WTNL Chapter 272

Follow Up
Chapter 272: An Xin Is Okay Again

On the first floor of the Changsheng Building.

There were five minutes left until the instance’s time limit ended.

Zhang Yu looked in the direction where Wen Jianyan had disappeared, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

The way he had just spoken about the nightmare disconnecting and the system shop malfunctioning was so familiar that Zhang Yu couldn’t help but suspect that this might not be the first time the other party had encountered such an incident.

The information that guy knew was likely far beyond what any of them had.

It wasn’t just about the content related to the instance; it might even contain an understanding of the instance’s mechanics, and perhaps the nightmare itself. Clearly, the other side didn’t shy away from this but chose to state it directly…

Why?

An Xin stood there in a daze, seemingly still recovering from the explosive news they had just received.

It was until Qi Qian couldn’t stand it anymore.

He stepped forward and patted An Xin’s shoulder, saying, “Hey, are you alright?”

An Xin slowly turned his head, still maintaining that terrified expression.

Beside them, Tong Yao couldn’t help but burst out laughing: “Hahaha, Captain, you don’t know! Don’t be fooled by this guy’s usual slick talk; he seems all suave, but honestly, he probably hasn’t felt anything genuine in a long time.”

She was a medium, and even without actively using her talent, her intuition was stronger than that of ordinary people. Although An Xin hadn’t said anything, Tong Yao could feel the difference in his attitude this time.

And she had to admit, “Wen Wen” was indeed somewhat excessively charming.

Though usually gentle and soft-spoken, he became decisively sharp to a terrifying extent when faced with danger. Even most seasoned anchors couldn’t compare. The intense personal charisma he radiated at critical moments could even move Tong Yao, let alone An Xin, who had already been hit hard by the other party’s appearance, perfectly fitting his ideal type.

And unexpectedly…

He was a guy.

An Xin’s first crush ended before it even began, shattering the dreams of this straight man.

“So, Captain, don’t ask anymore. He probably won’t be okay for a long time,” Tong Yao summarized, shaking her head.

“Not necessarily.”

Zhang Yu shook his head and draped his arm over An Xin’s shoulder.

An Xin jumped in surprise and turned to look.

“From what I know, most anchors in the nightmare don’t mind the gender; for people like us, who know not what tomorrow holds, it doesn’t matter what gender they are, right?” Zhang Yu maintained his harmless, good-natured demeanor, completely unable to reveal the dark thoughts in his heart. “Why can’t it be a guy?”

Seemingly realizing the hidden implication, the dazed expression on An Xin’s face broke apart:

“Wait, but—”

“Anyway, the one you’re interested in is Wen Wen, right?” Zhang Yu asked.

An Xin: “Um…”

“Then that’s it.”

Zhang Yu naturally took over the conversation, continuing, “To be honest, his looks and personality haven’t changed much from before, have they? In fact, in a way, he seems even better looking than before.” Qi Qian narrowed his eyes, as if understanding something.

Not only did he not stop Zhang Yu’s seemingly harmless encouragement, but he also nodded in agreement.

An Xin couldn’t help but flash back to the other person’s face.

A tall figure, in a loose red wedding outfit, his skin looking even fairer against the vibrant color.

It seemed indeed…

“I’d say, why not try to strike up a conversation with him? You wouldn’t lose anything, right?” Zhang Yu suggested kindly.

An Xin was momentarily stunned, once again getting entangled in Zhang Yu’s logic.

It seemed right!

It really wouldn’t be a loss!

An Xin felt like he was okay again.

Under the grayish light around them, the young man’s face looked pale and calm, contrasting sharply with the bright red of his wedding dress. Wen Jianyan stood in front of one of the shops, his eyelashes slightly lowered, seemingly deep in thought.

Almost all seasoned anchors were aware that the instances in the nightmare had some connection to the real world, but no one could say exactly what it was…

Ji Guan had previously mentioned that “Fukang Hospital” actually existed in real life, but it had been abandoned for many years.

His assumption at that time was that perhaps locations that truly existed in the real world were the prototype blueprints for the instances, similar to how many large games would have modeling references. However, the subsequent “Fantasy Amusement Park” and “Ping An Asylum” led Wen Jianyan to deny his own hypothesis.

These several instances, whether in appearance or underlying structure, were excessively bizarre, completely surpassing the previous instances, making it nearly impossible for any real blueprint to exist.

Until he experienced this instance…

The “Changsheng Building” instance had a very unique positioning.

