ICSST CH38: Stunned

“Where’s the administrator?” he asked in a low voice.

The Origami boy pointed in a direction. As he ran ahead, he tried to use his companions to draw the fire of the conjoined old woman.

Zhou Qi’an shook his head. The player listening to the MP3 must have been quite strong—at least when Zhou Qi’an went to exchange for bone rice, the other party was already being hunted by the sterilization suit. Unfortunately, no matter how powerful, it was impossible to escape from two ghostly hands one after another.

Hopefully, the baseball cap could injure the conjoined old woman; otherwise, how could he live up to being called a big shot?

The enemies weren’t just demons and ghosts. Zhou Qi’an glanced at the players around him, their intentions growing more sinister. His expression became increasingly gentle.

Mu Tianbai: “…”

At the end of the third floor, the baseball cap expressionlessly tore off his bandage, releasing a small amount of accumulated Yin energy.

His swift decision bought him ample time.

The skin-wearing old woman didn’t immediately attack the baseball cap, as if she was assessing the strength of her prey.

The baseball cap seized the initiative, charging toward the skin-wearing old woman and catching her off guard.

The commotion was so great that Jin Ji’s Rice Shop seemed like an isolated space, cut off from the world.

Inside, after jumping over the counter, the red cloak girl’s fingers faintly brushed the surface of a curved blade. A few times, her peripheral vision flickered over Zhou Qi’an’s neck.

Zhou Qi’an still maintained his foolish questioning: “Why did that guy with the baseball cap insist on coming to this floor?”

The baseball cap had originally been on the seventeenth floor—the farthest from everyone else.

The Origami boy sneered. “The people on the other train didn’t offend him.”

Zhou Qi’an: “But you did, didn’t you?”

The Origami boy’s expression subtly changed. Riding the elevator at night wasn’t absolutely safe; the longer they stayed, the higher the risk.

The fact that the baseball cap had specifically come to the third floor showed his vindictive nature. Would he seek revenge on him in the future too?

The Origami boy hadn’t considered the possibility that the baseball cap might be after wealth.

Zhou Qi’an’s ability to temporarily deceive the monstrous passengers made the Origami boy suspect he had some kind of special skill. After all, items that could release Yin energy were essentially monopolized by the Black Magic Society. Even if an ordinary player wanted to use one, their body wouldn’t be able to withstand the strain.

But the red cloak girl was more experienced—she knew such an overpowering ability couldn’t exist.

Could this guy have some other treasure on him?

Zhou Qi’an let them scrutinize him openly.

There was only one holy artifact.

If the baseball cap didn’t let him go, he would eventually discover the existence of the holy artifact, which would threaten the red cloak girl’s interests. Meanwhile, the Origami boy was more concerned about whether the college student’s instigation would lead to retaliation.

Using borrowed arrows—someone among them would deal with the baseball cap first.

Zhou Qi’an didn’t dwell on it for too long. He peeked out slightly.

The skin-wearing old woman’s blood-red flesh had been slashed open. The moment she was wounded, she attracted several shop owners who gathered to devour her.

But the baseball cap wasn’t having an easy time either—he was being chased by the conjoined old woman again.

Suddenly.

A sharp gaze swept over.

Even through the dimly lit environment, Zhou Qi’an felt as if the baseball cap, despite being in a life-or-death struggle, had noticed him.

No—his destination had probably been here all along. Seeing Zhou Qi’an was just a side effect.

The baseball cap remained composed, circling around before heading back in this direction.

A sudden reflection flashed across a lens.

Zhou Qi’an didn’t turn around. Relying on instinct, he shifted to the side—

The next second, a curved blade was pressed against his neck.

“You…”

“Don’t tell me that killing a player will increase the difficulty. I don’t mind raising it once.” The red cloak girl ordered coldly, “Get out.”

The Origami boy smirked, enjoying the misfortune.

Mu Tianbai seemed to merge into the darkness, blending into the back counter without a trace of presence, silently watching the scene unfold.

