exit.
Just one step, maybe two, certainly no more than five—
Twenty meters.
Zhu Yan heard the unhinged roar and knew it was Guan En, but he didn't look back.
If Guan En had faced the same distance as him, he could never have arrived this quickly.
His guess had been right.
The damned [Merry Happy Land] had only increased the distance Zhu Yan personally needed to travel.
Zhu Yan clenched his teeth and sped up again, heedless of everything, his heart ready to burst out of his chest at any moment.
Fuck.
If he hadn't taken those extra detours, if he had recklessly used [Complaining] or [Humiliation] to get out at the start and let the police notice something was wrong quickly...
Given the difference between their speeds, he'd have been dead long ago!
Ten meters...
Five meters!
Guan En's footsteps drew closer and closer, almost right behind him.
To Guan En, Zhu Yan was moving so slowly he was nearly standing still.
Almost there!
Guan En reached out, trying to grab the back of Zhu Yan's clothes.
Yet at that crucial final moment, he failed.
Zhu Yan finally crossed the last two meters and stepped into the faint light of the early morning sun.
He turned around, braced both hands on his knees, and gasped for breath as he studied Guan En, who seemed to be separated from him by a barrier.
From where he stood, everything behind Guan En was pitch-black—
There was no empty station, nor any stream of people.
Sweat ran down Zhu Yan's face. He raised his eyes, their slightly upturned corners carrying a hint of disdain, and smiled at Guan En, who was also panting heavily.
Guan En tried to reach out and touch him again, but a solid force blocked his fingers, as if a pane of glass stood between him and Zhu Yan.
They could hear each other's voices, and there were only ten centimeters between them!
Guan En stared at Zhu Yan's face, overcome by a profound despair.
Mission failed.
Was he going to die?
Zhu Yan was still smiling.
"Nicely done, bro," he said in broken gasps. "You have me to thank for your life."
Guan En frowned, not understanding what Zhu Yan meant for a moment.
The next second.
That pleasant female voice exploded inside his skull, announcing the instance's final result.
"The instance [Cat-and-Mouse Game] has ended."
"Congratulations, Guan En. You have successfully completed your mission and cleared the beginner instance."
...What?
Cleared it?
He'd actually... survived?
Guan En looked at Zhu Yan in astonishment, but the scene before him had already changed.
He was no longer in the station. He had returned to train G3075.
Meanwhile.
Zhu Yan also heard the announcement, which brought him immense relief.
Pleasure, like warm amniotic fluid, washed over his calves and rose little by little, soothing his overused muscles and internal organs.
His body no longer hurt, and he felt genuinely happy.