Thank you Jill for the Kofi. Here are your kofi chapters (1/3)
Chamgsheng Building
Chapter 208: Wow, hot!!
The small shop was dimly lit by a single flickering oil lamp.
The weak, flickering light barely covered a few people, leaving an expanse of boundless darkness beyond its reach.
A girl in a white dress stood silently, her calm expression illuminated by the lamp’s light on her fair profile. Even though she didn’t speak again, there was something about her that commanded respect.
The members of the Dark Fire Squad wore solemn expressions. Qi Qian’s brows were tightly furrowed, as if he was deep in thought.
The air was dead silent, the atmosphere so oppressive it was hard to breathe.
After a few seconds, he gritted his teeth, seeming to finally make up his mind. He looked at Wen Jianyan and slowly said, “I trust you.”
From the beginning, choosing to follow the prophet from No. 34’s guild to enter the instance meant Qi Qian had already come to terms with the potential risks involved.
In this team instance, they were all tightly bound together, forming a community of shared fate. It was too late to back out now.
If there were still doubts among them, they would likely end up with a team wipe even if they managed to survive until the later stages.
Rather than hesitating, it was better to take a gamble.
“Captain?!”
Tong Yao looked at Qi Qian in shock, seemingly unable to understand why he made such a decision, and anxiously said, “But…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Qi Qian interrupted her:
“I have decided.”
He shook his head firmly, stopping Tong Yao from saying anything further.
“…”
Since the captain had already made up his mind, Tong Yao fell silent, swallowing her doubts and unease.
Qi Qian stared at Wen Jianyan, took a deep breath, and asked seriously:
“What do we need to do?”
Wen Jianyan’s gaze lingered on Qi Qian for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly.
No wonder he could become the vice president of the Nightmare’s second-largest guild; he had some skills.
People often seek comfort and are unwilling to face danger unless there’s a direct threat to their lives, especially since Su Cheng’s suggestion was so risky it was almost akin to suicide based on previous experiences.
Without knowing that the lamp oil would eventually run out, Qi Qian’s decision showed considerable courage.
Wen Jianyan turned to Zhang Yu and asked, “Where did you get the oil lamp when you came in?”
Zhang Yu’s face was as pale as a corpse and slightly green, but he still answered Wen Jianyan’s question fluently, “By the counter, there’s a small bronze lampstand.”
Following Zhang Yu’s guidance, Wen Jianyan walked to the counter and quickly found the lampstand he mentioned.
The oil lamp, made of the same material, had an old, rustic bronze base welded firmly to the counter.
Wen Jianyan took the oil lamp from Qi Qian and placed it on the lampstand.
Through the smoke-blackened lampshade, one could see the slightly flickering, steadily burning flame inside.
After completing this, Wen Jianyan turned and pointed to a mannequin he had been observing earlier.
“That mannequin,” he said. “Move it to the front, as close to the glass door as possible, but don’t go past the counter. Be very gentle.”
As an injured member, Zhang Yu didn’t participate. Qi Qian and An Xin together lifted the mannequin and moved it to the position Wen Jianyan indicated.
After finishing, Qi Qian let go, stepped back, and looked at the mannequin in front of him.
It looked just like before—stiff, cold, and motionless.
“And then?”
Qi Qian turned to Wen Jianyan and asked.
Wen Jianyan pointed to the clothes covering the glass door and said, “Take them down.”
This command came without warning, making everyone tense up.
“Wait, does this mean these are all the preparations we need?” Tong Yao couldn’t help but ask.
After all, they had only done two things: placed the oil lamp and moved the mannequin.
These two actions seemed completely unrelated and didn’t appear to have any significant deterrent effect… Was this really enough?
Wen Jianyan: “Yes.”
Even Qi Qian, who initially made the decision, started to feel a bit anxious.
“After taking them down, return to the counter as quickly as possible.”
The girl stood behind the counter, her gentle face illuminated by the lamp’s light. Her long black hair was tied behind her ear, revealing a small, delicate, white ear.
Her expression was so calm, almost devoid of emotions. The previous fragility and fear had faded away, leaving only an ocean-like tranquility.
“Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[Is it just my imagination, or did the anchor suddenly take control of the situation?]
[Really has an aura…]
[The anchor knows exactly how to present themselves in different situations. It’s like everyone is blindly groping in the dark, not knowing if the next step will be a bottomless abyss. Look at how the anchor’s way of speaking has changed: short, forceful, imperative sentences, not accepting any objections.]
[In this situation, I doubt anyone can avoid being led by the anchor.]
Although there were still doubts, the situation had progressed to this point, and the members of the Dark Fire Squad had no choice but to brace themselves and move forward.
They took a deep breath, raised their hands, and tore down the clothes they had just stuck up.
