This time, the guest was a creature that looked very much like an octopus, but unlike an ordinary octopus, it was an unusual gray color.
It wore a green robe that looked hastily thrown on and ill-fitting, dragging on the ground.
The whole appearance was quite strange.
Su Yan saw it and paused in confusion.
This wasn’t a special episode about humans, was it?
Why had they suddenly started wearing human clothes?
One wore a long skirt, and the other a robe.
The live chat exploded with excitement at the sight of it.
“Hey, isn’t this Brother Octopus? The show invited him!”
“It really does have a similar vibe to the Faceless Lady; no wonder the show got him.”
“Brother Octopus isn’t as smooth as the Faceless Lady, so he’s unhappy.”
“Can’t be helped! The Faceless Lady got scared off, didn’t she?”
“I don’t think the Faceless Lady will ever come back on this show hahaha!”
Brother Octopus first glanced at the ‘Confucian Merchant’, paused, then walked over to the wooden stake and looked toward Su Yan and the others.
“I’m the new host invited by the show. Shall we continue the game?”
Su Yan and the others nodded and returned to their original positions.
Having been amused by the Faceless Lady earlier, Su Yan had now returned to the starting point.
The ‘Confucian Merchant’ leisurely looked at her. “Noticed anything?”
Su Yan nodded thoughtfully.
“I have a lead, but I think I need to confirm it before making a move.”
Number 4 was now complaining bitterly.
She had barely shaken off her fear of the Faceless Lady thanks to a metaphor Su Yan used, only to have a new terrifying host replace her and scare her again.
If the Faceless Lady was like a ghost from a traditional horror story, then Brother Octopus was obviously a monster from an alien movie.
Either way, it was horror for Number 4—no difference.
Seeing Number 4’s desperate expression, Su Yan sighed helplessly.
Why was this kid scared of everything?
She still had a mission for her later.
After a moment’s thought, Su Yan leaned over casually.
“Hey, doesn’t this host look like a real-life Brother Octopus?”
Number 4: ?
She was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Brother Octopus.
Now that she really looked at him, it didn’t feel so out of place—gray octopus head, dull green robe—it really did resemble Brother Octopus!
Even the color scheme was exactly the same!
Some thoughts, once in the mind, just won’t leave.
Number 4 looked at Brother Octopus again and again, and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Number 1 also burst out laughing.
“Hahaha ‘Yan Jing,’ you’re so mean! How does your little brain even come up with these things? Brother Octopus, really?”
Su Yan shrugged, feigning innocence.
“Can’t blame me, though—it really does look like him!”
From a distance, Brother Octopus twitched the corner of his mouth. He honestly had no idea who Brother Octopus was, but judging by how these people were laughing, it clearly wasn’t a good image.
The chat didn’t understand their humor either.
“Can someone tell me who Brother Octopus is?”
“Maybe he’s Brother Octopus’s relative?”
“Why would his relative even know those two?”
“I think we need to brush up on some Earth knowledge.”
“Honestly, I don’t get the joke either, but I laughed along.”
“I even saw Confucian God laugh briefly. I have to look up who Brother Octopus is!”
Since the game had resumed, the group started moving forward again.
Su Yan whispered something to Number 4, whose expression looked hesitant. “Ah… is it really okay to do this?”
Su Yan asked seriously, “Do you still want to clear the game?”
She couldn’t always carry the whole team alone; the others needed to contribute too.
If she kept relying on herself, she’d be exhausted sooner or later.
The ‘Confucian Merchant’ quietly nodded when he saw Su Yan assigning tasks.
This showed some backbone! Carrying is impressive, but it’s hard to sustain long-term.
Building a fanbase that way risks ruining your image, since no one’s good at every dungeon—you’ll always hit something you can’t handle.
Number 4 nodded; of course, she wanted to leave this terrifying game.
Seeing her nod, Su Yan relaxed a little and comforted her, “Then don’t be afraid. After all, you don’t often get the chance to face Brother Octopus in person—you have to seize this opportunity to interact closely with your childhood idol.”
Number 4, Number 1, and even the ‘Confucian Merchant’ all burst out laughing at Su Yan’s words.
Only Su Yan could make something so scary sound so entertaining.
But Su Yan’s comfort did ease Number 4’s tension considerably.
Looking at Su Yan’s encouraging eyes, Number 4 calmed down and started rushing forward.
Brother Octopus noticed Number 4 wildly running toward him and sneered.
At that speed, she actually thought she could reach him? What a pipe dream.
But since she was putting in so much effort, he might as well play along.
He had quickly finished watching the Faceless Lady’s recording and understood the situation.
