Anchor Hall
Chapter 534: The Top Ten Challenge has ended!
He slept dreamlessly.
By the time he woke up, it was already the next day. While Wen Jianyan was resting, the reality show’s public task had been updated again.
[Public Task: Please proceed to any nearby casino within three hours and complete one gambling game at any table.]
[Point Reward: 20000]
[Failure Penalty: 12-hour suspension of livestreaming privileges.]
“…”
As expected.
Wen Jianyan turned his head to look out past the railing. The sky was still clear and cloudless, the sea calm and shimmering. The scenery was no different from the past two days, but the leisurely vacation mindset had completely vanished.
He let out a long sigh, got up, washed his face, and left the cabin.
In the dining hall, Wen Jianyan met the others. The atmosphere at the table was somber; clearly, they had also seen the updated public task.
“President!” Blond, having the sharpest eyes, spotted Wen Jianyan walking over. He quickly stood up, his voice a little unsteady as he reported, “The, the public task—”
“Mm, I saw it,” Wen Jianyan nodded, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “Just complete it as usual.”
The content of today’s public task was pretty much what he had guessed yesterday. Although he still hadn’t figured out Nightmare’s intentions, since the casino was its focal point, the upcoming public tasks were highly likely to revolve around it.
However, as long as they remained on the Lucky cruise ship, they had to complete the related tasks. Therefore, all they could do was to strictly supervise each other, ensuring they didn’t go near the casino for anything other than completing the required task.
The group exchanged glances and nodded with grim expressions.
In a less-than-relaxed atmosphere, breakfast ended quickly.
Wen Jianyan left the dining hall, lowered his head to open his phone, and several ignored messages immediately popped up.
Three of them were from the same person.
Yesterday at 7:34 PM.
[Bai Xue: ?]
Yesterday at 9:25 PM.
[Bai Xue: ?]
Yesterday at 9:50 PM.
[Bai Xue: Rabbit drawing circles emoji]
Wen Jianyan: “…”
The forgotten fact finally came back to him belatedly.
Right… he seemed to have promised to play cards with him last night, but got sidetracked by some unexpected situations and ended up completely forgetting about it…
Ahhhhh!!!
“Buzz buzz.”
Just then, his phone vibrated again at the most inopportune moment.
[Bai Xue: Location Share]
This time, he didn’t say anything, just sent Wen Jianyan a location link that should be inside the casino.
Wen Jianyan clutched his phone, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.
He was so screwed!
–
Inside the casino.
By the time Wen Jianyan rushed to the shared location, Bai Xue was already sitting at a gambling table.
Though surrounded by a vortex of revelry, the area around him seemed to be frozen in stillness. He was the only one at the large gambling table, and despite his slender frame, he exuded an inexplicable sense of pressure.
Before Wen Jianyan even reached the table, Bai Xue seemed to sense something and turned his head to look over.
The youth’s pale face was devoid of expression, his eyes so dark they made one feel guilty. He stared at Wen Jianyan without a word, his gaze sending a strange chill down one’s spine.
Wen Jianyan: “!”
Oh, no. This is bad.
He cautiously took one careful step after another toward him.
“Good morning, hahaha.”
“…”
Bai Xue stared at him for a full twenty seconds, until Wen Jianyan’s expression was about to crumble, before he finally spoke slowly:
“You disappeared last night.”
Though his tone was flat, without much inflection, it was enough to send a chill down one’s spine.
Wen Jianyan jolted and quickly apologized, “I’m sorry!!!”
In this regard, he had always been flexible—especially when he was clearly in the wrong—so his apology was sincere and without a hint of hesitation.
Bai Xue: “I waited for you for three hours.” Although his face showed no emotion, his eyes conveyed a silent accusation.
Wen Jianyan: “………I’m really, really sorry!!!!”
In Bai Xue’s livestream chat:
[You damn liar!!!]
[Ahhhhhh he made my baby crouch in a corner and wait for two hours!!! Pinocchio, prepare to die!!!]
[Bai Xue, tear him apart!!!]
Wen Jianyan had already walked up to the table. He leaned against it, bent forward slightly, and, as if by magic, pulled out a cocktail from behind his back. He placed it on the table and pushed it over.
He blinked. “An apology gift. Want to try it?”
Bai Xue’s gaze moved to the drink.
The color was almost identical to the cocktail the other man had been holding when they first spoke—a strange pinkish-blue, with a small umbrella stuck in it.
At that time, although Bai Xue had ordered the same drink, he was quickly scared off by its bizarre taste. It was, to put it mildly, quite terrible.
