Changsheng Building
Chapter 232: Time is limited
“Ah, you’re unwilling to tell me?”
The person was sitting with their back against the counter, somehow having woken up without anyone noticing. There was a faint smile on their face, a mix of gentleness and a hint of shyness. Their amber eyes appeared particularly deep in the dim light, giving an unexpectedly inscrutable feeling.
“Is the result not good?”
At this moment, the information obtained by the parasite from the other person’s blood was transmitted to Mo Sen’s mind.
To him, the anchor in front of him was a completely unfamiliar presence.
This meant that the person brought back by Orange Candy was not the prophetic anchor he had encountered last time. The other person had somehow managed to deceive his prop and Orange Candy’s vigilance, being brought here as a prophet.
He had been played.
Upon realizing this, Mo Sen’s face turned ashen, his expression gradually becoming distorted.
The girl leaned forward slightly; her eyes, which seemed to see through everything, fixed on him.
Her tone was nothing special, just calm, as if sincerely comforting him, but to Mo Sen’s ears, it inexplicably carried a hint of condescending mockery.
Wen Jianyan said with a smiling face:
“Don’t worry, it might not be accurate, right?”
As if she already knew about his previous failure in card reading and even his self-mutilation.
In an instant, the frustration and fear from earlier were all replaced by the shame and anger of being fooled.
Old and new grudges piled up, and he was deeply provoked.
Mo Sen abruptly stood up, roughly grabbing the other’s collar, pulling them towards him, his voice rising with a nervous edge: “Shut up, you bitch—”
Wen Jianyan didn’t move; he just slightly raised his eyelids, quietly staring at him.
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[???]
[Damn, he’s embarrassed and angry, bullying the weak! He’s actually hitting a beauty?!]
[But I have to say, the anchor’s taunt was pretty good. If it were me, I’d want to hit him too, hahaha.]
Wen Jianyan gently raised his hand, his slender, fair fingers wrapped around the other’s bandaged wrist, like soft silk, slowly tightening.
“…!”
A sharp pain shot from his wrist, and Mo Sen almost screamed in pain, losing his face.
He uncontrollably released the grip on his collar, intending to immediately withdraw his hand, but was firmly held by the other party, unable to move, forcibly maintaining this seemingly aggressive posture.
Not far away, Orange Candy heard the commotion behind her, frowning as she turned her head, nodding towards another teammate: “Go, separate them.”
As her words fell, another tall and sturdy teammate immediately stepped forward. He had long been dissatisfied with Mo Sen’s behavior since entering the instance, and now he didn’t hold back.
Wen Jianyan released his wrist accordingly.
“!”
Mo Sen stumbled back several steps, his expression twisted in pain. The sharp pain from his wrist seemed to tell him that what had just happened was no illusion. This seemingly slender and fragile girl had terrifying strength; her grip almost crushed his wrist.
“Sorry…”
The girl took a step back, hiding behind the teammate. Her long, soft eyelashes blinked slightly, her eyes a bit red, and her collar wrinkled from the grab, looking as if she had been bullied, arousing a strong protective instinct.
She said softly, “I might have said something wrong.”
Seeing her innocent look, Mo Sen’s anger flared up: “You little—”
“Enough.”
Orange Candy’s voice turned cold.
Usually, she spoke casually, her voice carrying a smile. Now, she discarded all emotions, becoming cold and indifferent, almost frightening:
“Mo Sen, I thought that among veteran anchors, there wouldn’t be idiots who lose their temper at critical moments… or do you not want to leave this instance alive?”
“If you really want to die that badly,” the little girl tilted her head, her previously expressionless face once again showing a sweet smile, “I can send you on your way early.”
Mo Sen’s heart jolted, snapping him out of his irrational state.
On one hand, he was facing a terrifying card game where everyone would be wiped out unless he sacrificed an arm. On the other hand, he found out that the hard-earned prophet was a fake. The consecutive setbacks had left Mo Sen irritable and restless.
Now, being provoked by this person’s seemingly indifferent but actually painful words, Mo Sen himself didn’t even realize that he had lost his composure, being driven by emotions, forgetting his surroundings, and committing such a foolish act.
In this high-level team battle instance, “foolishness” was equivalent to “holding back,” which was the most intolerable quality.
If Mo Sen hadn’t shown irreplaceable value in the previous two floors, and also being a member of the Oracle, Orange Candy might not have even bothered to threaten him, and would have directly disposed of him as useless trash.
Mo Sen suppressed the surging negative emotions in his eyes, lowered his head, and said:
“…Sorry, I was impulsive.”
Orange Candy withdrew her gaze: “Keep up.”
She thought for a moment and waved at Wen Jianyan: “You too.”
The team leader was not responsible for resolving conflicts or caring about the team’s mental health, especially now that they were facing an unprecedented crisis. The three “customers” entering the shop consecutively meant that the upcoming attacks could also come in three waves.
One wave was already overwhelming, and three waves…
Even just thinking about it made one’s back feel cold.
Watching Orange Candy’s retreating figure, Wen Jianyan stepped forward and turned to give Mo Sen a shy smile.
Mo Sen: “…”
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[Hahahaha!]
[This is truly suffering in silence.]
[Hahahahaha! So annoying!]
The group headed deeper into the shop.
Wu Ya was waiting for them in the depths of the shop. Although the glutinous rice powder on the ground had completely disappeared, he had already located the last position of the dark footprints before the traces vanished.
“Captain!”
He saw Orange Candy’s figure, his eyes brightening, and he waved at her.
