Thank you @Pixi for the Kofi. (1/5)
Anchor Hall
Chapter 521: Law-Abiding Good Citizen Guild
Wen Jianyan slept for a full three days. He didn’t dream.
When he opened his eyes, the room was dimly lit and quiet as if isolated from the world. His body was sunk into the soft quilt, his muscles relaxed, and all his fatigue had been swept away. In that brief moment, he almost forgot where he was, only remembering that he seemed to have slept for a very, very long time.
Wen Jianyan slowly climbed out of bed, the bones that had been asleep for so long creaking.
“Ugh…”
He was startled by his own excessively hoarse voice.
Was that his voice?
Wen Jianyan pinched the bridge of his nose, vaguely recalling what had happened before he passed out.
He hesitated for a moment, then raised a hand to touch his lips.
Hiss!
The human body’s self-repair function was clearly not as fast as he had imagined.
The lips under his fingertips were hot and slightly swollen. Just a light touch brought back all the chaos, madness, fatigue, and pain from the darkness, as clear as if it had just happened.
Wen Jianyan propped his face up with one hand and let out a desperate groan like someone with a hangover.
He had to admit…
He had made a very bad decision and extended a very inappropriate invitation.
It was a blind move made with low self-control, like a drowning person desperately grabbing onto a piece of driftwood floating by.
But…
To be honest, his current situation was quite surprising.
Wen Jianyan frowned.
Based on Wu Zhu’s previously displayed personality, the possibility of him refusing such an invitation was almost zero. —Face it, in front of Wu Zhu, there was no way he could be the one on top.
Therefore, his fate would most likely have been quite miserable. Given the other’s habits, if he were to indulge now, he would probably be played with until he couldn’t get up for a week.
But…
Wen Jianyan pressed his lips together. They were still swollen, and the sensation of being bitten and sucked seemed to linger on the skin. A strange confusion slowly rose in his heart.
He couldn’t help but recall the cold palm that had covered his eyes in the darkness.
Broad and dry, gently covering his trembling, feverish eyelids, while the other’s low, distant voice, seemingly imbued with magic, sounded in his ear.
The moment the voice fell, everything faded away.
The compulsory sleep was like an endless dark swamp, dragging him to a place where not even dreams could form.
………………That guy.
Wen Jianyan frowned, a trace of unusual agitation flashing in his eyes.
“Buzz buzz, buzz buzz!”
The phone by his pillow vibrated desperately.
It was as if the entire world had business with him.
The young man got out of bed, ignoring the vibrating phone by his pillow, not even glancing in that direction. He just walked straight to the bathroom.
Next, he took a shower and changed clothes simply and skillfully.
Just before leaving the bathroom, as if remembering something, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at himself in the mirror.
In the steam-fogged mirror, the youth’s pale, calm features were reflected.
Right, there was one more thing to do.
Wen Jianyan opened the mirror, took out the first-aid kit from the cabinet behind it, and then unwrapped the soaked bandage on his wrist—when the bandage came off, it took a few shreds of skin with it. Wen Jianyan’s brow twitched, and he silently bit his teeth.
He examined the wound on his wrist.
The laceration, intentionally left behind and forbidden from being healed by the system, stretched across the pale flesh like an ugly centipede. The wound, which had only just stopped bleeding, split open again due to its owner’s less-than-gentle handling, and fresh blood flowed down like a red snake.
[Heal for 5 points?]
He expressionlessly ignored the system’s renewed inquiry and skillfully wrapped the bandage with one hand.
Done.
Wen Jianyan turned and walked out of the bathroom.
He came to the bedside.
In the ten-plus minutes he was gone, the phone hadn’t stopped for a moment, still buzzing incessantly.
Wen Jianyan picked up the phone, turned on the screen, unhurriedly scanned the contents, and then replied to the message:
[I’ll be there right away.]
The [Law-Abiding Good Citizen Guild] was a guild with a unique name even in all of Nightmare. These characters were solemnly inlaid on a glittering golden building. From its architectural style to its overall color scheme, it could be described as the tackiest of the tacky. This kind of nouveau-riche aesthetic taste was even more unbearable when compared to the elegant and mysterious Oracle guild headquarters not far away.
And it was this supremely tacky thing that, relying on the guild master’s vast points and its very open recruitment policy, had actually managed to squeeze its way into the top ten of Nightmare’s guild rankings, and even spent a fortune to establish a base opposite the Oracle guild.
