Chapter 148: Wax Figure Museum (VII)

Chapter 148: Wax Figure Museum (VII)

Inside the wax museum.

Qi Chanyang and others had just undergone a staff training session.

"To craft a wax figure that is vivid and lifelike, the core method involves imbuing the statue with a soul," the assistant manager, responsible for their training, slowly articulated. His grey hair and rugged, wrinkled face devoid of any elderly gentleness, instead, portrayed cold and harsh demeanor, clearly suggesting that he was a challenging character to deal with.

At these words, the players couldn't help but exchange glances with each other.

Qi Chanyang cautiously inquired, "How exactly do we go about imbuing it with a soul?"

The assistant manager stared at him intently.

"You'll find out," he replied.

The conversation ended abruptly as the indifferent assistant manager proceeded to introduce them to the various rooms within the wax museum.

"Keep the windows open during the day, and close them after turning on the lights at night. If the lights go out, find a way to manage on your own."

"What does this mean? Does the lights going out trigger a death rule?"

Everyone earnestly remembered every word he said, communicating with each other through occasional glances.

"This deputy manager seems to be hiding something. Could he possibly be the final boss we will have to face?"

After the introduction, the deputy manager left behind a handwritten guidebook to the wax museum, saying "Take a look yourselves," before entering a room labeled “Staff Room”.

As soon as he left, several people breathed a sigh of relief.

They all began discussing animatedly, sharing their understanding of this instance one after another.

"Their mission to pass the level is to protect the wax figures from damage. Apparently, a group of tourists is about to arrive. It seems highly likely that these tourists might damage the wax figures, making them the first batch of NPCs they need to guard against."

"We are unsure about the strength of these NPCs, but being a public instance, the difficulty shouldn't be too high, right?"

Just as everyone was discussing, they heard the honking of a car horn from outside.

The five of them quickly assumed their roles.

"Regardless of what kind of guests the NPCs are, the later the conflict occurs, the better."

"Of course, if it really comes to a confrontation, the difficulty of a public instance wouldn't be too high, right?"

As if to validate their thoughts, a few tourists slowly emerged from the vehicle.

The leading group of six seemed to have a good relationship, huddling together and whispering amongst themselves after getting out of the car.

But upon seeing the five players standing at the entrance, the six NPCs showed a friendly and harmless smile, constantly looking behind them afterwards.

"These NPCs seem to have a good temperament! Many of us have pre-warning skills, and since no warnings have been triggered at this moment, it's clear that these NPCs aren't very strong."

This is what everyone was thinking.

Soon after, another group of five people disembarked, appearing quite ordinary, but also looked back as they stepped out of the vehicle.

"Eleven NPCs, not bad at all. None of them seem difficult to handle, so it seems this instance truly is of a public difficulty level...??"

Qi Chanyang stared in disbelief at Zhong Dao'an who was getting out of the car, unable to hold back a soft "Oh my God."

Following that, a green light hopped out of the car, instantly eliciting five exclamations of "Oh my God."

Qi Chanyang opened and closed his mouth, looking at Xie Fangcheng in confusion.

"Brother Xie? Brother Zhong?? How come you guys are here?"

During the car ride, it didn't take long for Zhong Dao'an to analyze the situation nearly thoroughly.

The five infinite-flow players in the car eventually gathered to chat, expressing their honor to be in the same instance as the "big shots" while also curiously inquiring about the much-debated Battle of Chaoyang currently circulating on the forums.

Jie Fangcheng is generally good-natured and always ready to answer any questions, making the car ride seem like a miniature fan meeting.

The other six player NPCs exchanged glances, noticing that these two peculiar and surreptitiously powerful "NPCs" seemed to have lost their memory from the last save point. Despite a lingering fear in their hearts, they gathered closer.

Over at Jie Fangcheng's side, it's bustling and hard to squeeze in... mainly because everyone's hearts are trembling, afraid that speaking a few extra words might lead to a direct death.

