Now that Zhu Yan knew exactly where Guan En stood, he felt a wicked thrill.
Just as he had occasionally teased his younger brother in the past, he wanted to tease Guan En a little.
"I see."
Zhu Yan nodded.
"But what makes you think the instance won't start as long as you stop me beforehand?"
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the gun, its safety still on.
"If we follow your plan..."
"Once the instance starts, there are only two possibilities."
"First, we're both in the instance, and you stop me. The instance will immediately deem your mission complete, and I'll die."
Guan En's brow twitched, and his expression slowly changed.
There was.
That really was a possibility!
Zhu Yan went on, watching Guan En's expression with interest.
"The other possibility is that we've already left. But we're both still alive, so the instance will deem us late, and we'll both die."
The color gradually drained from Guan En's face.
It seemed this player was right.
Guan En couldn't be sure that [Merry Happy Land] would be as merciful as he had imagined, either.
What should he do?
Guan En's hand trembled slightly.
Did he really have to kill someone?
"I..."
Zhu Yan stared at the gun in his hand and concentrated.
This part was thrilling and fun, but it was dangerous too.
The moment Guan En took the safety off, he would activate [Humiliation]!
"You're really acting like you want to save people, Officer Guan."
Zhu Yan counted down the time. There might be a minute left.
He had gotten the treasure. When the time came, all he had to do was stab the chair with the dagger, and everything would be over.
The force trying to merge with his body had already grown somewhat restless. Zhu Yan had to pause before he could continue.
"Acting like you do is what it means to treat human life like grass. I don't think you need to put on such a kind front."
"After all, when you first spoke with the landlord, you never considered my situation."
Guan En's lips looked even paler, and he had no defense.
All of this player's conjectures pointed to one outcome: the two of them couldn't both survive.
Guan En could only save his own life by firing.
But kill someone?
That went against his identity and the education he had received.
By comparison, he seemed to find it easier to understand an outcome where everyone was happy, or even sacrifice.
Especially when the young man before him was probably innocent.
It should be time.
Zhu Yan felt for the phone in his pocket.
He watched Guan En's movements closely as he pressed the button to light up the phone's lock screen, took it out, and quickly glanced at it from the corner of his eye.
The instance had officially begun.
He no longer needed to mess with the other man's head. He could begin in earnest.
"But I have some good news for you..."
Zhu Yan spoke with a smile, drawing Guan En's attention to what he was saying.
"I do have a way to make sure neither of us dies."
"Officer Guan, how come you keep owing me your life?"
Guan En didn't know whether to believe him.
He was about to speak when Zhu Yan suddenly drew his dagger and plunged it swiftly and forcefully into the inconspicuous, battered armchair!
"You—"
Bang!
The bullet grazed the top of Zhu Yan's ducking head and shattered the patterned glass window.
But Zhu Yan was faster.
He had already slammed into Guan En. With a thought, he activated [Humiliation]!
It all happened within two seconds—
Guan En felt all the strength drain from his body.
He fell to the floor and watched Zhu Yan pick up the gun that had slipped from his grasp.
He tried to activate his own ability, [Precise Suppression], but Zhu Yan had already run out of the attic with considerable speed, his footsteps fading into the distance within seconds.
Two yellow sheets of paper fluttered down onto him. Guan En struggled desperately, trying to summon some strength.
He felt the floor beneath him begin to tremble slightly, and dust shook loose from the beams and fell onto his skin.
Guan En's eyes widened in alarm.
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but the beam above him seemed to be slowly melting, like a candle scorched by flames.
Zhu Yan felt it too: the force pressing against him had vanished.
The whole house began to shake. Zhu Yan raced down the stairs and heard the [Plague Ghost]'s chewing abruptly stop in the room.
Zhu Yan cursed inwardly and clutched the robe that had once belonged to the [Plague Ghost] as he raced madly for the door.
It had been almost a minute. Why hadn't this damn house collapsed yet?
If the [Plague Ghost] discovered everything and attacked him over a few Bone Coins, he was done for!
Zhu Yan charged into the garden and stopped to catch his breath.
It was the early hours of the morning, just when the sky was darkest.
The faint light of the streetlamps barely illuminated the outline of the [Cannibal House].
Perhaps Zhu Yan's stab had done the trick, for it no longer looked like a modern villa.
Zhu Yan couldn't help finding it novel.
It was a building that blended the styles of at least three or four different eras.
The topmost level was an old house built from rough stones, and its roof had already melted like ice cream.
Part of the structure below looked like a small villa from more recent times, and it too was growing soft.
Through a second-floor window, he saw the [Plague Ghost]'s dark figure rising unsteadily to its feet.
Its head turned this way and that in confusion, unsure what was happening.
A few seconds later, it turned and pushed open the door to the room, disappearing from Zhu Yan's sight.
Not good.
It's about to find out!
But the instance hadn't been declared over yet, so he couldn't leave.
Zhu Yan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looking for somewhere to hide for the moment.
Fortunately, the [Cannibal House] melted faster than he had expected.
In just a few seconds, the seemingly intact outer walls and everything inside collapsed with a crash, melting into a large puddle of thick wax the moment they hit the ground.
The warm liquid splashed under the force of gravity, and Zhu Yan raised a hand to wipe some of it off his face.
He saw Guan En struggling to his feet in the ruins of the [Cannibal House], then stumbling toward him.
Guan En was still clutching the two [Transfer Rental Contracts], and Zhu Yan wasn't sure whether he'd had time to read them.
But that didn't matter.
Zhu Yan pulled the handgun from the robe and aimed the muzzle straight at Guan En.
"Don't come closer," he threatened coldly, raising his voice. "I'm not as softhearted as you."
Another, larger shadow slowly rose from the ruins—it was the [Plague Ghost].
Its furious roar mingled with a pleasant female voice, and Zhu Yan felt a weight lift from his heart as he listened.
"Congratulations, player. You successfully cleared the instance by finding another way and brought it to an end quite swiftly."
Guan En seemed to have heard the same announcement, for he froze, and the hand clutching the contracts trembled even harder.
"Congratulations, player. You were carried to victory again and were lucky enough to clear the instance."
The blurred name and the mark unique to human players on the [Transfer Rental Contract] stung Guan En's eyes.
"...Acting like you do is what it means to treat human life like grass."
The words echoed in his empty mind, leaving him dazed.
Zhu Yan didn't lower the handgun.
The [Plague Ghost] was back on its feet, clutching the last half of a human leg, covered in filthy liquid.
The pleasant female voice continued its announcement.
"According to procedure, we should immediately teleport you back to the real world."
"However, considering the impenetrable barriers you will encounter in the real world, we have decided to leave the choice to you."
"You may gaze here and choose to call the [Monster Tram], then remain here and wait for it to arrive."
"Friendly reminder: for you, the [Monster Tram] is not as safe as the [Hall of Mourning]."
"You need to choose your stop carefully!"