Xingwang Hotel
Chapter 318: Bai Xue
Wen Jianyan’s voice was very soft and gentle, with a slight rise in tone at the end, carrying a hint of a smile. It flowed through the air like a gentle breeze, lightly brushing across the entire hall.
But to the ears of everyone present, it was no less than the sound of thunder crashing nearby, bringing a nearly terrifying, silent echo.
Under the shock of this overwhelmingly impactful news, everyone almost forgot how to respond.
… Number 08, Pinocchio?
All the anchors present were not unfamiliar with this name.
To be precise, they were too familiar with it.
This anchor’s achievements and reputation were truly astonishing, and his actions were incredibly mysterious.
He had joined Nightmare too recently. In such a short time, the majority of anchors were still struggling on the life-and-death line of beginner and intermediate instances, while he had risen unstoppable, gaining fame and soaring to new heights.
From being the most sought-after new player, fiercely contested by the three major guilds, to becoming the mysterious guild leader who claimed the rare guild’s former territory, and finally, to the only one who broke the top ten monopoly, replacing number 08 and becoming the new top ten deity.
His rapidly rising score rankings and terrifying achievements with platinum-level records…
They didn’t know how many unwritten rules he had broken in various live broadcasts, repeatedly surpassing everyone’s knowledge and imagination.
If they hadn’t witnessed his rise firsthand and seen the data summarized by some interested parties on the forum, they would have almost doubted that such a resume existed in reality.
This legendary, terrifying newcomer—until now, they had only heard of his name and never seen his true appearance.
Until now.
A dead silence fell over the air, and everyone, uncertain, turned their gaze toward the center of the hall.
In the middle of the hall stood an old red sofa. The young man lazily crossed his legs, leaning against the cushions. Against the dark red backdrop, his fair skin and handsome features stood out even more.
At first glance, one might almost think he was a face-value anchor.
He lifted his clear, almost glass-like eyes under the light, a faint, enigmatic smile playing at the corner of his lips, exuding an inexplicable, immense pressure that seemed unfathomable.
This is…
The newly ranked number 08, Pinocchio?
Is this for real?
…
Under the shock of the incredible information, Locket froze for two seconds.
In those two seconds, his mind went blank, and he almost didn’t know how to react.
Wen Jianyan tilted his head slightly, chuckling softly, his eyes narrowing, his expression inscrutable:
“Perhaps, you need some proof?”
He retracted his hand, pretending to take out an ID card.
Fortunately, the adaptability developed in the instance allowed Locket to quickly react.
He lowered his eyes, hiding the shock in his gaze, and swiftly reached out to grasp the hand that Wen Jianyan was about to withdraw: “No… no, of course not.”
A perfectly timed, eager smile appeared on Locket’s face:
“I believe that, apart from the person himself, no one would dare to impersonate this name… wouldn’t you agree?”
“Of course.”
The smile on Wen Jianyan’s lips deepened slightly.
Their hands briefly touched in the air before quickly separating.
The hall remained eerily silent.
All the anchors were fixated on Wen Jianyan and Locket, their full attention captured.
After learning Wen Jianyan’s identity, Locket’s attitude immediately took a 180-degree turn.
He sat down in the chair opposite Wen Jianyan, speaking with great humility and politeness: “According to the previous suggestion, the anchor with the highest score ranking on the red team is the captain. Based on this standard, the captain of the red team should naturally be you… to be honest, if you had revealed your identity earlier, I would have immediately stepped down without a word.”
“It’s alright.”
Wen Jianyan smiled and shook his head, “It’s not too late now.”
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[Hahaha!]
[Hahahaha no one can make an anchor angrier than this!]
[Damn, you’re ruthless!!]
Locket’s smile clearly stiffened but quickly returned to normal.
Wen Jianyan stood up from his chair.
He turned and scanned the room.
In the hall, all the anchors wore different expressions—some were astonished, some were in awe, some were skeptical… but no matter what, the previously careless and indifferent expressions had all disappeared. They now watched the young man standing at the center of the hall with caution and seriousness, waiting quietly.
