Cen Yao raised her hand and touched the top of her head.
She felt a pair of furry ears.
Feeling behind her next...
Great.
Her tail was still there.
Cen Yao: “...”
This damn dungeon was incredibly creative.
The other players around her had also returned to their human forms.
But without exception, everyone retained their civet cat ears on their heads, and a tail had been added to their backs.
Some people couldn't stand steadily for a moment and held onto the nearby iron racks.
Some instinctively reached for their tails, their expressions instantly fracturing.
Others were about to swear out loud but forced themselves to swallow the words back down.
Because right after they returned to their human forms, everyone looked at those cages in unison.
The next second, cold sweat instantly drenched their backs.
Those cages were not sized for humans at all.
When they were civet cats just now, staying inside was merely cramped, stuffy, and uncomfortable.
But if they hadn't left the cages before night fell and had instead turned back into humans directly inside them—
The consequences were simply unthinkable.
An adult's skeleton and body would be instantly constricted by the narrow iron cage.
The metal bars would sink directly into their flesh.
Not to mention that those cages were also electrified.
Once the strong current discharged, let alone struggling to escape, they probably wouldn't even have time to let out a full scream before being turned into a carbonized corpse trapped in an iron cage.
For a moment, everyone's face turned pale.
They finally understood just how important Cen Yao's warning had been.
If she hadn't been the first to get out.
If she hadn't sounded the alarm after noticing something was wrong.
At least more than half of them would have died on the very first night due to their cautious wait-and-see attitude.
This wasn't a matter of lacking strength.
It was because the dungeon was too insidious.
Who would have thought that the first night, which was supposed to be a safe night, would hide such a cruel method of death?
Everyone's gaze landed on Cen Yao.
Some were filled with gratitude, while others held probing looks.
This little girl didn't look very old, but she wore an extremely eye-catching Witch's robe.
Deep purple hem, silver magic patterns, a spacious hood, and an exquisite quality that felt completely out of place in a horror dungeon.
No matter how they looked at her, she didn't seem like an ordinary player.
Someone frowned.
She looked familiar.
“Is she...”
Someone lowered their voice.
“...a bit like the number one on the Rookie Leaderboard on the forums?”
“You mean... Bling Bling?”
“Hiss, she really does look a bit like her.”
Most of the players present were veterans.
They rarely watched live streams of players with lower ranks than themselves.
After all, what they could learn from low-level dungeons was limited. If they had time, they would rather watch recordings of high-level players clearing games or study dungeon materials close to their own difficulty.
But the name “Bling Bling” had made too much noise recently.
S-rank rating in a rookie dungeon.
Her live stream room rushed onto the Hot List.
Screenshots and discussions of her were everywhere on the forums.
Even if they hadn't specifically looked for her, they couldn't help but scroll past her a few times.
But photos and the real person were different, after all.
Not to mention that what everyone saw just now was a civet cat.
Now that Cen Yao had returned to human form, the moment her signature Witch's robe appeared, the sense of familiarity immediately surged.
Cen Yao didn't care about the scrutiny of others.
Her attention was on the darkness.
Because she heard a sound.
Footsteps came from the distance.
More than one.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
There was also the harsh, scraping sound of some metal object dragging across the ground.
Screech—
Screech—
Like a heavy axe being dragged on the ground as someone slowly walked this way.
The faces of all the players changed.
With almost no need for anyone to remind them, everyone retreated into the shadows at the same time.
The reaction speed of the veteran players was displayed to the fullest at this moment.
Cen Yao was also prepared to hide.
But the moment she turned around, her gaze suddenly fell on the spot where the disabled civet cat had been.
There was another person there.
A man sitting in a wheelchair.
He had a slender build, draped black hair, and his face looked somewhat pale in the night.
He also retained a pair of civet cat ears on his head, and a tail hung behind him.
But his legs didn't move.
Or rather, they couldn't move.
Cen Yao realized in an instant.
It was the disabled civet cat from earlier.
After returning to human form, he was still disabled.
The wheelchair stopped in place, showing no signs of moving.
The cat-headed employees in the distance were getting closer and closer.
The sound of the axe dragging on the floor grew clearer and clearer.
Screech—
Screech—
As if scraping against one's nerves with every step.
A thought quickly flashed through Cen Yao's mind.
The sound of a moving wheelchair would be too loud.
If he moved now, it would easily attract the ghosts.
Him not moving might not be because he didn't want to hide, but because he couldn't.
But if he continued to stay in place, being discovered was almost a matter of time.
Cen Yao didn't have time to think.
Her body moved first.
She rushed over in a few steps, grabbed the wheelchair's armrest, and pulled both the man and the wheelchair into the nearby shadow.
The wheelchair was forcefully dragged by her into the darkness cast by the iron racks and the rain shelter.
Caught off guard by the pull, the man's body leaned to the side.
He didn't seem to expect her to suddenly make a move, and he looked up at her.
Those eyes were extremely cold, exactly like that sharp-tongued civet cat from earlier.
Cen Yao didn't have time to make eye contact with him.
She raised her hand, magic power rapidly flowing from her fingertips.
Invisibility Spell.
A faint magical halo fell silently, covering both her and the man in the wheelchair.
Right after, Cen Yao thought of something else and backhandedly cast a Muting Spell on the man.
After all, this guy's mouth was too toxic.
If he opened his mouth to mock her at this moment, the two of them could go on their final journey together.
After finishing all of this, Cen Yao leaned against the shadow and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It really was better to be human.
Casting magic felt incredibly smooth now.
The man sat in the wheelchair, looking at her from the corner of his eye.
He had clearly noticed the Muting Spell, and his brow twitched slightly.
Cen Yao looked back with an expressionless face.
Don't ask.
If you ask, it's because I'm afraid your toxic mouth will get us killed.
The sound in the distance grew closer and closer.
“Thud”
“Thud”
“Thud”
The figures of dozens of cat-headed employees appeared at the entrance of the breeding area.
They were still wearing their black and white uniforms, their cat heads looking exceptionally eerie in the night.
One of the cat-headed employees dragged an axe in its hand.
The blade of the axe was very wide, with dried dark red stains on the edges.
They walked very slowly, as if enjoying the fear of their prey as they hid.
The axe dragged on the ground.
Screech—
Screech—
Sparks occasionally splashed from the ground.
A cat-headed employee tilted its head and sniffed the air.
“Strange.”
“Tonight's little kitties seem to be very naughty.”
Another cat-headed employee laughed softly.
“So many cages are empty.”
“Since they are empty, we must find them and bring them back.”
The cat-headed employee dragging the axe raised its head, its golden vertical pupils slowly turning in the darkness.
“It's time to clear the cages.”
“The hidden little kitties must also be turned into coffee fragrance.”
Cen Yao held her breath.
The halo of the Invisibility Spell was extremely faint, clinging steadily to her and the man in the wheelchair.
The man didn't move.
Cen Yao didn't move either.
The players hiding in the surrounding shadows also held their breath tightly.
The entire breeding area was so quiet that only the sound of the cat-headed employees dragging the axe forward remained.
Screech—
Screech—
Closer and closer.
Closer and closer.
Rate on N.U.
