Zhou Qi’an scoffed internally.
Sorry, but he wasn’t a reckless person.
Though his face remained gentle, he was mentally cursing out his boss. He had only blown up the Jinxing Mansion after completing the mission. Unless fire was the core weakness of this instance, blowing this place up would only get himself killed first.
Thinking about it, Xun Er’s instance was much better.
He would forever miss Xun Er.
During their brief exchange, a system notification suddenly appeared:
“You have successfully viewed the exhibit—Calligraphy and Paintings.”
“Successfully view eight exhibits to gain the qualification to purchase a cultural and creative product from the Risheng Pavilion.”
“Current Progress: 1/8.”
Zhou Qi’an paused.
That counted as viewing one exhibit?
Not just Zhou Qi’an, even his boss looked suspicious. A moment later, he sneered, “As expected of worthless paintings.”
The viewing was over before they even really looked.
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from behind. Two veteran players approached together, unable to resist asking, “How did you do it?”
Each screen had a suspicious number on it. The screen next to Zhou Qi’an, which originally showed ‘8’, now showed ’10’. This represented the number of people who had successfully viewed the exhibit.
Zhou Qi’an’s expression was unreadable. “Is it difficult?”
“Of course,” one of the approaching men said. “Many of the people who looked at these paintings before went mad and self-harmed. Even looking from a distance can be dangerous.”
He was speaking from his own experience.
The calligraphy was fine, but the paintings were the main problem. Several portraits without pupils were exceptionally lifelike, their skin having a realistic, fleshy texture. Despite the lack of eyeballs, anyone who saw them felt an irresistible urge to offer their own eyes. Fortunately, he had been far enough away at the time, and his companion knocked him out just in time to save him.
“Even the players who successfully viewed the paintings before took at least half an hour.”
The two men were anxious and added, “We won’t leak the viewing method to others. In exchange, we’ll share a piece of information that’s hard to notice.”
Although he had already made up his mind, Zhou Qi’an first glanced at his boss, pretending to seek his leader’s opinion.
Only after his boss nodded did he say, “Alright.”
After using a contract item, Zhou Qi’an spoke first, “For calligraphy and paintings, don’t look at the content of the painting itself. Just look at the seals and things like that.”
From the other party’s words, it wasn’t hard to guess the correct viewing method.
The air fell silent for a moment.
“…That’s it?”
Zhou Qi’an nodded.
The expressions on the two men’s faces were priceless. They didn’t know whether to be speechless about the viewing method or about why someone looking at a painting would only focus on who painted it.
With a stomach full of doubts, one player took a deep breath and shared what he knew. “The current player count isn’t necessarily accurate. I specifically counted yesterday, and the number displayed by the system is higher than the actual number of players.”
After speaking, the two turned and walked away without looking back, eager to view the paintings. They nearly bumped into the college student who was walking over.
Watching the players’ backs, the college student said indignantly, “They’re so dishonest.”
Perhaps some people outside the pavilion weren’t counted. The information was given very perfunctorily, and they didn’t even give him a chance to ask more questions.
Zhou Qi’an only said three words, “Just watch.”
And when he said watch, he really did walk to the side of a screen and watch.
After viewing the paintings, the two men quickly moved on to a nearby exhibit of fans. The fans also had calligraphy and paintings on them. Who knew if there was a limit to how many times an exhibit could be viewed? It was best to be first.
A full five minutes passed, and nothing happened.
As time went on, the college student, still standing in place, felt that something was wrong. He shivered. “Those two haven’t moved in a long time.”
The two players, one tall and one short, stood silently behind the screen. Through the gap in the screen, one could see their hands hanging at their sides, their heads slightly bowed. It didn’t look like they were viewing an exhibit; it was more like they were facing a wall in contemplation.
The strangest part was that he couldn’t sense any rise and fall of their breathing.
The college student inexplicably felt that the two men had gotten thinner. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. The tall and short players were gradually shrinking, an unnerving sense of silent evaporation that sent a chill down his spine. In the blink of an eye, the spot where they stood was empty, leaving only a faint water stain on the ground.
The college student stumbled back a step.
Zhou Qi’an withdrew his gaze. “Theories confirmed.”
First, there was indeed a problem with the player count. Two players had disappeared, but the system count remained at 232.
