Lucky Cruise Ship
Chapter 619: Road
Wu Zhu couldn’t enter the Negative 6th Floor on his own.
Just like he couldn’t enter the [Lucky Cruise Ship] instance independently at the beginning.
According to their pact, Wen Jianyan would help Wu Zhu find something—and based on the information previously obtained from Carl Bell, that “something” was very likely his heart.
To achieve this, entering the Negative 6th Floor was imperative.
“…”
Wen Jianyan turned his head and glanced beside him.
There was no one there.
But his pinky finger was undeniably hooked… the presence was distinct, impossible to mistake.
It seemed his strategy was clearly effective.
Through devouring and assimilating other tenants, Wu Zhu had achieved a certain degree of recovery. He was no longer suppressed by the Nightmare to the point of being unable to conceal his form, as he had been when they first entered this instance.
Dan Zhu didn’t care why Wen Jianyan suddenly changed his mind. She turned and walked straight toward the elevator.
The elevator doors opened before them.
Dan Zhu shot Wen Jianyan a glance that was not quite a smile, hooking her finger:
“Hand it over.”
Wen Jianyan took out the two coins he had obtained and placed them in Dan Zhu’s hand.
Adding the one Dan Zhu already held, all tokens from the three administrators were officially gathered.
“May I ask which floor you are going to?” The elevator operator’s voice suddenly became respectful. “Respected Successor.”
“Negative 6th Floor,” Dan Zhu chuckled lightly.
“Certainly.”
The elevator operator pressed the button.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but the moment the [-6] button was pressed, the already eerie red lighting inside the elevator suddenly thickened, resembling spilling blood. The air felt compressed into a solid mass, stifling and making it hard to breathe.
The elevator doors slowly closed in front of everyone.
Accompanied by the monotonous sound of the chain mechanism, the elevator began to descend slowly.
The narrow space was dead silent, save for the sound of varying breaths.
However, compared to the tomb-like silence in the elevator, Wen Jianyan’s mind was far from calm.
Successor.
His previous speculation was now proven beyond a doubt.
Collecting the tokens of the three croupiers allowed one to become the Successor of the Administrators, granting the right to challenge the Administrators and access some of their authority.
Since killing an Administrator also produced a similar token, and there were exactly three Administrators, then… following this logic, collecting the tokens of the three Administrators would allow one to become the Successor of the Captain.
Dan Zhu’s objective was blatantly obvious.
What she wanted was the position of Captain of the Lucky Cruise Ship, and all the control that came with it.
But… why?
Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes, deep in thought.
True, killing Eaton Ethan without obtaining the tokens would incur severe side effects, possibly even resulting in becoming part of the ship. But Dan Zhu couldn’t be seizing the Captain’s position just to “survive.”
Whether it was the quick and efficient process of killing Eaton Ethan, or her indifferent attitude when retrieving the tokens from their corpses, it all pointed to one thing:
Killing Eaton Ethan was merely the first step of the plan.
The plan to seize the Captain’s position had likely taken shape before the cruise ship even became an instance.
Furthermore, Dan Zhu’s room was on the Negative 17th Floor, and its status was “Occupied.” This indicated her level of alienation exceeded ordinary imagination, perhaps closer to a ghost than a human. Would such a person really care about so-called “survival”?
If so… why was Dan Zhu scheming so deliberately and using any means necessary to obtain the Captain’s position?
Wen Jianyan didn’t know the answer.
The elevator’s descent took far longer than imagined.
Numerically, it was only a distance of three floors, but the actual sensation of distance felt ten times that. The time taken far exceeded the journey to the Negative 18th Floor.
Just as Wen Jianyan was feeling drowsy from the humming sound in the confined space, the elevator finally stopped.
With a jolt, the elevator settled.
“Negative 6th Floor arrived. Please watch your step.”
Perhaps due to the privilege, this time the elevator operator didn’t ask for any tips.
Following behind Dan Zhu, Wen Jianyan and his group left the elevator.
What appeared before them was a familiar bright red hall. All decorations were identical to the casinos on other floors. Behind a counter not far away, a pale-faced waiter wore a smile.
Wen Jianyan paused slightly.
He really hadn’t expected the Negative 6th Floor to look so…
Ordinary?
Dan Zhu seemed to have no opinion on this. Her eyes narrowed slightly, lips half-curved, maintaining her languid, charming posture.
