Zhou Qi'an considered himself to have a relatively sharp mind, able to maintain clear analysis even under difficult circumstances. However, the current situation left him puzzled.
He tried to picture the scene: handing over his existence to Shen Zhiyi.
"…Shadow?" After a moment, Zhou Qi'an tentatively spoke, filled with long-standing doubt.
The vague, intangible feeling he had only encountered before in Mu Tianbai's shadow.
Previously, due to a lack of long-term disguise tools, he couldn't confirm the connection between Mu Tianbai and Shen Zhiyi. But through recent observation, he became increasingly certain they were the same person.
Yet, two completely different personas equated, the secret behind this was unknown—for now.
No response came.
Now was not the time to seek answers. Since Shen Zhiyi could write, at least his tactile sense hadn't completely disappeared.
Zhou Qi'an sent a message: [Find Yuan].
Like discarded soul coins, everything except customers was stored at the lost-and-found, probably including the hound. Uncertain if the lost-and-found would accept it on his behalf, he didn't want to take the risk and had to find the little girl to retrieve the dog.
Since the hound wasn't counted among the four customers, it wouldn't lose its five senses.
Having been "taken care of" personally by the shop owner, there should be a large residue of the owner's scent on him, and since the owner was poisoned by bone toxin, the dog's sense of smell gave them a chance to quickly find this hidden rat.
Shen Zhiyi wrote only one word: "Wait."
His shadow, which sealed most of his power, was better suited for moving in such darkness, as shadows find people.
Earlier, sensing the Nightmare Heart was abnormal, he broke some rules and found Zhou Qi'an, which was the real reason for his weakness, more than the power transmission.
Zhou Qi'an seemed to sense the shadow's struggle.
Losing four senses in the dark, each second stretched endlessly, yet the countdown in his mind continued. This erratic pull-fatigue made Zhou Qi'an feel dizzy.
This five-star instance was quite difficult, borderline rude.
His eyes half-closed, and a bad feeling grew.
Why wasn't the hound allowed in?
Given the instance's difficulty until now, would they really be left with the hound as a shortcut?
Just then, Shen Zhiyi suddenly pulled Zhou Qi'an behind him. He sensed something approaching and instinctively held his breath.
[It's a person.]
Shen Zhiyi quickly judged, and a hand behind his back wrote a word in Zhou Qi'an's palm.
Taking a few steps forward, after some negotiation, about a minute later, Zhou Qi'an felt a light touch at his waist.
The little girl was roughly at that height.
Shen Zhiyi must have found her. Then the hound brushed Zhou Qi'an's ankle.
No shadow could have found both the girl and dog so quickly.
Zhou Qi'an realized the girl was very smart and must have already been to the lost-and-found.
However, since she chose the hound, once she lost all tactile sensation, she probably couldn't even walk.
Just as he thought, Yuan was in bad condition, trying to stay steady. Before completely losing her senses, she gave the dog a final command: cooperate with Zhou Qi'an.
She also struggled to place Zhou Qi'an's hand on the dog's head, then collapsed, forced to lie still.
With less than ten minutes left on the countdown, Zhou Qi'an didn't hesitate. He took off his bloodstained coat and placed it on the ground, trying to let the hound sniff another scent.
The hound sniffed the stained blood repeatedly.
A chill scent entered its nose; it ran a bit ahead, then returned, wagging its tail against Zhou Qi'an's calf.
Zhou Qi'an gestured to Shen Zhiyi to stay and guard Yuan.
After all, they borrowed the girl's dog, and if danger arose, she could not handle it. Zhou Qi'an would take care of everything once they found the owner's hiding place.
[Good.]
Following the hound, Zhou Qi'an felt something was off. He expected to argue with Shen Zhiyi, but the latter was unusually cooperative.
Unbeknownst to him, Shen Zhiyi's brow was furrowed until Zhou Qi'an disappeared into the darkness.
He understood the value of personally killing the shop owner without others present.
Such benefit belonged only to Zhou Qi'an.
Otherwise, the blood price paid wouldn't be worth it if they left the experience hall empty-handed.
…
Animals' direction sense is superior to humans', and the hound moved cautiously but quickly, sniffing in the dark.
It knew the girl was in poor condition and needed to leave quickly.
Zhou Qi'an gritted his teeth, keeping within sight of the dog's wagging tail.
[00:07:49.]