It differed from instances like “Decai Middle School,” “Fukang Hospital,” and “Antai Community,” which clearly had realistic elements. Changsheng Building possessed infinite floors, shops selling bizarre goods, and inhuman customers and employees. It was more of a “concept” rather than a specific location, and it could never be a real building.

However, it also didn’t venture into the realm of the utterly incomprehensible, like “Fantasy Amusement Park” and “Ping An Asylum” which had completely departed from reality.

Here, there were clear traces left by humanity, and it also left behind a possible connection to the real world.

The Changsheng Building was like a bridge, a door.

Or perhaps… a passage connecting two worlds.

Connecting the several instances that Wen Jianyan had previously experienced, forming a complete and gigantic loop.

Wen Jianyan raised his eyes, his gaze falling on the tightly shut shop door.

The interior was pitch black, and his upright figure was reflected on the glass door, like a bright red wound in the gray world.

His thoughts were gradually becoming clearer.

In the nightmare live broadcast, there existed numerous instances with vastly different styles—some leaning toward realism, others having no connection to reality at all.

These instances, which differed so greatly, had previously left Wen Jianyan at a loss, repeatedly denying his speculations and concepts.

Until now.

A brand-new, nearly subversive idea gradually took shape in Wen Jianyan’s mind, making him feel somewhat cold.

Perhaps these “instances” indeed existed in reality; the only difference was

that their depths varied.

Before being pulled into the nightmare, in Wen Jianyan’s worldview, the place he inhabited was merely a flat surface, the first layer of a landscape, rich and colorful, and seemingly understandable and acceptable by the human brain.

But was the world really only this one layer?

This point was reflected in many copies.

It could even be considered a common feature in many high-level instances—surface and inner layers, shallow and deep layers… all of these subtly hinted that perhaps the entire world was like this. The “real world” where Wen Jianyan lived might only be the shallow layer of the entire world.

Everything he understood was just the tip of the iceberg exposed above the sea.

This world was not flat but three-dimensional, capable of being divided into layers.

Perhaps the grading of the nightmares’ instances, from the highest S to the lowest E, represented not just difficulty, but “depth.”

The higher the level, the deeper the area ventured, the further away from human common sense.

So, although the difficulty of the “Changsheng Building” was extremely high, its grade was A+, because its depth was not sufficient…

Thinking of this, Wen Jianyan felt that the worldview he had formed over the past twenty years was deeply shaken.

What stood beneath his feet was no longer solid ground, but a thin layer of ice; beneath it lay a dark sea that extended thousands of meters deep—a territory unknown and untouched by any human.

No, this may not be entirely accurate.

At least the location of the “Changsheng Building” symbolized human intervention.

In fact, it had existed for a long time.

That thick register was too long, and on every few pages, there appeared a name written entirely in red ink, marking the new “Lady in Red.”

This indicated that the suppression of the “Lady in Red” had a time limit; although she was the strongest vengeful spirit artificially created, her power was not inexhaustible. Thus, after a period, those who voluntarily entered the cycle to sacrifice themselves would be replaced in batches.

Moreover, the internal environment of the “Changsheng Building” also proved this point.

Its layout, though appearing old and simple, was indeed a product of modern craftsmanship, far from ancient architecture left behind.

In other words, among humans, there indeed existed an unbroken lineage, even capable of creating the existence of the “Changsheng Building”, to bury and seal the vengeful spirits that overflowed from the depths of the world.

However, the architectural style of the Changsheng Building was a product of at least several decades ago, which meant that these people had not appeared for a long time. Where had they gone?

Were they still alive now? Did they know of the nightmare’s existence?

What was the true purpose of the dream demon? When did it appear, and why did it pull the anchors into it, forcing them to experience one deadly scene after another? What exactly were the audiences?

Wen Jianyan took a deep breath, raised his hand, and rubbed his face hard, as if trying to wipe away the heavy expression on it.

Many things seemed to gradually become clear, but as he deepened his understanding, more and more mysteries appeared, each one unanswerable by him at present.

There were only three minutes left until the instance’s time limit expired.

Just then, a sound of footsteps from behind pulled Wen Jianyan back from his deep thoughts.

He paused slightly and turned his head towards the direction of the sound.

It was An Xin.

Wen Jianyan raised his eyebrows in surprise, seemingly not expecting it to be him: “What’s up?”

“…”

An Xin looked at the youth in front of him, who bore a three or four-point resemblance to “Wen Wen,” but whose aura and demeanor were worlds apart. His heart began to race again. No matter how he looked at it, the other person was definitely not the one he had feelings for!