“Alright, this is where we part ways.”
She winked at Wen Jianyan with a smile: “Good luck, darling.”
After speaking, Dan Zhu turned her head: “Fi—”
Before she could finish, her eyes suddenly narrowed sharply.
Only then did Wen Jianyan realize that at some point, Figaro, who had just left the elevator with them, had vanished without a trace.
The smile on Dan Zhu’s lips widened. Though she remained breathtakingly beautiful, the sight was inexplicably terrifying.
“…Never learns.”
She tilted her head in thought for a few seconds, then curled her red lips in annoyance:
“Forget it.”
Dan Zhu was someone who pursued efficiency and was rarely swayed by emotions.
For her, right now, there were more important things to do. Settling scores with Figaro wasn’t on the list.
Dan Zhu shrugged, speaking nonchalantly:
“He’d better pray he never appears in front of me again.”
“Alright, bye-bye.”
After bidding farewell with a smile, Dan Zhu turned and walked deeper into the floor. Her figure was graceful, her steps elegant. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared from their view, nowhere to be found.
“…”
The group stood in front of the empty casino hall, looking at each other.
Chen Mo looked around and slowly asked the question everyone had been holding in: “Does this floor… look too ordinary?”
From any angle, this floor seemed remarkably unremarkable. Except for the complete lack of guests, it looked almost identical to the other casino floors. After the special nature of the Negative 6th Floor had been deeply ingrained in their minds, bringing a great deal of vigilance and fear, the scene before them was somewhat unexpected.
Wen Jianyan didn’t answer immediately.
He lowered his eyes in contemplation for a long time before finally speaking: “No.”
“This floor is supposed to look like this,” he said slowly.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Wen Ya: “How so?”
Wen Jianyan: “First, this floor originally belonged to the casino under Mesvis’s jurisdiction. Even the rules for entry were consistent—obtain a pass to proceed. If this floor were the so-called ‘Core Layer,’ it wouldn’t have been opened so easily.”
Wen Jianyan had cleared too many Platinum instances. No one knew better than him how difficult it was to find the core area of an instance.
In comparison, the entry conditions for the Negative 6th Floor weren’t harsh. One only needed a pass from the Negative 5th Floor to arrive here. Regardless of the difficulty of the Negative 5th Floor, it didn’t exceed the scope of the casino rules under Mesvis’s jurisdiction.
“Wait a minute,” Ma Qi looked confused. “Guild Leader, do you mean the Negative 6th Floor isn’t the Core Layer…?”
Then why did they come here?
If they were in the wrong place, what about Dan Zhu? Could she be wrong too?
“Yes, and no.”
Wen Jianyan raised his eyes, slowly scanning the entire hall as he spoke.
“From a certain perspective, a so-called ‘Core Layer’ doesn’t exist. The core of this instance isn’t on any floor of the ship. Rather than calling this the ‘Core Layer,’ it’s more accurate to say… this is the place closest to the instance’s core.”
“…Hidden Area,” Wen Ya realized with a start.
Yes, starting from the Negative 4th Floor of the casino, every floor had a hidden area. Whether it was the croupier at the racetrack or the manipulator of the Monopoly game, they were hidden within, making their locations impossible to find immediately.
However, there were only three resident croupiers; the rest were freelance croupiers who had already appeared in the gambling game with Mesvis. This meant there were no croupiers in the hidden area of this floor. So what could it be?
The answer was self-evident.
—The passage.
The group unconsciously held their breath.
But the problem was, how were they supposed to find that area?
The area of this floor was huge. Blond’s Talent had reached a critical point where it could no longer be used. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t conduct a carpet search like before. were they supposed to gamble again like before to grope for the deep rules of this floor?
Did they have the time?
Could this ship… last that long without sinking?
Suddenly, without warning, Chen Cheng narrowed his eyes. Not knowing what he discovered, he jerked his head around, a blade flashing like lightning, stabbing heavily into the wall.
“Easy, easy now…”
By the elevator, a familiar figure emerged from thin air.
Figaro smiled sheepishly, hands raised in the air. The pitch-black blade grazed his cheek, just half a centimeter away from slicing his cunning face.
He pressed his finger against the flat of Chen Cheng’s blade, slowly and cautiously taking a step to the side.
“…Tch.”
