Wen Jianyan returned to that transparent waiting room again, which was surrounded by countless cameras.
Before the start of the next instance, he took the time to check his backpack.
The âXiao Jieâs toothâ obtained from the Decai Middle School instance had been used up, and Wen Jianyan had not yet figured out the usage of âMr. Mirrorâ, so he could only leave it in the backpack for the time being.
The two props obtained at Fukang Private General Hospital were also placed in the backpack.
ăLin Qingâs doctorâs certificate (Difficult-level item in Fukang Private General Hospital instance); Utility: Resist a fatal injury
Note: The anchor has Lin Qingâs blessing to improve the propâs utility: after using it, you will get a one-minute golden body effect.ă
The number under the doctorâs certificate was 1, which meant this was a consumable item that could only be used once.
ăThe remains of the sleeping Holy Child (Legend-level item in Fukang Private General Hospital instance); Utility: Wake up the Holy Child and obtain the status of the Mother of the World for 30 seconds.ă
ăLevel 1ă
ăPermanently bound to the anchor: Wen Jianyan.ă
There was no quantity indicator below the Holy Child, only a very long cooldown bar.
These were extremely rare props in Nightmare, and the prop âthe remains of the Holy Childâ he got was even rarer among the rare. Not only would it not be consumed, but it was also permanently bound to the anchor and could not be dropped or robbed.
At least, Wen Jianyan had not heard of the existence of a second similar prop so far.
He touched the holy child in the space with his fingertips, and an inadvertent soft color flashed across his eyes.
ăApple Seedlings: Level 2ă
ăFlower of Delusion: Developingă
ăFruit of Lies: Developingă
Only thirty seconds remained in the blood-red countdown in space.
Then he heard the lively voice of the little assistant:
âThe number of points that a D-level anchor can bring into the instance is 5,000; please save expenses and try to survive!â
This was much better than the E-level anchor, who could only bring in 1,000 points. At least one could buy a life-saving prop or exchange them for 50 minutes of survival time.
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and closed the backpack interface.
During this period of time, he wore various appearances, wandered among the various low-level and middle-level guilds, and learned a lot of valuable information.
However, the specific information and plot within the instances remained a secret.
Obviously, there was a very strict set of âspoiler preventionâ rules in the Nightmare live broadcast room. Not only could the anchors not watch the live broadcast, but they also couldnât enter the instance they had gone through previously. The system would also severely punish the anchor who leaked the plot or content of the instance. Therefore, no anchor could know the content of the next instance in advance.
However, the mode of the instances below the C-level was basically fixed. The anchor only needed to avoid all kinds of death rules, maintain the live broadcast, and clear the instance by exchanging the survival time. If you didnât think about collecting hidden items or changing the plot, it was not that difficult to survive.
However, the instances of level C++ and above were different.
The modes of the instances above would become more flexible and demanding, and there were various kinds, just like the team hunting battle in the last instance, which was one of the unique modes. In these instances, although survival time was still important, if the task was not completed, even if you survived long enough, you would encounter a death crisis.
Due to the level restrictions and in order not to be targeted by the members of the Dark Fire, the anchors that Wen Jianyan had contacted were basically D-level similar to him, and the highest was C-, so he did not know about the instances above C+ level.
But it did not matter.
The D-level anchor could only enter a C-level instance at the highest.
After having a full understanding of the rules, Wen Jianyan was very confident about entering the instance this time.
The experience he summed up was briefly summarized in only three words:
Donât court death.
As long as he was not stupid enough to blindly increase the degree of plot modification, with Wen Jianyanâs current popularity in the live broadcast room, it was easy for him to pass a D-level or even a C-level instance.
No need to worry at all!
However, before Wen Jianyan could feel relieved, he heard the mechanical female voice ringing in her ears again:
âDing! Due to the excellent performance of the host in the last instance, a B-level instance will be opened for you!â
âI hope the anchor will make persistent efforts and continue to improve the viewing experience of the audience!â
Wen Jianyan: ââŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâ
Ah?
ăWelcome to the Nightmare live broadcast room, the next live broadcast will start immediately.ă
ăOur aim is to entertain to death!ă
***
Wen Jianyanâs eyelids trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes.
