Yuying University
Chapter 494: President
Inside the administration building.
Under the dim light, the expressionless faces of the club members appeared even paler, exuding an inhuman coldness. Their gazes were enough to make any normal person’s blood run cold.
However, Wen Jianyan, standing in the corridor, seemed completely unaffected.
He lifted his chin and said with a smile:
“Make way?”
The club members: “…………”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[Is it my imagination? I feel like the club members’ expressions have become even more ferocious… like they really want to kill the anchor?]
[Uh, I don’t think it’s your imagination?]
Finally, after a stalemate of a few seconds, the people in front of him, deterred by the rules, reluctantly and slowly stepped aside.
The smile on Wen Jianyan’s face deepened.
That’s more like it.
He took a step forward, leisurely walking through the middle of the club members and into the activity room behind them.
Despite being surrounded by terrifying beings exuding a cold aura, Wen Jianyan, the only human among them, appeared relaxed and at ease. He even tilted his head, looking around with great curiosity, observing the activity room with interest.
After strolling around the club activity room, Wen Jianyan pulled out a chair and sat down. He looked at the motionless club members standing not far away and beckoned with a flirtatious hook of his finger:
“What are you still standing there for? Come here.”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[…]
[…]
[Anchor, you…]
[I’m not gonna lie, seeing his smug, villainous look, I kind of want to hit him now too.]
Wen Jianyan propped his legs up on a nearby table, smiling as he watched the club members reluctantly and slowly approach.
“As your president, I actually have a task for you.”
“I believe with your abilities, you should be able to complete it easily, right?”
“………………”
The club members’ faces were grim as they stared at him in silence. If they could, they seemed to want to tear Wen Jianyan apart alive. However, that intense killing intent and malice were suppressed by a more powerful, compulsory fear.
But Wen Jianyan seemed to turn a blind eye to their reactions.
On the contrary, he appeared quite comfortable in his new position, so comfortable that it was somewhat infuriating.
“Do you have a pen and paper?”
Wen Jianyan glanced around and asked.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop even lower.
As much as they didn’t want to obey Wen Jianyan’s command, unfortunately, the rules of the instance were the rules. The hierarchy of superior and subordinate was absolute.
The club members eventually brought over a pen and paper.
Wen Jianyan took the pen and paper and hastily drew a stick figure with two little pigtails. He even deliberately drew an arrow next to the hair and wrote two words: Orange.
He thought for a moment and drew a crooked smile on the little figure’s face.
After finishing the drawing, Wen Jianyan capped the pen and pushed the paper over: “Help me find this person.”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[…]
[Uh, is that Orange Candy?]
[Holy shit, I think it is… what soulful art skills.]
[What’s happening? The more I look at it, the more it somehow seems to capture her essence???]
Wen Jianyan: “She is also a member of our club. As for the reason she’s missing…”
He glanced around and knocked on the tabletop:
“I think you can guess.”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[?]
[Huh? We can guess? Who could guess this reason!]
“In short, pass the word, get all the club members moving, and help me find her,” Wen Jianyan put his legs back on the table and said lazily, “I trust you won’t disappoint me, your president, right?”
A club member looked down at the stick figure on the table, then looked up and exchanged glances with the others. Finally, one of them stepped forward and picked up the paper.
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[Damn, I think I get it. The anchor said that to make the club members think the Student Union did it, right?]
[Fuck, no wonder the club members are suddenly so cooperative!]
[Anchor: I didn’t lie, I can’t help it if you choose to guess that way.]
[Ahhh, and besides, didn’t you, you little punk, instigate the conflict between the Student Union and the clubs in the first place!!!]
[…What a brilliant move to shift the blame and command others.]
Watching the backs of the club members as they filed out of the activity room, Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes, his smile vanishing.
It was truly like someone delivering a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.
Although he knew that Orange Candy was most likely not dead but had been replaced by her mirror image, Wen Jianyan had no clue where she was now.
