Thank you Eline for the Ko-fi. Here are your chapters. (1/2)–
Changsheng Building
Chapter 227: The kidnapping was a great success!!
Wen Jianyan stared at the small copper plate in his hand, leaned down, and carefully sniffed it.
The familiar smell of corpse oil, a putrid odor mixed with a hint of sweetness, but beyond that, there seemed to be a trace of another smell, like blood that had been left for a long time, rich and salty.
The wick on it was obviously capable of being lit.
Compared to the previous plate of grayish-white lamp oil, this plate of lamp oil seemed even more eerie, exuding an ominous feeling.
After seeing the scarlet grease on the small copper plate, Tong Yao couldn’t help but be stunned:
“What… is this for?”
“Not sure.”
Wen Jianyan shook his head, equally clueless.
In a situation where nothing was clear, it was unwise to rashly use items from the instance. Although Zhang Yu’s situation was critical, Wen Jianyan was not prepared to act recklessly.
It was best to see what other banknotes could be exchanged for and then decide.
He then placed the remaining two joss papers into the box, one by one.
The ordinary joss paper was exchanged for a rusty copper key. After picking up the key, Wen Jianyan placed the last piece of red joss paper with a dead man’s face in the box.
Soon, a hair-raising “scratch scratch” sound was heard. Whether it was an illusion or not, this time the sound seemed to last particularly long.
The slightly flickering yellow light bulb overhead cast a dim glow. Under the tense gaze of the few people, a pair of cyan-black dead hands slowly reached out from the wooden box.
Two hands?
Everyone was stunned, showing a look of astonishment.
Wen Jianyan’s eyes flickered slightly, cautiously looking at the two cyan-black dead hands. The cold, stiff fingers held two talisman papers, one yellow and one black.
The rough talisman paper had complex and eerie scarlet patterns drawn on it, like they were painted with fresh blood, showing a sticky color that had not yet dried.
It seemed… to be waiting for their choice.
“Why are there two colors?”
Tong Yao frowned and took a careful step back.
Although she hadn’t used her abilities, her keen senses as a medium were warning her—the two talisman papers seemed to carry some ominous aura.
Especially the black one; just being close to it made her feel very uncomfortable.
“Cough… cough cough.”
At this moment, a hoarse coughing sound came from the side.
The previously unconscious Zhang Yu seemed to have woken up.
After coughing hoarsely for a while, he slowly lifted his head. His face was cyan-black, and from his cyan-purple lips, black blood oozed out, dripping onto his front. In a weak voice, he suggested:
“Choose, choose the yellow one.”
Traditionally, talisman papers were also divided into good and bad.
Yellow talisman papers harnessed the power of deities, aimed at suppressing and expelling evil, while black ones harnessed the power of ghost soldiers and evil spirits. Talismans drawn with black paper were often exceptionally sinister; though powerful, they were easy to backfire.
Wen Jianyan nodded, accepting his suggestion, and drew the yellow talisman from the dead hand.
“Hey, hey! Zhang Yu?!” Beside him, An Xin’s surprised voice called out.
After speaking, Zhang Yu lowered his head again. The previous clarity seemed like a flash in the pan. This time, his chest gradually stopped rising and falling, with life slowly draining from his body.
An Xin was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
“Hey, what about that talisman? Let me try—”
He took the talisman from Wen Jianyan’s hand and, following his memory, placed it on Zhang Yu’s sweaty, pale forehead. After letting go, the talisman floated down lightly, landing on Zhang Yu’s lap.
Nothing happened.
It seemed this talisman’s effect was not for this.
Their only hope now lay in that small plate of red lamp oil.
Now, even if they didn’t know what its purpose was, they had to try using it.
Wen Jianyan crouched down: “Move aside.”
As he spoke, he took out a match and deftly lit the wick on the oil lamp plate.
With a “swish,” a flame sprang up. The cotton wick was ignited, curling and turning black in the fire.
The gray-white lamp oil emitted a dim, weak yellow light when lit, while the red lamp oil produced a scarlet flame, just like blood.
The light it produced was far dimmer than the white lamp oil, with less penetration. Although it was not placed in an oil lamp, without the obstruction of a lamp wall, it was still astonishingly dark.
A sweet, putrid smell slowly emanated from it.
Wen Jianyan held his breath slightly and brought the oil lamp closer to Zhang Yu.
The others were equally tense, watching the scene closely, afraid to miss any detail.
The scarlet flame danced silently, painting Wen Jianyan’s hand with a layer of paint-like blood color.
Whether it was an illusion or not, under the illumination of the oil lamp, Zhang Yu’s face no longer seemed as cyan-black as before, gradually showing the color of a living person.
“Ah! It’s working! Look!”
Su Cheng’s eyes lit up, showing the back of his hand to everyone.
