WTNL Chapter 195

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Anchor Hall
Chapter 195: Deal

The air seemed to have turned into a thick, semi-fluid substance that was viscous and suffocating.

Unconsciously, the distance between them was once again shortened, as if pulled by some invisible, unknown force… Wu Zhu instinctively bent down.

He gazed at the human before him.

In those golden eyes, deep within the pupils, aside from the inhuman, chilling coldness, there surged another primal and intense emotion.

Arrogant, fragile, and eloquent human.

Even though his throat was gripped in someone else’s palm and all countermeasures lost their effectiveness, he was still boldly jumping, provoking, and ignorantly releasing seductive signals.

…

A feast that was served on a silver platter.

A strange hunger burned deep in his chest.

As if sensing something, the young man, who had been incessantly babbling, suddenly fell silent.

He closed his mouth.

His lip shape was sharp and distinct, but the lower lip was full and soft, easily adjusting to form the right curve to accompany speech and bewitch hearts.

But now it was tightly pursed, the crisp lines resisting sentiment, like a mollusk closing its hard shell.

Wu Zhu’s gaze uncontrollably fell on the young man’s moist lips, and that strange and chaotic desire was almost uncontrollable, as if pulled by a magnet, irresistible.

Pry it open.

Taste it.

Suddenly, Wen Jianyan spoke.

He gazed at the person before him and suddenly smiled:

“Do you want to kiss me?”

“!”

Wu Zhu’s pupils contracted slightly, as if stunned.

“Come on.”

Wen Jianyan said.

***

“Zzzzzz——”

A sharp buzzing sound, like nails scratching on glass, reverberated strongly in the vast live broadcast room, piercing the ears of every viewer.

The next moment, the live signal was completely cut off.

The screen, already covered with snowflakes, now showed nothing but darkness.

The live room fell into a brief silence.

[Huh? What’s going on? Why can’t we see anything suddenly?]

[I mean, the live signal was bad before, but why did it just cut off completely now?!]

[Aaaaaaah what happened next? Why can’t we see anything, even as paying viewers? Complain! I’m going to complain!]

[Is there something wrong with this optimization! There weren’t so many problems before!]

After the live feed was cut off, the viewers’ grievances quickly accumulated and fermented.

Seemingly sensing the dissatisfaction of the viewers, soon, a line of text appeared on the dark screen:

【Disconnected, reconnecting…】

At the same time, the mechanical system announcement sounded in the live room:

“Dear viewers, your feedback has been received in the live room. In order to provide you with a better live experience and entertainment effect, Nightmare is working hard to restore the live signal. Please be patient…”

The dark screen flickered with the words “Disconnected, reconnecting…”

Most of the viewers were just curious and had come temporarily; their interest came and went quickly. Seeing this situation, they were all very disappointed and dispersed sparsely, flocking to other live rooms that were still broadcasting without issues.

After all, there was more than just one instance of “Ping An Asylum” currently being broadcast, and they had plenty of choices.

Soon, the live room, which had just been packed, became empty.

The online audience quickly dropped to a low point.

Only a small group of more persistent old fans remained in the live room, idly waiting for the signal to recover and chatting as they waited.

[It’s really… the live broadcast was just getting to the most crucial part, this is so disappointing, isn’t it?]

[Lately, there have been issues with the live signal, but it’s the first time it’s been so severe, being cut off directly.]

[There have been issues before, but it seems like it was only the instances that had problems, not the live signal.]

[Yeah, I remember several instances were directly archived, and a lot of familiar veteran anchors lost a large number of followers. Many familiar senior anchor’s live rooms were permanently closed.]

[Hahaha, yeah, if it weren’t for a large number of veteran anchors suddenly emptying out, Nightmare wouldn’t have taken in so many fresh bloods all at once. I remember this anchor was recruited during that time, right?]

[Anyway, Nightmare needs to quickly fix these bugs again. It’s really unbearable when it keeps malfunctioning like this; it seriously affects the user experience.]

***

As the man’s pupils contracted, the force binding Wen Jianyan’s neck suddenly tightened to the point of breaking the throat bone, but then it suddenly relaxed completely the next second.

The tentacle-like shadows seemed to be fleeing away.

“…Cough, cough!”

Wen Jianyan, who was on the brink of suffocation, was pulled back into the world where he could breathe freely. He clutched his throat with one hand, coughing hoarsely.