The glass was exposed.
Then, following Wen Jianyan’s instructions, they hurriedly retreated behind the counter.
A dead silence.
The flame in the oil lamp continued to burn, steadily emitting a faint light.
Everyone couldn’t help but stare fixedly at the glass door.
Behind the door was an abyss of darkness.
With the thin layer of fabric removed, their only means of defense against the danger was gone, bringing a strong sense of insecurity that made their hearts race.
They knew that at this moment, to whatever was wandering in the hall, this shop was as conspicuous as it could be.
Like the only light in the darkness.
Constantly emitting a terrifying attraction, drawing those unimaginable horrors closer step by step.
Waiting became excruciating.
Every minute and every second felt like dancing on the tip of a knife.
“Tap, tap, tap…”
In the silence, stiff, mechanical footsteps sounded, slowly approaching.
In an instant, everyone held their breath.
It’s here!
The footsteps were exactly as they remembered, each step measured, pounding on their nerves, making their bodies tense reflexively.
But unlike last time, although they knew how to stop the footsteps from approaching, they couldn’t make any moves now and could only wait for the final moment to arrive.
“Tap, tap, tap.”
The footsteps came closer and closer, nearer and nearer…
Suddenly, the sound stopped in front of the glass door.
The next second.
“Jingle.”
The small bronze bell hanging on the door rang, making a crisp and pleasant sound, yet it felt like the death knell.
The door was pushed open.
“Whoosh—”
A bone-chilling cold wind swept in, bringing the stench of a decaying corpse.
The flame on the bronze lamp suddenly flared up and began to flicker violently.
Behind the counter, the space wasn’t large, so everyone had to awkwardly squeeze in, arms touching arms, bodies pressed against bodies, their erratic heartbeats mingling together, making it almost impossible to distinguish whose heartbeat was whose.
They could only stare intently in the direction the sound was coming from.
“Tap, tap, tap.”
Footsteps sounded again.
Something had walked in, but they saw nothing.
What followed was a wave of darkness that surged in from outside the door, filling the shop.
“Fsshh!”
The oil lamp’s light flickered more violently, as if burning to its limit under some eerie force. However, the flickering light couldn’t dispel the increasingly deep darkness. The previously dim but still illuminating light now barely pushed back the encroaching darkness.
“Tap, tap, tap.”
In the boundless darkness, the only thing they could hear was the continuous, gradually approaching footsteps.
Clearer and louder.
Eventually, it felt like the sound was right next to their ears.
The footsteps stopped.
They stopped at the front of the shop, closest to the counter.
The stench of decay was so strong that they couldn’t breathe.
It was too dark.
Like thick ink spreading in water, even though the oil lamp was still burning, it felt as if their vision had ceased to function.
Although they couldn’t see anything, they knew very clearly… “it” was standing right in front of the counter, only a few steps away from them.
“……”
Their heartbeats accelerated, their pupils dilated, and their sweat glands worked overtime.
Primal fear permeated the air.
Rustle, rustle.
A faint scratching sound came from nearby.
Their brains were stimulated to the limit, conjuring countless eerie and terrifying images.
Rustle, rustle.
To these anchors, no moment was more excruciating than this. All senses seemed to lose their meaning, like experiencing an endless freefall with a heavy stone pressing on their chest, making it impossible to breathe.
Suddenly, the footsteps resumed, causing everyone to jolt!
The alarm bells in their mind rang loudly, but their bodies were instinctively frozen in place by rationality, allowing them only to listen and determine the situation——
The footsteps… seemed to be moving away.
Stiff, mechanical, slow, step by step towards the door.
“Jingle.”
The clear sound of a small copper bell rang again.
It seemed like the glass door was being opened once more.
The wildly flickering flame of the oil lamp gradually steadied, the ink-like darkness slowly receded from the shop, and the lingering stench of decay began to dissipate…
Soon, the dim oil lamp light filled the room again, and everyone regained their sight.
The glass door was closed, and the copper bell on it was still slightly swaying.
The large shop was empty.
No one had died.
At that moment, the tense breaths were finally released, and everyone stood still, panting heavily, feeling a sense of having narrowly escaped death.
…Was it over?
Qi Qian’s forehead was covered in cold sweat.
He lifted his eyes, slowly surveying the surroundings.
The shop in front of him seemed no different from before; the only difference was… Qi Qian was slightly stunned, his gaze falling on the mannequin that had been moved to the front of the shop.
The mannequin was now bare.
The clothes that had been on it were gone, leaving only the pale, rigid plastic body.
On the floor in front of the mannequin, a trail of pitch-black footprints could be seen, like the marks left by rotting corpse fluid, stretching from the door into the shop and emitting a faint, foul smell.
“Captain, look!”