Noisy, very lifelike voices came into his ears. The crowd was constantly flowing â the old, the young, men, women, laughter, shouts, conversations, and countless voices mixed together like a loud and huge sound wave rushing straight toward him, enveloping him completely.
The surroundings suddenly changed from extremely quiet to extremely noisy, and Wen Jianyan couldnât recover for a while due to the excessive contrast.
He blinked, and after a brief moment of blankness, his eyes slowly focused.
He realized that he was standing in the middle of a vegetable market.
The sun was setting.
The reddish afterglow shone on the old-fashioned market, flanked by simple pavements, vegetables, meat, cooked food, etc. Crowds were constantly flowing around â the students after school, office workers who just got off work, and gray-haired old people. They stopped and walked, shopping for what they needed for dinner, and the air was full of the smell of smoke and cooked food.
Wen Jianyan was in a trance and even temporarily doubted whether he was in the real world.
A mechanical voice sounded in his ears and pulled him back from his daze:
ăWelcome anchor in the B-level instance âAntai[1]Â Communityâ. This instance is a time-limited role-playing instance with a duration of 12 hours. Please check the ID card in time to complete the main task.
Note: The main task in this instance must be completed, otherwise it will be judged that the live broadcast has failed and the live broadcast room will be closed immediately.ă
âŠB-level.
Wen Jianyanâs eyes twitched slightly.
He was about to change his mind and become a good anchor who fished in troubled waters[2], but he was directly thrown into this ârole-playing time-limited instanceâ that he had never heard aboutâŠ
He must have been targeted!
In the âIntegrity Firstâ live broadcast room:
[Aaaaahhhhhhhh the dog liar is on-air!]
[Iâm here, Iâm here!]
[Man, B-level instance, the difficulty is rising too fast!]
[However, âAntai Communityâ is not bad. It is considered a low level of difficulty in this level of instance.]
[Yes, this instance is still quite friendly to the newly upgraded anchors, and the initial survival time of each anchor is also fixed. As long as you donât get those few difficult identity cards, it could be done easily.]
[Hahahaha, yes, I remember that there is an identity card with a high mortality rate in this instance. Basically, no anchor has survived the first few tasks after obtaining that identity.]
[Yes, yes, I remember that it seemed to be a paranormal investigator, right? Lol, this identity is really amazing â killed by supernatural events every time. That main task is really to put people to death.]
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath, gritted his teeth bitterly, and took out his mobile phone from his pocket.
The mobile phone this time was much more advanced than the ones distributed by the system at Fukang Hospital. The props distributed to the anchors in the Nightmare Live Room would obviously vary according to the timeline of the instance.
However, the prompts that popped up on the screen were exactly the same.
[Due to a large number of NPCs in this instance, in order to ensure the quality of your live broadcast, the Nightmare app service will be opened for you.]
ăPlease make persistent efforts to create a more exciting and novel viewing experience for the audience!ă
Wen Jianyan skillfully opened the Nightmare icon on the phone.
ăIdentify cardă
Life: Wu Qinghe
Age: 22
Occupation: Paranormal Investigator
Related plot: Unlocked
ăThe initial survival time has been allocated: 5:00:00ă
A few ââŠâŠâ floated through the âIntegrity Firstâ live broadcast room
[âŠâŠ]
[âŠSure enough, no surprise.]
[Hahahahahaha lmao, itâs really him!]
[The initial survival time was the same for all the anchors, but this ID card⊠Hahahahahaha I really shouldnât have the slightest expectation for the luck of the anchor!]
Wen Jianyan, who was unaware of this, became spirited.
Five hours!
Great!
This was the first time he had gotten such a high survival time! Could it be that the goddess of luck finally favored him?!
Wen Jianyanâs confidence suddenly rose, and his whole body was full of energy.
His eyes fell on the âRelated Plotâ column.
This time, the related plot on the ID card was no longer âNot unlocked,â but was âUnlocked.â Was this the difference between a role-playing time-limited instance and an ordinary time-limited instance?