Apart from that expert, only the timid Number 4 hadn’t approached the host yet.
A flicker of excitement appeared in his eyes.
If he could make her face failure just as she was about to win, what a meaningful game that would be!
A little girl who finally summoned the courage to approach the scariest creature she feared.
She thought she was going to succeed in escaping, but instead got dragged back into hell.
Just imagining the scene gave Brother Octopus goosebumps.
What a wonderful experience!
The expression of shock, anger, and fear on her face at that moment would be his favorite psychological comfort.
Thinking this, his tentacles twitched uncontrollably, lightly waving in excitement.
The audience was equally excited.
They really loved watching this kind of drama, or the show wouldn’t be so popular.
“Ahhh, Number 4, ahhhhhh!”
“I really didn’t expect Number 4 to come!”
“Look at her nervous expression! I can’t wait to see her hope shattered!”
“Poor Number 4, hahaha, I’m so excited!”
“Seriously though, Brother Octopus won’t mess up, right?”
“Are you crazy? Upstairs, are you blind too?”
“Number 4’s shyness has to be real. They can’t have been faking it just for this moment, right?”
“I’m curious what ‘Yan Jing’ told her to make this scaredy-cat so brave.”
“Probably just some encouragement?”
With Brother Octopus deliberately letting it happen, Number 4 easily got behind him.
She was very surprised because Su Yan had predicted this.
When she heard Su Yan’s plan, she had no confidence.
How could someone as weak as her get behind Brother Octopus? Did she think he wouldn’t stop her?
But Su Yan seemed confident, her eyes full of encouragement telling her not to be afraid.
Number 4 didn’t believe she could get this far, but under Su Yan’s encouragement, she charged ahead lightly.
After all, the power of an idol is tremendous—who could refuse such an encouraging look?
Number 4 felt she could entrust her life to Su Yan and believed Su Yan would guide her through safely.
That was right—in their brief time together, Number 4 had already made Su Yan her idol.
More precisely, from the moment Su Yan stood before the Faceless Lady unflinchingly, Number 4’s heart was secretly devoted.
What kind of hero-rescues-beauty story is this?
If she were into girls, Number 4 felt she’d be smitten by now.
Since she couldn’t treat Su Yan as a lover, an idol would do just fine.
Back to the point. Number 4 had no hopes initially but was surprised that Brother Octopus really didn’t stop her.
This boosted her confidence and faith in Su Yan’s plan.
This was all as Su Yan expected—she had long guessed Brother Octopus wouldn’t stop Number 4.
After all, this was a highlight of the show! He was practically looking forward to it, so why stop it?
Imagine a girl normally as timid as a mouse suddenly getting bold—whether she succeeded or not, it’d make the audience break into a cold sweat.
If she succeeded?
That would be a growth-type heroine, coming through at a crucial moment.
If she failed?
That’d be a recurring segment beloved by the audience.
Because what they liked most was seeing Earthlings scared, right?
This was why Su Yan chose to send Number 4 instead of going herself.
Only a timid character like Number 4 could lower the host’s guard the most.
But Su Yan was confident.
Though Brother Octopus would allow Number 4 to approach, he wouldn’t let her truly touch him.
After all, a major draw of the game was that guests couldn’t voluntarily end the game.
If any guest touched the host, regardless of win or lose, this round would quickly move to the next.
This wasn’t what the production wanted, and Brother Octopus knew it well.
Sure enough, just as Number 4 was about to succeed, Brother Octopus immediately chanted, “Wooden Doll, don’t move!”
Number 4 was forced to stop.
Sensing the stiffness behind her, Brother Octopus turned around excitedly, wanting to see the expression that thrilled him most on Number 4’s face.
“Eh? Where’d she go?”
Turning, Brother Octopus was surprised to find no one in front of him.
Hearing movement at his feet, he looked down and saw Number 4 crouching right before him—no wonder he hadn’t seen her.
At this moment, Number 4 was lifting up his robe…
Wait, what was she doing?
Brother Octopus stared at her in disbelief.
The look in Number 4’s eyes was not fear or terror, but… excitement?
Number 4 quickly lifted Brother Octopus’s robe, then excitedly shouted to Su Yan, “You really guessed right! Its lower body is completely connected to the rubber floor!”
Su Yan gave Number 4 a thumbs up.
“Well done!”
Number 4 scratched her head sheepishly and stood up.
Meeting Brother Octopus’s incredulous gaze, she kindly bowed.
“Sorry for moving. I’ll return to the starting point myself, no trouble for you.”
Brother Octopus: How was this so completely different from what he imagined?