WTNL Chapter 46

Thank you Taryn for the Ko-fi~

Antai Community
Chapter 46: Oh, dog liar, it’s you again!!!

Room 1326.

Aside from being even more cluttered, it didn’t differ much from the hidden route. Large and small old miscellaneous items piled up in the room, making it almost impossible to find a place to step in the narrow space. The heavy smell of incense ash in the air had disappeared, replaced by a rich aroma of food.

Wen Jianyan helped the old woman sit down in the rocking chair, raising his eyes to scan the entire room.

Near the passage to the kitchen, there was a shrine exactly the same as the one in Room 1304. The eerie Bodhisattva in the shrine had its eyes open, staring into the distance with a smile on its face.

The electronic candles were still lit, like two scarlet eyeballs.

Although the entire room appeared messy and crowded, clearly having not been properly taken care of for a long time, the area around the shrine was still wiped spotlessly clean, with fresh fruits and offerings placed in front of it.

The old woman tightly gripped Wen Jianyan’s arm with her thin, withered, and wrinkled fingers, as if she were afraid he would disappear the moment she let go.

She groped and rubbed Wen Jianyan’s wrist: “Xiuqing ah, is work too busy after your promotion? Look at you, you’ve lost weight.”

The old woman tugged at Wen Jianyan’s hand, chattering non-stop: “I’ve told you, from now on you need to come home to eat at night. Don’t eat outside; it’s unhealthy. And don’t come home so late anymore; it makes A-Ning worry so much…”

The young man sat by the old woman’s rocking chair, letting her hold his hand and chatter about everyday life.

His handsome eyes were lowered, his expression calm and gentle, occasionally replying a few times without the slightest sign of impatience.

Suddenly, the old woman stopped talking.

She turned her head and stared fixedly with those cataract-covered eyes, as if she wanted to look deep into the other party’s heart with those cloudy, half-blind eyeballs. Her voice was aged and husky:

“Xiuqing ah, the Bodhisattva knows everything.”

“…!”

Wen Jianyan’s heart jolted slightly. He quickly realized that he seemed to have touched upon some crucial clue.

He held the old woman’s wrinkled, icy-cold palm in return, answering in a natural voice without the slightest trace of anomaly:

“Mom, what are you saying? What does the Bodhisattva know?”

The old woman did not continue to speak.

She tremblingly raised her hand, fumbled at her wrist, and with difficulty, pulled the beaded bracelet off. She shoved it into Wen Jianyan’s hand with trembling fingers:

“Xiuqing ah, take this.”

“It’s more useful in your hands than in Mom’s.”

[Ding! Congratulations to the streamer for obtaining a hidden item in the instance (Hard)!]
[Collection Progress: 1/5]

Wen Jianyan was taken aback. He lowered his head to look at the beaded bracelet in his hand.

The dark red beads looked exceptionally glossy due to being worn all year round. Eerie runes were carved onto them with small golden characters. He couldn’t tell what material it was, but it felt heavy in his hand.

“Alright, Mom is sleepy.”

The old woman patted Wen Jianyan’s arm with her palm, a trace of a smile on her wrinkled face: “Mom is going to sleep for a bit.”

After saying that, she withdrew her hand, leaned back on the rocking chair, and closed her eyes.

Soon, the old woman’s raspy breathing sounded in the room.

Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

He thought of something, took his phone out of his pocket, and turned on the screen.

The two main quests had been completed. Although no new quests had been issued yet, the information on his identity card had updated at some point.

[Identity Card]
Name: Wu Qinghe
Age: 22
Occupation: Paranormal Investigator Streamer
Related Plot: [Your name is Wu Qinghe, a contracted paranormal investigator streamer on a platform. Recently, you heard that multiple paranormal events occurred in the Antai Community. Therefore, on July 14th, you brought your equipment here, preparing to shoot footage for your new video “Ghost Festival”.
You came to Room 1304, where a murder occurred a month ago. Here, you met the victim’s mother who had gone insane. Therefore, in order to obtain more information and inside stories, you decided to disguise yourself as her already deceased son, Zhou Xiuqing.]

[More information unlocking…]

Wen Jianyan raised an eyebrow in surprise.

After experiencing so many instances, this was the first time he had seen the related plot update in real-time following his actions.

With more than ten minutes left before the two-hour limit ended, Wen Jianyan pocketed his phone and decided to make another trip back to Room 1304.

He had a lingering feeling that he might have missed some clue there.

Facing the gloomy environment inside Room 1304, Wen Jianyan wasn’t as afraid as before. Although the three paper dolls in the dining room still gave him the creeps, as long as he didn’t look at them, it wouldn’t have much impact.

