(10/10)
Xingwang Hotel
Chapter 288: Welcome Aboard
At the center of the live broadcast square, a gigantic screen hung high above.
With the challenge match for the top ten officially commencing, the challenger aiming for the original position of 008 first appeared on the screen.
“Integrity First” live broadcast room, Wen Jianyan.
As the challenger was revealed, some highlights from his past broadcasts were excerpted and played on the massive screen that loomed over the entire broadcasting square.
In an instant, a frenzy of discussion erupted throughout the live broadcast room.
Some were surprised, some excited, and others lamenting.
[I can’t believe it’s him!]
[Ugh, no! Not Wen Jianyan! I just found this treasure of a new anchor; he can’t just disappear like this!]
[Oh my, isn’t this the strongest newcomer who was really popular not long ago? I remember watching his earlier broadcasts; it hasn’t been long since then, how did he qualify for the top ten already?]
[I just checked his resume; he’s so strong, every match is Platinum!]
[I’ve heard of this anchor’s name before… but I didn’t expect him to be this impressive. Wow, I definitely won’t miss this live broadcast!]
On the enormous screen, a handsome young man wore a captivating smile, his light-colored eyes filled with boundless starlight, playfully tossing a kiss to the audience. In an instant, the atmosphere of the entire square was ignited.
[!!! He’s so good-looking!]
[Damn, he really is beautiful, that look just now was totally flirty!]
[Aaaaahhh! If I had known he was this attractive, I would have watched his live broadcats ages ago!]
[Ahhhh, really, everyone come quickly! This is my treasure anchor, guaranteed to be both beautiful and strong; it’s a sure investment!]
The online viewership for “Integrity First” began to surge, quickly climbing from the middle of the broadcasting square’s leaderboard to the top spots.
However, just a few minutes in, the audience filled with enthusiasm fell into silence.
[Wait, that white-haired guy… why does he look so familiar?]
[Could it be Bai Xue? Did I see that wrong?]
[I can’t believe it! The anchor picked Bai Xue as his outside help!]
[Seriously… why him of all people?]
[…]
[It’s over.]
[Yeah, it’s really over.]
With the start of the live broadcast, betting on the outcome of “Xingwang Hotel” also began.
At the very beginning of the instance, the votes for the black side received overwhelming support.
This time, the instance was a competitive one, meaning that upon entering, all anchors would be assigned to different factions. Similar to the faction instances, the competitive instance was also divided into black and red sides.
However, unlike faction instances, this instance wouldn’t completely eliminate the losing side. Whether black or red, victory would only affect the amount of final rewards.
Wen Jianyan and his teammates belonged to the red side.
However, only Wen Jianyan’s name was marked with (Faction Unchangeable).
Because, unlike other acnhors, Wen Jianyan was participating not just in a competitive instance, but was also wagering his life in a one-for-one challenge against the original 008.
The existence of the “Secret Council” was a secret, so this challenge was also a secret to the other anchors in the instance.
If either side lost, their lives would come to an end.
That was the rule.
Identity Card
Name: Wen Jianyan (Red Side)
Age: 23
Occupation: Not yet unlocked
Related Plot: Not yet unlocked
[Initial Survival Time Allocation in Progress…]
Wen Jianyan lowered his head and opened the team interface on his phone.
Just as Chen Mo had said, Bai Xue’s name was prominently displayed.
And as an “Outside Help.”
Wen Jianyan’s gaze sharpened, and his fingers instinctively tightened around his phone.
“Wait, Bai Xue, the one ranked ninth?”
Yun Bilan next to him also opened her phone, and upon seeing the name, she froze and turned in surprise to look at the unexpected guest standing not far away.
The air fell into a dead silence.
For the vast majority of anchors, the top ten of the Nightmare leaderboard was almost legendary; they rarely appeared in any situations. With their high levels and total points, they no longer needed to frequently enter instances like other anchors. Thus, they would mostly be seen only on the leaderboard.
Although Wen Jianyan was now also among the top ten, he was an outlier, too lively and approachable for others to truly grasp the reality of it.
It wasn’t until they saw Bai Xue’s appearance that they suddenly realized their guild leader had now become a legend.
However, the atmosphere in the venue finally relaxed a bit.
After all, for the others, since the other party’s current identity was “Outside Help,” they shouldn’t be considered an enemy and might even be a plan made by Wen Jianyan without the others’ knowledge.
Yun Bilan half-jokingly said, “I didn’t expect it, Captain, you still have these connections… you didn’t tell us about it at the start; you really are something.”
Wen Jianyan didn’t answer.
He slightly squinted, his contemplative gaze resting on the boy not far away, and took a moment before responding.
