Zhu Yan shifted his gaze back and carefully typed two lines on his phone.
"Conceal the name of Zhu Yan."
"Conceal the appearance of Zhu Yan."
Without his identity information and appearance, it meant the police department had no way to track him down directly.
According to the item description of Concealed and Unissued, the memories of relevant personnel would be modified accordingly, and there would be no record of him in objective information databases.
In other words, even if the police followed the clues to find his aunt, they still wouldn't be able to do anything about him.
Furthermore, Concealed and Unissued only hid information related to the incident, meaning his other activities would not be affected.
He wouldn't have to hide in the shadows; he could openly enroll in school or participate in instances to gather more information.
He could definitely hold out for three months.
Zhu Yan thought it over once more, and after confirming there were no mistakes or omissions, he gently tapped the confirm button.
In an instant, that secret thrill surged up again. A weak electric current tingled through every nerve in his brain, and Zhu Yan felt an unprecedented sense of joy.
It was as if he was connecting with some kind of power and immersing himself in it...
This thought flashed through Zhu Yan's mind, startling him wide awake.
Zhu Yan pinched the web between his thumb and index finger, reminding himself to focus on reality and not get distracted.
...
Under the bright white light, the hair on Guan En's forehead was already slightly damp with cold sweat.
Outside train G3075, the figures of passengers could no longer be seen. There were only temporary police lines and some newly arrived officers.
The corpse had been taken away. The officers searched the entire train but failed to find its head.
Inside the relatively spacious Car 6, a police officer put down his phone and looked solemnly at Guan En.
"I just received an important notice." He pursed his lips, a flash of sympathy in his eyes.
"Guan En, according to the current research results, you should know about this. Your superior's body has been found."
Guan En nodded.
"I know," he said, remaining fairly calm. "I knew this morning. That voice wouldn't allow me to speak of it."
"If I had shown any abnormal behavior at that time, I would have died within ten minutes."
The officer nodded. "That aligns with our current data. This is a matter of great importance. You must stay in Anwu City to cooperate with the investigation for a while."
He looked at the busy officers outside the window and shook his head.
"There are always one or two disobedient ones. I remember you came here to catch someone?"
"What was that person's name again?"
"It was..." Guan En furrowed his brows.
He wanted to say a name. He remembered that the name was very unique.
Quite special, and highly memorable.
But... what was it again?
Try as he might, Guan En just couldn't remember, so he had to shake his head.
"Sir, I can't recall it at the moment," he said. "There is a record of this in the system. We can check it when we get back."
"Mhm." The officer let out a brief nasal sound of agreement.
"I've already notified the others to find him as soon as possible. I don't think this person is simple."
"Take some time to recover. When you get back, make as detailed a statement as possible."
...
In the center of Zhu Yan's phone screen, the struggling caged bird appeared once again.
Zhu Yan watched its fluttering wings nervously until text appeared in the center of the screen again.
"Understood, Player."
"The item Concealed and Unissued has taken effect. If you operate properly, the effective duration will be two years."
Two years, the maximum time limit!
Zhu Yan breathed a heavy sigh of relief; this meant it had worked.
"However, your choice will trigger a greater panic."
"Please prepare yourself mentally."
"Remember, act proactively and persevere to the end."
The patch of black shattered from the center, and the app icon exploded into fragments like fireworks, fading into the colorful screen and disappearing.
Zhu Yan let out a long sigh of relief.
Guan En's superior had turned into a doppelganger, which meant the real superior had died during the night.
Regardless of what transportation Guan En used to come to Anwu City, it showed that the Carnival Paradise had unknowingly invaded another place during the night, and the timing highly coincided with the time Zhu Yan left the city.
Once the real superior's body was found, Zhu Yan's crime of leaving the city without authorization, causing the horror instance to escape as well would be completely confirmed.
There was no turning back now.
He absolutely could not let the police catch him!
As for the greater panic mentioned by the instance, he would just have to deal with it as it came.
The taxi slowly exited the highway, twisting and turning before stopping next to an old bus stop.
