WTNL Chapter 44

Antai Community
Chapter 44: “It can’t go on like this.”

Just then, that familiar mechanical voice rang in his ears, pulling Wen Jianyan back from his subtle emotions:

[Congratulations to the streamer for triggering the scene: Flashback]
[Please recreate the events that once occurred in Room 1304]

What once occurred in Room 1304… wasn’t that the incident where a family of four died of mass poisoning!

Wen Jianyan: “…”

Motherfucker.

What kind of trash quest is this?

If I really recreate it, wouldn’t I be dead too!

Seeing that Wen Jianyan hadn’t moved his chopsticks for a long time, the paper doll leaned down, its ghastly pale face approaching. It unblinkingly scrutinized the face of the human in front of it, its voice still so gentle it seemed it could drip water:

“Xiuqing, what’s wrong? Is it not to your appetite?”

The two paper children also leaned in, one on each side, hugging Wen Jianyan’s arms. Their fingers were icy and stiff, locking tightly onto the young man’s arms like iron hoops, making it impossible for him to break free.

“Dad, what’s wrong? Don’t you like today’s food?”

They tilted their heads up, staring fixedly at Wen Jianyan with those dull eyes that looked as if they were painted on, sporting bright and affectionate smiles on their lips.

Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and steadied his nerves.

He raised his eyes, looked at his paper doll wife in front of him, and skillfully curled his lips into a smile: “Thank you, darling. You’ve worked hard.”

He hadn’t forgotten that the type of this instance was a role-playing limited-time instance.

Although Wen Jianyan didn’t know much about instances C-rank and above, based on the information he gathered earlier in the Streamer Hall, he could basically make a vague guess about the underlying mechanics of this instance.

At least in this situation, he had to maintain his identity as the “husband” in order to survive.

“Darling, the food you make is so delicious; I’d feel bad being the only one eating it.”

Wen Jianyan’s palms were sweating from nervousness, but the expression on his face remained gentle and natural. The corners of his mouth were slightly turned up, bearing a smile that was almost doting.

The three paper dolls in front of him didn’t move an inch. The expressions on their faces didn’t change in the slightest from just now, looking extremely eerie and terrifying, yet their smiles seemed to have grown even brighter:

“Darling, you’re right. Dinner should of course be eaten with the whole family together.”

The woman turned her head to look at the two paper children: “Quick, sit down; we will eat with Dad.”

“No, what I mean is…”

Wen Jianyan changed the subject: “We haven’t called Mom over yet.”

As soon as these words came out, the three paper dolls instantly snapped their heads around, looking straight in his direction.

According to the information provided by that neighbor, the mother-in-law of this family lived across the hall. She was exactly the one who discovered the family’s corpses, and went insane as a result.

She was the only survivor in this family.

“Dinner should be eaten with the whole family together, right?”

Wen Jianyan slightly held his breath, the muscles all over his body subconsciously tensing up. He nervously waited for the other party’s response—he was already prepared to immediately use an item if anything went wrong.

“Xiuqing, you are right.”

The paper doll beamed with joy: “Mom hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Look, I forgot all about it.”

The two paper children slowly released Wen Jianyan’s arms. Their faces still wore ghastly pale, stiff smiles, but their eyes were full of anticipation: “Dad, go call Grandma to come eat with us.”

Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes and dotingly rubbed the paper dolls’ hair:

“Okay, I’ll go right away.”

The paper dolls’ heads felt very hard to the touch, emitting a rustling sound of paper friction under his movements, giving him goosebumps all over his body.

Wen Jianyan quickly withdrew his hand and walked toward the door.

His pace was steady, neither fast nor slow, showing absolutely no trace of attempting to flee.

It wasn’t until the door closed behind him, blocking the three smiling paper dolls staring at him from behind, that Wen Jianyan jumped up as if his butt was on fire, sprinting wildly toward the elevator like a runaway horse—

In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:

[Hahahahahaha the traditional skill of running away if you can’t win is online again!]

[The first quest for the paranormal investigator streamer is really hard. It’s basically a death trap right upon opening the door. Even if you luckily survive the first hurdle and enter the hidden side quest, because there’s too little information on the identity card and time is too tight; it’s basically very hard to find a way to solve it.]

[Right, based on my experience watching ‘Antai Community’ so many times, the streamers who survived the first main quest basically all relied on items to brute-force their way through. I remember the price of that item is quite high?]

[Exactly, and it can only be unlocked in the C-rank shop. I recall the streamer is only just D-rank, right?]

[Hahahahahaha yep, the dog scammer is finished this time.]

[But not necessarily. I remember a previous streamer also figured out the correct solution, and their route up to now is pretty much the same as the streamer’s. Let’s keep watching; I feel like he might actually be fine!]

The dark corridor stretched into the distance, its end nowhere in sight.

In the pitch-black corridor ahead, a speck of faint light slowly appeared.

Wen Jianyan subconsciously sped up.

However, what appeared before his eyes was not the stairwell or the elevator. On the contrary, that door panel marked with 1304 appeared in front of Wen Jianyan once again.

Great, a ghost wall.

Wen Jianyan stopped in his tracks. Although it was expected, he still sighed with regret.

No wonder those three paper dolls didn’t mind him leaving the room at all. It turned out they were certain he couldn’t run away.

However, being human, one still has to try, right?

Wen Jianyan looked at the 1304 house number with a conflicted expression. Thinking of the three paper dolls glaring like tigers inside, he couldn’t help but shrink his shoulders and shiver.

