Better You Than Me

Besides the Agent Squad, five other players were in the Castle.

As it happened, two of them were familiar: the brothers who had played Air Rifle yesterday. The others were a scruffy Exile, a painter, and a civil engineering student.

Everyone except the painter chose a Mascot Costume.

They weren't courting death.

They were trying to survive.

Captain Wu wasn't the only one who knew to judge how dangerous an attraction was by counting how many visitors went in and how many came out.

Setting aside the deeply suspicious Ring Toss,

Hide-and-Seek, Air Rifle, Goldfish Catching, and Bumper Cars made only four low-risk attractions.

But escaping the park required completing five.

That meant they had to choose either Dancing or Dressing as a Mascot, each with a survival rate of just one in twenty!

No one could count on being the lucky one. Earning Game Coins to buy information about those dangerous attractions was their only way to stay alive.

The Exile wasn't afraid of filth, so he hid in a garbage heap outside the Castle, hoping the stench would drive the Cat monsters away.

Poor man. If he had known Spirit Communication and learned how the woman had died in the last round, he might not have done that.

The civil engineering student put his expertise to work. He noticed that the second floor had less space than the first. By knocking on the walls, he found a hidden room.

"I knew it! What kind of Castle doesn't have a secret room?"

Delighted, the student locked the door from the inside.

Then there was the painter. Without a Mascot Costume, he had more freedom to improvise.

He rushed to the third-floor Painting Studio for ink and paint. After coating himself completely black, he scattered the remaining ink across the second-floor corridor to disrupt the scent trail. Finally, he picked a bedroom on that floor, broke its light bulb, and hid under the bed.

It was night. With no light and everything pitch-black, who could spot a black-painted man under the bed just by looking?

The brothers went to the Basement. They emptied two wine barrels and climbed inside.

The older brother hid in the outer barrel, the younger in the one farther in.

The other players knew what they were doing, and so did the agents.

As a Daoist, Lin He regularly trained in movement techniques and qinggong. He leaped straight onto the Castle roof.

The Pastor put more faith in destiny and hid beneath a table in the first-floor Chapel. "Children can't cry every day, and gamblers can't lose every day. Lord, please keep them from finding me."

Captain Wu went to the Training Ground. Its wide-open space made it ideal for shooting. After seeing the woman get caught despite hiding so well, he had no illusions about staying hidden until the end.

If they found him, he would fight those beasts.

That was his plan.

Finally, Meng Chengcheng considered what she had learned through Spirit Communication. "Water, smells, noise... things cats usually hate don't work on these monster cats."

"And they're smart enough to use that against people."

"Just like the rules say, they're practically as smart as humans."

"But I can use that against them. If they search the safest places first, then the most dangerous place is their blind spot!"

Meng Chengcheng hid behind the Cattery. That was only her first step. Once the cats went out, she found a chance to slip inside.

During her earlier inspection, she had noticed that the Litter Box was as big as the Swimming Pool. It was packed with litter, more than enough to bury a person.

As for Chen Feng, nobody knew where he was hiding.

As soon as the game began, every cat rushed toward the Swimming Pool and Bathhouse.

Just as Meng Chengcheng had guessed, the monsters were smart and experienced. After so many games, they knew exactly where visitors liked to hide.

This time, though, they were in for a disappointment.

"Twenty-seven minutes left."

Standing atop a Castle tower, Lin He silently watched events unfold.

Despite their poor start, the Black Cats weren't discouraged. They began a thorough search, using their claws to pry through wardrobes, boxes, and anywhere else a person might hide.

Good luck never lasted forever.

Soon, one Black Cat tried to climb the tower.

Both its eyes gleamed in the dark, but Lin He recognized the scars around its eyelids. It was One-Eyed Cat, the one he had blinded earlier, whose sight had returned after it revived.

"Of all the cats to run into."

Everyone knew cats were good climbers.

Lin He had still chosen the highest point, not because he was foolish, but because it let him see where the others were hiding.

Once he knew their positions, he could use this trick to send trouble their way.

"Go!"

Holding his Coin Sword, Lin He chanted an incantation. A streak of sword light shot toward the garbage heap.

Bang!

Cats had exceptionally sharp hearing. At the sound from the garbage heap, One-Eyed Cat immediately turned away from the tower and raced toward it.

The Exile was soon dragged out of his hiding place.

"No! Help!"

The Exile ran for his life, trying to escape with the speed boost from his Mascot Costume.

But strangely,

One-Eyed Cat didn't catch the Exile right away. It watched him run until he was gasping for breath, then struck and tore off one of his legs.

So fast!

Even with Lin He's keen eyesight, all he saw was a blur. That told him just how formidable these Black Cats were.

They had the agility of cats and the strength of lions!

Lin He calculated his odds. One on one, I might win. Against ten, I'm dead.

This mission's difficulty makes no sense. Even Captain Wu, a Class B Agent, can barely keep himself alive against monsters that revive. I have my whole life ahead of me. I can't die here.

With that, Lin He took off his Mouse Mascot Costume.

Even if it was humiliating, he intended to survive!

"Aaah!"

The Exile was still alive. Screaming, he dragged himself across the ground with his severed leg.

One-Eyed Cat batted him back and forth like a ball. It tormented him for a full three minutes before finally killing him.

Had that bought about five minutes?

Watching it all, Lin He felt no guilt. Instead, he wondered whom to sacrifice next.

Better him than me.

Emotionally, he'd rather pick one of the other players.

But the painter and the civil engineering student were on the second floor, too close to the roof. Making a noise there might expose him. The brothers, meanwhile, were too far away in the Basement for him to reach.

Of course, Lin He could fire sword light at an empty spot and use the sound to lure the monsters away.

But that would drain his Magic Power, and after a few times, the Cat would stop falling for it.

After weighing his options, Lin He decided to betray a teammate. It's only shameful if someone finds out. Once they're all dead, I can report whatever I like.

Right then, One-Eyed Cat finished with the vagrant and prepared to climb the tower again.

No idea where that bastard Xiao Hu is hiding.

So, Pastor, sorry about this.

You're the deputy captain. You can hold out for ten minutes, at least, right?

Lin He sent a streak of sword light toward the Chapel, blasting a huge hole in its ceiling.

At the noise, three nearby Black Cats charged straight into the Chapel.

Hissing cats, crashing furniture, sounds of fighting, and the Pastor's furious curse all erupted at once:

"Lin He! You bastard!"