“…”

Wu Zhu stood expressionless in place, like a statue devoid of any emotion, staring at him with those indifferent golden eyes fixedly.

Under that impassive exterior, however, there seemed to be some unfamiliar undercurrents surging.

Like astonishment, yet also confusion…

All the turbulence seemed to be hidden within the chaos.

After the itch faded, Wen Jianyan raised his eyes again, looking at the man before him.

The kiss had happened twice.

The first was out of deception, and the second was the same.

The first time, he completed a system task, and the second time, he distracted him with a show of weakness and then stabbed him in the chest with a knife.

Obviously, Wu Zhu held grudges.

So, after marking him and making him his slave and servant, he sarcastically asked—

Aren’t you going to kiss your god?

“No? Well then.” Wen Jianyan shrugged.

He seemed particularly relaxed and casual, as if he were the one in control and leading.

“…”

The other party remained silent.

As a primitive creature with a mutilated soul that only knows how to eat and kill, this false god’s knowledge reserve does not seem to be enough to cope with the current situation.

“You don’t trust my loyalty because such a thing has never existed; we both know this.” 

Wen Jianyan’s face showed none of the seductive look he had when he sought a kiss.

He stared closely at the man before him, his words deliberate, as if each carried a thousand pounds:

“But, I will help you.”

“More accurately, I have already helped you.”

That nascent “god” in gestation and growth was Wen Jianyan’s credential.

He was demonstrating his abilities and stating his position.

What I will do.

What I can do.

Wen Jianyan spread his arms:

“I am now defenseless, at my most vulnerable, and you, after swallowing the fragments, are at your strongest. My life is in your hands, and I’m showing sincerity.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the void:

“I chose this moment to break through this layer of paper because ‘it’ isn’t listening right now.”

“We’ve never cooperated, never trusted each other, but every word I say now comes from the bottom of my heart—because all the lies and falsehoods are stumbling blocks to cooperation.”

“My soul was held in the hands of the nightmare live broadcast room, and I was forced to undergo torture and endless fighting. I was treated like an animal in a cage for entertainment…”

Never-ending instances, never-ending torture.

In comparison, death appeared to be more gentle and kind.

Wen Jianyan looked at Wu Zhu closely and said, “I believe you do the same.”

“Our interests and enemies are the same, so I seek cooperation with you.”

Wen Jianyan used respectful language again.

His voice lost the indifference and provocation that had been enough to anger anyone, becoming gentle and sincere once more, without any sarcasm, appearing submissive and genuine.

“This time, I will help you without reservation.”

“You need me.”

Wen Jianyan lifted his eyes, smiling, “I also need you.”

“…”

Wu Zhu looked at him.

The passage of time seemed to stretch, and Wen Jianyan could almost hear his heart pounding, but he still patiently waited.

After a long time, the other finally spoke, calmly asking:

“What do you want?”

For Wen Jianyan, this sentence was like a ray of dawn piercing through thick clouds.

His heart settled slightly, and he almost without hesitation said:

“A certain degree of privacy, a more equal mode of conversation, and freedom of authority.”

“I will work for you, and I can do more for you, but you need to trust me to a certain extent. Give me more information so I can help more effectively and efficiently achieve the ultimate goal.”

“Good.”

Wu Zhu lowered his eyes, gazing at the human before him with his cold, golden eyes, and said slowly, “As you wish.”

Before Wen Jianyan could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard the other person ask in a low, steady voice:

“As repayment, what are you willing to give?”

“…” Wen Jianyan lifted his eyes. “Everything.”

Those inhuman pupils were close, emitting a brutal and primitive light.

Only humans cooperate.

They spoke of reason, weighed pros and cons, could be persuaded, and reasoned with.

The gods were different.

They stood above all, neither good nor evil, absolute masters, entities formed by primal instincts, where benefits and rationality held no value against their insatiable greed.

When dealing with the evil gods, there was no cooperation, only transactions.

“So, after everything ends, you will belong to me.”

The false god bent down, his low voice sounding like judgment yet also like a curse.

“Voluntarily offer up everything you have.”

Whether faith, soul, or body.

Everything.

As a sacrifice offered to a higher existence, voluntarily becoming everything for him to use, with no end, no limit, even death could not free him from it.

With amber-colored eyes, witnessing his future master, the human suddenly smiled. Without hesitation, he answered:

“Deal.”

