Thank you @Myrtella for the Ko-fi.
Changsheng Building
Chapter 248: I was wrong
The Orange Candy team and the Dark Fire team ceased fighting and temporarily formed an alliance.
Thus, the chaotic battle on the fourth floor ended in a way no one expected.
Although the tense atmosphere of a standoff disappeared, the anchors did not immediately enter their respective shops as they had on the previous floors. Instead, they lingered in the corridor, each team huddling together and whispering as if discussing something.
The air was thick with a strange, heavy tension.
“So,” Wen Jianyan, sharply sensing something was amiss, turned to Qi Qian and asked, “Which shop did we draw this time?”
“No idea.” Qi Qian shook his head, pulling a brass key from his pocket and handing it over.
“…What?”
No idea?
How could they not know?
Wen Jianyan was stunned and instinctively took the key from Qi Qian’s hand, looking down at it with some confusion.
Like the previous three floors, this key appeared old and rusty.
However, unlike the previous three floors, this key was solitary; the tag with the shop number was missing.
Wen Jianyan hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at the nearest shop.
Just like on the previous floors, the glass door was tightly closed, and it was pitch black inside. The wall next to the shop had a brass plate embedded in it, but it was smooth, without any writing.
In other words, the shops on the fourth floor had no numbers, so there were no corresponding numbered keys.
While Wen Jianyan was pondering, Su Cheng stared at him intently.
He hadn’t noticed in the heat of the moment earlier, but now…
His gaze fell on Wen Jianyan’s lips, and his face showed a puzzled and strange expression.
Was it an illusion? Why did it seem like the corners of Wen Jianyan’s mouth were chapped and a bit swollen?
Wait, were those bite marks?
Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes, his thoughts racing, quickly considering several possibilities.
Perhaps this floor required them to find the corresponding shop for their key through a specific method. It was also possible that the instance, “Changsheng Building”, calculated that the number of teams entering this floor far exceeded the number of shops, and to create competition and chaos, the numbers on the keys and shops were removed.
Of course, there was another possibility…
Thinking of this, Wen Jianyan turned his head to look at another team.
Although the Orange Candy team and the Dark Fire team had reached a temporary cooperation agreement, they still kept a deliberate distance from each other. Clearly, the distrust and suspicion between the team members couldn’t be overcome by a brief verbal agreement.
“What does your key look like?” Wen Jianyan asked.
Wei Cheng hesitated and looked towards Orange Candy, seemingly seeking his captain’s opinion.
Orange Candy stood indifferently at the back of the team, looking unconcerned about everything. She shrugged and nodded slightly, throwing out two simple words: “Show them.”
“Yes.”
Wei Cheng nodded, stepped forward, and handed their team’s brass key to Wen Jianyan.
“Thank you.”
Wen Jianyan smiled, taking the key from Wei Cheng’s hand with a friendly expression, seemingly unaware of Wei Cheng’s wary stance, and thanked him softly.
“…”
Wei Cheng’s eyes flickered, and he couldn’t help but show a hint of discomfort.
Wen Jianyan lowered his head, comparing the two keys.
Based on his extensive experience in lockpicking, he immediately confirmed that the teeth of the two keys were identical.
Just as he thought.
If this was the case, the keys of the other teams were probably the same as well. Therefore, the four shops on the fourth floor should all use the same lock, and each anchor’s key could open any of the four doors, which explained why they had no numbers.
After hearing Wen Jianyan’s deduction, Qi Qian squinted his eyes, showing a thoughtful expression.
An Xin, on the other hand, spoke straightforwardly:
“So we can enter any shop we want?”
“In theory, yes,” Zhang Yu nodded cautiously. “If that’s the case, the difficulty of the shops will depend on luck.”
If that were true, then the prophet’s ability would be crucial.
“What do you think?” Su Cheng asked Wen Jianyan.
“…”
Wen Jianyan didn’t answer immediately. He lowered his eyes, staring at the two keys in his palm, seemingly deep in thought.