Orange Candy: “Any results?”
“Yes.”
Wu Ya nodded and pointed to a painting in front of him: “One pair of footprints stopped in front of this painting, and another pair stopped over there.”
He pointed in the opposite direction behind him.
There, in the dim corner of the shop, a vague portrait in a red wooden frame could be faintly seen.
“And the third pair?”
“This…”
Wu Ya’s face showed a serious expression. He slowly shook his head and said: “Unfortunately, the third pair of footprints disappeared here. I only know that they roughly moved towards the back, but I’m not sure where they stopped.”
Although the glutinous rice powder could leave the footprints of supernatural entities, it had a time limit, so he had to use it just before the “customers” arrived.
But because of this, he hadn’t covered the entire shop, so he couldn’t track the last pair of footprints.
“It doesn’t matter, let’s deal with what we can first.”
Orange Candy raised her head and looked at the painting closest to her.
The bright red paint on the frame was peeling off, and on the canvas in the middle, there was a room immersed in darkness, furnished with antique wooden furniture, painted in a deep scarlet color. In the room stood three dark figures, one large and two small, holding hands in the middle of the picture, their faces unclear, only faintly visible as pale blobs.
The whole painting looked very eerie, making people feel extremely uncomfortable.
Orange Candy stepped forward first, carefully touching the frame and the painting, but there was no familiar system prompt in her ear.
“It’s not a prop.”
She frowned and said.
“How can that be?” Wu Ya was stunned, “Did the rules change on the third floor?”
“What about your divination result?” Orange Candy turned to Mo Sen, rolling her eyes impatiently, “You haven’t answered me yet.”
“…”
Mo Sen’s face turned pale instantly.
Usually, he could sense the direction of fortune from the card formation presented by the card game, thus deducing the next action. However, this double-death card game was the only exception. It was not only a prophecy but also a curse, forcing the cardholder to break the cards.
Only this kind of card game would not provide any guidance.
Because luck was not on their side.
It wasn’t that Mo Sen didn’t want to say it, but that he couldn’t.
Otherwise, they would definitely force him to break the cards. Even if they survived this instance, he himself would surely die, or even worse, live a life worse than death.
So, in the end, he could only dryly say:
“I used it too frequently before, so this time there’s nothing much to indicate.”
This situation was indeed very common for streamers.
“Alright then.”
Orange Candy didn’t press further; she just shrugged and withdrew her gaze.
Wen Jianyan had been watching this team’s actions the whole time.
From his observations, he could basically confirm the general division of labor and composition of the other team.
Besides Orange Candy as the leader and Mo Sen, there was also someone akin to a medium, and three combat members. The overall organization leaned towards offensive rather than balanced like the Dark Fire team, which was why, even though there were only three people including Orange Candy who intercepted them at the third-floor stairway, they could still suppress them firmly.
However, although the internal organization was not balanced, the overall quality and resources of the team were still evident.
For instance, the teammate named Wu Ya, using the glutinous rice powder to track paranormal footprints, was not a talent but a high-rarety item. The fact that they could use it so casually showed how well-resourced they were.
Indeed, this team specializing in team battles was lavish in both points and items.
Meanwhile, Wen Jianyan quickly figured out the extent of Orange Candy’s team’s understanding of the instance’s rules.
Obviously, this team hadn’t encountered an attack similar to the television incident on the second floor like they did.
This also indirectly confirmed Wen Jianyan’s initial speculation.
The second wave of attacks they experienced on the second floor was far more difficult than on that floor, triggered by the shop’s internal mechanism, causing a chain reaction.
Since that was the case, the experiences they gained on the second floor beyond the difficulty of that floor could now be used.
“The rules haven’t changed.”
At this moment, a gentle but timid voice sounded from the side, drawing everyone’s attention.
Wen Jianyan blinked and softly said:
“Sometimes, the items customers buy are not necessarily in the shop.”
Wu Ya was stunned and hurriedly asked, “What do you mean?”
“It means that the item the customer purchased actually exists within this painting.” Wen Jianyan tilted his head and said, “To lift the curse, we must enter the painting and find the source.”
“Enter the painting?!”
The expressions of the few people showed doubt and suspicion, clearly unsure whether to trust the captive’s suggestion.
“Don’t listen to her,” Mo Sen said, narrowing his eyes and gritting his teeth viciously, “She’s not a prophet. She deceived my props and came here deliberately. Her suggestion hides a trap, definitely trying to kill us—”
“What good would it do to kill you?”
The girl said timidly, “If I were left alone in this shop, under the influence of the triple curse, I would surely die too.”
“…”
“Or maybe…”
Wen Jianyan tilted his head and revealed a small smile that only Mo Sen could see, “Do you have any other suggestions?”
As time passed.
The crimson frame of the painting, its image became more dark and gloomy at some point, and one of the figures’ faces became clear at a visible speed, increasingly resembling someone in their team.
“…” Wu Ya.
“Wait!”
Seeing the face that resembled him by four or five points, Wu Ya suddenly realized, gasping, his face drained of blood: “That, that’s my face!”
Under the horrified gaze of everyone outside the painting, the mouth of the figure in the painting curled up, slowly revealing a particularly eerie smile.
“If you have any suggestions, you better say them quickly.”
Seeing Mo Sen’s face turn progressively pale, Wen Jianyan innocently blinked and once again revealed that seemingly harmless but actually malicious smile:
“Our time is running out.”
i agree with the chat wjy would hell to be enemies w/ lmaoo he takes every chance to be petty