WTNL Chapter 13.2

Decai Middle School
Chapter 13.2: Deceiving people is his old profession

Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes slightly, his long eyelashes blocking the glare, his face remaining impassive.

Soon, the beam of light lowered. Accompanied by a series of footsteps, the three people opposite them walked over.

The leader held a flashlight in his hand, and the slightly lowered light swept across his face. Wen Jianyan instantly recognized the other party’s identity—the veteran streamer who had explained the rules in the cafeteria.

Kong Shixing’s gaze swept over the two people in front of him, a trace of imperceptible astonishment flashing deep in his eyes:

“It’s you guys?”

One was a rookie streamer, and the other was an NPC being frantically hunted by the instance monster. This combination was truly too bizarre, something he completely couldn’t have imagined.

“Why are you guys here?”

Seeing someone who was also a streamer, Su Cheng visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

He stepped forward and said:

“We’ve been up here for a while. This floor is incredibly bizarre; we can’t go down at all.”

Su Cheng sighed and asked, “What about you guys?”

Kong Shixing frowned: “We’ve also been up here for some time, and there’s absolutely no way to leave.”

He stealthily cast a glance at Wen Jianyan.

Su Cheng completely failed to notice the other’s subtle movement.

He said excitedly: “That’s great, we can all stick together from now on…”

Before Su Cheng could finish, Kong Shixing interrupted: “Of course.”

He took a step forward, familiarly raising his arm to sling it around Su Cheng’s neck, acting extremely close: “We are classmates and have known each other for so long, of course we should help each other.”

Kong Shixing looked at Wen Jianyan, revealing a slightly embarrassed shyness on his face:

“Um… Teacher, I have some private matters I’d like to discuss with my friend. Could you please…”

Su Cheng was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant.

Some things… couldn’t be said in front of an NPC.

It was just that he was so used to having Wen Jianyan by his side that he had completely forgotten about this.

Su Cheng nodded somewhat stiffly: “T-true, I also…have some private matters.”

Wen Jianyan understood. He smiled amicably and nodded:

“Of course.”

He turned and walked to the side, considerately leaving the two space for a private chat.

Kong Shixing gave one of his teammates a meaningful look. The person immediately understood, turned, and followed Wen Jianyan, striking up a conversation, trying to coax some information out of his mouth.

Soon, only the two of them were left in this area.

Su Cheng looked uneasily at the veteran streamer before him.

The other party released the arm around him and asked, “What happened after you guys came up?”

Su Cheng briefly told him about what happened earlier.

Kong Shixing frowned:

“You found 408 and even went inside?”

Although Su Cheng was a bit confused, he still nodded:

“Yes, but… there was nothing inside.”

Kong Shixing didn’t reply, showing a thoughtful expression.

He turned his head to glance into the darkness and continued asking, “Speaking of which, what’s the deal with you and that NPC just now?”

Su Cheng recounted all the information he knew in full detail.

Keys, a younger sister, going undercover, contacting superiors—it left Kong Shixing utterly stunned.

After listening, the way he looked at Su Cheng changed completely:

“Your storyline… is very crucial.”

Su Cheng nodded somewhat constrainedly.

Kong Shixing scrutinized Su Cheng, saying thoughtfully, “It might even… be the main storyline of the entire instance.”

Instances were divided into main storylines and side storylines. The higher the difficulty of the instance, the more storylines there were.

Although completing a side storyline could also unlock exploration progress, it couldn’t unlock it to 100%.

The reward for completing the main storyline was not only the highest, but more importantly, if the main storyline was completed, even if the other side storylines were left unfinished, the exploration progress would still reach 100%.

100% exploration progress!

A trace of fervor flashed deep in Kong Shixing’s eyes.

However, completely contrary to his suppressed excitement, his live broadcast room was flooded with question marks.

[?]

[???]

Kong Shixing was a veteran streamer. Most of the online viewers in his live broadcast room were his own loyal fanbase. Many had been camping in his stream since the broadcast started and had never gone to check the public square.

[Wait, the instance the streamer entered this time is Decai Middle School, right? Did it get a revamp? Why don’t I remember there being this storyline?]

[I’m a bit confused too. This storyline does sound quite important, but… why have I never heard of it!]

In the comments section, a wave of viewers with a completely different vibe was frantically spamming “Hahaha”.

