Better You Than Me

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

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

Everyone except the painter chose the Mascot Costume.

They weren't looking to die.

They were trying to survive.

Captain Wu wasn't the only one who could judge how dangerous an attraction was by comparing the number of visitors going in and coming out.

Setting aside the especially suspicious Ring Toss,

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

But escaping Paradise 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 that lucky, so earning Game Coins to buy information on those dangerous attractions was their only way to stay alive.

The homeless man 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'd had Spirit Communication and known how the woman in the previous round had died, he might not have done that.

The civil engineering student put his skills to use. He noticed that the second floor had less space than the first, and by tapping on the bricks, 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 inside.

Then there was the painter. Without a Mascot Costume, he had more options.

He rushed into the Painting Studio on the third floor and found ink and paint. After coating himself completely black, he scattered the remaining ink along the second-floor corridor to mask his scent. Finally, he entered a bedroom on that floor, broke its light bulb, and hid under the bed.

It was nighttime. With no light and everything pitch-black, who could spot him under the bed just by looking?

Lastly, the brothers went to the Basement, emptied two wine barrels, and climbed inside.

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

Even the strangers knew what they were doing, and the agents were no exception.

As a Taoist, Lin He practiced movement techniques and light-footed skills, so he leaped straight onto the Castle roof.

The Pastor put more faith in fate, so he hid under a table in the first-floor Chapel. "Children don't cry every day, and gamblers don't lose every day. May the Lord keep me from being found."

Captain Wu went to the Training Ground. Its open space made it the best place to shoot. After seeing how well the woman had hidden and still been caught, he had no intention of relying on hiding until the end.

If they found him, he would fight those beasts.

That was his plan.

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

"And they're clever enough to use that against us when they hunt."

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

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

Meng Chengcheng chose to hide behind the Cattery. That was only her first step. Once the cats set 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, easily enough to bury a person.

As for Chen Feng, no one knew where he was hiding.

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

Just as Meng Chengcheng had guessed, these monsters were clever and experienced. After playing so many rounds, they knew exactly where visitors liked to hide.

This time, though, they were destined for disappointment.

"Twenty-seven minutes left."

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

The Black Cats weren't discouraged by their poor start. They began a thorough search, using their claws to pry through wardrobes, boxes, and every other place a person might hide.

Good luck never lasted forever.

Before long, one Black Cat tried to climb the tower.

Both its eyes gleamed in the dark, but Lin He recognized the scratches around its eyelids. It was One-Eyed Cat, the one whose eye he had gouged out before its resurrection restored its sight.

"Of all the cats to run into."

Everyone knew cats were good climbers.

Yet Lin He had still chosen the highest spot. He wasn't foolish; from here, he could see where everyone else was hiding.

And once he knew their positions, he could divert trouble their way.

"Go!"

Lin He gripped the Coin Sword and recited an incantation. A flash of sword light shot toward the garbage heap.

Bang!

Cats had extraordinarily sharp hearing. At the sound from the garbage heap, One-Eyed Cat immediately abandoned the climb and raced toward it.

It soon dragged the homeless man out of hiding.

"No! Help!"

The homeless man ran for his life, trying to escape with the Mascot Costume's speed boost.

Strangely, though,

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

So fast!

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

They had a cat's agility and the strength of a lion!

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

This mission's difficulty is all wrong. Even the captain of a Class B Agent Squad can barely protect himself against monsters that resurrect. I have my whole life ahead of me. I can't die here.

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

Even if it was humiliating, he intended to live!

"Aah!"

The homeless man wasn't dead yet. Screaming, he dragged himself across the ground on his severed leg.

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

That bought about five minutes, didn't it?

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

Better him than me.

Emotionally, he'd rather pick a stranger.

But for his own safety, the painter and the student were too close to the roof on the second floor. Making noise there might expose him. The Basement where the brothers hid was too far away for his attack to reach.

Of course, Lin He could fire sword light at an empty spot and lure the monsters away with the noise.

But that would drain his Magic Power, and if he did it too often, the cats would stop falling for it.

After weighing his options, Lin He decided to turn on a teammate. It's only shameful if anyone finds out. Once they're all dead, I can report whatever I want, can't I?

Right on cue, One-Eyed Cat finished with the homeless man and prepared to climb again.

That bastard Xiao Hu. I have no idea where he's hiding.

So, Pastor, sorry about this.

As deputy captain, you can hold out for at least ten minutes, right?

Lin He fired a flash of sword light toward the Chapel, blasting a large hole in its ceiling.

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

Suddenly, the cats' hissing, the clatter of tables and chairs, the sounds of fighting, and the Pastor's furious shout rang out together:

"Lin He! You bastard!"