Under his thoughtful gaze, the related plot on the ID card slowly emerged:
ăYour name is Wu Qinghe, and you are a paranormal investigator who signed a contract with a streaming platform. Recently, you heard that there were many supernatural incidents in the Antai community, so on July 14th, you came here with your equipment, getting ready to shoot material for your new video, âZhongyuan Festivalâ[3].ă
The main task had already been refreshed.
ăMain line task 1: Move into Antai Community within two hours.
Completion degree: 0%ă
ăMain line task 2: Go to Room 1304 for shooting; the shooting time should not be less than ten minutes.
Completion degree: 0%ă
Wen Jianyan stared at the phone screen and fell into deep thought.
The word âmove intoâ was the key.
It wasnât âgo inâ but âmove inâ.
In other words, he must live in this community, not just enter it.
This was probably a bit difficult for Wu Qinghe, a paranormal investigator.
In the âIntegrity Firstâ live broadcast room:
[I took a look at the live broadcast rooms of several other anchors next door. Most of them are residents of the Antai community. Now they have already started to explore the map. Only our poor dog liar is miserable enough to be left out of the map, and had to find a way to live in it, which makes me laugh to death.]
[Hahahahahahahahahaha is really miserable.]
[Fortunately, the first task is not too difficult. I remember there was an advertisement for rent posted at the entrance of Antai Community, right? As long as the anchor exchanged points for some cash, and then asked the apartment administrator, it should be no problem.]
While the audience in the live broadcast room was chatting, Wen Jianyan made an unexpected move.
He raised his head, quickly looked around the vegetable market in front of him, and then walked in a certain direction with great purpose.
The proprietress of the pork shop was chopping the pork bones on the chopping board with a sharp kitchen knife, and the scarlet blood dripped down the chopping board full of knife marks, her movements quick and skillful.
âHello.â
At this moment, a young manâs voice sounded from above her head: âExcuse me⊠can you give me a piece of paper?â
The other party really has a good voice; it was clear, soft, and polite, and even in the chaotic market, it was like a clear spring.
The proprietress raised her head subconsciously.
Only to see a young man standing in front of the shop with his hands spread awkwardly, his slender white palms stained with blood from the shop: âIâm sorry, I just accidentally rubbed a little.â
The other partyâs appearance was really outstanding. His facial features were handsome, his body was slender, and the clothes he was wearing were also clean and decent, making the stain on his hands more and more dazzling.
His amber eyes were lowered embarrassedly, glowing with a little soft light in the setting sun. When one was stared at by such eyes, it was almost impossible to feel the slightest rejection.
The lady bossâs face flushed slightly.
âNo problem, wait a minute.â
She wiped her palm on the apron, turned her head, and searched the shop, only to find that the tissue paper roll that had just been placed on the counter disappeared at some point.
The proprietress hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the light yellow oil paper that was used to wrap the pork beside her:
âI donât know if this will work?â
âCertainly.â
Wen Jianyan pursed his lips and smiled and took the oil paper from the other partyâs hand with his clean hand: âThank you.â
After he turned around to leave the pork shop, he took out the tissue paper from his pocket, tore out a piece, carefully wiped off the blood on his hands, and threw it into the trash can.
Immediately afterward, the young man began to fold the light yellow oil paper. His slender and fair fingers worked skillfully, and he easily folded the paper into the shape he wanted.
He folded it a few times, then put the folded things in his pocket, turned around, and walked toward the door of Antai Community.
âKnockâ âKnockâ âKnockâ.
The community guardâs window was knocked softly from the outside.
ââŠWho is there?â
The guard was a middle-aged man in his fifties. He pushed open the greasy and dirty window and stuck his head out. There were blue and black circles under his eyes due to lack of sleep, and he looked irritable and restless.
âWhat are you here for? Visiting someone?â
âNo, Iâm not here to visit.â
Wen Jianyan withdrew his gaze from the community and turned his head to look fixedly at the guard in front of him.
The young man in front of him looked extraordinarily young. He was very decent in both his clothes and face, and his reply was also gentle and polite.
However, when he looked over at this moment, there was an unusually calm glimmer in his eyes, which made the guard inexplicably feel a little nervous: âThen what are you doing here?â
Wen Jianyan stepped forward, took out a folded, pale yellow copper coin from his pocket, and placed it lightly on the windowsill.