Before jumping into the pool, he had thought the mirror image only existed within the administration building. However, after leaving the world of Memory, Wen Jianyan discovered that the mirror on the first floor of the administration building was merely one entrance. The real mirror image was not only as vast as the entire campus, but it also had more than one entrance.
And Wen Jianyan was all too aware of how terrifyingly large the Yuying Comprehensive University instance was.
It would be very difficult for him to find Orange Candy in such a huge instance without any clues, all by himself.
Of course…
If he wasn’t “by himself”, things would be much easier.
Wen Jianyan withdrew his gaze and looked down.
He didn’t trust the club members, but he trusted the rules of the instance.
As long as he held the identity of ‘Club President’, the NPCs below him in status would not, and dared not, defy his orders.
“!”
Suddenly, Wen Jianyan’s breath caught slightly.
His brow furrowed tightly, and he pressed his lips together, silently and slowly bending over. His whole body curled up like a shrimp, bit by bit, until he was completely balled up.
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[? What’s wrong with the anchor?]
[Ah, could it be the side effects of the badge acting up again?]
[Tsk tsk, from the looks of it, that should be it. At this rate, he probably can’t last a few more rounds, can he?]
[Honestly, the fact that he’s made it this far is already beyond my expectations.]
In the dark club activity room, the young man’s back arched under his white shirt. The sweat-soaked fabric clung to his skin, faintly outlining trembling, tense lines.
He never made a sound. In the deathly silent, dark activity room, only the faint, suppressed, and trembling sound of breathing could be heard.
Time passed. It was impossible to tell if a few minutes or a few hours had gone by.
Finally, just like the previous times, the flare-up of the side effects ended.
“…”
Wen Jianyan rested his sweaty forehead on his knees, not straightening up for a long time.
Unlike the previous times, the pain this time was not as intense. Instead, it was replaced by a strange, cold feeling that emanated from his internal organs.
However, Wen Jianyan would have much preferred to feel pain rather than this feeling of being transformed, alive, into another kind of existence.
He took a deep breath and straightened up with some difficulty.
He didn’t know if it was an illusion… the entire space seemed to be covered by a layer of distorted red light. Even though nothing around him seemed to have changed, it also felt as if everything had become strange and absurd.
Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes.
—There was probably only one last attack left before he was completely transformed.
If he still couldn’t find a solution before then, he would probably be completely assimilated and become a part of the instance.
Even if a grand immortal came, they wouldn’t be able to save him from the instance.
However…
Wen Jianyan subconsciously touched his right hand, his eyes lowered in thought.
Under his shirt cuff, the cold, soft tentacle was coiled around his wrist, head to tail, motionless.
Logically, the interval between each attack should be shorter than the last, and the side effects more severe. However, ever since it had swum to his heart during the last flare-up, the badge’s side effects seemed to have calmed down, even lasting for an entire memory cycle—which was at least a full six hours.
And right after it left, the side effects immediately appeared.
Could it be a coincidence?
Wen Jianyan gave it a little squeeze.
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but it felt much weaker to the touch than before, no longer as solid.
“…Jī.”
It let out a listless cry, rubbed against Wen Jianyan’s finger slightly, and then went limp again, hanging obediently around his wrist bone like some kind of trinket.
“…”
According to his habits, even if it was just a suspicion, he should make full use of it.
Wen Jianyan paused, then withdrew his hand.
Forget it.
Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes, smoothed the wrinkles on his sleeve, and stood up from the chair.
It wouldn’t be too late to use this thing when he really couldn’t hold on any longer.
After composing himself, Wen Jianyan looked down at the time.
His heart sank slightly.
—This flare-up of the side effects had cost him a full hour.
Not only was this the longest attack, but it was also the time he had been most numb to the passage of time.
To let an hour slip through his fingers almost without his knowledge was an exceedingly dangerous situation.
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath, suppressing the unease in his heart.
He opened his chat software.
The chat window was silent. Hugo, Su Cheng, and the others still hadn’t sent a message.
