Changsheng Building
Chapter 251: We must act now
“Tap, tap, tap.”
The stiff footsteps echoed in the darkness, gradually approaching the direction of the counter.
The oil lamp emitted a hissing sound as it burned intensely. The surrounding darkness grew colder and thicker, bottomless, as if it could freeze a person’s blood vessels.
Even though their hearts were suspended with tension and every muscle was tightly wound, each cell filled with the urge to flee, everyone forced themselves to remain rational, standing still in the small area behind the counter, bathed in the light, waiting for the footsteps to draw nearer.
After all, that’s how they had passed through the third floor.
After the shopping was over, the customer would come to the counter, leave ghost money, and then leave.
Everyone sincerely hoped that this time would be the same.
“…”
Wen Jianyan tightly pressed his lips together, staring fixedly at the area not far away.
Not far ahead, in the darkness, a faint, scarlet glow could be vaguely seen, flickering but never disappearing.
He knew that this transaction was not yet complete.
If the transaction were complete, the incense stick would not still be standing there, untouched.
Throughout the entire process, there was some detail that he had overlooked.
Wen Jianyan stood in place, his mind racing, searching for any possible clues.
First of all, he was confident that the basic rules regarding the fourth floor were correct. Every clue pointed to the same idea, which was “consumption.”
The incense obtained by exchanging ghost money from the donation box was supposed to be the customer’s food, which Wen Jianyan had hoped for—if it was indeed the food, then even if terrifying corpses or ghosts appeared afterward, at least they wouldn’t have misinterpreted the rules and wouldn’t need to sacrifice lives to find out.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.
It seemed that the “Changsheng Building” wouldn’t let them pass so easily.
Based on the current course of events, the “incense” was clearly not food.
Or at least, not entirely.
“Tap, tap, tap.”
The footsteps were already very close.
The temperature in the air was bone-chilling, and no matter how fiercely the oil lamp burned, it couldn’t illuminate the endless darkness before them.
The stench of rotting flesh was already assaulting their nostrils, making them feel nauseous.
As Wen Jianyan tried to brainstorm, the “customer” had already arrived close by.
“Tap.”
The footsteps stopped in front of the counter.
The air fell into a deathly silence.
“…” Everyone instinctively held their breath.
The light from the oil lamp was confined to a narrow corner. It seemed that something was standing in front of the counter, but no one could see its form. Even though they knew their sight couldn’t pierce the darkness, they couldn’t help but stare fixatedly at the area in front of the counter.
An undefined fear pervaded the air.
The next second, a pale hand, covered with purplish-blue corpse spots, slowly extended from the darkness. Under the tense gazes of the group, it slowly pressed down on the table.
But the hand didn’t leave ghost money and depart as they had hoped.
“Hiss!!”
The moment that hand appeared before them, the oil lamp’s flame flared up suddenly. The foul stench of burning corpse oil instantly became overwhelming.
Wen Jianyan’s pupils constricted. He stared into the unfathomable darkness before him, feeling his scalp tingle and his body grow cold. However, in contrast to his stiff limbs, his mind was racing.
Countless images flashed through his mind.
The third floor, the third painting; on the altar, there was an incense burner, candlesticks, and a plate of rotting fruit.
A winding path led into the darkness, ending in a desolate graveyard. In front of the graves were memorial tablets, portraits, an incense burner, and—
Rotting offerings.
Offerings.
Wen Jianyan’s breath caught for a moment, and he quickly raised his eyes, looking into the nearby darkness.
There, that incense stick still burned quietly, like a small, red eye, silently watching him.
In other words, the “incense” wasn’t the food; it was the medium, a way to offer food to the “customer”!
As that hand extended from the darkness, an invisible, chillingly terrifying force began to spread.
Underneath that pale, foul-smelling corpse hand, the paint on the tabletop started to turn black and green, even emitting a faint “crackling” sound, as if it were rotting and breaking from deep within the wood.
“Hiss, hiss, hiss!!”
Just when everyone thought the oil lamp’s burning speed had reached its limit, it actually sped up even more! The lamp oil visibly decreased at an alarming rate, dropping to a noticeably lower level within just a few seconds.
“!!!”
Seeing this, everyone’s pupils shrank instantly. As experienced anchors, they immediately understood what was happening.
Destroy the counter and deplete the oil lamp.
The “customer” was attempting to invade this space.
The seemingly harmless “customer” on the first three floors had become a real threat on the fourth floor.
If it succeeded, the counter would shatter, and the lamp oil would burn out.
What would happen next…
No one dared to imagine.
At that moment, a deliberately lowered, calm voice sounded from the side: “I have an idea.”
Everyone was startled and turned their heads toward the direction of the voice.
The silver-haired girl stood still, with no strong expression on her face. With the gentle smile gone, the contours of her features appeared sharp and cold. Her eyes were fixed intently on the darkness ahead, her shoulders slight, and her back straight, as she succinctly and directly said:
“The offering isn’t the incense; it’s what he needs.”
As she spoke, she turned her face to look at everyone. The dim light flickered on her face, creating sharp contrasts of light and shadow. Deep within her light-colored eyes, a bright, piercing glint shone, her gaze filled with an unusual intensity.
“I have a hypothesis that needs to be tested, but it’s dangerous and requires your cooperation.”
“Speak.” Suddenly, Orange Candy spoke up.
“I need you to distract the customer, hold its attention, and give me a chance to leave the counter and reach the incense burner.”
It sounded simple, but everyone present knew just how difficult this would be in the current situation and what terrifying risks it entailed.
