Chapter 142: Wax Museum of Memories (Part 1)

Chapter 142: Wax Museum of Memories (Part 1)

Amidst their conversation, the door of the storeroom was flung open.

A player anxiously poked their head through the entrance.

"Brother Qi, the guests have arrived...um..."

In the dim storeroom, a faint yet familiar green light pervaded.

It was unfamiliar because he had never witnessed this light first-hand, yet familiar from all the tales he had heard.

The big shot!

The famed harbinger of green light!

Qi Chanyang wasn't particularly fortunate, having cleared the game less than ten times, he couldn't join other members of the Ronghua Guild in level five instances, and had to independently venture into universal instances.

Typically, players who haven't cleared the game more than ten times would enter level one instances, with only a handful of those with rotten luck ending up in level two instances. Qi Chanyang was one such unlucky individual.

Other players in this instance had cleared the game over ten times, familiar with the clearance procedures, and began with self-introductions.

Qi Chanyang's turn to introduce himself was somewhat special.

His number of clearances was exceedingly low.

But he was a member of Ronghua.

Ronghua!

Alongside Xie Fangcheng, the Ronghua Guild had risen to fame once more.

If previously, Ronghua's reputation stemmed largely from its unique philosophy, its recent resurgence was purely a symbol of raw power.

Xie Fangcheng! Currently acknowledged as the top player in the game, an enigma in terms of capabilities. Some argue that this titan could face ten Ji Chaoyang single-handedly, rendering the number one guild as mere playthings in his hands; others claim he can effortlessly slay bosses and sweep through instances, with level five bosses bowing before him; yet others mention the green light surrounding him, a testament to a grandmaster able to manifest internal power externally...

In any case, the forum was now rife with all kinds of discussions, emerging one after another.

As for Ji Chaoyang's earlier accusation that Xie Fangcheng is using cheats... What cheats? This is our long-lost elder brother whom we haven't seen in years!

Besides Xie Fangcheng, Ronghua also welcomed another current popular player.

Lang Gu.

Needless to say, the ferocity of Lang Gu's killings surpasses that of Xie Fangcheng slightly. At least Xie Fangcheng has a weapon in hand, which appears somewhat more civilized.

Lang Gu, on the other hand, resorts to strangulation directly! One grip, and the victim is dead! What kind of Nine Yin White Bone Claw technique is this for murder?

This guy is not only terrifying but also extremely perverse!

With these two players with frightening combat capabilities anchoring Ronghua, even if the overall strength of Ronghua is not up to par currently, one can foresee the immense potential for growth in the future, as long as these two stay.

Therefore, when Qi Chanyang mentioned he was from Ronghua, several players started addressing him as "Brother Qi", hoping to foster a good relationship with him after exiting the instance, possibly securing a chance to switch over to the promising Ronghua Guild.

But everyone was thinking about "after exiting the instance". No one expected that within half an hour of entering the instance, they would inexplicably lose a player.

It was indeed inexplicable, as the death occurred less than ten minutes after entering the instance, while everyone was following the manager and listening to him explain how to make wax figures, this player suddenly fell into a large pot filled with molten wax.

The most bizarre part was that the iron pot was 1.6 meters tall, climbing it would require a normal person to exert some effort, yet he "fell" in when no one was paying attention.

Players are not ordinary people, and the one who died was the strongest among them. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that even if he had fallen into a furnace of molten steel, he should have been able to crawl out with a breath left to take a recovery potion.

But he died just like that, not at the hands of a BOSS, but in a pool of molten wax.

Besides, as is widely known, the first day of entering an instance is the safest time when death triggers are generally not activated.

Although this instance has a shorter duration, making this piece of advice less applicable, normally, player deaths begin to occur after the commencement of the instance content, as death triggers are activated through the plot progression.

But how did that player die at the earliest stage, even before the plot had begun to unfold? It was simply too strange.

Due to this, after discussions, Qi Chanyang decided to use his most precious item – a summoning tool.

As for whom to summon... It had to be Xie Fangcheng, of course!

Meanwhile, Qi Chanyang was already briefing Xie Fangcheng on the current situation.

"【Wax Museum】, a level two instance. Upon entering, players become staff members of the museum, responsible for the daily maintenance of wax figures and the creation of more. We need to create five more wax figures to clear this instance," he said, casting a glance towards the entrance.

From outside, the faint sounds of conversation could be heard.

Qi Chanyang continued, "Today, eleven guests have visited the Wax Museum."

Having cleared numerous instances, Xie Fangcheng quickly grasped the implications, regardless of his previous clearing methods or the extent of his engagement.

"Are the wax figures made from real people? Are you planning to target these eleven guests?"

Qi Chanyang nodded, "Yes."

But after nodding, he forced a wry smile, "However, I feel that it will be extremely difficult for me to follow through."

"Hmm?"

Qi Chenyang remained silent.

The player guarding the entrance couldn't help but whisper a reminder to them, "The guests have arrived! Hurry up, or the manager might get angry!"

Qi Chenyang sighed, "Brother Jie, let's go out first. However, we need to come up with a cover for your sudden appearance... Our current story is that we are college students who have just started working here part-time. How about you adopt the same role?"

"That works."

"Shall we go find the manager to introduce you then?"

