Though she’d carefully swapped jackets, her pants and shoes were still the same, and Su Shisan remembered them clearly.
Since she was here, the male Blood Cross clashing with her must be another player.
Wait, there was something odd about the tree next to them?
Looking closely, she saw a subtle human face on the tree.
That’s actually a player transformed into a tree!
Su Shisan was amazed. To survive outside this long, they really had something. She’d now spotted three players—she just didn’t know where the last two were.
If they weren’t here, Jun Qian would be in an awkward spot.
She was also curious whether Jun Qian could find Xiao You and the others. The photo she’d sent to Director Liu only showed Xiao You’s upper body, and now her upper body looked completely different.
It would be impossible to identify her just from the photo.
Thinking this, she shifted the Binoculars to search for Jun Qian.
But unexpectedly, she couldn’t find him. That head of White Hair should have been extremely noticeable, but she simply couldn’t spot him.
Could he be using a stealth prop?
Don’t be fooled by how it seemed like everyone had such props in that B-rank Copy she’d visited.
That was only because they’d guessed there’d be surveillance in the prison Copy, so they’d spent big money on stealth props.
In reality, that kind of prop was extremely rare and very expensive in the Store.
Yet, what most players didn’t have, Jun Qian, as an NPC, did. Whether he’d gotten it before or after becoming an NPC, it was impressive.
That’s right, Su Shisan was now sure Jun Qian had been a player before becoming an NPC. Even if he didn’t say it outright, if she’d guessed wrong, he wouldn’t have reacted that way.
After sweeping the area with the Binoculars and still not finding him, Su Shisan refocused on Xiao You.
No matter where Jun Qian was, he’d definitely come to kill Xiao You and the others, so all she had to do was wait.
Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, a figure appeared in her view.
Unexpectedly, Jun Qian wasn’t using stealth. He simply moved extremely fast, darting from cover to cover until he was close to Xiao You and the other two.
Dressed all in black, he blended perfectly with the shadows. If she hadn’t been watching closely, she might not have noticed him.
But just as he was about to complete his approach, Xiao You and the male Blood Cross she was talking with suddenly seemed to sense something and panicked, splitting up to flee.
Su Shisan noticed they both ran extremely fast—at least three or four times faster than she could.
Once discovered, Jun Qian stopped hiding and shot out like a cheetah—fast enough to be even quicker than Xiao You and the other player.
But instead of chasing them immediately, he first tossed a lighter to set the big tree on fire, then went after the male Blood Cross.
Su Shisan looked at the tree, now burning. The tree didn’t revert to human form just because it was on fire, but kept up the disguise.
If not for the twisted, agonized face on the trunk, Su Shisan would have thought it was a real tree.
It seemed this transformation ability couldn’t be undone easily, Su Shisan realized. But she was also curious—
How did Jun Qian know?
From his decisive action, it was clear he not only saw through the tree’s disguise, but also knew the weakness of this ability.
Was this a common player prop? Or had he encountered something similar before?
Suppressing her curiosity, Su Shisan was about to look for Jun Qian again when she suddenly noticed the face on the tree seemed to be talking. Yes, its mouth was moving—he was definitely speaking.
It’s normal for someone to complain a bit while being burned to death. But the frequency of his mouth’s movement didn’t look like someone just muttering to himself.
It looked more like he was talking to someone.
And it definitely wasn’t the two who were running away—they’d just been together, and could have spoken directly. Why would they need another way to communicate?
Since it wasn’t them, it could only be the last two players hiding in the shadows.
Connecting this with how Jun Qian had been well hidden but was suddenly discovered, Su Shisan immediately understood.
The last two players must be hiding somewhere, watching them—only that would explain how quickly Jun Qian was found out.
She quickly moved the Binoculars to Jun Qian’s position. He was now fighting the male player.
Unlike what Su Shisan had expected—a close match—the fight was completely one-sided, with Jun Qian pressing the male player hard.
Completely different from his previous laid-back attitude, Jun Qian was now ruthless and bloodthirsty in combat. He wielded a Handgun, every shot hitting the player’s brow.
While shooting, he also dodged flawlessly, never getting hit by the other’s bullets.
The player was tough too—using some prop to tank two shots. But that was it. Three headshots—no one could survive that.
After killing the first player, Jun Qian didn’t waste a second and immediately turned to chase Xiao You. Judging by his inhuman speed and clear focus, he’d probably catch up with her soon.
Seeing that Jun Qian had things under control, Su Shisan stopped watching him and instead looked for the last two hidden players.
After seeing how strong Jun Qian was, she didn’t believe those two weren’t afraid. And if they were afraid, they’d make mistakes, which was exactly what she needed to find their location.
But thinking about it, where in the Meat Market would be best to hide?
