(3/5)
Anchor Hall
Chapter 523: Admission ticket
Wen Jianyan: “…”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to receive a message from Orange Candy, it was just…
The thought of his guild’s vice-president, who had been working so much overtime he seemed like a reincarnated evil spirit, made Wen Jianyan involuntarily shiver.
After a few seconds of silence, he sent a message back:
“Can we meet somewhere else?”
However, the message was like a stone sinking into the sea, receiving no reply.
Wen Jianyan: “…”
Fine.
He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and sighed helplessly.
He activated his appearance for himself, and only after confirming that he wouldn’t be recognized by his looks did he head towards his own guild.
It was still that glittering golden, unbearably tacky, magnificent building.
However, the atmosphere after pushing open the door was worlds apart from last time.
The messy, noisy chaos had been completely swept away. The mirror-like floor was so clean you could see your reflection, and it was so quiet you could probably hear a pin drop. Only occasionally would a few anchors quickly cross the hall, their expressions solemn and their steps hurried. At a glance, they were not the same dregs as last time.
Wen Jianyan scanned the area and soon his gaze landed on a huge sofa at the edge of the hall.
Orange Candy was small, and sinking into a sofa more than ten times her size made her look like she was about to be swallowed. But her brightly colored hair was eye-catching, allowing Wen Jianyan to spot her location at a glance.
She was瘫 lazily on the sofa, idly playing with something in her hand.
But because of the distance, Wen Jianyan couldn’t see clearly.
He walked over.
The moment he moved, her previously lazy gaze immediately shot over, like an invisible awl on his back, carrying a terrifying and undeniable pressure.
But soon, Orange Candy seemed to recognize him. She lowered her eyelids again, returning to her previous relaxed state.
Wen Jianyan sat down opposite Orange Candy.
“You still wear an appearance in your own guild?” Orange Candy propped up her chin, rolled her eyes, and said, “You’re really sick.”
Wen Jianyan’s expression didn’t change. “What do you know? This is called being low-key.”
“So, are there results?”
Wen Jianyan asked.
“Mmm…” Orange Candy leaned back on the sofa, drawing out her words. “Yes and no.”
“?”
That was new.
Wen Jianyan’s upper body leaned forward, his expression focused. “Elaborate?”
“The content on that human skin paper is written in a very ancient language. I saw it a long time ago, but I didn’t find a way to interpret it at the time, nor did I bring the original out of the instance—you know, it’s not a collectible item.” Orange Candy lazily made a gesture. “After we parted ways, I used many methods to try and interpret it this time, but unfortunately, there were no results.”
Hearing this, Wen Jianyan’s expression turned grave.
Although Orange Candy glossed over the process, he knew that with her strength, connections, and resources, she was one of the top in all of Nightmare.
And if even she couldn’t crack it…
“Anyway, after a whole set of research, I only know that there seems to be some kind of strange power hidden inside it, which is preventing anyone from interpreting its contents.”
Orange Candy took the human skin paper out of her pocket and tossed it back to Wen Jianyan.
Wen Jianyan held the cold, greasy paper that was clearly skin, his expression a bit complicated:
“In any case, thanks a lot…”
Before he could finish, Orange Candy waved her hand and interrupted him impatiently:
“Hey, hey, I only said I couldn’t interpret it. I never said I didn’t know where it could be done!”
“?” Wen Jianyan was taken aback.
Orange Candy looked up at Wen Jianyan:
“Remember what I said to you in the last instance, when you first came out of the gym and got that eyeball?” ①
Wen Jianyan was stunned for a moment, recalling their conversation at the time.
“You asked if I wanted to activate the item…?”
Apparently, if one wanted to use a hidden item as a prop without leaving the instance, they needed to meet specific conditions to “activate” it.
And to meet those specific conditions, one needed to go to a certain place.
At that time, Orange Candy had said with a grin that if Wen Jianyan wanted, after leaving the instance, she wouldn’t mind getting him an admission ticket.
“Looks like you remember.”
Orange Candy raised her hand, placed the thing she had been playing with before Wen Jianyan arrived on the table, and pushed it over lightly. “Here.”
It was a black and gold admission ticket.
The background was a deep, dark black, with dark gold patterns decorating the edges, presenting a strange color and texture under the light.
Even just looking at it from a distance, Wen Jianyan couldn’t help but feel a chill run up his spine.
He glanced at Orange Candy, and seeing no objection from her, he reached out and picked up the admission ticket.