***

On the pitch-black screen, the signal finally appeared again.

【Reconnecting…】

【Live signal obtained.】

【Broadcast restoration in progress…】

The audience couldn’t help but become excited again:

[!! Oh, the live broadcast is finally back!!!]

[Oh my god, finally there’s a signal again! Let me catch my breath!]

[So, what happened in the end, did they create a god?]

All the viewers eagerly looked at the screen, but the content that appeared on the screen disappointed them greatly.

The giant womb, shrouded in crimson, had disappeared.

What appeared before them was the familiar underground tomb, a vast and cold cavern that seemed to have been cleared by a hurricane, full of rubble and broken ruins.

At the same time, the flow of time within the “Ping An Asylum” instance’s live rooms had returned to normal.

The countdown had unconsciously reached the last ten seconds.

【10, 9, 8, 7…】

[Huh? What’s going on?]

[What’s happening? Why is there nothing?! What happened? Did they succeed in creating a god?]

[I don’t know, and I can’t tell… Wait, let me check the anchor’s task bar!]

The anchor triggered two tasks in the end.

Help create a god.

And stop the process.

In any case, one had to choose between these two options. Although they didn’t see what happened at the end of the instance, based on the completion status of these two missions, they could always infer the result.

But…

The final situation left all the viewers stunned.

[Huh? What’s going on? Even if they didn’t succeed in creating a god, shouldn’t the task to stop it have been completed?]

[No… isn’t this a binary choice? How is it possible that neither one was completed?]

[I don’t understand…]

As discussions filled the live room, the final countdown finally reached zero.

【3, 2, 1】

【Broadcast ended.】

【The anchor has logged off.】

【Integrity First live room will close in one minute, countdown: 60, 59…】

In the darkened live room, only resentful viewers remained.

The few seconds of restored signal at the end didn’t calm them down, but rather angered them.

[Argh, so annoying! If it weren’t for those last few minutes of signal loss, I wouldn’t have missed what happened!]

[Unbelievable… dropped the ball at the crucial moment.]

[Nightmare better fix this ASAP!!]

[Speechless, I’m going to report the bugs.]

***

In the white space, Wen Jianyan opened his eyes, the mechanical voice of the system echoing in his ears.

【Body repair in progress…】

【Body repair completed, deducting points: 100】

“Ding! Congratulations to the anchor for completing this live broadcast! Rewards are being distributed to you…
Your highest online viewers reached 145,719, and the reward points have been deposited into the anchor’s account.
Inside the live room, there were reward points totaling 110,200. After system deductions, the remaining points have been deposited into the anchor’s account.
Congratulations on becoming the most popular anchor in this live broadcast room, with a reward of 10,000 points already deposited into the anchor’s account.
Due to the large difference between your highest and lowest online viewership, your live broadcast rewards will be reduced by 20%…”

Wen Jianyan didn’t have the patience to listen any further.

He silenced the system and immediately opened his live broadcast interface, scanning the task list above—

【Task 1: Complete the god hatching plan of the “Ping An Asylum.”

Reward: ???】

【Completion: 99%】

【Task 2: Destroy the interruption of the god-making project in the “Ping An Asylum.”

Reward: ???】

【Completion: 0%】

Wen Jianyan chuckled.

Just as he suspected.

He closed the live broadcast interface and stood up.

Suddenly, a figure rushed over, and before Wen Jianyan could react, he was viciously punched.

Su Cheng rushed up to him, his eyes red with anger. “Why did you jump down?!”

“Brother, brother! Calm down!” Blond hurriedly grabbed Su Cheng to prevent him from doing anything irrational. “The boss must have his reasons…”

When Su Cheng saw Wen Jianyan jump down, he was both scared and furious.

Wen Jianyan was always like this, hiding all the information and plans in his head, each time hiding it deeper than the last time, and each time promising not to take risks again, but in the end he still went his own way.

Seeing his friend jump off the cliff in front of him, Su Cheng felt deep panic and powerlessness.

“It was an accident… It really was.”

Wen Jianyan knew he was in the wrong and took a step back.

This incident was mostly his speculation, and it was highly related to the deep core of the Nightmare live room. Morally and logically, Wen Jianyan was not prepared to involve his teammates.

