WTNL Chapter 215

(5/5)

Changsheng Building
Chapter 215: Dead End and Life Gate

Outside the tightly shut glass was a bottomless darkness, cold and silent.

“Tap, tap, tap…”

Rigid footsteps echoed from all directions, one, two, three… Countless overlapping footsteps resonated outside the empty shop, each sound striking at one’s heart, and as the footsteps approached, the accompanying fear gradually intensified.

“……”

Qi Qian’s face turned extremely grim.

As the team leader, no matter how dangerous the situation usually was, he would try to avoid showing too much emotional fluctuation to avoid affecting his teammates. However…

Now, the situation had deteriorated to an extremely troublesome point.

A “customer” had taken a product, and the resulting negative impact was evident—it would cost lives. And now, incredibly, several “customers” had arrived at once. If they all completed their shopping, what awaited the team would be certain annihilation.

Experience from the previous floor told them that the cost of stopping the “customers” was extremely heavy.

If they wanted to keep the customers out of the shop, the only way was to block the light from escaping.

After all, lighting the oil lamp meant the shop was open, attracting “customers.” So, if they blocked the light, the shop would be automatically deemed “temporarily closed,” and the customers would disperse.

But…

This also meant they had to stop clearing the shelves.

Sealed inside, unable to throw the cursed radios out of the shop, everyone would be trapped inside, accompanied by these deadly radios.

However, their choices were already limited.

Outside, the rigid footsteps kept closing in from all directions. The heavy stench of decay and blood seeped through the cracks, bringing a kind of nerve-wracking oppression.

Between two evils, choose the lesser.

For now, they could only choose the option with the least danger!

Qi Qian took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision, and shouted, “Close the glass and use the materials to block all the light!”

The others quickly sprang into action.

They all knew Qi Qian’s decision was correct. If new customers came in at this critical moment, it would be a disaster.

With the experience from the previous floor, their movements were very swift. In just a few dozen seconds, the slightly translucent glass was covered, leaving only complete darkness.

They stood still, slightly panting, and vigilantly watched outside, where the light had been blocked.

Although the immediate crisis was temporarily averted and they no longer had to worry about new customers entering and bringing new threats, they didn’t feel at ease.

They knew the danger inside the shop was not yet resolved.

Su Cheng took the opportunity to glance back at the shop.

Half of the shelves were cleared, but the other half were still full. The large radios flashed with power, emitting eerie, seemingly cursed sounds that intertwined with each other, with countless malevolent whispers echoing in the darkness.

The oil lamp, welded to the table, flickered under the sooty lamp shade. The flame danced erratically, burning at nearly twice the usual rate. Even the backup lamp oil they had might not last long.

But those footsteps still lingered outside, blocking their way forward.

Heavy ghostly shadows were imprinted on the glass, chilling them to the bone.

Su Cheng’s heart tightened, and he instinctively clenched his fingers.

Although he was a newcomer who had only entered the nightmare a few times, having experienced just four instances, because he had always acted with Wen Jianyan, he had witnessed more variations and difficulties than most seasoned anchors.

When Wen Jianyan decided to act alone, Su Cheng understood the unspoken meaning behind his words.

Clearly, there was another solution to the instance. Wen Jianyan was preparing to find it.

Meanwhile, the actions taken by Qi Qian’s team were a fallback option.

It was the instance’s last-resort solution for those who couldn’t break the code.

However, in such a high-difficulty instance, opting for a straightforward and crude solution to break the code came with consequences and risks.

Like the footsteps still pacing outside.

Su Cheng knew that, after sealing off the customers, their actions had reached a dead end. In other words…

Wen Jianyan and Tong Yao were their last hope.

He took a deep breath, his eyes flickering, as if struggling internally.

***

Elsewhere.

As her talent activated, a thick layer of white covered Tong Yao’s pupils, turning her iris into an eerie pale color.

Standing still, her eyeballs moved slowly, her gaze sweeping across the shelves, as if searching for something.

Within a few short seconds of her talent activating, cold sweat beaded on Tong Yao’s forehead.

Wen Jianyan watched her movements closely:

“How is it?”

“Just…give me a little more time.”

Tong Yao shook her head with difficulty.

Now, the shop in her eyes had undergone a drastic change since the customer had entered.

In the initial crisis, almost all the radios were normal, with only a few shrouded in a cold black mist. But now, in her eyes, the entire shelf…

No, accurately speaking, the whole shop was enveloped in a thick shadow.

The curse, materialized from countless media, almost filled her entire field of vision.

So terrifying and oppressive, seeing such eerie things firsthand could crush any normal person’s spirits, let alone a medium sensitive to the supernatural.

Yet, even so, Tong Yao persisted, trying to find the densest part of the black mist amid the layers of shadows.