Under the effect of the red lamp oil, the patches of rotting, cyan-black corpse spots seemed to have stopped spreading, slowly fading away. Under the gaze of a few people, they almost disappeared.
Tong Yao was stunned and hurriedly looked at herself.
Sure enough, the corrosive curse marks on their bodies, like Su Cheng’s, were gradually fading.
An Xin pulled up Zhang Yu’s sleeve, exposing his arm.
Although the terrifying cyan-black handprint was still there, the surrounding corpse spots were fading, with the nearby skin regaining the color and luster it should have.
“Thank goodness, I knew it…”
An Xin breathed a long sigh of relief, sitting down beside Zhang Yu as if exhausted, showing a relaxed expression. “Even if this is a high-difficulty instance, it couldn’t be that touching a corpse would kill us. Since it couldn’t be cured by an item and the onset was delayed, there must be a way to solve it.”
He looked at the red lamp oil in Wen Jianyan’s hand, regaining his spirits, and said with a rare smile:
“See, here it is!”
Tong Yao’s expression was also relaxed. She nodded: “Yeah.”
Zhang Yu still hung his head low, seemingly too exhausted to wake up. But judging by the situation, recovery should only be a matter of time.
The atmosphere was rarely relaxed.
Despite going through extremely difficult floors and almost dying several times, they not only managed to survive but didn’t lose any team members!
In less than twenty minutes, Qi Qian, who was in a state of apparent death, would rejoin them. Zhang Yu, Tong Yao, and Su Cheng, who were cursed, had found a way to alleviate the curse.
It seemed everything was heading in a good direction.
“Zzzz…zzzz.”
A faint electrical crackling sound came from overhead.
Wen Jianyan was stunned, instinctively looking up in the direction of the sound.
This staircase had no oil lamps but old light bulbs that served the same purpose, casting a yellowish light that dispelled the darkness, making this a safe zone free from the encroachment of darkness.
However…
Wen Jianyan tilted his head back, staring fixedly at the light bulb above him, his brows slightly furrowed.
He felt that the current through the bulb seemed to be experiencing some interference, causing the light it emitted to gradually dim. The area it illuminated was also shrinking. Originally, it could light up the front half of the staircase leading downstairs and the back half leading upstairs, but now, the illuminated area had shrunk to only around the table.
Furthermore…
Wen Jianyan lowered his head, his gaze falling on the red lamp oil in front of Zhang Yu. Deep within his amber eyes, the flickering scarlet light was reflected.
That’s right—absolutely right.
The red light emitted by the lamp oil was suppressing the yellow light from above. The faint red glow that initially barely illuminated the surroundings was now completely enveloping Zhang Yu and the others. That dark red color, resembling paint, extended into the surrounding darkness and even smeared onto the walls.
There was a… very unsettling feeling.
Suddenly—
“Thud… thud thud!”
A sudden sound echoed in the deathly silence of the stairwell, startling everyone. They quickly raised their heads and looked in the direction of the sound.
Was it… knocking?
From behind the wall illuminated by the red light came a stiff knocking sound.
“Thud… thud thud!”
It was as if someone was bending their fingers and knocking on the wall with their knuckles. However, when everyone looked, they couldn’t catch sight of any figures.
“What’s going on?”
Tong Yao’s expression grew heavy again, the previous relief wiped away.
An Xin also stood up, staring intently in the direction of the sound, his whole body tense.
“Clack!”
From above came the sound of something hard falling, followed by the rolling of a spherical object.
“Cough, cough, cough.”
From the depths of the dark staircase came the sound of someone coughing.
Under the blood-red light from the oil lamp, the previously eerily quiet stairwell began to change, with strange noises emanating from all directions, sending chills down their spines.
Damn it.
Wen Jianyan gritted his teeth, his nerves suddenly on edge, eyes fixed on the darkness ahead, the weak scarlet light slowly spreading and creeping outward.
“It’s the lamp oil…”
Tong Yao’s voice was tense as she spoke softly.
Wen Jianyan’s expression was grave; cold sweat broke out on his back in just a few moments.
Indeed, it was the lamp oil.
In the “Changsheng Building,” all the “tools” provided in the instance came with terrifying costs.
The gray-white lamp oil could disperse darkness and prevent some curses from intruding, but it also served as a beacon, attracting “customers” and bringing danger to the shop.
The red lamp oil could lift irreversible curses brought by corpses, but if burned for too long, it would attract even more terrifying entities.
The stronger the effect, the greater the danger.
“Cough cough, cough cough.”
The coughing sound, as if from someone chronically ill, came again from below the stairs, sounding closer this time, like someone was gradually approaching, yet no figure was visible.
“Thud… thud, thud! Thud thud!” The knocking on the wall grew more urgent.
