A moving light source is unwelcome anywhere.
Although the process deviated somewhat, the outcome Ying Yu and Yuan inferred was correct.
Zhou Qi’an initially intended to rely on himself and personally dive for the copper coin, but now he had to change his strategy and let his teammates snatch it.
He made several agile turns in the water, delaying other players from reaching the southeast area. Whenever someone tried to kill him, Zhou Qi’an would dart into a school of fish first.
These piranhas didn’t eat him, temporarily forming a natural protective shield. Through this series of maneuvers, his mind grew sharper… no, practice made perfect.
The other players around him gritted their teeth in frustration. None of the players were soft-hearted. As he entered the southeast region, someone finally lost their patience. The leader gave a hand signal, and immediately seven or eight people joined forces to surround and kill him.
The white silk moved by his side, winding around the ankles of the approaching players like seaweed.
‘What the hell is this thing?’ The entangled person cursed inwardly in shock and anger.
First ribbon dancing, now a flare; so flashy.
The white silk only entangled half of them. The other half still wielded deadly weapons and charged forward.
The hastily formed team was full of flaws. Zhou Qi’an had long since identified the opportune moment, preparing to activate the holy artifact’s light to its maximum when they got closer, allowing him to move upwards and break through the encirclement.
Just as he was about to take out the holy artifact to blind them, one of the players wielding a scythe suddenly had a momentary lapse of concentration. Without any warning, he abruptly turned and swung his blade at the person next to him.
“Are you cra… glug glug…”
With someone turning traitor, the scene instantly descended into chaos.
Zhou Qi’an was momentarily stunned by the sight of them fighting each other.
The next second, a familiar figure appeared where the water was churning violently. Upon seeing the person’s face, he immediately understood everything, and his expression finally relaxed slightly. Shen Zhiyi’s index finger, appearing even paler underwater, pointed upwards, signaling him to leave first.
There was a limited amount of time players could hold their breath underwater. Based on the time they had been down, this limited copper coin competition was nearing its end. Zhou Qi’an also knew that there was no point in going over now; he would only become a target. In any case, he had successfully held back some of the people approaching the copper coin area. The rest was up to his teammates.
He began to prepare his retreat.
Only when Zhou Qi’an swam above him did Shen Zhiyi start to swim, ensuring there were no sources of danger behind.
His vision was filled with a dazzling ice-blue. Soft hair, capable of turning sharp at any moment, brushed against the side of his neck several times, as if playfully scratching him. Even back at the Good Night Villa, Shen Zhiyi’s nightmare form had only seen him after he emerged from the lake. The experience of swimming together like this underwater was unprecedented.
Zhou Qi’an focused on swimming. Due to the prolonged lack of oxygen, his face gradually turned reddish. Before surfacing, Zhou Qi’an first tested the waters with his white silk. After confirming there was no one waiting to ambush him, he finally poked his head out of the water.
“Brother Zhou.”
A voice, muffled and indistinct, came from across the well water. Zhou Qi’an saw the college student rushing over. The latter happened to be nearby and reached out to pull him up. Earlier, the college student had subconsciously wanted to jump in as well but was ordered by Shen Zhiyi to stay on the bank. Leaving someone behind could, one, allow them to observe if there were any changes in the museum after the players went into the well, and two, if someone tried a sneak attack, they could be notified in time via a communication device.
Running to Zhou Qi’an’s side, the college student exclaimed, “Brother Zhou, you’ve been transforming so frequently lately.” He had just transformed in the sanatorium’s lake last time.
Shen Zhiyi, who came ashore after him, heard this and shot him a cold look, resisting the urge to drown the college student.
The downpour in the sky was already showing signs of stopping. Zhou Qi’an wrung some water from his clothes, still looking at the well. This time underwater, he had neither the right time, place, nor people on his side. Shen Zhiyi was probably also teleported to a remote location by the initial underwater currents.
“What a pity.”
If Shen Zhiyi had been closer to the copper coin’s location, after his underwater transformation, while he was attracting the attention of other players, it would have been easy for the former to quietly obtain the copper coin with his abilities. Now that they were both on the shore, the uncertainty of the situation had increased significantly.
And that was indeed the case. After forcibly dispelling some of the bad luck earlier, Shen Zhiyi had been somewhat affected. Just as he was about to turn his head to say something to Zhou Qi’an, the moment he opened his mouth, his ears twitched, and he immediately pulled the other man. In the next instant, a fierce wind howled, and the excessive noise weakened their hearing and vision.
Pulled by a force, Zhou Qi’an managed to stand his ground relatively stably.
After a long while, the fierce wind finally showed signs of abating, and the system notification once again broadcast in their minds:
“This round’s limited copper coin has been distributed.”