“……”

Wen Jianyan held his breath slightly, his eyes vigilant and keen, as if trying to capture every detail.

He waited patiently.

Tong Yao’s white-covered eyes shifted slightly to the right, then suddenly froze for a moment.

Wen Jianyan keenly noticed the change in her expression and glanced in that direction—

In the next moment, a shrill scream burst from Tong Yao’s throat! Heart-wrenching, filled with immense pain.

“!!”

Wen Jianyan was startled, quickly turning his head to look at Tong Yao.

A line of bright red blood tears flowed from her eyes, streaking down her pale and bluish cheeks, looking extremely shocking.

Tong Yao’s eyes were tightly shut, her eyelids deeply sunken. Her once beautiful face was now twisted in intense pain.

Clutching her eyes, her body trembled, and she pointed weakly in a direction, squeezing out a voice filled with agony from between her teeth: “Over there, the third row.”

In the end, her voice grew faint, almost a mere breath:

“Sorry, I can’t look anymore.”

A warm hand rested on her shoulder, the heat transmitting through the thin fabric. In the darkness, Tong Yao heard her companion’s gentle voice:

“Don’t worry, leave it to me.”

The other person’s voice was gentle. A few words brushed past her ear lightly like the wind, seemingly devoid of emotion, yet inexplicably bringing a strange sense of reassurance, evoking an impulse to trust deeply from within.

It felt as if…

Leaving everything to him was truly okay.

Tong Yao nodded slowly.

After settling Tong Yao, Wen Jianyan retracted his hand and turned to look in the direction she had just pointed.

This area was almost at the very back of the shop, barely within the reach of the oil lamp’s light. Countless radios sat quietly on the shelves, their power indicator lights flickering faintly, emitting numerous eerie sounds. It seemed no different from the rest of the shop. However, having just followed Tong Yao’s gaze for a brief moment, Wen Jianyan knew…

In the few seconds he turned his gaze away and talked to Tong Yao, the positions of the radios on the shelves had changed.

He lifted his eyes, his gaze lingering for a moment on the black radio on the second shelf.

…It was just on the first shelf.

Wen Jianyan glanced at the light gray radio on the third row.

And it was just on the second shelf.

In other words, after Tong Yao could no longer use her talent to watch, the positions of all the radios in this entire area had changed, solely to prevent the seeker from locating the key item.

Encountering resistance was a good sign; it meant they were on the right track.

Once the key radio source was found, everything would end.

Wen Jianyan took a step forward.

“Zzzzz—”

A sharp electrical noise sounded from the left; the next second, a female voice emerged: “Good evening, dear listeners…”

On the other side, the rough radio in the lower left corner also began to speak, a slightly eerie male voice narrating a story:

“…On this dark and windy night, you walked here alone, countless eyes watching from the dark, the cold wind blowing, as if someone’s pale hand rested on your shoulder, slowly leaning close to your ear. Listen, that’s the breath of the dead…”

“Shsha… Shsha…”

The interfering static noise sounded.

A girl’s giggle was heard: “Hehe, hehe!”

Wen Jianyan’s pupils contracted, noticing that the volume of the sounds he was receiving here was several times higher than before, with countless voices surrounding him as if they had targeted him.

A cold sensation shot up, and in the blink of an eye, Wen Jianyan felt his arm and upper arm becoming stiffly cold, a putrid smell emanating from his body.

And the sinister cold sensation continued to spread rapidly, even covering his shoulders.

Wen Jianyan’s face turned slightly pale.

He quickly realized that if this state of decay spread to his heart and brain, even a god couldn’t save him.

However…

There had been no sound from the glass at the back for a long time.

Perhaps Su Cheng and Qi Qian’s actions were obstructed.

Wen Jianyan gritted his teeth.

It seemed too naive to think he could retreat safely once encountering danger. Now, facing such a situation, he had no choice but to press on.

Surrounded by countless broadcasts, Wen Jianyan slowly took another step forward.

“Are you looking for me? I’m here.” The brown radio overhead suddenly spoke, the voice sounding as if it were right next to his ear.

Another radio spoke again:

“Hehe, I’m here.”

The power indicator lights flickered in the shadows, countless voices echoing from all directions: “No, I’m here.”

Seeing this scene, one’s scalp tingled, and hairs stood on end.

Extreme fear and loneliness surged, almost capable of destroying any sane person’s rationality.

If Tong Yao still had some vision left, she would now see the slender figure of the young girl walking alone into the area that had made her eyes bleed just by glancing at it—the most terrifying zone, surrounded by countless malevolent voices, her hands and legs all turning to the color of a corpse.

Pale with a bluish tint, covered in corpse spots.

“Shasha…”, the girl’s voice turned high-pitched and distorted, forming an eerie, humanly impossible shrill tone: “You know, you will never leave here.”

