The Staff Member Saving You-Are They Really Who They Say They Are?

[Third designated attraction: Smiley Face Haunted House]

[All visitors who have not yet completed the attraction, please proceed to the entrance within ten minutes.]

The blood-red message vanished.

The fourteen remaining players set off at once.

Jiang Luo and Jiang Xiaobai, however, did not follow them.

The two of them had only come to check the accounts.

As for helping them clear the attraction?

Don't even think about it.

Before leaving, Jiang Xiaobai reluctantly glanced back at Shen Niannian several times.

That look.

No matter how she looked at it, he seemed to be staring at a little cake he could smell but not eat.

Shen Niannian silently quickened her pace.

(｡ŏ_ŏ)

It was better to stay away from this kid.

A few minutes later.

Everyone arrived at the haunted house entrance.

It was a black building, a full six stories tall.

Its exterior walls were covered in smiling faces.

But on closer inspection.

Those smiling faces were not paint at all.

They were flayed human faces!

Every mouth had been stitched into an exaggerated curve with black thread.

At the entrance.

An old man in a gray uniform held a kerosene lamp.

A red smiley-face badge hung on his chest.

A genuine staff member.

The black-and-gold VIP bracelet on Shen Niannian's wrist glowed faintly.

The old man immediately turned his head.

"Honored VIP visitor, would you like to hear the publicly available rules for this attraction?"

"Yes."

Shen Niannian answered without hesitation.

Blood-red text appeared at the same time.

[Smiley Face Haunted House visitor rules]

[1. After entering the haunted house, please follow the white arrows on the floor. Do not enter passages without arrows to guide you.]

[2. There are many actors inside the haunted house. Please do not initiate an attack on any actor performing for you.]

[3. Genuine staff members always wear a red smiley-face badge on their chests.]

[4. If a staff member offers to lead you out, please confirm their identity first.]

[5. If you hear someone behind you call your name three times in succession, stop where you are and do not continue forward until they have passed you.]

[6. Once you see an exit, please check whether there is a green smiley face on the door. A door without a green smiley face is not an exit.]

There were not many rules.

But the fourth clearly deserved attention.

Han Feng asked directly, "When you say confirm a staff member's identity, do you mean checking whether they have a red smiley-face badge?"

The old man shook his head.

"The red smiley-face badge is the most basic mark of identity, but visitors must still confirm it for themselves."

Everyone's expressions tightened.

Even with a badge.

They might not be genuine?

Shen Niannian immediately used her VIP privileges to ask another question. "Would a genuine staff member refuse to answer whether they were a staff member?"

The old man slowly shook his head.

"Genuine staff members must answer visitors' questions about their basic identity truthfully."

As soon as he said that.

Han Feng's eyes lit up.

"I understand."

"From now on, when we meet anyone claiming to be a staff member, don't just look at the badge. Ask them directly whether they're a genuine employee of Death Amusement Park."

Shen Niannian nodded in satisfaction.

The greatest value of her VIP status at present.

Was not immunity from death.

It was being able to ask for information in advance that would otherwise have taken deadly trial and error to obtain.

Soon.

The fourteen entered the haunted house.

Creak-

The iron gate behind them closed automatically.

The light dimmed in an instant.

Only a deathly pale arrow on the floor stretched ahead.

Glass cases lined both sides.

They were filled with all kinds of body parts.

Eyeballs.

Hands.

Human heads stitched into smiling faces.

A newcomer gave them a couple of extra looks.

A head in a glass case suddenly opened its eyes.

"Welcome!"

"Ah!"

The man stumbled back in fright.

He almost slashed at it with his knife.

Han Feng immediately grabbed his hand.

"Rule two. Don't initiate an attack on an actor."

Only then did the man forcibly stop himself.

The head in the glass case grinned for quite a while.

When it saw that no one was paying attention to it.

It went still again.

Shen Niannian couldn't help muttering, "The staff at this haunted house are pretty professional."

Han Feng: "..."

Isn't your focus a little off?

Everyone continued forward.

After passing through the first corridor.

They came to a fork.

There was a white arrow on the floor to the left.

There was none on the right.

Without a doubt.

They would go left.

But just as the group was about to turn.

A scream suddenly came from the darkness on the right.

"Help!"

Immediately afterward.

A player covered in blood stumbled out.

He was a male player who had survived the roller coaster in the second round.

Wait, no!

Han Feng's expression changed in an instant.

"All of us survivors are here!"

The man raised his head.

His face was identical to Zhao Kai's, who was in the group!

The real Zhao Kai stood among them.

His face went deathly pale.

"What the hell is that?!"

The fake Zhao Kai, however, seemed oblivious to everyone's terror.

He crawled forward desperately.

"There's a staff member in there! It's killing people! Run!"

The next second.

A deathly pale hand reached out of the darkness.

It seized the fake Zhao Kai by the ankle.

Splurt!

He was dragged back in an instant.

His scream cut off abruptly.

Several players instinctively looked to the right.

But no one went over.

Rule one.

They could not enter a passage without an arrow.

But just then.

A young man in a gray work uniform walked out from the right.

On his chest.

Was a red smiley-face badge.

"Visitors, there has been an equipment malfunction in the white passage ahead. Please follow me through the alternate staff passage."

The group stopped at once.

It seemed perfectly reasonable.

