Xingwang Hotel
Chapter 333: Long Time No See
“……”
Yun Bilan’s eyes widened as she stared blankly at the “person” before her, almost unable to believe her own ears.
How could this be possible?
…How could this be possible?
Was it a hallucination brought on by the brink of death?
But the warmth seeping from her wrist was unmistakable, almost burning through her skin and into her bones, bringing an undeniable sense of certainty. It forced her to arrive at a conclusion that was completely contrary to all her common sense and deductions—
It was him.
It really was him.
The teammate she had thought could never appear.
It was…
Wen Jianyan.
That smooth-tongued liar, that careless guild leader, that opportunist driven solely by profit.
And yet…
He was also the only one who could bring them the spark of freedom and hope in this endless darkness and nightmare.
“…!”
As if suddenly realizing something, Yun Bilan’s dazed eyes snapped into sharp clarity, like a blade shaking off dust, revealing its gleaming edge.
She opened her mouth, hurriedly trying to warn him—
“Be—”
Careful!
She had to remember, the Black Team had sent her to open the door… not just to use her to gauge the attack pattern of the “ghost” outside, but also to lure the ghost’s attention to its prey at the door—so they could take the chance to eliminate it.
This meant that the one standing in place of the “ghost” right now would take the full brunt of their firepower.
Under the combined assault of all the streamers, Wen Jianyan could not possibly stand a chance alone.
However, before she could finish speaking, she suddenly felt the fingers tightly gripping her wrist squeeze even harder—then yank her forward with force!
A powerful pull jerked at her wrist. Yun Bilan gasped, swallowing back the rest of her words. Her legs, stiff from prolonged restraint, instinctively moved forward, stumbling from the unexpected force.
The young man before her grasped her wrist and spun gracefully, effortlessly.
In an instant, the world flipped upside down.
Their positions abruptly switched.
“?!”
Yun Bilan’s pupils contracted sharply.
Cold rain fell from the sky, but before it could touch her, her vision was suddenly obstructed by darkness—something was gently placed over her face by the young man in front of her.
It was a mask.
Seemingly rigid but actually soft, still carrying the warmth of a human’s body temperature. Wen Jianyan had taken it off his own face and, with an almost weightless motion, placed it onto hers.
“……”
For a brief moment, it was as if everything around her had fallen into dead silence. Time stopped flowing. The entire space seemed to freeze.
Through the holes in the mask, Yun Bilan’s eyes—filled with shock and fear—were visible.
In the depths of her pupils was the reflection of Wen Jianyan’s still-smiling face.
He had turned his completely unguarded back to the Black Team, who were poised to strike, and had given Yun Bilan the only thing that allowed a human to survive on this street—the mask.
Through the mask, she saw his eyes.
Those pale brown irises, so close, carried a trace of warm laughter, flickering in the darkness—like life itself, flawed yet vibrant, burning, and full of vitality.
It felt like only a fleeting second had passed.
Or perhaps… an entire century.
The deadly attack struck from behind, shattering the silence.
Countless blade-like streaks of light exploded from within the room, all aimed at the young man shielding Yun Bilan.
Those lights—whether innate abilities, props, or both—she didn’t know.
The only thing she could see was his profile illuminated by that terrifying radiance.
His pale-colored eyes wavered in the light, like a fragile moth about to be consumed by flames, flickering in and out of existence—about to vanish into ashes in the next second.
…No.
No.
No, no, no, no, no—!
A fierce, almost panicked emotion erupted within, like a bomb dropped into her mind, capable of obliterating everything.
In that instant, Yun Bilan’s mind went completely blank.
She thought of nothing.
“No—”
A hoarse, piercing voice tore from her throat, sounding strange and terrifying.
The next second, violent thorns suddenly burst from the ground, growing wildly in the rain, swaying, destroying everything around them—like a massive cage, enclosing and protecting the young man before her.
“???”
Wen Jianyan panicked.
He frantically pressed his hands on Yun Bilan’s shoulders. “You—you—you, calm down!”
He was fine. Of course, he was fine!
Everything had been planned from the start!
Before knocking on the door, Wen Jianyan had fed all the points he could spare in this instance into the Holy Infant Remains item, leveling it up to the highest tier he could reach.
At the very moment he handed Yun Bilan the mask, he had activated the item.
Although the invincibility effect of an epic-level item might not hold against higher-dimensional threats within the dungeon, when it came to combat between streamers, it was almost foolproof—especially now that it had been upgraded to such a high level.
Surviving the first wave of Black Team’s probing attacks shouldn’t have been an issue.
What Wen Jianyan hadn’t expected was Yun Bilan’s extreme reaction.
Above them, around them—thorny walls grew densely, sealing them in. The thorns behind him had been corroded into a massive hole, writhing frantically as they rapidly regenerated.
Through the mask, Wen Jianyan saw Yun Bilan’s bloodshot, emotionless eyes.
A chill ran down his spine. “Hey, hey, I’m fine! Everything is under control—”
The Black Team quickly realized something was wrong and ceased their attacks.
“……”
The Gentleman narrowed his eyes slightly and raised his chin in a refined gesture, signaling for his team to step forward. “Go take a look.”
Though the chaos had obscured their vision, based on the few clues available, he had a strange premonition.