The inner room was larger than expected. Zhou Qi'an hastened but still saw no end.
Suddenly, the hound became excited.
Zhou Qi'an pressed its neck to keep it cautious.
The dog seemed aware not to scare off the owner.
Careful steps followed.
A familiar mechanical voice sounded:
[Hint: You have successfully found the rat in this hide-and-seek game.]
[Rat is frozen for ten seconds.]
[Ten, nine, eight…]
The hound grew impatient, smelling a special stench mixed with yin energy, not a living person.
The person beside them stood motionless.
"Don't move," Bai Ling restrained the dog, Zhou Qi'an warned coldly.
[Six, five…]
Zhou Qi'an quickly touched the object ahead.
Whiskers and tail were distinctive—it was a large rat statue, but no opening.
He gently pushed; it was heavy, apparently hiding something inside.
The easiest way to kill in limited time was quickly breaking it.
But when only three seconds remained, Zhou Qi'an still stood still.
The hound grew restless.
Zhou Qi'an tightly held Bai Ling to stop it from acting rashly.
The system said rats don't disguise as cats; the rat was what it was, caught.
So why was it so easy, appearing clearly before them?
If Zhou Qi'an were the owner, he would cover his scent well.
A true hideout should hide in a way players cannot sense or guess.
The space felt endless but had few elements to recall.
Raising his head, a thought struck: lost-and-found.
Burning incense with respect to spirits could cover scent.
People tend to overlook nearby NPCs because of lost-and-found's functionality.
"Light under the lamp," tried-and-true.
After half a minute of thinking, Zhou Qi'an decided and said, "If you want your owner alive, take me to the lost-and-found."
Language barriers aside, he gestured to the hound, hoping it understood.
Luckily, this dog wasn't ordinary and seemed to realize the situation.
The statue didn't attack like other ghosts.
The hound turned and headed another way.
Zhou Qi'an quietly followed.
With only three minutes left, the man and dog finally returned to the familiar lost-and-found.
The hound showed no special reaction, meaning it found nothing.
[Retrieve lost item?]
More than ten minutes since last time, the mechanical voice sounded again.
Zhou Qi'an did not answer, touching items on the desk.
The box was still there.
"Ouch…"
When he tried to examine the box, he was pricked by a pin. The desk had traps too.
His fingers touched a cold sharp metal edge—seemingly a trap.
Zhou Qi'an didn't dare touch further, thought for a moment, and said, "Yes."
He wanted to see inside the box.
[Please choose from the lost items: select one of the five senses or retrieve lost currency.]
Zhou Qi'an looked down: "Hearing."
[To prove you are the owner of hearing, you need to undergo identity verification.]
[Hearing box guessing game initiated. There is a box in front of you; guess what is inside by listening.]
"Listen…" Zhou Qi'an muttered, his aura unstable from injury.
Next second, decisively summoned his sacred weapon, thrusting hard into the box, accompanied by a lyric:
"I hear the pain in your breath!"
Time was short; he knew he had to try quickly to leave room for thought even if he failed.
A thud!
The box's opening disappeared; a metal blocked the trident.
Now Zhou Qi'an was sure of his guess.
The tactile link could touch objects directly; it made no sense for hearing to have a barrier.
The owner must have sensed trouble.
The hint could mislead but not lie.
Since finding the rat's hiding place triggered a ten-second freeze, there was no need to fear counterattack.
Left hand holding a hammer, right hand wielding the trident, Zhou Qi'an attacked the box repeatedly.
The trident was sharper than imagined; after two strikes, it pierced the box.
The first strike was wasted; the second stuck in incense ashes, taking two seconds to pull out.
The owner's hiding place was revealed; dim light from Zhou Qi'an's sacred weapon allowed the hound to glimpse the blurry silhouette.
Zhou Qi'an expressionless, stabbed again and again at a black box.
His back wound tore open painfully, blood splattered everywhere.
His expression showed no change; there was no system prompt; he timed himself.
Six seconds passed, still no box break.
"Feeling lucky?"
The trapped man wanted to smile but failed due to paralysis.
He thought about what to eat tonight.
He hid in a rare spot where usual demon-slaying tools couldn't reach; this trident was special but time limited.
He wanted to turn the young man into a meal.
A light question drifted in.
"Do you see it?"
The owner was startled, realizing the question wasn't directed at him, his expression darkened.