“…”
Bai Xue hesitated for a few seconds before reaching out and taking the drink.
The youth lowered his eyes, cautiously brought the rim to his lips, and took a small sip.
The next second, his eyes lit up slightly.
The stimulating, strange taste from his memory had been completely eliminated, yet it retained a rich, fragrant, and unique fruitiness. The abundant, dense bubbles compensated for the lack of alcohol, making the drink sweet with a delicate and soft texture.
…It was delicious.
Bai Xue turned his head to look at Wen Jianyan and said, “It’s different from last time.”
“It is.” Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes and smiled. “I remixed it for you.”
“Is it good?” he asked.
Bai Xue nodded honestly.
“Oh, and this.”
Wen Jianyan smiled and pointed at the olive in the glass.
Following Wen Jianyan’s prompt, Bai Xue used the bamboo skewer to poke the olive and was momentarily stunned.
Carved on it with a small knife were two stick figures. One little figure was squatting expressionlessly in a corner, growing mushrooms, bearing a slight resemblance to Bai Xue. Next to it was a drawing of a crying face.
Another little figure was squatting beside it, patting the little Bai Xue on the head.
Below, a line of small, crooked words was carved:
“I’m sorry.”
Wen Jianyan leaned down, his amber eyes full of sincerity.
“I’m really sorry for forgetting yesterday. As compensation, I’ll play two rounds of cards with you this time, how about it?”
“…”
Bai Xue lowered his eyes, poking the little olive with the skewer. Although his tone still lacked inflection, it was clear he had been placated. He gave a reluctant nod.
“Oh.”
“You forgive me?” Wen Jianyan blinked.
Bai Xue nodded again. “Mhm.”
Bai Xue’s livestream chat fell into a dead silence.
[…]
[…?]
[I’m so mad, so mad, watching this makes me want to stand up and shadow box. How can the anchor have so little resolve? How could he be coaxed with just one drink?]
[But I have to say, the other anchor really knows his stuff. Not only did he remember and improve the drink my baby wanted but couldn’t have, he even apologizes with a cute little doodle. Damn, a whole combo of a scumbag’s moves, I can’t take it!]
[Ahhhhh count me in for the shadow boxing!!]
–
Wen Jianyan sat down opposite him. The dealer picked up the cards on the table and began to shuffle.
The cards of various suits flowed smoothly between his fingers, accompanied by the rhythmic sound of shuffling cards, a very pleasing sight. One by one, the cards were dealt to the two of them.
Wen Jianyan rested his chin on his hand, his gaze lowered to the cards landing in front of him, his long eyelashes hiding the expression in his eyes.
In a way, this time was different from the previous two.
The first time he played cards with Bai Xue, his goal was to figure out the characteristics of his talent. The second time was to fulfill his promise to Orange Candy; if he didn’t win, he couldn’t get her prophecy.
But this time, it didn’t matter to him whether he won or lost the game.
I don’t have to win this time—to hell with it—might as well just lose on purpose.
Wen Jianyan reached out, picked up the cards from the table, and looked up at Bai Xue sitting opposite him. The moment he saw him, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Bai Xue was staring straight at him, his eyes opaque black, like two deep wells, looking extremely eerie and making one’s hair stand on end.
“…”
What’s going on?
A chill ran down Wen Jianyan’s back, and his hand holding the cards twitched involuntarily.
Did this guy see the probability of me throwing the game?
No, that’s not right.
Bai Xue could indeed see probabilities, but the world of probabilities and numbers was excessively complex, and the human brain couldn’t process so much information at once. Apart from major events involving life and death, Bai Xue could only get answers if he asked a question—in other words, Bai Xue would have had to already guess that he might intentionally lose, and actively search for the probability of that event happening. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to get an answer on this matter.
And based on his understanding of Bai Xue…
Although this guy’s talent was terrifying, his mind was quite simple, and his logic was more like that of a child who had not seen the world. It was highly unlikely he would have anticipated his thoughts.
Besides…
Wen Jianyan raised his eyes and once again looked deeply at Bai Xue sitting across the table.
The other person was indeed looking in his direction. But the focus of his gaze wasn’t on him, but… above his head?
“?” Realizing this, Wen Jianyan couldn’t help but be startled.
What’s wrong with what’s above me?
Before he could look up to confirm, he saw Bai Xue, sitting opposite him, suddenly speak: “Stop.”
This word was directed at the dealer.
Though he didn’t understand the guest’s intention, the dealer still stopped dealing the cards.
