Xingwang Hotel
Chapter 368: Counterfeit
Anise?!
Why was this top-ten anchor showing up here at this moment?
And why was he alone? Where were his other teammates?
Staring at the man who appeared without warning, the members of the Black Faction couldn’t help but flinch. They exchanged glances, seeing the doubt and confusion in each other’s eyes.
Inside the dark, narrow room, all was silent for a while.
The team leader stepped forward nervously and cautiously opened his mouth:
“Mr. Anise, why are you…”
From within the shadows, Anise turned his head, and those snake-like eyes fixed on him. The eerie gaze made the man’s heart skip a beat, and the words that were about to leave his lips got stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down.
Anise’s gaze shifted between the team in front of him and the double portrait behind them.
“You’re planning to go back?”
He asked.
Under the chilling gaze, the captain instinctively shrank back and quickly nodded. “Y-Yes.”
Anise looked over the group again, seeming to frown slightly, then nodded expressionlessly. “Go ahead.”
With that, he raised a hand, placed the mask back onto his face, and turned to leave first.
The team members were momentarily stunned. The captain was the first to react, turning to wave his teammates over. “What are you standing around for? Move it!”
Only then did the others snap back to their senses, hastily turning to extract the canvas from the frame, not daring to delay even a second.
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room barrage:
[……]
[……]
[Damn, even though it’s not the first time I’ve seen the anchor lie, it still leaves me completely dumbfounded…]
[Aaaaah I’m gonna explode! Couldn’t that team be more cautious?! Idiots! At least think a little! How could Anise possibly show up alone in the town at this time?!]
[Don’t act all smug now—you’ve got God’s perspective. In a normal situation, most people would’ve already been led by the nose.]
Wen Jianyan leaned against the door, watching the busy Black Faction through the narrow slits in his mask.
The corners of his lips curled slightly.
Success.
The third day was approaching fast. Rather than wait for the Black Faction to leave and then search for a new oil painting to open the path back to the hotel…
Why not make use of existing resources?
So Wen Jianyan had, at the fastest speed, spent a large amount of points to redeem the appearance usage rights within the instance, pinched together a model of Anise’s appearance, activated it, and put it on.
Although “Gentleman” was also a top-ten anchor, and Wen Jianyan had met him more often—meaning he was more familiar with his gestures and speech patterns—he didn’t choose to copy the Gentleman’s face. Instead, he chose the one he was less familiar with: Anise.
You see, the Gentleman was one of the vice presidents of the Oracle Guild. He handled external affairs and most social engagements. Although he ranked high on the leaderboards, his conduct was smooth and diplomatic, a master of networking.
But Anise was different.
He was eccentric and reclusive. Because of his unique talent, he gave off a ghostly, oppressive aura. Even teammates couldn’t help but fear him.
Such an appearance—so long as Wen Jianyan was forceful enough in his first impression, and created a pressure-heavy atmosphere—could override everyone’s instincts. Even if it didn’t make complete logical sense, people would subconsciously fill in the gaps and make it all feel reasonable.
Although Wen Jianyan couldn’t perfectly recreate Anise’s face from memory, the others clearly weren’t familiar with him either. Combined with the dim lighting, as long as he nailed a few key features and put the mask back on after gaining their trust, no one would notice any flaws.
Wen Jianyan folded his arms and stood in the shadows near the door, exuding the full air of a top-tier elite.
Beside him, the Black Faction crept around cautiously, treading on eggshells. Even when walking past him, they instinctively veered to the side, as if afraid of incurring his wrath.
Soon, everything was ready.
The team captain tiptoed over and said nervously, “Mr. Anise, we’re about ready. We were wondering if you…”
Wen Jianyan didn’t nod. He simply cast a chilling glance from beneath the shadow of his mask.
The captain shuddered and turned to yell at his teammates:
“Go, go, go! Move faster!”
Only when the doorway to the hotel reappeared did “Anise” finally straighten up and step slowly into the rain.