Wen Jianyan looked up at his golden building in front of him and stepped inside.
Since he had always been low-key and rarely participated in guild affairs, he was stopped just a few seconds after walking in:
“Hey, hey, hey… who are you?”
The person opposite him had fierce, raised eyebrows. “Do you know where this is?”
Wen Jianyan: “…”
He didn’t know if it was the influence of this tacky architectural style, but he now actually had the urge to ask back, “Kid, do you know who I am?”
However, before he could act on this impulse, a gentle and calm female voice came from not far away:
“Hey.”
“Vice-President Wen Ya?” The person who stopped Wen Jianyan was startled, his eyes wide, and he hurriedly bowed and scraped to the newcomer. “Why are you in the lobby?”
Wen Ya glanced at him coolly. “Go back to work. You’re not needed here.”
“Oh, okay.”
The man nodded fawningly, turned around, and ran off.
“Looks like you’re adapting quite well?” Wen Jianyan watched the man’s retreating back and raised an eyebrow playfully. “Vice-President Wen Ya?”
Wen Ya: “Don’t mention it.”
She pressed the elevator button and turned her head to glare at the culprit behind her.
“It’s all your ‘broad recruitment’ strategy’s fault. There are too many people joining now, and the guild is almost unmanageable.”
The elevator slowly ascended.
“And almost all the promising anchors who joined were poached by the other established guilds. The rest are all dregs like the one just now,” Wen Ya pinched the bridge of her nose, a trace of fatigue showing on her usually reserved and elegant face. “These people basically won’t last more than a few instances. At best, they’ll live a little longer by luck. They won’t enter an instance until the last possible moment. They’re meaningless except for adding difficulty to our work.”
After Wen Jianyan entered [Yuying Comprehensive University], the wave of new members joining the guild had actually gradually cooled down. However, after he single-handedly raised the instance’s difficulty from A to SS, not only sending off a top-ten anchor but also getting a platinum clear with 100% exploration, the applications to join the guild began to pile up like paper slips again.
“Since you left the instance, we’ve received about one thousand five hundred more applications.”
Watching the elevator’s floor numbers rise, Wen Ya said,
“But we don’t know your strategy going forward, so we’ve put them all on hold without processing any of them.”
Wen Jianyan nodded nonchalantly. “Mm, good job.”
With a “ding”, the elevator stopped at the top floor.
The elevator doors slowly opened, revealing the luxurious furnishings inside.
Wen Jianyan followed Wen Ya out of the elevator, looking around with great novelty.
Even though he was the one in charge here, he was as curious as an outsider—after all, this was pretty much his first time deep inside this building.
When he bought it, there were only three criteria: “Big!” “Expensive!” “Shiny!” But as for what was specifically inside or how it was decorated, Wen Jianyan hadn’t paid much attention.
After buying the guild base, he had quickly entered a instance, so strictly speaking, this was indeed Wen Jianyan’s first time strolling around here.
Seeing Wen Jianyan’s behavior, Wen Ya pointed to a spot not far away and said helplessly:
“This way.”
Opening the doors to the high-level conference room revealed a vast hall before them, with everything a top-tier guild should have.
On the wall directly opposite was a bright, huge screen showing real-time point rankings and overall guild rankings, and even the names of instances currently in progress. Those still live had a blood-red [LIVE] next to them, while the names of instances that had ended and were awaiting settlement had turned gray.
And on the floating screen to the left, the guild status was displayed.
The active president, vice-presidents, members of various levels, as well as members’ point totals and livestream statuses, and so on.
Data flowed across the screen, a dazzling sight.
Wen Jianyan let out a whistle.
“Cool.”
In the center of the conference hall was a huge, magnificent round table. The table was so large that the people sitting around it looked small.
Hearing the whistle, a few people turned their heads in unison to look over.
Wen Ya: “He’s here.”
The introduction seemed somewhat unnecessary.
Wen Jianyan scanned the faces of the few people at the round table.
Seated on the left was Chen Mo. He was just as he remembered, meticulous, steady, and reserved, but with dark circles under his eyes, looking like he was about to die from sleep deprivation. His expression held the unique gloom of a 996 office worker, and his eyes carried a world-weary and explosive rage that suggested he was one second away from shouldering a rocket launcher and blowing up the entire world.