“The next distribution will occur when a player obtains the qualification to purchase a cultural and creative product.”
About two or three minutes after the notification ended, the dark clouds scattered almost instantly, and light returned to the world. There were many more players on the bank. The college student had been blown to the other side by the wind and was now rushing back.
Everyone was sizing each other up with suspicious gazes. Zhou Qi’an noticed that many of them were looking at He Li at the same time.
“Cough cough…” He Li was injured, with a bloody hole in his arm, and his face was pale. Tian Tian was supporting him.
Noticing Zhou Qi’an looking over, Tian Tian stomped her foot angrily. “It’s all your people’s fault!”
Hearing this, Zhou Qi’an’s tone deepened. “Speak clearly.”
The color of his hair hadn’t fully reverted, and his gaze was sharp and cold. When their eyes met, Tian Tian was inexplicably frightened, but her face quickly flushed with anger again. “He Li got the copper coin first, but then he was sneak-attacked and it was stolen by your people! In the water, that person in the Red Hood…”
She didn’t bother to lower her voice at all. Anyway, at the bottom of the well, others had witnessed that scene.
Zhou Qi’an listened quietly. According to Tian Tian, she, Red Hood, and He Li were relatively close to the copper coin’s location, and the three of them had tacitly teamed up to participate in the slaughter. In the final struggle, He Li had used his trump card to seize the opportunity. Who knew that the moment he escaped the encirclement, he would be backstabbed by Red Hood. After that, the system notification arrived, and they were forcibly teleported out of the well.
“She’s a bastard! She…”
Tian Tian cursed a few more times, but finding that no one was paying attention, she was finally pulled back by He Li.
On the other side, the small team of four who had teamed up with them at the beginning felt fortunate that they had gone upstairs early. Otherwise, they might have been backstabbed as well.
The reason He Li endured the humiliation was obvious. He and Tian Tian were outnumbered. Red Hood’s whereabouts were currently unknown, and the other players were looking at He Li with a mixture of schadenfreude and sympathy.
Zhou Qi’an showed no change in expression. According to Tian Tian, they weren’t teleported from the bottom of the well by swimming up, but by the system. Then the person who got the copper coin should also have been teleported. Since Red Hood wasn’t here, she was likely teleported directly to the Silent Town. Seeing that no other players were looking for Red Hood, he became even more certain of this.
“That makes sense…” If there were no restrictions, no one would be able to hold on to the copper coin. Although the journey from the museum to the town wasn’t far, it was enough for a person to die many times. Now with the time difference, it meant the copper coin’s owner could directly communicate with the town’s residents.
The game’s overly considerate arrangement made Zhou Qi’an feel that something was not right.
He wasn’t the only one with this thought. Ying Yu suddenly looked at Yuan, mainly at the dog. “You and I will go to the town and have a look.” It was clear he intended to personally go to the town to find Red Hood.
Everyone had their own thoughts. The boss wasn’t interested in these miscellaneous matters and walked towards the Risheng pavilion in the center. Capitalists only pursue work efficiency. Now that the team was scattered, it was natural to continue viewing and get the purchase qualifications for all three Pavilions first. As for the copper coin, after confirming the viewing methods, he hoped his subordinate would be sensible enough to get the next one.
Before walking away, the boss glanced at Zhou Qi’an. The sharp corner of his scarlet tie was still lifted by the wind, carrying a strong warning.
Witnessing his boss’s cruel back, Zhou Qi’an clicked his tongue twice internally. However, on this point, he rarely agreed with the capitalist’s style. He couldn’t waste time in one pavilion. He looked at Shen Zhiyi, the meaning he wanted to convey was self-evident—he wanted the other to go to the remaining Ridie Pavilion.
Shen Zhiyi automatically performed a double translation: I’m going to cause trouble, don’t affect my performance.
Considering the other’s current bad luck, Shen Zhiyi decided to refuse this unreasonable request.
However, a hand lightly pressed on his arm first. Zhou Qi’an smiled, his hand never moving away, but instead pulling him closer. “There’s not enough time. Help me find something there.” He wasn’t sure which of the three Pavilions it was in and whispered a few words.
After a long while, under Zhou Qi’an’s smiling gaze, and considering he still had a life-saving item on hand, Shen Zhiyi was the one to take a step back first.
Zhou Qi’an made a statement: “There won’t be any problems on my end.” This was an uphill battle. He had to turn passive into active, and while trying to complete the mission, counterattack the Whalers’ Association.
Outsiders couldn’t hear their conversation at all. From the result, it seemed that Zhou Qi’an was requesting the man to go to another pavilion to view it, with a hint of showing off his looks. For example, the hand resting on the other’s arm, the way the young man blinked during the process, and the eye contact during their exchange—it was clear that their relationship was a bit unusual.