He systematically searched and rummaged through the house.

After all, this was a case that happened a month ago. The police in this instance had probably already taken away most of the clues as evidence. However, with the sharp eyes Wen Jianyan had cultivated over his many years of professional career, he still discovered some traces.

First, the Zhou Xiuqing couple slept in separate rooms.

Not only that, but their respective belongings were clearly separated, making it seem like they were very aloof with each other. However, in the husband’s room, he could see quite a few gifts given by women.

Thinking of the old woman’s rambling words from earlier, Wen Jianyan faintly formed a guess in his heart.

Promotion, returning late, marital discord.

…An affair?

But it didn’t seem that simple either.

And… “The Bodhisattva knows everything?”

Did Zhou Xiuqing himself do something against his conscience?

Wen Jianyan frowned slightly and subconsciously looked in the direction of the Bodhisattva.

The next second, his pupils shrank, and the hairs on his back suddenly stood on end.

That seemingly very eerie Bodhisattva had its eyes open, wearing a smile. Its pitch-black eyeballs had changed direction at some unknown point, and it was now staring straight at him.

In the pitch darkness, that silent gaze appeared exceptionally strange and terrifying, making one’s whole body run cold.

Wen Jianyan: “…”

Let’s just go.

My little life is more important.

The young man’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he carefully shuffled towards the door step by step.

His slender figure was reflected in the full-length mirror by the entrance. A thin layer of dust lay on the mirror’s surface. In the chaotic darkness, the shadow in the mirror was noticeably half a beat slower.

Because he was teamed up with Wen Jianyan, Su Cheng also entered this [Antai Community] instance this time.

He repeatedly confirmed it several times before finally accepting reality… That’s right, as a rookie streamer who just ranked up to D-rank, the third instance he participated in was actually a B- level.

…It was simply a bolt out of the blue.

The viewers in Su Cheng’s live broadcast room were also completely in disbelief.

[How is this possible? Why is it B-level?]

[Yeah, the streamer didn’t do anything rule-breaking in his previous instances either, not like his teammate… who is either rolling over every day or on his way to roll over…]

[Wait, is he teamed up with his teammate again this time?]

[Hahahahahahaha seems like it. I saw that the “Integrity First” live broadcast room next door also started broadcasting, and it’s also this Antai Community instance.]

[Dying of laughter, got it.]

[The streamer was screwed over by his own teammate this wave!]

[I’m back from next door, hahahahahahahaha the identity card the dog scammer drew is the paranormal investigator streamer!]

[Hahahahahaha then our streamer’s luck is still a bit better. At least he is a resident in the building, and doesn’t have so many deadly, suicidal quests.]

[Suddenly feeling balanced.]

Su Cheng’s identity card was a math teacher who had just moved onto the ninth floor not long ago. His first main quest was also related to his identity card: greet the neighbors within two hours.

Soon, he met up with the other streamers in this instance.

He knew very well that he wasn’t someone like Wen Jianyan who could spout nonsense without changing his expression, so he didn’t prepare to hide his identity as a streamer. Instead, he teamed up with a few other streamers.

Aside from him, the other streamers were basically all C-rank, with the lowest being C-.

Because he had learned about Oracle from Wen Jianyan before entering the instance, Su Cheng was exceptionally wary of the other streamers. He remained tight-lipped about both his rank and his information, keeping a low profile while following the team along the way.

Unlike C-rank instances, the first two hours of this B-level instance [Antai Community] passed fairly peacefully. They didn’t encounter the kind of danger present at the beginning of the [Fukang Private General Hospital].

However, Su Cheng didn’t feel the slightest bit relaxed.

Based on the discussions among his fellow streamers, this kind of role-playing limited-time instance rarely started with high-intensity action. All its anomalies were hidden beneath a seemingly peaceful and ordinary surface.

And as time went on, the danger level would increase exponentially.

Not only that, but the system would also issue random main quests to the streamers based on their identity cards. The main quests here were no longer optional like in C-rank or D-rank instances; once issued, they had to be completed.

If one were deceived by the peaceful facade at the beginning of this role-playing limited-time instance and failed to find the hidden information and patterns in time, they would definitely die a violent death once the critical time node began.

Therefore, since entering this instance, the streamer squad Su Cheng joined had been trying to gather more information. However, the residents in this building always remained tight-lipped on many crucial points, seemingly unwilling to talk much.

However, one of the streamers found a new clue.

It was an old newspaper that reported a tragic family massacre on the thirteenth floor two months ago. Although it didn’t describe the details of the case much, it could be considered pointing out a clear path for them.