The guardâs face was a little unsightly: âWhat do you mean?â
âBefore 12 oâclock tonight, burn it at the corner of the corridor on the 13th floor where the lights disappear, and drink it with alcohol.â
The young man lowered his voice and instructed word by word:
âBut this is not a way to break it. Remember, you canât stay here for a long time. The farther you go, the better. Donât come back.â
After speaking, he took a step back: âGoodbye, good luck.â
Wen Jianyan turned around and walked away from the community without hesitation.
But he was counting the seconds in his mind.
â10, 9, 8âŠâ
Soon, a gasping sound came from behind: âWait, wait!â
The guardâs voice was panicked, and he hurriedly pressed his hand on Wen Jianyanâs shoulder: âLittle brother, wait!â
The corners of Wen Jianyanâs lips curled slightly without leaving a trace.
He turned his head and asked, pretending to be puzzled, âWhatâs wrong?â
âYou⊠how did youâŠâ
The guard stood steadily, his eyes moving a little uncomfortably, and he lowered his voice subconsciously: âWhat do you know?â
âI was just passing by.â
Wen Jianyan shook his head with a calm expression.
He took a deep breath, glanced at the Antai community unconsciously, and quickly retracted it as if he was very afraid:
âIâm just helping out; you donât have to worry about it.â
âButâŠâŠâ
He paused.
The guard held his breath subconsciously: âBut what?â
âItâs nothing.â Wen Jianyan sighed again and looked up at the gradually darkening sky, his eyes stained with a heavy look: âTonight is the Zhongyuan Festival; I should leave.â
He stopped talking and turned to leave.
âDonât go, donât go!â The guard grabbed Wen Jianyanâs arm anxiously; his attitude had taken a 180-degree turn and was very sincere and polite: âLittle brother, you, you look like an expert. Recently, recently this community reallyâŠâ
He secretly looked left and right, made sure that no one was listening nearby, and then said cautiously:
âSomething strange happened.â
âItâs a little inconvenient to speak here. I wonder if you would like to⊠go in and have a chat?â The guard asked nervously.
A smile flashed across Wen Jianyanâs eyes.
Good, hooked.
In just a few minutes, he had already taken a quick look at the entire lodge.
The five Emperor coins[4] were hung by the window. Their position was abrupt and incorrect. They should have been hung up not long ago, and the person who hung them probably only knew a little about metaphysics.
The guard was wearing a Buddha string on his hand, a cross around his neck, and a small Guanyin statue on the table.
With such a complex combination, at first glance, it was obvious that the man was in a desperate situation and was trying to do anything he could. No matter whether it was the Buddha or a ghost, as long as it could be used, believe it.
In extreme fear, people would lose the ability to judge and grab any spider silk that reached in front of them.
Whether or not this spider silk was folded from pork wrapping paper.
In the âIntegrity Firstâ live broadcast room:
[âŠâŠ]
[Damn! As expected of you, dog liar! (50 reward points)]
[Damn! As expected of you, dog liar! (100 reward points)]
***
Apartment 1025.
The narrow room was filled with a stale smell and was full of clutter, with almost nowhere to go.
The slender young man sat on the sofa. His eyes were lowered, and he was looking at the steaming old teacup on the table, seeming out of tune with the surroundings.
âHow many times have I told you, donât bring these kinds of people into the house.â
In the kitchen, the guardâs wife scolded her husband sternly: âTwo of these kinds of people were liars, donât you remember?â
She grabbed the Buddha bead on the guardâs wrist and frowned in anger: âLook at what you spent thousands on; are they useful?!â
âNo, wife, listen to me. Iâm afraid this one really has something.â
The guard gave her a general overview of what happened at the gate of the community: âHe just said the thirteenth floor, and he didnât ask me for money at all.â
Cai Feng snorted coldly: âMaybe heâs just a scammer who heard about the matter and ran over to fool you.â
She turned her head and walked out.
âYou stay here, Iâll talk to him.â
Hearing footsteps, the young man raised his eyes and looked in the direction from which the voice came. Half of his face was immersed in the fading sunset outside the window, making him appear more and more picturesque and handsome.
âHello.â
He greeted politely.
