WTNL Chapter 490

Yuying University
Chapter 490: It hurts to say it all

The fire that ignited in the gymnasium at the end of each cycle.

The monsters in the instance that feared fire.

—The fire carried by the oil lamp, a fire that could even ignite the instance itself.

“…Ah.”

Wen Jianyan’s eyes widened as he murmured.

“What is it?”

Hugo noticed Wen Jianyan’s unusual reaction and pressed for an answer.

At this moment, the other few who had climbed out of the pool also walked over.

Wen Jianyan pushed himself off the floor and swayed to his feet. Water dripped from the corner of his clothes. He looked up at the crowd gathering around him and spoke with a slightly quickened pace:

“There’s an imprint on the left side of the drawer in the principal’s office. At the time, I didn’t realize what had left it—until just now.”

“But in fact, we’ve all seen it before.”

Wen Jianyan’s gaze fell on Hugo, as if just remembering he was there, and belatedly added:

“Oh, except for Hugo.”

Hugo: “…”

In the “Integrity First” Livestream Room:

[Hahahahahahahahahaha!]

[Everyone here has seen this thing, guess who hasn’t? It’s you!]

[Hugo: Damn, I’m being excluded.]

“Hugo just said that at the end of each cycle, the gymnasium catches fire.”

Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and said slowly.

“And the first place we set on fire was the library, and the item we used was—”

Before he could finish, Arnold, from behind, cried out in surprise:

“Ah!”

Following Wen Jianyan’s gaze, everyone turned to look.

Compared to his previous listlessness, Arnold seemed to have recovered a bit now, but the burn marks on his face had not completely faded.

Arnold didn’t notice the gazes of the people around him, but his eyes were wide:

“That oil lamp?!”

Wen Jianyan: “Yes.”

In the librarian’s office, the imprint left on the desk after the oil lamp was taken.

And in the principal’s office, the familiar round imprint on the left side of the drawer.

The fierce fire that ran through the entire instance.

This couldn’t be a coincidence.

Moreover, that fire was strange and dangerous. Even just holding the oil lamp couldn’t prevent the harm it could cause, and such a fire shouldn’t have been kept in an area like a library.

“If I’m not mistaken, the original storage place for that oil lamp should have been the principal’s office, not the librarian’s office where it is now.”

Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why such a dangerous item was stored in a hazardous area surrounded by flammable materials.

Unless…

It wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place.

Hugo: “…I’ve been wanting to ask, who is he?”

“?!”

Arnold was startled out of his recent excitement.

Meeting Hugo’s gaze, he couldn’t help but take a step back.

Even though he didn’t know who this anchor was, the suffocating aura he exuded was no fake. He knew—this person was definitely not a simple character.

Wen Jianyan spoke up then: “A friend who helped us.”

He thought for a moment, then leaned close to Hugo and added in a voice only the two of them could hear: “Quite useful.”

In the “Integrity First” Livestream Room:
 

[?]

[Written as friend, read as a very useful tool, is that it?]

[…Wen Jianyan, I urge you to check your conscience.]

At this moment, Tian Ye was startled, as if he had thought of something from Wen Jianyan’s recent narrative: “Wait a minute! If that oil lamp was the item stored in the principal’s office drawer, then wouldn’t we have—”

As if guessing the question the other was about to ask, Wen Jianyan shook his head and gave the answer directly:

“No. The item we’re looking for is not it.”

If it were, then back in the library, the moment Wen Jianyan touched the oil lamp, a system prompt for task completion would have appeared, but it didn’t.

Moreover, if he remembered correctly…

The round imprint left by the oil lamp was only on one side of the drawer, while a large empty space was left on the other side.

In other words, the “item” placed in that empty space was actually the purpose of their trip into this instance.

Su Cheng pondered for a moment and said, “So you think someone ‘took’ the oil lamp from the principal’s office and set the gymnasium on fire?”

Wen Jianyan: “Yes.”

He added, “And I know who.”

“?!” At this, everyone was shocked. Only Hugo showed a look of understanding.

Wen Jianyan’s gaze met Hugo’s.

Hugo furrowed his brows. “You mean?”

Wen Jianyan nodded.

The others beside them looked at each other.

