WTNL Chapter 204

Changsheng Building
Chapter 204: I want to leave this beautiful world.

The glass door, dirty and grimy, revealed pitch darkness within.

It was a kind of terrifying, impenetrable darkness, from which a faint, elusive stench of rotting flesh emanated.

At the forefront, Qi Qian turned on his flashlight, aiming it into the shop.

Compared to that darkness, the flashlight’s beam seemed particularly weak, almost negligible.

Wen Jianyan lowered his eyelashes, unobtrusively scanning the edge of the glass door.

There, a clear demarcation line could be seen.

Outside the glass door, the lobby of the building was shrouded in fog, while inside the door, it was pitch black…an effect that couldn’t be achieved merely by the absence of light.

Nearby, one of the female team members spoke gravely:

“Something’s not right inside.”

The stench in the air grew stronger, as if a corpse were hidden in some enclosed space within.

At that moment, a piercing scream echoed from a distance.

“Ahhhh——”

The sound was sharp and distressing, almost making everyone jump in fright.

Immediately, everyone instinctively turned their heads toward the source of the sound—a team was in chaos in front of a shop with its door wide open, not far away.

“Grab my hand!”

“Hurry, activate the prop!”

The next second, the screams abruptly stopped.

A sudden, deathly silence enveloped the entire building.

The shop’s glass door was still wide open, the interior pitch black, and the team stood frozen, seemingly yet to react to what had just happened…

However, their team had already lost a member.

Not far away, everyone who witnessed this scene was secretly shocked.

They hadn’t expected that within just a few seconds, a living person could disappear just like that…

Neither alive nor dead, unseen.

The anchors all took a few cautious steps back, distancing themselves from the seemingly harmless shop, afraid of becoming the next victim.

“……”

Wen Jianyan unobtrusively glanced at the shriveled matchbox in Qi Qian’s hand.

A few seconds later, Qi Qian suddenly jerked, seemingly realizing something, and looked down at the matchbox in his hand.

“Don’t turn off the lights at night…?”

Just now, after drawing the key, the security guard had made this seemingly nonsensical statement.

At first, he thought it might signify some kind of threat from outside the shop, suggesting that keeping the lights on would reduce the danger of being targeted. Unexpectedly…

The dark shop itself was a threat in the absence of light.

Qi Qian lowered his head and opened the flat matchbox in his hand.

Inside the matchbox lay several brown-black matches, dried up and seemingly a bit damp.

He took out one match and struck it against the sandpaper on the side of the matchbox. With a “hiss” sound, a small flame flickered to life.

He raised his hand and cautiously extended the burning match into the shop.

The darkness that even the flashlight couldn’t penetrate actually dispersed slightly in the presence of the faint match light, revealing a small portion of the shop’s interior.

Qi Qian took a tentative step into the shop.

No attack came.

Indeed.

Everyone perked up:

“This light works.”

It seemed that this box of matches was key to the whole team’s survival in this instance.

Qi Qian lowered his head, inspecting the matchbox in his hand.

There were a few matches, which were definitely not enough for them to last through twelve hours, unless…

In just a few seconds, the flame had burned to the end of the match, and before it extinguished, Qi Qian retreated from the darkness.

He turned to one of the team members:

“Zhang Yu.”

“What’s up, Captain?”

The team member named Zhang Yu turned his head, looking over.

He was tall with broad shoulders, a deep scar running from behind his ear to his collarbone, and a gleam of vigorous energy in his eyes.

“You’re in charge of going in and finding a light.”

Qi Qian tossed the matchbox to him.

Since the security guard had said, “Don’t turn off the lights at night,” it was highly likely that there was a light inside the shop, and the purpose of the matches was to light that lamp.

He said, “Try to limit the use of matches to two. If you encounter any danger, retreat immediately; don’t get entangled.”

“Got it.”

Zhang Yu nodded, taking the matchbox.

Another team member squinted and said:

“Look around the shop’s entrance. The lamp should be nearby.”

After all, this instance had just begun. If the lamp was hidden too deeply, making it impossible for the streamers to find, the entire instance would become an unsolvable dead end.

Zhang Yu lit a match and, under the protection of the faint light, stepped into the darkness.

Wen Jianyan stood low-key behind Su Cheng, silently observing Qi Qian and his team from start to finish.

He wasn’t the captain of this team, having joined as a hired helper, thus lacking the authority to command others. Besides, he was genuinely interested in observing his potential collaborators from the sidelines.

They were indeed elite anchors from Dark Fire, more cautious, keen, and efficient than any team Wen Jianyan had previously encountered.

This group handled crises skillfully, almost not requiring his intervention.

Soon, Zhang Yu rushed out of the dark shop.

His face was pale, and though he had only been gone for less than three minutes, he seemed a bit breathless.

“How did it go?”

Qi Qian straightened up.

“F-found it.”

Zhang Yu took a deep breath, raising his hand to show Qi Qian what he had retrieved.

It was an old-fashioned brass oil lamp, seemingly old. The handle was polished smooth from use, and the lampshade was blackened by soot, yet it could still function properly.

Qi Qian opened the lampshade, took the match from Zhang Yu, and lit the wick inside the lamp.

Under the tense gaze of everyone, the oil lamp gradually brightened.

Through the soot-covered lampshade, the yellowish light appeared quite dim, but it was steady.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed they had guessed right.

“Let’s go; we’re heading in.”

Qi Qian, holding the oil lamp, took the lead into the pitch-black shop.

The others followed suit.

Strangely, while the light seemed particularly weak outside the shop, almost useless for illumination, it immediately dispelled the murky darkness once inside the shop.

With a “thud,” Qi Qian placed the oil lamp on the counter.

Soon, the small room was bathed in dim yellow light, making most of the objects visible.