Tong Yao’s startled voice came from beside him.
Qi Qian turned to look.
Tong Yao extended her hand, picking something up from the counter, and held it out to Qi Qian.
It was a piece of burnt paper money, identical to the underworld currency they had previously obtained from another corpse, still stained with the foul black water.
Next to them, Wen Jianyan slowly, imperceptibly exhaled a sigh of relief, his fingers slightly relaxing, his palms cold and damp.
His guess had been correct.
The simpler the mechanism, the more likely it was to be overlooked.
This entire mall-like building was full of shops, and according to the security guard, all the anchors had taken on the roles of new employees. As employees, they naturally had to run the shop.
Lighting the oil lamp signified opening for business, which meant “customers” would come in, leave underworld currency, and take away goods.
Refusing meant death.
Following the rules meant survival.
Covering the light only delayed what needed to be done.
Seeing the underworld currency, Qi Qian was momentarily stunned, his eyes widening slightly.
In that instant, he connected the clues, piecing together the logic.
…So that was it.
As anchors, they were too used to dealing with waves of attacking ghosts, whether using props or talents, as long as they repelled the attacks, they could survive.
This kind of experience-led thinking had put them in a blind spot.
A strange light flickered in Qi Qian’s eyes as he turned to look at Su Cheng and Wen Jianyan.
Fortunately, someone had quickly awakened them from this myopic state, or the consequences would have been unimaginable.
“……”
Having experienced it firsthand, Qi Qian seemed to vaguely understand why No. 34 referred to their teammate as “the strongest prophet.”
Wen Jianyan felt Qi Qian’s gaze but didn’t return it.
Although the NPC hints were minimal, the entire “Chengshang Building” instance provided a lot of information through its mechanisms.
Whether it was the key that could open the shop door, the oil lamp placed on the counter, or the human skin clothes hidden among ordinary clothes, they all conveyed the same message.
Darkness meant certain death, but the only thing that could drive away the darkness, the lamp oil, was limited and could not be replenished. This was actually the instance telling them in another language:
Doing nothing meant waiting for death, with no way to survive.
This logical chain was simple and clear, and honestly, it was not hard to guess.
On the contrary, the habitual thinking of experienced anchors might prevent them from thinking in this direction.
However, even so, Wen Jianyan believed that it wouldn’t take long for other anchor teams to figure this out as well——
Though perhaps it would take the sacrifice of a few teams or the use of several anchor talents first.
Using the distraction of the Dark Fire team, Wen Jianyan had come to this conclusion in advance and, ahead of everyone else, skipped the intermediate steps without explaining them, binding it all together as so-called “prophecy.”
This way, after everything was over, people’s habitual thinking would lead them to believe——
It was all thanks to the prophecy.
After the crisis passed, except for Su Cheng and Wen Jianyan, the others gradually left the overly cramped counter area.
Wen Jianyan turned and beckoned to Su Cheng.
Su Cheng’s face was pale; although he remained calm, he hadn’t fully recovered from the oppressive atmosphere earlier.
“W-what is it?”
Wen Jianyan leaned in and whispered a few words in his ear.
“Huh?”
Su Cheng was taken aback, “Why?”
“Just in case.” Wen Jianyan raised his hand and patted Su Cheng’s shoulder, “Just do as I say.”
Su Cheng: “…”
Sigh, whatever. My teammate has always been a mysterious person; I’m used to it.
The two of them walked out from behind the counter, one after the other.
“Can we really…”
Tong Yao glanced nervously outside the door, still with a look of shock on her face.
She turned to Su Cheng and sincerely said, “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have doubted your prediction just now.”
At this moment, An Xin came up to Wen Jianyan’s side again, exaggeratingly saying:
“Speaking of which, Wen Wen, you’re amazing.”
The young girl in white slightly lowered her head, and the aura that had just been calm enough to shock everyone seemed to have dissipated in an instant. She bit her lip somewhat embarrassedly and said in a soft, weak voice:
“No, really…”
“No, no, don’t be modest.”
An Xin’s eyes shone with a strange light.
He had always thought that this girl was just extraordinarily beautiful and pitiful, even though Zhang Yu had told him otherwise before. After all, as a strong and rare offensive ability user, An Xin had a certain degree of arrogance.
No matter how strong, how strong could she really be?
However, just now, after seeing her truly activate her ability and control everything, An Xin had, for the first time, a feeling of being truly impressed.
If he were to distill that feeling, it would probably be…
Wow, hot!!
So, after everything settled, An Xin began to subtly flirt with her.
Nearby, while the group chatted away, Zhang Yu stood behind the counter, studying the oil lamp in front of him.
Was it just his imagination…
Compared to the beginning, it felt like the light had dimmed a lot.