Second, the viewing methods for the artifacts were different, and there was more than one way to view them. For example, with the painting, he and his boss had coincidentally avoided the painting’s attack by only looking at the seal. Other players, however, had looked directly at the painting and still survived. The same viewing method didn’t work for the fans.
Zhou Qi’an turned to look at the players gathered in small groups in the distance, spying on them. From most of their perspectives, they only saw two players run over, exchange a few words, look at the exhibit, and then disappear. Instantly, their gazes toward Zhou Qi’an and his group became like they were looking at gods of death, and they no longer dared to think about taking advantage of them.
The college student’s mouth hung open. “They got scared just like that?”
The only reply was a cold sneer from his boss.
Those who wasted time staying here were the lowest quality players, so of course they were easily scared witless. He wouldn’t even want them as free labor.
With the prying eyes gone, it was much more comfortable. The college student followed Zhou Qi’an’s instructions and went to appreciate the seals to complete the painting viewing.
Zhou Qi’an looked back at the spot where the two players had disappeared and shook his head. The quality of players in this instance was as disparate as the gap between the rich and the poor.
His gaze fell on the display stand. The fans were laid flat, and their contents were invisible unless one got close. His previous success in viewing the painting was partly by chance and partly intentional. Everything in the museum was related to ghosts; appreciating their artistic value was meaningless and would only lead to a quicker death. However, the first two unlucky souls had already helped them conclude that one couldn’t just look at the seals when viewing the fans. This time, the content of the appreciation was very important.
The boss urged, “Don’t waste time.”
Zhou Qi’an had the same intention.
Walking over again, he openly admired the surface of the fans. There were ten fans in total, each with a different painting. According to the description below, these artifacts came from a dynasty in history called 郢 (Yǐng).
After looking for a few seconds, Zhou Qi’an did something unexpected. He actually picked up one of the fans and examined it closely. His boss glanced at him, surprised that his timid employee could occasionally show some courage.
Zhou Qi’an’s reason for daring to take it was simple. None of the exhibits had glass covers, nor were there any signs forbidding touching. The fact that he was only picking it up and not taking it away was already restrained.
The round fan depicted a scene of boating on a lake: a giant skeleton floated in mid-air, controlling the faceless boatmen below with thin threads, while the water’s surface was covered with the faces of the dead. The height difference between the two boatmen at the front was very obvious. Even with their heads down, their fear was palpable.
Zhou Qi’an’s hand holding the fan suddenly tightened. He recognized the first two players.
“Could it be… that players who fail to view an exhibit are absorbed into the artifact?”
They didn’t die outside the pavilion, but were instead forever trapped viewing inside the museum, which was why the system’s viewing count hadn’t changed.
At this thought, a chill suddenly seemed to pierce his palm from the fan’s ribs. Zhou Qi’an immediately tried to put the fan down, but it was as if it was glued to his palm, impossible to remove. A watery mist seeped out of the fan, enveloping his body. Zhou Qi’an could barely move from his legs to his waist. At the same time, a powerful suction force came from the lake on the fan’s surface, repeatedly trying to pull him in.
Seeing Zhou Qi’an in trouble, the boss, on the contrary, reached out to touch the fan’s surface. He licked his lips, his gaze falling on the boat full of souls. “I’m a little hungry.”
He could go in for an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet.
Zhou Qi’an’s eyelid twitched violently.
He could be hungry all he wanted, but Zhou Qi’an had no desire to go rowing.
His gaze quickly swept over the other fans, and he tried to touch another one. As his body moved with force, Zhou Qi’an seemed to hear a cracking sound from his body. If he moved any more, the bones enveloped in the damp mist might shatter into pieces. One inch, two inches, just a little bit more…
With his still-free hand, Zhou Qi’an finally grasped the third fan from the right.
“As expected.”
A light flashed in Zhou Qi’an’s eyes.
“Compared to the previous one, the paper surface is not as light, and the fan ribs are newer…” He struggled to bend his arm and brought it to his nose to sniff. “The wax was applied in recent years… This is a forgery.”
As the last two words fell, the water vapor that had nearly reached his neck began to dissipate silently.
“You have successfully viewed the exhibit—Round Fan.”
“Successfully view eight exhibits to gain the qualification to purchase a cultural and creative product from the Risheng Pavilion.”
