Lucky Cruise Ship
Chapter 591: Doll factory manager
This time, Wen Jianyan didn’t lie to his teammates.
He honestly had no idea if this would work.
According to the information provided by the Lion Heart King, apart from being arrested as a prisoner, there was no normal way to find the prison. However, within the operation of this rule, Wen Jianyan keenly perceived a potential loophole:
It was known that all prisoners were taken away by tin soldiers and locked in the prison.
So… if a person acquired an identity similar to a tin soldier, would they also acquire a similar field of vision?
That was exactly why he took such a risk, having one of the “Toy Merchants” use a card to arrive in front of an abandoned factory. By incorporating the abandoned factory into their faction, he made himself the factory manager of one of the toy factories.
As for whether it would actually work… Wen Jianyan wasn’t sure either.
Staring at Lucy on the large screen not far away, Wen Jianyan slowly took a deep breath, lowering his eyes to scan the semi-transparent screen floating in front of him.
It displayed the items he had purchased at the auction. If his prediction was wrong, or if things spiraled out of control, he could use them to escape.
—”Him.”
The voice of the Corpse Rose came from nearby.
Wen Jianyan looked up at the screen, meeting the gigantic eyeball that was staring right at him.
Under that suffocating, almost malicious gaze, he bowed elegantly, as if to say: Yes, it’s me.
On the screen, Lucy slowly grinned, revealing a huge smile:
“Okay.”
The moment Lucy’s voice fell, Wen Jianyan felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer.
Accompanied by a strong wave of cold, his joints were frozen inch by inch, as if he had been suddenly stuffed into a very small, hard shell. Invisible gravity crushed him, squeezing the air out of his lungs bit by bit.
Before his consciousness dissipated, Wen Jianyan gritted his teeth and activated an item.
[Item: Axe; Rank: SS; Effect: Cleaves through any physical entity blocking your way; Acquisition Channel: Auction]
The next second, with a crack, the darkness in front of him was briefly split open. A faint ray of light leaked in, landing on his face, and the pressure on his chest began to weaken.
Wen Jianyan laboriously raised his hand, reaching towards his own face.
Crack! Crack!
Accompanied by a succession of cracking sounds, the darkness that had solidified into a physical entity peeled away like a fragile eggshell, falling in pieces at his feet.
As the last piece fell, the pressure vanished.
Wen Jianyan saw stars; he gasped for air, taking a long time to recover.
He looked up and surveyed his surroundings.
Clearly, this was inside a toy factory.
The main gates were tightly shut, with only a sliver of dim light spilling in from a small skylight above. Most areas of the factory were shrouded in bottomless darkness, and the faint, monotonous sound of machinery operating could be heard.
As the factory was put back into operation, the conveyor belt started up again, beginning production.
By the faint light, Wen Jianyan saw the toys being continuously produced.
Pale, round porcelain faces, lifeless glass eyes, stiff smiles.
Yes, this was the doll factory.
Wen Jianyan looked down.
On the ground lay several pieces of white porcelain, identical to those on the production line. The lips were shattered, forming a very eerie expression, half-crying, half-smiling.
Obviously, this mask had just been on Wen Jianyan’s face. If he hadn’t been vigilant and activated the item in time to shatter it, he would likely have been completely trapped under this mask.
Wait a minute?
If that was the case, then what about his body…
Wen Jianyan paused, seemingly realizing something. He looked down at himself.
He was dressed exactly like the dolls on the conveyor belt.
Just as he imagined. It fit quite well.
Wen Jianyan: “……”
In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[Hahahahahaha!]
[Hahahahahahahaha, since the manager of the teddy bear factory is a teddy bear, then the manager of the doll factory is a doll. Makes sense!]
Wen Jianyan closed his eyes peacefully.
Fine.
It wasn’t the first time anyway. He was used to it.
After confirming the surrounding situation, Wen Jianyan stepped forward, cautiously walking towards the factory entrance—the outfit was a bit cumbersome, but to protect his identity as the factory owner, Wen Jianyan decided to leave it be.
He took a deep breath, placed his hand on the heavy iron door in front of him, and slowly applied force.
With a creak, the door slowly opened in front of Wen Jianyan.