He lowered his head and carefully opened the lamp cover, looking inside.
The next second, Zhang Yu’s breath caught.
The small container in the center of the oil lamp had only a small amount of oil left at the bottom, though he wasn’t sure since when.
Thinking back to the time when the “customer” entered and how the oil lamp had burned so fiercely…
Zhang Yu’s heart tightened.
Could it be that serving customers also consumed oil?!
As he was lost in thought, the flame in front of him suddenly flickered again!!!
The flame exploded in front of Zhang Yu, shaking violently, just like the previous two times, which meant…
Creak, creak.
Some eerie sound echoed in the silence.
Zhang Yu suddenly realized something, and he quickly looked up in horror—
Creak, creak.
The pale mannequin slowly turned its head, its hollow eye sockets “looking” at Qi Qian, who was the closest.
Without the clothes covering it, it seemed to have lost its restraints.
The mannequin came “alive” without any warning.
Creak, creak.
It slowly reached out its hand toward the oblivious Qi Qian—
“Captain, watch out!!” Zhang Yu shouted in alarm.
At this moment, Qi Qian was studying the paper money in his hand, seemingly deep in thought. Hearing Zhang Yu’s shout, he was startled and instinctively looked up.
“?”
The next second, a sudden change occurred!
Su Cheng, who had somehow moved to the glass door, quickly pushed it open: “Now!”
A gust of cold wind suddenly blew in.
From behind, a girl’s gentle yet sharp voice came:
“Move aside!”
The instincts honed through many instances kicked in, and Qi Qian instinctively sidestepped—
The next second, the plastic mannequin brushed past him and was violently kicked out!
Su Cheng once again swiftly closed the door.
The cold wind disappeared.
In the stunned gaze of everyone, the girl gently retracted her pale, slender leg and even adjusted her skirt, once again appearing gentle and harmless.
The “Integrity First” live broadcast room was equally stunned by this series of fluid actions:
[……]
[???]
[Whoa, so that’s why the anchor wanted those guys to move the mannequin to the door!]
[No wonder, I was wondering why they went to all that trouble. Why not just let the customer come in and take the goods directly…]
[Damn, they definitely realized the mannequin was problematic and predicted something would happen after the skin was taken. So they were waiting for it here.]
[Lol, the anchor even activated a prop, didn’t you notice how far she kicked that thing?]
[Damn! Even used a prop… so sly!]
Outside.
The plastic mannequin twisted its body, slowly standing up. Amidst the creaking sounds, it turned, its blank face staring straight at the people inside the door, its eerie appearance eliciting fear.
The darkness outside seemed to pose no obstacle to it.
It took stiff steps, crashing into the door again and again.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The glass door was being pushed open by the force, and Su Cheng barely managed to hold it closed, nearly being knocked over: “Help me!!”
“Quick! Use props to block the door!” Qi Qian reacted swiftly.
To the “customers” trying to enter the shop, the rules of “Changsheng Building” made them unstoppable, but the mannequins were different! They could be blocked with props and manpower!
Soon, the glass door was firmly blocked with various props.
Although the thudding sound of the door being hit continued, it couldn’t break through the door’s defense.
The dull sound of the impacts came from outside.
But at least this round was over.
Before everyone could catch their breath, Zhang Yu’s stiff voice came from behind: “Hey…”
Everyone turned around to look.
Zhang Yu was holding the oil lamp, his face particularly grim:
“Look at this…”
He showed the oil lamp to everyone.
After the “customer” visit, the already dwindling oil had now reduced dramatically. Only a thin layer remained.
This meant that the lamp could only burn for a few more minutes before it would go out.
And darkness meant, without any preconditions or modifications…
Death.
Everyone’s faces turned equally grim.
How could this be?
Was the entire “Changsheng Building” an absolute death trap?
While everyone was sinking into despair…
Suddenly, the clear sound of a phone ringing pierced through the silence.
“Ring ring ring!”
The sound was particularly abrupt in the darkness, making everyone shiver and instinctively look towards it.
That…
The desktop phone on the counter looked very old and covered in dust, and no one expected it to actually ring.
However, now was not the time to hesitate.
Qi Qian strode forward and picked up the phone.
“Shh… Shh…”
A strange electric current sound came from the receiver.
A stiff, eerie voice spoke, distorted by the current, saying word by word:
“Congratulations on achieving your sales quota.”
Sales quota…?
Wen Jianyan was slightly stunned.
A scene suddenly flashed through his mind.
The hazy lobby ceiling, a height that couldn’t be seen clearly, seemingly extending infinitely upward.
He suddenly realized… all the anchor teams had drawn keys to the first floor.
But the Changsheng Building wasn’t just one floor.
The stiff voice continued:
“Would you like to open the way to the second floor?”