Clearly, while he was in the instance, all guild affairs were handled by this person, who was also the de facto manager of the guild.
As the culprit, Wen Jianyan felt a rare twinge of guilt, subconsciously averting his gaze and actively breaking eye contact with the other.
Beside him was the Blond, or rather, Yang Fan. Although he was quite tall and had regular features, he inexplicably had the gentle demeanor of a herbivore, making him seem very easy to bully.
At this moment, his eyes, looking at Wen Jianyan, were shimmering with tears, seemingly very excited about his arrival.
Ji Guan, on the other hand, had changed a lot.
For some reason, he had shaved off his signature rooster-comb hairstyle, leaving only a stubbly buzz cut. A new tattoo was faintly visible on the exposed skin of his neck. His previous vibe of a little punk or street loafer was greatly diminished, making one feel a strange sense of nostalgia.
It seemed that Ji Guan had gone through an instance, perhaps more than one, during Wen Jianyan’s absence.
His demeanor also seemed to have changed slightly, and the way he looked at people was sharper. Because of this, the fast-food insulated box on the table in front of him and the carefully placed strawberry stickers on it seemed particularly out of place.
—It seemed that no matter how much he was tempered in the instances, the essence of who he was hadn’t changed at all.
Wen Jianyan looked around.
He had to admit, it was very comforting to see these old faces.
But…
The number of people was a bit small.
“Where are the others?” Wen Jianyan asked.
Wen Ya walked forward, pulled out a chair, and sat down, saying nonchalantly:
“One is your vice-president, who hasn’t replied to my messages since he came out of the last instance with you. Besides that, some have gone into instances, but the vast majority are dead.”
“…”
The air was silent for a moment.
Wen Jianyan’s gaze fell on Wen Ya.
Her face was fair, with an elegant, scholarly air, seeming to be the most gentle presence in the entire conference hall. However, Wen Jianyan, who had gone through the [Fantasy Amusement Park] instance with her, knew that the real Wen Ya was much more dangerous. She seemed polite to everyone, but in reality, her emotional walls were extremely thick, and few could get into her heart. Because of this, her attitude towards death was also the most peaceful and indifferent—with only one exception.
A lovely girl.
Unfortunately, she had been left forever in the amusement park and could never come back.
Wen Ya tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, turned her head slightly to look at Wen Jianyan, and sighed:
“Your seat is in the middle, Mr. President.”
“Oh.”
Wen Jianyan nodded and walked to the highest seat to sit down.
His right side was empty. That was Su Cheng’s seat.
One seat over from the empty one was Ji Guan, and to his left was Chen Mo, who was exuding a world-destroying gloomy aura. Further to the left was Wen Ya.
“First, the first matter,” Chen Mo began.
He pushed a thin tablet in front of Wen Jianyan and said expressionlessly, “The selection tournament.”
Selection tournament?
Wen Jianyan was taken aback.
“You don’t know?” Chen Mo stared at him. “Aren’t you in the top ten, Mr. President?”
Wen Jianyan: “Well, I guess I am, but…”
Chen Mo gave him an expressionless look and, without waiting for him to finish his excuse, began to speak in a business-like manner:
“After the Mason’s name went gray, Nightmare adjusted the top ten point rankings. You are now number seven, and Anise’s ranking has also been raised, making him your co-equal. The two behind you, Bai Xue and Gentleman, have also moved up accordingly. The tenth spot is vacant. Three days ago, Nightmare opened a challenge tournament. All anchors with similar points can sign up. The specific instance mode is unknown, but it’s very likely to be a rare pure PVP instance.”
—In other words, the kind that Orange Candy was best at.
While Chen Mo was explaining, Ji Guan leaned over slightly and pushed the insulated box in front of him towards Wen Jianyan, cautiously, as if trying not to be noticed by the speaking Chen Mo.
He lowered his voice, like an overly worried mother hen:
“…President, are you hungry?”
Wen Jianyan glanced at him.
It seemed that this strawberry-stickered box was specially prepared for him.
However, before Wen Jianyan could answer, Chen Mo shot him a cold glare. Ji Guan immediately looked prim and proper; no one was more serious than him.
“Ahem,” Wen Jianyan cleared his throat. “When does the selection tournament start?”
Chen Mo: “Tomorrow.”
Wen Jianyan: “How long will it last?”
Chen Mo: “It’s hard to say. I sent people to inquire. It could be as short as three days, or as long as a week.”
