Chapter 21: Reality (2)
The reception room was silent, the only sound coming from the soft rustle of the projector. The two of them stared at each other for a long time, neither speaking. Finally, Liang Yan gave in.
“Don’t you have any questions?”
“Even if I did, you wouldn’t tell me,” Jian Yuntai replied, his voice surprisingly calm. “I’ve never even heard of this person before.”
Liang Yan sighed. “That’s because everything about Wei Shenglu is classified. Honestly, I don’t know much about him either. All I know is that he was part of the Xiang’an Team. Back when they tried to capture him, the team suffered huge losses—countless dead and injured. During his year with Xiang’an, he cleared every single 100% fatal instance without a scratch. In just one year, the Xiang’an Team’s performance already surpassed many others.”
“The Zhao’an Team didn’t like that, so they quickly bailed you—also a Divine Type—out, hoping you’d challenge him,”
Jian Yuntai raised an eyebrow, amused that he could even manage a laugh at a time like this. “So the Xiang’an Team and the Zhao’an Team are rivals? Aren’t both teams part of the Livestream Team?”
“Wherever there are people, there’s conflict,” Liang Yan said with a sigh. “Otherwise, why do you think the higher-ups let streamers fight each other unchecked? They want to establish a survival-of-the-fittest system. Competition keeps the system active and long-lived.”
“I see.” Jian Yuntai nodded, cutting straight to the point. “So how do you want me to kill him?”
“I don’t know. You’ll have to figure that out yourself. He’s immortal, and so are you. It’s a question of who can completely destroy the other first. Of course, if you have the ability to turn him over to the Zhao’an Team directly, we would welcome that with open arms,” Liang Yan joked, though even she knew it was far-fetched and practically impossible.
She shook her head, stood up, and handed him a phone.
“This is a Livestream Team communication device. It has a Streamer Assistant app. You can explore it yourself—I won’t explain. If you don’t understand something, you can ask your roommates. Oh… and your dormitory is ready. Later, a personal assistant will be assigned to take care of your daily needs.”
Jian Yuntai took the phone, glanced at it, and tapped open the Streamer Assistant app, which displayed ‘Streamer’s Home.’
Inside, there were three sections:
【Medical Ridge】
【Mercenary Tower】
【Central Marketplace】
He tapped on Medical Ridge, and a line of red text appeared: Sorry, only Sinister Spirit Types can use this function.
Tapping Mercenary Tower showed another line: Sorry, only ordinary citizens can use this function.
“….”
Jian Yuntai twitched his mouth, thinking, What kind of useless app is this? Finally, he opened the Central Marketplace.
“!!!”
At that moment, his previously listless mood surged into excitement.
He didn’t know how to describe what he saw—an endless display of items, overwhelming in variety. Weapons, tools, all sorts of strange things. There was nothing you could imagine that wasn’t for sale.
But when he saw the prices, it felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on him.
“Why is everything so expensive?! I haven’t seen a single weapon under 10,000 stream coins!” he said, pointing at a knife. “This knife… it’s just a broken, ordinary knife. Why is it priced so high?!”
“Pfft—” Liang Yan burst out laughing.
Only now did she fully realize that Jian Yuntai was just eighteen—a teenager—not the terrifying “Xiang’an Team Major Criminal” that had struck fear into countless people.
Suppressing her laughter, Liang Yan explained patiently as Jian Yuntai’s disbelief showed plainly on his face.
“These prices are set by the Livesteam Team. You have to understand, weapons aren’t sold outside—no amount of money will get you one. But in the Livesteam Team, everything is clearly priced in stream coins.”
She paused, then continued, “If you’re unhappy with the prices, you can also put the weapons you just acquired up for sale.”
The moment he realized he could sell them for this much, Jian Yuntai said immediately, “Alright, fine. I get it—I completely get it. Expensive is fine.”
Liang Yan shook her head, smiling. “Your assistant will bring you the Livestream uniform soon. Once you put it on, your social status will rise to a new level. From there, you can work your way even higher.”
Jian Yuntai pressed his lips together. Liang Yan had struck a chord with him.
Growing up in the Slum District, he had faced endless discrimination and bullying because of his face and young age. Being chased from bridge tunnels by homeless people was commonplace.
If he could rise higher—reach the very top—no one could dare to bully him!
In this world, no one would protect him unconditionally. He had to rely on himself.
He had to become stronger… and climb to the very peak!
