On the other side.
In the pitch-black office, the group looked at each other.
“Um,” one of the anchors hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn’t help but speak, “That… big shot went to—”
“I’ve already answered you.”
Chen Cheng leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, not even looking up, and said lazily:
“What, are you deaf?”
This sentence choked the person speechless. The anchor who had spoken had a gloomy face, staring deadly at Chen Cheng not far away, his eyes filled with suppressed anger.
“Uh,” Suo Suo quickly came out to smooth things over, “I think, this—Sun Qi—it’s Sun Qi, right?”
He looked at the speaker.
Sun Qi was clutching his left arm, his expression gloomy, and he nodded.
“What I mean is,” Suo Suo turned back to Chen Cheng, choosing his words smoothly and cautiously, “Sun Qi just wanted to ask when that big shot would be out. After all, our current position is indeed a bit… awkward. We can’t just wait here aimlessly, right?”
The other anchors nodded one after another, clearly agreeing with Suo Suo’s words from the bottom of their hearts.
This time, Chen Cheng finally lifted his eyelids:
“How would I know when he’s coming out? He didn’t report to me.”
Suo Suo: “…”
Although he knew that this young man in front of him had thunderous methods that didn’t match his appearance and shouldn’t be offended, this guy… was really infuriating when he spoke, and he angered everyone indiscriminately.
Even Suo Suo, an old hand, felt his teeth itching.
“If you want to leave, then leave,” Chen Cheng glanced at the anchors who were having trouble suppressing their anger and sneered in a mocking tone, “As long as you think you can push open the main door on the first floor by yourselves, feel free.”
“…”
The vast office was dead silent. Everyone looked displeased but said nothing with gloomy faces.
No matter how unpleasant Chen Cheng’s words were, they couldn’t refute them.
Because he was telling the truth.
As far as they knew, the only person who could open the main door of the first-floor lobby and let them out of the administration building was Wen Jianyan.
Even if they left this place now, they couldn’t leave the first floor and could only be trapped in the administration building.
Rather than facing the club members and the Student Union who could appear at any time, it was better to temporarily stay in this safe area and wait for someone to come out.
Just as the group was frozen in place, not knowing what to do next, suddenly, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.
At once, Chen Cheng’s previously nonchalant eyes immediately became serious. He stood up, gestured for the others not to be impulsive, and then silently came to the door.
He carefully pushed the door open a crack and looked outside.
The corridor was crimson, reflecting two figures.
NPCs?
Or anchors?
They were too far away to see clearly, but even so, Chen Cheng could still feel the unusual aura on them.
After all, to be able to enter the administration building under these circumstances, and even walk brazenly in the second-floor corridor, they couldn’t be simple characters.
However, Chen Cheng was also curious.
As far as he knew, he was the only one in the entire instance who had obtained the location of the graduation thesis completion and the specific method.
In that case, how did these people find their way here?
Soon, Chen Cheng saw the two people’s faces clearly, and his eyes instantly became sharp.
Walking in front was a little girl with orange hair. She was smiling and skipping forward. Although she looked harmless, she gave off an invisible sense of pressure.
Even without making direct eye contact, Chen Cheng immediately recognized the other’s identity.
It was Orange Candy.
A ruthless character from the Nightmare top ten.
She was actually in this instance too?
Chen Cheng’s eyes darkened slightly.
Strictly speaking, Chen Cheng did not know the other party and had never met her before. But Orange Candy’s features were too conspicuous. As a core member cultivated by Evernight with all their might, it was impossible for Chen Cheng not to recognize her.
As Chen Cheng was deep in thought, the tall and short pair had already walked over. Behind him, came a low, sharp intake of breath.
Chen Cheng was startled and turned to look.
It was Sun Qi.
He had somehow crept up behind him and was looking out the door over his shoulder.
Sun Qi didn’t know what he saw, but his expression became very shaken:
“That’s…”
Chen Cheng cursed inwardly and almost immediately turned to look out the door.
Behind the orange-haired little girl, the other person had gradually walked into view.