[Hahahahahahahahahaha, coming from next door, leaving satisfied.]

[Throwing up from laughing, the Alliance of Victims of the Scammer is gradually growing, and now it can even automatically develop downlines!]

[Hahahahahahahaha I’m so happy.]

[The above user comments involve a streamer in the same hall and will only be visible to viewers.]

Kong Shixing remained completely oblivious to the trends in his own live broadcast room.

After a brief moment of thought and calculating the benefits, he decided to extend an olive branch to Su Cheng:

“A member of our team provided some intel. After midnight, 408 appears once every hour on the hour, and that’s the only time you can leave the fourth floor. This room is crucial; it’s highly likely to be the core of the entire instance. You said there was nothing inside, but that’s very likely just because you didn’t find the true way to unlock it.”

After briefly sharing his information with the other party, Kong Shixing cut straight to the chase:

“We can team up and act together from now on. When the next hour strikes, we’ll go in and investigate again. We might get a different result than you did.”

Before Su Cheng could nod, the other party continued: “However, that NPC who’s been following you around needs to be dealt with.”

Su Cheng froze: “…What?”

Kong Shixing’s thought process was clear, laying it out eloquently: “Our current instance is D-rank. Having a key clue character appear at this difficulty level means that as long as we get the items on the NPC, the main mission is in the bag.”

Su Cheng stammered a bit: “But… there’s no need to…”

Kong Shixing shook his head, interrupting him: “It’s too dangerous to bring this NPC along. The instance monster downstairs is frantically searching for him. Being with him will only lower our chances of survival.”

Su Cheng’s face turned a bit pale. He opened his mouth but didn’t reply.

“The best plan right now is to travel with him for the time being. When we reach the door of 408, we’ll have him go in again to see if he can help us scout out more information and eliminate some dangerous options.

If he actually survives and manages to leave the fourth floor with us, we can push him toward that NPC downstairs to draw the old witch’s attention while we take the opportunity to escape.”

Kong Shixing looked at Su Cheng:

“You’ve been with him for this long, you must have gained the NPC’s trust, right? Since that’s the case, your job is to coax the items and information out of him before the next hour strikes.”

Kong Shixing seemed to see through Su Cheng’s hesitation. He narrowed his eyes slightly:

“We are streamers, we are living people, and that’s just an NPC. Don’t pointlessly waste an opportunity handed right to you.”

He placed a hand on Su Cheng’s shoulder, advising earnestly:

“On our way here, we sacrificed a member of our team. Now there’s exactly one open spot. After this instance is over, I will recommend you to our guild—our guild’s total points rank third in all of Nightmare. We are one of the top major guilds and haven’t recruited newbies in a long time. Once you join, you’ll gain broader connections and richer resources. Think about it carefully.”

The other party spoke with deep sincerity, but Su Cheng didn’t really want to continue this topic.

His gaze drifted, and he changed the subject somewhat stiffly:

“You said… your team sacrificed a member?”

As he spoke, he looked to the side.

In the hazy darkness, the NPC was standing in the distance, conversing with the other two streamers.

“Aren’t there still three of you?”

Kong Shixing waved his hand dismissively: “A new guy joined later, but you don’t need to worry about him. We brought him along for a different purpose.”

Su Cheng seemed to half-understand: “I see…”

On the other side.

Wen Jianyan was chatting idly with the two streamers in front of him. Although his face was somewhat pale from blood loss, it didn’t affect his effortless skill in coaxing information out of people.

He calmly sized up the two people before him.

One of them had clearly received instructions from the captain and was constantly testing him subtly. But every time, Wen Jianyan easily deflected the probing, and instead, managed to coax quite a bit of useful information out of the other party.

As for the other person…

Wen Jianyan’s gaze landed on “Cheng Huaquan,” and his brows furrowed slightly against his will.

Although this person had also followed orders and come over, he hardly chipped in a few words throughout the entire process. Instead, he kept his head lowered, half of his pale face hidden in the darkness, appearing cowardly and cowering.

However…

Wen Jianyan just had a vague premonition that something wasn’t quite right.

Just then, Su Cheng and Kong Shixing’s conversation seemed to have ended.

The two walked toward this direction together.

Wen Jianyan ended the conversation, which he had already been dominating, and effortlessly stepped forward to greet them.