This meant they were likely still trapped in the Memory—Wen Jianyan didn’t think they had missed his hint; it was more likely they were delayed by other, more important matters. However, from Wen Jianyan’s experience, the window of time torn open by the flames was very short. Since they missed this chance to escape, Hugo and the others would, at the latest, have to complete their current cycle before they could leave.
In other words, for the next four-plus hours, he would have to continue fighting alone.
But… this wasn’t the first time for him.
Wen Jianyan gave a bitter smile.
He let out a long breath, flexed his somewhat stiff and cold fingers, and turned to walk toward the activity room door.
Just as he was about to push the door open, suddenly, there seemed to be a clamor from outside.
Like…
Footsteps and voices?
Wen Jianyan’s eyes sharpened.
The first-floor lobby of the administration building was submerged in darkness, with extremely low visibility.
Although the layout was the same as in his memory, it inexplicably sent a chill down one’s spine and filled one with fear.
In the depths of the lobby, where a huge mirror should have been, there were now only shards scattered on the floor, leaving an empty frame and the bare backboard beneath it.
And from below the shattered mirror, a thick, black-red liquid slowly oozed out, emitting a cold aura that dared anyone to approach.
But in this dark and oppressive environment, faint rustling sounds could be heard.
“Can the door be pushed open?”
One person asked in a low voice.
“Not at all.”
Another person answered in an equally low voice.
Trapped in the first-floor lobby of the administration building stood about seven or eight people. They kept a subtle distance from each other, apparently not from the same team, perhaps not even knowing each other. They were simply trapped in the same area for the same reason.
They all faced the tightly shut main door, completely at a loss.
“So what do we do now?”
The one who spoke was a man with a tight frown. He seemed to be injured, one of his arms hanging in an unnatural position.
“What can we do?” Not far away, a young-looking man raised an eyebrow and chimed in, “Stay in this building and explore, of course.”
The man’s frown deepened:
“But we know nothing about this place—”
Before he could finish, he was interrupted.
“Ha? We don’t explore just because we know nothing?” The young man narrowed his eyes, sneered coldly, and scanned the other from top to bottom, mocking, “Is this your first time in an instance?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but his tone was prickly, showing no mercy.
The man’s temper flared as well: “You—”
Just as a fight was about to break out, someone to the side spoke up.
“Ahem, everyone, calm down.”
A man with still-visible bruises on his face walked out from the shadows. He looked at both parties and adopted a mediating posture, “You both have a point. But it’s true we can’t get out right now. Why don’t we form a temporary alliance and explore the building? How about it?”
As Suo Suo spoke, he stole a glance at the arrogant young man who had just spoken.
Although he was mediating, he was essentially taking sides.
—The others might not know, but he was very clear that this young man in front of him, who looked young but spoke with a sharp tongue, was named Chen Cheng. He was a anchor that Evernight, the third-largest guild on the leaderboard, was heavily investing in.
His strength was formidable, a rising star of tomorrow.
Although he seemed to have a bad personality and wasn’t very likable, his strength was real. Following him would greatly increase the chances of survival.
Suo Suo lowered his eyes, hiding the sigh in their depths.
Even though this person was already quite impressive, he knew there was a higher-level anchor in this instance—a true Nightmare top ten, the unpredictable little demon star, Orange Candy.
He had even had a brief encounter with this legendary figure.
Unfortunately, not only did he fail to recognize her at first, but he also failed to latch onto her coattails and even managed to offend her quite badly.
If he hadn’t been lucky, he might have really been torn apart by that little ancestor.
This was no exaggeration.
They, the veteran anchors, had all more or less heard that among the Nightmare top ten, Orange Candy had the strongest killing intent towards the living. Her favorite instances were PvP ones.
In other words, if you fell into her hands, she wouldn’t show mercy just because you were human.
“…”
The group immediately fell silent.
Although Suo Suo’s words were clearly siding with Chen Cheng, they had to admit that he was right.
The current situation was self-evident.
With the door unopenable, their only remaining option was probably to venture deeper into the administration building.