What appeared before him was no longer the brightly lit simulated town. Instead, it was a vast expanse of misty white fog. The streets and buildings were all hidden deep within the fog, leaving only vague outlines. It was clearly the same layout, but at this moment, it looked so unfamiliar.
Something seemed to be lurking in the white fog… Wen Jianyan couldn’t see clearly, but he felt a chill down his spine.
He swallowed and looked around.
Suddenly, Wen Jianyan’s gaze paused, focusing in one direction.
In the center of the town, on the open ground that was supposed to be used for the auction, he could vaguely see a cluster of spires protruding from the white fog.
Clearly, this was a building that didn’t exist in the town.
Seeing this, Wen Jianyan’s suspended heart finally settled back into his chest.
He knew he had guessed correctly.
There wasn’t just one way to reach the prison—besides becoming a prisoner, one could also enter this area by becoming the manager of a toy factory while retaining their consciousness.
After confirming the location of the prison, Wen Jianyan moved almost immediately. Under the cover of the white fog, he walked along the main road of the town towards the central building.
The white fog around him seemed to be stirred by his steps. Something formless existed deep within the impenetrable fog. Wen Jianyan couldn’t help clenching his fingers, his pace gradually accelerating.
Before his heart jumped out of his throat, that building finally appeared before him.
It was a low, two-story building. A sign hung crookedly at the entrance with two words written on it:
“Prison.”
At the entrance of the prison, two tin soldiers stood stiffly. They shouldered straight toy guns, heads held high, faces forward.
Due to the limited visibility, by the time Wen Jianyan saw the two tin soldiers, he was already too close.
“!!!”
Wen Jianyan sucked in a cold breath, reflexively preparing to retreat. But having just taken a step back, before he could put distance between them, he suddenly stopped abruptly.
In the ‘Integrity First’ livestream room, the viewers were startled by his sudden movement, their hearts leaping into their throats.
Wen Jianyan thoughtfully examined the tin soldiers not far away, then tentatively and slowly took a step forward.
The tin soldiers remained motionless; even their eyeballs didn’t turn.
In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[Oh oh oh!! I realized, the anchor is now a toy factory manager, so in the eyes of the tin soldiers, he should be one of their kind, that’s why there’s no reaction.]
[So that’s it!! I’m relieved!]
Wen Jianyan wasn’t relieved so quickly. His gaze was tightly focused on the tin soldiers as he continued to walk forward step by step until he placed his palm on the door and slowly pushed—
Creak.
The iron door opened inwards.
The two tin soldiers stood stiffly in the distance, motionless, as if they hadn’t sensed Wen Jianyan’s presence at all.
The next second, he turned sideways and slipped through the gap in the door like a fish. In the blink of an eye, he had slipped into the prison. His speed was so fast and his movements so skilled, it was staggering.
In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[Good grief, I just blinked. How did he get in?]
[Big brother, your sneaking skills are too proficient. You’ve done this a lot before, haven’t you?]
[And these clothes don’t seem to affect the anchor’s movements at all… Even for you, aren’t you getting used to it a little too quickly?!]
The iron door closed behind him, revealing a pitch-black passage with no end in sight. It was terrifyingly quiet here; Wen Jianyan couldn’t help but subconsciously lighten his breathing.
While advancing cautiously, he took out his phone from his pocket, preparing to re-establish contact with the Blond imprisoned here.
After all, the other party had been detained here for some time and must have acquired more intelligence than him. He might even know something about Lucy’s location.
However, just as the message was edited and sent, the sound of “clack clack” footsteps came from outside the door. It seemed…
The tin soldiers originally guarding the entrance were walking away in unison.
How could this be?
Wen Jianyan was startled and subconsciously turned his head to look.
Creak—
The sound of the door hinge turning rang out again.
Wen Jianyan barely had time to think; his body moved faster than his brain. He nimbly dodged into the nearest empty cell.
Dense footsteps came from the distance, moving forward along the corridor.
Wen Jianyan held his breath and slowly retreated until his body was completely hidden in the darkness.
Through the gaps between the iron bars, he saw several figures walking forward.
The moment he saw their faces clearly, Wen Jianyan’s pupils shrank abruptly.
—It was Oracle!!!