Zhu Yan got out of the car and tried to walk through remote areas, heading to a guesthouse hidden in a tube-shaped apartment building.
The guesthouse had no front desk; he only needed to book a room online, then go upstairs and enter the password to check in.
This method would reduce his contact with people.
More importantly, there were several surveillance blind spots nearby, making it very convenient for Zhu Yan to change his appearance back.
Twenty minutes later.
Zhu Yan slumped onto the sofa in the guesthouse, feeling a wave of exhaustion gradually wash over his brain.
Perhaps because the major crisis had been resolved, Zhu Yan was finally able to clear his mind and get some good rest.
He struggled to take a hot shower, and carrying the warm residual heat from the hairdryer, he collapsed onto the soft bed, his eyelids growing heavier by the second.
It wasn't until his facial muscles completely relaxed that Zhu Yan finally fell into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile.
Inside the police station.
A young officer scrolled his mouse, searching over and over again.
"How is this possible? This isn't right, sir!"
He could find the records and work files for Guan En's business trip.
However, the criminal suspect in the file bizarrely had no name or ID photo; they were replaced by a string of blank spaces and a pure white image.
"What's wrong?" A police officer behind him leaned in. "Try refreshing it a few times. The file couldn't have been submitted like this; it wouldn't pass the review."
The young officer refreshed it several times, but the two blanks were as solid as if they had been welded on.
"...This is weird. Sir, the system shouldn't have a bug like this."
The older officer said, "I remember seeing this file. The name and appearance were very unique, unforgettable even. I remember he should be named... named..."
However, no matter how hard he tried, the officer just couldn't recall the appearance and name that had originally left such a deep impression on him.
It felt like a piece of gold locked in a box; he knew clearly that it was gold, but all he could see was the locked box.
And the key was lost.
The officer didn't take it too seriously. "Call and ask. If that really doesn't work, don't we have the suspect's relatives listed here?"
He pointed to the aunt's name and ID number, as well as a string of ID numbers behind the suspect's name.
"Check this household registration record, and then confirm it again using this ID number."
The young officer didn't dawdle and immediately dialed a number.
Ten minutes later, he put down the phone, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Sir, they couldn't find anything. It's not in the household registration records either, and then... then..."
The older officer vaguely felt that things were not so simple.
"Then what?"
"Then the ID number must be wrong," the young officer said. "They said they entered the ID number from the file five times, and every time it showed no such person."
The older officer's brows furrowed.
"The household register and ID don't match up?"
The officer nodded. "Let me call the person who reported the case to confirm. It's really weird. They should have checked when they uploaded the ID number."
Perhaps sensing something was wrong, the senior officer did not leave again.
The call connected, and the officer politely explained the purpose of the call.
The woman on the other end immediately became agitated, her shrill, tearful voice piercing the ears of everyone present.
"Oh! Thank goodness, you finally found that little bastard!"
"He can't escape even if he runs to the ends of the earth, he deserves to die! Officer, you have to make... make him pay for my son's life!"
"I'll haunt him from beyond the grave!"
The officer patiently repeated, "Ma'am, do you still remember his name? Do you remember his ID number?"
The aunt wanted to blurt it out.
"His name is—oh, what was it again?"
A name that had been so incredibly familiar suddenly escaped her completely.
The aunt racked her brain, but her mind was as empty as her wallet.
"I'm sorry, Officer, I... I can't remember... Wait a minute, let me go check the household register!"
The officer and the senior officer exchanged a silent glance.
"How bizarre," the senior officer chuckled. "Guan En said he forgot too."
Still, as long as they had the household register, it would be fine.
Five minutes later.
The aunt's wails echoed through the room, making everyone's head spin.
"Officer, this is terrible! I can't find that little brat's name and photo in the household register anymore!"
"I don't know what's going on. Oh dear, it's impossible for them to be gone. Both of those were definitely in here!"
"Officer, did you guys make a mistake back then? His ID number is still here. Having his ID number should be enough, right?"