They had to understand that this “customer” was entirely different from those on the previous three floors. It was no longer harmless but had a strong desire to attack. Any slight mistake could make them the next sacrifice in this dangerous game.
“Okay.” Unexpectedly, Orange Candy agreed without hesitation. “How do we do it?”
Wen Jianyan quickly glanced at Orange Candy, took out a red, unlit candle from his pocket, and handed it to her: “Use this.”
Orange Candy looked puzzled: “What is this…?”
Qi Qian was taken aback, his eyes seeming to burn from the sight of the red candle. He gasped in astonishment: “Could it be that it has the same effect as the red lamp oil?”
“…”
Wen Jianyan’s gaze lingered on Orange Candy for a moment. “Exactly, but from my personal experience, its effect is far weaker than the oil lamp, and its range of influence will be much narrower.”
Qi Qian nodded: “I see.”
Orange Candy took the candle from Wen Jianyan’s hand: “So, all we need to do is light it, and it will attract the customer’s attention, right?”
Wen Jianyan nodded: “Yes.”
Orange Candy: “Understood.”
She turned her head toward Wei Cheng: “Come with me.”
Zhang Yu, who was standing nearby, spoke up: “I’ll join too.”
His talent had a strong advantage in survival, making him well-suited to be part of the team tasked with distracting the customer and taking the hits: “I can handle holding the candle.”
“Alright.”
Orange Candy didn’t hesitate, tossing the candle to Zhang Yu.
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[Orange Candy really lives up to being in the top ten of the rankings. Her decision-making ability is incredibly strong. She immediately recognized that this operation would be hindered by too many people, which would reduce the team’s mobility. So she only brought Wei Cheng, who’s in charge of monitoring deadly dangers, while she handled the fallback.]
[And when Zhang Yu volunteered, she agreed without hesitation, even though Zhang Yu is a stranger to her team. Most people would at least think it over for a few seconds before agreeing to such a request. The fact that she didn’t even blink shows a level of decisiveness that most streamers find hard to match.]
[Wait… Am I the only one who noticed a detail?]
[?]
[Didn’t you guys realize? The distance between Orange Candy and Wen Jianyan was the same as between her and Zhang Yu, but she took the candle directly from Wen Jianyan by hand, whereas she tossed it to Zhang Yu… She didn’t even want to have indirect contact with him.]
[Oh wow, that’s true.]
[Hahaha, that’s a subtle double standard that’s hard to notice.]
Given the critical situation, everyone understood the importance of seizing the moment as experienced streamers.
Their conversation had been quick, taking only a few dozen seconds in total, with no time for any tactical discussion.
Even so, the time left for them was already running out.
Under the fiercely burning oil lamp, half of the tabletop had already been covered in a greenish-black hue, sharply contrasting with the pale corpse hand above it. It was a sight that made one’s heart pound. The speed at which the lamp oil was depleting was alarmingly fast; although it had only been about ten minutes since they entered the fourth floor and they hadn’t even finished dealing with the first customer, the oil had already been consumed by more than half!
If this pace continued, they wouldn’t even have to wait for a second customer to show up; they would all die on this floor because the lamp oil would run out.
They needed to act immediately.
“Go.”
As soon as Orange Candy spoke, the three of them dashed straight out from behind the counter!
At the same time, almost without any delay, Zhang Yu immediately lit the red candle in his hand. A faint red light flickered into life, casting an ominous glow that enveloped the three of them.
As soon as the red light appeared, it was as if some invisible change had occurred in the darkness.
“……”
As if attracted by it, the pale, corpse-spotted hand slowly withdrew into the darkness, leaving only a deep, charred black handprint on the counter.
“Hiss…”
The moment the hand left the tabletop, the previously intense flames calmed slightly. Although the situation was still not entirely normal, the rate of oil consumption was no longer as terrifyingly fast as it had been.
Soon, the stiff footsteps were heard again from within the darkness.
“Tap, tap, tap.”
They were heading away from the counter, chasing after the crimson glow.
As the footsteps receded, the thick, oppressive darkness that had been suffocating them seemed to follow, and everyone still behind the counter couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
However, Wen Jianyan didn’t feel any sense of relief. For him, this was the beginning of the real test.
He raised his eyes and glanced into the distance.
The entire shop was very dim, and due to its large size, it was impossible to determine the “customer’s” exact location. Wen Jianyan could only rely on his hearing to judge that the footsteps were gradually moving away from the position of the incense burner.
…Now is the time.
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath, lowered his head, and quickly lit the grayish-white candle in his hand.
The dim yellow light illuminated his profile, and the small flame flickered slightly in his eyes.
Holding the candlestick, he quickly dashed toward the location of the incense burner.
Fortunately, he had anticipated that simply lighting one incense stick might not be enough. If the words or attitude weren’t right, the “incense” wouldn’t serve as an offering for the dead, and he would most likely need to make further adjustments. So, he had placed the incense burner on a table close to the counter, which had somewhat reduced the obstacles for this action.
Wen Jianyan quickly arrived at the wooden table.
As expected, the incense burner in front of him hadn’t changed much since he left. The crimson glow flickered in the darkness, and a thin wisp of grayish-white smoke rose, emitting a dizzying, cold fragrance.
Wen Jianyan placed the candlestick on the table and steadied himself a bit.
Alright, what should he do next?
Dayum If I were in wtnl I would js drop ded
no like genuinely i would have died in the first arc
I’d have died so long ago.
Thank you for the chapter!