Wen Jianyan’s gaze paused for a moment on Zhong Shan.
He stood near the corridor, his expression dazed and disoriented, as though he hadn’t yet recovered from the shock of the recent news.
It wasn’t until Wen Jianyan’s gaze fell on him that Zhong Shan seemed to suddenly snap out of it.
His face turned pale, his tall and sturdy body flinched slightly, revealing a terrified expression, as if he had seen a ghost and wanted to escape immediately.
Wen Jianyan silently smiled, happily shifting his gaze away.
He looked at the silent hall and casually asked: “So, I’m the new red team captain. Does anyone have any objections?”
Of course, there were none.
“Very well.”
Wen Jianyan nodded and then straightened his expression:
“Alright, now it’s time to get down to business.”
Clearly, the shockwave of the name number 08 was far more intense than that of number 32.
At Wen Jianyan’s signal, the surviving small teams briefly shared their experiences and the patterns they had summarized from them.
Most of the teams had completed the task of bringing a painting into the hotel, and fewer than half of the teams had brought in two paintings. Only a few teams discovered that some rooms already contained ghosts, and to escape, they had to enter one painting and leave through another.
Overall, no team had gathered as much information as Wen Jianyan during the two blackout periods, but there were a few teams that, with some exploration, were only one step away from the truth.
Wen Jianyan listened quietly, secretly noting down the members of these teams.
Soon, all the teams finished sharing their experiences.
Next, Wen Jianyan combined everyone’s summaries and briefly described his understanding of the instance rules so far.
The clues he provided were like thin threads, tying together the scattered pieces of information and forming a tightly connected chain.
Once again, the hall was shrouded in dead silence, with every anchor deep in thought.
Until Locket broke the silence and slowly said: “So, what you mean is… the key to victory for either the red or black team lies in the number of guests brought into each room, right?”
“Pretty much.”
Wen Jianyan shrugged, “But, bringing in too many guests will only hurt us.”
He looked at everyone:
“Now, you can check your notebooks to see how many of you have the second rule written down.”
Under Wen Jianyan’s prompt, everyone lowered their heads to check. Some found nothing, while others revealed shocked expressions.
“At all costs, fulfill the guest’s request, right?” Wen Jianyan smiled.
His gaze swept around the room, paying particular attention to the few anchor teams that had seen the second rule in their books. He then combined this with the events they had previously described and came to a conclusion—whether the second rule appeared in their books had no relation to the number of oil paintings or the number of guests in the paintings they brought into the Xingwang Hotel. So…
Based on his previous efforts, Wen Jianyan thought for a moment and slowly said his guess:
“I suspect that after killing a member of the opposing team, the guests will make demands on the anchor who brought them into the Xingwang Hotel.”
Although they had been mentally prepared, everyone still felt a chill down their spines.
In other words, there was some kind of twisted, abnormal employer-employee relationship between them and the “guests.”
They were responsible for bringing the guests into the Xingwang Hotel, while their opponents, who were also the enemies of the guests, would be eliminated by the guests. Afterward, the guests would turn to them with their so-called “requests.” Although they didn’t know yet what would happen if they didn’t fulfill the guests’ demands, they could guess that the consequences would be unimaginable.
“Anyway,” Wen Jianyan succinctly planned the next steps: “Next, you continue to bring guests in, but try to only bring in portraits with a single person.”
They had to bring in guests.
Bringing guests into the hotel would secure a room, preventing it from becoming the opposing team’s territory, thus reducing their own casualties.
However, the threat from the guests must not be too great.
Otherwise, they would die at the “fulfilling the request” stage.
“As for the teams whose books show the second rule, your immediate priority is to fulfill the guests’ requests. You can go back to the rooms you’ve been in before to search for clues. If I’m not mistaken, the clues should appear in the oil paintings in those rooms.”
After briefly assigning tasks, Wen Jianyan said:
“After the next lights-out, gather back here.”
Unknowingly, he had become the one controlling the situation.
