"Based on the fingerprints and other biological information left on the G3075 Train, we can confirm that this is a real person, not one of the horror creatures players talk about."
The officer picked up a sealed bag containing fingerprints that had been collected, along with a strand of hair.
"Whatever the suspect's reason for coming here, he brought this unknown thing that threatens public safety into Anwu City."
Guan En recalled the words, "You owe your life to me."
He went over everything that had happened in the instance and couldn't shake the feeling that this account was wrong.
But... as a police officer, he couldn't overstep.
Guan En looked at the officer at the front of the room and swallowed the urge to speak up and add to the account.
"We suspect that the [Beginner Instance] involving Guan En and the other person was triggered by his escape, which in turn caused today's tragedy."
That referred to Guan En and his superior.
Guan En pressed his lips together. Unable to interrupt, he could only continue listening intently.
"In the future, deaths and sudden deaths caused by this unknown power will only become more frequent. We must catch this person before the situation becomes seriously warped."
"For his own selfish desires, he has brought a survival crisis upon the people of Anwu City!"
The words rang out with conviction.
The officer frowned slightly. The police could not show mercy to someone who might stand against all of humanity!
Outside the police station.
A taxi sped past. The friendly driver glanced sideways at the lit-up office building and chatted familiarly with Zhu Yan in the back seat.
"The people at the police station are busy too. I bet what happened this morning gave them a real headache."
Oh?
Zhu Yan's guard shot up at once, and his previously relaxed mind became focused.
He asked casually, "What happened?"
The driver was startled instead. "Good lord, you haven't heard? Someone died on a high-speed train at North Station today. There were police everywhere, and someone even shot a video."
Even the driver knew about it, which meant the situation had rapidly escalated during the ten or so hours he had been asleep.
Zhu Yan gave nothing away as he listened to the driver chatter on.
"I still have it on my phone. That cop died horribly. His head was gone."
"Oh, and I have a relative who's a civil servant. He heard they've already set up a special task force. The whole city's been locked down since this morning, and no one can get out."
"Wait, you don't know any of this?"
Zhu Yan shook his head with a wry smile and told a lie.
"I really don't."
Still, the driver's words gave Zhu Yan an idea of the latest developments outside.
In any case, he should be more careful for the time being and keep an eye on the situation.
After all, although erasing his name and appearance made tracking him down much harder, there were still fingerprints, hair, his ID number, address, and other such information.
"I'm a college student. I slept in bed from morning until evening."
If the police really did think he was some kind of source of infection that threatened humanity, as the [Concealed but Unreleased] app had said...
Then they might mobilize a large number of officers and use the biological information they had collected to screen the residents.
"Oh, right, you do look like a college student." The driver glanced at Zhu Yan in the rearview mirror, then looked back at the road.
"Do you go to school out of town? Then you're in trouble. There are traffic restrictions now, so everyone has to stay where they are."
"No one's allowed to leave the city now, and a lot of people are kicking up a fuss."
"Take a look online. I could still find posts complaining about it earlier today. I don't know if they've been deleted by now."
Zhu Yan took out his phone and browsed for a while.
There was nothing on the trending searches, and the few scattered posts he clicked on displayed error messages.
Traffic restrictions were such a major matter that, if they weren't even trending, the authorities must be deliberately suppressing them.
"It probably won't last too long," Zhu Yan said casually. "A citywide lockdown is a big deal, after all..."
The taxi stopped.
The tall shopping mall was new and attractive, and the display windows facing outside on the ground floor looked spacious and tidy.
"Who knows?" the driver said. "Anyway, don't count on it for the next five days. Take care!"
Zhu Yan opened the car door, and the driver's quiet muttering reached his ears.
"How can someone be so handsome and still have such a forgettable face? I've been looking at him the whole ride, and I still can't remember what he looks like at all..."
Zhu Yan pushed open the mall doors and took the escalator down beneath the dazzling, warm-toned lights.
The mall looked as though it had been built in the past couple of years. Its ceilings were high and its layout was grand, without the oppressive, dated feel of older malls.