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room barrage:
[Bro, the anchor is an absolute master at pretending to be someone important!]
[LMAO, he’s keeping up that high-tier aura so well—no wonder no one dared question him!]
Meanwhile, in the Black Faction’s livestream chat, the viewers were raging.
[AAAAHHHH YOU IDIOTS! That guy’s not even on your side!!!]
[I swear to god, how can you be fooled by such a lousy disguise? Did someone smear poop on your brains?!]
[That damn anchor has no guts, only knows how to cheat and manipulate! And he’s ranked top ten? Must’ve coasted there on luck!]
However, no matter how furious they were, all the relevant messages exposing the opposing team’s anchor were automatically filtered from the chat, due to the anti-spoiler policy.
So they could only scream in frustration in their own isolated viewer zone—cursing Wen Jianyan’s underhanded tactics and their own anchor’s blind stupidity.
But whether the audience was laughing or raging, the operation itself went off without a hitch.
The path from the building to the hotel wasn’t long, but the difficulty level was far higher than on the first day.
Not just because the rain was heavier now, but because the moment they got the painting, the blurry shadows nearby started gathering in their direction.
A chilling, ghostly aura followed them closely.
The sky overhead was pitch-black, the sound of heavy rain drowned out any approaching footsteps.
The shadows wandered, blocking their vision.
Even though they had mentally prepared themselves, being surrounded by a dense horde of ghosts—so thick it was nearly impenetrable—along with attacks from shadowy figures in the water, pushed the team to their limits.
Then, without warning, the ghosts that had been slowly closing in suddenly began to disperse. It was as if they were being manipulated… or perhaps distracted by some unseen presence. Gradually, they drifted off into the distance. Even the pale hands rising from the water below had lessened, lightening the pressure instantly.
“……?”
Everyone was stunned.
Not far off, “Anise” stood still. A cold voice came from beneath the mask:
“Still not moving?”
Only then did the group snap out of it. Scrambling on all fours from the muddy ground, they rushed through the open door, carrying the double portrait.
In the Black Faction’s live broadcast room barrage:
[……]
[???]
[Wait, hold up—wasn’t that fake Anise? How’s he able to control ghosts too? That makes no sense…]
[I’m confused too. It just feels like… something’s not right.]
[Wait here, I’ll check the stream next door.]
In the playback of the Integrity First live broadcast, in the cold rain, on the moss-covered stone path away from the road, sat an old-fashioned tape recorder. A strange voice came from it—
“Over here.”
“Over here.”
It turned out that because Wen Jianyan was a Red Fcation member and technically not part of the squad, the Black Fcation members didn’t have the guts to make “Anise” carry the painting. As a result, Wen Jianyan—who had been judged by the instance as an unrelated outsider—hadn’t been attacked the entire time.
Soon, Wen Jianyan realized that with the Black Faction’s strength, they likely wouldn’t survive getting out. So while everyone was completely focused on the ghost horde, he placed the tape recorder—a prop he’d gotten from the Changsheng Building—far off and activated it.
While it played, it could attract all nearby supernatural forces, easing the pressure of the team battle.
In the Black Faction’s live broadcast room barrage:
[……]
[Alright, I guess the guy’s not totally useless.]
[Even if it were the real Anise, I doubt he’d use his abilities to save people.]
[Huh? I like him less now, actually. Isn’t he too soft-hearted? He should’ve just slipped into the hotel during the chaos. Did he forget he’s from an enemy faction?]
Soon, after Wen Jianyan intervened, the group finally dashed into the hotel.
Everyone was soaked through, faces pale and still shaken.
But regardless, once inside the hotel, at least the crisis was temporarily averted.
They exited the room that had been taken over by the new “guest” and gathered in the hallway.
Wen Jianyan looked up and stared at the hotel in front of him, secretly alarmed.
Compared to when he’d left last time, this place had changed completely.