“Current Progress: 2/8.”
Zhou Qi’an didn’t immediately put down the forgery, a look of interest in his eyes. “A fake.”
Who had swapped it for the real one? It certainly wasn’t a player; players didn’t have the time to make fakes. Zhou Qi’an naturally tucked the forgery into his clothes. The college student, walking over anxiously, happened to witness this scene.
He swallowed. The movement was so natural and skilled, without a hint of guilt, as if he were in his own home.
The college student tried to tear his attention away from the fan and described, “Just now, you two were like those two people before, standing completely still. I wanted to come over and wake you up, but I couldn’t get close no matter what.”
Zhou Qi’an said thoughtfully, “It seems that when a player is trapped, it’s difficult for outsiders to help.”
A sneer from his boss brought him back to his senses. Having ruined the other’s plan to enter the painting and eat souls, Zhou Qi’an calmly explained, “The secret to an all-you-can-eat buffet is to eat the expensive stuff first. These are clearly inferior goods.”
Devouring souls certainly didn’t provide as much energy as swallowing a whole monster. In a sense, the boss was also restraining his appetite, slowing down the pace of excessive evolution. With a few more items like the [Nourishing Pouch], he could take a big step forward on the road to regaining his sanity. Sickness enters through the mouth. Hopefully, this capitalist’s brain could be cured.
The boss was noncommittal about his clumsy excuse and walked to a prominent spot to stand, looking like he wasn’t going to move again. Zhou Qi’an stood beside him with a smile.
About twenty minutes later, Ying Yu’s team returned first. Red Hood noticed the entrance was empty. “Where are those idiot onlookers?”
Zhou Qi’an: “They ran.”
Before long, Shen Zhiyi’s group also walked over from another corner. Screens with different patterns were everywhere, and people would suddenly pop out, making the scene extremely strange.
Ying Yu’s and Shen Zhiyi’s teams had each successfully viewed three exhibits. The boss had apparently estimated the capabilities of both teams and was unwilling to view even one more.
Everyone briefly exchanged their methods for viewing the exhibits. When it was Zhou Qi’an’s turn to speak, everyone except Shen Zhiyi, who was full of admiration, looked a little surprised.
He Li directly voiced the group’s collective thought: “Your viewing methods are really special.”
With the answers as a reference, viewing the other artifacts was almost too easy. So easy… that it was a little scary.
The system notifications came without any delay. The moment the eighth exhibit was viewed, it immediately sounded:
“Congratulations on obtaining the qualification to purchase a cultural and creative product from the Risheng Pavilion.”
“Please find a staff member.”
There was no joy, and no one even spoke. In the silence, Yuan stopped stroking his hound and said, “At this rate, we’ll finish all three galleries very quickly.”
The progress was so fast that they hadn’t even gone to the second floor of the Risheng Pavilion. The rollercoaster-like difficulty, sometimes high and sometimes low, made people feel very uneasy.
Zhou Qi’an concealed the contemplation in his eyes and looked outside. “Let’s find a staff member first.”
Actually, compared to viewing the exhibits, he was more concerned about the forgery incident. If it wasn’t a player who swapped it, and there were no other staff in the museum, could it be the Whalers’ Association? After all, this was their long-hidden lair.
As he walked out, Zhou Qi’an’s peripheral vision caught the introduction sign at the entrance. He suddenly asked, “Did anyone find the data resource library?”
Everyone shook their heads. Yuan said, “I only saw the restroom.”
Zhou Qi’an couldn’t help but look back at the building. The introduction sign couldn’t have been made up. Could the data resource library be on the second floor?
In a short while, the sky had turned gloomy. The number of players gathered in the courtyard had increased since they arrived. In the opposite building, players were sticking their heads out to look at the sky. When they saw Zhou Qi’an and his group walking towards the staff member by the well, their expressions were subtle.
The dark sky was like a curtain spread above, and around the classical architecture below, there was a group of players with strange gazes. The whole scene was unspeakably creepy.
“Did you notice?” He Li lowered his voice. “The way they’re looking at us is wrong.”
The veteran players should know that finding a staff member meant they were going to buy a cultural product, but their expressions showed no jealousy. Instead, there was a hint of schadenfreude, and even some strange, hidden anticipation.