For some reason, the anger accumulated in Cai Fengâs heart subsided a little. Although her words were still hard, they were not as aggressive as she had thought:
âYou said you can solve the strange things in this building?â
Unexpectedly, the young man slowly frowned and shook his head: âIâm sorry, Iâm not very knowledgeable. Iâm afraid I wonât be of much use.â
Cai Feng was taken aback: ââŠwhat?â
Wen Jianyan stood up and looked around the whole room, saying, âThe location of the building is very strange; it is easy to accumulate yin qi when sitting south and facing north. The main line of the rooms in the building faces east; this year is the year of Gengzi[5], and the inauspicious star five yellow[6] is in the east, which symbolizes great calamity and evil.â
He frowned and pointed to the window: âLook here, itâs directly facing the front door, which represents the evil spirit piercing the heart.â
Wen Jianyan looked at Cai Feng:
âHow have you been sleeping lately?â
Cai Fengâs eyes dodged a little: ââŠAlright.â
âDidnât you hear any strange noises?â Wen Jianyan asked, his light-colored eyes staring straight at the other party, and his clear and calm gaze seemed to be able to penetrate everything: âOr⊠saw something strange?â
Cai Feng: ââŠâŠâ
She was a little afraid to answer for a while.
Wen Jianyan sighed lightly: âThe whole building was already filled with evil spirits, and it just happened to be this yearâs Zhongyuan Festival. The combination of the weather and geography has created such feng shui. I alone canât do anything.â
He shook his head with a heavy expression:
âI suggest youâd better move out of this place, at least⊠donât stay here during the Zhongyuan Festival.â
Under the words of the other party, Cai Feng couldnât help shaking her head, and her back became cold.
She didnât have any doubts about the strange things happening in the Antai community recently, but after being frightened by this liar, she believed it even more.
She went back to the kitchen and began to discuss with her husband.
Finally, ten minutes later, the two finally made up their minds.
It was better to believe that there was than to believe that there was not.
Compared to work, life was more important.
They simply packed their bags, hurriedly called to ask for leave, and prepared to go out to spend the next two days in a hotel outside.
After thanking Wen Jianyan, they escaped from Antai Community as fast as they could without looking back.
Listening to the sound of the vehicle running away, Wen Jianyan turned around and returned to the building. He took out a pin from his sleeve and opened the door with ease.
ăMain line task 1: Move into Antai Community within two hours.ă
ăCompletion: 100% Reward Points: 5000ă
The dog liar looked around at the empty room in front of him with a satisfied look on his face.
In the âIntegrity Firstâ live broadcast room.
[âŠâŠ]
[âŠNo! Is it alright?!]
[Damn you, dog liar, itâs really something you would do! Truly shameless!]
[In a sense, the anchor really didnât lie⊠If the couple stayed during the Zhongyuan Festival, itâs probably not far from death.]
[Hahahahaha, but itâs still awesome. Damn, they were really fooled by him. Itâs absolutely amazing!]
Next, it was time to complete the second task.
Wen Jianyan took out his mobile phone from his pocket and was about to check the video recording function of the mobile phone, but when his eyes fell on the back of his hand, he paused.
On his fair skin, a few faint black lines began to appear at some point â strange, tortuous, as if oozing out from under the skin.
It looked like⊠a spell.
And the pattern of this spell could be regarded as very familiar to Wen Jianyan.
Exactly the same as⊠that of âGod the Fatherâ.
And the hand with the lines was precisely the one that stabbed the scalpel into the opponentâs heart in the Fukang Private General Hospital.
ââŠâŠâ
Wen Jianyanâs pupils trembled, and an ominous premonition slowly surged in his heart.
He hurriedly rushed to the bathroom and wiped the weird lines on the back of his hands with damp paper, but the lines seemed to grow deep into the skin and there was no trace of being wiped off at all.
Wen Jianyan stood there with a blank face: ââŠâŠâ
His fingers were wet, still dripping with water, and the sticky touch of the blood seemed to remain on his skin for a long time and could not be eliminated no matter what.
âŠRight? Goddess of luck?
Do you only care for people for a second?!
The author has something to say:
Goddess of Luck: What are you talking about? I didnât care for you even for a second.