Behind him, “Cheng Huaquan,” who had kept his head lowered all along, slowly raised it. His pale face, half-hidden in the shadows, turned towards Wen Jianyan’s back.

On the dorm door beside him, his face was faintly reflected on the glass.

A giant, twisted smile hung on the corners of his mouth. A pair of pure black eyes stared fixedly at the sacrifice who had once escaped from his grasp, the upward curve of his lips widening a few points further.

A chill ran down Wen Jianyan’s spine.

He subconsciously turned his head and looked behind him.

“Cheng Huaquan” had his head lowered, looking exactly the same as before.

Wen Jianyan frowned.

His intuition for danger was naturally sharp.

For some reason, that streamer emitted a strange aura that instinctively made his hair stand on end.

Kong Shixing’s voice came from in front of him:

“Brother Xiao Wen, my friend has just told me everything about your situation.”

Wen Jianyan withdrew his gaze and looked at Kong Shixing standing before him.

The other party wore a smile on his face, speaking with great sincerity: “We will also do everything in our power to help you. We will definitely help you find your sister. However, before that, we might need to go back to 408 once more.”

Wen Jianyan pondered for a few seconds and let out a soft sigh: “You’re right. In this current situation, acting together is the best choice.”

“But, isn’t 408 completely empty?”

Wen Jianyan asked, feigning confusion.

The expression on Kong Shixing’s face was flawless: “Isn’t that even better?”

His gaze darted downwards, landing on Wen Jianyan’s hand. The glaring red color made his brow twitch: “Your injury is…”

“I got it in the corridor.”

Wen Jianyan moved his wrist, frowning: “But… I don’t know what attacked me either. Everything happened too fast.”

His expression was open and candid; even when lying, he left no trace.

Hearing the other party’s description, Kong Shixing also couldn’t help but feel tense: “I-is that so?”

“But you guys don’t need to worry.”

The young man raised his eyes. Beneath his long, thick eyelashes, his eyes held a clear light. When he focused his gaze intently on someone, it always gave an illusion of sincerity and candor:

“If anything else really happens, I will do my utmost to protect your personal safety.”

Kong Shixing smiled: “Thank you, Brother Xiao Wen.”

Hearing what the other party said, Su Cheng’s face worsened by a few degrees. He stared at Wen Jianyan, hesitating to speak, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately pressed his lips tightly together. In the end, he just silently turned his head away, the fingers hanging by his side slowly clenching tight.

Wen Jianyan pretended not to notice.

His expression remained unchanged, his gaze drifting lightly over the top of Kong Shixing’s head.

Only Wen Jianyan and the viewers in his live broadcast room could see a red arrow pointing straight down at the top of Kong Shixing’s head. It was bobbing rhythmically, as if jumping up and down while waving a flag and cheering.

I’m right here!

Quick, look at me!

At this moment, the live broadcast room 789326qwk was practically dying of laughter.

[Fuck, the special effect for this Guiding Hand is too hilarious. I laugh every time I see it, hahahahahaha!]

[I really didn’t expect that the normal-grade hidden item was on the opposing streamer…]

[Hahahahahahahahahaha, I just came back from the live broadcast room next door. They’ve plotted out every single step and are probably still feeling smug about the streamer taking the bait.]

[Bet you didn’t expect this, falling for your trick was just to scam you better.]

[Hahahahaha absolutely brilliant, absolutely brilliant. The longest road I’ve ever walked is this scammer streamer’s routine!]

The young man trailed at a moderate distance behind the group. His handsome face was hidden in the darkness, his sharp features flashing amidst the interplay of light and shadow, giving him an unfathomable look.

[The guiding hand has taken effect; remaining inventory: 0]

Great, he was finally back in his familiar territory.

Watching the backs of the few people not far ahead, a fleeting smile brushed across Wen Jianyan’s lips. His eyes narrowed slightly, the smile in his eyes elusive. His already superior looks inexplicably took on a bewitching, almost demonic charm.

Ah, compared to facing off against that bizarre phantom in the mirror, dealing with people suited him much better.

After all…

This was his profession.

Deceiving people was his old profession.

__

Author’s Note:

Gong (pondering): I’m not human, so what you just said about love at first sight definitely wasn’t a lie to me.

Wen Jianyan: …

???

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