Chen Cheng rolled his eyes, retracting his hand impatiently. The Tang sword vanished.
“Figaro?” Wen Jianyan frowned.
“At your service.” With the danger of being stabbed to death gone, Figaro regained his composure. He straightened his collar, instantly returning to his effortless demeanor. “I must say, Ms. Dan Zhu’s decisive departure really made me sigh in relief…”
“She planted a seed in your body too.”
Wen Jianyan stared at him thoughtfully for a moment, then suddenly said.
“So, you used an item to block her perception?”
Judging by Figaro’s hardworking service attitude, the speed at which Dan Zhu found him after order collapsed, and his controlled state, mere “employment” wasn’t enough. His performance was closer to fear than professional dedication.
“Truly, nothing escapes your eyes.” Figaro smiled. “Unfortunately, my item doesn’t last long, and I only have one… If she had stayed a moment longer, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you.”
“Alright,” Figaro gave a slight, elegant bow, turned, and walked toward the elevator, speaking as he went, “Since I’ve finally escaped Ms. Dan Zhu’s surveillance, it’s time to leave. I’m not interested in either of your goals. No amount of payment can buy another minute of my time on this floor.”
Saying this, he pressed the up button for the elevator.
The elevator opened.
Figaro smiled, waving to everyone: “Farewell.”
With that, he walked into the elevator.
The elevator doors closed.
Ding.
The elevator doors opened again.
Figaro inside the elevator and Wen Jianyan outside stared at each other, falling into silence together.
The elevator operator smiled: “Please watch your step.”
The smile on Figaro’s face stiffened slightly. He turned to the elevator operator: “…What do you mean?”
The operator’s smile remained fixed like a mask: “Please watch your step.”
Not far away, the smile on Chen Cheng’s face grew brighter. He gloated, adding insult to injury:
“Looks like offending the Captain’s Successor isn’t without cost.”
Figaro: “…”
He slowly walked out of the elevator, smiling at Wen Jianyan:
“I wonder if your squad is willing to add another member?”
Wen Jianyan: “…”
Expressionless, he turned and walked away.
The others followed closely.
“Hey, hey, hey!” Figaro’s anxious voice came from behind. “Don’t go, listen to me—”
Finally, after being chased to the casino entrance, Wen Jianyan mercifully stopped.
He turned around, looking Figaro up and down, his gaze like he was appraising pork for sale.
“Move together? It’s not impossible.”
He narrowed his eyes, a smile appearing on his face.
Pork Figaro: “…”
Staring at that familiar smile, he suddenly had an ominous premonition.
Although Figaro didn’t fear acting alone, the situation was special this time. Being unable to leave this floor alone, and having thoroughly offended Dan Zhu whose location was unknown, meeting her again would likely mean a death without a burial place.
And Wen Jianyan had clearly grasped this point.
Listening to the conditions Wen Jianyan listed one by one, Figaro maintained his smile, but he was grinding his teeth so hard they might bleed.
Who exactly is the profiteer here?!
Didn’t I just scam you once? Is this necessary? Is this really necessary?!
Unfortunately, adding one person to the team didn’t change their current predicament.
After trying multiple methods to no avail, they had to accept the fact that the hidden area on this floor wouldn’t reveal itself easily.
And as they tried, time marched forward ruthlessly.
With every second they stayed, the tilt of the ship became more pronounced.
It reached a point where they had to exert effort just to stand steady.
Everything was warning them:
Time is running out.
If they didn’t find the way to the core before the countdown to the ship’s sinking ended, or if Dan Zhu completed her plan beforehand causing the instance to reset, then all their efforts would be in vain.
In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
“Ah… I didn’t expect the anchor to get stuck just one step away from success.”
“Did Dan Zhu already guess this outcome? No wonder she backed off so easily…”
“Sigh, what a pity.”
“But it’s not too bad. After all, the Negative 6th Floor looks very safe. No floating corpses, no tenants. As long as they hold out here until the instance ends, they can still leave… at least the vast majority of them can.”
Just then, Blond slowly spoke up, breaking the dead silence:
“Actually… it’s not that there isn’t another way.”
Wen Ya shook her head, interrupting him:
“Forget it. Your Talent can no longer be used. Even if you really wanted to, you couldn’t do it.”
Everyone had experienced the state of Talent exhaustion, and Blond’s severity was likely several times worse than what they had experienced. In such a situation, Talent couldn’t be activated; willpower alone couldn’t change that.