“I will definitely ask you to help me next time…”

Su Cheng clenched his fist again: 

“You said the same thing last time—”

“Cough, cough…” Wen Jianyan weakly coughed a few times, furrowing his brow in pain. “Wait, my wound hasn’t healed yet…”

He had already healed long ago.

And Su Cheng’s punch wasn’t that heavy—everyone had exhausted their physical strength from the instance. Su Cheng still had a soft heart; when he threw the punch, he instinctively held back, so there was hardly any pain.

But Wen Jianyan pretended to be in pain, his face pale and pitiful.

Su Cheng: “…”

Bah! You never speak the truth!

But Blond nervously approached: “Ah? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine…” Wen Jianyan weakly shook his head. “Just help me up.”

He played the part of the victim so convincingly that even Su Cheng was shaken.

He couldn’t help but take a step forward, his tone still tough but his attitude showing signs of softening: “Why… why don’t you repair yourself?”

Su Cheng was a prophet who was both soft-hearted and easily deceived.

Although he had been dealing with this scammer all along, he never seemed to learn his lesson.

At that moment, Luce and Shao Yao approached from a distance, interrupting their conversation.

“How are you feeling? Do you have enough points to repair your body?”

He looked at Wen Jianyan with concern and asked.

Wen Jianyan nodded. “Of course.”

“When you jumped down last time, we were all really scared, but at that moment, I believed that you would come back safely.” There was no insincerity in Luce’s words.

He took a deep breath and said seriously:

“Anyway, thank you.”

As a senior anchor, Luce was well aware that the shocking last hundred-second countdown in the previous instance must have had profound reasons behind it.

In other words, before they were teleported back to the system space, there must have been one last catastrophe waiting for them.

They all managed to return to the system space unscathed, and Wen Jianyan’s decisive leap undoubtedly played a crucial role.

At this moment, a cheerful announcement came from nearby:

“Congratulations to the six anchors for successfully achieving Platinum Achievement in the ‘Ping An Asylum’ instance!”

On the screen, the Ping An Asylum turned gray, with the mark “permanently closed” beside it.

A massive platinum trophy rose on the screen, with the numbers of the six live rooms inscribed on it, then slowly disappeared into the Hall of Fame.

Luce withdrew his gaze and sighed:

“I never expected… that I would still be able to achieve a Platinum Achievement at this point.”

The higher the seniority, the more difficult the instances experienced, and the higher the difficulty of achieving a platinum achievement. Especially at Luce’s level, where instance difficulty tended toward B+ and A-, the possibility of achieving a platinum achievement was extremely slim.

He looked at Wen Jianyan and said, “If there’s anything I can help with, you can contact me. I’ll do my best to help you.”

Wen Jianyan raised the corners of his lips, narrowed his amber eyes, and said with a pleasant smile: “There is indeed something.”

Although Su Cheng on the side was still feeling depressed, his heart still couldn’t help but tingle when he saw Wen Jianyan’s familiar expression.

He’s having bad ideas.

And someone is definitely going to suffer.

Luce, the unwitting candidate for misfortune, remained oblivious. He looked sincerely at Wen Jianyan and said, “It’s okay; just say what you need.”

“Not now, the timing isn’t right.” Wen Jianyan smiled innocently, offering a thoughtful suggestion. “Let’s rest for the night and contact each other later.”

“Ah.” Luce was momentarily surprised but quickly agreed with a nod. “You’re right, this instance was long and difficult. We should all rest properly. I wasn’t thoughtful enough.”

So, after exchanging contact information, Luce and Shao Yao bid farewell to Wen Jianyan happily.

“What are you planning?” 

Su Cheng couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.

“You say that?” Wen Jianyan innocently shrugged, “What could I be planning?”

Su Cheng: “.”

Bah.

Wen Jianyan patted his shoulder. “Alright, let’s hurry back and rest. This time really wore me out…”

With that, he turned to Blond.

“What about you?”

“Me too.”

Taking a deep breath, Blond seemed to have made up his mind.

In fact, before entering the ‘Ping An Asylum’ instance, he already had a vague idea of his choice. After experiencing the instance, he was completely sure of what he wanted.

Blushing, Blond touched the back of his head, his eyes showing rare determination. “I’ll see you… later.”

He had some things to take care of.

***

Ji Guan burst into tears and welcomed their arrival excitedly.

After all, in his opinion, Su Cheng might have been tricked to death long ago.

