Chapter 144: Recollections of the Wax Museum (Part Three)

Chapter 144: Recollections of the Wax Museum (Part Three)

Jiang Dao'an's words were truly difficult to comprehend.

Hearing this, several players furrowed their brows, exchanging bewildered glances.

Xie Fangcheng, on the other hand, was the first to catch on.

"Is this the second time the game has been saved? Therefore, despite Xiao Yang clearly entering the dungeon yesterday, he mentioned that he had only started playing half an hour ago when he called us today?"

"What??" The other players were stunned.

This matter was only briefly mentioned by Qi Chanyang when Xie Fangcheng arrived earlier. Realizing that this detail might hold significance, Xie Fangcheng chose not to discuss it further, until Jiang Dao'an arrived.

Upon his arrival and understanding the situation, Jiang Dao'an quickly arrived at a conclusion in his mind.

It was only now that the surrounding players realized that it was not the second day of the public dungeon as they had thought, but actually the third day. Everyone was collectively struck with disbelief.

A new idea was even proposed.

"Could it be that time flows differently inside and outside this instance?"

No one can easily come to terms with the idea of having been "reset."

And everyone is accustomed to treating NPCs as expendable cannon fodder.

But if this instance, as Zhang Dao'an suggested, is a game where those six NPCs can save and retry... then what does that make the players in this instance?

Role reversal? Have they become the expendable NPCs?

After Zhang Dao'an's words, one player's expression turned particularly grave.

"I see..."

His companion couldn't help but ask, "Liu Heqing, what do you mean by 'I see'?"

Liu Heqing gave a wry smile, "I have a personal skill with a 24-hour cooldown period, and it still has one hour and forty-five minutes left before I can use it again. I thought maybe I accidentally activated it yesterday, so I didn't think much of it..."

The crowd paused, and soon another player spoke after checking his system inventory, "I had a one-use item with considerable damage output. I'm certain I didn't use it, but now it's gone."

Items aren't skills; some players routinely check their skills upon entering an instance, but hardly anyone checks their inventory.

The reason is simple; player skills are like the clothes on one's back—a quick glance at the list reveals all. For players who haven't cleared an instance a hundred times, their skill list is quite straightforward.

Items are different.

There are offensive items, wearable items, one-use items, commonly-used items, and even useless but fun items. Take Qiao Mai, a player with a side business, as an example: her inventory holds combs, hair dye, hair dryers, and vanity mirrors—basically, a portable beauty salon.

Since there's no concept of a warehouse in the game, players carry all their items, useful or not. Qichan Yang, who has cleared seven instances, has collected fifty to sixty different items and rarely browses through his system inventory.

Only now did a player realize that his one-use attack item was missing, and everyone began to feel that Zhang Dao'an's theory was likely correct.

Someone added, "If this is a save-game, and we're on the second save, then it would explain why Brother Liu died in the pot not long after entering the instance."

He had triggered an NPC's death rule in the previous save but had no idea what that rule was or why it happened. It was only in this cooldown (CD) that he died.

This guy named Zhang Dao'an, has he been in the instance for even ten minutes? His deduction skills are impressive. How did he manage to infer so much about this instance from such scant clues?

At this moment, Qi Chanyang and the five player representatives finally finished copying the system messages they had received.

Zhang Dao'an placed the two pieces of paper together.

Qi Chanyang entered the instance as a "wax museum staff member," while the system messages for the five players identified them as "tourists visiting the wax museum."

【Instance: Memory Wax Museum (Level 2)】

【Summary: After enjoying a wonderful college experience, some classmates suggest visiting a wax museum rumored to be somewhat creepy. The courageous among you readily agree. Eleven fresh graduates enter the wax museum—is it a good idea or a bad one?】

【Content: Does the wax museum seem a bit strange to you? Aren't the wax figures a little too lifelike? What secrets lie behind all this? Discover the truth about the wax museum! Eliminate all evils once and for all!】

【Clearance Condition: Perfect Clear】

【No one has cleared this instance in history; additional hints will be provided by the system.】

【Hint: What is the truth about the wax museum? Would you care to know?】

It didn't strike him until he saw the two papers side by side. That's when Qi Chanyang understood why Zhang Dao'an had repeatedly confirmed the clearance conditions with him.

"Our clearance condition isn't to protect the wax figures—it's to 'Perfectly Clear' the instance!" Cold sweat broke out all over Qi Chanyang as he blurted out the revelation.

Fortunately, Zhang Dao'an was indeed brilliant. He had managed to spot the inconsistencies in the clearance conditions provided by Qi Chanyang merely through players' descriptions and interactions with NPCs. He used the most straightforward and effective method: he asked Qi Chanyang and another player to copy them down verbatim.

If they had stuck to verbal summaries instead of writing it down word for word, then Qi Chanyang would have continued to offer his own subjective analysis. He would have distilled what he thought were the key points and conveyed this second-hand information to Zhang Dao'an.

Finally seeing the unfiltered message, Zhang Dao'an nodded slightly.

"That aligns."

While Qi Chanyang was able to follow his train of thought, the other players remained baffled.

"What does this clearance condition mean?"

Zhang Dao'an spoke, "A 'Perfect Clear' refers not to us, but to the six NPCs who are playing a save-game."

"You mean... we need to cooperate with the NPCs to achieve a 'Perfect Clear' for them?"

Zhang Dao'an nodded.

The players exchanged glances. Someone immediately asked, "Boss, what are the conditions for the NPCs' 'Perfect Clear'?"

"The hint already told you—to discover the 'true nature of the wax museum'."

The true nature?

What "true nature" could this wax museum possibly have?