“I… I didn’t mean that.”
Blond mumbled.
He raised his eyes, no longer hiding his completely mutated eyes. The eerie white irises contrasted with the surrounding blood-red, a shocking sight.
He pointed to the fused agate stones in Wen Jianyan’s palm.
Wen Jianyan had just taken it out, trying to use it to find the hidden area. However, whether it was because the hidden area was too deep or because the true casino administrator was dead, the agate stones had no effect.
Blond blinked slowly—only then did everyone realize his gaze hadn’t focused for a long time—his voice was very soft:
“…Give that to me.”
“!!!”
Realizing what Blond was saying, everyone’s hearts tightened abruptly.
“I heard what Dan Zhu said earlier, and… my Talent is useless now,” Blond’s expression was calm as he said this. “I didn’t dare say it earlier, but my vision has degraded severely. Actually, I can’t see anything clearly beyond two meters.”
His vision was a chaotic blur.
This was a situation he had never experienced before.
Only by sticking close to the partner nearest to him could he barely manage not to fall behind.
Vision.
This was the only thing Blond took pride in.
He used it to forge paths, seek survival, and protect his companions.
And now… the only thing that gave him a sense of security had been taken away.
“The agate stone didn’t work because it’s for a Challenger. Without an Administrator, it’s equivalent to having no Successor.” Blond looked at Wen Jianyan. In his blood-blurred vision, he could only barely see the other’s tightly clenched fingers, turning white from excessive force.
“Captain, if I can think of this, you must have thought of it too, right?”
Blond sniffed and looked up, staring at his partners with eyes surging with blood red. Only then did his voice begin to tremble slightly, as some immense sorrow could finally no longer be suppressed and began to surface:
“I… I think there’s a high probability I won’t make it out of this instance.”
When Dan Zhu said it out loud, he wasn’t that surprised… In fact, the moment the bullet pierced Mesvis’s chest, he had anticipated his own ending.
Accompanying it was mostly a sense of relief.
Ah… so it is like this.
But it didn’t matter.
It was enough.
“Give me the token. I’ll be the Administrator.”
Blond stood not far away. He blinked slowly, blood-red tears sliding down his cheeks, and whispered:
“I’ll find the way for you… just like before.”
“…”
Watching Blond take a step closer, Wen Jianyan jerked back.
He stared intently at the outstretched hand, his expression blank, his face like tense rock.
Think. Think fast.
Is there any other way out?
Wu Zhu? —The other’s fingers pressed on his wrist, seeming to convey silent comfort—but Wen Jianyan knew clearly that the closer they got to the instance’s core, the greater the restriction on him.
If he had the ability to find the path, he would have spoken up before they started using items.
Continue gambling—no, impossible, no time.
The exhaustion of chips and the disappearance of the core croupier were insurmountable obstacles.
Or abandon the plan?
Not impossible, but if they couldn’t find the instance core, according to Dan Zhu’s intelligence, Blond would still become part of the ship. Nothing would change.
Think more, think more.
The agate stone dug deep into his palm under the pressure, but Wen Jianyan felt almost no pain. He racked his brains, thinking until his head hurt.
But every train of thought pointed to the same result.
The worst result.
“…”
Suddenly, without warning, a strange voice came from not far away:
“Excuse me, allow me to interrupt.”
“?!”
The voice was abrupt, startling everyone into looking back instinctively.
The one who spoke was actually the waiter who had been standing behind the counter all along.
The waiter turned his head. His pale face held no expression, his hollow eyes staring straight at them.
He opened his mouth. The voice was unfamiliar, but the tone was inexplicably familiar:
“Although I really don’t want to do this, unfortunately, a deal is a deal. And you guys did kill that guy Mesvis, so…”
Wen Jianyan paused, seeming to realize something. His eyes lit up, and he took a sharp step forward:
“No. 8? Is that you?”
Borrowing the waiter’s mouth to speak, No. 8 crossed his arms:
“Of course it’s me.”
“Otherwise, what other philanthropist would show up at a time like this?”
No. 8 seemed to roll his eyes.
But perhaps due to the distance, behind the counter, the waiter’s eyes just stiffly rolled upward, looking inexplicably comical.
“You guys disappeared as soon as I walked out of the private room. I thought you didn’t need my help anymore.”