Soon, he looked up and scanned the entire floor, as if a sudden idea had struck him, and then opened the shop interface to buy something.
“A compass?”
Orange Candy had walked up unknowingly and glanced at the item in Wen Jianyan’s hand, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
“Yes.”
Wen Jianyan raised his head and looked at the fourth floor again.
He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but the dim space seemed darker, as if some unknown dark power was seeping from all corners, and the surrounding air was gradually getting colder, giving an inexplicable sense of unease—even the least sensitive anchor could tell they needed to get inside a shop quickly, or something terrible would happen.
However, Wen Jianyan wasn’t looking at these atmospheric changes.
“Don’t you think this layout resembles the courtyard in the third painting on the third floor?”
He said.
The square corridor, with a shop at each of the four directions—east, south, west, and north—matched the layout of a courtyard, like a coincidental but precise alignment.
But Wen Jianyan’s experience in the third painting told him this was no coincidence.
The fifth floor, the most crucial final floor, was a courtyard—although he hadn’t entered it himself, he had seen it with his own eyes.
If analyzed from this perspective… every floor of the Changsheng Building was a “courtyard.” The number of shops on each floor seemed unable to correspond to “four,” but when connected with the fixed number of “customers” each shop had to serve on each floor, everything made sense.
The number of customers was fixed, and each customer only needed to buy one item on each floor, so the number of shops they visited was naturally fixed. As the floors rose, the number of shops gradually decreased.
As the number of shops approached the core “four,” and the number of customers remained unchanged, the number of customers each shop needed to serve increased.
That’s why the fifth floor was the most crucial.
Because by the fourth floor, the number of shops had already reduced to the minimum—equal to the rooms in the courtyard, unable to decrease further.
“Look.”
Wen Jianyan said, showing the compass in his hand to Orange Candy.
In his palm lay a small portable compass, its needle pointing steadily in a certain direction.
In other words… in the Changsheng Building instance, there existed the concept of “direction,” which was rare.
Orange Candy blinked, showing a surprised expression.
“If we correspond the shops in Changsheng Building to the rooms in a courtyard, the shop in the north should be the most difficult.”
Wen Jianyan thought for a moment and continued:
“The shop in the west should be relatively safe, the difficulty of the other two shops is uncertain but should be higher than the west and lower than the north.”
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[Wow… so that’s how the difficulty levels in this instance work!]
[I checked the replay records, and it seems like on the previous floors… every time, whether voluntarily or not, the anchor entered the northern shop.]
[I always thought the difficulty was related to the numbers. Guess not!]
[Damn, I noticed that in all the northern shops, only their team survived each time… I thought it was a coincidence, but this explains it!]
Wen Jianyan contemplated for a moment before speaking slowly, “So, I suggest we go to the western shop.”
Based on previous guesses, each “customer” on each floor buys a part of their body, from human skin to vision and hearing, and then to the face… It can be said that as the floors increase, the “customers” become more complete, and the level of horror increases.
Although the mechanism of “Changsheng Building” temporarily protected them from being attacked by “customers,” the problem was…
The red-clothed female corpse on the second floor was not one of the fixed “customers” in the Changsheng Building but was released. Wen Jianyan didn’t want to face it again, and if he had to, he would prefer the western shop, which was relatively safer. Otherwise, they might face a situation like on the third floor—where the terror level of the northern shop combined with the red-clothed female corpse created an almost certain death trap.
Last time he was lucky enough to find a bug to exploit, but if he couldn’t find one on this floor, it could mean a team wipe.
Moreover, there were too many teams left.
To achieve his goal, Wen Jianyan had to reach the fifth floor first.
Although the northern shop might offer higher rewards, the safer choice was the western shop.
Wen Jianyan’s proposal was unanimously agreed upon.
Due to their large numbers and strong capabilities, their team unsurprisingly got the first choice and entered the western shop.
