Double Agent!
Not long after, a commotion arose downstairs.
Most of the people had normal hearing, and they only heard shouts coming from below, so they knew that the expected trouble had begun.
Amidst the worried gazes of some, Yu Xing tossed his expensive watch in his hand. Yun Si, noticing his seemingly weak wrist, was the first to speak, stopping him. "You... don't throw it on the ground..."
This is a life-saving token; without it, everyone is gone.
Yu Xing: "..."
He gripped his watch tightly, speechless, yet also finding it somewhat amusing. He figured it would be rare to see so many "big shots" collectively tense over a watch after this event. He said, "Let's go. I reckon someone'll take the opportunity to run up to the third floor and hurt someone."
"Do you think... the person in charge can stop those down there?" Ning Feng stroked his smooth chin as he walked towards the Art Appreciation Room with the others, speculating as he did so.
"If the viewers are D-level, then the person in charge is B-level." Zhao Yijiu, who hadn't said a word since coming up, suddenly replied to Ning Feng, her cold yet confident tone surprising everyone.
"Really? How did you tell?" the female product reviewer asked curiously.
"... Perception." Zhao Yijiu didn't want to say much to anyone other than Yu Xing, only wanting to emphasize one thing. "When the person in charge gets serious, they could probably kill all the spectators below at a great cost."
This is only in theory. First of all, not all viewers will be instigated; most will just be watching the show. In that case, if the person in charge really wants to use violent means, the pressure won't be that great.
Secondly, even if they were to kill them all, the spectators wouldn't just stand in a line for the person in charge to challenge them one by one; they would run around everywhere, and there would definitely be some who managed to rush up to the third floor and cause trouble for the painter.
In short, they anticipated the development of the situation in advance and avoided the most direct impact of the first wave. Now they only need to hide behind the painters in the Art Appreciation Room on the third floor and wait for the few who slipped through the net.
The group arrived at the door of the Art Appreciation Room. This time, the door was tightly closed. Yu Xing looked at the red blood on the door with disgust, paused for a moment, and then Zhao Yijiu stepped forward to take his place and knocked on the door.
The person who opened the door was the manager's subordinate, the fat man.
Upon seeing so many people, the fat man grinned, revealing streaks of bright red blood clinging to his teeth, which stretched out as he spoke, "What... are you all here for?"
"I heard some commotion... Was it you who started it?" The fat man's voice was sinister, tinged with obvious excitement.
"Ah, you think we're here to die?" Yu Xing muttered, voicing the fat man's thoughts, then added, "We forced outsiders aren't as stupid as those people down there... the token."
He waved his watch in front of the fat man's eyes. "We reminded the person in charge of a few things, and he allowed us to take refuge here during the riots. He's very grateful to us and asked you to protect us from injury. If you fail to do so, he'll punish you when he returns."
"Really?" The fat man looked at him suspiciously. No matter how he thought about it, the person in charge would not say such a kind thing.
That's definitely impossible.
But the fat man has no evidence to prove that the person in charge didn't say such a thing.
Yu Xing confidently pushed aside the hesitant fat man blocking her way and walked into the dark Art Appreciation Room. The painters inside were puzzled and looked at the eleven people who had suddenly rushed in, exchanging bewildered glances at each other at the round table.
"Hey, what's going on here?"
"You've come to ask me for an autograph?"
"What's all that noise down there? It's as annoying as mosquitoes."
Where's my head...?
"Everyone," Yu Xing interrupted them with a smile, "Let's take refuge in the Art Appreciation Room for a bit; some extremists might storm in later..."
The painter Andy shrugged it off. "What does it have to do with us if the extremists start charging? I heard everything. Didn't they want to beat you up?"
Although the fat man was suspicious, he still closed the door to the Art Appreciation Room for the sake of the watch, and said to the group of outsiders, "Please sit on the sofa for a while, my boss may be back soon."
Everyone took their seats and decided to let Yu Xing perform.