Jie Fangcheng took an item out of his backpack, "Hold on a moment, there's one more person."

"Ah..." Qi Chenyang paused momentarily before immediately recovering, "Zhang brother is still here too? Don't tell me you were together when I summoned you... You two really do have a close relationship! But for a level-two dungeon, Brother Jie, wouldn't you be enough by yourself?"

Coincidentally, as he was speaking, Jie Fangcheng finished using the item. A flash of white light, and immediately following Zhang Dao'an's landing, he heard the last sentence, "you would be enough by yourself."

Therefore, when Qi Chenyang politely greeted Professor Zhang, he acutely felt the hair on the back of his neck standing up, a tingling sensation creeping over his scalp.

"...Hello, Brother Zhang."

Zhang Dao'an gave him a brief glance. Although he appeared calm and his tone hadn't changed, it somehow sounded grating to the ears.

"It's not too bad, at least when Manager Jie summoned me, there was an 'agree' option that allowed me to finish my meal before coming over."

Qi Chenyang: "..."

Qi Chenyang felt like kneeling before him, "Brother Zhang, I didn't do it on purpose! The summoning item I bought works like this! It's really hard to find summoning items in the market lately. This one was only sold to me through Sister Shuangshuang's connections... I really had no other choice!"

Zhang Dao'an offered a faint smile, "The summoned person wasn't me, what does it have to do with me?"

Damn it!

It wasn't you, but you're still so intimidating!!

Qi Chenyang, on the verge of tears: "Well... I'm really sorry for interrupting your meal..."

Zhang Dao'an still had that seemingly calm yet somehow passive-aggressive demeanor.

"I don't really mind."

This is what you call not minding?!

Not just Qi Chenyang, even Jie Fangcheng was silently cursing in his heart at this moment.

However, while he was silently criticizing, he couldn't help but feel a sense of secret enjoyment.

See! Even for Professor Zhang, having a meal is important! Some people are cranky when they wake up, what would this be called for Professor Zhang? Hunger crankiness? Anyway, mealtime is too important!

True to their bond, their harmony is impeccable!

The player at the door witnessed the arrival of another prominent player — indeed, Zhang Dao'an has been quite famous lately.

Ever since Ronghua suddenly surged in popularity, the players from other guilds who cleared the "Digital Cruise" dungeon with them naturally joined the forums to discuss it with everyone.

Aside from Jie Fangcheng, whose combat power is incredibly high, another name has been cropping up frequently.

Zhang Dao'an.

Not to mention how similar this name is to the previous Ronghua guild leader, just the presence of this person in the dungeon is sometimes more overpowering than Jie Fangcheng, especially when collecting protection fees.

Despite the collection being conducted by Jie Fangcheng, everyone clearly knows who came up with this cunning scheme.

Everyone harbours a mix of fear and envy towards Jie Fangcheng, with many fantasizing about having his level of prowess.

But when it comes to Zhang Dao'an, people regard him with a mixture of fear and respectful distance.

Damn, this young man's tactics are rather ruthless!

But where there is disdain, there is also admiration. The "Digital Cruise", being Ronghua guild's first dungeon since the revamp, has had its numerous events recounted extensively by many.

The majority envy Jie Fangcheng's combat power, aspiring to be someone like him.

Yet, a portion of people aspire to be like Zhang Dao'an, clearly an astute mastermind capable of strategizing the entire dungeon run.

The player standing at the door belongs to this category.

Although he was thrilled to see Jie Fangcheng, the excitement was more akin to seeing a saviour.

Seeing Zhang Dao'an, on the other hand, was akin to encountering a true idol.

"Big shot!" This exclamation of "big shot" was tinged with deep reverence, the look towards Zhang Dao'an carried an enthusiastic fanaticism, a true fan's fervor, "Big shot, you're here too? What did this mere level-two dungeon do to deserve this!"

Having Jie Fangcheng was already a pleasant surprise, but now it seems like a buy-one-get-one-free deal with the addition of Professor Zhang.

The speaking player was visibly exhilarated.

There's no photo function in the game, and Zhang Dao'an's face hasn't reached a universally recognizable level yet.

But people do provide descriptions.

— "That guy who's always next to the green big shot, quite handsome, if you're unsure you can listen to him speak. If the tone is somewhat sardonic, then it's most likely him."

The handsome man beside the big shot, with a sarcastic tone, isn't this the one?

Zhang Dao'an was generally very polite and courteous to others, even offering a nod in acknowledgement at this time.

Witnessing their idol up close and live during the dungeon run, the player at the entrance was extremely excited, swiftly detailing the current predicament, "Big shot, we don't know how to clear this dungeon at the moment, mainly because the unexplained deaths are too terrifying. Do you know what's happening? Do you have any good solutions?"

Zhang Dao'an shook his head.

"Ah..." The player paused for a moment.

But it was to be expected, given that they had just arrived at the dungeon...

"I just arrived at the dungeon half a minute ago, how would I immediately know what’s going on?" Saying this, Jiang Dao'an cast a glance at Qi Chanyang, who was pretending to be a quail at the side, "I was just having a meal in the restaurant a moment ago, and I came here before even the flavor of the food faded. Could you give me some time to gather my thoughts?"

Qi Chanyang: "..."

Qi Chanyang had tears streaming down his face.