It seems…

He was now only left with this single option of calling the mother-in-law.

Wen Jianyan slowly took a deep breath, retracted his gaze, and tentatively reached out to push open the door to 1326 across the hall.

The unlocked door panel slowly slid inward. A rich smell of incense ash blew into his face. The light in the room was extremely dim, and the living room was piled high with clutter, making it almost impossible to find a place to step.

“…Mom?”

He lowered his voice and called out softly.

“Xiuqing, is that you?”

A hoarse and aged voice rang out from deep inside the room: “Mom is over here.”

Wen Jianyan carefully stepped over the clutter on the floor and walked toward the direction of the voice.

Deep in the room, an identical shrine was hidden in the dark. The electronic candles flickered with a faint red glow, plating the narrow space with a layer of pale red light.

An old woman was kneeling in front of the shrine, seemingly bowing to the Bodhisattva.

She heard Wen Jianyan’s footsteps and turned her head to look over.

The faint, dim light painted her aged side profile, making it look like a wrinkled old walnut. She seemed unable to see things very clearly anymore and was currently squinting at Wen Jianyan.

She actually… wasn’t a paper doll?

Wen Jianyan was startled.

Although the light was dim, he could still see that the old woman in front of him had a tangible, real human face, rather than a ghastly pale and stiff paper shell.

“Mom, it’s time to eat.”

Wen Jianyan spoke tentatively.

“Is it? That’s good; I’m coming.” The old woman tremblingly reached a hand out toward Wen Jianyan: “Xiuqing, help Mom up a bit; Mom’s legs have gone numb.”

Wen Jianyan stepped forward twice.

Only then did he see clearly that her lower body, kneeling on the cushion, was wearing black paper pants and crude paper shoes. The skin exposed from the gaps between her shoes and socks revealed a rough texture like paper under the light.

Wen Jianyan suddenly realized.

From the waist down, she had completely turned into paper. Although her upper body hadn’t changed yet, it probably wasn’t far from completely turning into a paper doll.

He helped the old woman up.

Her body was extremely light. Although she was solidly leaning into his embrace, Wen Jianyan couldn’t feel the slightest bit of weight, as if he could lift her up with just one hand.

The old woman narrowed her eyes, patted Wen Jianyan’s chest with an old, wrinkled hand like tree bark, and said:

“Xiuqing, let’s go. Mom happens to be hungry too.”

In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room, cheering and celebrating had already begun:

[Oh oh oh oh hell yeah! I didn’t expect the streamer to actually unlock the correct route!]

[Hahahahaha I knew it; this dog scammer’s brain is really sharp. Unlike other streamers who get the paranormal investigator identity card, he obtained a lot of information about 1304 through deception and bluffing. It’s only reasonable that he could figure out this method.]

[?? I haven’t watched this Antai Community instance before, begging a big shot to explain!]

[The quest is a flashback; it actually just means exactly what it says, killing according to the memory. Four people died here in the past, so this time as long as four people die all the same, it will be fine. Whether it’s the husband or the mother-in-law, it’s all the same. As long as he makes the mother-in-law eat the poison first, this hidden route will be solved.]

[Oh oh oh, got it! That’s true, as long as there is enough information, it’s still quite easy to solve for the correct answer!]

Just then, the door behind them let out a “creak” and slowly opened.

Wen Jianyan was so scared his shoulders jolted, and he subconsciously turned his head to look.

He saw the three paper dolls watching them across the pitch-black corridor, their faces still wearing stiff and bright smiles: “Xiuqing, come quickly, dinner is ready, hurry up and bring Mom over.”

“We are just waiting for you.”

Wen Jianyan quickly lowered his eyes and glanced at the light, paper-doll-like old woman in his arms. His brain was sharp to begin with. If he still didn’t understand the specific content of this hidden route before, after seeing this scene, he immediately reacted.

The other three had long since lost their lives, so they had completely turned into paper dolls.

But although the mother-in-law had gone mad, she didn’t die. So in this space, she was only half a paper doll.

The reason those three paper dolls let him leave so easily just now, aside from the fact that he was indeed diligently playing the role of the “husband”, the more important reason was probably…

This old woman was their true target.

After all, she was the only survivor, a true “family member”.

In that case…

The solution to this hidden route was already ready to be revealed.

—To recreate the scene from back then, having just one more person die would be completely sufficient.

Wen Jianyan weighed the old woman in his arms, raised his eyes, and looked at the three paper dolls opposite him.

“Darling, what are you still waiting for? Come on.” The paper doll wore a bone-chilling smile on its face.

“…”

Wen Jianyan stayed silent for two seconds.

The young man’s face was plated with a faint layer of red by the faint light of the electronic candles. The lines and contours from his side profile to his Adam’s apple were clear and distinct, making him look all the more beautiful and elegant. He slightly narrowed his eyes and gave a brief laugh.

“Baby, to be honest, the food you make is too terrible.”

“I can’t live these days with you anymore.”

He sighed and said with deep grief:

“I’ve decided; let’s just get a divorce.”

__

Author’s Note:

#Shocking! A certain well-known streamer gets a flash divorce ten minutes after a flash marriage, abandoning his wife and children, utterly frenzied! Is it the moral degeneration or the distortion of human nature!

#In order not to be despised by his future wife, a certain well-known BOSS flips through cookbooks late at night to secretly learn cooking skills, the truth behind it makes one sigh!

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