Looking down from the escalator, he saw that the basement level was full of trendy-looking milk tea and dessert shops, as well as restaurant bars he would never have dared enter before.
If the map hadn't led him here, he would never have imagined this was where the [Hall of Mourning] was located.
He wondered whether the police officer named Guan En had been inclined to open the map and take a look.
If he had, the police wouldn't have overlooked this place.
Zhu Yan still remembered the female voice repeatedly stressing things like "keep moving" and "don't stop."
This time, the female voice hadn't given him a warning, which meant the police hadn't made a move yet either.
This was a good time to exchange some currency.
In high spirits, Zhu Yan thought this as he wound his way toward the storefront standing in the very center of the basement level.
The dark brown shop had been built in the shape of a strange, twisted cylinder that rose straight up to the ceiling, reminding Zhu Yan of a massive tree root with its branches and trunk cut off.
It stood out starkly in the light-colored mall, with the creamy yellow tiled paths around it making it look like an isolated island.
An enormous WE sign hung askew on the "trunk," glowing a dim blood-red.
Unable to take his eyes off it, Zhu Yan slowly approached, his body shrinking in on itself slightly with tension.
What would be inside the [Hall of Mourning]?
Two large, dark glass windows were set into the shop's exterior. It wasn't brightly lit inside either, and Zhu Yan could only make out some candlelight.
He circled the place before finding the front entrance, where a pretty girl stood in a brown skirt suit.
When she saw Zhu Yan, the girl gave him a somewhat stiff smile and did her best to imitate a human tone.
"Hello, lovely sir. Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?"
A Pseudo-human.
According to the level-three Pseudo-human on the G3075 Train, it had a skin, which meant it had been through at least one instance.
The girl looked at Zhu Yan, intense hunger showing in her eyes.
Zhu Yan's brows lowered slightly without his realizing it. He felt uncomfortable.
Were the customers who came into this café really all right?
Zhu Yan put the thought aside and gave the password without betraying anything.
"Only silence is the way home."
The Pseudo-human's expression changed immediately.
The corner of its mouth twitched with disappointment. In the end, it turned and opened the door, inviting Zhu Yan inside.
"Welcome."
After the door closed, the Pseudo-human looked around and no longer kept its voice down.
"Please follow me, player."
The shop was filled with a dull, rusty smell, and there wasn't a single customer.
A huge but crude chandelier hung from the ceiling, with dozens of real candles stuck in it and burning brightly.
Zhu Yan didn't think the fire department would allow this.
He asked, "Have any players besides me come by today?"
The Pseudo-human glanced at him dejectedly.
"No," it said. "You're actually the first customer. Oh, heavens, I don't know why—in such a good location, there's no foo... uh, people!"
Probably because it smells so awful, Zhu Yan grumbled inwardly.
It was just like a murder scene that hadn't been cleaned up.
Still, if no one was here, that meant the police hadn't come yet.
He followed the Pseudo-human girl behind the counter and watched it open a hidden compartment, reach in, and press something.
"Only I can activate it," the Pseudo-human muttered. "Sigh, unfortunately, I won't be able to activate it much longer either."
The floor behind the counter trembled gently, then began spiraling downward.
Zhu Yan steadied himself and asked curiously, "Why?"
"Because I'm about to starve to death," the Pseudo-human said mournfully. "According to the rules, I can't eat you right now. I hate you, player."
Its hollow eyes stared at Zhu Yan's face with intense concentration, as though he were a dish of food.
Zhu Yan felt his stomach churn uncomfortably, and he had the urge to throw up his entire dinner.
He just wasn't sure what the difference was between how the [Hall of Mourning] received horror creatures and how it received players.
Also, [Carnival Paradise] had provided an online store, which meant there were online accounts too.
If he had to open an account, he still needed a player account.
That was why he had kept his player appearance to come in here.
Otherwise, he would have transformed into a Pseudo-human to venture in and completely put an end to the Pseudo-human's thoughts of eating people!