As a result, the other NPC who appeared gentle and cultivated, seated beside the big shot, became everyone's conversation partner.

Isn't this a coincidence?

Jing Dao'an smiled and quickly extracted the information he wanted to know.

Player NPCs, gaming, save points.

And judging by the looks of these individuals, they were likely beaten by Jie Fangcheng in the previous instance. Hence, the fear they exhibit towards Jie Fangcheng is deep-seated, a result of firsthand experience.

Why did he beat them... one can easily conjecture the reason; these players probably had even worse attitudes than the infinite-flow players, given that their deaths entail no penalties and they can reset the game.

In the previous save, he probably noticed their overly relaxed demeanour, worrying that they might reset the game out of boredom or other reasons, thus he deliberately set a death penalty for them, coercing them to seriously clear the instance and forcibly satisfying them.

It seems the approach worked quite well.

At this moment, the vehicle finally arrived in front of the wax museum. After Jie Fangcheng's brilliant entrance, everyone was startled and fearful, except for Qi Chanyang who was staring at him blankly.

Jie Fangcheng also found the situation rather bizarre.

In his memory, just a second ago he was dining in a restaurant, chatting and laughing with Jing Dao'an, and then the next second, a flash of white light occurred before his eyes and he found himself on an old-fashioned bus, entering the instance.

This is too much! He had just exited an instance and barely settled down at the restaurant; before he could even enjoy a few bites of his meal, he was pulled back into the infinite game.

Who is so looking for a beating?

There were many people around at the time, and the car wasn't very big, making it easy for conversations to be overheard. Jing Dao'an didn't elaborate much, merely stating, "It was Qi Chanyang who invited us here".

Qi Chanyang, huh... That youngster is thoughtful and fairly obedient, he wouldn't summon him without a very special circumstance.

Without Qi Chanyang's knowledge, he miraculously avoided a beating.

Jing Dao'an's explanation was very reasonable. As soon as he said it, Jie Fangcheng immediately believed him, but upon seeing Qi Chanyang, it seemed the latter was even more bewildered.

Jie Fangcheng couldn't help but turn his gaze towards Jing Dao'an.

As Qi Chanyang made eye contact with Jing Dao'an, he became even more confused.

Indeed, he had a summoning item in hand, but it was a single-use item, how could it possibly bring two people at once? Moreover, he was in good health and spirits, why would he summon Brother Jie for no reason? Qi Chanyang was not someone who lacked discernment.

Thinking this, Qi Chanyang began rummaging through his system backpack while explaining.

"It really wasn't me, I have no idea what's going on..."

It wasn't him shirking responsibility. Just look at the expression on Zhang Daoan's face, smirking yet not quite smiling; who wouldn't be scared seeing that?

Through Qi Chenyang's eyes, what on earth was happening now? He had diligently entered the instance, attentively listened to the NPC's staff training, eagerly arrived at the entrance to welcome guests, and was earnestly clearing his tough mission... yet, out of nowhere, he was being blindsided with blame, leaving Qi Chenyang utterly bewildered.

He couldn't possibly shoulder this blame! Seeing the resentful look in Zhang Daoan's eyes was even more frightening than a ghost's glare.

Qi Chenyang's pace of rummaging through his bag increased noticeably, striving hard to prove he genuinely hadn't summoned Brother Jie.

But bizarrely, as Qi Chenyang searched through his bag, the summoning item seemed to have vanished, nowhere to be found no matter how hard he looked.

What was happening? He had checked several times before entering the instance, the summoning item was definitely there. Everyone in Ronghua currently had a summoning item, a piece of equipment regarded as exceptionally rare among them; Qi Chenyang was no exception.

...Could it be that it had indeed been used? Could it be that Brother Jie was really summoned by him?

Just as a trace of apprehension began to emerge in Qi Chenyang's heart, Zhang Daoan's voice resonated eerily around them.

"At that time, I was dining with Manager Jie, we had ordered dishes worth over thirty thousand points. I had just taken a few bites when a flash of white light appeared before my eyes, and Manager Jie disappeared right under my nose."

