WTNL Chapter 461

Yuying University
Chapter 461: Falshood and Truth

“Ahem,”

Wen Jianyan cleared his throat, forcibly changing the subject. “Anyway, the good news is, at least we don’t have to face those chefs anymore, right?”

Hugo: “…”

In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[Hahahahahahahahaha!]
[Wen Jianyan, you really f*cking know how to piss people off!]

Hugo: “So, what’s the situation now?”

Wen Jianyan looked up at the cafeteria before them and fell into thought.

Because they had found both eyeballs, they had now entered a certain scene within the instance. Based on his previous experience entering similar scenes, they could only leave after completing a certain task or when the scene’s countdown ended.

But…

Wen Jianyan recalled the system prompt from just now:

[Congratulations, Anchor, for triggering scene: ???]

[Scene countdown: ???]

The scene he triggered this time was special. Not only was it unnamed, unlike the previous chase scenes, but it also didn’t have a countdown. This meant they couldn’t automatically leave when the time was up; they had to complete that unknown “task.”

But how could a person complete a task they knew nothing about?

Whatever.

Wen Jianyan gritted his teeth. “Let’s go in first and see.”

If he remembered correctly, he was currently in a scene from the movie A Day in the Life of Wang Ni. If the condition for completing this mysterious scene was related to the Film Appreciation course, then the crisis would most likely appear the moment they saw the movie’s protagonist, Wang Ni.

But… danger was what they were looking for.

Danger meant opportunity, and it also represented the answer.

Hugo nodded.

The two quickly walked into the cafeteria.

It seemed to be mealtime. The cafeteria was packed and noisy. The clamor washed over them, carrying a long-lost, human warmth that was almost jarring.

Wen Jianyan quickly came back to his senses.

“Come on, this way.”

Although he hadn’t followed Orange Candy and the others when he was in the cafeteria before, Wen Jianyan had still confirmed Wang Ni’s location during the later “find the badge” operation.

—After all, he had been attacked by the weasel near where Wang Ni was, so the impression was naturally deep.

Sure enough, at the table from his memory, Wen Jianyan saw a familiar figure.

A girl was sitting there alone, her head down as she shoveled food into her mouth.

“Is she the one you’re looking for?” Hugo asked.

Wen Jianyan: “Yes.”

He kept his eyes fixed on Wang Ni while speaking to Hugo in a low voice, “Don’t move yet. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

He wasn’t sure of his situation yet. It would be reckless to approach the person who was likely the core figure right now. It was better to wait.

Under their watch, Wang Ni finished the food in her bowl.

Throughout the entire process, nothing happened.

Then, she stood up, placed the empty bowl in the recycling area, and walked out of the cafeteria with her schoolbag.

“…?”

Wen Jianyan was stunned for two seconds.

Huh?

Nothing happened?

He had anticipated many possibilities, but this was not one of them.

Just as Wang Ni was about to walk out of the cafeteria, Wen Jianyan hurriedly chased after her. “Classmate, wait a minute—”

The moment he rushed in front of Wang Ni, the words caught in Wen Jianyan’s throat.

The girl before him… had no face.

She raised her head, “looking” at Wen Jianyan with a completely blank face, devoid of any features. The other people around them didn’t seem to notice anything unusual, moving around them naturally.

“I think…”

As soon as Wen Jianyan opened his mouth, a strange sensation washed over him. Startled, he quickly looked down.

As if erased by an invisible eraser, his fingertips were turning blank, seemingly disappearing bit by bit.

“?!”

Wen Jianyan’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly shut his mouth.

“Classmate, is there anything else?”

Wang Ni spoke.

Although she had no facial features, a calm, normal voice emerged from beneath her blank skin. “Please let me pass. I’m in a hurry.”

“…”

Wen Jianyan twitched the corner of his mouth into a helpless smile.

He took a step to the side, making way, and watched as Wang Ni brushed past him.

Hugo: “Nothing?”

Wen Jianyan looked down at his fingertips.

After Wang Ni left, the disappearing parts of his body began to gradually return to normal.

He opened and closed his hand, trying to feel his five fingers, then shook his head. “Unfortunately, no.”

In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[Hot damn, Nightmare’s got some moves with this scene. Directly banning the anchor’s most important skill, not letting him talk to NPCs.]
[Hahahahahahahaha I’m dying, serves you right for trying to bullshit your way through, you got what was coming to you!]

“What’s next?” Hugo asked.

“What else can we do?” Wen Jianyan gritted his teeth. “Follow her, of course!”

Although he couldn’t get many clues from Wang Ni for the time being, he could tell from the strangeness of her face that she was definitely a key character. The opportunity for them to clear the stage and leave was very likely connected to her.

The two followed Wang Ni out of the cafeteria.

