Zhu Yan watched as Yang Zhanbai successfully pulled the door open a crack and slipped out of the auditorium.
He opened Yang Zhanbai’s private message window on the Player Forum, intending to keep an eye out for any messages from him later.
Just now, the video had described it as “a magnificent auditorium devoid of people.”
But even though the auditorium was visibly packed, why had it specifically added the phrase “devoid of people”?
The wording was simply too strange.
Zhu Yan suspected that the auditorium was the 【trap】 mentioned in the written prompt.
Once the video “brought” the viewers down into the auditorium, they would be unable to escape the “corruption,” just as the text had said.
In the video, the camera continued moving forward. Its perspective passed through the entrance of the Western Suburb Shelter and entered a corridor illuminated by white lights.
“After walking through this long corridor, we arrive at the inspection area.”
The sweet voice of the announcer, tinged with a slightly distorted broadcasting tone, continued its introduction.
“Here, we use advanced instruments to determine whether you are a Horror Creature, a 【Hunter】, or ssss...”
The signal malfunctioned again.
That pulsing sound returned, sounding just like a snake flicking its tongue.
Zhu Yan caught a brief flash of displeasure on Director Jin’s face.
But the camera continued operating as usual. Players like Zhu Yan, dressed in Alliance uniforms, remained standing in place without moving or showing any other reaction over such a minor incident.
A few parents’ hands, holding up their phones, froze ever so slightly. But the little interruption passed once again, and the female voice calmly resumed its introduction.
“...a player. After passing through the inspection hall and crossing a downward passage, we arrive at the elevator lobby.”
“There are twenty elevators here in total, leading respectively to the dormitory area, dining area, and deeper underground levels.”
“The Western Suburb Shelter is our home. Players who enter may not leave. We strive to provide every player with the finest possible destination.”
The camera zoomed in on the elevators, and the image flickered ever so slightly.
A simple, cheerful melody began playing. Perhaps it was only his imagination, but Zhu Yan felt that the image had become a little blurrier.
It was as though someone had applied a very light sharpening filter to the video.
On the surface, the colors and the edges of the scenery appeared more distinct.
But in reality, the excessive noise had blurred certain details, making the entire image look slightly distorted.
Zhu Yan adjusted his breathing.
He checked the other people in the auditorium once more—especially Jin Rongxu.
Jin Rongxu was still sitting in his chair with a composed, proper demeanor.
Meanwhile, the red words before Zhu Yan’s eyes flickered, and another line appeared.
“Mr. Ghost Story, I hope that before the corruption of the auditorium is complete, you can help keep the players confined to this floor.”
Two new lines of red text appeared immediately after that sentence.
It seemed that this creature called 【Illusion】 was speaking directly to Zhu Yan.
“They may realize that something is wrong.”
“Confinement. I’m confident I can eat—eat people, eat people, eat people, eat people, eat people...”
“Don’t worry. The food cannot launch an effective attack against me. Make sure they cannot escape.”
Were players unable to target it because this thing was a conceptual, incorporeal Horror Creature?
That was far too overpowered.
Watching the elevator plummet rapidly through the video, Zhu Yan understood.
The corruption had begun in the auditorium, while this Level 10 Horror Creature was unable to overtake the entire shelter in such a short time.
Therefore, it could only order Zhu Yan to establish a rule and imprison the players on this floor.
This was the only weakness of 【Illusion】 that Zhu Yan knew of—and it happened to be something he could exploit.
“Now, we have arrived at the cafeteria area.”
People came and went through the cafeteria.
The female voice remained sweet. “This place is filled with food. We provide all players with plentiful meals.”
The camera swept over one smiling face after another. Zhu Yan noticed that the video quality seemed even blurrier now.
But that was not the important part.
The important thing was that keeping the players confined to this floor would not be a problem.
The problem was that he needed to isolate Jin Rongxu in a small, secluded place so he could act against him without anyone noticing. At the same time, he needed to temporarily keep Director Jin alive.
He had not forgotten.
His 【A Holiday Filled with Hidden Currents】 quest required him to feed the Gu worm to Director Jin and ensure that the Gu worm survived.
If Director Jin died now, Zhu Yan would be unable to complete the quest.
Besides, once he became “Jin Rongxu” in the future, he would also need Director Jin as his backer.
Director Jin knew far more crucial information, and he possessed far greater authority.
If Zhu Yan wanted to rise through the ranks of the 【Human Alliance】, gathering information was unavoidable.
Until he had uncovered everything he needed to know, he could not casually take Director Jin’s life.
Zhu Yan curled the corners of his lips, revealing a silent, cold smile in the darkness.
He needed to find a secluded room.
One where he could imprison Jin Rongxu and deal with him.
Through the gaps between the red characters, Zhu Yan quickly scanned the surroundings. His eyes ultimately settled on the brightly lit area behind the stage.
A strand of 【Mist】 left the puppet’s body and drifted, twisting, toward the darkness.
“...Next, we will venture deeper underground to take a look at the breeding area, school, and auditorium.”
The elevator display stopped at “-20.”
From this point onward, the camera began to shake. Zhu Yan could not tell whether it was due to anxiety or excitement.
Zhu Yan noticed that the teacher onstage looked somewhat stiff. She seemed to have realized something, and the sweat at her temples had caused the makeup on her face to run slightly.
She nervously glanced toward the audience, but the intermittently flashing cameras and the Human Alliance players standing at the ready seemed to make her hesitate.
The 【Mist】 drifted past her and entered the backstage area, quickly selecting a dressing room with a door.
The dressing room was spacious and empty. It could not have been more suitable.
Zhu Yan stared at the unwritten “Rule 2” and carefully wrote a line of text.
“Jin Rongxu must personally go to the backstage dressing room of the auditorium and attack the dungeon’s Horror Creature. Otherwise, all players will be unable to escape the auditorium.”
After writing “Rule 2,” Zhu Yan carefully surveyed his surroundings once more.
The smile on Director Jin’s face had faded somewhat.
Zhu Yan could more or less understand why—the video’s camera was shaking more and more violently, creating an almost dizzying effect.
The illustrated woman in the bottom-right corner was still waving her arm in an unsettling manner.
It maintained the same rigid smile, but as the camera drew closer, the frequency of its waving increased.
“No one will go to the auditorium.”
The camera suddenly accelerated and slammed directly into the auditorium doors.
“No one will enter the auditorium.”
Zhu Yan suddenly felt a faint sense of suffocation, as if his chest had become clogged.
“Today is a special occasion. Let us go inside together...”
Creeeak—
The speakers emitted the sound of a great door opening.
The auditorium in the video was filled with people. A formally dressed female teacher stood onstage, maintaining a smile, while the students’ red neckerchiefs were especially conspicuous beneath the lights.
Only, everything was blurry.
The image has been sharpened to an almost absurd degree. The camera is fixed on the female teacher’s face, whose features have lost all definition, leaving behind nothing but a field of vividly colored noise.
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