From Su Shisan’s perspective, the Slaughter Area was the best choice.
The ever-present smell of blood there would mask any human scent, and the Blood Cross had already swept through once, so they probably wouldn’t return.
Plus, it was messy enough that there might still be some live chickens or rabbits, so any noise wouldn’t draw attention.
But that was still above ground. If any Blood Cross came in, it’d be hard for someone hiding there not to be found.
To really hide, you’d have to go underground. So, if they had the means, the players might have made an Underground Tunnel.
Thinking this, Su Shisan looked down thoughtfully. If there really was a hidden passage, how could she find the people and kill them?
Though this was Jun Qian’s mission, Su Shisan wouldn’t mind earning more Points. If she killed those two, with Director Liu’s generosity, he’d surely reward her with extra Points.
D-rank allowed three NPCs, and C-rank Copies allowed even more. She hoped to get a C-rank NPC before advancing, with time to build rapport—so she wouldn’t be caught off guard when the time came.
If she failed, it didn’t matter—at worst, she’d die in this Copy. She’d already overfulfilled Director Liu’s task, so even quitting now wouldn’t affect her Points; dying didn’t matter.
***
No sooner thought than done. Su Shisan jumped down from the roof and quickly entered the nearby Factory Building, following the scent of blood to an area with bloodstained cutting boards.
This should be the Slaughter Area.
As a Blood Cross, and unable to change her face in someone else’s Copy, Su Shisan had no intention of confronting the players directly.
She watched from afar with the Binoculars. Confirming there were no players on the ground, only a few Blood Cross wandering, she approached to search for any underground entrance.
The Blood Cross all had intelligence, so if there was an entrance, it would be well hidden—and it had to be something players could enter under the Blood Cross’s noses.
In other words, players entering the tunnel wouldn’t arouse the Blood Cross’s suspicion.
That sounded impossible. Su Shisan looked around, then her eyes lit up. She quickly went to the back door—there were two doors here, with a small space between them.
She stomped on the floor, which gave a hollow sound.
“Dong dong!”
It was hollow.
Sure enough, Su Shisan curled her lips in a smile. Setting the tunnel here meant that people leaving through it would seem to have exited, and people entering would also seem to have just come in.
Though the Blood Cross were intelligent, they wouldn’t suspect anything if they didn’t know there were humans inside.
The double-door setup perfectly blocked the view between inside and outside.
She kicked aside the carpet and squatted down to search for a mechanism, but didn’t find any.
No matter—Su Shisan shouted loudly to the Blood Cross in the Meat Market, “There’s an Underground Tunnel here! There are ordinary people inside!”
As soon as she spoke, the Blood Cross, like dogs smelling meat, swarmed over excitedly. They didn’t care about any mechanisms, just started frantically digging with their weapons.
In no time, there was a big hole in the ground, revealing a pitch-black passage below.
No one was afraid. The Blood Cross fought to jump down first. Su Shisan leaned against the wall, quietly watching Jun Qian approach, fashionably late. He looked the same as before—not a hair out of place.
But compared to killing the first player, he’d taken much longer this time, so Xiao You must have given him a lot of trouble.
It was hard to stay so neat during a fight; Su Shisan figured he must have tidied up before coming.
So this guy has an idol complex?
Seeing the chaos before him, Jun Qian raised his brows, guessing what she’d done, and complained in mock frustration:
“Why so quick? Director Liu didn’t say we were competitors, you know.”
Su Shisan didn’t ask whether he’d killed Xiao You, just replied calmly, “No competition. Me earning Points doesn’t affect you.”
As far as she knew, Jun Qian was just doing a job—his Points had already been credited, so whatever he did now didn’t matter.
She added, “Maybe the tunnel has another exit. You could try looking.”
There was no point in going in from the entrance to kill people now. She’d just let in seven or eight Blood Cross, and more were coming. The two players inside couldn’t possibly handle so many.
“Probably no exit.” Jun Qian shook his head, crossing his arms as he watched the hole. After a second, he dropped his serious act and started acting cute, grinning, “I totally trust your judgment!”
With Su Shisan’s gaze on him, he pulled out his phone and sent a message, looking like a villain who’d gotten a great bargain.
“Ah, I haven’t even done anything, and I’ve already earned so many Points—I almost feel bad.”
Su Shisan naturally reached out her hand:
“If you feel bad, you can give them to me.”
“Suddenly I don’t feel bad at all!” Jun Qian grinned, cupping his face with both hands. The gesture made his face look even smaller, unexpectedly charming.
Su Shisan ignored him and pulled out her phone to message Director Liu. After getting a reply, she decisively chose to exit the Copy:
“See you.”
Before she left, she heard Jun Qian’s final shout: “If you ever need help, don’t forget me! As long as the Points are enough, your mission is as good as done!”
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