Artwork Appraisal

Overall, this is a copy where there is competition between the copies.

Ten people, plus two who sneaked in later, made a total of twelve people competing for five spots. They were tasked with finding five problematic paintings in the second-floor art exhibition area, taking them down, and handing them over to the exhibition organizer on the third floor.

Those who do not qualify will leave the instance just like most other monsters. In other words, their gains in this instance will be very low—almost negligible. It's as if they've wasted eight hours on a meaningless adventure.

The process of finding the fakes is where the danger lies. First, the five problematic paintings themselves are highly aggressive. You might find that you've been killed by the painting before you even have a chance to take it down, just like the note says: when you see it, it sees you too.

Secondly, besides the paintings, there are other sources of danger within this venue, such as the sofas in the lobby on the first floor.

According to Ning Feng, some decorations in the second-floor corridor, such as the red silk around the picture frames, the ancient armor or stone sculptures placed in the corners, could also be deadly, especially since they had not yet regained their power and were in their weakest state. The ghostly power that would normally not harm them was enough to kill them at this moment.

Dying in a dungeon is equivalent to instant death, and the area is confined to a specific scene, leaving no escape.

Therefore, before Yu Xing arrived, the ten experiencers who entered the Art Museum instance in the mirror all shared a tacit understanding: each of them would rely on their own abilities to find fakes, increase their chances of getting opportunities, and try their best to save their lives in danger.

It would be best if they could get the fake painting safely, and no one else could use underhanded tricks to steal it—normally this would be quite common, but now they are nominally teammates of a twenty-person team.

If you don't get it, then leave the art museum peacefully. Wasting time is better than giving up on life.

Ning Feng seemed very sincere. Judging from the detail in his description and his sunny smile, one couldn't help but want to believe everything he said.

Of course, Ning Feng is not a person who is consistent in his words and deeds. Yu Xing had already noticed this in Angel's deduction. Compared to the sunny big brother next door, Ning Feng is more suitable to be called a mental patient who is good at hiding his true self. If you believe everything a mental patient says, then you have probably been infected.

However, the brief conversation still gave Yu Xing a lot of information about this instance. He would judge the authenticity of the information himself, but for now, he needed to thank Ning Feng.

"So, after the free time, instead of going to the second floor, you came to the lounge wanting to sleep. Did you decide to give up this spot?" Yu Xing asked curiously, his gaze subtly sweeping across Ning Feng's face as he observed the other's micro-expressions.

"I wasn't really interested at first, but that kid Yun Si said getting a spot would give us an advantage on Dead Silent Island. He said many NPCs on Dead Silent Island are interconnected, and if we encounter hidden storylines at the art museum, we might be able to unlock the secrets and take the initiative." Ning Feng shrugged, completely unconcerned. "What he said makes a lot of sense, but I'm tired. Do you know how much damage three hours of looking at those flashy, ugly oil paintings did to my eyes?"

Yu Xing's eyes lit up, and she wholeheartedly agreed.

He hadn't expected Ning Feng to have such a good eye for art; at least he could tell that the paintings were really ugly.

"So you're planning to rest in the lounge for a while before going up to compete for a spot, a rather laid-back approach to the competition?" he pressed.

"Yes, he shares the same attitude as me." Ning Feng gestured to the chess player who had sat down on the sofa next to him. "By the way, this young man is considered the wise one in our team, but he's also quite lazy and plans to take a break. Only that idiot Yun Si has so much energy for everything... Sigh, getting old just isn't the same as being a young person."

The player holding the chess piece twitched slightly, but his words were ruthless. "Your inability is your problem, don't drag me into it. I'm still young too."

"... What has your sister been teaching you lately?" Ning Feng looked into his underage teammate's eyes with a complicated expression. "Why do you always sound so inappropriate? Humph, you rascal."

"Don't talk to me like that, it's disgusting." The player, seemingly used to the captain's occasional erratic behavior, responded calmly, then looked at Yu Xing.