“You will stay here,” said the man.

“You will stay here,” said the old man.

“You will stay here,” said the child.

Each voice was more chilling, each one closer than the last.

***

Meanwhile, at the shop entrance.

Although all the light had been blocked, those terrifying footsteps still lingered at the shop’s entrance.

The group guarded the entrance vigilantly, seemingly on high alert.

Su Cheng stood alone at the back.

Silent, his gaze fixed on the void, a faint light flickering in his pupils, resembling the glow of an oil lamp, or perhaps a light shining from deep within his eyes.

He raised his hand, as if slowly retrieving something from the air.

Qi Qian’s peripheral vision caught this scene; his heart skipped a beat, as if realizing something.

…The other person was now activating his talent.

“Bang!”

The sudden sound shattered the silence, startling Qi Qian. He turned sharply in the direction of the noise.

The glass trembled slightly, the already loose seam opening and closing slightly, a cold, decaying breath seeping through.

Vaguely, he could see heavy shadows moving in the darkness outside.

Damn! They were hitting the glass!!

Qi Qian’s pupils shrank, his hair standing on end.

“Quick! Block it first!”

At the command, everyone rushed forward, using every means to hold the door, fearing whatever was outside would break through and invade the shop.

Qi Qian held the door tightly, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

How could this be?

They had clearly blocked all the light sources, so why were the “customers” still hitting the glass?!

What had gone wrong?

“Bang! Bang!”

The banging noises came, more than one “customer” joining in, the chaotic sounds growing louder, the pressure from outside increasing, as if becoming more urgent.

“Bang bang! Bang bang! Bang bang!”

Suddenly, Su Cheng’s voice came from behind: “…We were wrong.”

His voice was weak, with a slight floating quality.

What?

The group froze, turning to look at the prophet.

Su Cheng stood there, the faint light still flickering in his pupils, an unusually strange expression on his face: “We should open it.”

“What?” Qi Qian was stunned.

“Open it.” Su Cheng’s voice became smooth and steady.

An Xin hesitated: “But…”

“Do as he says.” Qi Qian interrupted. The others hesitated for a moment, then let go and slowly backed away from the door.

Without the resistance of human force, the barrier might last another minute or so, but that was the limit.

Qi Qian looked at Su Cheng: “Should we call Wen Wen and Tong Yao back and regroup behind the counter?”

Su Cheng: “No need.”

Raising his hand, he stopped the others who were instinctively preparing to move towards the counter: “We will guard right here.”

“But the customers—” Zhang Yu frowned, his expression worried and tense.

“No.”

Su Cheng’s eyes were fixed on the door.

“Bang!”

With a final loud bang, all the barriers failed. A cold, eerie wind carrying a putrid smell rushed in, but strangely, the copper bell on the door did not ring.

Outside, in the dark gloom, several figures were faintly visible.

They slowly walked in, gradually coming into the light of the oil lamps.

Dull, murky eyes, blue and white, cold, covered in corpse spots, moving with stiff steps, gradually approaching.

“…because they are not customers.”

Su Cheng added.

Zhang Yu’s gaze lingered on the leading few for a moment, suddenly realizing something:

“The clothes on these people—!”

An Xin gasped: “These are the anchors!!”

Yes, all these people were the anchors in this instance. They had met them briefly in the first-floor lobby, but in just a few hours, they had turned into cold corpses, wandering in the dark building.

That’s why they heard more than one set of footsteps.

That’s why the smell outside was mixed with blood.

That’s why, even after blocking the lights, they continued to hit the door.

Because they were never customers, but another kind of anomaly.

Su Cheng slowly exhaled.

Yes, this was right.

There was no must-lose instance in Nightmare. If throwing out the radio summoned those weird, unbeatable “customers,” then this simple and crude last resort would lose its meaning, and no one would survive.

Therefore, although crises would occur, the possibility of survival also existed.

“Alright,” Qi Qian’s eyes flashed with a fierce light, “then let’s eliminate them!”

Once these blocking corpses were dealt with, they could continue their actions.

Past them was the way out!

***

The radio emitted countless eerie sounds, with those voices coming from all directions, constantly disrupting judgment.

Wen Jianyan stood still, slowly turning into a corpse under the curse of the voices.

It seemed stuck.

Indeed, who wouldn’t be stuck?

Although he knew the approximate range of the source radio, after Tong Yao could no longer support him, the positions of all the radios had undergone drastic changes.

The only one able to move, Wen Jianyan, did not have Tong Yao’s ability or sight, nor any ability to locate the radios.

It’s over. It’s over.

The audience in the live broadcast room let out a sigh of despair.

Unexpectedly, Wen Jianyan’s team was assigned to the most dangerous shop on the second floor this time. Perhaps it was fate.