Respectful incense masked scents, but trident light could let the dog see through holes.
He tried to shrink his presence, but the titanium-alloy dog's eyes missed nothing.
The hound anxiously bit a trouser leg, leading Zhou Qi'an to stand firm.
Last two seconds.
Zhou Qi'an smiled coldly, finishing with a lyric:
"I hear the madness in your heartbeat…"
He thrust sharply.
The trident pierced flesh.
[Your HP decreased by 40.]
The box sounded like dripping rain, simultaneously, Zhou Qi'an's lost hearing returned.
Yet blood dripped from his own wound.
The second blood loss left him paper-thin but smiling.
He leaned over the box, still holding the trident.
His vision partially recovered, pain returned fully.
He didn't know how deep the wound was, body felt torn open.
Opening the box, Zhou Qi'an looked down.
Inside was a shifty-eyed man lying back with his throat stabbed, eyes filled with shock and fear.
The owner of the experience hall had only one hand left; bone toxin forced him to cut off the other, hidden in the rat statue.
The remaining hand, like a steel claw, was sharp.
The owner's fading gaze met Zhou Qi'an's; Zhou Qi'an smirked.
"You're good at scraping, aren't you?"
Slowly withdrawing the trident, twisting flesh and blood, Zhou Qi'an enjoyed the owner's last pain.
"You…"
"You won't die well."
Blood sprayed; a hateful curse left before the owner's unwilling death.
[You have successfully killed the Experience Hall owner.]
The system announced:
[You have obtained the management rights of this shop.]
[Your physical constitution slightly improved.]
Zhou Qi'an checked his stats—some organs had an upward arrow, no big change.
He also received a letter:
[A letter to the future owner:
Congratulations to Mr. Zhou from Ancient City Hua for acquiring an Experience Hall.
If managed well, it will be your loyal money machine. The guide will be released upon mission completion.
…If you survive until then.]
The last sentence was unnecessary.
Footsteps approached; the hound ran back to the girl.
Zhou Qi'an steadied himself, looking sideways at Yuan.
He breathed a little easier, unconsciously signaling relief.
Shen Zhiyi arrived, supporting Zhou Qi'an, his gaze dark.
They worked well together.
The girl felt rare guilt—if Zhou Qi'an hadn't left someone to guard her, she wouldn't be so injured.
She never trusted the goodwill of adults in games—they often hid poison apples.
But in that situation, if it were her, she wouldn't have let a teammate protect others alone while running off to find the owner's location.
"Take this."
The girl tightened her cold face and handed over a jade-white small bottle, painfully as if cutting flesh.
Zhou Qi'an was about to say thanks, but the bottle vanished in his hand instantly.
…
The high-quality healing item healed Zhou Qi'an quickly.
The hound guarded Yuan, wary of Shen Zhiyi.
The man carried a faint killing intent.
The dog sensed it correctly.
Zhou Qi'an believed in fair labor distribution.
Shen Zhiyi believed in enforcing Zhou Qi'an's rules.
In this hide-and-seek game, players played limited roles. Even the hound was a last-resort mislead tool by the Experience Hall owner.
Winning while losing all five senses made Shen Zhiyi think buying a life potion was cheap.
If they were not willing to spend even that, Shen Zhiyi smiled slightly…
When players died, items would drop too.
The burning pain finally lessened for Zhou Qi'an. He looked to the girl: "Let your dog bite off the owner's head and bring it back as proof. I'll go find Qiao Song."
After the Experience Hall owner died, the once endless space became a small square room.
The inner room was dimly lit but allowed basic visibility.
Only one hiding spot remained.
A jade-white rat statue stood left front; its detailed expression was unsettling.
Likely, Qiao Song was trapped inside it.
If lucky, breaking the statue in time could save him.
Zhou Qi'an felt good—this was a big gain.
The Experience Hall could become a money machine, and with this fortune, he could move boldly among NPCs.
"Heck, I might even get Ying Yu a card."
Ying Yu would use it for materials purchases, allowing Zhou Qi'an to keep his mother longer.
The girl couldn't see Zhou Qi'an's thoughts but noticed his apparent kindness.
She silently acknowledged he was a rare good person, caring about other players' lives, even the currently missing Qiao Song.
She accepted her overtime as deserved.
—
Author's note:
Zhou Qi'an: "…Kids today get so easily PUA'd (manipulated)."