Cracks of varying sizes spread across the walls and ceiling, with water oozing out. The wallpaper and carpet were warped and stained with irregular, dirty dark patches. The overhead lights hung askew, emitting unstable buzzing. The hallway felt increasingly dim.
The air was extremely humid—almost as much as the rainy town outside.
Just as Wen Jianyan was taking in the eerie changes, the Black Faction’s captain spoke up beside him:
“M-Mr. Anise…”
Wen Jianyan turned to look.
The other man wore a grateful expression. “Thank you just now… If it weren’t for you, we probably would’ve…”
“It was nothing.”
Wen Jianyan stayed in character, coldly shaking his head.
After speaking, he turned around and began walking in the opposite direction.
He didn’t intend to chat more with this group—or stick with them for long. In the end, he’d just used them as a vehicle to get back into the hotel. Now that his goal was achieved, best to part ways.
However, Wen Jianyan had only taken a few steps when a flurry of footsteps echoed ahead.
“?!”
He instinctively paused.
Barely a second later, a familiar figure appeared at the end of the hallway.
Long insect-like limbs, a cold aura, slightly bulging eyes.
He rotated his wrist, blood oozing from his palm, face filled with gloom.
Anise was in a very bad mood.
As time passed, the Xingwang Hotel had begun to shift. The original four-story structure had collapsed into two after the second blackout, greatly increasing the chances of direct confrontation.
In order to win, he had deliberately reduced the number of “official staff” on his team. But unexpectedly, the Red Team went in the opposite direction: not only allying with every official staff member, but even recruiting a bunch of useless trash who didn’t even qualify as staff, trying to go head-to-head.
That bunch of losers wasn’t much of a threat—even united—but there were still a few tricky characters on the other side.
Especially that crazy bitch…
Anise glanced down at his bleeding palm.
His face darkened further.
That lunatic was reckless and unrestrained with her talent use. People like her were usually the first to die in a nightmare. She wouldn’t last much longer.
However…
He flexed his hand. The skin was torn open, showing no signs of healing. An eerie green hue spread from the wound, and within it, thorn-like growths writhed under the skin.
Fu-ck.
Anise cursed silently.
What kind of talent was this? Even system props couldn’t heal the wounds it caused. His entire arm was going numb.
He should’ve killed that bitch back in the frame shop. Keeping her alive only brought him trouble.
Especially now, in the hotel—unlike the ghost town—ghosts were fewer, and when the lights were on, unless someone opened a door on purpose, the “guests” were restrained by some kind of invisible rule. In this environment, his talent was greatly restricted, making it hard to unleash his full power.
During a skirmish between teams, he and his teammates had gotten separated in the ever-changing hotel corridors.
Anise took a deep breath, suppressing his growing murderous urge. He pulled out his phone, intending to message his teammates.
Just then, footsteps echoed from ahead.
Anise froze and looked up.
And locked eyes with a masked figure with a body nearly identical to his own.
“……”
The hallway fell into a strange silence.
Integrity First’s and the Black Faction’s live broadcasts both exploded:
[FUCK!!]
[WHAT THE HELL!!]
[HOLY SHIT I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!!! Who could’ve predicted this?!]
[HAHAHAHA the imposter met the real deal! This is insane, absolutely insane!]
At that moment, someone in the Black Faction gasped sharply behind him: “Wait a sec, that one is—”
“That face…”
The Black Faction’s captain quickly composed himself.
“Don’t be fooled! Ours is the real Mr. Anise—we saw him use his talent to save us from the town just now!”
Wen Jianyan’s mind spun fast. Before the other side could react, he immediately imitated Anise’s tone, using a cold and sinister voice to command:
“That’s the enemy team’s captain.”
“Seize him.”
“You heard him!” the Black Faction’s captain raised his arm and shouted hoarsely, “Quick! Catch that fake!”
Both live broadcast chats:
[……]
[……………………]
[………………Was this in your plan too, Wen Jianyan?!?!?!]
Hahaha go fool them all