Flames danced wildly around them, their hideous faces twisted in sinister grins. The things they consumed resembled flickering ghosts, one after another. The workers stared at them with spite and greed, clearly eager to drag them into utter hopelessness too.
Beiwei was tense. Xie De took the last drag of his cigarette. Everyone present was unusually quiet.
But the Instance System's next question never came, hanging over their heads like the sword of Damocles.
Then a deep toll sounded as a distant church bell rang, its ancient, faraway voice echoing in their ears.
The flames in the factory slowly vanished. Outside, the torrential rain battered the windows with a vicious, relentless rush. Thick bolts of lightning struck, lighting everyone's faces into ghastly masks.
Were the questions over?
Had the Instance System gone quiet?
455 connected to the new Bluetooth earpiece and declared in its cold mechanical voice, with all the drama of an adolescent fantasy, "The Q&A session should be over. Right now, I feel terrifyingly powerful."
"Please don't." Xie De stopped 455 before it could launch into a speech. "Just keep your head and don't get carried away."
Yue Xiamo narrowed her eyes and looked them over a few times. With a hand on the coldly gleaming blade at her waist, she strode over. She said nothing once she arrived, merely stood there, making her presence impossible to ignore.
Beiwei first checked Xie De's expression, then took the initiative to ask, "Are you here to seek a partnership too?"
Yue Xiamo snorted and said arrogantly, "I only work with strong people who can earn my respect. I have no interest whatsoever in newcomers. I only came over to exchange clues with Wei Yanchi."
"...Ha." Beiwei answered with a cold laugh.
Wei Yanchi blinked, then nodded politely to Xie De, smoothing things over. "Yue Xiamo has never had much of a temper. Please excuse her. Give me a moment. I'll be right back."
Wei Yanchi followed Yue Xiamo aside.
Xie De heard Beiwei muttering beside him, "I hate veteran players who look down on people like that. They've cleared a few more instances, so they think they can treat everyone else with contempt."
Soon, Beiwei worked up the courage to tell Xie De, "She just doesn't know any better. If she knew how powerful Mr. 39 was, she certainly wouldn't act like that!"
Uh...maybe.
455 chimed in, "But if Yue Xiamo finds out you're actually a coward, she'll definitely mock you!"
"455, you don't need to join in."
People admired strength. Strong people, in particular, would only submit to someone stronger.
As Xie De listened to Beiwei, a suspicion that had long been nagging at him finally clicked into place. He reckoned that, because of 455 and an appearance that didn't exactly match what was inside, he had somehow been mistaken by these big shots for someone just as powerful as they were.
His heart sank.
Aside from making it easier to show off, what the hell did being mistaken for one of them do for him?
If these big shots found out their partner wasn't a big shot at all, they would absolutely fly into a humiliated rage and kill him!
Xie De still remembered something 455 and Beiwei had said in unison when assessing the protagonist: he was a madman who must never be provoked.
I'm screwed.
Why did my head suddenly start hurting?
Looking at Beiwei's worshipful gaze, Xie De complained inwardly through a river of tears, 455, your appearance makeover plan has really screwed me over.
455 was baffled, but guessed what he was thinking and said with weary disbelief, "What do you mean, screwed you over? If I hadn't given you a complete makeover, do you realize those veteran players would've used you as cannon fodder the very second you entered the instance? The veterans in here are all desperate outlaws. They don't show new players the slightest courtesy. You know people here admire strength, so even if you have to fake it, you need to look strong."
"All right, stop. Keep going and I'll start feeling sorry for myself."
Xie De had just dropped his cigarette butt and ground it out when he looked up and met a pair of eyes that seemed to smile without smiling, an unconscious viciousness spilling from them.
Old Eugene slowly walked up to them, their faint reflections showing in his glasses.
"Hello there. I hear you killed Fang Jueshan and Li Luohan. You're quite capable, aren't you?"
Xie De remembered this man. Beiwei had mentioned him during her introductions: Old Eugene was a smooth operator, and supposedly involved with the underworld in real life.
Great. Looks like I've attracted another one.
Giving up, Xie De asked 455, "How do I act like a big shot?"
455 answered with equal resignation, "Just act the way you did before. Be casual. Don't overthink it."
Fine.
Despite that advice, Xie De still overdid it. His deep, dark-green eyes instantly sized Old Eugene up like an apex predator. He had always held to the principle that the more he said, the more mistakes he would make, and this time he also planned to let the other man state his intentions first.
Old Eugene smiled eerily, his features vicious. Holding up three fingers, he said in a low voice, "Young man, I could tell at a glance you were no ordinary person. You're in the business too, aren't you? That brat Wei Yanchi isn't someone you should get too close to. But if you can guarantee my safety and get me out of this instance, I'll pay you this much."
"Three hundred thousand?" Beiwei asked curiously. "Isn't that a little low?"
"Three million." Old Eugene pulled two small gold bars from his clothes and casually tossed them into Beiwei's arms. "Once we're out, the three million will be the final payment."
He stared hard at Xie De. "I'm no dead weight myself. Consider this deal me giving you your first bit of business. What do you say, young man?"
Holy shit, 455! Three million! Three million! Is this for real? Why does it feel so unreal hearing that? Xie De shouted inwardly, his gaze lowering slightly.
Before 455 could speak, Xie De nodded. "I accept your offer."
Old Eugene gave him a sinister smile and bowed slightly, speaking with the manner of an underworld associate. "Then here's to a fruitful partnership."
455 held back for a moment. "Host, what are you doing? You're a total noob who's still learning how to pretend to be a big shot. What are you doing?!"
Xie De felt a little hopeless about himself too. "I've never seen that much money in my life. I got a little blinded by it. When I heard that number, even Old Eugene started looking a lot more pleasant."
455 was speechless. "Look at how cheaply you can be bought! Old Eugene has powerful connections in real life. If you take his money, won't your address and identity be exposed too? Then he'll have you in the palm of his hand!"
"Shit, I didn't think of that." Xie De swallowed. "Now I'm screwed. I was just thinking I'd protect him if I could, and if I couldn't and he died, then he died. No big deal."
455 was beside itself. "Now let's see how you get yourself out of this. Did it ever occur to you that if you're going to pretend to be a big shot, you'll have to show your strength and keep Old Eugene alive? If he survives and leaves the instance, he'll definitely come looking for you to pay you."
Before one wave settled, another rose.
Xie De went numb.
Just then, the protagonist finished exchanging clues too. Yue Xiamo slipped into the darkness, and Wei Yanchi walked over. He looked down at Old Eugene and frowned slightly.
Then he smiled at Xie De. "The clues Yue Xiamo found are more or less the same as ours, but she has one extra piece of information. There were actually six overseers in this factory, and there was a traitor among them."
Six overseers?
So another overseer had actually died in this factory.
Did the traitor among the overseers mean the person who set the factory on fire and escaped? Or did it refer to the betrayal of joining the workers in accusing the boss, striking, and so on?
And who exactly had set fire to the factory?
What had happened to the overseer who died? Was there a connection between that overseer and the boss? Why hadn't those six people called them along when they escaped? Why hadn't their name appeared like everyone else's?
Before you continue