“What’s wrong?” Wen Jianyan asked.
Bai Xue: “Not playing.”
Not playing…?
Bai Xue’s answer was so unexpected that Wen Jianyan was stunned, a look of surprise on his face—one had to know that the deeper the degree of alienation, the more paranoid an anchor became. This was especially true for Nightmare’s top ten, whose minds had all been distorted to some extent.
With Bai Xue’s level of paranoia, he would actually give up a card game voluntarily?
What was going on?
Bai Xue’s expression remained unchanged. He just sat there, a strange atmosphere enveloping him, making it hard for anyone to even breathe.
The dealer held the playing cards, looking at Wen Jianyan somewhat at a loss.
Wen Jianyan quickly calmed down. He threw the remaining cards in his hand back onto the table and waved his hand nonchalantly. “You can go to another table. We’ll handle the rest.”
The dealer nodded in relief and turned to leave.
Watching the dealer walk away, Wen Jianyan finally looked at Bai Xue. “What happened? Why did you suddenly stop playing?”
Bai Xue looked at him and emotionlessly uttered two words: “Will die.”
—What?!
The two words were spoken lightly, but there was absolutely no possibility of them being misunderstood.
Wen Jianyan’s heart suddenly pounded twice. He leaned forward slightly, his brows furrowed. “How will I die?”
“Don’t know.” Bai Xue shook his head, answering honestly. “Too many possibilities, and none of them have a particularly high number.”
He looked at Wen Jianyan, his expression uncharacteristically serious. “What I know is, as long as you play on the ship, the probability of death will increase.”
“Get off the ship.” Bai Xue said solemnly. “You won’t die if you get off the ship.”
“We can continue after you get off, but not now—not here.”
“…”
Wen Jianyan sighed, a helpless smile on his face. He leaned back and said, “Unfortunately, I can’t.”
“Why?” A look of genuine confusion appeared on Bai Xue’s face.
“I need to attend the auction in four days,” Wen Jianyan said bluntly. “There’s something in it that I must get.”
What Bai Xue said today had thoroughly confirmed Wen Jianyan’s suspicions…
Nightmare was indeed up to something.
Which meant that if he got off the ship this time and gave up, then the thing he wanted would most likely never appear at the auction again.
This was very likely his only chance to get the answer.
A cold sneer escaped Wen Jianyan’s lips.
But, on the bright side… Nightmare’s actions were so big this time, it must be because he was on the right track, wasn’t it?
“Anyway, you should get off the ship quickly, preferably right now,” Wen Jianyan stood up from his seat and stretched lazily. “I’ve said it before, this isn’t a place for children.”
In fact, he had come to find Bai Xue today, first, to apologize for standing him up last night, and second, to get him to leave the ship quickly. However, he had originally planned to say it after fulfilling his promise, but now it was just a little earlier.
Bai Xue looked up at him, saying nothing.
“Hey, did you hear me?”
Wen Jianyan looked at Bai Xue, waving his hand in front of his face, confirming worriedly.
“I owe you two games; don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you after the auction—but only if you get off the ship now. Otherwise, I’ll break my promise.”
At Wen Jianyan’s urging, Bai Xue slowly stood up.
The white-haired, white-skinned youth stood opposite the gambling table, looking at Wen Jianyan very seriously. A few seconds later, he finally spoke: “Be careful.”
Bai Xue raised his hand and pointed upwards. “Someone on the second floor is watching you.”
“——!”
Wen Jianyan jolted and subconsciously turned his head to look in the direction Bai Xue was pointing.
The huge screen was still hanging in its original place, the numbers on it scrolling rapidly. And behind the screen was the casino’s second floor, hidden behind one-way glass.
The second floor was deathly quiet, without a sound.
“…”
Wen Jianyan felt a chill rise from his feet, spreading through his blood bit by bit.
—Just now, when Bai Xue had told the dealer to stop, his gaze had been fixed on the second floor.
By the time he looked back, Bai Xue’s figure had already disappeared.
The unfinished custom cocktail was left on the table, the pinkish-blue liquid rippling slightly, reflecting the brilliant lights from above.
Wen Jianyan lowered his head, a shadow falling over his eyes.
Damn it.
This feeling of not knowing what was going to happen next, and not knowing who was in the dark…
It was truly awful.
–
After a short break, Wen Jianyan had already composed himself.
He got up and left the gambling table, turning on his livestream along the way. For the next period, Wen Jianyan began to complete the two types of tasks for the reality show.