The figure that had appeared outside the shop door just now… didn’t seem to be a “ghost.”
His expression darkened slightly at the thought.
At the entrance, the thorny wall wriggled like a living, monstrous entity. The Black Team members cautiously approached, scrutinizing the dense thorns.
Just as they got close enough—
Suddenly, the wall of thorns exploded from within. Countless vines lashed out wildly, attacking everything in the vicinity indiscriminately.
The Black Team members hastily activated their items to shield themselves.
The vines vanished just as quickly as they had appeared. Thanks to their quick reflexes, the only injuries sustained were minor scratches.
As the dust settled, two figures emerged before them.
Yun Bilan, her face hidden behind a mask, now wore a human-skin cloak over her shoulders—so despite standing in the rain, she wasn’t being attacked by vengeful spirits.
And standing beside her…
Was a very familiar face.
The tall young man rested a hand casually on Yun Bilan’s shoulder, a faint, lazy smile playing at his lips. His pale-colored eyes narrowed slightly as he looked over—his expression the very picture of infuriating smugness.
“Hey, long time no see.”
“……”
Even the slowest among them now realized what had just happened.
The one knocking on the door hadn’t been a “ghost”—it was this guy.
Somehow, he had bypassed the door’s rules, tricked the people inside into opening it for him—not only using this chance to rescue his teammate but also ensuring that no one in his team had to be sacrificed. He had infiltrated the notoriously difficult Framing Shop without losing a single member.
Black Team’s live broadcast room.
[Ahhhh… In the end, they still opened the damn door for this lying bastard!! I’m gonna lose my mind!!!]
[Fu-ck, this is exactly why having a god’s-eye view is frustrating! We can’t even warn the streamers thanks to this damn anti-spoiler mode in the livestream!]
[Yeah, yeah! I was counting on the Red Team losing two key members in this wave. They only have five people! Losing two would’ve basically wiped them out! But nooo—not only did they not lose a second person, they even got the first one back!]
[As much as I hate to admit it… that was an insane move. Not only did he bypass the rules, but he also faked the ghost’s knocking perfectly. The craziest part? He played us—completely toyed with our team’s psychological expectations.]
[For real… It feels like he had our anchors completely figured out. Every decision, every choice they made was within his calculations. That’s terrifying when you think about it.]
[Honestly, I thought he was just average throughout this instance run. Didn’t seem to have any special skills or crazy abilities. But now… damn. No wonder he’s the new 008…]
[……]
The Gentleman, whose face always bore a refined smile, finally showed a flicker of darkness in his expression.
A faint, cold smile curved his lips.
“Indeed… long time no see.”
The air inside the room grew murky and heavy.
Sharp, icy killing intent surged toward the young man standing in the doorway.
Wen Jianyan subtly took a step back.
“To be honest, last time I ran into you guys on the second floor… you really made me search high and low.”
Anise grinned, his bulging, protruding eyes rolling in their sockets as they locked onto Wen Jianyan’s seemingly cautious—but in truth, retreating—movements. His gaze was chilling and terrifying.
“But this time, there are no other rooms left for you to hide in.”
Wen Jianyan pressed down on Yun Bilan’s shoulder, his lips moving silently: “Left. Just keep running.”
“Catch him!”
Almost the instant before Anise could finish speaking, Wen Jianyan, like a sharp-nosed rabbit sensing danger, sprang up three feet high and bolted toward the door as if his tail were on fire.
“Pursue him.”
The Gentleman let out a breath that sounded almost like laughter, though it was laced with irritation.
With practiced elegance, he straightened his collar and strode forward. “Ignore the other one. Without No. 08, that team is nothing but a scattered mess.”
Truth be told, no one in the room was in a worse mood than the Gentleman himself.
As the vice president of Oracle, he was the only one here familiar with No. 008’s tactics. And yet, despite knowing full well that this guy was fond of playing tricks, deception, and cons, he had still fallen into his trap—stepping right into a pit he had seen coming.
The sheer frustration of getting outplayed like this…
Was infuriating.
“No need to waste any items. That guy is probably immune to all attacks and control effects right now,” the Gentleman said coolly, staring out at the drizzling rain. “But items like that usually have a time limit. It won’t be long before it wears off. Once he loses the mask and cloak, he won’t be able to take another step.”
“I only saw him alone, but there’s no way he’s acting solo. His teammates must be hiding somewhere outside. Follow him carefully—watch for ambushes. Don’t let him escape. Once he reunites with his team, capturing him will become significantly more difficult.”
Four sentences—each one more precise and ruthless than the last.
Every single one perfectly predicted the limitations of Wen Jianyan’s current items and his most likely course of action.
Black Team’s live broadcast room.
[Ohhh, nice!]
[Not bad! They reacted quickly, not only seeing through the real situation but also immediately formulating a counter-strategy and launching the chase!]
[Good, good! I think the Black Team might actually turn this around this time!]
[Hahahahaha, hurry up! I wanna see this lying bastard crash and burn!!!]
Such gross hypocritics, the audience hating and cursing MC for being a ‘liar’ when the actors they are cheering on have done much much worse. Ha
Come on, the audience cheering for the black team fits the character of the black team. They’re hitting on our host because they’re not happy that the people they voted for were cheated. We don’t need them, but it’s nice to see Wen rubbing their noses in it)