The chill of the blade seeped through Zhou Qi’an’s skin. Without a word, he was forced to leave the counter.

The moment he stood up, he turned and sprinted straight for the elevator.

It was only then that the Origami boy noticed the elevator had actually arrived. He also tried to rush toward the car, but the red cloak girl suddenly said, “Black Shark has a strange personality and holds grudges deeply. Even the slightest friction, and he won’t let you off.”

Black Shark was the baseball cap’s codename within the association.

The Origami boy’s expression changed.

The red cloak girl looked at the baseball cap, who was still being chased by the conjoined old woman, and said, “Kill him, and the dropped item is yours.”

The Origami boy’s heart pounded. This was an invitation to team up and take out the baseball cap.

A terrifying thought suddenly struck him—given the red cloak girl’s capabilities, she wouldn’t have failed to notice the elevator’s arrival.

Had she let that man leave on purpose?

At this moment, the elevator doors were slowly closing.

Mu Tianbai followed closely, drifting inside like a ghost.

Inside the elevator, Zhou Qi’an’s expression was grim.

The red cloak wanted the holy artifact, and the baseball cap was an absolute obstacle that needed to be eliminated. There would never be a better opportunity than now.

But in just a short moment, the red cloak girl had also ruthlessly schemed against him.

She would definitely destroy the rice shop. This way, the shop owner wouldn’t let him off tomorrow, giving the red cloak the perfect chance to steal the holy artifact.

The old elevator didn’t descend immediately after the doors shut. It shook up and down before finally starting to move.

Before that, Zhou Qi’an heard a muffled thud—something heavy hitting the ground. His expression turned ice-cold.

They were already destroying the rice shop.

Beside him, Mu Tianbai remained silent, savoring Zhou Qi’an’s desperate struggle.

Clever, ruthless, and scheming—but unfortunately, lacking a bit of luck.

The real problem was that his enemies were too strong—and there wasn’t just one of them.

Mu Tianbai tilted his head slightly, his blood-red eyes chillingly captivating. “You missed your chance to speak up.”

If the other party had offered to trade the holy artifact just now, he wouldn’t have minded taking the red cloak girl’s head off as a bonus.

Zhou Qi’an stayed silent, pressing himself against the elevator wall. His back, usually straight, was slightly slumped, his lowered neck giving him a trapped, cornered look.

The elevator climbed to the tenth floor, the temperature inside dropping lower and lower. Zhou Qi’an had a strong premonition that something bad would happen if they continued going up.

He chose to stop at the tenth floor.

“Wait for me a moment,” Zhou Qi’an said—he never let anyone work for free. “In the meantime, you can study this.”

Before the words even fully landed, he dashed away like the wind.

Mu Tianbai looked down at the [Old Photograph] in his hand, his expression slightly strange. Was he not afraid that he’d just take the clue and leave?

A silent shadow suddenly appeared. Upon closer inspection, it was actually shaped like a skeleton.

It was too bored to guard the shop.

Mu Tianbai didn’t reprimand it, seemingly unconcerned that his workplace might also get destroyed.

The black skeleton conjured a black mist-formed rose as if performing a magic trick.

Mu Tianbai chuckled. “Looks like you find him interesting too.”

The shadow scattered at his feet, returning to normal.

---

Zhou Qi’an, now outside, had a clear goal—restock.

Bone rice was the rice shop’s most valuable asset. As long as he replaced the lost rice, everything would be fine. Those old foxes wouldn’t dare destroy all of it. No one could be sure if destroying such heavily Yin-infused rice would bring bad karma.

Earlier, he had almost died in a dream created by the bone rice himself.

The tenth floor was a Children’s Activity Center, housing various tutoring and training classes. From inside, occasional sounds of writing on paper could be heard.

A golden light flashed—Zhou Qi’an took out the holy artifact.

The holy artifact didn’t prevent monsters from attacking players, but it did have a deterrent effect—at the very least, it would make them hesitate for two seconds.