Maybe their luck had really run out.

Everyone has to face it eventually.

Suddenly, the girl slightly raised her eyes and turned her head to look in the direction farthest from her.

A snow-white face faintly turned blue in the darkness, and her amber eyes were deep and bottomless, carrying a strange calmness.

Wen Jianyan took a step forward and walked.

“Are you sure?”

The radio behind her crackled.

“Hee hee, I’m here.” The radio on the right let out a strange, sharp laugh.

The radio at her feet maliciously asked, “Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

Wen Jianyan said.

“The information from Tong Yao wasn’t wrong. You’re on the third row, right?”

Due to his limbs already being decayed, Wen Jianyan’s movements were very slow, but steady and determined, without the slightest hesitation.

“You haven’t changed your position.”

The store restocks in blank spots. After taking away that brown radio, the original empty space was quickly filled up.

Seamlessly.

Similarly, the radio taken by the “customer” should be the same.

The taken radio was not important, but the one that filled the blank spot was.

So, that single source of the curse must not have changed its position.

“The positions of the other radios changing was just a trick, trying to make me think the information from Tong Yao had lost its value.”

The surrounding noises intensified.

Blue-purple corpse spots climbed up Wen Jianyan’s cheeks, the contrast between the pale and dark blue looking very eerie.

“Although my memory is good, the glimpse I caught of the position changes was too brief. Even for me, it’s hard to remember all the radios’ positions, so I had to use the simplest method: an exhaustive search,” Wen Jianyan said. “By eliminating the radios on the third row whose positions I remember changed, the remaining radios are all suspects.”

Wen Jianyan’s movements slowed down because his body had deteriorated greatly and was almost unresponsive.

His legs were crooked and barely supporting her weight, so Wen Jianyan had to hold onto the shelf, struggling.

“And among these radios…”

Wen Jianyan’s voice became hoarse, and she stared intently at a corner of the third row of the shelf, where a very inconspicuous black radio lay.

The power light on it flickered in the dark.

“Only one has never made a sound from beginning to end.”

It hadn’t moved because it was waiting.

Observing.

Wen Jianyan never lacked patience.

Even though his body was being eroded and decayed, and the coldness of death invaded his muscles, it didn’t affect his thinking ability—like a beast lurking in the dark, Wen Jianyan always waited quietly for the moment of weakness to appear.

“Shhhhh…”

“Shhhhh…”

The sound of electricity echoed in the dark.

Soon, new laughter sounded:

“You’re going to die.”

But so what if she found it? The human body has its limits, and rotting limbs cannot support the torso.

With a thud, Wen Jianyan lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground.

“You’re going to die.”

“You’re going to die.”

Malicious voices came from all directions.

There were only a few dozen centimeters left, but for Wen Jianyan, the distance seemed like an unbridgeable chasm.

Having stayed too long in a dangerous place, the breath of death was about to grasp his heart.

Wen Jianyan’s mind was already somewhat groggy.

He gritted her teeth.

This instance was very difficult, and enemies were lurking everywhere. He really didn’t want to… use his legendary item so early, but…

Considering his current physical condition, it seemed he had really reached his limit.

The black radio was like a stain, imprinted on his gradually blurring retina, bringing an emotion close to unwillingness.

Damn it.

He was so close.

Suddenly, Wen Jianyan seemed to realize something.

He wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but the rising voices just now seemed to be suppressed by something, even gradually becoming lighter. The number of radios making the sounds seemed to be decreasing…

His body’s deterioration…

Seemed to have stopped?

He was startled and subconsciously turned to look behind him.

His eardrums were affected, and Wen Jianyan could no longer hear clearly, but he could still sense one thing: the direction of the glass was no longer silent. Over there, it seemed…

They had found a way to move again.

One by one, the shelves in the store were being emptied. Su Cheng urgently commanded:

“Quick! Keep going!”

With the enhancement of his prophetic abilities, Su Cheng could clearly sense the changes in his powers. Not only could he interpret the cards, but he could also, through them, receive some future information and advice.

He had to confront it head-on.

Only in this way could he ensure the safety of his friend.

Quick, quick, quicker!

One by one, the shelves in the store were being emptied, and the number of functioning radios was gradually being reduced—from half down to a third. The blanks were spreading, stopping the curse from spreading.

Wen Jianyan smiled silently.

He lifted her head and looked at the black radio on the shelf, using the last bit of strength in his body to push himself up, his pale fingers reaching out—

And grabbed it fiercely!

【Ding! Congratulations to the anchor for obtaining a hidden item (difficult) in the instance!】

【Collection progress: 1/6】

“Zzzzz…”

The radio let out a weak electrical sound.

The power light above it flickered, like a feeble struggle.

“No, I won’t.”

Wen Jianyan smiled:

“I won.”

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