Qi Chenyang let out an audible "ah".

Zhang Daoan said with a smile, "No worries, I don't mind. After all, the initiator has already forgotten, and I'm not the kind of person who is unreasonable, right?"

Qi Chenyang: "......"

The way that was phrased, not just Qi Chenyang, even the players standing around him couldn't help but take a step back.

Not willing to give up despite his lack of memory, Qi Chenyang turned to look at Jie Fangcheng, seeking verification, "Ah... Brother Jie, was it really me who brought you here?"

Jie Fangcheng being factual, replied: "I have no idea."

See!!

Unable to restrain himself, Qi Chenyang turned back to Zhang Daoan, but upon making eye contact, he immediately accepted the blame.

"I, I will take you both out for a meal..."

Zhang Daoan indeed had a deep understanding of himself and chuckled at that moment.

"I guess, you must have said the same thing last time too."

Qi Chenyang: "......"

Tears streaming down his face, Qi Chenyang exclaimed, "I was wrong! Two meals! Two meals!!"

They didn't avoid others while conversing. The infinite stream players surrounding Qi Chenyang were fine, even though they didn't understand the specifics of what they were talking about, phrases like restaurant, going out, summoning, were still comprehensible.

But it was different for player NPCs.

During the previous two saves, they weren't at all interested in these seemingly clueless enforcer "NPCs". They only knew that these individuals possessed special abilities, and that was all that mattered to them. As for their true identities, why bother concerning themselves with that?

At this moment, the conversation between the group was overheard by several individuals who couldn't quite recall the context behind their words, feeling only that something was off, as if these individuals were not mere NPCs.

As everyone was racking their brains to figure out what exactly was going on, Yang Dao'an had already led the unlimited flow of tourist players into the wax museum.

On Qi Chanyang's end, although it was evident that he was acquainted with these two big shots and seemed to share a good relationship with them, fate had other plans—the two groups had entered a competitive instance.

Indeed.

The moment Xie Fangcheng and the other appeared, the employee players on Qi Chanyang's side quickly realized that their mission in this instance was to protect the wax figures, while it was most likely the tourists' objective to destroy them.

So, this essentially turned them into adversaries!

Damn... are we seriously facing such formidable opponents? This level two instance feels more like a level five one!!

Qi Chanyang? No matter how good Qi Chanyang's relationship with the others is, what use is it? Not to mention ordinary friends, even close relations like fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, or siblings, could potentially turn against each other in this setting.

The four exchanged wary glances, their eyes reflecting a shared vigilance.

For a moment, only the tourist players and NPCs seemed to have any conversation going, while a sense of fear and reluctance enveloped the employee players.

By the time the six player NPCs couldn't resist heading to the second floor to search for clues, only the players remained on the first floor.

At this moment, Qi Chanyang responded promptly, having realized the gravity of the situation.

"Have we lost our memories? Or have we entered a cycle of reincarnation?"

Yang Dao'an was the first to inquire: "How many days have you been in the instance?"

"The first day. We've only been here for about half an hour."

Yang Dao'an nodded in understanding: "In the memories of Manager Xie and myself, today marks the third day of the nationwide instance. You've been inside the instance for one day already."

"What??" Qi Chanyang was stunned.

Someone asked: "What exactly is happening? What does this mean?"

Yang Dao'an remained silent, simply stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"I probably explained this during the last save, didn't I?"

Save point.

Qi Chanyang was indeed attentive. Although he wasn't the most powerful, his mind worked fast.

"Are we... inside someone else's game?"

The six NPCs only made a symbolic inspection of the wax figures upon entering, exchanging a few words before heading straight to the second floor.

Moreover, their attitude towards the players seemed rather strange, as if they were fearful of something—like they had encountered them before and something had transpired.

They resembled new players who had just started the game, earnestly trying to play their roles in the instance while simultaneously eager to find clues and progress.

This sense of disconnection was really too glaringly obvious.