He was actually more interested in Cold Wine, because Cold Wine had an aura that made the evil rabbit in his arms feel threatened, vaguely revealing the other party's strength. In comparison, Yu Xing seemed like an ordinary person - only with an ordinary aura.

As someone who has weathered many storms, he knows very well that when a person's appearance exceeds the standard that a normal human should have, and is also very pale, like Yu Fengchen, then it is definitely not a pretty vase, but a change in appearance caused by some kind of curse or power.

Yu Xing met this condition; his pale face was like a ghost, his breath was weak, his black hair was somewhat messy, and his eyes shone with an unfathomable dark light.

Such a person is certainly dangerous, the kind who hides their claws and lurks in the shadows, ready to bare their fangs at any moment—a hidden danger.

However, this did not prevent the player from developing a desire to study the aura emanating from Cold Wine.

He looked around for a while, then finally suppressed his thoughts. "Since there are two more competitors now, I'd better not rest."

Ning Feng shrugged. "Of course, with these two fare-dodging friends around, there's no way we can rest even if we wanted to."

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, everyone present could understand what it meant... Zhao Yijiu probably could too.

What was originally just a "friendly sparring" among ten experience testers has suddenly turned into two "hostile camps." Apart from Ning Feng, the executor, and Yun Si whom they call Yun Si), the remaining seven experience testers will inevitably harbor hostility towards Yu Xing and Zhao Yijiu, since they are indeed enemies.

In this situation, it's not just about having two more competitors; it's like suddenly having two deadly opponents on a stage where the competition is supposed to end in a draw. The remaining seven people will inevitably prefer someone from the Experience Master camp to get the spot rather than give it to the Deducer.

Yu Xing wasn't the type to give up easily. During their conversation, Ning Feng learned that the deducers hadn't discovered the mirror yet, meaning these two must have come to the art museum of their own volition. Regardless of the method they used, they were already there and would definitely want to secure a spot to stay.

This really stirred up trouble.

The presence of Yu Xing and Zhao Yijiu could not be concealed. Even if the NPCs could not distinguish between those who evaded tickets and those who bought tickets, to outsiders, the presence of these two faces was like a lighthouse in the dark, easily spotted.

The original agreement was that everyone would rely on their own abilities, and even help each other save lives when necessary. But now, Yu Xing and Zhao Yijiu are sitting ducks. Those seven experience testers probably wish the ghosts would target them, or at least help the ghosts target them.

Yu Xing had already anticipated this when she realized that the art museum instance had been activated by the experience tester. It seemed that Ning Feng and his team were having an even harder time, not only having to find the fakes but also having to secretly help Yu Xing and Zhao Yijiu so that they wouldn't get caught by the other experience tester.

The fact that two teams from two different systems could make contact is best kept secret from everyone except themselves, otherwise the consequences could be unpredictable. Therefore, their "goodwill" must also be kept well hidden.

"Does the art museum have a clock?" Yu Xing asked.

He ran down from the second floor and circled the lobby on the first floor, but found nothing that could indicate the time. However, in this instance, time is a very clear piece of information, and it's impossible for it not to be shown.

"No clock, but watches." Ning Feng stood up. "The tour leaders all have watches on their wrists. They're the ones who remind us of the time. They said when we were dismissed that they would stay in different areas on the second floor, so we can ask them for the time. Alright, that's enough. Let's go."

The four of them lingered in the lounge for about half an hour, which was quite a luxury.

It's time to head up to the second floor and have an unexpected battle for a spot with the others—none of them think that these half hours will make them miss their chance. After all, including the three hours for the tour, this replica has a total of eight hours allotted to identifying fakes, which shows how small the difference between fakes and genuine articles is, and how much time it will take.

Even Yu Xing thought so, after all, in this art museum, whether it was genuine or fake, it was all the same trash in his eyes.

Yu Xing also stood up. He saw Ning Feng walk to the door and turn the doorknob, and the sounds from outside reached his ears once again.