"Even if there's punishment, it will only be for the staff here. Although we have a collaboration on the art exhibition, we're not subordinate to the museum. Threats won't work on us." Ms. Linda seemed to be in a good mood. She stared at Yu Xing's figure, trying to find a trace of fear on his face. "This museum... the deputy director went on a long trip, taking a lot of security personnel with him. Apart from the person in charge of this exhibition, the director, those who remained aren't very capable fighters. If someone really comes in, they might not be able to protect you!"
"You can't say that. After all, we did help you." Yu Xing's tone turned cold, as if she was very dissatisfied with their reaction. "Do you know what excuse those people used to cause trouble? They said your paintings are not as good as a few fakes, and yet you have the nerve to hold an art exhibition here."
Ms. Linda's expression changed instantly.
The other painters also showed expressions of disbelief and anger. Yu Xing pressed on, "Their biggest target in coming to the third floor isn't just us, who helped them, but you, the culprits who, in their eyes, wasted their time, emotions, and money to come to a worthless art exhibition."
"You!" A painter stood up, his already frightening eyes glaring angrily at Yu Xing.
"You all saw and examined those fakes with your own eyes. You all know in your hearts how their painting skills compare to yours, and you know whether what I'm saying is true or not." Yu Xing was very blunt, calmly sitting on the sofa. The experience testers exchanged glances and decided to continue this courageous journey together.
"Indeed, I saw other viewers praising those forgeries more than once when I was on the second floor. They all admire art so much, they must be upset that a group of painters would hide their truly good paintings in the Art Appreciation Room to protect their reputations." Yun Si cracked his knuckles as he moved his fingers. "Moreover, to avoid embarrassment, the organizers haven't made the reason for the forgeries in the exhibition public. If the staff uses this as an excuse, they can easily ruin the exhibition's reputation, and you painters who provided the works will also have a huge stain on your record in the future."
As he spoke, he whistled like a petty thug.
"And if you don't protect us and let us die here, it seems the rules have been broken. We did what we were supposed to do, but we didn't get the corresponding reward... It's really regrettable. Although you might not be punished for breaking the rules, the person in charge will be... Hey, he's so pitiful. I hope he won't be angry when he comes back." Ning Feng deliberately exaggerated his worry, "No way, no way, he won't take his anger out on you because he was punished, will he? How scary, person in charge."
Everyone: "..." Wow, those who had only heard of each other before but had never worked together felt that they understood each other much better now.
Having said all that, these painters, though not subordinates of the person in charge, were equally intimidated by his power. Under these circumstances, they thought it over and realized there was no reason not to help.
As they engaged in their friendly conversation, the commotion below continued, with sounds faintly audible through the floor that were clearly louder than the museum's permitted decibel levels.
As the Art Appreciation Room quieted down, a few hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor like a pebble thrown into the sea, drawing everyone's attention. The running was disorderly, but it was definitely coming this way. The fat man rubbed his hands together by the door, a sinister smile spreading across his face.
Yu Xing waited quietly for the intruder to appear. He expected that there should be between three and seven intruders on the third floor. Apart from the onlookers who were being used as pawns in the midst of the crowd's anger, there must be more than three informants sent by that organization, otherwise a large-scale instigation could not have been accomplished.
"Bang!"
"Bang bang bang!"
The red wooden door was first kicked, and when the person outside realized they couldn't open it, they started banging on the door and shouting urgently. The room was dark and claustrophobic, and the banging sounded like death urgently knocking on the door, suddenly bringing a great sense of terror to the space.
That's how it's portrayed in many slapstick comedy movies: the person outside the door should be carrying a large axe and saying, "I see you."
In this instance, however, things were different. The knocking on the door did not cause the red wooden door to appear to be about to collapse, so the fat man couldn't wait any longer and took the initiative to open the door, exposing everything inside to the view of the person outside.
"Finally found you, a bunch of lousy painters!"