On the front were only a few words stamped in bright gold.
[Nightmare Auction House]
[VIP Admission Ticket]
…An auction house?
Wen Jianyan was stunned.
Orange Candy’s lazy voice came from the side: “Whatever you can think of, can’t think of, exists, or doesn’t exist, no matter what type of item, you can buy it at the auction.”
Wen Jianyan rubbed the surface of the ticket with his fingertip. He found its surface was uneven. Looking at it carefully against the light, he discovered a line of deeply indented text on the paper.
It was English.
—【welcome to your nightmare】
He couldn’t help but shudder.
At the side, Orange Candy continued: “The items auctioned at this auction are basically divided into four categories. One is common, and the types sold in this category are different each time, but they are basically difficult-grade hidden items that can be brought into instances and used at will. The second category is rare, and the auction items in this category are more or less the same each time. The method I mentioned before for ‘activating’ items is among them. The third category is extremely rare, these are often epic-grade hidden items. As long as you buy one, you can use it at will in subsequent instances.”
Wen Jianyan listened with growing shock.
Having struggled through so many instances, he certainly knew the value of difficult-grade and epic-grade items. And these things could actually be bought and sold freely at an auction?!
This was somewhat beyond his expectations.
Orange Candy: “And then there’s the last category… the treasures of the house.”
Hearing the strangeness in her tone, Wen Jianyan couldn’t help but look up.
Orange Candy continued: “There are only five items in this category, and the types never change.”
She tapped her finger on the table and said, “The one you need to buy is the third one.”
Wen Jianyan’s heart pounded wildly.
“—The Dead Sea Scrolls.”
It was a somewhat unfamiliar religious term.
Wen Jianyan only knew that it should be some tens of thousands of manuscript fragments of parchment found near the Dead Sea, on which were written biblical scriptures, apocryphal forgeries in Aramaic and Hebrew, and even, in a sense…
Prophecies.
“I’m not sure what it can do or how much it can help you, but according to my intelligence network, it’s indispensable if you want to interpret the human skin paper you have on hand,” Orange Candy said. “As far as I know, it hasn’t been sold yet, but if I were you, I’d hurry up.”
She propped up her chin. “It’s not that no one covets it, it’s just that no one can afford the auction price for now.”
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath: “…Okay, I understand.”
Unconsciously, the palm holding the ticket had become sweaty.
He asked, “Where is this auction held?”
Orange Candy lifted her chin. “Flip it over.”
Wen Jianyan did as he was told and flipped the ticket over. On the back, in very small, light gold text that was almost impossible to see if you didn’t look carefully, was a still-ticking countdown in the corner.
The time pointed to half a month later.
And below the countdown was a line of neat text:
[Lucky Cruise Ship, Basement Level 7]
“—The Lucky Cruise Ship?” Wen Jianyan’s gaze fell on this line of text, and he was involuntarily stunned. “It actually has a seventh basement level???”
He had, of course, heard of this cruise ship.
He had even been on it more than once! ②
As someone who very much enjoyed eating, drinking, and having fun, and had a lot of cash (points) in his pocket, Wen Jianyan naturally welcomed these luxury cruise ships and casino parties.
He had to admit, although Nightmare was very vicious in the instances, outside of them, the luxurious treatment it provided was first-class. When it came to creating luxurious enjoyment, it was almost unrivaled.
“Of course it does.”
Orange Candy rolled her eyes impolitely. “You weren’t qualified back then, so of course you wouldn’t know.”
Wen Jianyan: “…”
That hurts.
“Anyway, thanks a lot,” Wen Jianyan carefully put away the black and gold ticket and thanked her solemnly. “You’ve been a great help.”
He had to say… although Orange Candy didn’t directly help him interpret the contents of the human skin paper this time, but merely told him the corresponding solution, Wen Jianyan was still greatly relieved.
At least the solution she gave didn’t require entering an instance.
He was really getting PTSD from these instances full of traps and death. Every time he entered, he would be targeted by Nightmare, and each time he would be exhausted to near death.
He just wanted to enjoy his three years and seven months of vacation peacefully and resolve this matter in the Anchor Hall.
As long as he didn’t have to go into that damn instance, anything was fine!
After putting away the ticket, Wen Jianyan finally looked up at Orange Candy.
The orange-haired girl was sprawled lazily on the sofa, her already small body looking even younger—Wen Jianyan couldn’t help but frown.