Su Cheng: “Explain?”

Wen Jianyan: “I guess it was the protagonist of the movie we experienced—Richard.”

His words were concise and unambiguous, but precisely because of this, the others around him were stunned, a bit dizzy from the sudden influx of information.

What? Richard?

The protagonist of the movie “Brave Richard” from their memory?

Hugo had chosen the film appreciation course in his second year and had cleared the final part of the movie “Brave Richard.”

Although Wen Jianyan hadn’t participated, in the illusion he experienced in the cafeteria kitchen, he and the fake “Hugo” had experienced a censored version of the final scene.

—Richard and Wang Ni kissing by the swimming pool.

“In short, just as I guessed at the very beginning, the content of the ‘movies’ appreciated in the film appreciation class is not randomly chosen or fabricated. It’s not just some mechanism to reap the lives of anchors.”

Wen Jianyan shook his half-dry head, flinging out a spray of water.

He continued, “On the contrary, every movie there contains a facet related to the origin of the instance.”

However, the difficulty of collecting every movie was too great. Even a team of anchors like Wen Jianyan had only experienced two out of four.

And in these mere two, due to the generational changes of the instance, the so-called “movie characters” were replaced one by one by the anchors who died in them. The already fragmented and abstract plots became even more disintegrated with the insertion of death scenes, making it almost impossible to extract any effective information.

It wasn’t so much that the instance was making it difficult for them, but rather… it never intended for them to find the correct answer.

From a rule perspective, this was reasonable.

After all, this was unrelated to the main storyline. Even without understanding what these movie plots represented, anchors could still clear the instance and leave.

However, the instance had underestimated an anchor who could push the exploration rate to eighty percent.

When an anchor pushed the exploration rate to this value, it was equivalent to having collected most of the puzzle pieces. They were only a spark of inspiration away from completely restoring everything.

Yun Bilan pressed, “So, you now know the relationship between the movie plot and this instance?”

“More or less,”

Wen Jianyan nodded, then shook his head.

“But… it’s not related to the ‘Core’ of this instance, but rather its ‘Beginning’.”

“Even on the day the gymnasium caught fire, the swimming pool had just been built and was not yet officially open to students.”

Just as the lady who had opened the door earlier said, no students were allowed in.

“So I guess Richard and Wang Ni snuck in.”

Wen Jianyan looked up, his gaze falling on the shimmering water surface in the distance. “I don’t know what exactly happened here, but it’s clear that something strange and terrifying occurred during this process.”

“Wang Ni’s ‘mirror image’ invaded reality and nearly drove Wang Ni to the brink of madness,”

Wen Jianyan said slowly, organizing his thoughts.

“And because of this, Richard developed a phobia of water, to the point where he only dared to drink bottled water.”

“This went on for a week.”

“I think during that time, they must have been trying very hard to find a solution.”

Even without witnessing it firsthand, they could still imagine how fearful, pained, and tormented those two people were during that time. They had no one to confide in about what they were experiencing except each other, and no one would believe them. So, they could only suffer alone, searching for a chance to survive.

“The library was their last straw.”

Richard’s backpack had a library lending slip, and many scenes in both movies also took place in the library.

“—And they clearly found some kind of truth.”

“What truth?” Tian Ye couldn’t help but interject.

Wen Jianyan: “I don’t know.”

He lowered his eyes, thoughtfully saying, “—And the instance seems to be doing everything it can to keep us from knowing.”

Wen Jianyan didn’t think it was a coincidence that the library was the first place to be burned.

The danger level in the library was too high, its lethality far exceeding the difficulty of the instance. It was practically a guaranteed death on first encounter. Unless you threw wave after wave of anchors in, using lives to feel out a solution, it was almost impossible to survive the dense and irresistible death conditions.

That was why Hugo had given up on passing through the library and was forced to retreat back into the warehouse.

In fact, even Wen Jianyan himself wasn’t entirely sure how he had escaped…

He had thought it was due to the level of his item, until he saw the library lending slip on Orange Candy.

The words that appeared on it meant that the main reason Orange Candy was able to avoid the library’s initial kill was the “lending slip,” not the “item.”

Did this mean that even Orange Candy’s item level was not enough to resist it?