Su Cheng was caught off guard by the sudden passion of the other party, while Wen Jianyan took advantage of the other’s emotional attack on Ji Guan to quickly say “goodbye,” then disappeared into his room without looking back.

He was truly exhausted.

Not long after the “Fantasy Amusement Park” instance ended, Wen Jianyan entered the “Ping An Asylum” instance to save people. The two instances were almost seamless, leaving him with very little rest time.

After taking a shower and washing away the exhaustion from head to toe, Wen Jianyan collapsed on the big bed.

The soft bedding dragged his body like clouds, and his bones felt as if they had fallen apart, sore all over.

In the darkness, although Wen Jianyan was physically exhausted, he was not sleepy, and his spirit was still in a state of extreme excitement.

He turned over, his eyes shining in the darkness.

Although the instance this time was tiring and thrilling, and he was almost left inside forever several times and could not come back, but… this instance brought him many unexpected surprises, which can be said to be quite fruitful..

The most critical one was the “deal” with Wu Zhu.

There were two most direct reasons why he decisively terminated the plan and contacted Wu Zhu instead.

First, he realized that the “god” was a fragment of Wu Zhu.

Second, because those were the two options the system gave him—hatching a deity and interrupting the incubation. These two options encompassed any choice he could have made at the time.

For Wen Jianyan, this was like a wake-up call.

In other words, while the outcomes might not have been necessarily welcomed by the live broadcast room, they were at least bearable.

For him, however, it was different.

As the ouroboros began to wreak havoc inside the egg, according to the information revealed on parchment, he had to leave as quickly as possible to save his life. The destruction was aimed solely at a half-incubated fragment of Wu Zhu.

It not only posed no harm to him personally but also meant that regardless of the final outcome, Wen Jianyan would lose an important item.

The gain did not outweigh the loss.

So, almost without hesitation, Wen Jianyan changed his strategy in the blink of an eye upon realizing this.

Subsequent events proved that his decision was correct.

After the instance ended, but with none of the tasks in a completed state, the incubation process was effectively terminated—just not in the manner Nightmare had expected.

Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes, his lips disappearing into the darkness, forming a faint smile.

The plan was already half completed… the remaining half should be completed soon.

It just needed a little help.

Wen Jianyan got up and scrutinized himself in the mirror.

Under the open robe was a young, sturdy body, and winding downwards, hidden in the stacked fabric, were the scarlet lines on his hipbone.

His skin was bathed in a warm orange hue from the night light.

He raised his hand and pressed it against the lines.

Smooth and taut, with a slight warmth and moisture, the touch alone couldn’t distinguish it from any other spot.

Visibly, the lines gradually faded away.

This was one of the items exchanged between Wen Jianyan and Wu Zhu.

Partial privacy.

Soon, when Wen Jianyan withdrew his hand, the lines turned into a faint red mark, almost blending with the surrounding skin color, like a fingerprint that had been rubbed over, hard to discern without careful inspection.

“Hey, assistant,”

The young voice lazily echoed in the room. “Are you there?”

Almost without pause, the voice of the personal assistant rang out, its lively synthetic tone devoid of any personal emotion:

“Good day, Anchor. How may I assist you?”

“I need to have a conversation with a higher-level system from your broadcast room. Can you relay that?”

Wen Jianyan got straight to the point.

However, his question seemed to exceed the assistant’s authorization, as it remained silent without a response.

“Perhaps you’ve received complaints and started a system self-check. If so, let me cut to the chase.” 

Wen Jianyan continued unabated:

“Nightmare should have noticed by now. Your broadcasting room is deteriorating from within, your instances and NPCs are malfunctioning, and the root of this issue likely shares the same permissions as your system…”

“If it continues to develop, it may even escalate further.”

He maintained his posture with his robe open, half-leaning against the headboard.

His amber eyes were half-squinted, with a smile on his lips that carried a hint of ambiguous malice:

“Do you want to resolve it?”

“I might be able to help you.”

“I believe we have common interests and enemies.”

Wen Jianyan chuckled:

“And, in a sense, I have the upper hand over you. If you don’t believe me, just analyze the clearance records of the Ping An Asylum instance. You should have that capability.”

He casually touched his lower lip with his fingertips, his posture relaxed, and his expression carried a hint of almost frivolous malice:

“That god might not even realize…”

“He’s not seeing me just as food anymore.”

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