Seeing that Shen Zhiyi was actually persuaded and went off to do hard labor alone, they all shook their heads in disdain. The Ridie Pavilion currently had the highest death rate. Only a fool would go alone.
With his teammates working on three fronts, Zhou Qi’an turned back to the Risheng Pavilion, giving off an air of laziness. He didn’t even glance at He Li, turning into the pavilion without looking sideways. From behind him came Tian Tian’s indignant voice: “What kind of person is he!”
The Risheng Pavilion was much less crowded than before, deserted and quiet. Having just gone through an underwater battle, many players chose to rest outside for a bit before coming in to view with full energy.
The college student was still following Zhou Qi’an, whispering, “Brother Zhou, is there something wrong with that He Li?”
Zhou Qi’an let out a “whoa.” “You actually figured it out.”
He’s improving quickly.
The college student was surprised. So it was true.
“I didn’t see anything wrong with He Li, but in Tian Tian, I saw a reflection of my past self.” By using others as a mirror, one can understand their own gains and losses.
“…”
Zhou Qi’an gave him a deep look and started up the stairs. The wooden staircase creaked, muffling some of their conversation.
“Nine out of ten things He Li says are lies. When he introduced the Four Water Courtyard, Tian Tian asked, ‘Excuse me, is there any special significance?’ This one sentence is enough to show they aren’t familiar with each other.” Acquaintances of similar age wouldn’t talk like that. At that time, Zhou Qi’an knew his initial judgment from last night was wrong. Although the three of them had walked together and acted intimately, they weren’t a team.
“Tian Tian is obviously a rookie. I guess He Li convinced her to pretend to be a teammate to avoid being looked down upon for being weak.”
College student: “The purpose of doing this is to…” Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly stopped. Could it be to cover for the ghost in their team last night? If everyone came in as a team, and the team size was more than two, it would naturally be difficult to judge.
Zhou Qi’an nodded: “…The fact that He Li could snatch the copper coin is enough to prove his strength. How could someone with that kind of strength waste a team slot on a rookie? And besides, Red Hood is greedy, not stupid.”
When he was still a rookie, Red Hood had brought two subordinates to fight him. He Li was able to snatch the copper coin from a group of players. After witnessing his methods, how could Red Hood immediately risk a sneak attack?
College student: “But several people saw it.”
“I guess Red Hood discovered something at the last minute and had to backstab He Li.”
Speaking of this, Zhou Qi’an frowned slightly. He Li was extremely calculating. No matter how careless he was, he wouldn’t have let Red Hood succeed in a backstab so easily. This was unreasonable. It couldn’t be that he deliberately lured Red Hood to snatch it…
“Deliberately lured?”
The moment these four words appeared in his mind, Zhou Qi’an’s body felt like it had been electrocuted, as if he had thought of something. He quickened his pace up the stairs, his heart beating faster than usual, but his palms felt ice-cold.
Standing at the top of the second-floor staircase, Zhou Qi’an glanced inside hastily. The second floor was even more empty. Through the window, the intermittent sounds of players’ conversations could be heard from downstairs. There were clearly more artifacts on this floor, still without glass covers, brazenly displayed on the high stands.
“No data resource library.” Zhou Qi’an narrowed his eyes. But when he saw that there were many sword-like exhibits on this floor, he walked inside without stopping. The screens and display stands were too numerous, blocking his line of sight.
He suddenly said, “Choose a direction.”
The college student hesitated for a moment and walked to the left. The second floor was much gloomier than the first. Only the left side, relatively speaking, didn’t feel as cold.
“Here… it doesn’t seem as dangerous.”
Zhou Qi’an vaguely felt it too. The psychic constitution was more useful than he had imagined. Zhou Qi’an quickly rounded the screen in front of him. The yin energy in this area did seem to be a little lighter.
On the display rack behind the screen, there were at least a dozen various types of blades—ornate, simple, long swords, and broken blades. Some of the scabbards were covered in dents, settled with the dust of history.
When he saw one of the longswords on the display rack, Zhou Qi’an’s expression paused. “Found it.”
The blade was rather long, with an inlaid wave pattern, identical to the sword the mad woman had used to slash at him last night!
He reached out his hand directly. The college student, following behind, paled when he saw the young man pick up a sword with his bare hands. Every exhibit in the museum was mysterious. To handle it directly, the danger was imaginable.
“A forgery.” Zhou Qi’an concluded instantly, barely even looking at it.
Swords were weapons of slaughter. When the round fan was a forgery, the feeling wasn’t as strong, but with the sword being a forgery, the yin and baleful energy in this small area was abnormally lower than its surroundings.
The cold, mechanical system notification arrived in time:
“Please state the best reason why it is a forgery.”
“Note, you only have one chance to answer. A wrong answer will be considered a failed viewing.”