Chen Cheng glanced at Suo Suo and grunted noncommittally.
The remaining few exchanged glances, and after a brief discussion, they quickly reached a consensus.
—Even if they weren’t familiar with each other, a temporary collaboration was clearly the best choice.
And so, the group left the main lobby and headed deeper into the administration building.
However, after taking just two steps forward, the leader, Chen Cheng, suddenly stopped: “Wait.”
“Da, da, da.”
As his voice fell, steady footsteps soon echoed from the stairwell.
The sound came from far to near. In the darkness, a few pale faces emerged.
Despite wearing human shells, their eyes were still those of monsters—cold, dead, and sinister. They looked up, expressionlessly staring at the few humans they had come face to face with.
“?!”
The group was startled, but they quickly calmed down.
“Only three of them.”
Chen Cheng’s gaze slowly swept over them, and he sneered.
“What are you afraid of? Cowards.”
Their numbers were almost triple the enemy’s; they basically had a guaranteed victory.
However, hearing Chen Cheng’s words, everyone around couldn’t help but take a sharp breath, their eyes filling with anger. This anger wasn’t due to their own predicament, but purely directed at this tactless temporary teammate in their group.
Even Suo Suo, who knew his identity, hesitated to speak.
—Such a fine person, why did he have to have a mouth?
But unfortunately, just as Chen Cheng’s words fell, the atmosphere seemed to undergo an unknown change.
The next second, more figures emerged.
From the depths of the corridor, in the stairwell, deep within the rooms.
The shadows appeared silently, approaching them like ghosts. In the blink of an eye, they had them surrounded. Their pale faces carried an endless greed as they stared fixedly at them.
“…!”
Damn it!
The expressions of the group tightened, and they subconsciously stepped back, huddling together.
This number…
The odds of winning were very low.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the corridor became extremely oppressive, like an invisible string being slowly pulled taut, about to snap at any second—
“Creaak.”
The sound of a door’s hinge turning shattered the dead silence.
The sound was so abrupt that it startled almost everyone. They turned their heads in shock, looking in the direction of the sound.
The door to a club activity room was opened from the inside.
In the darkness, a tall, slender figure walked out of the room unhurriedly, revealing his face.
Everyone couldn’t help but hold their breath. Suo Suo, in the middle of the crowd, widened his eyes in shock.
Wait—isn’t this—
The person lifted his thin eyelids, sizing up the scene before him with eyes so light they seemed translucent:
“What’s wrong?”
He asked.
The young man’s face was extremely pale. His features were superior, the kind that would attract attention anywhere. But his face was expressionless, which gave him a chillingly sinister aura that made one’s hair stand on end.
He didn’t look like a living person.
Under the watchful eyes of all, the monsters that had been so aggressive and malicious just moments ago now showed… a look of almost fear on their faces.
They no longer pressed forward as they had before, but stopped in their tracks, not daring to advance further.
The club member who had come down from the second floor even lowered his head, and in a posture of almost fearful submission, called out in a low voice:
“President.”
—Huh?
Suo Suo stood frozen in place, his gaze glued to the familiar face not far away, as if his feet had taken root. His brain had stopped working.
…What was going on?
Although the hair color was different, he could recognize that the young man standing not far away was definitely the one who had been acting with Orange Candy before—after all, he would never forget such a handsome face.
Even though Suo Suo knew that anyone who could hang out with Orange Candy was no ordinary anchor, he had to admit that during their previous actions, this person had indeed been quite low-key. Apart from his extraordinary looks, he hadn’t shown any particularly outstanding abilities.
In any case, it was unlikely he was another top ten.
But now…
What did those malicious monsters who wanted to harm them call him?
He hadn’t misheard, right…
President??????
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[Hahahaha, haven’t seen him for a few days, and the guy he offended before has gone and become the president of the monster faction.]
[Suo Suo: Am I fucking dreaming?]
[Hahahaha, didn’t see that coming, did you? The three days are up, the Dragon King has returned!]