Unlike in the Film Appreciation class, even though they left the cafeteria, the scene didn’t change or transition as it had in his memory. It continued on, almost as if they were walking on a real campus.

Not far ahead, Wang Ni walked straight forward.

They maintained a distance from her back, not too close and not too far.

“By the way,” Wen Jianyan seemed to remember something and turned to Hugo. “Speaking of which, didn’t you have Film Appreciation this morning? Which movie did you choose?”

Hugo: “The one called First Love.”

Wen Jianyan: “I didn’t know you had such a girlish heart—”

Under Hugo’s cold stare, he coughed lightly and cut himself off. “Anyway, did you find anything?”

“Yes, but also no.”

Hugo looked away, his gaze fixed ahead.

He reached for a cigarette but forced himself to stop.

“The movie has three acts. The first act is a couple being lovey-dovey. The second act is the two of them on a date at school. In the third act, they both die.”

Wen Jianyan: “…”

What a simple and crude movie.

What a sloppy plot.

Wen Jianyan: “Do you know the names of the couple?”

Hugo: “I do.”

“Chu Chu and Richard?” Wen Jianyan asked.

This was a conclusion he had drawn from his previous movie experience. In the lecture hall, Chu Chu had been sitting next to Richard. She was also the one who asked Wen Jianyan to bring back her water bottle. More importantly… based on their previous conversations, Wen Jianyan could say with certainty that the relationship between them was far more than just ordinary friendship. They were at least on the verge of being lovers.

But to his surprise, Hugo glanced at him.

“No.”

Wen Jianyan was taken aback. He heard the other continue, “It’s Wang Ni and Richard.”

This answer was somewhat unexpected for Wen Jianyan.

He lowered his eyes, his brow furrowed slightly.

Wait, so Wang Ni and Richard were the couple? Then what was Chu Chu’s role in all this?

Could it be that this was another tragic case caused by a bloody love triangle?

Wen Jianyan felt like he was vaguely grasping at the key. The truth seemed to be right in front of him, but it was shrouded in a layer of fog, making it impossible to see clearly.

While the two were talking, Wang Ni had already reached her destination.

Wen Jianyan looked up, following her gaze to the building in front of her—a gray building of medium height. The main door was open, and the three large characters for “Library” hung over the entrance, even though it was daytime.

Wang Ni strode straight into the library.

Wen Jianyan and Hugo exchanged a look and followed closely.

The library was large, but its layout was not complicated. It was very quiet inside, with college students sitting scattered at the tables, studying. The rustling sound of pages turning rose and fell.

Wang Ni went to the reading room, sat down at one of the tables, and began to read quietly.

Time passed, minute by minute.

In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[No way… how come nothing’s happening?]
[I don’t know! This looks way too normal. If it weren’t for the fact that the NPC’s face is still blank, I’d suspect this was the real world outside the instance.]
[So what exactly is the task for this scene? I don’t get it?]
[No idea!]

After about an hour, Wang Ni stood up, returned the book in her hand to the shelf, then picked up her bag and turned to leave.

Wen Jianyan: “You follow her. I’ll be right there.”

Hugo said nothing and got up to follow.

As the two left, Wen Jianyan quickly walked to where Wang Ni had just been, found the few books she had just checked out, and pulled them from the shelf.

Surprisingly, they weren’t professional books related to her studies, nor were they literary novels for leisure reading, but…

School publications?

And they were very old school publications.

Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes and memorized the date on the publication—

1990-09-01.

Number: 64728

He then opened the publication.

Unfortunately, like all the other books in this instance, the text inside this publication was still completely unreadable gibberish.

Having found nothing, Wen Jianyan had no choice but to put the publication back in its place.

Hugo and Wang Ni had already disappeared.

Wen Jianyan lowered his head, took out his phone, and sent a message to Hugo. But, perhaps due to the special nature of this scene, the message was like a stone sinking into the sea, with no response at all.

In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[Oh ho, it’s over, he lost them!]
[Haha, that’s what you get for focusing on finding clues instead of following!]
[Tsk tsk, looks like he can only rely on the clues now.]

But unexpectedly, Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes in thought for a few seconds, then quickly looked up and strode out of the library.

In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[?]
[He’s walking so fast? Does he know where Wang Ni is?]
[No way…]

Wen Jianyan actually did know.

Previously, in the movie, he had talked with the other anchors who had also chosen A Day in the Life of Wang Ni and they had exchanged information.

When they first entered the movie, the first scene those anchors entered was the library, and the second scene they entered was…

The school’s swimming pool.

It was in the school’s swimming pool that they found “Wang Ni’s” body.

Wen Jianyan jogged all the way, rushing to get to the gymnasium near the school’s sports field.

Perhaps due to the time of day, there were few students around. The area was deserted, and the silence was unsettling.

Wen Jianyan walked up and tentatively pushed the door—it was unlocked.