For someone like him, who was skilled at instigating viewers and guiding demand, both public and private tasks were ridiculously easy, a piece of cake.
In just three hours, Wen Jianyan had completed the task volume required for five hours of livestreaming.
This time, after completing the tasks, he didn’t leave the casino immediately but came to the bar in the center.
“Sir,” a uniformed attendant came forward, “what would you like?”
—Wu Zhu was clearly not among them.
In fact, ever since returning from “underground” last night, Wu Zhu had disappeared.
Based on the strange attitude he had shown, Wen Jianyan guessed…
The other might have gone to deal with some of his own problems.
Wen Jianyan’s gaze swept behind the bar and then returned. He tapped the counter with his fingertip and said, “Tequila, on the rocks.”
Soon, the drink he ordered arrived.
Wen Jianyan sat at the bar, sipping his drink intermittently.
His gaze once again fell on the second floor of the casino. The glass, which light could not penetrate, blocked Wen Jianyan’s view. It just hung there quietly in the center of the casino, like some harmless decoration.
There were two parts of what Bai Xue had said earlier that concerned him greatly.
First, why did the probability of death increase just by gambling?
Second, who exactly was watching him from the second floor?
Unfortunately, he didn’t know the answers to either of these questions, and for now, he didn’t know how to find them.
Wen Jianyan frowned and looked down at his phone.
He was about to check how his teammates were doing with their tasks—most importantly, had they strictly followed his instructions?
However, just as he opened the screen, Wen Jianyan’s breath hitched.
Countless dazzling fireworks exploded on the screen, and large red words appeared.
[The Top 10 Challenge has ended ahead of schedule!]
[Nightmare’s new tenth has been freshly revealed!]
The Top 10 Challenge… had ended earlier than he thought.
Wen Jianyan’s palm holding the phone was sweating. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and finally tapped the link.
The interface popped up.
Nightmare’s overall point ranking had been updated, but only the top five were displayed on the screen.
His finger, hovering over the screen, hesitated for a moment, then finally pressed down slowly and swiped down slightly.
The point ranking scrolled on the screen and finally came to a slow stop.
NO. 10——
Cheng.
That’s right.
Cheng Cheng had become the new Nightmare’s tenth.
Upon seeing this name, Wen Jianyan’s breath hitched slightly, his heart slowly sinking, as if countless complex emotions were churning in his chest.
He slowly exhaled.
How to put it… it wasn’t surprising.
He had already witnessed this guy’s abilities in the [Yuying Comprehensive University] instance—whether it was sharpness, judgment, or individual combat ability, Cheng Cheng was one of the best. Moreover, he was backed by a large guild and was a core seed player heavily supported and cultivated by Dark Fire. Becoming the new Nightmare’s tenth was well-deserved.
Then…
Wen Jianyan’s finger rested on the screen. The screen shook due to his restless mind, and the scroll bar was automatically pulled down.
Without warning, a familiar name jumped into view.
NO. 15 Tarot Master.
…It was Su Cheng.
It seemed he had also survived the Top 10 Challenge and, in this instance, had obtained an astonishing number of points, causing his ranking on the list to rise rapidly.
Seeing this, Wen Jianyan closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.
Relieved? Definitely. After all, Su Cheng had survived, which was more important than anything else.
But along with it came a faint sense of unease.
Su Cheng’s climb was too fast. Qi Qian, the vice president of Dark Fire, had also entered the Top 10 Challenge. His original rank was 27, and after leaving the challenge instance, he climbed to 21.
That was already very strong.
Su Cheng’s original rank had just entered the top hundred. After just one instance, he had surpassed his fellow vice president Qi Qian and even directly entered the top of the pyramid, becoming one of Nightmare’s core anchors.
What did he experience in his last instance?
What role did the Oracle play in it?
Everything was unknown.
Wen Jianyan called over the bartender, his fingertip tapping the glass that had emptied at some point. “…Another one.”
Regardless.
Congratulations, my friend.
–
After completing most of the reality show tasks, Wen Jianyan began to explore the ship’s areas as much as possible, trying to find some clues to answer his questions.
Unfortunately, everything on the cruise ship was very normal, with no abnormalities at all.
The afternoon passed in the blink of an eye.
The cruise ship sailed on the calm sea surface. The layers of waves had been dyed by the dusk, and night began to creep into the depths of the sky, expanding its dark domain.
Suddenly, Wen Jianyan’s phone buzzed twice.
It was a message from Chen Mo.
[Do Not Disturb Unless Urgent: Come to my cabin.]
“…?”