No sooner had he made that vow in his heart than his stomach growled loudly. Jian Yuntai didn’t even feel embarrassed; he asked directly, “Once the assistant arrives, I can go back to my dorm and eat, right?”
“Before that, you still need to do one last thing,” Liang Yan said, giving him a sly wink and a mysterious smile.
※※
At that moment, the Livesteam Team’s message board was about to explode.
“Coming here to worship the hidden mission! Can someone drop a link so I can see which dark horse appeared?”
“Blind guess: the top 10–20 streamers. All of the top 10 participated in A-level instances; if they survive, it’s already amazing. Don’t even think about hidden missions.”
“Hahaha, right, and A-level instances usually take a long time. It’s only been four or five days, and they might not even finish main quest step 1, let alone hidden storylines.”
“Don’t you watch streaming news? The Livestream Entertainment Weekly just came out. The hidden mission was awarded to an eighteen-year-old newbie.”
The news stunned everyone:
“What?!”
“Newbie? And an eighteen years old? No way!”
“Why not? Your village just got internet access. This newbie is insane, and he even transferred from the Xiang’an Team. I watched the live stream the whole time—he’s ridiculously skilled.”
“Transferred from Xiang’an? No wonder I was scared in advance!”
“Damn, how many big things did I miss in the instance these past few days?! Tonight, I have to pay to watch this newbie’s full clearance recording.”
The assistant put away her phone and sighed enviously. “I want to get into the Livestream Team too. Streamers earn stream coins from running instances, then rest at home, and even their recorded streams earn coins. Jian Yuntai’s earnings must be huge; everyone’s saying they want to watch his recordings.”
“Talk about that after you awaken your Sinister Type. You might end up as a useless rabbit-type Sinister Monster Type,” the female Xiang’an officer said, glaring at him. “If you got in because of connections, don’t think about all that. Learning something is the main thing.”
“Alright, Auntie.” The little assistant sat up straight, obediently.
The car drove into the Xiang’an Team’s villa complex. It was called a “villa area,” but it was dark and grim, almost like a street of ghosts.
Beep beep—
The horn sounded.
After the Xiang’an Team personnel checked credentials, Auntie drove the car in. But barely five minutes had passed when the windows along the road suddenly blazed with light. Shadows flickered inside some of the villas, accompanied by inhuman screams.
Bang bang bang—
Bang bang bang—
Someone was frantically pounding on bulletproof glass, and chains clinked loudly.
The little assistant’s face went pale, terror washing over him. “What… what are they doing?”
Auntie wore a completely matter-of-fact expression. “They haven’t seen a living person in a long time. They’re welcoming you.”
“…!!!” The little assistant’s mind nearly exploded. Don’t say terrifying things with such a calm face!
His tiny heart was dealt a heavy blow. Was this really a welcome—or some sort of deliberate scare tactic?!
The rest of the drive was a nightmare. The little assistant’s face was a picture of collapse, looking ready to abandon the car and run at any second.
Finally, when the car arrived at the destination, all the lights in the “haunted” villas suddenly went out. The Xiang’an Team prisoners seemed to reach some silent consensus—they all fell quiet and retreated back into their homes.
“Whew—” The little assistant pressed a hand to his thumping chest and exhaled, genuinely relieved.
But before he could even finish the breath, Auntie said, “I told you, you’re not using your brain. Don’t get too happy. Think about why they went silent.”
“Why?” the little assistant asked, still dazed.
Auntie parked in front of one of the haunted villas, gesturing toward it with a pursed mouth. “Because they’re all afraid of him.”
“…?!” The little assistant went pale again, covering his head with his hands and crying. “Auntie, I don’t want to see any more! Just take me to see Jian Yuntai already! Aren’t we supposed to deliver his team uniform?”
“Too late.”
Auntie roughly dragged him out of the car and locked it. The little assistant didn’t dare run back alone; he could only follow into the villa, crying miserably.
Inside, there was complete silence.
When the door opened, the little assistant saw red cords strung all over the room, with many small bronze bells attached. Each cord led to a ceiling-mounted machine gun; whenever a cord moved, the gun’s barrel turned with it.
The little assistant froze in fear. I’m so scared!
Auntie reassured him. “Don’t worry. The machine guns only detect electric collars. This setup is specifically for Wei Shenglu—it won’t hurt anyone else. Let’s go upstairs.”
The little assistant had absolutely no desire to go upstairs. He clung to the spiral staircase railing, his whole body hanging off it.
Auntie could do nothing about him. She simply left him behind and went upstairs herself with the paperwork.