“Two seconds is enough.”

Zhou Qi’an narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and bolted forward with the holy artifact in hand!

No unnecessary movements—just pure speed. His evolved limbs moved rhythmically in sync with his breathing.

Not just anyone could earn the “Speedster” rating on their stats panel.

“Big brother, have you seen my…”

At the intersection, a young boy holding a colorful rubber ball smiled innocently. Before he could finish his sentence, a gust of wind swept past his eyes.

“……”

Zhou Qi’an sprinted from the south end to the north.

In the middle of the corridor, a tutoring class teacher suddenly appeared, smiling warmly at him.

Zhou Qi’an thrust his arm forward, the golden glow radiating from his hand forcing the teacher back for a second. By the time she reacted, a player’s corpse nearby had vanished.

By then, Zhou Qi’an had already reached the restroom area.

Near the men’s restroom, there was another corpse—but this one was the remains of a monster.

Without hesitation, Zhou Qi’an grabbed it single-handedly and slung it over his shoulder.

His evolved body wasn’t just built for speed—his strength was top-tier as well.

He completed an entire circuit in under five minutes.

---

Inside the elevator, Mu Tianbai was still looking down at the old photograph when a golden light flashed. He instinctively lifted his eyes.

Ahead, a young man bathed in divine light was dashing toward him at full speed. He held a blood-drenched corpse under his left arm, while his shoulder carried the mangled remains of a monster.

The moment he entered the elevator, Zhou Qi’an stowed away the holy artifact, set the corpses down, and, while trying to suppress his heavy breathing, politely said:

“Thanks for waiting.”

“……”

With that, he pressed the button for the ninth floor.

Thirty seconds later, the doors opened. Zhou Qi’an darted out again to run the map and quickly returned.

This floor had no dead bodies.

Mu Tianbai fell silent for a moment before guessing, “That glowing thing is the holy—”

The elevator reached the eighth floor.

“Woosh.” Zhou Qi’an dashed out again.

Mu Tianbai: “……”

---

The latter half of the night was actually slightly less dangerous than the first half. Most of the particularly deadly traps had already been triggered by players. At the very least, every floor showed signs of past battles.

Zhou Qi’an moved swiftly, dragging in a few monster corpses and one dead player.

It was a four-star instance, and on the first night, the death rate was still quite high.

---

Fifth floor.

Several players were waiting for the elevator. One of them was furiously pressing the “open door” button, trying to speed up its arrival.

“Hurry up!”

They all looked desperate.

They had assumed the lower floors were safer, but their luck was terrible—they had run into a particularly vicious ghost.

Ding.

Finally, the elevator doors slid open.

The hope and relief on their faces froze instantly the moment they saw the scene inside.

Inside the cabin stood a small mountain of corpses.

Monster limbs and human remains were piled together, and the overwhelming stench of blood nearly burst through the air itself.

Amidst the heap of bodies, a young man suddenly moved.

“HOLY SHT SHT SHT SHT SH*T—!!” The players outside jumped in fright.

A corpse… just moved?!

Zhou Qi’an was soaked in blood, though it wasn’t his own. He calmly asked if they were getting in.

To his surprise, the group collectively stepped back, looking at him like they had seen a ghost.

One of them, a man from the same bus ride, had a particularly unreadable expression. He had assumed Zhou Qi’an was just a reckless newbie—but this guy was beyond ruthless.

Like, corpses-everywhere level ruthless.

Zhou Qi’an asked, “Did anyone in your team die?”

The players shook their heads in unison.

Seeing them silently but frantically shaking their heads, Zhou Qi’an sensed something dangerous lurking in the darkness behind them.

“Get in, quickly.”

The players, who had just been fighting to get into the elevator earlier, didn’t move an inch.

“I said, get in!” Zhou Qi’an urged.

The players all took another step back.

One of them activated a telekinesis skill and pressed the “close door” button.

Time to go.