The sound of marbles dropping echoed from the ceiling, as if something were rolling in all directions.
“Zzz…” The light bulb above flickered more frequently.
Under the eerie red light, the area covered by the yellow light shrank further.
“Quick, move back,” Wen Jianyan said in a low, urgent voice. “Only under the light is safe.”
The others dragged the unconscious Zhang Yu to the side of the table. The space for them to stand had become extremely narrow and cramped.
“How’s his hand?”
Wen Jianyan did not lower his head but continued to stare intently at the source of the sounds, asking softly.
An Xin lifted Zhang Yu’s sleeve again and looked down.
The cyan-purple handprint had mostly faded, leaving only a faint mark: “Almost there; it should take just another minute.”
“He’s no longer in mortal danger. How about we extinguish the lamp oil, leave here first, and relight it when we enter the shop?” Tong Yao suggested.
“No.”
Her suggestion was rejected by Wen Jianyan.
“The red light cancels out the safety of the yellow light,” Wen Jianyan said, pointing to the dimming bulb above—its light was now very faint, with a thin layer of red around it, making it look especially sinister. “Now, the bulb is helping us resist part of the curse, but if we enter the shop, our only light source will be the lamp oil.”
Everyone felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.
This time, though they obtained extra ghost money, it was red, so they didn’t get any extra white lamp oil. They were still using the backup oil they obtained when ascending from the first to the second floor!
And it was already half consumed on the second floor.
The bulb might dim and the illuminated area might shrink, but it wouldn’t burn out, and since it was powered by electricity, it wouldn’t extinguish.
The curse had to be completely eradicated. As long as there was a remnant, it would continue to spread, making it take even longer to lift the curse later.
If they relit the lamp oil on the third floor, they would consume many precious supplies.
More importantly…
Without a doubt, the difficulty on the third floor would be higher than on the second floor. Lighting the red lamp oil there would attract dangers they might not be able to handle.
In other words, they had to wait in the area between the second and third floors, under this unfading bulb, until the curse on Zhang Yu was completely lifted before proceeding.
Wen Jianyan: “An Xin, keep an eye on Zhang Yu’s curse. Tell me immediately when it’s gone.”
His voice was cold and calm, giving concise orders.
No matter how panicked Wen Jianyan felt inside, he would suppress his emotions, providing his teammates with unparalleled security—only in this way could he make the entire team more efficient.
Excess panic would only drag them down at this moment.
“Alright.” An Xin nodded, staring intently at the handprint on Zhang Yu, subconsciously holding his breath.
“Take this.”
Wen Jianyan handed the red lamp oil to Tong Yao.
“When An Xin speaks, extinguish it immediately.”
Tong Yao’s face was pale, but she still held the lamp oil and nodded heavily.
The atmosphere was extremely tense, making it hard to breathe.
Wen Jianyan then took the oil lamp, opened the lamp cover, and held a match in his other hand, his whole body tense, waiting for the right moment.
Half a minute passed.
The red light continued to spread, the eerie phenomena in the stairwell increasing rather than decreasing.
With the dark red light spreading on the walls, a black, blurry human figure gradually appeared, facing the wall and stiffly banging its forehead against it.
“Thud… thud, thud!”
One after another.
As its figure became clearer, the “thud thud” knocking gradually slowed until it completely stopped.
In the dead silence, it slowly, bit by bit, turned around—
“!”
In that instant, Wen Jianyan immediately understood that it had “noticed” them, or more precisely, it had become aware of their presence.
He felt his hair stand on end, and his palm tightly gripping the lamp handle was soaked with cold sweat.
“Is it done?” Wen Jianyan heard his own voice, which still sounded somewhat distorted.
In the confined space, they had almost nowhere to escape!
“Almost, almost!” Cold sweat also appeared on An Xin’s forehead. His voice trembled slightly under the high pressure. “Just a little bit more!”
“Cough, cough, cough!”
The heavy coughing sound was closer. Under the red light, they could vaguely see a hunched black shadow stepping up the stairs one step at a time, walking towards them.
It was definitely not human. Whether it was its steps or its posture, it exuded a terrifying, inhuman quality.
The temperature in the air plummeted, and the range of the overhead light shrank further.
As the red light intensified, Wen Jianyan heard a familiar scratching sound coming from the wooden box on the table behind him—not as subtle as when it was giving them things before, but rather more frantic, as if it were attacking the wooden box that trapped it.
Under the violent shaking, the bottom of the wooden box collided with the table, making cracking sounds.
Wen Jianyan instinctively turned his head to look, and his scalp instantly went numb, almost jumping out of his skin in fright.
On the crimson wooden box, within the narrow, dark crack, countless dense, cyan-black fingers could be seen intertwined, wriggling under the red light, as if trying to reach out!
“Is it done yet?!!!”
He screamed.