He even had a red badge.

Han Feng did not move.

"Are you a genuine staff member of Death Amusement Park?"

The man smiled.

"I'm the staff member in charge of safety at this haunted house. There really has been a malfunction ahead. Please follow me out as quickly as possible."

Han Feng's gaze darkened instantly.

He didn't answer directly!

"Don't follow him."

Everyone immediately backed away.

The smile on the man's face grew increasingly stiff.

"I'm saving you."

No one moved.

"Why don't you believe me?"

Shen Niannian looked at him very seriously.

"Because you didn't answer the question."

The man: "..."

The next second.

His entire face suddenly split open.

The red smiley-face badge rotted away in an instant as well.

Countless black bugs crawled out from beneath his uniform!

"You'll regret this!"

Whoosh!

The monster retreated into the passage on the right.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

Messages flooded the livestream chat as well.

"It really was fake!"

"This haunted house can even forge badges!"

"If the VIP hadn't found out in advance that 'legitimate employees must answer truthfully,' someone really would have followed it this time!"

But the trouble had only just begun.

Ten minutes later.

The group entered the second level.

Three ghost actors suddenly charged out ahead, running on all fours.

They were incredibly fast!

One of them lunged straight at the back of the group.

A player named Xu Cheng was knocked to the ground.

"Fuck!"

He remembered rule two.

He didn't dare attack.

All he could do was shield his head.

But the thing opened a mouth full of sharp teeth, about to bite down.

At the very last moment.

A flash of red swept past!

Puchi!

The ghost actor's head was knocked sideways by an iron rod.

A tall staff member wearing a red smiley-face badge on its chest rushed out.

"A visitor has been subjected to an abnormal attack. Please leave immediately!"

It grabbed Xu Cheng.

And hauled him to his feet.

Then it stood between him and the ghost actors.

The ghost actors actually backed off.

Xu Cheng's face was pale.

But he couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you."

The staff member nodded.

"The path ahead is temporarily closed. I'll take you through the safe passage."

Han Feng asked again, "Are you a legitimate employee of Death Amusement Park?"

"Yes."

The answer came without hesitation.

Everyone was taken aback.

It was real?

It had a badge on its chest.

And it had answered "yes" when asked about its identity.

It had even just saved Xu Cheng!

Xu Cheng visibly relaxed a little.

"It should be fine. If it had wanted to kill me just now, there would've been no need to save me."

That was a perfectly reasonable judgment.

But Han Feng still didn't move.

Shen Niannian frowned as well.

She had a nagging feeling that something was wrong.

She immediately activated Identity Archive.

[Target: Haunted house guide]

[Race: Anomaly]

[Danger level: Peak B-rank]

[Identity: Special actor of Smiley Face Haunted House]

[Current status: Waiting for visitors to follow willingly]

An actor?!

Not a staff member!

Shen Niannian looked up at once.

"It's lying!"

Everyone instantly went on guard.

The smile vanished from the staff member's face.

But Xu Cheng froze for a moment.

"But it clearly just-"

"Saving you doesn't mean it's a real staff member."

As soon as Shen Niannian finished speaking.

The thing had already turned and started walking ahead.

"Visitors who are willing to trust me may follow."

Xu Cheng stood where he was.

His expression shifted.

The white arrow ahead was now completely blocked by several ghost actors.

Meanwhile, the so-called "safe passage" was right beside them.

The thing had just saved him.

Should I take the gamble?

"Xu Cheng, don't go."

Han Feng warned him in a low voice.

Xu Cheng clenched his teeth.

In the end, he shook his head.

"I'm not following."

But another player in the group, Ma Tao, suddenly spoke up. "If it really wanted to kill someone, why did it go out of its way to save Xu Cheng just now? Maybe Shen Niannian can tell it's an actor, but a special actor could also be responsible for staff duties."

After speaking.

He looked at the white arrow ahead, its path completely blocked.

Then at the guide, who had already walked some distance away.

Finally, he gritted his teeth.

"I'm taking the safe passage!"

Han Feng's expression changed.

"Don't go!"

Too late.

Ma Tao rushed over.

And followed the "staff member."

The man and the ghost soon turned into the darkness to the side.

Three seconds later.

Ma Tao's terrified voice came from within.

"Wait, this isn't the exit!"

Then-

Crack!

The scream cut off completely.

[Player Ma Tao has died.]

[Players currently alive: 13]

The corridor fell deathly silent.

A few seconds later.

The guide emerged from the darkness again.

Blood covered the corners of its mouth.

It looked at the remaining players.

And smiled with exceptional delight.

"I did save him once."

"But when did I ever say..."

"That someone who's saved a person can't kill?"

Shen Niannian watched it.

Her little face gradually tightened.

The truly terrifying thing about an S-rank instance.

Sure enough, wasn't just that the rules were more dangerous.

Even these ghostly things-

Had begun learning to gain players' trust first.

P.S. If you're interested in an anomaly boss's perspective-that is, Jiang Luo, who's visiting from another story-you can check out the author's other book, "Are You Crazy! The Hell Instance Boss Is a Loli," also known as "I Transformed into an Anomaly Loli at the Start and Scared Players Across the Internet to Tears."

Also, mass releases start today!!!

Everyone supporting this book, please consider sending some gifts. If there are enough gifts, I'll release more extra chapters for you!!!