Then why—

“So,” Hugo asked, “you suspect the instance deliberately led you to ignite the library?”

Wen Jianyan’s answer was ambiguous: “…Perhaps.”

Although there was no direct evidence, the suspicion lingered.

The location of the answer pointed to by the movie plot just so happened to have a nearly unsolvable puzzle and a method to tear up the answer sheet. No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t seem like a coincidence.

“Anyway, back to the point.”

Wen Jianyan came back to his senses.

“The rest of the content, everyone should know—Wang Ni and Richard found the answer and decided to end it all themselves.”

Wen Jianyan remembered that in the world with all supernatural elements removed, Richard and Wang Ni kissed by the swimming pool.

But in reality, it should have been… the entire gymnasium engulfed in a sea of fire.

After Wen Jianyan finished speaking, everyone couldn’t help but fall into silence.

This plot was not complicated.

Especially under Wen Jianyan’s deliberately simplified narrative, it was so plain it could be summed up in a few words. But precisely because of this, the terror, abnormality, weakness, and the determination and resistance born from it, hidden behind these few words, seemed all the more thrilling.

“However…”

Wei Cheng, having thought of something, suddenly spoke up. “There’s one point I’m a bit concerned about.”

Wen Jianyan turned to look at him. “What is it?”

“Wasn’t it Wang Ni who found the clues in the library?” Wei Cheng’s brow furrowed slightly. “Why do you think it was Richard who burned down the gymnasium in the end?”

This time, it was Su Cheng who answered: “—Because Richard was the last one to die.”

He stepped forward and continued, “So, the one who burned down the gymnasium in the end could only be him.”

“Right.”

Wen Jianyan took over the conversation.

“The movie with him as the protagonist is called ‘Brave Richard,’ and this might be the reason why.”

—After all, in every sense, Richard was indeed brave.

“However…” Wen Jianyan changed the subject, turned to look at Wei Cheng, and frowned. “I actually don’t know the answer to your question.”

From the movie plot, Wang Ni was the one who found the key clue, but it was Richard who burned down the gymnasium in the end.

Of course, it was possible that the two had exchanged information and made a decision based on that, but… Wen Jianyan felt that things weren’t that simple.

That would be too simple.

If it were really that simple, then why would the reaction zone in the library become a key plot point in the movie?

Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

“…”

Suddenly, as if having thought of something, Wen Jianyan jolted and abruptly raised his head. He took a step forward:

“I know where to go next!”

He turned and ran towards the gymnasium exit. “Follow me!”

Although they didn’t know why Wen Jianyan suddenly made such a decision, after spending so much time together, the rest of the team more or less understood his temperament. So, they didn’t press him with questions but acted immediately.

The lady with the mop had just opened the door when several wet figures rushed past her, startling her so much she almost fell. “You little rascals—”

Before she could finish her scolding, the figures were already gone, leaving her stamping her feet in anger.

The group ran through the campus, ignoring their soaked clothes.

“S-so…”

Tian Ye gasped as he ran, unable to suppress the question in his heart. “Where exactly are we going?”

“In ‘Brave Richard’ and ‘A Day in the Life of Wang Ni,’ many scenes overlap,” Wen Jianyan said without looking at him, his gaze still scanning the surroundings, as if trying to find something in the bustling crowd.

His speech quickened slightly:

“Basically, every place Wang Ni went, Richard also went, except for one place—”

With that, Wen Jianyan stopped.

The others followed his gaze forward.

The sun was bright overhead, shining on the ordinary campus. The crowd was bustling, and every student had a carefree face. And not far away, the familiar domed building stood quietly.

The group was first stunned, then expressions of realization appeared on their faces.

“—The cafeteria!”

Tian Ye’s eyes widened as he cried out in surprise.

“Yes.” Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and then slowly nodded.

“It’s no use.”

Just then, Hugo, who was at the side, suddenly spoke up.

The group was startled and turned to look.

Wen Jianyan: “What?”

“I know what you want to do,” Hugo looked up, his gaze passing over Wen Jianyan’s shoulder towards the distant cafeteria, and calmly concluded:

“But unfortunately, we won’t be able to see anything.”