A tall figure, a handsome face, gentle light brown pupils, a nonchalant expression—apart from the different hair color, it was none other than the anchor who had just been with them!
And it was because he saw this familiar face that Sun Qi was so shocked that he couldn’t help but make a sound.
Perhaps hearing the sound, the next second, the young man, with a smile on his lips, looked over in this direction.
Through the crack in the door, he met Chen Cheng’s gaze.
Fuck!!
Chen Cheng’s pupils constricted, and a premonition of danger roared in his mind.
However, the young man’s gaze only lingered here for a moment before quickly moving away. He leisurely walked forward two steps, bent his fingers, and knocked lightly on a door.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
The sound of knocking echoed.
“Creak.”
The door opened.
With a smile, the young man said a few words to the Student Union member in front of him. The next second, the other’s cold, dark eyes suddenly shot in this direction, firmly locking onto the door where they were.
“Fall back.”
Chen Cheng gritted his teeth, his expression gloomy as he gave the order, his face so dark it looked like water could be wrung from it.
“Prepare to engage.”
He glared fiercely at the few people behind him, his gaze lingering on Sun Qi for a few extra seconds—the other shivered under his gaze, clearly knowing he was in the wrong, and averted his eyes uneasily.
Chen Cheng’s expression was cold as he withdrew his gaze.
More of a hindrance than a help.
I should have dealt with these stupid hindrances behind me first!
Watching the Student Union members pour out, the expressions of “Wen Jianyan” and “Orange Candy” did not change. They turned around, a hidden smile on their faces. Without talking, they continued to walk forward.
And in front of them was the stairwell leading up to the third floor.
Almost in the blink of an eye, the two figures disappeared into the red-lit corridor.
All that was left was the aura of terror and death.
In the dance studio enveloped by cold light, the countdown continued.
【Three】
The young man stood where he was, his wet hair sticking to his cheeks.
He seemed a little nervous, subconsciously reaching for his right wrist, but found nothing.
“?”
Wen Jianyan was startled.
The tentacle that should have been coiled there was gone at some point, leaving only an empty wrist.
【Two】
Wen Jianyan lowered his hand, looked up, and stared fixedly at the speaker not far away. His breathing seemed to become slightly rapid because of this.
【One】
The countdown ended.
From the old speaker, came a distorted voice:
【Your second dance assessment is about to begin, please prepare】
【Assessment content—zzz—】
Static came from the speaker again. About two seconds later, the voice sounded again.
【Free Choice】
Free choice?
Wen Jianyan was startled.
Before he could react, with a “bang,” all the lights were instantly extinguished. The brightly lit dance studio was once again plunged into a pitch-black world where he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face.
Wen Jianyan stood where he was, his breath short.
In the dead silence, he could only hear his own irregular heartbeat.
“In this round of assessment, the candidate can freely choose the dance they wish to perform next.”
The voice that came next was not from the speaker, and it was a cold voice that Wen Jianyan was exceptionally familiar with—it came from the dance teacher.
He seemed to be speaking from very close, yet also not.
“After choosing, you can report the topic to the examiner, and the assessment will officially begin.”
“You have three minutes to consider.”
Wen Jianyan collected himself: “…The grading rules are the same as before, right?”
“No, no, no.”
The dance teacher’s voice held a grotesque smile.
“The difficulty has increased, remember?”
“Ah… such a good seedling…” The voice was sometimes far, sometimes near, sometimes high, sometimes low. It was filled with extreme obsession and greed, as if it were sizing him up from top to bottom, causing goosebumps to rise on Wen Jianyan’s back:
“Perfect… truly too perfect…”
“Yes, your performance exceeded my expectations, but, I can’t risk letting you pass… yes… yes, I can’t—”
The dance teacher’s voice gradually climbed, eventually evolving into a terrifying fanaticism.
“Can’t risk it.”
“Can’t risk it.”
“Can’t risk it.”
Wen Jianyan felt a chill run up his spine, goosebumps crawling up his arms.