An Xin immediately felt a bit regretful; he didn’t know why he had been compelled by Zhang Yu’s urging to actually come up and strike up a conversation… he clearly didn’t like men!

“Um…”

Wen Jianyan observed him and let out a single, puzzled sound.

The contrast between the silver-white hair and the crimson celebratory clothing was striking; even though his face was filled with masculine, cold lines, it was still incredibly charming, even carrying a complex and captivating quality. The amber eyes were calm and beautiful, and under the gaze of those eyes, anyone would feel inexplicably nervous.

Wait, it seemed that wasn’t entirely unacceptable.

“After we exit the instance, would you like to have a meal together or something?”

An Xin racked his brain and said awkwardly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately regretted it.

In the past, when he struck up conversations with girls, he was eloquent and smooth-tongued; why had he suddenly become so clumsy this time!

After hearing An Xin’s words, Wen Jianyan subtly glanced behind him.

Qi Qian and a few others stood not far away, seemingly watching the situation here.

Wen Jianyan was adept at gauging people’s hearts and was quite knowledgeable about social matters; he quickly understood the deeper reason for An Xin’s attempt to strike up a conversation—this was a goodwill gesture.

An Xin’s approach was merely an excuse; in fact, it was the Dark Fire team, or rather Qi Qian’s faction, trying to establish a deeper cooperation and connection with him outside the instance, beyond the transaction. Of course, An Xin himself might not have many thoughts, but the other members of his team were sharp as knives—especially Zhang Yu.

Even when the instance had just started, Wen Jianyan had sensed the probing gazes cast toward him multiple times.

That guy…

Perhaps among the entire Dark Fire team, he was the only one who hadn’t been deceived by his seemingly weak appearance.

Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes.

Clearly, the fact that he was the newly promoted No. 034 had already been realized by those few people to a certain extent. They seemed to be pushing An Xin to come over and invite him out, but in reality, they were using this as an opportunity to indirectly test him.

Taking this as a lead, they subtly expressed the information they already knew and hoped to seek further contact.

Moreover, this contact would likely be at a deeper level, needing to avoid the “Nightmare.”

However, such schemes were harmless to Wen Jianyan; he even found them quite admirable.

Since his appearance had already been exposed, it was understandable that the Dark Fire team noticed his guild leader identity—after all, besides him, the rising star, no one would be willing to spend so many points to use an appearance after entering the instance.

And besides…

Wen Jianyan was already quite satisfied with this collaboration; if he wanted to continue opposing the Oracle, the support from Dark Fire, or rather, the support from the higher-ups within Dark Fire, was indispensable to him.

Wen Jianyan looked at An Xin in front of him.

The other person looked awkward and restless, clearly completely unaware of the indirect signals expressed through him by his teammates; it was truly pitifully naive.

He suddenly smiled: “Of course, I look forward to it.”

“Really?” An Xin’s eyes lit up.

“Yes,” Wen Jianyan nodded. “After we exit the instance, just contact No. 034 directly on the leaderboard. I will give you my personal contact information.”

An Xin was taken aback: “Wait, are you…”

Wen Jianyan smiled: “Yes.”

An Xin was instantly shocked.

He didn’t expect that the girl he had feelings for in the instance was not only not a girl but also the strongest rookie who had gained fame throughout the Nightmare, skyrocketing from a newbie to among the top fifty on the leaderboard, shamelessly poaching members from guilds—it was simply unparalleled.

Wen Jianyan curled his lips and waved at him: “See you outside the instance.”

An Xin nodded and turned around in a daze as he left.

Wen Jianyan’s expression was indifferent as he glanced at the other’s departing figure. He naturally noticed An Xin’s small feelings, but he completely paid no attention to them. After all, once the message was delivered, even without his intervention, his teammates would likely take the initiative to crush those superficial thoughts.

That kind of thing… in the eyes of ambitious people like them, held no significance.

Wen Jianyan withdrew his gaze.

In the next second, his pupils constricted slightly as a strong burning sensation rose from his hipbone, causing a muffled groan to escape from his throat.

Fine strands of darkness solidified into a tangible form, winding like a snake around his fingers, coldly stroking the sensitive, delicate skin between them, slowly tightening, making the hairs on his body stand on end.

Invisible tentacles slithered up his wrist, gliding over his wrist bone, forearm, shoulder…

A cold, low voice sounded right by his ear: “…Looking forward to it?”

“Looking forward to what?”

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