Starting the Con

Meanwhile.

Guan En waited anxiously for a while.

Aside from two candles going out, nothing else unusual happened.

He took a few seconds to calm down, then carefully made a wish.

"I want two doses of medicine that can completely cure the plague brought by [Plague Ghost] Walter."

"If there isn't any, please make me and my friend—the player who joined me in the [Devouring Villa] instance—completely healthy and immune to the plague forever."

According to the information that person had gathered, [Demon] could grant almost any wish.

Either of those wishes would save their lives.

In the emergency stairwell.

[Demon]'s hood suddenly lifted, seemingly against its will, before immediately lowering again in trepidation.

"My apologies, Madam."

Its low, raspy voice made Zhu Yan somewhat uncomfortable.

He didn't let down his guard, merely letting out a sharp, cold snort.

Since a moment ago, the heap of collapsed robes had shown no sign of standing back up.

And halfway through its report, [Demon] had seemingly been interrupted by something invisible.

Zhu Yan guessed it was because Guan En had just made a wish in the room.

"Since you've come here, Madam, I imagine you must know everything."

"I'm just a nobody who came to collect payment..."

[Demon] was terrified of angering him and behaved quite submissively.

"A player summoned me without [Witch]'s knowledge and just made a wish to me."

Zhu Yan snorted arrogantly.

Yes, he knew everything. He knew it all too well.

But he wasn't foolish enough to say everything he knew.

He would use the information he had to extract more.

"A pitiful player tortured by the [plague] and his stupid accomplice."

Zhu Yan spoke coldly.

The moment he finished, the cloak-shaped [Demon] trembled like jelly.

"Yes, Madam." The voice, raspy as windblown sand, grated against Zhu Yan's eardrums. "But I... I only heard that player... This time, there seems to be only one player..."

In other words, it hadn't known the player had an accomplice.

Zhu Yan considered it, but didn't immediately let down his guard.

This instance was different from the previous three.

Judging by the timeline in that female player's post, the players would only hear the "instance started" announcement after [Demon] reached them.

[Demon] hadn't reached Guan En's room yet, so the female voice most likely hadn't made the announcement.

[Demon] probably hadn't been told how many players were in the instance, either!

Zhu Yan narrowed his eyes. Recalling how he had told Guan En he would "arrive in ten minutes," he decided to deceive [Demon] as well.

"Your level is too low."

He began disdainfully, then activated his ability, [Complaining], with a thought.

Zhu Yan didn't know [Demon]'s level, but Guan En probably hadn't used his ability in the last instance, so it hadn't leveled up.

The Pseudo-human in the [Cat-and-Mouse Game] instance was level three, and that had been Guan En's Beginner Instance, so Zhu Yan estimated that Guan En's ability had started at level three.

By that calculation, Guan En's ability was approximately level four by now.

So this [Demon] was most likely only level four.

In any case, it was within the range of the level-five ability [Complaining]!

"There's another player nearby whose ability is stronger than yours, you trash."

Zhu Yan insulted [Demon] while deceiving it, concentrating on its reaction.

The smooth cloak wrinkled, as though the creature inside were rapidly shriveling up.

[Demon] didn't know what Zhu Yan was doing, but it could tell that its power seemed to have been drained in an instant.

Was it because it was too useless that this high-level horror creature had gotten angry?

Zhu Yan saw the end of the cloak collapse even further. [Demon] seemed even more terrified.

"I came to watch the show. [Merry Happy Land] has been a little short on entertainment lately."

It was time to stop while he was ahead.

After all, [Demon] still had what he wanted, and he needed to trick it into granting his wish first.

"I'll stop the other player for you," Zhu Yan lied through his teeth. "Now tell me, what wish did you receive?"

Seeing that "Madam" had put away her terrible fury, [Demon] felt as though it had been pardoned.

It confessed everything. "Just a very small wish, Madam. They want something that can cure Plague Ghost disease."

Plague Ghost disease was probably the plague.

The words "a very small wish" put Zhu Yan's mind at ease, but he quickly tensed up again and continued concentrating.

Because [Demon] was asking for his opinion in trepidation.

"Madam, what kind of entertainment would you like something as lowly as me to offer you?"

"Normally, [Witch]..."

[Demon] quickly raised its hood to check Zhu Yan's reaction, then hurriedly lowered it again.

"...has [Witch] deceive the players and lull them into complacency first, then I collect payment and devour their souls."

Zhu Yan adopted a cutting tone of dissatisfaction.

"You killed the players outright?"

"Y-yes." [Demon] tried to explain. "But we toyed with them first—"

Zhu Yan didn't give it a chance to finish.

"You didn't grant their wishes?"

[Demon]'s hood shriveled slightly.

"Y-yes. But we—"

"Why don't you shake your heads and listen for water sloshing around?"

Zhu Yan activated [Complaining] again. "Are your brains too small to hold any water?"

[Demon] tried to speak, but he ruthlessly interrupted it.

"Does such straightforward despair even count as despair? Where's the fun in that?"

"I came all this way, and this is what you show me?"

[Demon]'s cloak collapsed by half, and its voice grew somewhat faint.

"Madam, what would you like to see?"

It was about time.

Seeing the cloak sink all the way down, Zhu Yan deactivated [Complaining] again and casually revealed his plan.

"Grant their wishes," he said. "Give them what they asked for first, and let them have the illusion that... they've survived a disaster."

[Demon] hadn't considered this approach.

[Merry Happy Land] had only just begun devouring this place, and the players assigned to it were all around the same ability level as it was.

If a player's ability were a little stronger, one mistake could leave it without enough to eat.

[Demon] wisely refrained from voicing its thoughts.

"I'll do as you say."

This time, a high-level horror creature was present, and this high-level being had already helped them intercept the other player.

It could rest easy now.

It bowed low and praised him sincerely. "Madam, you're truly evil."

Zhu Yan accepted the compliment, quietly relaxing a little.

He slowly stepped aside, indicating that [Demon] could enter the room.

"These two players are cunning," he said.

"After you enter the room, the player who made the wish will contact the other one hiding nearby."

"But, as I said."

Zhu Yan revealed an eerie smile, because he felt like laughing at the thought of playing Guan En as well.

"I'll stop him."

[Demon] lowered its hood submissively.

"Thank you, Madam."

"I'll tell [Witch]."

Hm? That would save him some acting.

A thought occurred to Zhu Yan, and he suddenly remembered something else.

"Make sure everything is entertaining."

He spoke casually, watching the cloak laboriously climb upward, only to stop the moment he spoke.

"I want you to work further with [Witch] to deceive the players."

"Tell him you don't need payment."

"I just like watching people get their hopes up for nothing."

[Demon] respectfully agreed.

"Yes, Madam."