This seemingly slender, harmless-looking handsome young man had an invisible aura and ability, using his words to drive everyone to act according to his will.
Whether the anchors present believed his identity or agreed with his decisions, they all subconsciously obeyed his commands and dispersed.
Locket and his team stood not far away, watching Wen Jianyan’s back.
…
His face darkened, completely devoid of the earlier enthusiasm.
“Captain,” one of the team members leaned in and asked with some dissatisfaction, “Why didn’t you ask him to prove it? 08 Pinocchio is too mysterious, few have actually seen his face. What if this guy is an imposter?” Locket glanced at him coldly and said, “I’m afraid he really is.”
If that person really was 08, then his actions would be equivalent to openly showing doubt on his face. For anchors of such a stature, it would be best not to harbor any ill will, especially since he didn’t know whether this person would hold a grudge.
More importantly…
Acknowledging him as 08 and having him provide proof were two different things.
Locket couldn’t obtain concrete evidence, nor could the other anchors, so there might still be room for maneuver in the future.
Soon, the anchor teams in the hall dispersed down different corridors.
Wen Jianyan also led his team down a certain path.
Locket: “Let’s go, follow me.”
Saying that, he walked toward Wen Jianyan, intending to say something to him, but just as he got close, he saw Wen Jianyan turn his head and look at the white-haired boy nearby, calling out:
“Bai Xue, you—”
In an instant, Locket felt as if struck by lightning, his face changing drastically.
He didn’t hear the rest of what Wen Jianyan said, his gaze firmly fixed on the white-haired boy.
Pale as snow, with cold, expressionless features, the boy immediately connected in his mind to the owner of that name.
009, Bai Xue. The strongest medium.
Although they had never met in person, as a senior of the Eternal Day faction, Locket had naturally heard of this name. He knew…
This seemingly powerful ally actually had the most terrifying curse: the team would inevitably be wiped out.
One of his teammates noticed the abnormality.
“Captain, what’s wrong? Didn’t you want to go greet Pinocchio?”
…
Locket’s face turned a deep shade of blue, and he slowly shook his head, his voice squeezed out through gritted teeth: “Let’s go.”
“What?”
Locket left!
Without hesitation, he turned around and led his team down one of the corridors.
Wen Jianyan stood at the entrance of the corridor, pausing for a moment, seemingly casually turning his head to look behind.
…
His gaze landed on Locket’s retreating back, and his lips subtly curved upward.
…You did it on purpose.
Bai Xue raised his pitch-black, eerie eyes and looked at Wen Jianyan, speaking in a hoarse and calm voice.
Before this, Wen Jianyan had rarely called his name in front of others. This time, however, not only did he call out, but he did so at a volume that was just loud enough for the other to hear as Locket was approaching.
Almost…
“Yes.”
Wen Jianyan nodded, unhesitatingly admitting it.
He gave a mysterious wink. “If I hadn’t done that, how would he have contacted the Black Side?”
The moment these words were spoken, everyone was stunned.
Yun Bilan and Chen Mo had their jaws dropped, turning to look at Wen Jianyan, slowly asking, “Wait, wait, Captain, what do you mean?”
Could it be… that everything he did before was to get Locket to join the Black Side? But wouldn’t that be like sending their ally straight to the enemy?
How could this happen!
The few of them stood there, their minds in turmoil.
It’s not a big deal.
Wen Jianyan’s lips curled into a harmless smile, his light-colored eyes flashing with a strange, joyful gleam.
“Anyway, we won’t be able to fulfill the 408 guest’s request after the next lights-out, but… we can’t waste this opportunity. We need to do something useful, right?”
The others stared at the curve of Wen Jianyan’s lips, instinctively falling silent and shuddering in unison.
What’s going on…
Why does it feel so wrong?
What exactly is this guy planning!
This is so fun, I love Wen Jianyan’s schemes
I am always amazed at his ability to play people! He will somehow manage to puppeteer the Black team through this “betrayal” into acting exactly how he wants …
This way they probably will also try to only bring in single person paintings.