“Thirteenth floor…”

Chen Mo frowned slightly, a grave expression flashing across his face. “According to the information revealed in the newspaper, this floor is definitely much more sinister than the ninth floor we are currently on. With the clues we have grasped, isn’t it a bit too early to go to such a dangerous floor right now?”

“I disagree.”

The C-rank streamer who found the newspaper, Wang Hanyu, shook his head in opposition:

“The two-hour time limit is almost up, but we’ve gained almost nothing on the ninth floor right now.

Tonight is the Ghost Festival. Judging from the information on the identity cards, it’s highly likely that the time node when the instance mutates is twelve o’clock midnight. That means there’s only a little over an hour left until midnight. Blindly asking neighbors for information floor by floor without a goal is too inefficient.”

He pushed up his glasses: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

The two sides were locked in a stalemate, so they started voting by raising hands.

Wang Hanyu’s proposal passed with a slight advantage, and the streamers ultimately decided to go to the thirteenth floor to scout the way.

Su Cheng had no objections to this.

The group got into the elevator and soon arrived at the thirteenth floor.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, a distinctively gloomy atmosphere blew into their faces. A faint stench floated in the icy air; the light was dim, and offerings and white rice with incense stuck into it were placed on the floor every few steps. Everything made them feel deeply uneasy.

The streamers looked at each other and carefully walked forward.

“The newspaper said the family massacre happened in 1306.”

Wang Hanyu lowered his voice: “To avoid danger, let’s not go to the murder scene first. We’ll find the living residents on the 13th floor to gather some information first.”

“Okay.” Everyone nodded one after another.

One streamer spoke up:

“According to the ninth-floor residents I visited, it seems a crazy old lady lives in 1326.”

“A crazy person?” Chen Mo was slightly taken aback and slowly narrowed his eyes: “Although it’s very difficult to communicate with this kind of NPC, if we can really get information out of them, it’s usually very crucial.”

Wang Hanyu said: “Let’s go, we’ll go knock on the door and ask.”

The squad of six split into two groups. Three went to knock on the door, while the other three waited at the elevator entrance. Su Cheng was precisely one of the streamers left at the elevator entrance.

Although staying behind to wait had a lower risk, it also meant less access to first-hand information.

In the first two hours when the instance had just begun and there wasn’t much danger temporarily, the streamers who were left behind were actually at a greater disadvantage.

Soon, a streamer ran over panting, his eyes shining brightly: “We have a clue!”

“Really?” The spirits of the three at the elevator entrance lifted.

“Yes, the crazy old lady in 1326 actually has a son, and he can communicate!” The streamer said excitedly, “Come quickly!”

“!!!”

Hearing this news, Su Cheng couldn’t help but get excited too.

Could it be that they had finally successfully found a breakthrough this time!

It seemed their decision to go to the thirteenth floor was absolutely correct!

He involuntarily sped up his pace, jogging forward together with the other three.

As the distance shortened, the rotting stench in the air thickened, and an apartment with its door wide open gradually appeared in their field of vision.

Dim yellow light and shadows spilled out from the door, painted across the dimly lit corridor.

A tall and slender young man stood at the door, currently speaking in a low voice with Chen Mo and Wang Hanyu. His half face was immersed in the shadows, making the contours of his features look blurry and distant.

The young man seemed to be holding something in his palm, but it was hidden in the darkness and couldn’t be seen clearly.

However, Su Cheng noticed that during the conversation, Chen Mo and Wang Hanyu’s eyes couldn’t help but occasionally glance toward his palm.

Could it be… some important item?

Su Cheng’s heart leaped slightly. He subconsciously held his breath, and his gaze couldn’t help but be drawn over as well.

After getting closer, he finally saw clearly—

What the other party held in his hand was a light yellow paper copper coin.

Seemingly hearing the footsteps, the young man turned his head and looked in this direction.

Under the illumination of the corridor’s dim ceiling light, his features became clear.

A handsome, well-defined face, slightly pale skin, soft, slightly upturned lips, harmless amber eyes, sincere expression, focused gaze—inexplicably giving people a wondrous sense of trust, making it almost impossible to doubt the words he spoke.

“……………………”

Su Cheng slowly closed his eyes.

He expressionlessly took a deep breath. His excited steps from just a moment ago instantly slowed down, and his whole person seemed to calm down immediately, completely losing all expectations for the information and items he might learn about next.

—Why is it you again????

__

Author’s Note:

Wen Jianyan Victims Association is starting to recruit.
Senior victim Su Cheng leaves the group chat.