Although he didn’t know the reason, Wen Jianyan put his phone away and started on his way back.
Soon, he arrived outside Chen Mo’s cabin.
Wen Jianyan curled his fingers and knocked on the door twice. “It’s me.”
After a few short seconds, the door was opened from the inside.
It was Wen Ya.
She glanced behind Wen Jianyan, as if looking for something.
Wen Jianyan: “?”
Wen Ya retracted her gaze. “Come in.”
Wen Jianyan walked in, looking utterly baffled.
He was surprised to find that all the teammates he had brought on board were in Chen Mo’s cabin—it seemed that, at some point, this had become the customary meeting place.
“What, is something wrong?”
Chang Feiyu opened his mouth, seemingly about to answer his question, but just as he did, another knock came from the door.
“…?” Wen Jianyan blinked, sweeping his gaze over the people before him.
Chen Mo, Wen Ya, Ji Guan, Blond, Chang Feiyu, Ma Qi, Kong Wei.
Weren’t they all here?
This time, it was again Wen Ya who went to open the door.
“Yo.” A lazy, familiar voice came from outside the door.
“?!”
Wen Jianyan was stunned and subconsciously turned to look.
A fashionably dressed young man stood outside the door. He had several silver studs in his ear, a handsome face, and his aura seemed slightly different from the last time they met, but his expression was as arrogant and cold as ever.
His gaze went over Wen Ya’s shoulder and landed on Wen Jianyan.
“We meet again.”
—Cheng Cheng?!
After that overly brief greeting, under the watchful eyes of everyone, this newly-promoted Nightmare’s tenth swaggered straight in, pulled out a chair, and sat down as if he were in his own home.
“This is Cheng Cheng, my direct junior when I was in Dark Fire.”
Wen Ya closed the door and walked back from the entrance. She crossed her arms, her posture as elegant and calm as ever.
“I believe you two met in the last instance?”
Not far away, Cheng Cheng grabbed an apple from the table and began to crunch on it.
“—Formerly.”
He didn’t lift his head, his attitude as rude as ever.
“Not anymore after you left Dark Fire.”
Wen Jianyan stared at Cheng Cheng for a few seconds, then seemed to suddenly realize something. He turned to Wen Ya. “So, the last instance—”
Wen Ya explained, “He owed me a favor.”
Wen Jianyan suddenly understood.
Oh… that made sense.
No wonder Cheng Cheng’s attitude towards him was good from the start—at least compared to others—and he was willing to help when he could.
“Dark Fire happened to arrange for me to enter that instance.” Cheng Cheng had already finished the apple in the blink of an eye. He sneered, “Helping you was just convenient.”
Cheng Cheng threw away the apple core, glanced at Wen Jianyan, his tone somewhat weary. “Besides, I don’t think he needed my protection that much.”
Wen Ya: “I had no choice. The duration of the instance and the difficulty after the mutation far exceeded my imagination. I just happened to know you were going in, so I could only ask for your help.”
“Hey,” Cheng Cheng suddenly looked at Wen Jianyan and said, “As for you—”
Wen Jianyan: “?”
“What do you want?”
Cheng Cheng propped up his chin and said.
Wen Jianyan: “Huh?”
“Do you have a bad memory?” A trace of impatience appeared on Cheng Cheng’s face. “Weren’t you the one who cleared the Yuying Comprehensive University instance in the end? If it weren’t for you, everyone would have died, right?”
Wen Jianyan: “Uh…”
Well, that was true…
“So I owe you one.”
Cheng Cheng leaned back in his seat, lifting his eyelids coolly. “If you need any help, you can contact me. Of course, I won’t do anything too outrageous.”
Wen Jianyan: “…” Fine.
He wisely changed the subject. “By the way, why did you come to the Lucky cruise ship at this time?”
The Top 10 Challenge had just ended not long ago. Logically, shouldn’t anchors who survived an instance rest first? Why would Cheng Cheng board the ship at this time? Just to thank him for saving his life in the [Yuying Comprehensive University] instance?
Wen Jianyan felt the possibility was a bit low.
Cheng Cheng was a little surprised. “You don’t know?”
Wen Jianyan: “?”
“I don’t.”
“To celebrate the appearance of the new tenth,” Cheng Cheng stretched his muscles, clearly not yet recovered from the tension of graduating from the recent instance, a clear trace of weariness and fatigue in his eyes, “there will be a celebration tomorrow night.”
“Everyone who survived the challenge will attend.”
He yawned and said.
“I think the others should have already boarded one after another.”