Despite being the focal point of attention, Bai Xue’s face remained expressionless, his eyes cast downward, appearing indifferent and detached, as if he were in an isolated little world.
Wen Jianyan was very clear that he hadn’t invited any outside help.
After all, he had no intention of teaming up with any strangers to complete this instance, especially not with a anchor burdened by a reputation of being “cursed.”
Even if the other party might be recognized as the strongest medium in the Nightmare, Wen Jianyan wasn’t prepared to take that risk.
However, for no apparent reason, Bai Xue appeared in his team… and entered as an “Outside Help.”
This was simply too strange and unbelievable.
In just a few seconds, numerous thoughts raced through Wen Jianyan’s mind.
Among the top ten anchors, besides the top three, no one could refuse his invitation. This meant that as long as he extended an invitation, even if the other party was unwilling, they would still enter the instance.
From the basic logic of the rules and the personality the other party displayed, Wen Jianyan couldn’t find a reason for Bai Xue to actively use any means to participate in this instance.
Moreover, if Bai Xue had intended to come here from the start, there would have been no need to warn him before anything happened.
So, the only reason for Bai Xue’s appearance here must be that someone was trying to use his so-called “curse” to help or restrict his actions.
The possibility of Nightmare being involved was quite high.
After all, it wanted to use Wen Jianyan to eliminate bugs, and the fragments of Wu Zhu often hid in the deepest, most terrifying places of the instances.
In the “Changsheng Building” instance, it manipulated Wen Jianyan’s luck, guiding him step by step toward the hidden path within the painting on the third floor. Perhaps in this “Xingwang Hotel” instance, this method was no longer effective, so it utilized the rules to allow Bai Xue to join the team, forcing Wen Jianyan to take the most dangerous path with the highest death rate.
Of course…
There was also a second beneficiary.
If Wen Jianyan didn’t invite anyone, the other party wouldn’t be able to invite any of the top ten anchors as outside help either. However, if Wen Jianyan invited 009…
Then 010 could logically enter the instance as well.
010, the Gentleman, vice president of the Oracle.
This guild was quite sinister; it not only could turn the souls of prophecy-type anchors into items for easy access but could also, to some extent, operate outside the constraints of Nightmare’s rules.
Wen Jianyan hadn’t forgotten that Su Cheng had already fallen prey to the rules before entering the “Ping An Asylum” instance, which meant that the Oracle either had a way to bypass the no-fighting rule in the anchor hall or was allowed to conduct some undisclosed violations.
Wen Jianyan’s enmity with the Oracle had been brewing for quite some time.
And as the vice president of the Oracle, the Gentleman had shown immense enthusiasm toward him from the very beginning, even expressing a desire to become outside help… which was quite peculiar.
Wen Jianyan initially thought the other party might try to sabotage him in this instance. However, the Gentleman surely understood that with Wen Jianyan’s vigilance, he would never agree to his request to enter as “outside help.” Yet, he still hoped to have a “private discussion” with him.
So, there was another possibility…
The Gentleman, with some ulterior motive, indeed wanted to “cooperate” with him.
To achieve this, he had to enter the instance that Wen Jianyan and 008 were about to enter.
If that were the case, there must be some extremely critical secret hidden in the “Xingwang Hotel” instance.
So much so that even the vice president of the Oracle was willing to set aside the accumulated grievances with Wen Jianyan and employ every means necessary just to gain entry.
That’s why the Gentleman sought cooperation with 008 after Wen Jianyan rejected his invitation.
By utilizing some kind of underhanded tactics, having Bai Xue become his teammate would not only exploit the inevitable death rule of teammates but also allow 008 to bring himself into the instance—truly a win-win situation.
Wen Jianyan suddenly smiled.
He lifted his gaze to Bai Xue not far away and said, “Yes, this is my invited outside help, 009, Bai Xue.”
So what if it’s the inevitable death rule for teammates?
After all, his luck was already bad enough; he didn’t need one or two more curses.
“…”
Bai Xue paused, then for the first time, lifted his eyes to look in this direction.
Wen Jianyan wore a cheerful smile as he stepped forward and extended his hand to Bai Xue.
“Welcome aboard.”
Under the dim yellow lights of the hotel, the young man’s smile was gentle and sincere, his amber eyes sparkling and appearing harmless. However, deep within those eyes lay a trace of disdain and a cold, arrogant smile.
This so-called “certain death situation”? He had already navigated through more than once or twice.
If anyone truly wanted to trap him, they would have to put in a bit more effort.
Wen Jianyan really is so confident with himself, I love it
Thanks for the translation!