The first words spoken by the newcomer completely changed the painters' expressions. Their previous skepticism turned into certainty, and each painter's eyes revealed murderous intent. Insulting their profession? Unforgivable!
Yu Xing secretly admired the teamwork of these people, and then, like the others, lowered his body slightly to minimize his presence.
He also stole a glance at the people coming in. They were some of the spectators he had seen on the second floor before. Some were wearing skirts, and some were wearing suits. Without exception, their clothes were speckled with blood, and their appearances were much more terrifying than when they were on the second floor. One woman was rushing to the front, and her hair had turned into blood-red muscles connected by veins, waving in the air. Another man had no skin around his mouth, and his white bones were exposed to the air, which was very eerie.
Incidentally, he saw the axe he had imagined—a small one that seemed to have no other use than chopping people.
Why include fakes in paintings to make up the numbers?
"Why are your paintings not even as good as the forgeries? I follow the art exhibitions every year, and I see all the new works by various artists. You never seem to improve; you just stay stuck in the same place. Then you use your past fame to act like old masters and pretend to be experts. I've had enough!"
"That's right, do you really think we can't see that your paintings are bad? Since the start of this exhibition, all I've heard are comments from brainless fans. Did you hire them? Or did they become brainless after looking at your brainless paintings over and over again?"
"I went through all that trouble to buy a ticket, only to see a joke, haha."
Five people broke in, which was close to the number Yu Xing had estimated. He could sense a powerful ghostly aura emanating from these intruders, an aura that was truly undisguised.
Very strong.
Yu Xing instantly made the corresponding judgment, and Zhao Yijiu also reminded him in his ear, "These painters can barely stop them, and with three staff members here, our chances of winning are much greater."
"Hmm, I don't think we need to worry too much. We can just watch the show. We've already done everything we could in advance. Even if it's a boss battle, we'll probably wear them down to almost nothing."
Even though they were talking in hushed tones, some of the participants could still hear them. They felt a sense of relief for a moment, but then suddenly realized that they were still in danger, and forcibly suppressed that feeling of relief.
They were all waiting to see what would happen in the Art Appreciation Room.
The painter whose head had been separated from the body walked out, clutching his head, indignantly shouting, "You're just spectators! What do you know about art!"
His head was held in his hands, his eyes gleaming with shrewdness. "Some of you must be the instigators, using others as pawns. Aren't you happy?"
Crodir, standing behind, sneered, "Look at what you've done, so disorganized. It shows that your carefully crafted plan has been thwarted by us. You should feel ashamed and sad."
These words struck the intruders, and some of them showed subtle changes in their facial expressions for a fleeting moment.
"There's a fake in one of your paintings!" the woman, whose hair had turned into tendon, shouted, pointing at him. "You're a fraud, dishonest, you deserve to die!"
Yu Xing was secretly amazed by the simple and honest folk customs of Dead Silent Island; even a single painting at an art exhibition had reached such an incredible level.
The two sides disliked each other and had personal conflicts of interest, so they quickly got into a fight. To the hidden experiencers and deducers, it was a chaotic scene of demons dancing, with bits of skin or pieces of flesh flying towards them every now and then.
"The battle is fierce, but it seems these intruders are at a disadvantage," Yun Si even secretly commented. "But why do I feel like one of the painters is just slacking off?"
Yun Si had better eyesight; he saw it and spoke up, which is how the others noticed it.
Ms. Linda stood at the very edge of the brawl, occasionally reaching out her hand and seemingly scattering some strange paint. Anyone who got their hands on the paint would involuntarily slow down and clutch their head in pain for a while. However, the problem was that the paint attacked other 30-year-olds indiscriminately, and they would be affected as well. So it seemed that Ms. Linda had temporarily stopped to prevent chaos among others.
"She is indeed..." Ning Feng replied, "But something feels off to me."
No sooner had she finished speaking than everyone watched as Ms. Linda plunged her hand into the heart of a staff member who had just walked in front of her.