The rusty brass key was inserted into the lock, making a “click” sound. A stench of decay wafted out from the dark shop.
The group, used to this, walked inside.
The dim light from the oil lamp illuminated the shop.
Strangely, there were no goods in the shop this time. In the center of the empty room were four chairs, all painted with familiar red paint.
Additionally, unlike before, the counter was not near the entrance but placed deeper inside the shop.
No goods at all…
They exchanged glances and moved forward to light the oil lamp.
As soon as the oil lamp was lit, the clock on the wall behind the counter started ticking—this time, the countdown was not fifteen minutes but five.
It was clear that Wen Jianyan’s earlier guess was correct. Although they all stayed outside the shops earlier, it didn’t completely stop the darkness from coming.
If some anchors thought they found a loophole in the instance and tried to convince others to stay outside, they would suffer the consequences.
“Alright,” Qi Qian was the first to speak, “Since we’ve temporarily allied, let’s share information and resources.”
Orange Candy shrugged indifferently, “As you wish.”
Next, the anchors from the Dark Fire Team and Orange Candy Team briefly introduced themselves—just sharing their codenames. As for their talents, they kept them secret, although Wen Jianyan, having been in both teams, knew this information well.
“Besides the lamp oil we currently have, we have one unused gray lamp oil and one red lamp oil,” Qi Qian said. “I suggest we refill the oil lamps after the current lamp oil runs out.”
“Okay,” Orange Candy yawned.
Although the two teams were still wary of each other, they quickly reached a consensus on basic issues and shared their lamp oil quantities.
Three minutes remained before nightfall.
“I suggest we seal the door to prevent light from leaking out,” Zhang Yu cautiously suggested. “Even though we entered the western shop, this floor’s difficulty won’t be low. We still don’t know what the goods are on this floor, so it’s best not to receive any customers for now.”
“Agreed,” Wei Cheng nodded.
They skillfully sealed the shop door with light-blocking materials and then dispersed to search for clues in the shop.
Wen Jianyan was about to approach Su Cheng but was stopped by Wei Cheng:
“Wait, Wen Wen.”
He was puzzled and looked over, “?”
Wei Cheng hesitated, his expression conflicted, but finally said, “Thank you for what you did on the third floor.”
If Wen Jianyan hadn’t entered the third painting, their team might not have survived. Including what happened in the first painting, Wen Jianyan had saved him twice.
“Actually, our captain—”
“Wei Cheng, what are you doing?” Orange Candy’s irritated voice came from not far away. “Get moving.”
Wei Cheng apologized with a smile to Wen Jianyan before turning to join his team.
“What did he want?” Su Cheng approached, eyeing Wei Cheng’s departing figure warily.
“Just to thank me, nothing else,” Wen Jianyan patted Su Cheng’s arm, saying, “No need to be so tense.”
“Could it be…” Su Cheng’s face showed a complex expression as he raised his hand to Wen Jianyan’s shoulder, “Did they do something to you because of your appearance?”
Wen Jianyan: “???”
Huh?
What are you talking about?
“You…”
Su Cheng took a deep breath, his expression hesitant, “Your mouth…”
Wen Jianyan: “…”
Damn, got it.
Su Cheng’s words triggered a memory, and the earlier images he had pushed aside resurfaced. The dark paper sedan, the wet kissing sound, the rustling of clothes, the firm grip on his waist that he couldn’t break free from, that cold, eager, passionate, greedy kiss…
It all flooded back into his mind.
Wen Jianyan felt his lips’ injury sting again, throbbing with a fiery pain, almost as if the phantom sensation hadn’t disappeared.
Damn, he shouldn’t have taught that guy.
He must have been out of his mind at the time.
Wen Jianyan forced a smile, “Relax, I bit myself.”
Su Cheng was skeptical, “Really?”
“Of course,” Wen Jianyan said calmly. “You don’t seriously think in such a high-difficulty instance, anyone would have the leisure to do that kind of thing, do you?”