There aren't many people left in the lobby on the first floor now; most of them are ghost NPCs who came down to rest after visiting the second floor. The noise level is much lower than before.

Satisfied with the intelligence exchange, Yu Xing decided to play the good guy and ease the pressure on Ning Feng and his group as mediators. He stopped Ning Feng and said, "There's a medium-sized half-length portrait of a middle-aged woman in black in the C-2 corridor. Perhaps it's a fake."

The museum has many corridors, so each corridor has its own number. The letters indicate the sections, and the numbers indicate the specific numbers of the sections. Section C is basically filled with portraits of women.

This arrangement created three or four corridors; Yu Xing discovered this rule while running around on the second floor.

"Wow, you're not kidding me, are you?" Ning Feng casually admitted his suspicion. "Are you suggesting I go and take the fall for you while you reap the benefits?"

"Am I that kind of person? Let me tell you this, I'm an extremely kind person, I would never take advantage of you." Yu Xing said confidently, but there's no trust between mentally ill people. His self-praise of his kindness only made Ning Feng laugh.

Ning Feng: "Okay, I trust you. I'll head straight there in a bit, and you guys should go look for it as soon as possible."

After saying that, he led the player who played the chess piece away from the lounge. Their appearance drew a second glance from the "people" in the hall, who then turned back to continue their own conversation without a second thought.

Yu Xing patted Zhao Yijiu, who had been silently listening for a long time, and said, "Let's go too."

"You gave them the clues, won't you lose out?" Zhao Yijiu asked.

"What loss? Do you think everyone is like me, just happens to be good at drawing?" Yu Xing laughed. "Let me tell you, there are two ways to find a fake."

Zhao Yijiu perked up her ears and listened attentively, mentally taking out a small notebook to record her learning.

"The first method is to directly sense the ghost's aura. The aura of a fake should be very well hidden, but by using various methods, even inducement—such as showing the ghost a weakness to lure it out to attack them—they can create opportunities for the ghost even in dangerous situations."

"There's another method. If none of the experience testers are skilled in painting, then I should be the only one who can do it." Yu Xing stood at the doorway, saw the people in the hall, lowered her voice, but sounded very pleased. "That is to analyze the painting styles of the artists in those art exhibitions, and directly find the one with a different style among a whole row of paintings by the same artist."

Commonly known as physical ghost identification.

"I can guarantee that, for me, the second method will be faster than everyone else's first method, so you don't need to worry, we have a huge advantage."

The reason why searching for fakes is a dangerous thing is that most people can only use the first method. When they are identifying a painting, they will actually do things that will agitate the ghosts in the painting, which is equivalent to actively attracting danger.

Yu Xing is different; this honest man is capable of cheating.

He appraises paintings in an artistic way, without disturbing the ghosts in the paintings, which eliminates a large part of the danger. Even if the experience testers see him and want to trip him up, they will suddenly find that they have nowhere to do so.

Unless one intends to utilize armor, red silk, or similar items, but since such items exist, they can be avoided. While they can be deadly, the success rate for seasoned experience testers and deducers might be low.

Yu Xing easily dodge such things.

Hearing Yu Xing say that, Zhao Yijiu's expression turned somewhat strange. "You really are..."

"Huanhuan, how many more surprises can I possibly give you?" Yu Xing consciously voiced the unspoken question Zhao Yijiu couldn't bring herself to say.

Then, amidst Zhao Yijiu's twitching forehead, he stepped out of the lounge.

"Huh?"

As soon as Yu Xing stepped out into the hall, a tall man sitting on the sofa looked over with a hint of surprise and uncertainty in his eyes.

They were two men dressed in very ornate aristocratic attire. They were probably from the same family, because their eyes were located on the sides of their faces.

At first glance, it bears a striking resemblance to the large fish in the sea.

They were even whispering among themselves.

When did this person arrive?

"I don't know, maybe I just didn't see it during my visit. It's so short."

Yu Xing: "..."