“Wait a bit! Wait a bit!!” An Xin stared fixedly at the handprint, his eyeballs almost falling out of their sockets, aching terribly but not daring to blink.
He screamed back in the same agonized tone.
On Zhang Yu’s skin, the blue-purple handprint had almost completely faded, leaving only a faint outline that was slowly disappearing.
“How about now!!!”
Wen Jianyan shouted.
The moment An Xin saw the handprint completely disappear, he jumped up in place and screamed in a similarly shrill voice, “It’s done! It’s done!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Tong Yao quickly extinguished the red lamp oil. The red light vanished, but the “things” awakened by it did not disappear; they were still approaching.
Ahhhhhhh!!!
Wen Jianyan gritted his teeth, his pupils contracted, and he lit the spare lamp oil as fast as he could, then shouted, “Run! To the third floor!!!!”
He dashed out, heading straight for the top of the stairs!
The others, carrying Zhang Yu’s unconscious body, followed closely behind.
The eerie sounds followed them closely, and everyone ran up the stairs as if their lives depended on it!
The urgent footsteps echoed, and the gray-white stairway ahead grew larger.
Almost there!
Just ahead!
Like drowning people grabbing onto a piece of driftwood, they kept their eyes fixed ahead, running straight—
Finally, their feet landed on the solid ground of the third floor.
Compared to the previously perilous staircase, the gray and gloomy third floor now seemed unusually welcoming.
They had made it!
But before they could catch their breath, a familiar voice came from ahead:
“Hi.”
“We’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Why are you just getting here?” Orange Candy stood there, smiling. Her innocent and cute face now looked like a demon from hell.
With a mad and belligerent look in her eyes, she made a gun shape with her fingers and said:
“Bang! You’ve been ambushed.”
“Just like we were earlier!”
*
Inside Store No. 02.
The oil lamp welded to the counter emitted a dim yellow light, illuminating the entire shop.
Mu Sen was sitting against the counter.
His eyes were closed, seemingly resting. His face was deathly pale, and his right sleeve was empty, indicating he had lost an arm.
The recent confrontation had been costly for Mu Sen.
To maintain the accuracy of his prophecy, he had sacrificed an entire arm. Worse yet, even this wasn’t enough to save the wooden token, which ended up being reduced to ashes.
Every time he thought about it, his face twisted in anger, and he gnashed his teeth in fury.
It must have been that other prophet’s doing…
Absolutely!
He hadn’t expected to lose so miserably in a one-on-one duel, which was an utter disgrace!
But it didn’t matter.
Mu Sen’s pale lips curled into a particularly vicious smile.
The loss on the second floor, he would avenge on the third floor!
Orange Candy, the battle-crazed maniac who excelled in group fights, was no ordinary person. In those ambush battles, she and her teammates were unbeatable, which meant the other team was doomed.
Moreover, he had instructed Orange Candy to capture the prophet who had ruined his plans—now, simply killing him wasn’t enough to quench his anger.
Mu Sen’s face was twisted with a sense of satisfaction.
He was going to make that so-called strongest prophet pay for his actions!
Whether it was the failed assassination earlier or the shattered wooden token and his lost arm this time, he was going to get it all back from that person…
And this time, he was going to do it himself.
Just then, he heard familiar footsteps outside.
Light and bouncy footsteps, accompanied by a cheerful, intermittent humming, indicating a good mood.
Ah, Orange Candy and her team were back!
Mu Sen opened his eyes abruptly, joy lighting up his face. He struggled to stand up, supporting himself with his one arm, and almost rushed to greet them.
The glass door was pushed open.
The girl bounced in, twirling with an almost proud air: “Orange Candy, victorious!!”
“Did you kill them all?” Mu Sen’s eyes sparkled.
“No,” Orange Candy shook her head with a smile, her ponytail swaying. “Didn’t kill a single one.”
“Huh?”
Mu Sen was stunned.
“Very normal; why are you so surprised?” Orange Candy pouted and waved her hand dismissively. “Last time, when they ambushed us at the stairway, they didn’t go all out either.”
“So you went easy on them?”
Veins bulged on Mu Sen’s forehead.
“Uh…” Orange Candy tilted her head. “You could say that?”
She shook her head again, showing that same nonchalant attitude: “Reciprocation, you know.”
“But it wasn’t completely without gain.”
Orange Candy stepped aside, bouncing: “Ta-da! I brought back the prophet you wanted!”
“!”
Mu Sen was startled, and then his face filled with joy again.
Although the other team wasn’t dead, it didn’t matter. He believed that without their prophet, that crippled team wouldn’t survive long on the third floor, and his true goal was achieved—
Wen Jianyan raised his hand and greeted expressionlessly: “Hi.”
“……”
Mu Sen’s expression slowly cracked.
Wait, what?