Chen Mo: “Are we sending anyone from our guild?”
Wen Jianyan waved his hand lazily. “No.”
Their guild had just started to rise. The reason it could break into the top ten of the point rankings was, besides him, the president with an astonishing net worth, only a large number of members who were recruited based on points rather than quality. Among them, there were probably not many who could meet the point line drawn by Nightmare. The only ones who could be sent were the people in this room.
It was really unnecessary.
“But if they want to go, I won’t stop them,” Wen Jianyan added.
Chen Mo nodded and scribbled on the tablet.
Soon, he looked up again. “Second matter, regarding our current guild members.”
“Due to our previous recruitment strategy, our members are of mixed quality.” Chen Mo’s already not-so-good expression became even gloomier. “Some people are even going around provoking others under our banner. I have already dealt with many, many, many similar disputes. If it weren’t for Qi Qian from Dark Fire suppressing things for us, there might have been problems long ago. And now, we have another one thousand five hundred application letters…”
Wen Jianyan said lightly, “Put them on hold.”
Hearing this, a few people were taken aback.
“Didn’t you just say? There are too many dregs mixed in,” Wen Jianyan stretched in his chair and said lazily, “First, let’s clean house.”
Chen Mo straightened his back, his eyes flashing like a wolf’s. “You’re going to deal with that trash?”
“Yes.”
Wen Jianyan pulled the insulated box that Ji Guan had just secretly passed over, opened it, and a familiar warm, sweet aroma immediately hit him. He picked up a small pastry, put it in his mouth, and said indistinctly:
“They’re not that useful anymore.”
He had originally formed the guild and rapidly expanded its scale for two purposes: one, to deal with Oracle, and two, to give a pledge of allegiance to Nightmare.
And now, he didn’t have to worry about Oracle for the time being, and as for Nightmare…
Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes.
To a certain extent, it was no longer very necessary either.
From the last instance, Nightmare had already bared its fangs at him, its true intentions revealed—it was trying to keep him in the instance forever, to cultivate him into a so-called “new god”.
Wen Jianyan didn’t think this had anything to do with Wu Zhu. After all, when he entered the instance, the two of them were still in a “cooperative” relationship on the surface. At least when Wen Jianyan was sent into the [Yuying Comprehensive University] instance, from Nightmare’s perspective, Wu Zhu no longer posed a threat.
Although Wen Jianyan had almost fallen into the trap, for him, this trip still had its rewards.
And very, very important rewards at that.
Wen Jianyan fell into thought.
Three consecutive days of sleep had made his brain exceptionally clear, and it also allowed him to clearly capture the most crucial clue from the last instance.
“God.”
This word ran like a hidden thread through every instance, and it also made Nightmare’s true purpose finally begin to surface bit by bit.
Looking back, almost every instance he had been through had an inexplicable connection to a so-called “god”.
Wen Jianyan had to wonder if a huge conspiracy had long been woven behind all this, taking shape when he entered Nightmare—no, perhaps even earlier.
Wen Jianyan picked up another pastry and put it in his mouth.
He recalled the “god-making” of the last instance, and a terrifying guess gradually formed in his mind.
Could the reason why Nightmare was so desperate for a new god be that Wu Zhu, as the “old god”, had already broken free from its control?
Beside him, Chen Mo spoke, pulling Wen Jianyan out of his thoughts:
“How do we deal with them?”
Wen Jianyan licked the remaining cream from his fingertips:
“Whatever.”
Since he no longer needed to fool Nightmare, had already scammed his way into a guild building, and had thoroughly disgusted Oracle, he no longer needed such a huge amount of points. Naturally, it was time to clean out all the scum who were just fishing in troubled waters and keep the useful talent.
“I’m giving you full authority.”
“Full authority?”
Getting an affirmative answer, Chen Mo showed his first smile since Wen Jianyan had entered the conference room.
“Good.”
…A bit terrifying.
Even Wen Jianyan felt the substantial dark aura coming from him and couldn’t help but scoot his chair in the opposite direction.
Just how much had this guy been tormented by guild affairs while he was away?
The accumulated resentment was just too much!
__
Author’s Note:
Chen Mo: A resentful office worker.
Who doesn’t go crazy at work! Who doesn’t go crazy at work! Who doesn’t go crazy at work
As office worker i feel so much for Chen Mo. Not only having to play horror games but office work in your free time 😭