Signs of the Spread

The police car sped toward the nearest police security station with Guan En aboard.

A few minutes earlier, that soft female voice had finished announcing the rewards and other details for this instance, leaving him drenched in cold sweat.

The [Plague Exemption Period] was a benefit for players only.

Who knew whether he might infect other people while his symptoms weren't active?

The problem was, just in case he was Zhu Yan in disguise and to keep him from tricking them, they had gagged him!

For the first time, Guan En felt anxious and desperate because of his own people.

He shrank farther into the police car, away from the others, a drop of cold sweat running down his cheek.

The [Monster Tram] opened its enormous mouth several times, each time letting in a new, strange smell.

The stops were all stations in [Merry Happy Land].

Zhu Yan saw an abandoned wax museum, stone houses stacked precariously like piles of eggs and woven over with spiderwebs, and a charming, exquisite toy display window that looked no different from one in the human world.

All the while, the art student's typewriter had been working diligently.

Besides an ID card bearing the name "Zhu Yan," it had also diligently produced a brand-new household register, two death certificates for immediate family members, and a property ownership certificate.

The photo on the ID card showed a face somewhat similar to Zhu Yan's.

Zhu Yan brought the card closer and saw that the eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips were only slightly different, but the overall face looked much kinder.

Fuck.

The art student's skills!

He was just about to kowtow to the art student in his mind when the female announcer's voice from [Merry Happy Land] rang out at a most inopportune moment.

"Congratulations, player," the woman said. "We have detected that you have completed most of the changes to your information."

But the typewriter had stopped working.

Zhu Yan gathered up all the documents, including the "property ownership certificate" that had made him so curious.

He hadn't had time to look at it closely, but surely a house couldn't just be conjured out of thin air.

What was going on?

"I will explain some of the key points," the woman said in a pleasant voice.

Zhu Yan had already put the typewriter back into the [Plague Ghost]'s clothes and sat up straight.

The [Monster Tram] was almost empty. The honored guests in the back rows had all gotten off.

He figured he would reach his stop in ten minutes at most.

"We have implanted your new information into the human system."

Zhu Yan listened intently, ears pricked.

"Your old identity information cannot be matched to your new identity information. The new information will not directly overwrite the old. Previously existing biometric information will be erased."

They had created an entirely new identity for him.

Wasn't this great!

"Please modify your Admission Notice as soon as possible and prepare for the next instance—if you can survive."

Zhu Yan breathed a huge sigh of relief.

He gathered all his belongings and finally heard the arrival announcement for his stop.

"Stop 46: No. 178, Plum Garden Subdistrict, Sunset District, Anwu City. We have arrived."

The Voodoo Doll's voice was unexpectedly soft for its appearance.

"Passenger, we advise you to leave before the instance ends. Do not enter the human world by mistake."

"The fare will be deducted automatically later."

Zhu Yan recalled the first time he had seen the [Monster Tram].

The instance hadn't ended then, and the Pseudo-human had told him upstairs that the tram had arrived.

Taken together with this announcement, the [Monster Tram] could only stop at places where instances had descended and at [Merry Happy Land].

He stood up, and the tram stopped bouncing and swaying.

The roof lifted again. This time, a brick-and-stone wall stood outside.

A small double-leaf residential gate stood in the middle of the wall. A little light beside it illuminated a small iron plate reading "No. 178, Plum Garden."

Zhu Yan looked back and checked his seat one last time. After confirming he hadn't left anything behind, he quickly jumped off.

The [Monster Tram] gradually receded from view. Zhu Yan leaned against the wall and heard chewing from behind the gate and an announcement ring out at the same time.

A strong smell of blood filled Zhu Yan's nostrils.

"Attention, player. We will immediately transport you back to the real world."

Zhu Yan braced himself, without rushing to change his appearance.

In fact, even appearing here put him in danger.

The tragedy at No. 178, Plum Garden, had already happened, and someone might report it tomorrow, the day after, or the day after that.

Once the police checked the surveillance footage, they would very likely discover that he had been here.

But his original appearance was a piece of erased data.

The announcement had said his new information wouldn't directly overwrite the old, which meant the two were independent and the old information could still be used.

As long as he kept his original appearance and used his old phone number to call a car, the police still wouldn't be able to pinpoint him.

Zhu Yan gripped the nightgown tightly and felt the scene before him flicker subtly.

The nauseating sound of chewing vanished—

It was replaced by the faint chirping of summer insects and the rustle of a breeze through the leaves.

Zhu Yan immediately followed the dim yellow glow of the streetlights and walked farther away.

This seemed to be a cluster of old buildings dating back a hundred years. The streets and alleys were narrow, with no cars passing through.

Zhu Yan took out his phone, quickly located the nearest main road, and ordered a car.

The heart-wrenching cries of a woman and a child came from behind him. Zhu Yan's heart sank, and he quickened his pace.

It seemed an instance was about to break out here too.

He just didn't know what was happening with his aunt...

Meanwhile.

At the police station, the lights cast a ghastly pallor over the entire interrogation room.

Several officers sat behind the table with Captain Huang, listening as Guan En calmly finished his final sentence about the instance.

In truth, Guan En hadn't told them everything.

He had originally intended to tell them about the [Plague Ghost] and the [Plague Exemption Period] the moment his restraints were removed.

But when the words reached his lips, he remained silent.

Should I really tell them?

The [Plague Exemption Period] lasted only ten days.

If Guan En wanted to live, he needed to find a way as soon as possible to enter an instance where he could get a vaccine or some other item.

But if he told them the truth, would he really still have a chance to enter an instance alone and survive?

Based on the police's usual procedures, he would be placed in strict isolation—and everyone who had come into contact with him would also be strictly isolated, with their movements tightly restricted.

An outbreak of plague was too terrifying.

Especially an unknown, potentially incurable plague closely connected to [Merry Happy Land]!

The police would most likely contain it at the source.

If he told them, he would end up dying in a small room, his body burned along with the house.

"Little Guan, is there anything else you need to tell us?" Captain Huang asked.

Guan En shook his head.

He thought of how the look in that player's eyes in the instance had made him feel.

Resolute, utterly unconcerned, and not at all intimidated by his status as a police officer.

The other man had probably seen through the inevitable course of [Merry Happy Land]'s descent long ago.

Either way...

"Nothing else," Guan En said, shaking his groggy head.

He couldn't die.

He was his parents' only son.

If [Merry Happy Land]'s descent was inevitable, why should he be the one to die first?

"Captain Huang, I'm tired."

As Guan En spoke, he keenly noticed a faint black patch on Captain Huang's arm.

He looked up at Captain Huang's neck and saw an identical patch on its right side.

Captain Huang hadn't had those during the day.

This was very likely the plague!

"I haven't slept for a day and a night. I want to go back and get some sleep."