The monster's body was swollen with anger, becoming extraordinarily huge. Its black body occupied two-thirds of the cafeteria, leaving only a small dining table and a few chairs squeezed into the corner.
It carefully placed its beloved wife into its body, as if handling a delicate porcelain frog doll.
Jiang Yan: "...."
A group of players and Jeff Hunt were suspended by black tendrils wrapped around their necks, dangling from the ceiling. Dozens of legs swayed above, making the scene look bizarre and grotesque.
Ding!
[Item: Adam Ring]
Ding!
[Item: Feather Silk]
Ding!
[Item: Cotton Silk Cutter]
"...."
Soon, one item after another was being used.
"Ah-!"
The black tendrils dissipated like steam under the effect of the players' items. The experienced players skillfully jumped back to the ground.
As for the new players rescued by the veterans, they landed in a rather clumsy manner. Their agility wasn't high due to just entering the game, and many fell to the ground. However, at least they didn’t get directly killed by the monster!
Seeing this, Jiang Yan nestled in his "husband's" arms and lazily exclaimed, "Wow!"
He had always known that players could use items to counter system NPCs and even destroy them directly. Some advanced players could even destroy entire dungeons.
It was said that the player ranked No. 1 on the leaderboard had once done this.
However, Jiang Yan had previously only been in low to mid-tier dungeons, where few players had high-tier items. Even if they did, those items were often low-level, and it was unimaginable to think of challenging system NPCs with them.
Therefore, this was the first time Jiang Yan had seen players collectively using their items to confront system NPCs.
[Big shots' items!!!]
[So cool! Wuwuwu...]
[When will I be able to get S-rank items and become a big shot?!]
[Fun fact: Big shots' items weren't always S-rank; they worked hard to level them up.]
Seeing the dazzling items in front of the players, Jiang Yan sighed, "Is this the high-level game?"
Seeing this, 663 quickly encouraged him, "You can do it! Keep working hard and earn more points, and you can upgrade your items too."
Jiang Yan immediately deflated and, sounding discouraged, said, "I’ll pass, I’m too tired."
As long as he could stay alive, what was the point of making things harder for himself?
Besides, he wasn't a player; he was just an NPC. He couldn’t rely on items to directly confront system NPCs.
Even if he leveled up his items to S-rank, in this kind of scenario, he could only stand by like Ding Wanyu and Cang Rou.
The monster, enraged by everyone's provocation, spun its snake-like body and let out a "clanking" sound.
Its pitch-black, viscous body began to bubble up, and the pungent black gas filled the entire cafeteria.
Its voice became sharp, almost a mocking laugh: "Do you... dare harm my beloved wife?"
The new players were so scared their legs went weak. They grabbed the tables and hid behind the veteran players, not daring to move.
"My dear master!" Jeff Hunter shakily stood up from the ground and quickly explained, "No one is trying to harm the lady! We are just conducting a trial!"
"A trial against my wife?" the monster asked in response.
The black, dense mist invaded everyone's nostrils and mouths. It was the scent of burnt ash, as if a raging fire had started in some unknown corner of the cafeteria, and the thick smoke had trapped everyone inside.
The smoke provided no refuge, and the overwhelming carbon dioxide made everyone dizzy, tormenting the already weakened players.
"Cough, cough, cough...!"
"Cough! Damn it! This is a nightmare for someone with lung disease!" Tao Shi slapped his blue bangs in frustration, cursing.
At that moment, a "thud" echoed.
"Hey! What's wrong with you?" a player grabbed the teammate who had collapsed next to him.
Clearly, some players were starting to falter.
"Everyone, wet your sleeves with soup and cover your nose and mouth!" Li Yun was quick on his feet, pouring the soup, which still had a disinfectant-like smell, onto his sleeve and covering his nose and mouth with it.
This was clearly smoke that one would encounter in a fire, and no one knew how the monster had excreted it.
Following his instructions, the other players quickly followed suit, and only then did they manage to avoid suffocating from the smoke.