He pushed the door open and walked in.

As soon as he entered, Wen Jianyan saw Hugo’s familiar figure.

He let out a small sigh of relief.

It seemed his previous guess was correct; the swimming pool was where he needed to be.

Wen Jianyan walked towards Hugo and lowered his voice, “Where’s Wang Ni?”

Hugo tilted his chin towards the changing room not far away.

“Inside.”

Wen Jianyan was taken aback. “You didn’t follow her in?”

He asked it so naturally that it was startling.

Hugo: “…”

In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[Hahaha, the cool guy is speechless.]
[Hahahaha, anchor, don’t corrupt Hugo!!!]

While the two were talking, Wang Ni had already changed into her swimsuit and walked out of the changing room.

Wen Jianyan automatically shut his mouth.

The faceless girl slowly walked to the edge of the pool, dipped her foot in to test the water temperature, and then slowly got in.

The swimming pool was very quiet. Only the gentle lapping of the water could be heard.

Although they were far away, Wen Jianyan could still see that she wasn’t swimming. Instead, she was lying on her back on the water’s surface, her arms outstretched, her posture calm, eerie, and motionless.

This made Wen Jianyan unable to control his flashback to the scene he had encountered in the swimming pool before.

Black water rose from the depths of the pool, and countless pale, cold corpses surfaced, reaching out to him—

He couldn’t help but shiver.

Just then, the sound of urgent footsteps came from behind him.

Startled, Wen Jianyan took a sharp step back.

Then, the door to the swimming pool was pushed open from the outside.

A male student, also without facial features, ran in from outside—although he had no distinguishing features, Wen Jianyan just knew that this student who rushed in must be the protagonist of the other movie:

Richard.

Richard walked quickly towards the pool.

Wen Jianyan’s heart rose slightly in his chest.

He remembered the information Su Cheng and the others had told him.

—When he and Orange Candy went into the movie A Day in the Life of Wang Ni during the second class, Su Cheng and the others had stayed in Brave Richard. They had personally witnessed, in the final scene of the movie, Richard killing the woman in the pool with his own hands.

Which meant…

Were they now about to witness a murder between lovers?

Not far away, “Richard” had reached the edge of the pool, and “Wang Ni,” who had been floating on the water, seemed to see him too.

With the sound of splashing water, Wang Ni slowly swam towards the edge of the pool.

Richard squatted down, reached out his hands, and extended them towards Wang Ni.

Wen Jianyan involuntarily held his breath.

The boy’s hands cupped the girl’s wet cheeks, and then, he leaned down—

The two kissed gently.

“…”

Wen Jianyan was stunned.

This development… he really hadn’t expected it.

Not far away, the young couple kissed silently, their movements frozen as if in a still frame, holding each other motionlessly.

Without any warning, everything went black.

Boundless darkness swarmed in, engulfing their figures. In the blink of an eye, the place turned into an endless, dark space, with only Hugo and Wen Jianyan left.

The system’s mechanical voice sounded in his ear:

“You have used one search opportunity.”

“Remaining opportunities: 2.”

“Wait, remaining opportunities? You—” Wen Jianyan hurriedly started to speak, but before he could finish, the surrounding darkness once again receded rapidly. Amidst the bizarre and motley shifting of shadows, he realized his location had changed once again.

And this time, they were standing at the entrance of the lecture hall building.

Beside them was the familiar lawn. College students walked in groups of two and three, laughing and talking as they headed into the lecture hall.

The sunlight was bright and glaring, but when it fell on their bodies, it did nothing to dispel the chill.

Hugo narrowed his eyes slightly. “What in the world…”

“I think I understand a little now,” Wen Jianyan suddenly interrupted before Hugo could finish.

Hugo turned to look at him.

Wen Jianyan looked up, his light-colored eyes narrowed, staring thoughtfully at the building before them.

“What I’m experiencing now should be the main plots of the two movies,” Wen Jianyan said slowly. “However, the content of these two movies should all be [fake].”

All the real content had been replaced by completely false images.

So, in the cafeteria, Wang Ni had finished her meal smoothly and normally, then went to the library, looked up information peacefully, and finally came to the swimming pool to kiss her boyfriend by the poolside.

And all of this seemingly “normal” activity was, in fact, completely false.

“What Nightmare wants me to do now is to ‘find’ something.” Wen Jianyan turned to Hugo, opened his palm, and showed him the two “items” he had found—the two grayish-white eyeballs that emitted a rank, rotting smell.

“I found a pair of eyeballs, which is why this scene was triggered. So I guess the real task of the instance is probably for me to find the ‘truth’.”

Hugo stared at him fixedly, saying nothing.

“I’ve already used up one chance. I have two left.” Wen Jianyan closed his hand, carefully putting the two eyeballs away again, and continued, “We’d better cherish these two chances.”