Wen Jianyan discreetly surveyed the surroundings.

It seemed to be an ordinary store in a regular department building. Once illuminated by the oil lamp, the entire shop looked unremarkable, with no apparent eerie qualities.

This is a men’s clothing store.

There is a cash register, merchandise, and rows of racks with men’s clothing hanging on them. Mannequins dressed in the store’s products stand inside, posing in various stances.

Their faces are blank and empty, and the spots where facial features should be are sunken in and filled with shadows.

The smell of decay in the air seemed to have diminished somewhat.

Outside, it seemed that other teams had started to take action following their example.

“Captain, there’s nothing special here.”

One of the female team members circled the room and then returned to the door, reporting to Qi Qian.

“Based on experience, this should be a brief period of safety.”

Qi Qian nodded and looked at Su Cheng and Wen Jianyan:

“We should take this opportunity to get to know each other.”

Since this was a team mission, it would be difficult for an unfamiliar group to work seamlessly together in this instance. So, it was better to quickly familiarize themselves with each other before anything too terrible happened.

“I don’t need to introduce myself; your captain should have already told you about me, right?” Qi Qian said.

Unbeknownst to him, the captain of the other team was standing right in front of him, timidly nodding.

Qi Qian, the captain of the Dark Fire team this time, had a special type of ability similar to Wen Jianyan’s, though the specifics were unclear.

“I’m Tong Yao,” one of the team members spoke up.

She was of medium height with very short hair, giving off an impression of boldness, but her eyebrows were somewhat cold, carrying a hint of unapproachable distance.

“A medium.”

Wen Jianyan’s gaze lingered on Tong Yao for a moment.

He had guessed as much.

After all, she was the one who sensed the abnormal darkness in the shop when the door was opened. After they entered, she was also the one who inspected the shop to ensure there was no danger before reporting back.

“I’m Zhang Yu,” the team member who found the lamp introduced himself.

His face had regained some color and was no longer as pale.

He scratched the back of his head and gave a big grin to the others: “I’m probably more of a damage-resistant survival anchor.”

After speaking, Zhang Yu curiously looked at Su Cheng: “So, you’re the prophet hired by the captain?”

Su Cheng nodded stiffly.

“I thought he would hire an oracle, but this time he got a business person instead,” Zhang Yu laughed, “You must be top-notch, or our captain wouldn’t have made this decision.”

Su Cheng: “…”

Although he indeed had foresight-type ability, the whole “top-notch” thing was completely his unreliable captain’s exaggeration!

While he was feeling awkward and unsure of how to respond, Wen Jianyan spoke up.

“So, are we supposed to introduce ourselves now?”

The young girl’s voice was soft, somewhat out of place in the current environment, warm, and timid.

As soon as she spoke, everyone’s attention turned to her.

Seemingly sensing the gazes, the young girl instinctively lowered her head, her fair profile framed by the warm yellow light and the soft lines of her lips pressed together, appearing somewhat shy.

He fiddled with the hem of her skirt and said softly:

“Hello everyone, you can call me Wen Wen.”

“I… I should be considered support.”

“…”

The moment Wen Jianyan spoke, Su Cheng’s face instantly went blank.

In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:

[Support… You swear that’s called support???]

[Honestly, anchor, you do have a bit of a bad side. I’m cringing just watching this through a screen.]

[Damn… Wen Wen? Dude, you’re way too good at playing the soft girl role!]

[Hahaha, Su Cheng’s like: I’ll just watch you act.]

[Uh-oh, did anyone else notice the timing when the anchor spoke up?]

[I’ve watched Zhang Yu’s broadcasts several times. He looks carefree and rough on the surface, but he’s actually very thoughtful and super suspicious. He was definitely testing Su Cheng just now, but the anchor interrupted. I have to say, both sides are pretty cunning.]

Wen Jianyan lifted his face and gave the people in front of him a harmless smile:

“I hope we can get along well.”

“What? You guys started introductions without me.”

The last team member, who had been left at the door to observe other teams’ actions, walked in just in time to hear Wen Jianyan’s last sentence. He widened his eyes slightly and raised his voice:

“Not fair, not fair! I didn’t get to hear the beauty’s name!”

He was tall and looked handsome and suave, always wearing a smile that gave off a charming but not annoying vibe. He was the one who had previously teased Qi Qian about his bad luck.

“My name is An Xin, attack type.”

An Xin winked at Wen Jianyan and gave a flamboyant bow, “Which means, with me around, everyone can feel at ease.”

The young girl’s eyes flickered, and his face turned slightly red: “H-hello.”

“…”

Su Cheng’s expression grew more vacant.

He spaced out completely.

Ah… I want to leave this beautiful world.

In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:

[Hahahahahaha, I’m dying! I really want to see An Xin’s reaction when he finds out the truth!]

[Bet you didn’t expect it, the beauty’s a guy.]

[Bet you didn’t expect it, the beauty’s a 1.8-meter-tall guy.]

[Bet you didn’t expect it, the beauty’s a 1.8-meter-tall guy with abs.]

As the group exchanged introductions, the atmosphere unexpectedly relaxed.

An old-fashioned clock hung on the counter, its second hand moving slowly on the dial.

It was almost six o’clock.

Wen Jianyan smiled slightly, lifting his gaze to unobtrusively glance at the clock.

Tick.

Tick.

Time passed.

Tick.

The second hand pointed to the Roman numeral 12.

In that instant, the shop outside suddenly went dark.

The previously foggy lobby was, in the blink of an eye, completely engulfed by darkness, as if everything beyond the threshold had been cut off and vanished.

Inside the shop, the only sound that could be heard was a piercing scream.

“Ahhhhh——”

The scream lasted for two seconds.

Then all sound ceased.

A deathly silence descended.

Support me on Ko-fi

Join my Discord