“….” The little assistant waited nervously. His tiny inner self cowered: Auntie, are you really okay going up there alone? You’re not going to… just… die up there, right? Waaaah!
The next five minutes were the hardest five minutes of the little assistant’s life.
Creak creak—
He dared to peek up, and through the gaps of the spiral staircase, he glimpsed a wheelchair and a flash of pale, waterfall-like hair.
“These are the upcoming candidate instances. It’s already decided which Zhao’an Team members will participate. You can look and…” Auntie’s voice, never so humble before, faltered. After a few words, there was no response. It seemed someone gestured toward the table; Auntie’s voice trembled. “No… I’m afraid this person won’t do… would you like to reconsider?”
“Are you questioning me?”
The man’s voice was hoarse yet noble, calm in tone.
Auntie dared not speak again. She quickly finalized the next instance, her face as pale as death, and hurried downstairs.
Creak creak—
The sound of the wheelchair echoed again.
Once outside the villa, the little assistant sat in the passenger seat, still jittery, casting a wary glance toward the building.
“How did his legs get injured?”
“His leg isn’t seriously injured. In a few days, he’ll be able to stand again.” Auntie started the car and frowned, deep in thought. “Looks like he was disabled in the last instance.”
The little assistant didn’t understand.
Disabled is disabled… what does ‘disabled in the last instance’ even mean? he blurted out.
“A single instance usually lasts only ten or twenty days at most, but Wei Shenglu’s perception of time is different—he experiences decades in one go. Time flows differently for him, which means that during an instance he lives through countless different lives, from innocent childhood to approaching death. When he returns to reality, all these memories overlap. For the first few days, he doesn’t even know who he is.” Auntie sighed. “Honestly, I see him only about once a month, but every time, he doesn’t recognize me. To him, I’m just someone he brushed past years ago.”
“…!!!” The little assistant was stunned. “Then his memories must be all mixed up. If I were him, I’d go insane!”
“You’re not wrong,” Auntie said, letting it go at that.
Afterward, no matter how much the little assistant asked, Auntie remained silent, as if hiding untold secrets.
※※
When the little assistant finally met Jian Yuntai, the latter was sitting in the reception room, focused on writing.
Seeing that the boy looked about his own age, he assumed Jian Yuntai was just another kid sent here through connections to check out the Livestreaming Team.
He approached and squatted nearby, curious. “What are you writing?”
Jian Yuntai didn’t lift his head. “A diary.”
Then he picked up his phone and searched online. After browsing for a while, he found a template and began copying the descriptive passages.
“If it’s a diary, why are you copying?”
“To fill space,” Jian Yuntai said calmly.
The little assistant frowned, then asked again, “Do you know where Jian Yuntai is? My aunt told me to come here to find him.”
He nervously began rambling, “You must be a staff member working here, right? I just went to the Xiang’an Team—those people are terrifying! Have you seen Jian Yuntai? Is he scary too?”
“….” Jian Yuntai finally glanced up and noticed the little assistant’s Livestreaming Team uniform. He curved his lips into a faint smile.
A handsome young man’s smile always felt approachable. The little assistant felt a flutter in his chest and smiled back foolishly—but it quickly faded.
Liang Yan entered and immediately saw Jian Yuntai furiously copying from the phone. She laughed. “This diary is just to assess your mental state. If the Livestreaming Team finds that you’ve ‘borrowed’ passages everywhere, they’ll reject it and make you rewrite it.”
“…!” Jian Yuntai looked shocked, a look of complaint on his face. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I’ve already copied two thousand words!”
Liang Yan covered her mouth to hide a laugh. Seeing that the boy still had no idea about split personalities, she said, “Stop writing for now. I’ll take you to learn about your Sinister Type soon.”
As they spoke, the little assistant froze for several seconds, then became utterly dumbfounded.
“?!!!” Assess mental state?!
This boy was Jian Yuntai? The boy, about his own age, was the same Jian Yuntai who had committed an A-level felony?!
Impossible!
The little assistant looked at Jian Yuntai several times, still not quite believing it.
He even suspected that Jian Yuntai was taking the blame for someone else.
The boy’s smile was just too harmless.
Even earlier, when the little assistant had blustered about Jian Yuntai being “bad,” he hadn’t seen Jian Yuntai get angry.
Such a calm temper.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Jian Yuntai spun his pen and glanced at him, smiling as harmlessly as before.
“If the assistant dies, can it be replaced?”
The little assistant froze for a moment. When he finally realized what the question meant, his pupils dilated wildly.
“…?!!!”
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