Who Are You?

One step, then another.

The One-Eyed Cat prowled through its territory with an elegant feline stride. Each pawstep felt like a blow to Meng Chengcheng's heart.

No. Don't come over here!

Curled up in the Litter Box, Meng Chengcheng did not dare make a sound. She could only pray that the Black Cat would leave.

But the footsteps grew louder, telling her it was all over.

"The captain and the others are dead. No one's coming to save me."

"Am I going to die too?"

At that moment, Meng Chengcheng sank into an abyss of despair.

Misfortunes never came alone. Just then, a second Black Cat entered the Cattery.

Somehow, despite coming in later, the second Black Cat reached the Litter Box before the first and jumped onto Meng Chengcheng.

Of course, Meng Chengcheng, buried in the litter, knew none of this.

She only felt a sudden weight settle on her back.

It found me.

Despair washed over Meng Chengcheng. She wanted to get up and run, to make one last attempt to resist, but fear made her body feel heavy as lead. She could not move at all.

One second. Two seconds. Three.

As time passed, hope stirred again in Meng Chengcheng's heart.

I'm not dead?

Why?

Every force had an equal and opposite reaction. From the pressure on her back, the Black Cat on top of her had definitely found her. So why had it not attacked?

Did I trigger some rule or Survival Path?

Meng Chengcheng searched her memory for the rules, but however hard she thought, she could find no reason for the Black Cat to spare her.

"Rule one: obtain a Mascot Costume in the Castle."

"Rule five: wear a Mascot Costume and survive for half an hour."

"Wait!"

A realization exploded through Meng Chengcheng's mind.

The Mascot Costume!

They had only seen Mouse Mascot Costumes in the Castle. And because they were playing the rats in Hide-and-Seek, they had assumed the costumes could only be mouse costumes.

It was like Goldfish Catching, where there had been a second kind of tool for catching fish.

What if there's a second kind of Mascot Costume in the Castle?

But they had searched the entire Castle. If another kind existed, where was it hidden?

Cats were as smart as people. Surely the answer could not be right on the Black Cats?

Were the Black Cats actually people wearing Mascot Costumes?

Meng Chengcheng had not imagined anyone could be even crazier than she was.

If hiding in a monster's den counted as brave, what did that make someone who dared skin a monster?

No wonder the rules had given them thirty minutes of safety.

The game had hinted at it all along. Players who put on Mouse Mascot Costumes squeaked when they spoke and moved faster. So these meowing monsters might well be humans wearing Black Cat costumes!

The rules said the cats would begin hunting after thirty minutes and warned the rats to be careful.

But what did that warning have to do with the cats?

Having unraveled the game's secret, Meng Chengcheng had only one question left: "Who's the one on top of me?"

"Meow meow meow (fuck), meow meow meow meow meow (what the fuck are you looking at), meow meow meow meow (aren't you leaving yet)?"

Chen Feng hissed, trying to drive the One-Eyed Cat back.

But the One-Eyed Cat did not budge.

Chen Feng knew it was because of the Mouse Mascot Costume.

After killing a Black Cat, skinning it, and putting on its hide, Chen Feng had discovered that his strength, agility, and hearing had increased severalfold. He had also gained the ability to survive fatal injuries—and he could smell something.

A distinctive scent that came from the rats.

"So that's why none of the players wearing Mouse Mascot Costumes survived."

Chen Feng noticed the One-Eyed Cat begin to hiss. It had clearly lost patience.

Black Cats did not attack one another, but more and more of them would catch the scent and enter the Cattery. Meng Chengcheng, beneath his paws, would die sooner or later—unless she had a Black Cat costume too.

So where could he find one?

Chen Feng stared at the One-Eyed Cat. Under that cold gaze, its fur stood on end.

"There's something I'd like to borrow from you. Don't be stingy."

"Meow!"

Sensing danger, the One-Eyed Cat twisted away and darted toward the door.

It was fast—fast enough that the Pastor, Captain Wu, and Lin He had all died beneath its claws before they could react. But against Chen Feng, who could use the Sandevistan, that speed was child's play.

In an instant, Meng Chengcheng felt everything change. The weight on her back grew lighter. One of the Black Cats in the room vanished, and a faint smell of blood filled the air.

Had the other Black Cat given up and left?

While Meng Chengcheng was still wondering, something patted her and pulled her out.