Initially, Qi Chanyang hadn't considered the game aspect, but with Yang Dao'an mentioning "save point", Qi Chanyang caught on immediately.

Yang Dao'an had begun to inquire about their respective conditions for clearing the level once again.

The last time they entered the instance, when he hadn't yet confirmed that this was someone else's game, Yang Dao'an had instantly noticed that something was amiss.

Now, he shook his head after hearing just a couple of sentences.

"No, it cannot possibly be a competitive instance."

"Why??"

Yang Dao'an turned to Qi Chanyang: "At the most basic level, if it were a competitive instance, how could the manager Xie, whom you summoned, possibly be your adversary?"

Before Qi Chanyang could react, Yang Dao'an had already resorted to the same method as in the previous instance, both sides started to transcribe their respective system prompts.

As Yang Dao'an watched them take notes from the prompts, he suddenly asked, "Are there really only five of you?"

"Huh?" Qi Chanyang and the others were baffled for a moment, unsure of what he was getting at.

It was merely a speculation from Yang Dao'an.

Why had Qi Chanyang summoned Xie Fangcheng in the last instance?

Had they encountered a dangerous situation? Qi Chanyang and his group must have experienced two save point restarts already, not summoning anyone during the first save, but doing so in the second.

This was a one-day-only instance. Why did they fail the first time? Didn't they sense the danger before failing, or did the danger and failure occur simultaneously?

Judging by the player NPCs upstairs, their search for clues wasn't going smoothly; they were still wandering around on the second floor, not seeming to engage in any other mischief.

Eliminating this group from consideration, the only variables left were the unlimited flow players and NPCs.

They hadn't encountered the NPCs yet, but the real NPCs shouldn't retain memories from each save, otherwise, there would be no game left for the players.

What about the unlimited flow players? Take Qi Chanyang as an example; after eliminating all other variables, why didn't he summon anyone during the first cycle, but did so in the second? Players don't retain memories, so they couldn't have known about the dangers in the instance and decided to call for assistance quickly the second time around.

That means... in the second cycle, they had sensed the danger before it could potentially cause a failure in the instance.

If the NPCs aren't causing trouble, or at least not much, what change amongst the players felt overly dangerous, leading to the unquestioning use of the summoning item...

A reduction in the number of players?

And it seems to have decreased quite inexplicably.

Yang Dao'an looked upstairs.

Six player NPCs... Could it be possible that there were initially six players on both sides?

But this speculation is purely a "guess" at this point. The truth, it seems, might only be revealed after successfully completing the level.

Yang Dao'an was merely making a casual remark.

Once both sides had copied down their respective system messages, and matched the information on paper, everyone noticed something unusually distinct.

Having read through, Yang Dao'an gave a nod.

"I understand now."

"? What have you understood?"

He gathered up the two pieces of paper, "I must have explained it to you all last time, I won't waste my breath repeating myself."

It has to be said, his tendency to leave sentences hanging genuinely made people want to throttle him, but who would dare to act on it?

"So, what do we do now?"

"We wait."

"Wait for what?"

"Wait for those NPCs to find the clues."

The group waited on the first floor, and shortly, the door to the workroom opened first.

The assistant manager, seeing so many people downstairs, paused briefly before raising his voice to ask, "What are all of you doing here?"

As the representative of the employee-players, Qi Chanyang stepped forward to answer, "Manager, these are new customers."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Qiulang and their group of six emerged from the unlocked storeroom with excited faces, clearly having found something.

However, this time, the group's actions conveyed an air of obedience; they thoughtfully concocted an excuse when they ran into the assistant manager.

"We were looking for the restroom but couldn't find it. We're really sorry."

After pointing them to the location, the assistant manager warned them not to come up to the second floor again before resuming his busy schedule.

Once the group of six came down excitedly, they exchanged glances, with Li Qiulang sneaking a peek at Xie Fangcheng.

"To be honest, we... um, we are not regular customers. We came here 'exploring' because we heard that there's something fishy about this place. Look, here are the clues we found."