Suddenly, the voice that had been crazed and high-pitched became calm.
“—So, I had no choice but to send you directly in.”
Send him in?
Send him where?
Wen Jianyan was a little confused.
“Farewell forever.”
The other party quickly corrected.
“No.”
That voice became fanatical again:
“It’s eternal life.”
The next second, the familiar, long-absent burning pain rose from his hip bone. Wen Jianyan took a sharp breath, his body bending like a shrimp, his palm pressed against his side hip.
“Ugh!”
Under his palm, his lower abdomen rose and fell rapidly.
That patch of skin seemed to be heating up from below, as if using his flesh and blood as fuel. A raging fire spread, seemingly trying to erode and burn everything.
Could it be————
Wen Jianyan was bent over, his slightly trembling pupils constricting in the darkness.
At this moment, the last missing piece of the puzzle was filled in.
Why the dance teacher showed such unusual enthusiasm for him at their first meeting, even to the point of antagonizing other teachers to get him into this assessment?
Why the tentacle on his wrist disappeared?
Why there was an unusual puppet, not made from a corpse, that even actively led him to the mirror and gave him hints?
Why, in that moment of spinning, he had vaguely glimpsed a pair of golden eyes?
“Haha…”
The young man’s body curled up in the darkness, his back trembling, but he let out a low laugh.
The laughter grew louder, gradually becoming unrestrained.
“Hahahaha!!”
In the “Integrity First” live room:
[?]
[What is the anchor laughing about?]
[Has he gone crazy?]
[Wait a minute, is it my imagination? Why does the live stream picture seem to have become strange… Did I just see static?]
[No way, no way, why is the signal being interfered with again?]
[Ahhhhhh, someone contact Nightmare quickly, get the signal repaired. The crucial part is about to start, you better not cut out on me at this critical moment—and it’s not the first time!!]
Finally, Wen Jianyan had laughed enough. He rolled over on the floor, lay flat on his back, his chest heaving up and down, his eyes wide open, staring at the darkness before him.
If he wasn’t mistaken, there should be a fragment of Wu Zhu in this instance.
That fragment, although still dormant, was still dangerous.
And it was clearly closely related to the dance studio and had followers.
The dance teacher, as a believer of the Father God, had detected the familiar scent on Wen Jianyan and thus tried to offer him—or rather, offer him once again—to the fragment of the evil god forced into slumber.
Hoping that Wu Zhu would devour him and awaken from his deep sleep.
This time, although Wen Jianyan did not have Wu Zhu following him, he had a “part” of Wu Zhu.
That small tentacle condensed from darkness.
And the real reason Wu Zhu had left a note in the Ouroboros, insisting that Wen Jianyan bring the tentacle, was perhaps because he had long known that he had a fragment left in this instance.
He had long anticipated that this situation might occur, and so had fulfilled his promise in advance:
Before the bet was over, he would absolutely not let himself, or his fragments, interfere with Wen Jianyan’s plans.
So, the puppet that couldn’t be reflected in the mirror just now, and the hints from an unknown source, were probably inextricably linked to the disappeared tentacle.
From his ear, came the dance teacher’s voice:
【Twenty seconds remaining.】
His voice was even more terrifying than before, as if angered by Wen Jianyan’s sudden burst of laughter. It became colder, carrying an unrestrained malice.
【Candidate, please choose your examination topic in a timely manner.】
“…”
Wen Jianyan wiped away the tears that had seeped from the corners of his eyes from laughing too hard and slowly climbed up from the ground.
—This was truly a case of the Dragon King’s temple being flooded by his own people.
In the darkness, the young man tilted his head in thought and said lazily:
“In short, any dance is okay, right?”
“Yes.”
Because of Wen Jianyan’s one question after another, the voice in the darkness seemed to be getting impatient.
“You have ten seconds.”
“Then…”
Wen Jianyan looked up with a grin and asked in a nonchalant tone, “Is a striptease okay?”
Reminding myself that this is a horror novel lollll
ESTOU MORRENDO 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Jesus cristo