Chen Feng pointed to the Imposter's corpse on the floor and the limp scraps of Black Cat skin beside it.

Meng Chengcheng understood at once and hurriedly took off her Mouse Mascot Costume. "Thank you!"

An hour passed. The game ended.

Survivors of the second round of Hide-and-Seek: four.

Besides Meng Chengcheng and Chen Feng, the painter and the younger brother had survived.

The painter had avoided detection thanks to his excellent hiding skills and the fact that he had not worn a Mascot Costume.

The younger brother, meanwhile, had found another loophole in the rules.

The rules said that wearing a Mascot Costume for half an hour would earn them Game Coins. They did not say those thirty minutes had to be spent under pursuit. So the brothers had put on Mouse Mascot Costumes as soon as they entered the Castle.

After about forty minutes, they had taken the costumes off.

What they had not known was that the costumes would attract Black Cats even after being removed. So when a Black Cat tracked them to the wine cellar, the older brother, knowing they could not both evade it, made a noise and sacrificed himself.

As the rules made clear, cats thought like humans. After finding the older brother in the cellar, the Black Cat had naturally assumed no one else was hiding there.

It had not expected the brothers to gamble on the opposite assumption and put all their eggs in one basket.

And so the younger brother survived.

But his face was ashen now, without a trace of joy at being saved.

As for Chen Feng and Meng Chengcheng, they had not intended to return the costumes at first.

After all, the Cat Costumes increased strength and agility and granted the wearer the ability to survive fatal injuries. But after a while, they discovered that the longer they wore them, the more violent they became. Even flesh began to smell sweet.

So they hurriedly took off the costumes before they lost their minds and became monsters.

[Ding! Congratulations, user! You have successfully checked in at the Horror Amusement Park's Hide-and-Seek attraction.]

Two more, and I'll get the Points.

Chen Feng noticed that the sign in the Vampire owner's hand had changed.

"Ten players per game has become seven."

"The captain killed three monsters for good."

His underlings had been killed, yet the Vampire owner made no move against Chen Feng and the others. That was how these monsters worked: they followed their rules. As long as the players did not break them, they would not be attacked.

They left the Castle.

Chen Feng felt someone tug at the hem of his shirt.

He turned around.

It was Meng Chengcheng, her face streaked with tears. Chen Feng asked, "Are you all right?"

"Mm."

Meng Chengcheng sniffled and tried to look strong, but her red, swollen eyes gave her away.

"The captain's dead. What do we do now?"

What do we do? Play it by ear.

Chen Feng had never seen Meng Chengcheng like this. In his memory, she had always been brimming with confidence, like a proud peacock.

Now she looked like a drenched chicken.

Only then did Chen Feng remember that, Medium or not, Meng Chengcheng was only twenty. Most ordinary people her age had not even graduated from college. Having to go through all this was hard on her.

So he reassured her, "It's okay. I'll get you out of here."

"Mm."

Back at the inn.

It was past midnight.

Meng Chengcheng lay in bed, unable to sleep.

Every time she closed her eyes, she heard those words again: "It's okay. I'll get you out of here."

Those determined eyes and that absolute confidence made her feel so safe.

Meng Chengcheng thought she might be in love.

I never thought my first love would be him.

Maybe I should move over and stay with him.

Mm. I checked—his room has two beds. I can say it's for safety. There are monsters everywhere, after all. Agents should look out for each other.

He'll be thrilled when he hears I'm moving in with him!

Lucky him! But if he gets handsy, I'm not going to agree so easily!

Meng Chengcheng sprang out of bed and was about to pack when she suddenly felt the presence of the ghost that had been following her for so long.

"Go away, you pest!"

Generally, a Junior Medium could only sense people who had recently died nearby. Ordinary souls dissipated after a while.

Only those who had died with a powerful obsession lingered in the world, unwilling to leave.

Since it's a new day...

I'll use Spirit Communion and find out what it wants from me so badly.

No sooner had she decided than Meng Chengcheng lit incense and a candle. An icy gust suddenly swirled through the room.

Meng Chengcheng's eyes rolled back, showing only the whites. Frowning, she said:

"So it's you, Liu Xiaohu."

"You hounded me when you were alive. Now you're dead, and you still won't leave me alone?"

"Huh? Xiao Hu?????"