Saying this, he pulled out a stack of newspapers from his bosom, presenting them to Xie Fangcheng with both hands.

Without even looking, Xie Fangcheng immediately handed them over to Yang Dao'an, before he couldn't resist asking, "You all seem quite afraid of me, don't you?"

"Ah? No, no, no, not at all."

Xie Fangcheng felt that he was always quite reasonable, and moreover...

He muttered, "Generally, those who fear me are ones I've slashed before. I don't recall ever slashing any of you."

You did slash me!! It hurt terribly!!!

A few people screamed internally.

Meanwhile, Yang Dao'an didn't monopolize the stack of newspapers he received. He laid them on the table, and everyone formed a circle to examine the papers.

Li Qiulang and the others suspected these were clues because the newspapers were found in a drawer in the storage room, wrapped in a layer of cloth, and seemed to be quite old, hinting at being a potential clue. However, they were unsure of their utility or what they might signify.

Not only were they clueless, but everyone else also felt bewildered after looking through the papers.

Only Yang Dao'an paused for a couple of seconds when he flipped to a particular page, but he didn't vocalize any thoughts.

"Let's keep looking for clues."

Soon, the time transitioned to evening.

When the assistant manager took Qi Chanyang and two others to the boiler room, leaving behind Xie Fangcheng and a few others, Yang Dao'an clearly sensed the mounting tension among the six player NPCs.

Did they die here?

With Xie Fangcheng around, these wax figures before them wouldn't stand a chance.

If they were to die, it was evidently something orchestrated by Yang Dao'an through requesting Xie Fangcheng's assistance.

At this moment, Yang Dao'an's expression even carried a hint of satisfaction.

Fearing death was a good thing; players who weren't afraid of death were the most unpredictable.

When the lights were turned off once again, this time, Yang Dao'an merely gestured with his hand.

"Smash them all, these wax figures are no longer of any use."

Green lights darted in the darkness, and swiftly, one by one, the wax figures were knocked to the ground.

When the assistant manager emerged from the boiler room, he saw the shattered wax figures illuminated by the flickering flames and his face changed drastically.

He swung his arms in fury.

"Don't smash them! Don't smash them!! They don't deserve to die!!! Why should they die?!!"

Xie Fangcheng turned a deaf ear to his cries.

These wax figures were not much different from zombies, mere walking corpses devoid of a real soul, powered only by a force resembling a soul. Moreover, they were primarily formed from resentment, lacking their own thoughts and simply operating based on the inherent nature of the resentment that animated them.

Smashing them was the lighter punishment. According to the strict rules of the underworld, the creators of these entities should also be captured.

Xie Fangcheng worked at a swift pace, demolishing the figures. The elderly assistant manager, stiff with anger, charged towards him, yelling as he approached.

"Xiaohua!!"

In an instant, the door to the upstairs workroom was suddenly burst open from the inside.

Before any of the players could react, a figure dashed straight towards Xie Fangcheng. Just when a collision seemed imminent, the figure came to an abrupt halt.

The players quickly turned their attention to see a little girl adorned in a floral dress standing before Xie Fangcheng, letting out two sharp breaths.

"Huh? Xiaohua, is it?"

Xie Fangcheng eyed the stitch marks on her, pausing for a moment before patting her head gently.

"You haven't had it easy, have you?" This young girl had already endured a hard life before; it was unknown how she had ended up in the game, becoming an NPC and facing even more hardships.

Xiaohua nuzzled against his hand, resembling a small puppy.

Yang Dao'an watched her, then shifted his gaze to Xie Fangcheng.

Sensing his gaze, Xie Fangcheng turned around, meeting Yang Dao'an's eyes with a somewhat puzzled expression.

"What's the matter now?"

Yang Dao'an adjusted his glasses slightly.

"I just feel that, last time, I probably told you as well..."

He looked at Xie Fangcheng: "Manager Xie tends to have a soft heart, doesn't he?"