Nightmare hadn’t told them what would happen if they used up all three chances.

But…

Based on Wen Jianyan’s previous experience with scenes in the instance—most of which were chase scenes—the consequences of not completing the task could be very severe.

“Let’s go.” Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and took the first step.

The two walked into the lecture hall.

Inside, everything was exactly as it had been the last time Wen Jianyan was there: noisy students, seats filled to the brim, and the old professor on the podium who hadn’t yet started his lecture.

Wen Jianyan spotted Richard’s seat with a single glance.

He was lying motionless on his desk, probably asleep.

Wen Jianyan beckoned to Hugo, and the two sat in relatively front-row seats.

The last time he entered the movie, his spawn point was too far back, making it almost impossible to see what was happening in front. This time, he finally had a chance—even if the images were fake, they might still have their uses.

The class began.

The noisy classroom quieted down, and the old professor’s slow, hypnotic voice began to sound.

However, perhaps due to the interference of the instance’s power, the content of his lecture was illogical, barely forming coherent sentences. But Wen Jianyan’s focus wasn’t on the lecture content anyway.

He turned slightly to the side, observing Richard behind him out of the corner of his eye.

Richard remained motionless on the desk, as if fast asleep. He didn’t raise his head once, either before or after the class started. If it weren’t for his shoulders rising and falling with his breathing, one might even suspect he was dead.

…Wait a minute.

Wen Jianyan’s gaze fell on the empty seat next to Richard, and he paused slightly.

In his memory, this was supposed to be Chu Chu’s seat.

But this time, Chu Chu was gone?

Although he knew the movie he was in was entirely fake, Wen Jianyan hadn’t expected a protagonist to just disappear—

Or was it…

Wen Jianyan seemed to think of something and froze for a moment.

The class ended quickly.

Throughout the entire class, Richard never once raised his head, but remained fast asleep. Naturally, the previous incident of him “suddenly standing up and rushing out of the classroom to vomit” did not happen.

The old professor stopped lecturing and began to tidy the books on the podium. The students also got up and started packing their things, preparing to leave the classroom.

Finally, Richard stirred and slowly sat up from the desk.

Wen Jianyan noticed that he still had no face.

“Richard” slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and walked out of the classroom.

Wen Jianyan and Hugo immediately followed.

With the crowd, they once again arrived outside the classroom.

Not far away, a similarly faceless Wang Ni was waiting. Richard walked over, and the two seemed to exchange a few quiet words before walking away side by side.

What happened next was almost identical to the last time.

After a brief meeting, Richard and Wang Ni separated again. This time, Hugo followed Wang Ni, while Wen Jianyan followed Richard—Richard’s fake life was just as dull and boring as Wang Ni’s.

He also went to the library, but he didn’t check out the school publications. Instead, he browsed in another section.

Then, he left the library and met Wang Ni at the swimming pool.

They kissed, and separated.

However, this time, the plot didn’t end at that moment, shrouded in darkness, but continued to develop.

Since in reality, Wang Ni should have been dead by this time, her body stuffed into a locker in the changing room in a grotesquely twisted state, her subsequent itinerary had to be entirely fake. There was no point in following her any further.

So, Wen Jianyan and Hugo followed Richard as he left the swimming pool.

They went all the way back to the male dormitory.

Although they weren’t residents, this time, Wen Jianyan and Hugo were not stopped by the dorm matron. She turned a blind eye and let them in, allowing them to smoothly follow Richard up to the fifth floor.

Richard went to the washroom to clean up.

He turned on the faucet, and clean water gushed onto the tiles before being quickly turned off—but in reality, the water had flowed incessantly, and Richard had gouged out his own eyes, his stomach bloated with water, lying motionless in a pool of blood.

The entire plot was shrouded in a layer of false serenity.

“This should be about it,” Wen Jianyan said, taking a deep breath.

Next, Richard was supposed to die.

And this was the final scene of the movie Brave Richard.

And just then—

Richard, who was bending over to wash his face, suddenly straightened up.

In the dirty, water-stained mirror, a face was suddenly reflected.

A horrifying face.

He “stared” at Wen Jianyan with his empty, bloody eye sockets, his mouth slowly stretching into a wide grin. In a grotesque tone, he asked:

“Did you find me?”

“!!!”

In an instant, a terrifying chill shot up Wen Jianyan’s spine. The hair on his body stood on end, and he almost screamed out loud.

However, in the next second, the familiar darkness rushed in from all directions, fiercely devouring everything.

In his ear, the system’s mechanical voice sounded once again:

“You have used two search opportunities.”

“Remaining opportunities: 1.”

The system’s voice was devoid of any emotion, echoing in the darkness.

“You may freely choose a time point to return to the plot. Please use your last chance wisely.”

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