Su Cheng felt that Wen Jianyan seemed to grind his teeth slightly when he said “anyone.”
“I guess…” Su Cheng hesitated.
“Plus, the appearance can be removed anytime,” Wen Jianyan lifted his eyelids, “If anyone’s confused by my appearance, I can just revert to my original form, right?”
That seemed to make sense…?
Su Cheng blinked, feeling convinced.
The instance charges by time for the appearance, meaning it can be canceled anytime. Wen Jianyan wasn’t the type to let others take advantage of him. If he didn’t want to, no one could force him.
Maybe he encountered some danger in the instance and bit himself out of it!
“But they…” Su Cheng looked over at the Orange Candy Team not far away, still wary, lowering his voice.
After all, the two teams had opposed each other and fought more than once. Could they really cooperate like this?
“No need to worry about that,” seeing Su Cheng accept his explanation, Wen Jianyan smiled, “Relax, I wouldn’t choose to cooperate with them on a whim.”
“…No need to worry?” Su Cheng was stunned.
This sentence seemed to awaken his memory.
Su Cheng suddenly thought of something. His previously worried expression vanished in an instant, and his eyes filled with intense anger as he gritted his teeth and said, “How dare you tell me not to worry?! Hah, you better shut up. Who was it that promised not to take risks alone before? I should never have trusted you, you liar!”
Wen Jianyan: “Haha.”
He gave a dry laugh, seeming a bit guilty. “It was an accident, an accident. Besides, I came back safe and sound in the end, didn’t I?”
Su Cheng’s anger didn’t diminish in the slightest. “I really thought you were dead!”
“Sorry.”
The girl cautiously raised her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering. She looked through the gaps between her lashes, her thin figure and pale face appearing delicate and pitiful.
Dragging out the final syllable, her tone was both coquettish and soft:
“I was wrong, okay?”
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[…]
[…Shameless, truly shameless!]
[Fellows, who threw up? I threw up.]
[Fellows, who got hard? I got hard.]
[?]
[?]
Su Cheng: “…”
His hair stood on end, and goosebumps rose all over his body. He stepped back abruptly, avoiding Wen Jianyan’s hand that was reaching to hook his arm. “Act normal!”
Is this guy addicted to role-playing or what!
Wen Jianyan laughed as he retracted his hand. “Brother, you’re not mad at me anymore, right?”
Su Cheng: “……………………”
Really want to punch someone.
“Ahem, back to the point.”
Wen Jianyan cleared his throat and straightened his expression. “Anyway, I gained a lot from this operation.”
“…Huh?” Su Cheng was a bit bewildered by the sudden change in topic. “Gained?”
“Yes,” Wen Jianyan nodded. “Just as I suspected, the Oracle anchor who entered this instance is indeed the same one who set you up before.”
Su Cheng was shocked. “So where is he now――”
Wen Jianyan: “He should still be in this instance, but he found another team to shelter him.”
Mu Sen, despite his underhanded methods, had the judgment skills of an experienced anchor. Upon seeing Wen Jianyan survive and enter the fourth floor, he realized his plan had failed. Staying with the increasingly hostile team would not give him much hope of survival. So he used an item to conceal himself and sought another team that needed a prophet to make a deal, not showing himself until their team entered the shop.
――At least, if Wen Jianyan were in that situation, that’s what he would do.
Su Cheng furrowed his brow.
Knowing that the guy who ambushed him was still lurking out there somewhere made him feel uneasy.
“Don’t worry, he won’t have a chance to act until the fourth floor is over,” Wen Jianyan paused and continued, “But that’s not what I wanted to say.”
Su Cheng: “What is it then?”
“The advantage of the Oracle.” Wen Jianyan squinted his eyes, speaking slowly.
What exactly did he gain by making a deal with Nightmare? Through this brief contact with Mu Sen, he finally had some clues.
“If I’m not mistaken, Mu Sen has two abilities.”