In an instant, another bone-chillingly cold wind enveloped their bodies. The college student felt like he was about to freeze, and Zhou Qi’an’s lips also turned pale from the loss of heat. Every second he delayed answering, the chill penetrated deeper into his bones.
Gathering all his strength in his hands, Zhou Qi’an closed his eyes, drew the sword from its sheath, his expression fierce, and slashed downwards. The blade came towards him, and the college student was so startled that his stiff body couldn’t even dodge.
The next second, the blade struck the ground, leaving a crack. The cold air made his arm hang limply. Zhou Qi’an managed to say, “When it is swung, it lacks the dragon’s roar.”
Last night, when the woman used the sword to slash at him, the most impressive thing was that dragon’s roar. The instance wouldn’t have abnormal special effects for no reason.
“Congratulations on discovering the forgery—the Dragon’s Drinker Sword.”
The system’s voice was like a general pardon. The chill quietly receded. Zhou Qi’an’s hand went limp, and the sword fell to his feet. He took a light breath, confirming his conclusion. “The artifacts replaced by forgeries are probably all in the Silent Town.”
College student: “The residents of the Silent Town are hiding the artifacts?”
Zhou Qi’an suddenly looked at him. This one look made the college student’s hair stand on end. A few words floated into his ears, and the college student was stunned on the spot.
“Perhaps, they are the escaped artifacts?”
Zhou Qi’an didn’t explain the other details to the college student. After confirming the connection between the artifacts and the residents of the Silent Town, all the clues flashed in his mind, the most direct one being He Li’s abnormal behavior. The other party deliberately luring Red Hood to snatch the copper coin should be related to the real and fake artifacts. What exactly was he plotting?
Zhou Qi’an’s gaze kept changing, his hand intentionally or unintentionally rubbing the skull ring. The college student stood aside, not daring to disturb him.
“Silent Town, artifacts…”
Until his peripheral vision caught a dense patch of small text. Zhou Qi’an’s fingertips suddenly stiffened, and he stared intently at the sign for a long while.
“So that’s how it is, so the trap is here!”
The college student was extremely curious. Fortunately, this time, Zhou Qi’an didn’t ignore him and said in a deep voice, “Do you still remember what hint the system gave when we first arrived on the first day?”
The college student nodded quickly. Of course, he remembered. The residents of the Silent Town disliked talking. When players spoke, there was a certain probability of death.
Zhou Qi’an looked at the artifact’s introduction. The artifacts here all had codes and detailed descriptions.
[GH-001: Dragon’s Drinker Sword]
“…Dragon’s Drinker Sword, unearthed in the 27th year of the Tianyuan era from under the Tali Temple in the ancient capital. The crack in the scabbard hides a mechanism, hailed as the most poisonous sword in ancient and modern times, worth a thousand gold pieces. This is also the first in history…”
Zhou Qi’an’s expression was rarely so serious. “If I’m not mistaken, communication with the residents of the Silent Town can only be done using the words recorded on the artifact descriptions.”
The college student’s eyes widened. “Huh?” After the initial shock, he suddenly recalled the residents of the town speaking in broken fragments, always using very few words to express their meaning. He couldn’t help but swallow. If that was true, if Red Hood appeared before a resident with the limited copper coin and opened her mouth to ask, ‘Which is the popular cultural product of the Risheng Pavilion?’, wouldn’t she be certain to die?
Zhou Qi’an’s fingertips once again brushed against the wings on the new version of the skull ring, the metallic coolness transmitting through his fingertips.
College student: “We have to notify Mr. Ying and the others quickly!” It was definitely impossible to notify Red Hood since speaking was not allowed in the Silent Town.
Before he could finish his sentence, a faint sound of footsteps came from behind.
Clap, clap.
Accompanied by the sound of light applause, a terrifying scarlet light extended from behind, as if something was about to pull the living creatures in front of them into the abyss in the next second.
“How clever.” He Li’s voice had a distinctly different tone from before.
The voice instantly drew closer. Half of his body was shrouded in blood-red and was stiff. The college student didn’t even dare to turn around. The shadow cast from behind was incomparably fierce, neither human nor ghost. For some reason, although the person was clearly standing behind him, the college student felt that he was talking to Zhou Qi’an.
“You see…” The sinister tone carried a hint of cruel teasing. “You’re always so clever.”
This one sentence clearly implied that the two had known each other before.
Zhou Qi’an’s head was slightly bowed, as if in fear of this bloody color, yet his straight spine showed a different posture. After two seconds, he finally spoke. “The first time I heard your voice, I felt it was somewhat familiar.”
In the shadows, no one could see Zhou Qi’an’s expression, not even himself: “…You’re from the Whalers’ Association, right?”
