Zhu Yan maintained his terrifying creature form and thoroughly studied the scene outside through the window.
The villa was not very tall, so the view was extremely limited.
Even straining to see from the window, the farthest he could make out was a streetlamp outside the courtyard wall. The wall blocked even the road people used outside the gate.
Under these circumstances, there were still plenty of blind spots.
It would be easy to hide himself during his next move.
Behind him came the sound of a wooden door being pushed open.
Putting on an imposing air, Zhu Yan turned around and stared at the trembling landlord.
"Plague Ghost," he said coldly, watching the landlord's gaunt body shudder.
It seemed to be working.
Zhu Yan kept his guard up, not daring to relax in the slightest.
He didn't dare casually call [Plague Ghost] Walter by name, because he wasn't sure whether it would be strange for a high-level terrifying creature to address a low-level one by name.
Zhu Yan spoke slowly and gently.
"As of today, you're three months behind on your rent. Three Bone Coins, Plague Ghost."
[Plague Ghost] Walter's towering frame seemed to hunch over even more.
Three Bone Coins—just three Bone Coins!
To it, that was certainly an enormous sum.
But it didn't understand. Even through its fear, it couldn't understand.
It couldn't figure out why this matter had attracted the attention of a fabulously wealthy high-level terrifying creature.
If, as the lady said, this was a form of amusement for the [Eye of the Abyss Club], would those high-level terrifying creatures really let it off, given how they operated?
A bone-chilling, icy aura circled above its head, and the landlord trembled even harder.
"I... one player has already arrived," it explained. "I saw his left hand. I can chop it off... I..."
But to its disappointment, Zhu Yan snorted, dousing its hopes with an utterly contemptuous attitude.
"What if the player hasn't opened an account yet?"
"Take his left hand to the [Hall of Mourning] to open one?"
"Without the player himself present?"
He watched the deathly pale, grayish skin of its face slowly sag further, a hidden despair rising from its folds.
Zhu Yan wasn't at ease either.
He felt a fine layer of sweat breaking out on his back, making his T-shirt a little sticky.
Without enough attack power, he could only make full use of everything he knew to bluff and deceive.
Every move he made now was a crucial step in carrying out his plan. Each required caution, with no room for error.
He couldn't respond now—
The time wasn't right yet.
He had to wait a little longer!
Zhu Yan waited patiently until the despair had completely filled the landlord's cloudy eyes, then slowly gave another soft chuckle.
"In your current state, you'd better find someone to take over as soon as possible."
"Hmph. You and this rundown house are so low-level that you couldn't even see through my disguise at first."
"You've made a fool of yourself one time after another tonight. I don't want to stay here any longer."
Despite his words, the pressure emanating from the high-level creature before the landlord had not diminished in the slightest.
Terrified, it bowed its head respectfully and listened as Zhu Yan spoke his final words.
"I'll send a trusted subordinate to inspect things shortly."
"You'd better watch yourself. If everything's still in such a sorry state by then..."
Zhu Yan sneered and continued to make his meaning plain.
"You'd better find someone else and transfer it sooner rather than later."
The [Rental Contract] stated:
"This house can be linked to any terrifying creature, becoming an extension of its flesh and blood. Any terrifying creature that exchanges this contract for shelter must know that the house is me, and I am the house."
Unfortunately, Zhu Yan was not a terrifying creature.
But the contract didn't say the tenant couldn't be a player!
Moreover, even the [Sublease Contract] for both parties was in the Cannibal House landlord's hands. To Zhu Yan, that could only mean one thing—
The sublease contract, which required both parties' imprints, took effect immediately. There was no need to go through cumbersome procedures at the [Hall of Mourning], as with opening an account.
Zhu Yan looked down at the landlord's trembling back and flawlessly acted out the final part.
"Bring that player upstairs," he said stiffly. "Lock him in a room. Don't let him see me—or my inspector!"
The landlord shuddered.
It respectfully withdrew from the room, overwhelmed by terror, anxiety, and an inexplicable unease.
Everything made sense.
According to the rules, it had fallen behind on its payments.
The terrifying creature on the leasing side had come calling to issue a warning and conduct an inspection, also according to the rules. There had simply been a little extra amusement from the [Eye of the Abyss] along the way.
There was nothing wrong...!
The only problem was that if it couldn't pay, everything it had, including itself, would cease to exist!
It had to.
It had to serve this lady and her inspector well!
The wooden door closed softly, and Zhu Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
Without sufficient confidence, he couldn't take Guan En on directly.
Although he had level-four and level-five abilities, he was only a level-two player.
If Guan En had a level-three or level-four offensive ability and was determined to capture him regardless of the consequences, he'd be done for if they crossed paths.
He could only use the landlord to lock the man in a room first, keeping him out of sight.
Zhu Yan opened the window and quickly assessed the height of the second floor and where he could land.
The landlord walked down the stairs, its mouth tight.
Seeing Guan En sitting obediently on the sofa, it gave a cold snort and angrily dragged him to his feet!
"Come on," it said viciously. "I'll take you to your room. Behave yourself!"
During the two or three minutes the landlord had been upstairs, Guan En had concentrated on working through every lead he could.
The landlord leaving him, a player, here while it went upstairs was unusual in itself—
Whether in the case files he had read or the [Cat-and-Mouse Game] he had experienced firsthand, the vast majority of terrifying creatures seemed unaware that "missions" existed.
Their sole objective was to eat all the players.
If he really was the only player in this house...
Then the landlord's normal response should have been to keep a close eye on him or lock him up, then eat him as soon as the instance began.
Not politely pour him tea, try every way to make him sit obediently in the living room, and then leave him behind to hurry upstairs!
The landlord's thin chest rose and fell. Guan En noticed that the skin covering its ribs was trembling slightly. Clearly, the landlord was in a terrible mood.
That wasn't right—it had been perfectly fine before going upstairs.
This terrifying creature was hiding something.
What exactly had made its mood change so quickly?
Guan En didn't resist.
He calmly turned his gaze to its face, looking into its cloudy eyes.
It seemed the mysterious player had used the same trick again.
He had gained the old monster's trust by posing as a non-player, and had even brought it under control.
"Let's go," Guan En said to the landlord, considering what to do next.
"Let's go to my room."
The landlord snorted and released his collar.
It led Guan En upstairs. He stayed focused, secretly gripping his service pistol.
He hadn't forgotten to bring the milk tea cup, either.
It was important physical evidence, with the suspect's biological information still on it!