He raised his hand to cover his mouth and nose to prevent his disordered breathing from exposing his position. His back was pressed tightly against the wall, trying his best to merge with the darkness. Only his penetrating gaze fell on those people, trying to gain more information through observation.
The Gentleman, the Gentleman’s team, and—Su Cheng, who was lagging a few steps behind.
Wen Jianyan’s gaze fell on him and paused involuntarily.
This was the first time he had seen him since they parted at the auction.
Compared to the last time they parted, Su Cheng seemed even more like a stranger. He was expressionless, his eyes calm and gloomy, his face pallid from over-exhaustion.
“……” Wen Jianyan frowned.
The feeling Su Cheng gave him was very familiar.
It was the aura he had sensed from those anchors in the Secret Council—a strong, almost suffocating sense of alienation.
Wen Jianyan’s heart sank involuntarily. He could tell at a glance that Su Cheng had used his talent too many times.
At this moment, Su Cheng suddenly turned his head, his gaze sweeping in this direction.
“—!” Wen Jianyan’s body tensed up abruptly.
However, Su Cheng’s gaze didn’t linger in this direction. It just swept past lightly and was withdrawn directly.
Logically speaking, Su Cheng didn’t have a visual talent like Blond, so he shouldn’t be able to see him.
Coincidence?
Wen Jianyan frowned.
While he was pondering, the Gentleman and his group had already walked past him. As the footsteps faded away, Wen Jianyan finally lowered the hand covering his mouth and nose and let out a long breath.
Only after confirming it was safe did Wen Jianyan tiptoe out of the cell he was in.
He hadn’t expected Oracle and the others to find this place too.
This was troublesome.
If Oracle killed Lucy before him, given the number of factories they currently held, they would definitely guarantee a 100% chance of winning. However, trying to kill Lucy first would make it very difficult not to confront Oracle inside the prison…
Wen Jianyan frowned deeply, rubbing his phone while slowly walking forward, lost in thought.
Suddenly, without warning, a hand reached out from a nearby cell and firmly grabbed the hem of his skirt.
“?!” Wen Jianyan shuddered and instinctively jumped away in horror. But the hand held on too tight; not only did he fail to break free, but he also nearly fell over.
“We meet again.” A lazy voice came from the cell.
Wen Jianyan was stunned.
This voice was…
The figure in the darkness leaned against the iron bars. Through the faint light, Wen Jianyan saw a familiar face.
The young face often wore a mocking smile, and right now, he was looking at him with raised eyebrows.
“Chen Cheng—?!” Wen Jianyan was genuinely surprised this time. “Why are you here?”
He seemed to realize something suddenly:
“So you are the ‘Reaper’?”
All the Toy Merchants had been recruited by Wen Jianyan through various means, except for one.
Since entering this floor, the Toy Merchant named “Reaper” had never shown his face, naturally giving Wen Jianyan no chance to make contact. However, since they had enough people, missing one didn’t matter, so Wen Jianyan didn’t force it.
Now seeing Chen Cheng, and combining his talent with his alias, Wen Jianyan suddenly understood.
Wen Jianyan frowned at Chen Cheng, suddenly realizing something. “Wait a minute, how long was your sentence?”
Chen Cheng shrugged, looking indifferent:
“24 hours.”
Wen Jianyan: “………………”
No wonder.
After parting ways outside the racecourse on the negative fourth floor, he and his teammates went to the negative third floor to snipe Hawk. Chen Cheng should have entered the negative fifth floor before him, but he hadn’t seen him since entering the fifth level—if Chen Cheng had been locked in prison all this time, then both Chen Cheng’s disappearance and the “Reaper’s” absence made perfect sense.
However, ordinary people usually got out after half an hour. He was actually locked up for a whole day… So what on earth did this guy do to get locked up for so long?!
But before Wen Jianyan could voice his doubts, the other party spoke again.
“As for you…”
Chen Cheng looked Wen Jianyan up and down. Not knowing what he recalled, he revealed a peculiar expression.
“You didn’t sell yourself again, did you?”
Wen Jianyan: “Huh?”
Chen Cheng tugged at the hem of his skirt: “Otherwise, why would you be dressed in this ghostly appearance?”
Wen Jianyan: “………………”
Damn it, do you think I wanted this?!