Wen Jianyan couldn’t help but frown. “What do you mean by that?”

“In about less than ten minutes, an air wall will appear.”

Hugo took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Unfortunately, the pack was soaked, and water dripped from its flattened edges.

He paused, then stuffed the pack back into his pocket.

“So, even if you’ve found the location of the event, you won’t be able to witness it firsthand. You’ll be pushed far away.”

The group was stunned. “Air wall?”

“Yes.” Hugo nodded. “During certain time periods, some areas will be surrounded by an air wall, which is impenetrable. Even if you enter the area beforehand, you will be pushed out when the time comes.”

Clearly, he had tried, perhaps even more than once.

Wen Jianyan frowned, catching the key point in Hugo’s words. “You said ‘some areas’? Besides here, what other area?”

“The library, the cafeteria, the gymnasium,” Hugo answered promptly as always.

Hearing this, expressions of realization appeared on the faces of the group.

That made sense.

That’s why Hugo, knowing that the gymnasium would catch fire at that time, didn’t urge them to leave the administration building and head to the obviously more critical gymnasium area. It was because he already knew that even if they were near the gymnasium at that time, they would be blocked by the air wall.

Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes, lost in thought.

But this also meant that they were currently in a past ‘memory.’ Non-critical places could be influenced or even destroyed, but they couldn’t touch the key content that concerned the normal operation of this ‘memory.’

And the appearance of the air wall probably also represented:

Once this memory progressed to a key node, it would reject all existences from interfering with it.

After a few seconds, Wen Jianyan turned to look at Hugo. “How long until the air wall appears here?”

Hugo glanced down at the time and said:

“In about five minutes.”

The group stood in place, hesitating.

If Hugo’s words were true, then this “mirror” really had cut off all their chances of getting to the truth. This was truly frustrating and disheartening.

But to just let the hard-earned clue slip through their fingers was truly unbearable.

Hugo turned to look at the others and suddenly asked an unrelated question:

“I didn’t attend the two film appreciation classes, and I have no impression of the library area. But do you still remember the areas where those two characters were looking for books in the library?”

The group was startled, then nodded.

“Don’t forget, although the library outside was destroyed, the library here still exists.”

Hugo said

“Ah…” The group was startled, then immediately understood Hugo’s purpose.

Wen Jianyan had just said that he suspected the library might have been deliberately set on fire by the instance.

If the answer was yes… then there must be some information in the library that the instance didn’t want them to find.

This was indeed a good, but also the only, direction.

“…”

Wen Jianyan turned his head to look at the building behind him, nodded, and sighed:

“Alright. It seems that’s the only place we can go now.”

Hugo glanced at the time. “Let’s go. There’s probably less than a minute before the air wall appears. We’d better not stay in this area.”

“Huh?” Tian Ye showed a worried expression and asked hesitantly, “Then… what happens if we don’t leave in time?”

Hugo’s answer was ambiguous: “It will be very painful.”

Everyone: “???”

However, time was tight, and they didn’t have time to ask further.

They turned and followed Hugo, running away from the cafeteria.

But before they had run more than a few steps, a soft grunt suddenly came from behind.

The sound was not loud, but the pain implied in it was strangely clear.

The group’s steps faltered, and they turned to look.

Wen Jianyan had suddenly slumped, staggering to his knees on the ground. He lowered his head, his face excessively pale, his colorless lips tightly pursed. Large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead, and he seemed to be in great pain.

The team members were shocked and subconsciously slowed down.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you—”

The words were just at their lips when, the next second, they felt an invisible resistance push them violently away. Without any warning, everyone was thrown backward by the strange force. After a dizzying flight, they fell heavily to the ground.

The sun was bright and glaring overhead. The group lay on the ground, wincing in pain.

While everyone else was in a disarray, only Hugo landed lightly, not looking disheveled at all.

He looked at the group and sighed.

I told you it would be very painful.

Hugo: “Anyway—”

Before he could finish, he was suddenly startled:

“…Wait a minute.”

The team members were scattered on the ground, but one person was missing.

Hugo frowned, once again carefully counting the number of people on the ground, and finally slowly spat out a few words:

“Where is he?”

—At some point, Wen Jianyan had disappeared.

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