“What?!” Su Cheng gasped, his eyes widening. “How is that possible?”
“I didn’t think so either,” Wen Jianyan shrugged, continuing, “But unfortunately, there’s no other explanation.”
Experienced anchors often have many hidden cards, high-level legendary hidden items, and titles obtained through various means.
But abilities were something each person only had one of.
So, even when seeing other anchors do seemingly unimaginable things in the instance, they usually attribute it to those hidden cards rather than considering the possibility of multiple abilities.
But Wen Jianyan was different.
He had experienced the “Ping An Asylum” instance, where he had seen Mu Sen’s “manipulation” ability firsthand. And in this instance, he confirmed that the other had a “prophecy” ability.
Although abilities could evolve to have more uses, greater value, and even more forms as they level up, these forms are usually related to the original ability and typically show a strong primary-secondary relationship. Mu Sen’s abilities were drastically different from each other and equally powerful and strange. Wen Jianyan had only seen this with Mu Sen.
After eliminating all impossible options, the remaining one must be the truth.
That was, Mu Sen indeed has two abilities.
“…Wait.”
Su Cheng was still reeling from the shock of this news when he suddenly realized something. He turned to Wen Jianyan, narrowing his eyes. “Isn’t your goal a bit too targeted?”
The events on the second floor quickly flashed through his mind, including Wen Jianyan’s strange behavior of volunteering to go out into the corridor instead of staying inside the shop. All these incidents seemed to connect at this moment…
Su Cheng gasped:
“Are you saying you approached Orange Candy’s team to contact Mu Sen on purpose?”
Wen Jianyan: “…”
…He really disliked people with sharp instincts!
Ever since Su Cheng activated his ability, his intuition seemed to have become stronger. He was not as easy to deceive as before.
“How could that be? That would be too risky!”
Wen Jianyan put on a sincere expression, swearing earnestly, “The incident on the third floor was really just an accident!”
Su Cheng showed a skeptical expression.
It was not that he didn’t trust Wen Jianyan, but this guy was so practiced at lying. Plus, he always acted mysteriously on crucial issues, leaving Su Cheng feeling deceived countless times.
“Brother, don’t you trust me?”
The girl pouted, looking insecure and adorable. It was hard to imagine that beneath this appearance was an 1.8-meter-tall man.
Su Cheng: “………………”
What’s happening? I want to punch him even more.
Although they were whispering the whole time, they never stopped searching.
Compared to the previous floors, this shop was much larger. Even with two teams inside, it didn’t feel crowded. But this also made the light from the single oil lamp seem very weak, with the room’s edges almost entirely submerged in darkness.
It must be said that the search results in the first half of the shop weren’t very promising.
The large space was almost completely empty. The walls were clean, and the few pieces of red-painted furniture didn’t seem special. While Wen Jianyan knew they were probably connected to some world, this floor didn’t have anything similar to the previous floor’s paintings, leaving him unable to determine where these chairs and tables led.
They could only hope the search in the latter half of the shop would be more fruitful.
With this in mind, Wen Jianyan turned to look behind him.
At that moment, a slightly raised voice came from behind: “Over here, there’s a door!”
“!”
Wen Jianyan’s spirits lifted. “Let’s go check it out.”
With that, he and Su Cheng quickly headed toward the voice.
In the deepest part of the shop, where the light barely reached, was a dark red door. It was tightly closed but not locked.
The Orange Candy team had already gathered in front of the door. Clearly, they were the first to discover it.
Wu Ya, standing at the front, raised his hand and tried to push the door.
Qi Qian, who had just arrived, narrowed his eyes: “Wait!”
They almost got caught before. If there was a corpse inside, it could be activated by the light.
But he was a step too late.
“Creak――”
The unlocked door slid inward without resistance, revealing a pitch-black interior.
A cold, rotting stench rushed out.
The way wen jianyan and Mr mirror keeps on getting into misunderstandings is so funny