"Sir... cough, cough..." Jeff Hunter begged, panic and despair in his voice.
"You can’t do this! A patient has died! He was killed! Cough, cough... We need to conduct a trial for the patients here, or perhaps the thing that killed him is that monster...!" Jeff Hunter's voice grew weaker and more hoarse.
However, at that moment, the monster was clearly blinded by rage, or perhaps it never had any reason to begin with. Its mind was consumed only by one thing—its wife.
"Boss!" Cao Yufeng looked at Tao Shi beside him.
The soup from the hospital had a strong disinfectant-like smell. The thick smoke forced the players, who had "lung conditions," to cough incessantly.
The new players were uneasy, and the veteran players, feeling discomfort from their bodies, grew increasingly irritable.
Tao Shi was coughing heavily as well, but he still didn’t forget to adjust his slightly messy bangs.
One could be sick, but they still had to be handsome!
Hearing Cao Yufeng's call, he coughed lightly and impatiently said, "Check the mental power stats, and just kill this thing already!"
"Understood!"
Ding!
[Item: Number Concealment Card]
Cao Yufeng immediately covered his mouth and nose with a bandage, and the red data values from the Number Concealment Card rolled across his black pupils.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xiu, wearing his habitual smile and squinting his eyes, softly mocked, "You guys from the Dawn Guild are always so hesitant."
Su An smiled and raised a hand, saying, "This little BOSS's points belong to us! Bye-bye~"
Faced with such direct provocation, Tao Shi couldn’t hold back: "Damn it! No one’s taking these points from me!"
Although the dungeon’s BOSS was hidden among the players, and one needed to scout it out, it was clear that the monster in front of them wasn’t an ordinary system NPC. While the data from the Number Concealment Card hadn’t been fully processed yet, based on their experience, the monster clearly qualified to be a dungeon BOSS!
The points for killing it would definitely be significant!
This kind of benefit couldn’t be given to a newcomer or the "Valen Church"! Of course Jiang Xiu and Su An thought the same way, and they wouldn’t let the "Dawn Guild" have the points either.
At that moment, Cao Yufeng's pupils shrank. "Wait... something’s wrong. Boss, hold on!"
At the critical moment, Jiang Yan accidentally inhaled a bit of the thick smoke, coughing lightly: "Cough, cough..."
In the next instant, the smoke in the cafeteria quickly dissipated.
"Jiang Yan’s coughing!" the monster exclaimed anxiously.
The monster carefully picked up its "wife" from its arms, tilted its head, and observed the situation of the person in its "palm." With a shy voice, it asked, "Yan Yan, are you feeling unwell? Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
"Cough... I’m fine," Jiang Yan waved his hand, saying, "Just a little bit of choking."
The monster quickly stopped "boiling," returned to its normal size, and seemed as if it had done something wrong. "It’s them who bullied Yan Yan first."
"Boss!" Cao Yufeng, drenched in sweat, panted heavily.
That was close! Thank goodness they hadn’t attacked!
"What's wrong?" Tao Shi shook the sleeve of his clothes, which had just been soaked in soup, and looked at him with a puzzled frown.
It was just using the [Number Concealment Card] to check the system NPC's stats and calculate the points for killing it. Why was he so nervous about this?
"Something’s wrong!" Cao Yufeng leaned in and whispered something into Tao Shi’s ear. Tao Shi’s pupils shrank, and he turned to look at the monster, who was apologizing to his wife and seemed harmless. His expression grew serious.
Was this some kind of mental power that couldn’t even be detected by the [Number Concealment Card]?
This thing wasn’t even a dungeon BOSS?
Since the dungeon BOSS was supposed to be hidden among the players, then the stats of this person should never exceed what the [Number Concealment Card] could calculate!
Could it be that there’s a powerful system NPC acting as a BOSS in this dungeon?
What was the purpose of this? Why did the main system place this NPC here?
Tao Shi’s gaze lingered on the monster, carefully holding the white, beautiful boy in his arms and observing his condition. His brows furrowed even tighter.