Orange Candy had previously looked about thirteen or fourteen, but… he didn’t know if it was an illusion, but her physical age now looked to be at most twelve.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Wen Jianyan chose his words carefully and began:
“By the way, I remember you said before that solving this instance would alleviate the side effects of your talent…?”
“When did I say that?” Orange Candy rolled her eyes again, and said huffily, “What I clearly said was that the side effects of my talent would be alleviated only after completing the bounty!”
She raised an eyebrow. “Did you see me hand over your precious box?”
Wen Jianyan was momentarily speechless.
Indeed.
The reason Orange Candy had hired him to do the instance in the first place was to complete Nightmare’s bounty, which was to “obtain the item in the drawer in the principal’s office.” But now, although it was obtained, the item was still in Wen Jianyan’s hands. In other words, although the item had been obtained, as long as it wasn’t handed over to Nightmare, it was equivalent to the bounty not being completed.
“Don’t worry,” Orange Candy waved her hand and said lazily, “The thing was bought with your teammate’s life. I won’t snatch it.”
She looked up, her sharp gaze seeming to see through him, and a secret smile tugged at the corner of her mouth:
“Besides, if I’m not mistaken… you have a bigger plan for it, right?”
Wen Jianyan: “…”
He pinched the bridge of his nose, a rare trace of weariness coloring his expression. “Sorry.”
After entering the instance this time, not only were Orange Candy’s talent side effects not alleviated, but they had worsened due to overuse.
But indeed, Orange Candy was right.
The item in this box was not an epic-grade item, which meant it was very likely something that did not exist in Nightmare’s system. Yet it prompted Nightmare to issue an S-rank bounty, wanting to obtain it at all costs… Although Wen Jianyan wasn’t sure what it was yet, his intuition told him that this thing was by no means simple.
It might even be closely related to the very nature of the livestream platform.
“Mmm…” Orange Candy looked up, scanned the area, and said with a grin, “Of course, if you really want to compensate me, why not give me your vice-president to play with—he’s doing a really good job!”
Since the last meeting, Chen Mo had carried out drastic reforms within the guild. His methods were ruthless, and even thinking about it now, Wen Jianyan couldn’t help but click his tongue.
And Chen Mo’s work was remarkably effective.
Although the guild’s personnel had been reduced by more than two-thirds, the total points hadn’t dropped by much, still barely hanging on in the top fifteen. If he were allowed to continue operating in this step-by-step manner, breaking into the top-tier guilds would probably not be a problem.
Wen Jianyan gave a helpless, bitter smile: “That won’t do.”
Without Chen Mo, how could he be this leisurely, hands-off boss?
“You have no idea. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably still be in the office handling official business. The reason I can be so relaxed now is also—”
A hand landed heavily on Wen Jianyan’s shoulder.
“!”
Wen Jianyan jumped.
A familiar voice, devoid of emotional fluctuation but somehow inexplicably sinister, came from above his head:
“President…?”
“…”
Wen Jianyan slowly, frame by frame, turned his head and looked back in horror.
Vice-President Chen Mo, with dark circles under his eyes and a face like a demon’s, stood behind him, one hand on Wen Jianyan’s shoulder, looking down expressionlessly:
“I’ve finally found you.”
Wen Jianyan: “…”
Help… save me.
“Hee hee hee!”
Orange Candy jumped down from the sofa, gloating.
Clearly, she had only asked that question just now because she saw Chen Mo appear.
She waved happily: “Leaving, bye-bye!”
Chen Mo studied the unfamiliar face before him, a chilling smile slowly spreading across his face: “You even activated your appearance? This is your guild, you know.”
Wen Jianyan was drenched in cold sweat: “…”
Save me, save me, save me!
Finally, before the smile on Chen Mo’s face disappeared, he had a flash of inspiration and suddenly grabbed the arm on his shoulder: “Vice-President has been working so hard lately!!! The guild’s optimization has been remarkable, I am so gratified!”
“…” Chen Mo looked at him coldly, clearly not buying it.
Wen Jianyan gave a dry laugh: “So, as, as compensation, I’ll take everyone on a cruise for team building?”
“Oh?”
Chen Mo raised an eyebrow.
“The VIP tickets and all expenses on the cruise, I’ll…” Wen Jianyan’s heart was bleeding, but he still gritted his teeth, “I’ll cover it all!”
__
Author’s Note:
Some (unimportant) foreshadowing retrieval:
①: Chapter 409
②: Chapter 198
