Zhu Yan pricked up his ears.
"[Concealed but Unreleased]: This item can completely conceal two key pieces of information about an event and divert others' attention with a larger event, ensuring that the event the user cares about will not be investigated for a short time."
The female voice read out the instructions with expressive intonation, pausing at just the right moment.
"This item can detect specific events, but the user must enter the key information they wish to delete themselves."
"Once confirmed, it cannot be changed."
Zhu Yan found it novel.
He had never seen anything like it before.
Even the two key pieces of information it could delete were entered by the user!
Delight mingled with a secret thrill, surging through him.
That meant if he entered the right key information, the item could be even more effective than he had imagined.
Zhu Yan watched the morning rush-hour traffic passing outside the car window, his brow relaxing without his realizing it.
"The maximum delay is two years. The exact length of time depends on what you enter..."
"...and on your subsequent efforts."
"Please, go on. Don't stop!"
Two years.
The corners of Zhu Yan's mouth lifted, and he couldn't help smiling.
Two years would be ideal, of course, but instances were constantly descending.
Under those circumstances, even a delay of three to six months would let him rest easy.
The taxi rounded a bend, passing a brightly lit coffee shop beneath a department store that had opened early for business.
People hurried to their early shifts, their faces tired. Everything looked perfectly normal.
But Zhu Yan knew the reality he lived in was being eroded by [Merry Happy Land]. In the early hours of that very morning, the first incident had already occurred in Anwu City.
At that rate, the police station would be run off its feet in three months.
Even if [Concealed but Unreleased] expired by then, they wouldn't have the time or energy to dig up his old business.
"The item has been automatically delivered to your phone. Please use it within two days."
Huh?
His phone?
"Don't rush. Be patient," the female voice said.
Zhu Yan resisted the urge to pull it out and take a look immediately, intending to wait until the female voice had finished its announcements.
"I will continue announcing your remaining rewards."
"Player level: Lv.2. At present, you can withstand the skill attacks of 75% of players."
That meant 75% of the closed-beta players had abilities at only level 2.
Abilities were determined by a person's innate talents.
Was he really such a drama queen in everyday life?
"[Roleplay] ability level: Lv.5. Advancing from level 5 to level 6 requires three closed-beta instances."
Zhu Yan was quite satisfied.
Looking on the bright side, a level 5 ability was good enough for a player who had only cleared two instances.
"[Complaining] ability level: Lv.4. Your aunt couldn't come up with such sophisticated insults as 'your brain is full of intestines.'"
"[Humiliation] ability level: Lv.2. Keep up the good work!"
Of his three abilities, [Humiliation] was the only one Zhu Yan hadn't used, and it was also the only one that hadn't leveled up.
It seemed that to level up an ability, he had to use it often.
"Reward announcements complete. Good luck, player."
"See you next time."
The female voice vanished, and Zhu Yan's world returned to silence.
Anwu City was large, and he still had thirty minutes before reaching his destination.
Zhu Yan eagerly took out his phone to check. Sure enough, something had changed beneath the clock on the home screen.
A strange, eye-catching app had appeared there—
An exquisite black image of a caged bird was drawn against a pale gold background, every feather lifelike.
Compared with the other simply designed logos, it might as well have been on a different layer.
Beneath the icon were the words "Concealed but Unreleased" in vivid red.
That was quite a leap in delivery methods. It was so novel.
Zhu Yan tapped the app, and the phone screen turned pale yellow.
In the center of the screen, the black caged bird flapped its wings again and again.
Zhu Yan stared at the icon for a while.
Was this... a loading screen?
A few seconds later, the bird stopped moving, and several lines of eye-catching text popped up.
"Congratulations, lucky player."
"After monitoring your situation, we have confirmed that you are in a predicament. The specific event is as follows."
So it was monitoring just now.
This was interesting. Once again, Zhu Yan found it very novel.
His gaze eagerly moved downward, and sure enough, he found the complete event description he'd hoped to see.
"Event [Unauthorized Flight]: You deliberately concealed your identity as a player and left an eroded city against official orders, prompting the police station to pursue you across city boundaries."
Zhu Yan read the bright red text several times, confirming his earlier guess.
An item from [Merry Happy Land] also described the descent of [Merry Happy Land] as "erosion."
What would the world look like once reality had been completely eroded?
"Specific reason for your pursuit: The police believe your escape may carry the erosion of [Merry Happy Land] elsewhere, bringing a survival crisis to the humans in other cities."
Well, Zhu Yan thought helplessly, resting his head against the car window and letting the warmth of the sunlight slowly seep into his scalp.
If the police regarded those inexplicable sudden deaths as part of an epidemic, their concern was understandable.
The text gave a Shakespearean exclamation.
"O injustice, thy name is Zhu Yan!"
Zhu Yan glanced at the driver and retorted in a voice too quiet to hear.
"How did you dox me? My name is User Has Been Deregistered."
The text promptly erased that line.
"Monitoring has determined that a larger event has already occurred around you, with enough impact to overshadow [Unauthorized Flight]. The details are as follows."
"Event [Death of the Officer]: In the instance [Cat-and-Mouse Game] that you experienced, a Pseudo-human ate half of a non-player police officer."
"[Merry Happy Land] does not provide non-player humans with the benefits of a chance at resurrection or ten minutes for their last words, much less the privilege of an [intact corpse]."
The red text stung Zhu Yan's eyes, and an eerie chill burst over his head.
When the female voice had made its announcement earlier, he had thought the officer's death would appear natural and peaceful, like everyone else's.
But—!
If the officer returned directly to the train with only "half a body," and the people outside the train saw such a scene, that would be very different.
Even if the situation was contained from the public, it would certainly attract considerable attention within the police station!
"This matter has already caused a stir on a small scale. At present, its impact far exceeds that of event [Unauthorized Flight], making it sufficient to cover up event [Unauthorized Flight]."
"Friendly reminder: These two events are not entirely unrelated. On the contrary, they are intertwined, and the situation is complicated."
"There is a high probability of a chain reaction."
"Player, please give careful thought to the information you need to conceal."
"Afterward, the player must take active measures. Do not give up."
Zhu Yan sat up straight and leaned closer to the phone screen without realizing it.
Don't give up.
Of course he wouldn't give up.
"The scope of information concealment includes the concealment of information and data, as well as the blurring of relevant individuals' memories."
"Player, please enter your information."
The black screen flickered, and all the text vanished.
A cursor blinked on the screen, and the phone's keyboard popped up from below.
Zhu Yan kept the page open and looked out the window, pondering for a moment.
The taxi was stuck in traffic on an elevated highway, and Zhu Yan could see the hazy old district in the distance.
Aging buildings rose in layers, crowded together here and there.
Some buildings were connected by skybridges, just like the two events detected by [Concealed but Unreleased].
If the police investigated event [Death of the Officer], they would follow the trail to the reason for Guan En's business trip, bringing event [Unauthorized Flight] to light.
The reason for Guan En's business trip was event [Unauthorized Flight]. That wasn't a single piece of information, so [Concealed but Unreleased] couldn't conceal it either.
Zhu Yan couldn't completely sever the connection between the two events with only two pieces of information.
It was an unavoidable link!
All he could do was conceal himself.