Jiang Yan...?
Whatever he thought, his brows instantly relaxed, and a slight smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He whispered, "Interesting!"
He reached out and patted Cao Yufeng beside him, "Sit back down, the game continues."
With that, Tao Shi and Cao Yufeng quickly sat back down at their seats.
Seeing this, the other players followed suit and sat back down.
Only the pitch-black monster remained, carefully holding his wife in his arms and looking at him with self-blame, his body nearly melting into a soft dough.
"Yan Yan, I’m sorry, I was just really angry." The monster was still extremely remorseful, and the graffiti-like mask on his head made him appear comical.
"It’s fine, no worries," Jiang Yan sighed, comforting his "husband," "I know you didn’t mean it."
"Then, can Jiang Yan give me a kiss to show you forgive me?"
"Clearly, no," Jiang Yan refused without hesitation.
As the players sat back down, Jeff Hunter hesitated and glanced at his master, who was solving the "marital probelm"
"My dear master and mistress, this trial...?" Jeff Hunter timidly spoke up.
Instantly, the monster’s body swelled again, casting a huge shadow over all the players.
"You still want to judge my Jiang Yan!?"
"B-but... master..." Jeff Hunter’s voice faltered.
"Enough!" Jiang Yan slapped the graffiti mask.
All the players: "????"
"I voluntarily accept the trial." Jiang Yan, being held by the black monster, spoke indifferently.
"But, Yan Yan..." The monster was about to continue but was immediately interrupted.
"From now on, you can't say anything or do anything, otherwise, you'll sleep on the couch tonight."
The monster visibly deflated, and carefully placed Jiang Yan back onto his seat. Then, while Jiang Yan wasn't looking, the monster quickly pressed his mask against Jiang Yan's face as if giving him a big kiss.
However, seemingly afraid of being reprimanded, he immediately pulled away and retreated into the shadowy corner of the cafeteria.
[Sht! I don’t even know what to say right now. This is the only word that can express my emotions.]
[Sht! I don’t know whether to say Jiang Yan's acting is great or that he's simply bold.]
[Though, in reality, Jiang Yan's reaction is the right one when facing his "husband."]
[We all get it; but this psychological resilience... it’s impressive.]
Jiang Yan looked at the monster, who was now blowing bubbles in the corner, and his mouth curled into a faint smile.
The monster may look terrifying, but its personality is more like a cat—quite likable.
Jeff Hunter, warily glancing at his "master" in the corner, then looked back at Jiang Yan and asked, "Madam are you really willing to accept the trial?"
"Of course," Jiang Yan responded without hesitation.
At this moment, all eyes turned to the nurse standing aside, trying to piece together her severed limbs.
When their gazes met, she quickly shook her head and hastily withdrew into the darkness outside the cafeteria.
Everyone: "...."
Jiang Yan: "Ah... are there any other staff members?"
Jeff Hunter: "...."
"Alright!" Su An, lazily propping his chin up, declared, "No need to investigate anymore. I'm the last rabbit."
[Ding! Congratulations, all rabbits have been identified. All players and NPCs, Jiang Yan receives +20 points.]
[ Players, proceed with other tasks!]
"But... why?" Li Yun asked, puzzled.
Why hide it? If he’s not the murderer, there’s no reason for secrecy, right?
But if he is...
"I just wanted to play a little," Su An said nonchalantly, "But there are too many new players this time. It’s no fun. So boring."
[So... this is what it's like in the world of big shots?]
[If I went into a dungeon with Su An, I’d probably die of fright!]
[Su An may be crazy, but he’s strong!]
[It’s understandable that Su An is crazy; he wasn’t like this just today. But why is Jiang Yan following his lead?]
[Exactly! Why on earth would he accept the trial? And he even just turned himself in!]
663: "My ancestor, didn’t you think of holding back when you charged in like that?"
Jiang Yan let out a helpless sigh: "I just wanted to try out this item, that's all."